Pheasey Park Farm Primary School

Pheasey Park Farm Primary School Wimperis Way, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands B43 7DH

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher has relentless drive and ambition. She has high expectations and has brought about secure improvements in pupils’ achievement.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. They show a good understanding of British values.  The school provides well for pupils’ social and emotional development. As a result, they are well prepared for their next stage of education and life beyond school.  Pupils feel safe, know how to keep themselves safe and act with respect for the safety of others. The large number of parents spoken to during the inspection and those who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View), also feel confident about this.  The headteacher and senior leaders check the quality of teaching, learning and assessment rigorously. As a result, teaching has improved and is now good.  The children in the early years make good progress in response to good teaching.

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This is a good school

 The governing body, the headteacher and senior leaders have a strong drive towards excellence. Outcomes have improved since the previous inspection and, as a result, there is strong capacity for further improvement.  Pupils’ personal development and welfare are good. They behave well, both in and out of the classroom. They are polite and enjoy school, which is seen in their high and improving attendance.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 While outcomes for pupils are good overall, not enough of the most able pupils make better than expected progress because they are not always challenged sufficiently and, as a result, do not always achieve their best.  During lessons, not all adults spot quickly enough when pupils are ready to move on to the next stage in their learning.  Pupils’ progress is slower in writing in Years 1 and 2 than in reading and mathematics. This is because teachers do not always expect them to use their handwriting and phonics skills in all areas of their writing.  The outdoor learning in the early years is not of such high quality as that for indoor learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve outcomes for pupils and improve the overall quality of teaching even further by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

providing a higher level of challenge for the most able pupils to enable them to achieve as much as they can in all subjects having higher expectations for Years 1 and 2 pupils in their written work, and checking more closely that pupils apply their phonics and handwriting skills in all of their written work ensuring that adults spot and take action more quickly when a pupil is ready to move on to more challenging work within a lesson improving the use of the outdoors in the early years to enhance children’s learning opportunities further.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders and governors work effectively together. They have a detailed knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Staff morale is high and all staff are ambitious for their pupils. As a result, outcomes for pupils have improved and are now good.  The headteacher has worked tirelessly and effectively to bring about a positive climate for learning for the pupils and staff. With strong support from the leadership team she is driving the continual improvement of this school. All staff have a clear view of what they want to achieve and are strongly supported by the governors. As a strong team, they have an accurate view of the school’s self-evaluation and provide a clear vision for the future.  The headteacher holds all teaching staff to account. Staff performance is managed well. It is monitored carefully and appraisal and performance targets are closely linked to those areas of school improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

that have a direct impact on outcomes for pupils. Staff training is tailored to individual needs and leads to improvement in the quality of their teaching.  Leaders at all levels are involved in writing the school’s development plans. These plans identify the school’s strengths and the main areas for improvement.  Pupils benefit from an increasingly effective and engaging curriculum, which is well planned and contributes to pupils’ enjoyment of school and to their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The breadth and variety of activities successfully help pupils to gain a good understanding of what it means to be a good citizen in today’s world. They have a good knowledge and understanding of British values and are thoroughly prepared for life in modern Britain. The curriculum, including extra- curricular activities, ensures that pupils are taught about healthy lifestyles and that their physical well-

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

being is promoted well.  The pupil premium funding to support the learning of disadvantaged pupils is used effectively throughout the school. Pupils’ work and school records show that the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils, both in school and nationally, is closing.  The school has used the primary school sports funding to good effect. Leaders have used the funding to pay for additional staff to run a wider variety of sporting clubs after school and during school time. As a result, pupils participate enthusiastically in different sports during the school day and in extra-curricular activities which help the pupils improve their fitness. These additional sports are welcomed by the pupils, as one commented during the inspection, ‘I can’t wait to get to the end of the day and go to my gymnastics class. I love it.’  The good support from the local authority has been effective. The advice and guidance given have led to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

improvements in teaching, learning and assessment.  The governance of the school The governors are an effective team and are very passionate about securing the best for pupils. They have responded very positively to the issues raised in the previous inspection and undertaken training in order to review their roles and responsibilities. As a result, they are much more effective in holding school leaders to account. Governors are more confident in asking questions about aspects of the school’s performance and in ensuring the school is providing a good education for its pupils. Governors manage the school budget well. They track carefully the information about the impact of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils and of the sports funding. Governors ensure systems for managing staff performance are all in place. They are provided with a wide range of detailed information and ensure that performance targets for all staff are closely linked

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

to outcomes for pupils.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. School leaders have ensured that all members of staff are trained in child protection procedures and in areas relating to radicalisation and extremism. This training enables staff to identify and deal with concerns quickly. The headteacher and governors have ensured that systems and procedures are robust and meet legal requirements.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching and learning has improved since the last inspection and is now typically good. As a result, pupils make good progress across the school in reading and mathematics.  In mathematics, there is a strong emphasis across all year groups on ensuring that pupils gain a secure understanding of mathematical concepts and pupils show a good understanding of place value when working with large numbers.  The teaching of reading is good. Pupils read well, widely and often. Younger pupils use their knowledge of phonics to support their reading. Year 6 pupils read accurately, with confidence and fluency and use a range of strategies to read words they did not know. Pupils use dictionaries with confidence, as seen in one lesson where pupils helped themselves to dictionaries and skilfully found the meaning of words about which they were unsure. This helped them to make sure their writing made sense.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and use it to plan lessons that pupils find interesting and enjoyable. Teachers’ questioning supports pupils’ learning well. It probes and checks understanding and makes pupils think for themselves. Technology is used effectively to develop collaboration between pupils.  Teachers mark pupils’ work in line with the school’s policy and pupils welcome their comments. They successfully encourage pupils to mark their own and each other’s work, sensitively commenting on what has been done well and what could be improved. This was seen during the inspection when one pupil stated that their partner had advised them to use more adverbs in their writing and this had helped them improve their work.  Teaching assistants work closely with the class teachers and are well deployed in lessons to support pupils with special educational needs or disability well in their learning and development.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The teaching of writing has also improved and this is reflected in the good progress now made by most pupils across the school. However, work in pupils’ books in Years 1 and 2 confirms that progress in writing is slower. This is because teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to apply their handwriting and phonics skills across all areas of writing.  In lessons, teachers do not always set the right level of work for the most able pupils. Work in pupils’ books and lessons shows that too often pupils undertake the same tasks as other pupils in the class. There is limited evidence to indicate that the most able pupils are always challenged to achieve the best they can.  Generally teachers and support staff identify how well pupils are doing in lessons. Occasionally, they do not identify when skills and ideas are secure and pupils are ready to move on within a lesson. This slows pupils’ learning as they spend longer doing work they can already do.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils show positive attitudes to learning and are keen to do their best.  Pupils are aware of the different forms of bullying, including racist, homophobic and cyber bullying. They agree that bullying is a rare occurrence at the school and have confidence in adults to deal with bullying if it does occur.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They have a well-developed knowledge about online safety.  Through assemblies, personal, social and health education and a curriculum rich with opportunities to develop well-being and cooperation, pupils learn how to eat healthily, look after themselves and consider others.  Skilled staff provide nurturing support in a calm atmosphere for pupils who need extra help and time to build their self-confidence and self-esteem. Trained staff liaise closely with class teachers to ensure

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Personal development and welfare

that these pupils are supported appropriately in their learning.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are warm and welcoming to visitors and very confident in the way they interact with adults and other pupils.  Pupils are friendly, polite and courteous. Pupils hold open doors for adults and each other and are very well mannered.  Pupils behave sensibly at all times and the school is orderly. Pupils use self-discipline to conduct themselves well between lessons, at break and lunchtimes, and during assemblies.  Pupils listen to what teachers have to say and follow instructions carefully. They are respectful to adults and to each other; they feel respected, valued and enjoy coming to school.  The school carefully monitors the attendance of all groups of pupils and promptly follows up any absence. As a result, attendance is high.  Most pupils, parents and staff responding to the Ofsted online questionnaires agree that pupils’ behaviour is good.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Since the last inspection, senior leaders have put in place a range of actions to improve teaching and provision and, as a result, from their starting points most pupils and groups of pupils throughout the school are now making good progress and attainment is rising across the school.  Disadvantaged pupils make increasingly good progress, and the gaps in attainment between them and their classmates and other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics are closing.  A well-planned range of phonics intervention groups is boosting the progress of disadvantaged pupils in Year 1. These pupils receive appropriate support and now reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.  The most able pupils make expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Books seen during the inspection indicate that work given is not challenging many of them to reach their full potential.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils make good progress in phonics. As a result, the number of pupils reaching the expected standard in the national phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 is above average.

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Early years provision is good

 The majority of children enter the school with levels of development typical for their age. They make good progress from their starting points because of the good teaching they receive. Consequently, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development has improved over the past two years and is now above average. Children are thoroughly prepared for Year 1 and school life beyond.  Leadership and management in the early years is good. Leaders understand the strengths and areas for development in the early years, acknowledging the need to develop even further children’s learning outdoors. They work well to establish good relationships with pre-school providers, which supports children settling into the school quickly.  Children are enthusiastic and thoughtful. They enjoy talking about their learning, listen carefully and follow instructions well. This was evident when children were eager to explain to one of the inspectors

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Early years provision is good

how to make bread. Children were excited about having helped the teacher mix the ingredients and knead the bread. When asked if it was ready to eat they confidently and carefully explained, ‘of course not’ and that it would need to be cooked before it would look like ‘proper bread’.  Well-established, familiar routines are in place and children behave well. Expectations are high. Staff interact well with the children to move their learning on and children respond with enthusiasm and curiosity. Children’s welfare, personal development and safety are at the centre of all that adults do in the early years.  Early phonics teaching is effective and children are confident to use their knowledge of letters and their sounds to spell and read unfamiliar words.  Communication between the school and parents is strong. Staff encourage parents to come into school to share their children’s experiences.  The good rate of progress is evident in children’s ‘Learning Journeys’, as well as in other examples of

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Early years provision is good

their work. Staff identify the needs of individual children well, including children who have special educational needs or disability, and those for whom the school receives additional funding. They then take the appropriate steps to ensure that the children’s needs are met effectively.  Children participate well in activities and the curriculum is broad and balanced. However, the use of the outdoors to promote learning is not as effective as the use of indoor activities. Children are sometimes limited in their choice of resources and activities and this means they do not build upon their learning experience as often as they could across all areas of the curriculum throughout the day.

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School details

Unique reference number 104219 Local authority Walsall Inspection number 10012392

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 640 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Brenda Etchells Headteacher Shalina Lanni Telephone number 0121 366 6183 Website www.pheaseyparkfarmschool-public.sharepoint.com Email address postbox@pheaseyparkfarm.walsall.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 19-20 June 2014

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Information about this school

 Pheasey Park Farm Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is below average.  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language are below the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are supported by funding through the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed pupils’ learning in 21 lessons and part lessons, some of which were jointly observed with the headteacher.  Inspectors also looked at books and talked with pupils about their learning within lessons.  The inspectors held meetings with governors, a representative of the local authority and school staff, including senior and middle leaders.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and scrutinised documentation relating to pupils’ progress and to school management, including the arrangements to ensure that pupils are kept safe.  Inspectors talked with a group of pupils and listened to them read.  The inspectors took account of 88 responses to the online parental questionnaire (Parent View) and spoke with parents informally at the beginning of the school day. The questionnaires completed by 70 members of staff and 135 pupils were also considered.

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Inspection team

Kerry Rochester, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Lesley Else Ofsted Inspector Mark Cadwallader Ofsted Inspector Kerrise James 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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