Preston Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs Terri Coates Preston Primary School Station Road Preston Hull HU12 8UY

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Short inspection of Preston Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 9 March 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since your last inspection which judged the school to be good in October 2010. An interim assessment in 2014 judged that your performance as a good school had been sustained.

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Short inspection of Preston Primary School

The leadership team has sustained and improved the good quality of education in the school. The dedication and enthusiasm of you and your staff to improve the school is evident. You all work highly effectively together to bring about improvement. Although you are new to the school since the last inspection, the vast majority of staff have worked at the school for a number of years. You have empowered your assistant headteacher and your middle leaders so they play a major part in implementing strategies to bring about improvement. The governing body fully support the work of senior and middle leaders. Your relationship with parents is good. You recognise the important part they play in their child’s development and they are fully supportive of the work you and your team do. Areas for improvement identified at the last inspection have been very effectively addressed.

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Short inspection of Preston Primary School

Pupils say they are very happy at your school. They enjoy coming to school, as is demonstrated by the high levels of attendance. Pupils comment on how everyone at the school, including adults, are very friendly and everyone likes to help each other. The high expectations of behaviour are evident when pupils give examples of what they consider to be bad behaviour, which are very minor and infrequent incidents. Pupils and support staff comment that pupils respond positively to direction from all adults, regardless of their role. You welcome pupils with a wide range of needs in your school and this has helped pupils to appreciate and welcome diversity. Safeguarding is effective.

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Short inspection of Preston Primary School

A culture for protecting children is evident in the way safeguarding takes priority in the school. Pupils say they feel safe and good relationships with adults mean they can speak to an adult if they are worried. Everybody in the school is involved in checking that the school is a safe place. Governors complete an annual safeguarding audit which is supplemented by regular checks which confirm that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records of these checks are detailed and of a high quality. Pupils take part in health and safety checks alongside teaching staff and governors. Even the youngest pupils in Reception have written up their risk assessment, and rules to follow, when using the woodwork bench. Older pupils take tests to ensure they know how to safely take part in activities such as design and technology, gardening and learning in the outdoor environment.

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Inspection findings

 Evidence from the inspection confirms the school’s evaluation that it is still a good school and has some areas of significant strength. Nationally published and your own information on pupils’ progress and attainment shows an overall trend of improvement at all key stages. You and your senior and middle leaders track pupils’ achievements rigorously to identify individual pupils or groups of pupils who may need support to help them reach the targets you set for them. In 2015, by the end of Year 6, a greater proportion of pupils reached the higher levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics than pupils of the same age nationally. This is an improvement on levels reached in previous years. All pupils at the end of Year 6 made the progress that was expected of them in reading, writing and mathematics by July 2015. However, you and your team recognise that the proportion of pupils making more than expected progress could be

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Inspection findings

 Children now enter the early years with levels of skill and knowledge that are generally typical for their age. The school has worked collaboratively with local early years settings to help children be better prepared for starting school. Both the school and early years settings confirm that this has led to higher levels of skill and knowledge when children enter the school. By the time they move into Year 1, the majority of children reach a level of development which is above that of other children nationally of the same age. The use of the outdoor learning area to promote better learning opportunities was an area for improvement identified at the last inspection. This has been extremely well addressed for pupils of all ages. Children now spend much of their time outside in an exciting and stimulating environment that promotes meaningful learning. For example, a large number square and a mud kitchen promote learning in problem solving and

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Inspection findings

science. Inside, children engage in imaginative play while visiting the ‘vets’, where their interest has been piqued by a visit from a local vet, and caring for the rabbits in school.  The proportion of pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding is increasing in the school. In some Key Stage 2 classes, up to 27% of pupils are eligible for this funding, which is in line with the national average. Many of these pupils join the school during this key stage. You and your leaders monitor the achievement of these pupils assiduously. You consider if they have any barriers to learning, what those barriers are, and provide support and extra guidance as required. Audio libraries are available, and homework clubs and small learning groups – which focus on improving skills in literacy and numeracy. The support given to these pupils is regularly monitored to check whether they are effective or not and adapted accordingly. You and your leaders have ensured that the majority of

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Inspection findings

pupils in Key Stage 2 are now making the progress that is expected of them. However, you recognise that there is still room for improvement to ensure these pupils can reach higher standards and make more than expected progress, so that their achievements are in line with their peers and other pupils nationally.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils have numerous opportunities to use their initiative and develop leadership skills. This was an area for improvement identified at the last inspection. A democratically elected school council takes charge of initiatives as they choose. More recently, the school council has raised funds by organising a treasure hunt so that they had the money they needed to purchase outside ‘playground’ clocks. Pupils in Year 6 run their own cookery club which they independently plan and lead. Relationships in the school are admirable and all staff model good relationships and manners. A number of schemes such as playground buddies, paired reading and peer mentoring help cement these relationships across all year groups.

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Inspection findings

 Governors take a very active part in the life of the school. They have a range of skills which they use effectively to support the school. They are extremely knowledgeable about the school. They gather this knowledge through the information that you supply, as well as the regular evaluations they take part in when they visit the school. Each time a governor visits the school there is a clear focus and the outcomes and evaluations of these visits are well documented. They challenge you and your team tirelessly. You, your leadership team and the governors have welcomed the support provided by the local authority. The local authority have commissioned the help of a teaching school alliance for a one year ‘getting from good to outstanding’ programme. You and other leaders consider that this programme, although in its infancy, has positively influenced your already rapidly improving school.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they:

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Next steps for the school

 increase the proportion of pupils making more than expected progress, particularly in Key Stage 2

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Next steps for the school

 continue to narrow the gap in achievement between pupils supported by the pupil premium and other pupils in the school and nationally. I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Director of Children’s Services for the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, the assistant headteacher and governors, including the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, and a representative of the local authority. I also met with groups of pupils and spoke to pupils informally at different times of the school day. I listened to pupils reading and discussed work in their books with them. I considered the responses from Parent View (Ofsted’s online survey) and comments made by parents and staff. We discussed your current school self-evaluation and school development plans. We visited classrooms together and discussed the quality of teaching in the school. I considered documents relating to behaviour, exclusions and complaints. I also reviewed a range of documents including those on the school’s website and those relating to safeguarding and pupils’ recent progress.

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