West Park Primary School

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

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Ms Briony Jones Headtea cher West Park Primary School Devon Road Whitmore Reans Wolverhampton West Midlands WV1 4BE

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 23 January 2018, 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 April 2014.

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice in certain areas. This may indicate that the school is improving towards being outstanding. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

Since you took on the role as full-time substantive headteacher shortly after the last inspection, the school has continued to improve strongly. You have ensured that there is an ethos in the school that is built on respect for all and which celebrates diversity. You have successfully engaged the support of staff. Parents and carers are very engaged in the life of the school and in supporting their children’s learning.

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

You have developed and strengthened the senior and middle leadership teams. This has ensured a greater degree of rigour to monitoring and evaluation of the work of the school, including lesson observations, book scrutinies and data analysis. You previously set reading as key target for improvement and have been very successful in raising standards. You have now rightly focused on mathematical fluency and developing mathematical language for problem solving and reasoning across the school, and most-able pupils at key stage 2 as major priorities for improvement. You are already seeing the impact of these strategies in lessons with more pupils currently working at the high standard in mathematics. Governors are highly knowledgeable and very committed to the school. They use the information they receive very well to support, challenge and question leaders. They keep themselves up to date through training and ensure that the school meets

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

At the last inspection, the school was asked to improve teaching further and to improve the progress of pupils to outstanding. You have ensured that there is a high quality of teaching in almost all year groups through rigorous monitoring and support. Senior leaders hold teachers closely to account through pupil progress meetings in which outcomes for pupil groups and individuals are analysed in depth. Middle leaders play a key role in monitoring teaching and supporting colleagues through modelling lessons and team teaching. Pupils’ outcomes have significantly improved over time so that by the end of key stage 2 they have made very rapid progress in reading and writing and rapid progress in mathematics.

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

There is a strong culture of ensuring that pupils are kept safe in school. Pupils are well prepared to keep themselves safe out of school as well, for example through e- safety lessons. Senior leaders are highly committed to their safeguarding roles and make sure they are fully up to date with relevant guidance and training. This is shared with all staff on a regular basis, including with governors. Staff are alert for any incidents and know what to do should they have any concerns.

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

Pupils reported that bullying was very rare and that the school was largely free of racist name-calling. Those spoken to said they were very confident that they could report incidents to a responsible adult and that the matter would be dealt with effectively. Any alleged incidents are fully investigated by leaders. Information is recorded thoroughly and securely. Leaders are quick to respond when external agencies need to be informed.

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Short inspection of West Park Primary School

The number of fixed-term exclusions has fallen over the last two years. Pupils reported that behaviour is a strength of the school and almost all spoken to said they feel safe and secure.

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Inspection findings

 Outcomes for pupils currently in the school across key stages 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics are strong and continue to improve. A higher proportion of pupils than in previous years are now working at a higher standard in mathematics. This compares very favourably with Year 6 in 2017 when a smaller proportion of pupils compared to nationally achieved this. Pupils choose challenges from bronze, silver and gold levels or the hardest level, platinum, to ensure that the most able pupils are also stretched in their thinking and reasoning skills.  Boys, including those who speak English as an additional language, are now doing as well as girls in their writing in key stage 2. This is as a result of teachers’ careful planning to ensure that pupils are suitably challenged to make rapid progress from their different starting points. Pupils, including boys and those who speak English as an additional language, are inspired to write creatively, with

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Inspection findings

imagination and expression, producing sentences such as ‘Snowflakes danced gracefully like a ballerina.’ Boys, as well as girls, said how much they enjoy writing. Teachers have been trained well to focus on the challenge the English language demands of pupils who speak English as an additional language across the curriculum, including in mathematics. This ensures that oracy and literacy do not become barriers to pupils achieving the highest possible outcomes in other subjects, such as mathematics. Consequently, these pupils have numerous opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skill through discussing their work and solving word problems. They are making rapid progress.  In the most recent assessments and tests at the end of key stage 2 in 2017, pupils made well above average progress in reading and writing from their different starting points at the end of Year 2. Their progress in mathematics was

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Inspection findings

above average. As a consequence, expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics combined were well above average, and the proportion of pupils working at a higher standard in reading or in greater depth in writing compared favourably with the national average.  Disadvantaged pupils are doing very well throughout the school as a result of well-spent pupil premium funding to provide a high quality of teaching and additional support, for example pre-school booster sessions in mathematics.  Improvements in outcomes in literacy and numeracy in early years are starting to have an impact on improved outcomes for pupils in key stage 1, where outcomes were previously below the national average. Boys and girls are now doing equally well.  Most pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are making at least expected progress overall. However, there is some inconsistency in the way teachers and additional adults challenge some of these pupils to do as

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Inspection findings

well as they can. The marking and feedback for some of these pupils is not fully in line with the school’s assessment policy. The monitoring of their work and the quality of provision is not as rigorous as it is for other pupils.  The level of attendance fell from above average in 2015 to below average in 2017. This academic year, the school set an ambitious target of 97% attendance, a target above the previous year’s national average. Up to a few weeks before Christmas, the school was on track to achieve this until attendance was affected by an outbreak of pupil illness through school. This term, the level of attendance has started to improve and is now back in line with the rate for last year and is continuing to rise. The school has successfully reduced the level of persistent absence although it is still above the national average.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the proportion of pupils achieving the high standard in mathematics by the end of Year 6 is at least in line with the national average  expectations for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are consistently as high as they are for other pupils and that the feedback they receive is consistent with the school’s marking policy  attendance is improved to be above the national average.

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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 Wolverhampton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, senior and middle leaders and other teaching staff. I also met with five members of the governing body, including the acting chair, and a representative from the local authority. I carried out five lesson observations jointly with you and your deputy headteacher, which included scrutinising pupils’ books and talking to pupils. I observed pupils’ behaviour around the school including before, during and after assembly. I spoke to a group of pupils from key stages 1 and 2. I met with a parent and took account of 15 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and 14 responses to Parent View free text. I also reviewed 21 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey. The key trails for this inspection were: pupils’ outcomes in mathematics in key stages 1 and 2; outcomes for boys; outcomes in writing for pupils who speak English as an additional language; provision and outcomes for pupils who have SEN

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Information about the inspection

and/or disabilities; attendance; safeguarding and leaders’ responses to tackling bullying. I scrutinised the school’s self-evaluation, the school improvement plan, pupil performance information, behaviour and attendance information and several school policy documents, as well as safeguarding and child protection records. I also checked the school’s website.

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