Parkside Primary School

Parkside Primary School Western Road, Goole DN14 6RQ

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good Outcomes for pupils Good Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 This school is rapidly improving. The recently appointed headteacher has provided strong leadership to bring about swift improvement to teaching and the rates of pupils’ progress.  Teaching is now good. Staff have responded well to leaders’ higher expectations and sharply focused training programmes. Their improved subject knowledge is helping them to plan teaching that is moving learning forward securely.  All groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or with special educational needs, are achieving well.  Assessment across almost all year groups is accurate and is helping teachers to plan the next steps in learning. Pupils respond very well to the constructive verbal and written feedback they receive and this helps them improve their work.  The curriculum is lively, varied and exciting. Pupils’ interests are sparked through a range of interesting activities that draw upon their developing key skills. As a result, pupils enjoy

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This is a good school

lessons and are keen to learn more.  The school ethos of care, tolerance and respect makes a strong contribution to pupils’ learning attitudes and personal development. Pupils feel safe, trust the adults around them and work well with each other. Behaviour around school is good.  Pupils who are new to English are extremely well supported both socially and academically. Parents are very appreciative of the work of the inclusion manager and her team.  Governors are now providing good support and challenge to senior leaders in addressing issues. They are increasingly knowledgeable and have fully put into place recommendations from the previous Ofsted monitoring report.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 When children in the early years and in key stage 1 are working on their own, the activities are sometimes not purposeful enough to maximise learning.  Assessment information in the early years is not analysed sufficiently well to show how well different groups of pupils are achieving over time.  While progress in writing is beginning to improve, standards are lower in writing than in reading and mathematics.  Not all middle and subject leaders are fully effective.  Leaders do not check closely on how well French is taught.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of the early years by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 ensuring that children working on their own have greater clarity about what is expected of them  planning more opportunities for children to share tasks together harmoniously  analysing and evaluating the assessment information that is gathered to identify how well different groups of children are progressing and achieving in their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop the roles of middle and subject leaders to ensure that the best practice seen in school becomes consistent.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to improve outcomes in writing by building on the best practice seen in school so that standards in writing are as good as those in reading and mathematics.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Senior leaders and governors are ambitious for all pupils in the school and have raised aspirations for pupils and set high expectations of staff. By checking closely on performance against tightly focused improvement targets leaders have driven improvement quickly and successfully. This has resulted in improved outcomes and experiences for pupils.  The headteacher, appointed in September 2015, has provided a clear sense of urgency and coherence to the development of the school. She has quickly tackled weaknesses in teaching through a well-judged balance of support and challenge. At the same time, she has strengthened leadership roles to ensure consistent strategies and approaches. Consequently leaders and staff are moving in the same upward direction.  There are frequent checks on the quality of teaching and learning. These include visits to lessons, meetings with individual teachers about their lesson plans, scrutiny of work in books and discussion with pupils about

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

their learning. Teachers feel well supported because their training needs are met and they are clear about what is expected of them.  There are now secure systems for middle and subject leaders to monitor outcomes for pupils, check on assessments and to draw up further actions that feed into the school improvement programme. The work of some of these leaders, however, is not yet fully developed. For example, there is insufficient monitoring of French teaching.  The additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils has been used well to provide additional teaching opportunities (including before- and after-school sessions) as well as to enhance the wider educational experiences of this group. Teaching assistants have received extra training to help them provide more focused support through individual and group interventions. As a result, there is less difference now in the progress rates of disadvantaged pupils compared to other pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Funding for physical education (PE) and sport is also used effectively to support training of staff as well as opportunities for pupils to take part in clubs and competitions. Sports coaches work alongside staff, planning and reviewing teaching and additional club activities so that over time staff have become more confident and competent in the subject. The school reports a rise in take-up within school sports clubs and also from local sports groups.  The curriculum is engaging for pupils and contributes well to their learning. Visits, visitors and special events are woven into the tapestry of experiences to add excitement and colour to pupils’ experiences. For example, they were inspired by sharing a podcast from the astronaut Tim Peake and were also able to take their imagination further through an ‘urban spaceman’ dance and writing project.  Pupils are able to talk about the school’s new golden rules and how these help them to learn and mix well

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

with others. Opportunities to include fundamental British values are explored so that pupils have been able to vote on the choice of a school song and motto, learn about other faiths and cultures at first hand from visitors and discuss challenging moral issues in their Philosophy for Children sessions. Through these activities and the learning programmes for religious education and personal and social education, they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The school has embedded good systems to promote a culture of safety. Senior leaders and the inclusion manager organise training and reviews in a thorough manner to ensure that staff are kept up to date and are clear about what to do if they believe a pupil may be at risk. Concerns are addressed promptly, records are well managed and positive links with external agencies mean that families receive support in a timely manner.  There is an overwhelmingly positive view from parents and staff about improvements to the quality of the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

provision and the impact of the new headteacher. Parents spoke highly about the care provided by staff, particularly for pupils who have additional health or emotional needs. They also commented very positively about the much improved written communication through staff and parent newsletters now in place.  The headteacher has welcomed advice from the local authority around shaping improvement plans, in supporting newly qualified teachers and in extending the expertise of the governing body. The school has also benefited from advice from external consultants and through links with a national body that promotes excellence in the teaching of mathematics.  The governance of the school The well-informed new chair of governors has introduced a new system of working that focuses review on the priorities in the school improvement plans. A working party is meeting every three weeks and the minutes of these meetings indicate strong challenge and follow-up checks. For example, one

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

governor visited the school and carried out an extensive series of interviews with staff to ascertain that actions relating to the support for disadvantaged pupils were well understood by staff. Governors have adopted a non-negotiable approach to their own training needs. Every governor is expected to complete core training with a mentor governor and carry out visits to school linked to a specified aspect of school life. Governors have a secure understanding of the need to promote British values. To this end the chair of governors visited the school recently to probe the extent of pupils’ understanding and was able to verify that pupils could explain the importance of democracy, rules and respect for others from different backgrounds. The chair of governors has rightly identified a need for a more formal, systematic approach involving leaders and governors to monitor any maintenance issues relating to the school site.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Observations of lessons and a scrutiny of pupils’ work in books show that teaching has improved considerably and is now good in the great majority of classes. Lessons are interesting and hook in pupils’ interest quickly. This means that time is used well and pupils want to learn.  Almost all teachers plan learning tasks so that there are more opportunities for all pupils to go deeper in their learning. This approach also serves the most-able pupils well and was most evident in Year 2 and Year 6 mathematics lessons, where questions about fractions became increasingly more probing as pupils worked their way through the task. Pupils are motivated and respond to the challenges, saying ‘It’s better because we are all on gold learning now.’  The most-able pupils say that work is challenging but neither too hard nor too easy. They like to get on to more complex problems in mathematics where they have to explain their working or they enjoy crafting a

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

paragraph instead of simple sentences.  Teachers use a range of questioning well and assess pupils’ learning accurately to identify any gaps in understanding so that they and the teaching assistants can plan next steps in teaching more effectively. Tracking of assessment information shows that pupils who were falling behind are now catching up rapidly.  Pupils respond well in time set aside to verbal or written comments about their work which, in line with the new school policy, identify errors or challenge them to tackle a more difficult question. In Year 6, where feedback is exceptionally effective, a system of journals in mathematics is taking this further by requiring pupils to devise their own ‘top tips’ for solving problems or calculations. The pupils say that this is helping them to remember how to approach tasks.  In a minority of classes in key stage 1 some of the activities that pupils do on their own are not sufficiently

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

sharp to make the most of the learning opportunities. This is because either the pupils are not clear about what they need to do, the work is not pitched at the right level for them or the resources are not well matched to the tasks..  Teachers expect pupils to work to the same high standards in all subjects and teachers provide the same degree of feedback for written work as they do for work completed in English and mathematics lessons. There are plentiful opportunities for pupils to use writing for different purposes across the curriculum. In a few classes, however, pupils do not set out work as required by the school’s explicit guidelines on presentation.  Reading is promoted well through opportunities within the curriculum and also through consistently good teaching of letters and the sounds that they make (phonics) in the early years and in key stage 1. Teaching assistants have received training to improve their subject knowledge in key skill areas and this has helped

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

them to support pupils more effectively.  Teachers set a range of homework that covers different subject areas but has an emphasis on developing language and communication. Leaders have also provided additional guidance on homework for parents through meetings and courses for parents, and information within newsletters and on the school website.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are proud of their school and say that things have improved a lot following the appointment of the new headteacher. They appreciate the efforts made by staff to keep them safe and recent efforts to improve their learning environment and play facilities.  They feel there is virtually no bullying but that staff deal well with any falling out issues quickly. They also understand the nature of bullying and can explain why racist and homophobic abuse is wrong. Older pupils enjoy the responsibility of looking after younger pupils at breaktimes.  Pupils have a good understanding of safety and remember the lessons and assemblies they have had about e-safety when using the computer at home or at school. They are aware of what elements contribute to a healthy lifestyle, such as diet and the need to exercise regularly.

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Personal development and welfare

 Attendance has improved over time and, at the time of inspection, was just above the national picture for the current school year. There are well-established routines and actions in place to follow up absences. Considerable effort has been made to help pupils new to the school from Eastern Europe to settle in and to clarify attendance expectations to their parents.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils conduct themselves well around the school and show respect to each other and to all adults. They say that the new Golden Rules and new behaviour systems are helping them to behave well and that they feel behaviour is managed fairly. The school has a calm atmosphere and there is rarely any disruption to lessons.  Pupils have a secure understanding of British values and how these are reflected in school life. They talked about their voting systems for school decisions such as the new school motto ‘Dream, Believe, Achieve’, and were keen to explain how leaders took on board the School Council views. The real sense of teamwork was summed up by one pupil who said ‘We all get involved; nobody is left out.’  Pupils show pride in their work and say that teachers make the lessons fun. They demonstrate good work habits and are able to listen well to each other. This was very noticeable in the positive attitudes voiced by

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Behaviour

older pupils in a philosophy lesson.  Very occasionally some younger pupils lose concentration when activities go on for too long or lack focus, but this does not happen often.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Better teaching and learning have resulted in improved outcomes for almost all pupils. They make good progress from their starting points across the school in reading and mathematics. In writing, progress is starting to accelerate and pupils are now gaining ground. These improvements are because teachers are using assessment well to pinpoint next learning steps and areas of misunderstanding that are then addressed.  Increasing proportions of pupils are making better progress than is typical of their age in most groups and in all subjects, especially in reading and mathematics. The difference in progress between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils is narrowing and the work of the most-able pupils is improving rapidly. Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are also making good progress.  Accurate assessments against the new standards of the curriculum show that while progress is moving

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Outcomes for pupils are good

pupils on well in reading and mathematics, it is slower in writing where less pupils are reaching and exceeding the standards expected of their age.  Pupils enter school with skills that are generally below those seen typically. Standards by the end of key stage 1 in the last year showed a decline on the good outcomes in 2014 but current assessments and work viewed indicate that this year pupils will be closer to the standards expected nationally in reading and mathematics. However, leaders accept that there is more work to do in writing as a result of weaker provision historically.  The teaching of phonics is now consistently good and is helping pupils to acquire early reading skills at a faster pace. The majority of pupils, both boys and girls, are on course to meet the phonics check in Year 1 and those who do not are supported well to achieve this by the end of Year 2. Staff provide good support

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Outcomes for pupils are good

to recent arrivals from Eastern Europe to help them develop their reading and language skills.  Pupils in both key stage 1 and key stage 2 are keen to talk about their favourite books and authors. One pupil explained that work on ancient Greece had inspired him to choose a mythical story book while another had selected Alice in Wonderland after reading an extract from it in a guided reading lesson. The attractive library offers a very good selection of good-quality reading material and an enthusiastic teaching assistant acting as librarian helps to promote reading enjoyment across the school.  Results from the latest statutory assessments at the end of key stage 2 show that pupils have reached expected levels in reading and mathematics over the last two years, though writing was well below national expectations in 2015. Current assessments and work in books indicate that while reading and mathematics standards remain broadly in line with national levels, writing is weaker, though there is clear

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Outcomes for pupils are good

improvement from September. Subject and senior leaders are aware that more pupils need to reach higher standards in writing to match the national picture.  There has been a strong focus on key skills in reading, writing and mathematics but this has not been detrimental to work in other subjects. Teachers have made sure that pupils are using and applying those skills, especially writing, to produce good-quality work in their history, geography and science. This is an improvement since the previous inspection.

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Early years provision requires improvement

 Most children enter the early years with skills, language and knowledge below those seen typically but settle well into established routines and are happy to come to school. Staff know and care for the children well, sensitively managing the additional emotional needs of a small minority of children. By the time they leave the early years the great majority of children are well prepared for the transition into key stage 1.  The proportion of children who reach a good level of development is increasing over time and the current group of children are on course to continue this trend. The vast majority whose starting points are in line with or below what is expected at this age make expected progress, and there are no differences in the progress of children who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs compared with the progress of other children.  The proportion of children making accelerated progress by the end of the early years is not yet clear from

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Early years provision requires improvement

school information but from observations of children in lessons it appears to be lower than the case nationally.  Teaching in the early years is generally good but there is some variability in the quality of activities that children tackle when working on their own. These are mostly engaging, with plentiful resources on hand, but sometimes there is a lack of purpose. In these instances, adults do not always take opportunities to extend learning through modelling activities, extending vocabulary or by encouraging children to work together and talk about their ideas.  Staff assess children’s learning accurately and in a clear and concise way that helps them to plan next steps and interventions. The assessment system linked to learning logs of children’s achievements is a fairly recent introduction.  The teaching of phonics is done in an engaging and structured way that helps children to use their reading

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Early years provision requires improvement

and writing skills in different activities. The children enjoy making the initial sounds of the toys’ names or playing phonics hopscotch outdoors. Writing activities offer challenge and contribute to most areas of learning.  Welfare requirements are met and staff are safety conscious, especially in regard to individual children who on occasion display high levels of emotional need. Children are encouraged to work and play safely, although a small minority of children were observed on more than one occasion mistreating toys.  Children generally behave well, mix positively with each other and like to join in the wider life of the school, as in the singing assembly when they sang with gusto and walked calmly and responsibly into the school hall. Where learning activities are well focused, children engage well but where learning is less purposeful then behaviour is less good.  The early years leader has promoted collaborative working arrangements well between staff and this has

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Early years provision requires improvement

helped to secure a cohesive approach to the new assessment system.  Staff build positive links with parents from the outset, ensuring through meetings and home visits that they receive relevant information about the work of the school and how to support their children’s learning. At present parents do not contribute to achievement notes about their children in the learning logs.

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School details

Unique reference number 117935 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 10012051 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 533 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Margaret Price Headteacher Miss Sam O’Brien Telephone number 01405 763 634 Website www.parkside.eriding.net Email address parkside.primary@eastriding.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 2–3 July 2014

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage but there is an increasing minority of pupils from Eastern European heritages  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is lower than nationally.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is lower than average (the pupil premium is additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, and those looked after by the local authority).  The number of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disability is slightly lower than is typical.  The number of pupils with statements of special educational needs, or education, health and care plans is below the national average.  The school meets the current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics.  Children in the early years attend part-time in Nursery and full-time in Reception.

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Information about this school

 The population of the school is relatively stable in comparison to the national picture.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed a total of 29 lessons or part lessons across all classes. Four lesson observations were shared with senior leaders.  Inspectors listened to readers from all key stage 1 and 2 year groups.  Work in English, mathematics and foundation subjects was sampled jointly with the English and mathematics subject leaders  Meetings were conducted with senior leaders, subject leaders, governors, and three groups of pupils. In addition a meeting was held with a representative of the local authority.  Information from the scrutiny of a range of school documentation was analysed. This included published data about pupils’ progress and attainment and previous inspection and monitoring reports.  Inspectors also viewed school improvement plans, the school’s own evaluative judgements about its effectiveness, the school’s information about the performance of current pupils, curriculum outlines,

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Information about this inspection

school monitoring information including records of staff training and appraisal, governing body minutes and safeguarding documentation.  The views of parents were taken into account through informal discussions and by analysing responses from the 54 parents who completed Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.  The views of pupils were taken into account through three planned meetings.  The views of staff were taken into account by analysing responses from the 70 staff who completed the inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

James Reid, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Jonathan Brown Her Majesty’s Inspector Karen Slack Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspection team

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

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