Park View Primary School

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement

p.1

3

Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3

p.1

This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Achievement is not good enough. Over time, pupils, including the most able, have not made enough progress in writing and mathematics.  Pupils in receipt of pupil premium funding, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs have not achieved well enough in recent years. Only recently have they begun to close the gap in attainment and achievement with other pupils.  Teaching has not been good enough to ensure that pupils make enough progress. Teaching does not always ensure that the most-able pupils achieve well enough. Although teaching is improving it is still inconsistent in its impact on learning.  Teachers do not have enough opportunities to observe the best practice either from within the school or from elsewhere to ensure that all pupils learn well. As a result, teaching standards remain inconsistent.  Leadership and management require improvement. Middle leaders with responsibilities for subjects,

p.1

This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

year groups or particular groups of pupils do not have enough opportunities to check the quality of teaching and learning rigorously and bring about more progress.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 The school is improving rapidly through the impact of the new senior leadership team which has initiated several improvements. The gaps in progress between different groups of pupils are narrowing. There is good progress in reading.  Governors are knowledgeable and challenging in holding the school to account and in driving through improvements. Senior leaders now check learning systematically and use the information well to identify and provide for those pupils needing additional support.  Pupils behave well. They feel very safe in school and believe that the school cares for and supports them effectively. Parents also appreciate what the school provides for their children. The hearing impaired unit provides good support for a small number of pupils.  Learning support assistants have had effective training in how to give support to disadvantaged pupils and others needing additional help. Consequently, many of these pupils are now

p.1

The school has the following strengths

making progress at a greater rate than that usually expected.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 11 lessons, taught by 10 teachers. Inspectors carried out eight of the observations jointly with members of the senior leadership team.  The inspectors held meetings with staff, pupils, five members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspection team took into account 12 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents. They also took account of 14 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including the school’s plans for improvement, its own evaluation of its work, minutes of governing body meetings and school assessment data about pupils’ current performance. Inspectors also looked at examples of pupils’ work. Inspectors checked the school’s policies and procedures to ensure the safeguarding of pupils.

p.2

Inspection team

John Laver, Lead inspector Additional Inspector KT Khan Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The great majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs at 27% is well above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by pupil premium funding is well above average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after.  The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum government expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school has a hearing impaired unit with a capacity to meet the needs of four pupils of junior school age.  The current headteacher has been in post for just over a term. There has been a restructuring of the senior leadership team during the past year, and there have also been several changes in the teaching

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is consistently good, by:  making sure that teachers have sufficiently high expectations of what pupils, particularly the most-able, can achieve in mathematics and writing  ensuring that the best teaching and learning practice in the school is spread consistently across all teaching staff.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by:  making sure that subject leaders, key phase leaders and others with middle leadership responsibilities play a more effective role in checking the quality of teaching and learning so that all pupils make good progress in the areas for which they are responsible  creating more opportunities for staff to observe good practice from within the school and from elsewhere so that they can apply it in their own practice.

p.3

The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement, because over time the leadership has not ensured that pupils achieve well enough. It has not made sure that teaching is good enough to enable all groups of pupils to make enough progress, especially in writing and mathematics.  Some middle leaders are relatively new to their role. Although they are keen to improve the school, they do not yet check the quality of teaching and learning systematically enough to enable all pupils to make good progress.  Some of the new senior leadership’s initiatives to improve progress and the quality of teaching have not yet been embedded to have enough impact on all classes or groups of pupils.  The school has some relatively informal links with other schools in the area, but these are not developed enough to have had a major impact either on staff expertise or in providing additional benefits for pupils.  The local authority has provided considerable support for the school in the past and continues to do so in

p.4

The leadership and management require improvement

areas such as teaching expertise and leadership. This support has enabled the school to improve its performance since the previous inspection.  The new senior leadership team has made staff much more accountable for progress. There is now a clear link between teachers’ pay, their responsibilities and what is expected from them in terms of progress. Their performance is managed effectively. During the past year there have been several changes in staffing. Staff welcome the increased accountability. Along with governors, they are committed to the drive for sustained improvement. This has ensured that teaching standards and the pupils’ achievement have begun to rise more rapidly.  The leadership has used additional funding well to provide extra resources including more adult support, to promote the learning of disadvantaged pupils. This has begun to significantly reduce the gaps in progress between these pupils and others in the school.

p.4

The leadership and management require improvement

 The leadership has also ensured that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs now make considerably better progress, mainly by improving the quality of support which the school provides. This also includes provision in the hearing impaired unit.  The leadership has also used sports funding effectively. The school buys in expertise, for example to teach dance. There are more opportunities for swimming. There have been improved rates of participation in sports clubs and some success in competitive sport.  Pupils enjoy the school curriculum, especially the topics such as the one based on the recent poppy exhibition at the Tower of London. This has a positive impact on their learning.  The school ensures good spiritual, moral, social and cultural provision. An inspector saw pupils learning about ‘Rights, Responsibilities and Respect’ in an assembly. Pupils’ work shows that they reflect deeply on

p.4

The leadership and management require improvement

events such as the commemoration of the First World War, writing with great empathy about the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. Pupils learn about the values in British life which encourage concepts such as tolerance and how to take on the responsibility for others. This prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education and to take their place in modern British society. This desire to be of service to others is already evident in the work of the school council, although pupils are keen to have even more responsibilities.  The school provides very good care and support for pupils from all backgrounds, and also works hard to bring parents into school, for example when holding celebration assemblies. The school also makes sure that all pupils have the opportunity to take part in out-of-class activities. This, along with the good quality of care, means that the school is successful in its commitment to equal opportunities and combating

p.4

The leadership and management require improvement

discrimination.  The school meets all current safeguarding requirements. Policies and appropriate procedures are in place, which are followed appropriately by adults and pupils.  The senior leadership evaluates the school’s performance very accurately and is well aware of the strengths and areas of remaining weakness in the school. Its plans for improvement are very soundly based around improving teaching and the pupils’ achievement. This, along with the determination to raise standards and the recent success in strengthening achievement, shows that the school has the capacity to continue improving. Parents recognise what the new leadership team has already achieved for the school.  The governance of the school:  Governance has improved since the previous inspection. Governors not only effectively support the leadership but now challenge it to explain school policies and justify how the school deploys both staff

p.4

The leadership and management require improvement

and other resources. Governors understand the inconsistencies that still exist in teaching and what needs to be done to improve teaching further. They understand national and school data on pupils’ performance and they are very aware of how pupils in the school achieve in relation to pupils elsewhere. The governing body checks the impact of the spending of additional funding on pupils’ progress and participation in school life. They listen to reports from staff and know the priorities for improvement. Governors now play a more effective role in the process by which pay is linked to teachers’ performance and responsibilities. Governors take their responsibilities for safeguarding seriously: they have appropriate training. They welcome the opportunities they have had to increase their knowledge and effectiveness since the previous inspection.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They behave well around the school at lunchtimes and break times, and this is confirmed by the small number of incidents in the school’s records. Pupils enjoy their lessons, and the great majority of pupils want to learn. They work with each other very well and are keen to explain what they are doing to visitors.  Pupils like responsibility, for example when acting as monitors, and want more of it. They value the school council and what it is doing, for example, to bring about improvements in facilities.  Pupils value their targets and most take considerable pride in their work.  Pupils are also enthusiastic about out-of-school activities, especially school trips.  Although pupils like their lessons, just occasionally some do not focus as well as they could because the activities they are set are not always appropriate for them. This is why behaviour is not yet outstanding.

p.5

Behaviour

 Although attendance has improved rapidly because of determined efforts by the school to reduce absence, it is still slightly below the national average. A small number of parents do not yet appreciate the importance of their children regularly attending school, and the leadership is working hard to convince them.  Parents and staff believe that behaviour is good.

p.5

Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Both parents and pupils believe that the school is a very caring, friendly place. The school site is secure and well supervised.  Pupils understand that bullying can take various forms and could be a potential problem, but do not feel it is an issue in this school. This is confirmed by the school’s records. They firmly believe that staff will help them with any issues. Pupils get on well together.  The school makes sure that it supports potentially vulnerable pupils. There are secure attendance procedures. There is a high staff-to-pupil ratio. The hearing impaired unit provides very well for the very small number of pupils who need its support.  The school teaches pupils how to be safe, when talking to adults, when using computers and in other situations. Staff reinforce the message in assemblies, lessons and through a counselling service.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of writing and mathematics is not good because too many pupils have not achieved well over time, since the previous inspection. Not enough of the most-able pupils have attained the higher levels in these two subjects or made the progress they should have, because there has not been enough challenge in the work. The progress of other groups of pupils has also been variable.  Teachers have not taken sufficient advantage of pupils’ keenness to learn. Teachers plan lessons which clearly show pupils the main aim of the lesson, but sometimes they focus on getting through a series of activities without sufficient consideration of the quality of learning which should be expected. Consequently, the most-able pupils in particular sometimes spend time doing tasks which are too similar to each other and do not move their learning on as quickly as they should.  Occasionally, pupils of all abilities finish pieces of work and teachers are not sufficiently prepared to move

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

them on to more challenging tasks.  Some teachers have not had enough opportunities to look at the best practice either in the school or elsewhere, and then use this to ensure that pupils make good progress.  Pupils have their targets and they have a prominent place in pupils’ workbooks, but teachers do not always use them effectively to move pupils on to the next stage in their learning.  Teaching has improved since the previous inspection and continues to improve. The leadership has eradicated inadequate teaching through rigorous checking of learning and giving support to staff where necessary. The inspectors saw pupils of all abilities making good progress in some lessons, when teachers matched activities well to the needs of all pupils in the class. Learning support assistants give good support to the teacher and have benefited from good training. This has been responsible for a rapid improvement in the progress of many disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is increasingly meeting the needs of those disadvantaged pupils in receipt of additional funding. There is now better support for these pupils in lessons. Teaching in the hearing impaired unit is good.  There is effective teaching of reading, leading to most pupils making good progress in the subject.  Most teachers mark work effectively and give pupils constructive criticism of their work, so that pupils know how they should improve it. Most of the time, teachers make pupils respond to their comments, so that pupils learn from their errors. The improvement in the way that teachers use assessment data and mark work is a major reason why achievement in mathematics and writing is improving, although there are still some inconsistencies in some classes.  Parents believe that teaching is good. Inspectors found from their analysis of pupils’ work that most teachers’ expectations are rising, and the leadership’s checking of teaching also confirms that it is

p.6

The quality of teaching requires improvement

improving. Teachers, especially those relatively new to the school, welcome the opportunities they have been given to improve their confidence and expertise, for example by observing more experienced colleagues.

p.6

requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement, because since the previous inspection too many pupils have not made sufficient progress by the time they leave school. Variable rates of progress have meant that too many pupils leave Year 6 with below average levels of attainment, especially in mathematics and writing. Test results for the past few years confirm that a below average proportion of pupils have made the expected levels of progress, due mainly to inconsistencies in the teaching and the school not having targeted support early or effectively enough to raise achievement. Standards, however, are now improving rapidly due to more rigorous checks on teaching and the pupils’ progress.  For several years up to and including the 2014 national test results, pupils’ results were below average, particularly in mathematics and writing. All groups of pupils made progress at less than the expected rate.  Some of the most-able pupils still do not make the rate of progress that they should, although teachers

p.6

requires improvement

are now providing them with more challenge, so that more of these pupils are now on track to meet appropriate targets.  Many teachers now have high expectations of their pupils’ progress, but this is not yet consistent across the school..  Until this year, those disadvantaged pupils in receipt of pupil premium funding were often three terms behind other pupils in the school in their attainment and progress in mathematics and English, and at least as much behind other pupils nationally, sometimes more so. The leadership has ensured that those pupils in receipt of pupil premium funding now make better progress, some significantly so, at a faster rate than pupils nationally. The gap between other pupils in the school and nationally has narrowed significantly. These pupils now get good support both inside and outside of lessons.  Many disabled pupils and those with special educational needs have recently made rapid progress. The

p.6

requires improvement

good support from learning support assistants means that many are now making progress much faster than expected.  The majority of pupils of all levels of ability achieve well in their reading. Many read accurately and fluently, and talk willingly about their reading habits.  Inspectors looked extensively at pupils’ written work. This confirms the improvement in teaching and achievement, because the work now in most classes demonstrates higher expectations in terms of presentation and content. Pupils complete a good range of writing, not just in English lessons. They are encouraged successfully to use their writing skills throughout the curriculum and this adds positively to their progress. The pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. The most-able pupils higher up the school write with maturity and enthusiasm. For example, their study of Shakespeare has produced some good writing on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and some thoughtful poetry.

p.6

requires improvement

 The very small number of pupils benefiting from the hearing impaired unit make good progress.

p.7

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

p.8

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.

p.8

School details

Unique reference number 116237 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 453661

p.9

School details

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

p.9

School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 202 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Karol Woodgate-Dines Headteacher Gareth Hughes Date of previous school inspection 5–6 February 2013 Telephone number 01256322616 Fax number 01256814279 Email address headteacher@parkview-jun.hants.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 .

p.9

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.

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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’.

p.10

School details

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

p.10