Parkside Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Lisa Cousins-Keuning Headteacher Parkside Primary School 21 Wellington Avenue Chingford E4 6RE

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Short inspection of Parkside Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 26 September 2017, 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 the school was judged to be good in March 2013.

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Short inspection of Parkside Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Ably supported by the deputy headteacher and governing body, you are ambitious for the pupils in your school. You are resolute that every pupil leaves Year 6 in full readiness for the next stage of their education. Feedback from the parent, staff and pupil questionnaires was overwhelmingly positive about the caring, supportive and inclusive ethos of the school. Leaders identify accurately aspects of the school’s work that could be better, and take prompt action to secure the necessary improvements. For example, you and your team are rightly focusing on strengthening outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and improving the attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Short inspection of Parkside Primary School

Your strong leadership is key to the rising standards across the school. You are determined that the school provides a nurturing environment. This instils pupils with positive attitudes to learning and themselves. Your motto, ‘Proud to Shine’, is the golden thread that runs through every aspect of your school. Classroom and corridor displays reflect the pride that pupils and staff have in their school. Pupils are polite, well behaved and love learning. Pupils’ strong personal development contributes well to the good progress they make across the curriculum.

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Short inspection of Parkside Primary School

All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records are detailed and of high quality. The record of pre-employment checks on staff meets requirements. It is well organised and checked regularly, including by the governing body. Staff are given a thorough induction and training in safeguarding. They know what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil’s welfare. Senior leaders deal swiftly and effectively with any safeguarding concerns that arise. Staff with responsibility for safeguarding and pupils’ welfare work closely with families and external agencies to support and protect vulnerable pupils.

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Inspection findings

 Your previous inspection report identified subject leadership as an area for improvement. Your actions to address this have proven successful. Middle leaders monitor and evaluate pupils’ progress across the school, particularly in mathematics and English. Together with senior leaders, they identify areas of underachievement and respond by introducing a range of effective strategies and resources. As a result, standards are rising and more pupils are being challenged to work at the higher standards than was previously the case.  Subject leaders work effectively with teachers to analyse assessment information and identify which aspects of learning pupils find challenging. They ensure that teachers are clear about what pupils need to achieve by the end of each key stage. As a result, teachers plan work to address gaps in pupils’ learning and support them to develop age-expected skills and knowledge. Work in pupils’

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Inspection findings

books and on display around the school show that teachers have high expectations and, over time, pupils typically make good progress.  Leaders and teachers maintain a consistent focus on reading and comprehension skills in English. Equally, in mathematics, teaching gives due attention to pupils’ reasoning skills. Pupils respond well to this and show great willingness to discuss their learning with teachers and their peers. They are eager to learn and try their best. Pupils whom I spoke to were enthusiastic about their learning and said how much they enjoy being challenged.  In the early years, school information suggests that the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development declined in 2017. One of my lines of enquiry was to check whether leaders were taking effective action to address this. You and your team identified that the curriculum was not rich enough to stretch children’s language skills or motivate children to try new activities.

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Inspection findings

 In response, leaders have refurbished the early years classrooms and invested in new resources to support children’s learning in different areas of the curriculum. These changes have had a positive impact on the quality of children’s learning. For example, children are keen to explore their understanding of the world in the newly created garden and mud kitchen. Carefully planned activities strengthen children’s number and writing skills in real-life contexts that capture their imagination.  Well-chosen resources and activities encourage children to investigate, try things out and solve problems. Teachers’ explanations and questions help children develop their vocabulary and express their ideas in full sentences. From my visits to classrooms and discussions with leaders and teachers, I am confident that leaders are addressing the right areas for improvement to maintain the good quality of children’s learning in the early years.

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Inspection findings

 My next line of enquiry focused on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. Results in the 2016 end of key stage assessments showed that few disadvantaged pupils achieved the highest standards compared with other pupils nationally.  I found that leaders use a range of effective strategies to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Leaders consider carefully how best to target additional support so that it meets pupils’ academic needs and supports their good personal development. For example, the ‘Wizard of Oz’ writing day successfully promoted pupils’ enjoyment of writing and deepened their writing skills.  Leaders and governors check the progress of disadvantaged pupils carefully. Pupils at risk of underachievement are identified quickly and receive extra help promptly so that they do not fall behind. Your assessment information clearly demonstrates the positive impact of strategies such as the homework club,

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Inspection findings

Saturday school and booster sessions during the school holidays.  Provisional outcomes in the 2017 key stage 1 and 2 assessments suggest an improvement in the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. Nevertheless, more work is needed to ensure that disadvantaged pupils, particularly the most able, are challenged to achieve the standards of which they are capable.  My final line of enquiry focused on the attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. In 2016, the attendance of these pupils was lower than the national average.  You and your staff work effectively with families to improve pupils’ attendance. For example, the school provides breakfast and after-school clubs in response to families’ needs. These are well attended and very popular with pupils and families.  School information indicates that leaders’ actions are reducing rates of absence for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. However,

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Inspection findings

attendance for these pupils remains below the national average.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities attend school regularly  teaching sufficiently challenges disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, to achieve to the very best of their abilities.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Waltham Forest. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you, senior and middle leaders, and five governors, including the chair of the governing body. I spoke with a school improvement partner commissioned by the local authority. You and your deputy headteacher joined me to observe learning in each key stage. I spoke to pupils in lessons and around the school and looked at their work in books. I heard 12 children from key stages 1 and 2 read and talked to them about their learning and their experiences of school. I met with subject leaders and staff with responsibility for pupils’ pastoral care. I looked at a sample of pupils’ work and took account of the school’s information about progress and standards. I reviewed a wide range of documentation including the school development plan, the school’s self-evaluation, minutes of governors’ meetings, and safeguarding information and records. I took account of 72 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I also reviewed 45 responses to the

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Information about the inspection

questionnaire completed by staff and 185 responses from pupils.

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