Parkland Primary School

Parkland Primary School Old Park Road, Thorpe Edge, Bradford BD10 9BG

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 The actions taken by school leaders have not yet been effective enough to address fully the weaknesses in teaching and pupils’ outcomes highlighted at the previous inspection.  The quality of leadership across all subject areas is not yet consistently strong.  Teaching is not yet consistently good throughout the school. Although improvements have been made for older pupils, there are remaining weaknesses in some classes and some subjects.  Not all teachers are equally skilled in checking pupils are keeping up; some act more quickly than others to close any gaps in learning.  Improvements in mathematics, science and modern foreign language have not been as rapid as in reading and writing.  Although parents and carers are generally supportive of the school, a small minority feel that communication between staff and parents could be improved.  Behaviour requires improvement because low- level disruption in some lessons interferes with

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This is a school that requires improvement

pupils’ learning.  Pupils’ overall attendance requires improvement, particularly among disadvantaged pupils.

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The school has the following strengths

 Governance has improved since the last inspection. Governors offer a much-increased level of challenge to school leaders and this is beginning to have an impact on raising standards.  Recent improvements to teaching and some of the latest assessment information indicate that the school has the capacity to improve.  Personal development and welfare are good. Relationships are strong and pupils are confident that staff will help them if they need support.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: Plans for improvement a) focus on the most important things that will move the school to good and b) enable leaders and governors to measure precisely how effective they are in making a positive difference to pupils’ outcomes senior leaders develop the role of middle leaders, including in the early years, so that middle leaders can take effective action and senior leaders hold them to account when standards are not high enough school leaders communicate more effectively with parents.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve outcomes for pupils, especially the disadvantaged, and the quality of teaching by ensuring that all teachers: have the highest expectations of every pupil so that they are fully engaged and do not lose concentration provide effective challenge for the most able pupils so that activities enable them to extend their learning and thinking have sufficient mathematical subject knowledge to teach reasoning and problem-solving effectively provide pupils with regular opportunities to use and apply the skills they learn in a variety of ways and across all areas of the curriculum, including science and modern foreign languages support boys to make better progress in the early years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the school’s overall rate of attendance and work more effectively with the small number of parents whose children have low attendance, particularly disadvantaged pupils, so that they come to school more regularly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The federation headteacher, head of school and senior school leaders have not secured sufficient improvement in pupils’ outcomes since the previous inspection to ensure that they are good. In part, this is because necessary changes to staffing, in the long-term interests of the school, took time to complete.  The disruption to staffing has contributed to a variation in the quality of teaching over the past two years. Parents shared concerns with the inspectors about the impact that the change of teachers in some year groups has had on their children.  Leaders focused too much on developments within the school and paid insufficient attention to planning effectively to bring the school’s performance up to the national picture. This meant that pupils’ progress was not fast enough to ensure that they were making good progress and their results compared favourably with those achieved by pupils across the country.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 During this year, the school has created a wider leadership team across the two federation schools to strengthen and improve outcomes for pupils. The school’s self-evaluation is now more accurate.  Leaders’ actions have not always had the required impact on pupils’ outcomes and the way in which the impact of the actions taken is measured has not been sufficiently precise.  Leaders regularly check the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress in English and mathematics by visiting lessons and looking at pupils’ workbooks. However, they have not been thorough enough to ensure consistently good teaching and outcomes for pupils in other subjects.  Newly appointed middle leaders are growing in their effectiveness. The leader with responsibility for writing, for example, is an enthusiastic advocate for his subject. He takes a broad, ambitious view of the role across both federation schools to improve standards. However, subject leaders have not been

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

checking pupils’ progress long enough to fully demonstrate the increasing impact of their work. The school recognises the importance of regular training for its middle leaders so they can continue to help improve teaching in their areas of responsibility.  Leaders have improved their use of information on pupils’ progress since September 2015. This means that they are able to respond much more quickly than in the past to dips in progress as soon as they arise. Therefore, pupils are now beginning to make expected progress.  Leaders and teachers meet to discuss how well pupils are getting on and what the next steps for pupils’ learning need to be. In the past, meetings were not sharply focused on the learning of individual pupils. Now, leaders’ and teachers’ meetings are more timely and increasingly focused on pupils’ progress. Consequently, more pupils are now catching up to the expected standard.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Newly qualified teachers appreciate the support they receive from school leaders to help them improve their teaching.  A very small minority of parents feel that communication between home and the school could be better and that they are not given enough information about their child’s progress. Inspectors support their views.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and contributes adequately to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. However, teachers’ expectations of pupils in their topic work, including in science and modern foreign languages, are sometimes too low. Some teachers do not demand enough of pupils and they are not quick enough to identify misconceptions or gaps in learning. In addition, teachers do not ensure that pupils produce their best and neatest work in all areas of the curriculum.  The school offers a number of extra-curricular clubs, including art and craft, computer, rock clubs and a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

number of football sessions during the week. The art and craft displayed around the school are of a high standard.  Leaders make effective use of pupil premium funding and this has contributed to improved outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in some classes, but not in all classes. The primary physical education and sports funding is used well to promote participation in sport and encourage children to develop healthy lifestyles. Qualified coaches teach a variety of sports. By working alongside these professionals, staff are able to develop their own expertise.  Leaders work closely with nearby schools, the local authority and use of the services of an independent school improvement adviser. This is helping to improve the quality of provision. For example, St John’s Primary School has provided good support in the development of phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) and basic literacy skills. The school receives a high level of support from the local authority.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school The governing body has a much greater influence than it had previously. Two main committees now provide helpful and effective guidance for school leaders. They have encouraged leaders to use a range of external agencies and services to help support the school’s improvement journey. Governors bring a range of expertise and experiences to the school. Their number includes a retired headteacher, a practising deputy headteacher and a national leader of governance. The full governing body knows that provision is not yet good. Governors ask challenging questions at meetings, reflecting their determination to secure better outcomes for all pupils. Members of the governing body are committed to the school and visit regularly. They have a formal timetable for checking the work of the school. This has enabled them to form a more accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas of weakness since the previous inspection.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

The governing body holds the school to account for its spending of additional funding. Governors ensure that pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils is used to help close the gaps in attainment with other pupils. However, they recognise that although the gaps in attainment are closing, these pupils are not making as much progress as they should.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff know the children well and are quick to share their concerns. Leaders and governors ensure that staff are fully up to date about keeping children safe. Governors check the quality of the school’s work and know that links with parents and external agencies ensure that pupils are safe. The school works closely with external agencies to provide support for the families of children who are potentially vulnerable.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Teaching is not consistently good and expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving are not high enough. Some teachers do not make the best use of teaching assistants, especially during whole-class teaching, so pupils who would benefit from extra help at these times do not always receive it.  The quality of learning is better for older pupils than it is for other pupils across the school. The frequent changes of teacher have slowed the progress made by pupils in some classes.  There are limitations in some teachers’ subject knowledge, especially in mathematics. They are able to teach a method accurately and check that pupils’ answers are correct but cannot always extend pupils’ learning. As a result, in some classes there are limited opportunities for pupils to develop a deeper understanding through, for example, problem-solving and reasoning mathematically.  As a result of training, there have been recent improvements in the way teachers ask questions to probe

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

pupils’ thinking, and in the way they involve pupils in discussions – which has proved effective in this school in helping pupils to learn more effectively. Generally, teaching and learning have improved, particularly for older pupils. However, some inconsistencies still remain across other year groups.  The teaching of the most able pupils varies from class to class. In better lessons, expectations of what pupils can achieve are high. This results in them being much more engaged in their learning because they are stretched and challenged more effectively. In other lessons they are asked to answer numerous questions that repeat skills or understanding and this wastes valuable learning time.  Teachers of older pupils promote positive working relationships between adults and pupils. There is a calm, purposeful atmosphere and pupils complete the tasks they have been set.  The teaching of phonics is effective. As a result, a solid foundation is built, from which pupils can develop

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

into confident, fluent and expressive readers. Daily guided reading sessions help develop their skills in reading for meaning and comprehension.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive some effective pastoral support, especially those who have emotional needs. The support is mostly undertaken in the main classroom, where pupils follow the same themes as their peers. This approach has been successful, as these pupils have developed more positive attitudes to learning. Pupils in the ‘nurture room’ area receive some high- quality support which helps the pupils to return to learning in their classes smoothly and as soon as possible.  The majority of teachers use the school’s marking policy well and are diligent in giving feedback. Training on how and what to assess in reading and writing has enabled teachers to have a clearer understanding of what pupils know and what they need to do next. Targets for progress are now shared with pupils and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

reinforced through comments in their workbooks. Feedback in other subjects is not as good.  Pupils and parents agree that homework is not issued regularly enough. The work set does not always sufficiently consolidate their learning beyond what they learn in school. It is generally not well matched to the abilities of pupils, particularly the most able.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils enjoy coming to school. They have good attitudes to learning and enjoy taking an active part in lessons, particularly when teachers encourage them to discuss their ideas.  Leaders promote pupils’ confidence, physical and emotional well-being and ensure that pupils are given time to discuss sensitive topics. Consequently, most pupils confidently try out new learning opportunities and challenges.  Pupils know why they need to work hard and enjoy being challenged to improve their learning through targets and other kinds of feedback. Pupils become increasingly confident and articulate as they move from the early years to Year 6. Improving handwriting and presentation, as seen in pupils’ books, show that they care about their work and want to do their best.  Pupils’ welfare is given a high priority. Individual pupils are encouraged to discuss their concerns and have

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Personal development and welfare

a specific member of staff that they know can help them. Appropriate to their ages, pupils have a good understanding of the fundamentals of keeping themselves safe in different situations. Pupils have a sound grasp of the risks associated with internet use such as cyber bullying. Pupils are aware of how to keep themselves and others safe. Pupils say they feel safe in school because adults are there to help them if needed.  The school rightly prides itself on the nurture of its pupils, including those with specific needs. Parents are generally confident in the ways the school helps their children to grow well as individuals. The school also provides an effective counselling service for pupils and their families facing particular difficulties.  While the term ‘British values’ is not routinely used in the school, pupils have developed a good understanding of their responsibilities towards society, their community and each other, through the work

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Personal development and welfare

the school does to promote these values.  A number of pupils said that they had experienced bullying but it had been dealt with successfully and had stopped. They also said there had been incidents of racist comments being made but, like the bullying, these had been tackled.  The breakfast club is well-attended and enables families to get the day off to a positive start as pupils eat healthily and socialise together in a safe environment.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Most pupils have a clear understanding of how the school’s behaviour policy works and appreciate that good behaviour is rewarded. However, not all teachers or teaching assistants are insisting upon high enough standards of behaviour in class. In these classes, teachers do not act swiftly enough to refocus pupils’ attention on the work in hand and pupils become less engaged in their tasks, and their attention begins to wander. This means that low-level disruption is present in some lessons and teachers have to interrupt the lesson to deal with it.  Pupils respond well to routines such as lining up, and they follow instructions. Where needed, they respond quickly to adult correction.  The school has worked hard to improve overall attendance. However, too many pupils are still persistently absent, particularly those who are disadvantaged. Some of these pupils are falling behind in their

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 The percentage of pupils achieving the expected level or above in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 was well below the national average in 2015. However, current evidence indicates that pupils’ attainment in reading and writing and mathematics has improved throughout the school, although there remains room for further improvements.  Progress throughout key stages 1 and 2 has been variable over time. Too few pupils have exceeded the expected rates of progress because work has not always been challenging enough, particularly for the most able. The quality of the tasks and activities set has improved for older pupils, but it still varies too much between classes across the rest of the school. This leads to the most able pupils making slower progress. When teachers do set harder work for the most able pupils, they relish the challenge and display excellent attitudes to learning. For example, Year 6 pupils enjoyed calculating the cost of healthy

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

meals, taken from ingredients, to work out the most profitable menu that would generate the greatest amount of income for a café.  Inspectors’ scrutiny of pupils’ work in English, mathematics and other subjects shows that expectations of the progress that pupils can make are not always high enough in subjects other than English.  Progress in reading and writing is improving because of recent training and support on basic skills provided by a local outstanding school. However, progress in mathematics is not sufficiently rapid because there is too little emphasis on the development of reasoning, fluency and problem-solving.  Disadvantaged pupils’ rates of progress vary between subjects and year groups across the school. Current evidence shows that attainment and progress gaps are closing more quickly for pupils in Years 5 and 6 compared to pupils in Years 1 to 4.  Attainment in phonics is improving and standards are above those seen nationally. Younger pupils acquire

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

early reading skills which enable them to develop fluency in their reading.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective targeted support from teachers and teaching assistants, both in lessons and in individual and small-group sessions. They make at least expected progress relative to their starting points.

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Early years provision requires improvement

 When children start school in either the Nursery or Reception classes, the majority are working at levels below those typically expected for their age. They settle well and enjoy what they do.  Outcomes for children improved in 2015 compared to 2014, but the proportion of children achieving a good level of development lagged behind the national average. Current evidence indicates that there will be a further improvement in the proportion of children reaching a good level of development this year.  Children are making steady progress overall with a slower start in Nursery compared to Reception. Scrutiny of the work in children’s books and electronically recorded evidence shows that progress is more readily identifiable for Reception than it is for Nursery. Boys’ progress is slower than that of girls.  Assessment systems in the early years focus too much on reading, writing and mathematics. As a result,

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Early years provision requires improvement

leaders do not notice when children underperform in other areas of the curriculum. Although recent spending on new resources for outdoor areas has taken place, the resources are not used well enough to support learning in the different aspects of the curriculum.  Children are encouraged to develop skills well in their own play, although some activities do not have a clear purpose, resulting in some children flitting between them. This has contributed to a variation in the achievement in different areas of the curriculum over time.  Not all additional adults who work in the setting have high enough expectations of children or the skills to move children’s learning on quickly. Sometimes they interrupt children’s thinking by asking too many questions and slowing their learning down, or lack the skills necessary to develop language acquisition.  Phonics is taught well in the Reception class. Children are encouraged to use their new-found skills to

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Early years provision requires improvement

read and write words that make them think hard. The teacher makes sure that she matches her questions well to the ability of each child.  Leaders have started to engage parents in their children’s learning. They are encouraged to share with the teacher the successes their children have at home.  Child protection and safeguarding arrangements are thorough. There are no breaches of welfare requirements and children are kept safe.

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School details

Unique reference number 107225 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 10012029

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 262 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sandie Smith Headteacher Georgina Graham (Head of School) Duncan Grant (Federation Headteacher) Telephone number 01274 611512 Website parkland.bradford.sch.uk Email address office@parkland.bradfrod.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10–11 June 2014

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The school is part of a federation with Holybrook Primary School and the federation headteacher across the two schools was in post at the last inspection.  Since the last inspection, there have been a number of appointments, including a new head of school, senior leaders and three class teachers.  Pupils are taught in mixed-age classes from Years 1 to 6. Pupils in Reception are taught as one year group and attend full time. Two different groups of children attend the Nursery for morning or afternoon sessions.  A large majority of pupils attending school are White British, with the next biggest group being from other White backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by pupil premium funding is well above average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for

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Information about this school

free school meals and children looked after.  The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school runs a breakfast club that is open to all pupils and their parents.  The school meets the Department for Education requirements regarding the publication of information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of lessons across all classes. Five lesson observations were carried out jointly with members of the senior leadership team who also took part in short walks through lessons. A number of taught sessions for small groups of pupils were also observed.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and held discussions with pupils of all ages in lessons, in meetings and informally around the school. Pupils’ work in books was scrutinised in class and separately by inspectors.  Inspectors considered four responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View), as well as responses to the inspection questionnaire completed by one pupil and 25 members of staff. Inspectors also met some parents at the beginning and end of the school day.  A meeting was held with the chair of the governing body and three other governors. Meetings were held with school leaders responsible for the curriculum, teaching and learning, pastoral care, English,

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Information about this inspection

mathematics, early years provision and provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Meetings were held with representatives of the local authority, an independent school improvement adviser and the headteacher of a local outstanding school, who support the school’s work.  Inspectors took notes of displays around the school and the work in outdoor areas.  Inspectors examined a range of documents including the school’s reviews of its own performance, checks on the quality of teaching, development plans, safeguarding documentation, information about pupils’ progress and records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour.

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Inspection team

Desmond Dunne, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Mary Lanovy-Taylor Ofsted Inspector Donald Parker 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

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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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