Kingsway Primary School

Kingsway Primary School Kingsway Park, Davyhulme, Urmston, Manchester, M41 0SP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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 Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Overall pupils make good progress. Attainment as pupils leave school varies because of the small number in each year but is currently well above average.  The needs of pupils with special educational needs are fully met. They make good and often better progress from their individual starting points because of the effective support provided.  Overall, teaching is effective and pupils enjoy learning. The variety of activities sustains pupils’ enthusiasm for learning.  Literacy is taught imaginatively using books as a focus. This has inspired pupils to read as well as practise their writing skills in purposeful activities linked to stories.  Behaviour is good. Pupils are friendly as well as polite and courteous to visitors and each other. They play together happily; they declare there is no bullying and they feel safe in school.  Leadership is effective in moving the school forward. Close checking on the progress of pupils

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

leads to effective support and an improvement in achievement.  Middle leaders are effective in setting priorities for the subjects they lead. Actions are reaping benefits especially in reading, writing and mathematics.  The quality of teaching is checked regularly and additional training provided where it is needed. This has led to improvements, especially in the consistent application of changes in English and mathematics.  Governors play a full and active role in leading the school. They are constant visitors to the school and their evaluations of their observations are impressive.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching does not always challenge the most able pupils. Teachers take time to mark pupils’ work and write advice but pupils do not always respond to this.  The monitoring of teaching is sometimes too positive as the focus is not always sufficiently on the pupils’ learning.  In the early years, the national changes to assessment procedures have not yet been fully established. As a result, tasks are not always matching accurately children’s needs. Although an increasing number make the expected progress, not enough make more than this.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in all classes and in small groups.  Discussions were held with staff, members of the governing body, representatives of the local authority and pupils.  Pupils’ work was scrutinised with a focus on early years, writing and mathematics.  Pupils read to the inspectors.  A range of documents was reviewed including the school’s development plan, subject action plans, the checks made on pupils’ progress, the minutes of meetings held by the governing body and information about safeguarding.  Inspectors took account of the 23 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and also spoke to parents as they dropped their children off at school.  Twenty-two responses to the staff questionnaire were analysed.

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Inspection team

Jennifer Platt, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school provides part-time education in the nursery for 23 children and five of these have extended this to full-time attendance.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is slightly above average.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and eligible for support through the pupil premium is slightly above average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average and very few need help because they are new to speaking English.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which is the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In Key Stages 1 and 2, improve the quality of teaching even further and increase pupils’ progress by:  ensuring tasks are always hard enough, especially for the most able pupils  checking that pupils always respond to comments made by teachers when marking their work and especially correct their spellings  raising the focus on pupils’ learning when teaching is being evaluated.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In the early years, improve the progress of children by:  implementing more precise systems of assessing children’s progress  checking that work is always at the correct level for children  making it clear what strategies are in place to tackle the identified priorities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s good overall leadership is largely due to the collaboration of staff led by the effective headteacher. All play a part in moving the school forward and supporting change.  The school has a mainly accurate view of what it does well and aspects which require improvement. Middle leaders are effective and draw up detailed action plans to identify how they can make their subjects better. These plans show an awareness of how to implement the new National Curriculum as well as identifying actions to raise progress in weaker aspects of their subjects. The main priorities for the school are accurate because they are gleaned from subject leaders’ plans and an analysis of data on achievement.  Currently, priorities include raising attainment in English, mathematics and the early years. Strategies to improve reading, writing and mathematics are very precise, with specific targets to measure success.

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The leadership and management are good

Success is evident in improvements in standards, especially in writing. Although the priority for the early years has been identified, the school’s plan lacks precision to enable success to be measured. This means the rate of improvement has been less noticeable, although the pending support from the local authority is a good step in the right direction.  The progress of pupils is monitored well in Key Stages 1 and 2 and information is used successfully to deploy adults and resources where they are needed most. Teaching is also closely checked and training provided, linked to individual need and school priorities. The whole-school training in mathematics has improved consistency in approaches to teaching calculations. The success of monitoring teaching is evident in the eradication of any weaker teaching. However, at times the focus is not sufficiently on the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. This leads to some comments being too positive and a few weaker

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The leadership and management are good

aspects remain to be resolved.  Teachers are set performance targets based on the progress pupils make and the teachers’ contribution to school priorities. Regular meetings are held between staff and the headteacher to evaluate pupils’ progress; teachers are expected to explain any dips and future actions. Salary awards are linked to achieving targets.  Leadership of the provision for pupils with special educational needs is good and fully meets the needs of these pupils. This supports the school’s effective promotion of equal opportunities.  Staff have made good preparations for the new curriculum and are evaluating different approaches to implement new assessment systems. Exciting themes promote high levels of engagement as well as ensuring pupils’ numeracy and literacy skills are practised in other subjects. Visits to places of interest add to learning because they are meaningful and relevant. The Higher Futures 4U and World of Work projects

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The leadership and management are good

extend pupils’ knowledge of future careers. Pupils explain how their learning is enriched by visits from storytellers, artists and musicians. Numerous clubs, including football, Christmas crafts and choir extend pupils’ skills as well as their love of learning.  The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. The focus on personal and social skills encourages pupils to be reflective and consider the impact of their actions on others. Pupils visit the local church, starting with youngsters in the early years learning about baptisms. Older pupils value different faiths as they visit a Jewish synagogue and enjoy making other foods as they learn to appreciate their cultures.  Safeguarding procedures meet requirements.  Effective use is made of the primary school sport funding. Pupils love the lessons led by the special sports coach and staff observe so that they extend their own skills. Staff also benefit from guidance in planning

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The leadership and management are good

and how to assess pupils’ progress. Pupils now experience a wider range of activities, including at lunchtimes, and participate in more competitive sport.  The local authority provides support as requested as well as a useful analysis of data and training for governors and teachers new to the profession. The dip in attainment in early years was identified and support is pending.  Parents are supportive of the school and would recommend it to others.  The governance of the school:  Governors are well informed and contribute effectively to the way the school is led and managed. Training in the use of data has enabled them to ask more questions about achievement, although their understanding of the dip in the early years is not as secure as their understanding of progress and attainment in the rest of the school, where more information is available. Regular visits to classrooms provide a secure knowledge of the quality of teaching. Governors know that any teaching that does not

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The leadership and management are good

reach the required standard is addressed. They have a good understanding of teachers' performance targets, which ensures salary rewards are linked to success. Governors share their observations and information gleaned from visits so all are equally well informed. Financial management is effective, including checking that the spending of the pupil premium benefits eligible pupils and accelerates their learning.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Their friendly relationships with one another contribute to the calm and happy community. In assembly, their behaviour is exemplary and they join in enthusiastically with the school song, especially with the words ‘learning together and having fun’. The focus of the assembly observed was that all are the same regardless of difference in appearances. This is clearly reflected in the daily life of the school.  Pupils are polite and friendly. They go out of their way to open the door to visitors and to chat about their enjoyment of school. At lunchtime, pupils enjoy social chatter with their friends. Play is energetic but with due attention to care. The Year 6 leaders are very popular and there is always a queue to be involved in competitions like balancing a quoit on your head while throwing a bean bag into a hoop.  Pupils are eager to help others and raise considerable funds for the charities they support. They showed

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Behaviour

entrepreneurial skills in fundraising by taking part in the Fiver Challenge contest, raising money from a five-pound note. Considerable money was raised in a variety of imaginative ways, not only showing a willingness to support others but also raising pupils’ aspirations for the future.  Work is neatly presented and this is testimony to pupils’ good attitudes to learning. Most pay full attention to their teachers and there are always many hands in the air to answer questions. Occasionally, the younger pupils become distracted, mainly when tasks fail to ignite their interest. They respond quickly to prompts from staff.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are aware of different types of bullying and are adamant it does not happen in their school. However, any worries about name calling, including homophobic comments, even if it was meant as a joke, are taken seriously. Pupils are reassured help is readily available. They understand the need for caution when using the internet.  Safety leaders are nominated by pupils and often lead assemblies or organise competitions about how to keep safe. Pupils value the information given about hazards to their health and the potential danger from strangers, especially when they go on visits.  Older pupils understand about fair play and the importance of justice. They recall their studies about segregation between people in the past and the events that led to this being overcome. Year 6 pupils are a credit to the school, with their positive comments about their experiences and how well prepared they

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Safety

are for their next stage of education.  Attendance has improved. It is average and rising, reflecting pupils’ enjoyment of school.  Pupils identified the tasty meals as one of their favourite aspects of the day and collected their ideas together for a contribution to the inspection of their school: ‘This is a safe school that includes fun and makes us happy. Teachers get their resources ready for us so that we can get on quickly.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is effective overall, with many strengths. Pupils say they enjoy learning and value the support they receive from their teachers.  The variety of activities sustains pupils’ interests. They partake confidently in role play and are successful in taking on the role of key characters in a story. Questions successfully extend pupils’ learning and encourage them to deepen their understanding. Teachers keep pupils on their toes by asking them follow- up questions, such as ‘Why did you ask that?’ This extends vocabulary and thought as pupils have to provide extra information.  Great attention is given to setting the scene for new learning. The school’s approach called ‘books as hooks’ is most effective. A box with mystery contents, a flying aeroplane and animal footprints are a small sample of the endeavours of staff to amaze their pupils. They, in turn, wait in anticipation for the title of

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The quality of teaching is good

the book and further insight into the activity or plot.  Relationships are good between teachers and pupils; the management of behaviour is firm and yet positive. As a result, most pupils listen attentively, although, on an odd occasion, their concentration and good behaviour start to wane if they lose interest.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is good and shared well with pupils as well as between teachers. The consistency in approaches enables pupils to build on skills as they move from one class to another. This is most apparent in the effective teaching of English and mathematics. For example, all classrooms have prompts on display to support these subjects. The plan to structure pupils’ writing, recognising the type of writing, the audience and the purpose, is followed through without fail. The effect is evident in clearly structured writing. A common approach to teaching methods of calculation and encouraging pupils to

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The quality of teaching is good

investigate in other subjects as well as in mathematics has raised confidence in solving problems.  Teaching assistants play an effective role by supporting both the least able and the most able. For example, a few pupils needed an extra boost to understand measuring so they measured their arms and feet and learned quickly how to estimate and place their findings in order.  The majority of teachers successfully provide work that challenges pupils and gets the best out of them. This is evident in the neatly presented work in many books. Pupils appreciate the checklists that allow them to see how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Occasionally, work is set that is too similar for all abilities and is not designed in such a way as to extend learning for the most able pupils. They sometimes have to complete easier work before moving on to harder work, and this slows their progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils with special educational needs receive good support in class and, at times, on a one-to-one basis. This shows the patience and kindness of staff as, for example, an amazing collection of fruit was used most imaginatively to develop the skills of comparing weight.  Teachers take time to mark work and include comments to guide pupils’ improvements. Currently, pupils do not always respond or their spelling corrections are in another book. This makes it harder for staff to check that pupils have taken on board advice and are learning from their errors.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The small numbers in some years, especially Year 6 over the last two years, make the results of national tests less meaningful as one pupil represents a high percentage of the total. However, evidence makes it very clear that, overall, progress from Year 1 to Year 6 is good.  There has been a dip in attainment at the end of the early years and, over the last two years, children have started Key Stage 1 with attainment lower than what is typical for their age. Progress in Key Stage 1 from pupils’ individual starting points is good and results of assessment in Year 2 have been gradually rising over the last four years. In 2014 (unvalidated data), attainment was above average in mathematics and broadly average in reading and writing. The school’s predictions and a review of pupils’ books in the current Year 2 show the rise is set to continue; attainment is now moving more to above average, although the number reaching the above-average Level 3 is slower to rise.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Phonics (letters and sounds) are taught effectively. The results of the national screening check in Year 1 were well above average.  Progress is good in Key Stage 2 and much has been done to overcome some weaker teaching in the past. Additional teaching was put in place to enable the pupils to be taught in single-age classes and the small cohorts of 2013 and 2014 benefited from additional support. Although the attainment of these two years was not as high as that of previous years, results were above average in 2013; in 2014, they were above average in writing and average in reading and mathematics. Current data show a return to well above average attainment with an increase in the number of pupils reaching the above-average Level 5, and also some now being entered for the high Level 6.  Reading and writing are improving in response to effective teaching. The focus on books has raised pupils’ enthusiasm for learning and enjoyment of reading. Year 6 pupils explained their different preferences with

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The achievement of pupils is good

an impressive knowledge of the strengths of each author and their love of adventure and humour.  Writing has improved because teachers weave in different types of writing during the focus on a book. Year 3 have an imaginative display of a menu, a poster and a report as part of their book, which centred on the wolves’ footprints. This has closed the gap in attainment between boys and girls as activities capture boys’ imagination. Many in Year 6 craft their writing skilfully using paragraphs, dialogue and vivid vocabulary.  Mathematics has improved as leaders spotted the need to strengthen pupils’ calculations skills. Daily practice has given the pupils confidence to apply their skills and several in Year 6 are now confident mathematicians.  The most able pupils make good progress over time in school. This can be seen especially in Years 5 and 6 where there is an increase in the number of pupils reaching higher levels. However, this increase is not

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The achievement of pupils is good

always evident because, sometimes, these pupils are not sufficiently challenged to make the best progress.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is too small in different years for an analysis of the test results at the end of Year 6 to be reliable. However, the overall progress of these pupils is good.  Pupils with special educational needs and the few learning English as an additional language are supported very well and make good progress. At times the individual help given is exceptional, ensuring not only these pupils’ good progress but also their involvement in topics similar to those of their classmates, so they feel a full part of what is happening in school. Overall progress is good, with examples of excellence in extending social and language skills.  Pupils succeed in a wide range of subjects. The display of art is exceptional and they show skills in different techniques, including creating paintings in the style of Monet. Pupils especially enjoy physical

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The achievement of pupils is good

education, benefiting from the sessions led by professional coaches. Year 6 pupils use laptops skilfully for PowerPoint presentations and upload photographs and videos to support their work.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children start the nursery with skills and knowledge that are generally below what is typical for their age. The overall effectiveness of the early years is not as high as the rest of the school because although more children are now making the progress expected of them, few do better than this. As a result, not all children are fully prepared to start in Year 1.  Although teaching has many strengths, it requires improvement as it is not currently enabling children to make good progress. There are several strengths in teaching, showing a good understanding of how the children learn. However, assessment procedures are insecure, leading to tasks not always challenging children, especially the most able. Occasionally, when taught as a whole group, all are working at the same task, which is too easy for the most able. The tasks are repeated in a variety of ways that interest children but they do not always extend the learning of the different abilities in the group.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 On the other hand, children enjoy learning. The needs of the less able and those with special educational needs are more fully met. In a small group, activities were practical and many giggles occurred when a pair of underpants was pulled out of the bag to consolidate learning of initial sounds. In the nursery, children enjoyed selecting from a wide range of imaginative activities. Staff led activities well to teach early writing skills and threading beads extended counting skills.  Children are happy in the early years and kept safe. Children in the nursery were drawing pictures of fireworks to emphasise the message of keeping safe on Bonfire night.  Management is not fully effective in implementing current changes, especially in assessment procedures. As a result, there is uncertainty about overall progress and attainment. The early years are identified as a priority by the school but strategies to tackle concerns are unclear. Nevertheless, the advice of the local

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The early years provision requires improvement

authority has been sought and visits to check on assessment have been organised.

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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 106334 Local authority Trafford Inspection number 448317

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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 210 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair N Midgley Headteacher Alison Bowden Date of previous school inspection 13 July 2010 Telephone number 0161 748 1867 Fax number 0161 747 6185 Email address kingsway.admin@trafford.gov.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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