Park Hill Primary School

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

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Mr Paul Griffin Headteacher Park Hill Primary School Lower Eastern Green Lane Eastern Green Coventry West Midlands CV5 7LR

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 9 May 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 March 2014.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You were appointed in January 2016 and, together with your senior leadership team, you have brought about further improvements through a commitment to ensuring that pupils receive a good standard of education. Your passion and enthusiasm for the success of the school are clear. Pupils enjoy coming to school, where they learn and achieve well. Pupils’ behaviour is good both during lessons and as they move around the school. They are extremely polite and well mannered.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

Since the last inspection, extensive building work has taken place, and the number of pupils on roll has increased. There have been many staff changes, and you have effectively reorganised the leadership structure of the school. As a result, leaders understand their responsibilities very well and they make important contributions to improving teaching and learning throughout the school. You have managed these changes effectively. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the culture of the school because they recognise that you and other leaders ensure that the well- being of pupils is a high priority alongside academic success. They are proud to be part of the school and know that they benefit from support and training to develop their own practice.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

At the last inspection, leaders were asked to improve the teaching of phonics. You have tackled this successfully and the quality of teaching is consistently strong. Pupils read accurately and confidently. In 2017, a higher proportion of pupils achieved the required standard in the phonics screening check than nationally.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

Leaders have an accurate and thorough understanding of the quality of teaching throughout the school. This is because they make regular checks and provide detailed feedback to teachers. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and they know their pupils well. In some of the mathematics lessons we observed, we saw that, sometimes, learning activities do not match pupils’ abilities closely enough. For example, the tasks set for the least able pupils are sometimes too easy. Similarly, some of the most able pupils are given tasks that do not provide enough challenge. Consequently, on occasion, pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

Governors are committed to the school. They have a sound understanding of the strengths and further areas for improvement. They make regular visits to school where they check what leaders have told them about the school’s performance. They provide support and challenge and hold leaders to account effectively.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

The school’s culture encourages calm and orderly conduct. Everyone models the school’s values of honesty, kindness, respect, perseverance, responsibility and aspiration. Pupils agree strongly that everyone gets on very well together and they would recommend this school to new families.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

Leaders and governors have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Staff receive regular training in child protection, including the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty. They are knowledgeable about their responsibilities, including how to use the school’s system for reporting concerns about pupils’ safety and welfare. Your securely stored records are well organised and very thorough.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

Parents, carers and staff are confident that pupils are safe and well cared for in school. You provide additional support for vulnerable pupils and their families. Parents who responded to the online questionnaire shared specific examples of how staff have helped them.

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Short inspection of Park Hill Primary School

Pupils said that staff help them to stay safe. They talk confidently about how to stay safe when using the internet and crossing the road. Pupils feel well cared for at lunchtime. This is because there are plenty of adults to supervise them and, if there are any accidents, there are always people who can provide first aid. Pupils said that there is no bullying at the school but they are confident that adults would take action to address it if there was.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection, we agreed that the first line of enquiry would be to find out what leaders are doing to ensure that pupils are making the best possible progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because progress in these subjects at the end of key stage 2 was below national averages in 2016 and 2017.  You have made sure that improving rates of progress is a key priority. You have implemented a rigorous plan of checks on the quality of teaching. This focuses tightly on continuously improving outcomes for pupils. As a result of clear personalised guidance for teachers, you are able to show where the quality of teaching has much improved but also where further improvement is required. We studied current pupils’ progress, and the majority of pupils in almost all year groups are now making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Through pupil progress meetings, you ensure that teachers know the starting

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Inspection findings

points of every pupil in the class. Observations in lessons and work in pupils’ books show that teachers plan work to meet the needs of the majority of pupils. This is particularly successful in writing in which pupils are making strong progress. Pupils use well-chosen vocabulary confidently and have an excellent understanding of grammar and punctuation.  In mathematics, the majority of pupils are making good progress. They apply calculation strategies accurately when solving problems and have increasing opportunities to reason. However, teachers do not consistently plan learning that is sufficiently challenging for some of the pupils in their class. This means that some pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. Opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills across the curriculum are limited.  Pupils enjoy reading. They read widely and often and are able to talk about their

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Inspection findings

favourite authors in detail. Pupils demonstrate a secure understanding of the challenging texts they read. The school’s assessments of pupils’ attainment and progress in reading are accurate.  My second line of enquiry looked at how well teachers support pupils to make strong progress in writing. This was because, in 2017, no pupils achieved greater depth at the end of key stage 1. At the end of key stage 2 in 2017, the proportion of pupils achieving greater depth in writing was below the national average. Published information shows that progress in writing at the end of key stage 2 was well below national average for the past two years.  It is clear from stepping through the entrance of the school that you have ensured that writing is a key priority. Examples of high-quality pupils’ writing in subjects such as science, history and geography are displayed with care. Pupils’ books show that they have many opportunities to write at length in a range of

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Inspection findings

subjects. Teachers have high expectations for the quality of pupils’ writing. Pupils respond well to these expectations. You have ensured that staff training has focused on writing and, as a result, teachers have strong subject knowledge that they impart very well.  You have focused on ensuring that assessment of pupils’ work is accurate. Purposeful opportunities for the moderation of pupils’ writing both within the school and externally have ensured that teachers’ assessments are now consistent and reliable. Increasing numbers of pupils in each year group are now working at greater depth in writing, including those who are disadvantaged. You rightly acknowledge that some pupils who achieved the highest standard at the end of the last key stage are not currently working at greater depth. However, you are determined to ensure that they will be and you are keeping a close eye on their progress.

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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 working at the higher standard in writing increases at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2  tasks planned in mathematics build on the prior knowledge of all pupils so that they are appropriately challenged and make accelerated progress  pupils have more opportunities to practise and refine their mathematical skills in a range of subjects across the curriculum.

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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 Coventry. 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, parents, governors and a representative of the local authority. I visited classrooms and looked at pupils work. I also met with a group of pupils.

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Information about the inspection

I reviewed the school’s website and documents, including the single central record, child protection systems, the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans, monitoring information and pupil progress and assessment information.

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Information about the inspection

I took account of the 50 responses by parents, including 29 comments from parents by text, and 20 responses from staff to Ofsted’s questionnaires. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.

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