Parkway Primary School

Parkway Primary School Alsike Road, Erith, Kent, DA18 4DP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The inspirational headteacher, well supported by the senior leadership team and the governing body, has rapidly brought about significant improvements across the school.  The quality of teaching is good and is improving. This is raising pupils’ achievement further.  Pupils’ achievement is good. Their attainment at the end of Year 6 compares very favourably with national averages. Pupils make good progress throughout the school.  Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Children very much enjoy the wide range of good quality activities that enable them to achieve well.  Systems used by senior and subject leaders to check the quality of teaching are rigorous. Teachers know what they do well and how to improve.  The school takes effective steps to promote all pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. These help all pupils to develop the skills and personal qualities needed to work with

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

others in the school and the community.  Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They feel very safe at school and enjoy the wide range of activities that are planned for them.  Pupils arrive punctually at school and quickly settle into their lessons. Attendance is consistently above average.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In some classes, teachers do not check pupils’ progress effectively to ensure that the tasks set are appropriately challenging to the pupils’ individual needs.  In some cases, the quality of teachers’ feedback and pupils’ responses does not consistently match the best practice in the school. This means that some pupils are not able to make rapid progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 12 lessons, five jointly with the headteacher or the assistant headteacher. Inspectors undertook a series of short visits to other lessons and listened to a sample of readers from Year 2. They also attended an assembly and observed pupils at breaks and lunchtimes.  Meetings were held with staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the Chair of the Governing Body, two other governors and a representative from the local authority.  There were too few responses to the online survey Parent View for the results to be displayed. However, inspectors took account of the school’s own parents’ survey as well as the views of the parents they met. They also considered the 16 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including national test results and the school’s own information about pupils’ progress. They looked at the school’s own checks on how well it is doing, the

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Information about this inspection

school’s development plan, safeguarding policies and documents relating to the work of the governing body.  The inspection team scrutinised samples of pupils’ work in English and mathematics, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and punctuality.  The team took account of information on the school’s website and the data dashboard.

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Inspection team

Kewal Goel, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Christine Alexander Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The school has an Early Years Foundation Stage, which is made up of a Nursery and a Reception class. There is one class in each Year group from Years 1 to 6.  The headteacher is part of the Bexley Schools Collaborative and gives support and advice to other headteachers on improving standards.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is much higher than average, as is the proportion who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average. This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is similar to that found in most schools.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by consistently checking pupils’ progress and setting appropriately challenging tasks so that pupils make more rapid progress.  Ensure that the quality of teachers’ marking, and of pupils’ responses to it, always matches the best practice in the school, so that pupils make rapid progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The inspirational headteacher’s drive to embed ambition across the school is very strong. This has a direct and positive impact on pupils’ achievement. She, along with senior leaders and governors, is passionate for the school. Senior leaders have high expectations of all staff and pupils.  The senior and subject leaders observe teaching regularly and identify what needs to improve accurately. They give teachers helpful targets for improvement and check that they have been achieved in subsequent observations. However, sometimes they do not check the effectiveness of teacher’s marking and feedback. Newly qualified teachers and those in the early stages of their career are well supported. This is leading to further improvements in the quality of teaching.  The school has established very effective systems for setting targets for teachers. These are linked directly to the national Teachers’ Standards. Staff training is linked explicitly to pupils’ progress and the quality of

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The leadership and management are good

teaching, as is teachers’ appraisal and salary progression. This is helping to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.  The school’s own checks of its strengths and areas for improvement are detailed and accurate. Leaders regularly and systematically monitor progress towards the targets set in the school development plan. As a result, senior leaders are able to share the successes and next steps for improvement with the school community.  The curriculum has been developed from a whole school analysis of pupils’ needs. There is high focus on teaching reading, writing and mathematics. The non-negotiables underpin the key aspects of knowledge, skills and understanding required for each year group. Pupils’ personal, social and health education and behaviour are embedded in the curriculum. It is enriched through a range of extra-curricular activities, educational visits and visitors to the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils are given opportunities to reflect on their experiences and respond with interest to new experiences, which broaden their understanding. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural curriculum enables pupils to discuss and understand feelings and conflicts in order to make good choices. British values are promoted very effectively, so that pupils understand about life in modern Britain. The school ensures that there is no discrimination and promotes equality of opportunity very well.  The school uses the additional funding for sport effectively to improve teachers’ and pupils’ skills and confidence in gymnastics and dance. Staff are now more confident in teaching these sports and the quality of teaching has improved. Pupils speak confidently about the skills they have learnt.  The school works closely with parents. It communicates through newsletters, the school website, activities such as ‘Stay and Play’, ‘Dads and Lads’, curriculum evenings and by inviting parents to regular

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The leadership and management are good

assemblies. Parents have very positive views about the school.  Since the last inspection, the local authority has provided light-touch support to the school. It deploys the headteacher to support other headteachers in the authority.  The school’s child protection and safeguarding systems are very thorough and meet statutory requirements.

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The governance of the school:

 Governors are very knowledgeable and passionate about pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching and learning. They know the school’s strengths and areas for improvement very well. They have a clear plan to review and update school policies. They hold the headteacher to account by reviewing reports thoroughly and asking searching questions about the quality of teaching and progress of different groups of pupils.  Governors work with staff to draft the school development plan. They monitor the use and impact of pupil premium and additional sport funding closely.  Governors keep themselves up to date by attending training relevant to their roles. They ensure that the systems for managing the performance of staff are rigorous and that they link closely to the Teachers’ Standards. They receive information about teachers’ performance which they use to make decisions about salary progression.  Governors scrutinise the financial information presented to them and make decisions about the

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are welcoming, polite and respectful to each other and adults. Most pupils behave well in lessons, during breaks and at lunchtime. Pupils say that behaviour in the school is good.  Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning in a range of subjects, classes and with different adults. They come to school properly prepared. Pupils know the ‘golden rules’ very well and settle promptly in lessons. They are eager and ready to learn quickly. Behaviour is not outstanding because a very small minority of pupils are not as attentive as their peers in some lessons.  Pupils have a good awareness of different forms of bullying including cyber-bullying and homophobic bullying. They say that bullying is very rare in the school and is not tolerated. If and when it happens, it is dealt with swiftly and effectively.  Teachers and other adults use behaviour management strategies very effectively. The vast majority of

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Behaviour

pupils respond to teachers’ instructions quickly, so no learning time is wasted. There have been no fixed- term or permanent exclusions since the last inspection.  The school’s records show that there have been very few incidents of poor behaviour over the last year. The few that have occurred have been dealt with effectively. There have been no racist incidents recorded during the last academic year.  Staff and parents agree that behaviour in the school is good.  Attendance is above average. Pupils arrive punctually at school.  Pupils are proud of their school. They present their work neatly and are well dressed in the school uniform. Pupils enjoy taking responsibilities. They take great care of the school and its surroundings.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Pupils say they feel very safe. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe in a range of situations, including when using the internet.  The school’s arrangements for keeping pupils safe are very thorough. Leaders consider the risks that pupils may encounter on the school site and during visits to other places.  The child protection policy is reviewed annually and staff attend child protection training regularly.  All staff and parents who responded to the school’s questionnaire and those who spoke to inspectors agree that pupils are safe in the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching across the school over time is good, with examples of some outstanding teaching. Pupils enjoy their learning because teachers provide interesting activities. These enhance pupils’ imagination and their love of learning. Teachers are enthusiastic and have high expectations. They also have good subject knowledge.  However, teaching is not yet outstanding because in some classes teachers do not check pupils’ progress effectively and adapt their teaching. As a result some pupils find the work too hard and do not make progress.  Most teachers observe and question pupils skilfully during lessons to extend their thinking and deepen their understanding and knowledge.  Evidence in pupils’ books and from the teaching observed shows that literacy and numeracy are incorporated into a range of subjects.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) through a range of activities is a strength of

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The quality of teaching is good

the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage that promotes children’s good early reading skills.  Pupils are usually interested and engaged. Relationships between pupils and between pupils and staff are very good. Classrooms are attractive and well organised.  Pupils’ books show that there is a good range of well-presented work. There is clear progression and good progress over time.  Additional adults are well deployed. They have a good understanding of pupils’ needs and provide a good level of support and challenge.  Homework, linked to the work pupils complete in school, is set and marked regularly.  Teachers suggest next steps for learning in their feedback to pupils. However, the feedback is not always specific enough to help pupils’ make further progress. Pupils’ responses to teachers’ feedback are sometimes of poor quality which limits their progress.

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is good

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Their attainment across the school is rising, and by the end of Year 6 it is now well above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge that are below those typical for their age. Since the previous inspection pupils’ progress has been accelerated in all year groups. By the time pupils leave, they are well prepared for secondary school.  As a result of the school’s focus on phonics, pupils’ reading has improved. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check in 2014 was well above average.  The school encourages pupils, through guided reading sessions, to read widely and often. Pupils enjoy reading. They read a range of books and have developed preferences for books written by different authors.  The achievement of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good. Early

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is good

identification of their needs, and increasingly effective support and guidance from teachers and teaching assistants ensures that these pupils achieve well.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language (including those at an early stage of learning English) and those from different minority ethnic groups achieve well. Teachers and teaching assistants make sure that these pupils are well prepared for lessons and are familiar with the vocabulary they are likely to encounter.  Most pupils, including the most able, are increasingly achieving well. However, some pupils are not making rapid progress because they are not given appropriately challenging tasks.  Pupils’ work across different subjects shows that pupils are applying the skills learnt in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, pupils are making good progress in these areas across the wider school curriculum.  Pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding make good progress from their starting points.

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is good

The gap between their attainment and that of their peers in the school in 2013 was almost five terms in mathematics and three terms in reading and writing. Overall they were three terms behind all pupils nationally. The school’s data for 2014 show that the gap is narrowing at the end of Year 6. Designated funding is used well to support these pupils. Specialist teaching programmes in English and mathematics, as well as tailored guidance addresses the needs of individuals.

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is good

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are generally below expectations for their age. All groups of children, including disabled children and those with special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language make good progress and achieve a good level of development by the end of the Reception year. This ensures children’s smooth transition into Year 1.  The school has well-organised induction systems. It has positive links with parents to gather valuable background information, which enables children to settle quickly into the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The range of well-planned activities are organised to maximise choice for children. This ensures that children can explore and learn from their experiences. For example, in the information and communication technology area, there were prompt cards for making a shape picture, exploring stories

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is good

with mirrors. There is a good balance of adult-led activities and those children choose for themselves. This helps them to improve their speaking and listening and personal development well.  Adults’ positive engagement with children during activities, such as role play, allows children to make imaginative use of language and enables them to be enthusiastic learners.  Early reading and speaking skills are developing well through structured phonics teaching and reading sessions. Both indoor and outdoor learning areas are safe, clean and well maintained.  Children’s behaviour is good because of the positive adult support. Children cooperate well with each other, for example taking turns in their use of outdoor play equipment. Children’s health and well-being are promoted well.  The early years coordinator provides effective leadership and management and has a good knowledge of strengths and areas for improvement of the provision.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 101437 Local authority Bexley Inspection number 442116

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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 234 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Dee Higham Headteacher Nicole Bradley Date of previous school inspection 30–31 January 2013 Telephone number 020 8310 0176 Fax number 020 8311 9799 Email address admin@parkway.bexley.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 and 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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