High Lane Primary School

High Lane Primary School Andrew Lane, High Lane, Stockport,Cheshire , SK6 8JQ

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  This is a vibrant school where pupils enjoy learning and achieve well.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress from their starting points.  Most pupils, including those who are potentially vulnerable and the most able, make good progress because teaching is usually good and occasionally outstanding.  There are outstanding relationships between staff and pupils. Staff know pupils very well and value them as individuals.  Support for vulnerable pupils and their families is good.  Pupils enjoy the many creative opportunities they have to learn. They like school, feel safe and attend well. Their behaviour and attitudes to learning are good and sometimes outstanding.  The headteacher and governors have worked hard to minimise the impact of the many changes in staff and governors in order to ensure this continues to be a good school.  Expectations are high and all share a vision of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

making the school the best it can be.  Relationships with parents are good.  Strong partnerships exist with schools both local and abroad that support pupils’ learning well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding. In some lessons the level of challenge is not high enough, particularly for the most able pupils. Teachers’ marking and use of targets do not consistently help pupils to improve their work.  Not enough pupils make better than expected progress, particularly in mathematics. There are not enough opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical skills in real-life problem solving.  The plans to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement do not always include clear and measureable outcomes to help judge their success. Middle leaders do not have enough opportunities to develop their roles further. Teachers are not always held to account for the small number of pupils making better than expected progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 16 lessons or parts of lessons.  They scrutinised pupils’ work in lessons, in books and on display around school. Inspectors also spoke with pupils about their work and attitudes to learning.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, along with other senior and middle leaders. Discussions were also held with governors and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents including school improvement plans, school self-evaluation, pupil progress data, attendance and behaviour records, reports from the local authority, minutes of governing body meetings and documents relating to safeguarding and child protection. Inspectors also reviewed records on the support given to pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs, those in receipt of the pupil premium and the use of additional funding for sport.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took account of 32 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), together with conversations with parents and other family members. Additionally, they analysed 18 voluntary questionnaires returned by staff.

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Inspection team

Chris Maloney, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Pamela Hemphill Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The large majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. Few pupils speak English as an additional language.  Very low numbers of pupils are supported by the pupil premium (funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children looked after by the local authority and children from service families).  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average and those supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well-below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school provides a pre-school and a before- and after-school club, which is subject to separate inspection.  There have been significant changes in staff and governors since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and so accelerate the achievement of pupils by the end of Year 6, particularly in mathematics, by: - increasing the proportions of pupils making better than expected progress - ensuring teachers consistently plan tasks that challenge pupils of all abilities, particularly the most able - ensuring teachers consistently provide pupils with clear guidance through the use of marking and target-setting on how to move their learning on and through opportunities to respond to the advice given - providing more opportunities for pupils to use and extend their mathematical skills in tackling practical, real-life problems.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the quality of leadership and management by: - ensuring actions planned by the school to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement are always clear and measurable in their impact on pupils’ progress - developing the skills of middle leaders in checking on the quality of teaching and the progress of pupils in order to bring about improvements - ensuring teachers are held more rigorously to account for pupils making at least better than expected progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Nursery with skills and abilities typically expected for their age. They make good progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage reaching a good level of development. As a result they are well prepared for Year 1.  Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 and usually attain standards by the end of Year 2 that are significantly above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils’ results in 2013 show that although there was a slight dip in mathematics, high standards continued, including the proportions reaching the higher levels.  Good quality phonics teaching (letters and the sounds they make) in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 has helped pupils improve their reading. In 2013, Year 1 pupils performed below the nationally expected levels in the phonics screening check but the checks done in Year 2 reflect improvements to above the national level, especially for boys.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in Key Stage 2 are well prepared for secondary school. They attain above-average standards in English and mathematics by the time they leave Year 6. There has been a steady rise in attainment over the last three years. Results for 2013 show that attainment overall was above the national average and particularly so in writing. The proportions reaching the higher Level 5 were also above average, especially in writing and mathematics. However, although attainment rose in 2013, not enough pupils exceeded the progress expected of them in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils who join the school later in Key Stage 2 make good progress from their different starting points, but those who are in school the longest make the best progress.  Throughout the school, progress is good overall although still variable in mathematics. Pupils’ work shows that standards are rising throughout school, particularly in the current Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

Attainment by the end of Year 6 is rising sharply, particularly in mathematics, reflecting the success of the increased focus on this area throughout school.  Pupils continue to develop their reading skills and love of reading in Key Stage 2 and this is improving their spelling. The success of the school’s work to improve writing is aiding pupils’ use of grammar and punctuation.  In mathematics, although improvements in basic skills are evident throughout school, too few opportunities are provided for pupils to use and apply these skills in solving problems relevant to real life.  Pupils enjoy learning how to use information and communication technology resources such as laptop computers.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve well because of the good support they receive from skilled adults.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs receive good quality, well-targeted

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The achievement of pupils is good

support to ensure they make good progress.  In 2013, there were too few pupils known to be eligible for pupil-premium funding to comment on their attainment without identifying them. Last year, throughout the school, most of these pupils made similarly good progress to their peers in English and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good and occasionally outstanding. Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. There is a good balance of learning activities led by adults and those that children choose for themselves both indoors and in the highly creative outdoor environment.  Teachers and support staff work well together, know pupils as individuals and use praise and reward well in supporting their all-round abilities and interests. This boosts pupils’ self- confidence and self-esteem and encourages a ‘can do’ mentality and respect for adults.  In most lessons, teachers plan activities that stretch the abilities of all pupils. They regularly check just how well pupils are learning and adapt the tasks to move learning on at a brisk pace. Teachers demonstrate high expectations of what pupils can achieve and skilfully question pupils to deepen their understanding.  In an outstanding Year 1 literacy lesson, pupils were incredibly excited about writing letters of

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The quality of teaching is good

apology from the wolf to the three little pigs. The most able pupils were challenged to use question marks to aid their writing and all pupils used their individual targets to improve their writing in sentences. The teacher used skilled questioning and prompts to inspire the pupils to write. Such high expectations, skilled teaching and use of support staff ensured the outstanding achievement and behaviour of all pupils.  However, in a few lessons, the most able pupils in particular are not challenged enough and opportunities are missed to deepen their understanding and move them on quickly enough to a higher level. Although there is some excellent marking in school, it is not consistently good across school. Some teachers do not always provide enough guidance through marking and target-setting on what pupils need to do to improve their work further, nor give them enough opportunities to respond.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good and often outstanding. Pupils are polite, friendly and welcoming. They are proud members of the school community and are generally eager to learn and to do their best. This is why they achieve well.  They enjoy school and feel safe and this is reflected in their above-average attendance. Pupils get on well with one another and play harmoniously at break times.  Relationships with staff are outstanding. A typical comment was, ‘Teachers make learning fun and always help us to do our best.’  Behaviour is at its very best when teaching is outstanding. Pupils listen attentively to adults, work exceptionally well individually or in groups and stay on task throughout the whole lesson.  However, when teaching does not meet the needs of pupils well enough, some pupils lose concentration and become restless, hindering the progress they make. This is why behaviour and safety are not judged to be outstanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know about stranger danger and keeping themselves safe on the internet. They confidently told inspectors about their good understanding of the different forms of bullying such as cyber bullying or as a result of prejudice. Pupils say that bullying is rare but when it does happen it is dealt with effectively and fairly by staff.  They demonstrate respect and understanding of the rights of people to hold different beliefs and of other cultures and faiths.  Pupils enjoy the many opportunities they are given to take on responsibilities in school as Eco councillors, play leaders or recycling monitors.  Pupils particularly enjoy taking part in the wide range of clubs and sports activities that the school provides, such as Lacrosse.  Parents’ responses in the ‘Parent View’ and in conversations with inspectors are positive about behaviour in school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has galvanised staff and governors in sharing a relentless drive to make the school the very best it can be. She has worked particularly well with the deputy headteacher and other senior leaders to ensure improvements in teaching and rising attainment were a priority during a period of significant changes in staff and governors.  The high levels of morale reflect the successful integration of new staff and governors into the whole-school team.  Successful improvements have been to the made to the rigour of training and the way the quality of teaching is monitored. However, teachers are not sufficiently well held to account for the proportions of pupils making at least good rather than expected progress.  The progress of different groups of pupils is now being more closely monitored and actions taken to identify and support any pupils who are not achieving as well as they should. This

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The leadership and management are good

underlines the school commitment to equal opportunities.  Senior leaders use their accurate analysis of school performance to plan priorities for improvement. However, the plans made by leaders at all levels, to improve the quality of teaching and achievement, are not always precise enough in just how their success will be measured in terms of their impact on outcomes for pupils.  Middle leaders, many of whom are relatively new to role, do not yet have enough opportunities to monitor the quality of teaching in their areas of responsibility or the amount of progress pupils are making to be able to identify the best ways to make further improvements.  The curriculum has been successfully improved by linking subjects together and providing more creative opportunities to learn, especially in the school grounds. The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through focused teaching and regular

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The leadership and management are good

opportunities to make a difference to the lives of others through charity work.  Strong links exist with another school which has a much more diverse mix of pupils. This is helping pupils to deepen their understanding of the similarities and differences between pupils from different backgrounds and cultures.  The school works well with parents, the local community and schools locally and abroad.  Good use has been made of additional sports funding to improve facilities at school, the quality of sports coaching and the range of sports for pupils to try.  The governance of the school:  Governance is good. Governors are supportive yet challenging of the quality of the work of the school. They know the school well and new governors are quickly getting up to speed in their ability to help move the school forward. Governors visit regularly and use a well-established group of committees to focus on different aspects of the school’s work, such as the progress

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The leadership and management are good

of different groups of pupils. Pupil-premium funding is used well for the benefit of those pupils who are eligible and their progress is tracked. Governors have a good understanding of how the attainment of pupils compares with other schools both locally and nationally.  Governors have ensured that the progress of pupils is linked to teachers’ pay. They have ensured that safeguarding meets requirements.

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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 106051 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 433171

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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 199 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Stephens Headteacher Judith Morris Date of previous school inspection 19 January 2011 Telephone number 01663 762378 Fax number 01663 763380 Email address headteacher@highlane.stockport.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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