Northway Primary and Nursery School

Northway Primary and Nursery School Northway, Liverpool, Merseyside, L15 7JQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils achieve well. They make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics so that by the time they reach the end of Year 6 their attainment is significantly above average.  Children get off to a good, and sometimes outstanding, start in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning and behaviour are outstanding in lessons and around the school. They are polite, helpful and cooperative. Pupils enjoy school and are enthusiastic learners. They feel safe and their parents overwhelmingly agree.  Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers plan interesting and exciting activities that motivate pupils and widen their interests.  All staff build exceptional relationships with pupils that inspire them to aim high and do their best.  The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. He and his two assistant headteachers have very high expectations. Their drive and enthusiasm for continual

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

improvement is shared by all staff and governors. Leaders at all levels focus on giving pupils the very best opportunities to succeed.  The school has excellent systems for checking on the progress of all pupils in English and mathematics. This system is used extremely well to identify any pupils who may be underachieving and to provide additional teaching and targeted support so that all pupils make good progress.  The curriculum is vibrant, highly stimulating and has many enrichment activities. It makes an excellent contribution to the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding and a small amount is not good enough to accelerate progress further. Not all teachers set work at the right level for pupils’ abilities. The pace of learning in some lessons is too slow.  Not enough pupils consistently make better than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons or part-lessons and observed pupils at playtime and lunchtime.  The inspector talked to pupils in lessons about their work, listened to pupils read and talked to groups of pupils from Key Stages 1 and 2.  Meetings were held with staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. Inspectors also took account of 17 responses to a staff questionnaire.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and scrutinised a wide range of documents including the school’s development plans, data on pupils’ past and current progress, minutes of governing body meetings, information on how well staff are performing and records relating to behaviour, attendance, child protection and safeguarding.  The inspectors took account of 15 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the results of survey undertaken by the school.

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Inspection team

Chris Maloney, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Barbara Flitcroft Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds.  An above-average proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for looked after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families. In this school there are no children from service families.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There have been several new staff appointments since the last inspection.  The school offers a breakfast club which is subject to a separate inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the percentage of outstanding teaching by:  ensuring that all teachers provide all pupils with suitably demanding activities, particularly the more able  ensuring that the pace of learning is brisk in order to help keep pupils fully engaged.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase attainment further by:  increasing the proportion of pupils attaining the higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics throughout the school  increasing the percentage of pupils making consistently better than expected progress, particularly boys and those pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities generally below those expected for their age, with an increasing number well below in their language, communication and mathematics. Children make good, and sometimes outstanding, progress from their different starting points and enter Year 1 with broadly typical skills for their age group.  Pupils make good progress through Key Stage 1, particularly in writing. This good progress continues in Key Stage 2, reflecting good achievement from their starting points. Attainment at the end of Year 6 rose sharply in 2012 to be significantly above-average overall. Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was above average; it was particularly strong in mathematics.  However, the school’s tracking systems for past and current progress and pupils’ current work show that not enough pupils are consistently attaining the higher levels in reading, writing or

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The achievement of pupils is good

mathematics. Not enough pupils are consistently making better than expected progress through the school. This is particularly the case for boys and those eligible for the pupil premium funding.  Pupils make good progress and develop a love of reading due to good-quality teaching and the school’s continued emphasis on learning the links between letters and their sounds. Some weaknesses identified in the Year 1 check on pupils’ use of phonics in 2012 have been successfully addressed. Pupils enjoy reading and read with increasing fluency as they move through the school.  Pupils have responded well to the rich variety of opportunities they have to write for different purposes. They have a good knowledge of their writing targets and this is helping them to improve their work.  Pupils make good progress in their confident use of basic skills and benefit greatly from many opportunities to solve real-life problems.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good and sometimes outstanding. Their attainment in 2012 was similar to their peers nationally. The progress of minority ethnic groups and those pupils who speak English as an additional language is similar to that of other pupils in school. Those at an early stage in learning English make good progress due to the skilled support they receive.  In 2012 the attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals was approximately one school term behind that of other pupils in the school in English and mathematics. However, their attainment was nearly two terms better than that of free-school-meal pupils nationally in English and approximately one term ahead in mathematics. Although the gap in school between the attainment of those eligible and those not eligible for free school meals remains, it is closing as pupils move through the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching over time is nearly always good and some is outstanding. In the best examples teachers have high expectations and use their excellent subject knowledge and assessment information to plan work that suits the abilities of all pupils. In such lessons pupils learn and acquire new skills at a good rate and make rapid progress. Teachers use skilled questioning and highly creative strategies to keep pupils interested and actively engaged.  Teachers make full use of very able and skilled teaching assistants to aid pupils’ learning. Pupils are provided with good opportunities to work with a partner to discuss their work and aid their understanding.  Teachers ensure that they mark pupils work with helpful guidance so that pupils know what they are expected to do to improve. They provide pupils with good opportunities to respond to the advice given.  Good-quality teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage results in children making good, and

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The quality of teaching is good

sometimes outstanding, progress. There is an excellent balance between activities that are led by adults and those that children choose for themselves. The indoor and outdoor learning environment stimulates and supports learning well.  When teaching is less successful, learning activities are sometimes too easy or too hard, especially for the more able, and this hinders the progress pupils make. Sometimes the rate at which learning takes place is not rapid enough to keep pupils fully engaged and their progress slows as a result.  Pupils identified as having special educational needs and those whose first language is not English are very well supported through skilled teaching assistants and targeted small-group work.  In an outstanding Year 6 English lesson pupils were provided with highly skilled teaching about the key features of persuasive writing. The very meaningful, real-life problem of writing an

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The quality of teaching is good

argument against smoking helped motivate pupils and keep them fully engaged. As a result, pupils make rapid progress and produced high-quality writing such as, ‘People are ignoring the consequences and it is becoming a habit. How can we stop this?’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning in lessons and around school are outstanding and this contributes very well to their good and improving achievement. Pupils are extremely polite, kind and thoughtful. They demonstrate a strong desire to ensure they live up to the high expectations of staff and the key messages of respect, teamwork and being the best you can be, contained in the Northway Code of Conduct. They play together happily and harmoniously.  Pupils quickly develop a sense of trust, care and respect due to the excellent relationships they form with all adults in school.  Pupils demonstrate a real pride in the quality of the work they produce and in being a member of the school community. A typical pupil comment is ‘Our school is a great place to come to, to have fun, learn new things and make friends’. Their eagerness to attend school is shown by their improving attendance which is now close to being above average.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils have an excellent understanding of bullying and the different forms it can take, such as cyber-bullying and bullying as a result of prejudice. The pupils were eager to tell inspectors that the large whistles on display around school remind them to ‘blow the whistle’ on bullying and that bullying or racism of any kind are not tolerated. Pupils are highly confident in staff dealing with any problems that may arise. Minor misbehaviour is dealt with exceptionally well by staff.  Pupils say they feel safe and have an excellent understanding of healthy lifestyle choices and how to stay safe. Parents are very happy with behaviour at the school and confirm that pupils feel safe.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher provides exemplary leadership. He ensures all leaders have a relentless approach to driving improvement and providing all pupils with equal opportunities to learn and the very best education possible. All staff and governors share this vision and morale is high. Attainment has risen since the last inspection. The school demonstrates an excellent capacity to make further improvements.  The quality of teaching is checked regularly and rigorously. Precise support is provided to help teachers improve their performance. Teachers are eager to learn from one another and the headteacher has provided excellent guidance materials on what outstanding teaching looks like.  Senior and subject leaders know the school’s strengths very well and have clear action plans in place to tackle any weaknesses. Particularly successful actions to improve progress in writing in Key Stage 1 and mathematics in Key Stage 2 led to sharp rises in attainment in 2012. Pupils’

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The leadership and management are outstanding

progress and achievement are regularly checked and the support provided for individual pupils reviewed.  The curriculum is well planned to meet the needs and interests of the pupils, with interesting themes and topics and enriched with visits and residential trips. It encourages them to know more about the city of Liverpool and broaden their horizons with global theme days. The curriculum supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well.  There are excellent relationships with parents and the wider community. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school.  The school has good systems in place that meet all safeguarding requirements.  The school benefits from a range of excellent partnerships including that with the ‘South Central SEN Consortia’ of local schools to improve training for staff and access to targeted support in order to help pupils with disabilities and/or special educational needs. The school has received

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The leadership and management are outstanding

good support from the local authority.  The governance of the school:  The governors are highly ambitious for the school’s continued success, building in fruitful future leadership planning and ensuring that the significant changes in teaching staff since the last inspection have been managed well. Governors use the good-quality information they receive and their regular visits to school to aid their excellent understanding of strengths and areas for improvement in the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. Governors are fully involved in plans to improve the school and provide a high level of challenge about their effectiveness. Governors ensure a rigorous link between teachers’ salary progression and the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. The governors have allocated pupil premium funding extremely well and regularly monitor its impact on the progress made by the pupils for whom it is provided. They are fully committed to promoting equality and tackling discrimination, and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

to ensuring safeguarding procedures are robust.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 104565 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 412205

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 214 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Sylvia Donnelly Headteacher Mr Paul Anderson Date of previous school inspection 24 January 2007 Telephone number 0151 722 3540 Fax number 0151 283 3473 Email address northway-ao@northway.liverpool.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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