Hyde Park Junior School

Hyde Park Junior School Hyde Park Road, Mutley, Plymouth, Devon PL3 4RH

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Following the last inspection, turbulence in leadership and staff resulted in a decline in standards and the quality of teaching.  Leaders did not respond quickly enough to halt pupils’ declining progress in writing, unlike in mathematics and reading.  Leadership of English has not driven improvement in writing well enough.  Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is not used effectively. These pupils do not make the rapid progress they need to.  Some teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations for the achievement of their pupils.  Teaching is not successfully supporting those pupils who need to make the most rapid progress in writing. Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ ability in writing, across the curriculum, are not high enough.  Teaching is not consistently supporting the most able pupils. These pupils do not move their learning forward at a fast enough rate. This means that too few achieve the highest

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

standards, especially in writing.  Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities typically make good progress. However, the approach to monitoring these pupils is not sufficiently well developed.  A significant minority of parents indicate that they do not receive the valuable information they need about their child’s progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher is tackling weaknesses effectively. Along with governors, she is ambitious, understands the priorities for the school and has a clear vision for the future.  As a result of leaders’ effective actions, pupils’ progress is improving in mathematics. This includes pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.  Pupils’ progress in reading is improving. Teaching is ensuring that those pupils who need to catch up, including disadvantaged pupils, make strong progress in this subject.  Leaders have created a culture of respect and tolerance. As a result, pupils are encouraged and guided to be responsible citizens.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They conduct themselves well around the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by: – providing teaching staff with the skills and training needed to rapidly improve the quality of pupils’ writing – ensuring that subject and team leaders bring about school improvement through the consistent and effective monitoring of pupils’ progress – ensuring that leaders use funding for disadvantaged pupils effectively to improve their progress in writing and mathematics – further developing the monitoring and analysis of the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities so that a higher proportion make good progress – carefully monitoring teaching, learning and assessment to ensure that the most able pupils are challenged sufficiently, particularly in writing, across the curriculum – providing parents with accurate information about their children’s progress in a timely fashion.  Strengthen the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that teachers:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– have high expectations and accurately assess and plan learning that builds upon what pupils already know, understand and can do across the curriculum – support pupils effectively who need to catch up in writing, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils – ensure that disadvantaged pupils receive sufficient support to enable them to make strong progress from their different starting points in writing and mathematics – provide greater challenge for the most able pupils, especially in writing. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Following the last inspection, changes to leadership and staffing led to a decline in the performance of the school. Since that time, the headteacher has responded effectively to the turbulence caused. Actions to improve mathematics and reading have been effective. Standards are on the rise and pupils’ progress is improving. Writing lags behind these improvements but is systematically being tackled.  Effective systems and initiatives, introduced by the headteacher, are raising standards and securing long-term improvements for pupils. Not all actions have been popular. However, the culture of the school is changing and expectations are rising. Determined actions by the headteacher are proving successful.  Leaders make good use of external support. Teachers are encouraged, challenged and supported to improve. Training has been particularly successful in mathematics. Staff, including teaching assistants, have improved their subject knowledge and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

understanding of key areas within the primary curriculum. As a result, current pupils’ progress in mathematics is strong.  Leaders and governors have developed an orderly and aspirational school environment, based on respect and tolerance. Typically, pupils are keen to learn. They are inspired by the achievements of the famous individuals after which their classes are named. Pupils learn about, for example, Mary Seacole, Martin Luther King, Charles Babbage and Nelson Mandela. This learning reinforces what it is to be a responsible citizen and prepares pupils for life in modern Britain and the wider world.  Leaders ensure a broad curriculum, aspects of which pupils find inspiring. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is developed through carefully planned work. Pupils engage in history, geography and religious education with key questions such as ‘What makes a country powerful?’ This approach continues to be developed

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

and greater monitoring is required to ensure consistency in pupils’ progress in gaining key skills.  Self-evaluation of the school’s performance is generally accurate and plans for development are focused on improving outcomes for pupils. For example, plans correctly identify that expectations for the most able pupils have not been high enough. Inspectors agree.  Effective systems to assure leaders that teachers’ assessment information is consistently accurate in all subjects are being established. It is too early to measure the effect of some recent changes on improving teaching, learning and assessment. Where teaching is effective, practice is beginning to be shared more widely across the school.  Leaders did not respond quickly enough to halt the decline in pupils’ outcomes in writing. Middle leaders are not yet having a consistently positive impact on pupils’ progress in this area. As a result, inconsistencies exist and the quality of teaching to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

improve pupils’ writing is not consistently effective across the school.  Parents raise some concerns regarding levels of communication with the school. Almost half of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, said that they do not receive valuable information from the school about their child’s progress.  Leaders do not make good use of the physical education (PE) and sport premium. It is not being used to ensure sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport for the benefit of all pupils.

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Governance of the school

 Governors understand the priorities for the school. They provide challenge and support to the headteacher. The governing body has a clear vision for the school’s future. Actions taken are securing future improvements for the school.  The regular visits that governors make to the school and the reports they receive from leaders ensure that they have an increasingly accurate picture of the quality of education the school provides.  Governors do not ensure that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is having sufficient impact upon the academic progress of this group of pupils. An external review is recommended in order to support improvement.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Staff receive training to recognise vulnerable pupils and they know how to protect pupils from extremist views.  Administrative staff complete the necessary checks on the suitability of staff, volunteers and visitors to the school. However, leaders and governors do not check these processes sufficiently and so some record-keeping is not as sharp as it should be.  Pupils are safe and articulate clearly how the school supports them to stay safe online and within the school site. Almost all parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, said that they felt that their children are safe in school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Actions taken to improve the quality of the teaching of writing have taken too long to have an effect. Consequently, too many pupils have not made good progress over time.  Assessment of pupils’ ability in writing is inconsistent across the school. As a result, teaching is not as effective as it should be in moving pupils’ learning forward in some classes and year groups. Aspects of writing are stronger than others in certain year groups. For example, in Year 3, pupils make good progress when their vocabulary is extended and the quality of their writing is improved. However, this positive picture is not reflected in other writing across the curriculum.  Elements of teaching in grammar and spelling are not sufficiently developed or effectively monitored by leaders. In Year 4, teachers do not accurately assess pupils’ writing. Teachers’ expectations are not consistently high enough. Pupils’ handwriting

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

and presentation are not routinely checked to ensure consistent progress. Inaccurate assessment in writing is also evident in some upper key stage 2 classes.  Teachers’ planning is not ensuring that disadvantaged pupils receive sufficient support to make strong progress in writing. In Years 5 and 6, too many disadvantaged pupils are not making the progress they are capable of.  At times, pupils struggle to write for different purposes across the curriculum. As a result, they are not making enough progress with their writing skills. The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are not challenged sufficiently to achieve the highest standards in writing.  Teachers’ planning is ensuring a good match of work for the majority of pupils in reading and mathematics. Consequently, from their different starting points, most pupils are making good progress in these subjects.  The teaching of reading is effective. Younger pupils use their knowledge of phonics to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

develop early reading skills and access the wider curriculum. Pupils who struggle with reading are supported well to ensure that they catch up quickly.  Older pupils work successfully on more sophisticated reading skills such as inference and deduction. Film is used to motivate and engage pupils and develop their curiosity of texts. As a result, pupils make good progress and achieve well.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are generally well supported by teachers and teaching assistants who help them to engage in learning alongside their peers.  The teaching of mathematics has improved so that pupils are required to think and reason mathematically for themselves. Pupils are very used to applying their understanding of mathematics to solve problems, which they do successfully. As a result, current pupils are typically making good progress. Pupils from all year groups say they enjoy learning in mathematics and feel the level of challenge is greater than in

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Many pupils are confident and self-assured. They show respect for others’ ideas and views. Older pupils can reflect, in a positive manner, about their experience of school.  Pupils learn about the qualities of being a responsible citizen through the school’s clear values. Pupils are encouraged to be brave, curious, optimistic and kind.  Pupils’ well-being is a priority for staff. The school encourages greater independence, where appropriate, for those pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Effectively tracking the impact of this provision is an identified area for development for the school.  Pupils learn how to keep themselves healthy and safe. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online. They are confident that the adults in the school will deal with their concerns. They say bullying is rare and that it is dealt with quickly if it occurs.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ conduct throughout the day is typically positive. Pupils are active at break and lunchtimes and behaviour is positive.  Pupils’ attendance has improved to be above that found nationally. In recent years, the number of pupils who were persistently absent had risen. However, due to leaders’ actions and support from the school, fewer pupils are now persistently absent.  Most pupils are keen to learn. Where teachers’ expectations are not high enough, pupils’ attitudes to learning can lapse and a minority of pupils lose focus. In Years 5 and 6, some low-level disruption impairs pupils’ progress at times.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Progress for pupils in writing at the end of key stage 2 was well below the national average in 2016 and 2017. In the past, there has been little sign of improvement. Leaders’ monitoring of strategies to improve writing across the curriculum has not been effective. The current progress for most pupils is improving but over time, their achievement requires improvement.  Disadvantaged pupils do not make strong progress in writing; their handwriting and spelling are particularly weak. Targets which take into account what these pupils already know, understand and can do are lacking. Monitoring of the progress disadvantaged pupils make in their writing is not accurate. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils are not making the progress in writing that they should.  Very few of the most able pupils achieve as well as they should in writing. The proportion of pupils working at greater depth in writing was below that found nationally

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

in 2016 and 2017. This is because teachers do not plan learning that ensures that the most able pupils move their learning forward at a fast enough rate. Too many of the most able disadvantaged pupils fail to achieve the higher standards of which they are capable.  Most pupils who did not reach the expected standard by the end of Year 2 have caught up with their learning in reading and mathematics. This is because leaders are swift to identify their needs and provide effective support so that they make good progress. This includes those pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.  The progress pupils make in their reading skills, which was below the national average, has improved in recent years. The improvement in the progress of disadvantaged pupils in reading over the last two years has been particularly strong.  Leaders’ focus on improving outcomes in mathematics is effective. Assessment information shows a continued improvement. For example, pupils in 2017 made better

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

progress than in 2016 as a result of stronger teaching. An increasing proportion of pupils are also now working at greater depth.  While the majority of pupils are on track to reach the standards expected for their age by the end of Year 6, they are not making the progress they should. Consequently, pupils move on to secondary school with the foundations they need, however, they are capable of reaching higher standards, particularly in writing.

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School details

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

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address hyde.park.junior.school@plymouth.gov.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12–13 February 2014

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Information about this school

 Hyde Park Junior School is larger than the average-sized junior school. There are 12 classes.  The school meets the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school based on key stage 2 academic performance in 2015, 2016 and 2017.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in 2017 for reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than the national average.  The school does not meet requirements on the use of the PE and sport premium.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning across the school. Some of these visits were made jointly with the headteacher.  The inspection team looked carefully at pupils’ work from all year groups and across a range of subjects.  Inspectors talked to pupils from different year groups about how they feel about school, how teachers help them with their learning and how the school keeps them safe.  The inspection team held discussions with school leaders, staff and members of the governing body. The inspectors also took into account responses to questionnaires completed by staff and pupils.  The inspection team looked at the school’s evaluation of its own performance, its improvement plan, school policies and the minutes of meetings of the governing body. Inspectors also considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.  The inspectors listened to a selection of pupils read.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors took account of 95 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including a number of free-text responses. The inspectors also spoke to a number of parents during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Mike Brady, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Lees 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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