Rokeby Park Primary School

Rokeby Park Primary School Gershwin Avenue, Anlaby Park Road North, Kingston-upon-Hull, HU4 7NJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 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 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

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

 Achievement is inconsistent across different classes. Standards were rising until 18 months ago but because of significant changes in staff this improvement has not been maintained.  The quality of teaching varies between classes. The work does not always interest the pupils and so they do not always try their best to succeed.  Spelling is poor throughout the school and pupils have not had sufficient support with learning how to spell common words.  The effectiveness of the early years provision requires improvement. Children in the Reception Year do not make good progress.  The lack of continuity in staffing has severely disrupted the work of the school. Teachers and leaders have needed to take on additional roles to cover for this lack of continuity and this has affected their ability to maintain the previously good leadership, teaching and achievement.  Leaders have not got a clear system in place so that

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

they can carefully check the progress of each pupil from their individual starting points.  Governors are not aware of the full impact of the staff changes on the teaching and achievement of the pupils.

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The school has the following strengths

 The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is good. Provision is carefully matched to individuals’ needs.  Leaders are implementing detailed plans for improvement.  Standards in reading are now rising in Key Stage 1.  The behaviour and safety of pupils have continued to be good. New staff understand the policies and leaders support them well in maintaining high expectations for behaviour throughout the school.  Teaching and achievement in the Nursery are good. Children are happy and settle in quickly as routines are established from the start. The children have a good range of well-planned and exciting activities. These ensure that they make good progress.  All staff care for the pupils very well. They encourage them to have high aspirations for their future careers.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in all classes; two lesson observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher. Groups to help pupils catch up in their learning were also observed. Inspectors closely examined pupils’ work and listened to pupils read. They also observed pupils at lunchtimes and playtimes.  Inspectors held discussions with pupils, parents, staff, a family liaison worker, governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documents including safeguarding, child protection, attendance, behaviour, pupils’ attainment, the work of the governing body, the school improvement plan, school evaluation documents and monitoring records.  There were no responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) but inspectors spoke to parents at the school during the inspection.  Eighteen staff completed questionnaires which were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Karen Foster, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Rokeby Park Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British Heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is similar to that found in most schools.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is well above the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding that the school receives to provide extra support for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, or for children in the care of the local authority. Almost half the pupils are eligible for this funding.  Pupil mobility is very high.  There have been considerable changes in the staff in the last 18 months. There have been four staff on maternity leave and some absence because of long-term sickness. The school has found recruitment to these posts challenging.  Children enter school in the early years and attend school part time in the Nursery and full time in the

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Information about this school

Reception Year.  The school has been awarded Healthy Schools’ Accreditation, the Active Mark, School Games bronze award 2014 and the Sing Up silver award.  In 2014 the school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards across the school by making sure that all teachers, including those on temporary contracts: - follow a structured approach to improving spelling across the school - have consistently high expectations of all pupils - plan work which will engage and excite the pupils and motivate them to try their best.  Improve leadership and management by:  setting up a system where leaders and governors can easily and regularly check the progress of all pupils and groups of pupils  sharing this information with governors to enable them to appropriately challenge the school  sharing the information with teachers so that they can plan suitably challenging lessons  ensuring that the school’s improvement plans include measures that relate directly to improving pupils’ achievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management are not good because leaders have no system in place to enable them to check regularly the progress pupils are making from their individual starting points. They do not always have high enough aspirations for pupils’ achievement.  School improvement planning shows that leaders understand the important areas to improve but these plans do not always include measures that relate directly to improving pupils’ achievement.  Leaders have not fully understood, until recently, that the inconsistencies in teaching in the last 18 months have slowed the progress of the pupils. They have now put into place rigorous and detailed improvement plans to address this. The improvements in reading standards seen in Key Stage 1 are evidence of the positive impact leadership is having.  The performance of individual staff is checked carefully but this has been made difficult and its impact

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The leadership and management requires improvement

lessened by the many changes in staff.  The local authority has offered support and good advice to the school to help it to improve. It carried out a full review of the school at the beginning of the year. However, the information from this report has not been fully used by leaders and governors to bring about these improvements.  The curriculum is varied and leaders have made sure that it links back to the local environment and social, moral, spiritual and cultural experiences. There is evidence of pupils using skills of writing in several subjects of the curriculum as well as English. However, sometimes opportunities are missed to make the curriculum more exciting for the pupils. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and have engaged in activities such as Monarchy Week where they found out about past Kings and Queens of England.  The headteacher and the deputy headteacher work as a team and both strongly believe that it is

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The leadership and management requires improvement

important for the pupils to have high ambitions and aspirations for the future. They spend time talking to pupils about jobs they may wish to do when they grow up. They bring in role models from the businesses and organisations in the area. During the inspection two young pupils told the lead inspector that they wanted to be musicians when they grew up. They were confident this was possible.  The leadership of special educational needs is good. Pupils have a wide range of support available to them and this is identified on an individual basis and carefully monitored for success. Staff seek the views of parents regularly.  The headteacher feels very strongly about inclusion and equality of opportunity for all. She is a representative in a group which helps excluded pupils from the authority to find new schools. The school works closely with a local specialist provision for excluded pupils and has admitted pupils from there. The

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The leadership and management requires improvement

school is effective in tackling discrimination, promoting good behaviour and fostering good relations.  Middle leaders are developing their roles but this has been slowed by the lack of consistency in staffing. Mathematics and English leaders have a good understanding of the areas of weakness in their subjects and have put plans in place to address these.  The spending of pupil premium funding is planned carefully and costs for each part of the support provided are included for individual pupils on these plans. The funding is used to provide a wide range of support from additional teaching to work on improving social skills. However, while senior leaders are aware of the impact the funding is having on an individual level they do not have the same clarity about the overall performance of disadvantaged pupils as a group.  The school is using the new primary school sport fund to develop the skills of all teachers and pupils

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The leadership and management requires improvement

through the use of specialist coaches from a local secondary school. There is a wide range of clubs now available and pupils have many opportunities to take part in competitive sport.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding are effective and meet statutory requirements.  Senior leaders ensure that health education is taught across the curriculum.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is supportive of the school but it has not fully appreciated the impact of the frequent staff changes. Governors do not have enough information about the performance of the school, including the quality of teaching and the progress of pupils. They have not used the information presented in the local authority review to challenge leaders and improve standards.  The governing body does, however, look carefully at the performance of individual staff. Governors know about the links between pay and the performance of staff. They are given information about the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

quality of teaching. Advice from a consultant is used to look at the performance of the headteacher.  Governors are fully aware of the spending of the primary school sport fund and can talk about it and its impact in detail. They have checked that the coaching is having the good impact they expected it to have. They know how the pupil premium is spent on each pupil but are unclear about its overall impact on disadvantaged pupils’ achievement.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ attitudes in lessons are mainly good. Their behaviour around school and at lunchtimes is good. Pupils are polite and say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to adults and to one another. They thanked inspectors for talking with them during the inspection.  The majority of pupils spoken to during the inspection said they enjoyed school and enjoy their learning. The pupils were less enthusiastic where they had different teachers during the year.  Staff and parents spoken to during the inspection agree that behaviour in school is consistently good. Parents feel that the school takes good care of their children, particularly those with additional needs.  Work is well presented and presentation is improving since September. Pupils work well in groups and spend time talking in pairs as part of their learning.  Visitors to school comment on pupils’ good behaviour and attitudes and are full of praise for the pupils.

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Behaviour

 The school employs a family liaison worker one day per week to support pupils and their families. She meets with pupils in school and spends time visiting their families at home. Parents feel confident enough in her that they sometimes approach her at the school gate to ask for help. She enjoys working with the school so much that she has recently agreed to increase her support to two days per week.  Pupils take pride in their appearance and look after the school well. Displays show quality work and also help pupils with their learning.  The number of exclusions is decreasing. Some exclusions are as a result of the school being willing to accept pupils who have been excluded from other schools to give these pupils a fresh start in a new environment.  Attendance is similar to that of other schools nationally. Persistent absence is lower than in other schools. This is as a result of the support the families receive from the school and clear reminders about not taking

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Behaviour

pupils out of school for holidays. Targets for whole-school attendance are on the website.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The systems in place are secure and well known by staff and pupils. Pupils say they feel safe in the school and the grounds.  Staff and pupils receive regular training on many aspects of safeguarding. Pupils are very clear about e- safety and say that they know that social media websites are only for those aged over 13. One pupil explained that in school he could tell a teacher but at home he would tell his dad if he had concerns.  A group of Key Stage 2 pupils met with an inspector. They agreed that bullying is rare and if it does happen it is dealt with promptly by the school. There are some instances of name-calling but most staff deal with it well. Pupils understand that racist or homophobic bullying is wrong.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is inconsistent across the school in mathematics, reading and writing. This has slowed pupils’ progress and in some classes, where staff has changed during the school year, achievement and progress are weaker than in other classes across the school.  The teaching of spelling is poor as pupils do not have enough knowledge of how to spell common words. Their spelling is rarely corrected and many pupils continue to make the same spelling errors. This has been identified by school leaders as an area to improve.  Teachers do not always understand what pupils can do or what they need to do in order to improve at a faster rate. This is because the system for measuring progress across the school is not fully in place.  Teaching assistants help to keep the pupils on task and some lead groups very well. The school has identified that sometimes the teachers direct assistants to tasks rather than specific areas of learning. In

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

one class, for example, the assistant was highly organised with art equipment and gave good advice about cleaning brushes between colours but no advice about how to improve the paintings.  Teachers give good support to disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Teaching assistants support these pupils well.  The teachers work well as a team and support one another. During the inspection one teacher came in as a ‘keeping-in-touch day’ to teach a class where the regular teacher was poorly. Although the class was not hers, she knew the pupils and they were all fully engaged in learning.  The impact of teaching on pupils’ learning in some classes is good. These teachers have high expectations and set work which challenges the pupils to think. They give good feedback to pupils about how they can improve even further. In these classes pupils enjoy learning and make good progress. The teachers

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

skilfully question the pupils to make them think more carefully about their ideas. However, this is not the case in all classes.  Teachers understand the importance of getting pupils to talk about their work and their ideas. A good example was in a Year 2 class where pupils were planning a story. One pupil explained that his story was about a wizard and a dragon who both drank some beer. It made the wizard naughty but the dragon good as it put the flames out. From his brief plan he knew exactly what his story would be about. He was keen to write it. Pupils in Year 4 were on the radio during the week of the inspection doing morning talk as part of a school project encouraging pupils to talk to a range of different audiences.  Staff are keen to encourage pupils to read and this is beginning to improve pupils’ achievement. Older pupils sometimes read to children in the early years. A book fair had just finished when the inspection

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

began. Most pupils read regularly now. Records show that younger pupils read often to parents and adults in school. Pupils in Year 1 told inspectors that they enjoy reading.  The quality of written work in pupils’ books is inconsistent. It is better in classes where the pupils have had the same teacher throughout the school year. Pupils cover a range of topics and in their topic books written work relates back to their local area. Pupils in Key Stage 1 brought their work to show an inspector and talked happily about what they had been finding out. They decided that science was their favourite subject because they could find out how things worked.  The teaching of mathematics is improving steadily. The new leader knows the subject well and is making sure that teachers understand how to plan for effective lessons. A programme has been introduced to ensure that any gaps in prior knowledge are identified and filled.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching and planning for the most able are improving. In Year 6 the pupils know what they need to do to improve their work in English and mathematics. They know that the teacher has high expectations and they want to do well for her and for themselves.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most children start in the Nursery with knowledge and skills which are below those typical for their age. By the time they leave the Nursery and start in the Reception class they have skills and knowledge which are broadly typical for their age although they are lower in communication and language.  Across the school pupils of all abilities currently make inconsistent progress in reading, writing and mathematics in different classes in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  Attainment had been improving but because of the many staff changes this has not been maintained in the last 18 months.  Leaders do not check the progress of disadvantaged pupils as a group although their progress is tracked individually each year. As a result they have an incomplete picture of these pupils’ achievement over time and when compared to pupils nationally. In Year 6 in 2014 almost all the pupils were eligible for this funding. The year group contained only small number of pupils and therefore it is difficult to make

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

comparisons with non-disadvantaged pupils in the school and nationally without identifying individuals.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve well. This is because their support is well planned and adults know the pupils very well. One pupil proudly told an inspector how well he had done in mathematics and knew exactly which level he was on.  Standards in the national check on phonics (the sounds that letters make) for pupils in Year 1 were well below most schools nationally, with less than half reaching the expected level in 2014. This year the school predicts that the standard reached by pupils will be much nearer to national levels. Evidence gathered during the inspection, including listening to pupils read, work in pupils’ books and observation of phonics work across the curriculum, supports this view.  Attainment in Key Stage 1 is broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils make expected

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

progress across Key Stage 2 and by the end of Year 6 their attainment is still broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment in grammar, punctuation and spelling is much lower than that in most schools nationally. This is confirmed by lesson observations and work in books.  Progress for pupils across the school is difficult to determine as the school does not track progress across key stages. Work in books shows that, with the permanent staff, progress has been good since September. In other classes it is inconsistent.  The most able pupils make the same inconsistent progress as other pupils across the school. Provision for these is improving, particularly in classes where the teacher has not changed. Predictions for pupils in Year 6 show that the most able are on track to achieve in line with other schools nationally this year in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 The early years requires improvement because, although children do well from their individual starting points in the Nursery, this good progress does not continue through the Reception Year. In the Reception class the teaching has not been as strong as it was at the previous inspection. Children make only the progress expected of them and do not achieve better than this.  When children enter the Nursery they have knowledge and skills which are below those typical for their age, particularly in communication and language.  Adults check what children can do when they start school and continue to check throughout the year. They record what children achieve and collect these notes along with photographs and samples of work for each child in folders. In the Nursery these arrangements provide a good record of what children can do. In the Reception class these arrangements are not as thorough.  Relationships are good, particularly in the Nursery. Children are keen to show adults what they have

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The early years provision requires improvement

achieved. Children in the Reception class introduced themselves, by name, to the inspector. One boy proudly showed his bag that he had made from paper. He had decorated this with pictures of his family and wanted to tell the inspector about each picture.  Children understand what is fair and know how they are expected to behave to one another. The children have a ‘pom pom’ bucket each and if someone is polite or caring, other children and adults may put a pom pom in their bucket. The children enjoy collecting these.  Children who are able to quickly understand the sounds that letters make have some lessons with older pupils in Year 1 so that they do not have to spend time waiting for other children to catch up.  Because children have made good progress in Nursery, by the time they leave the early years they are ready to enter Key Stage 1 and begin the next stage of their education. The Nursery environment is bright

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The early years provision requires improvement

and lively and there are interesting activities available. This makes sure that children quickly engage in purposeful learning.  In the Nursery, staff act out everyday experiences and use every opportunity to extend the learning of the children. During the inspection an adult was in the ‘flower shop’ showing children the process of buying flowers but also taking the opportunity to talk about colours, shapes and money.  Children really enjoy physical activities and there is a range of equipment provided for them in the outdoor area. Staff from the Nursery encourage children to use the equipment and talk to them about how to be safe using it.  Children are safe and well cared for, particularly in the Nursery. Adults across the early years regularly check that the learning environment is kept safe.  Leadership of the early years requires improvement. The school leaders are aware of this and have moved

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The early years provision requires improvement

staff into different roles to improve the leadership.

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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 117813 Local authority Kingston upon Hull City of Inspection number 456117

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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 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lorna Jarvis Headteacher Karen Jackson Date of previous school inspection 8 March 2012 Telephone number 01482 508915 Fax number 01482 562494 Email address admin@rokeby.hull.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

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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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