Stanley Road Primary School

Stanley Road Primary School Stanley Road, Worcester, Worcestershire WR5 1BD

p.1

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

p.1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

p.1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

p.1

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have ensured that the curriculum serves the school community well. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is particularly well supported.  Teaching is effective overall. However, variability in teaching is evident in each year group. This is because, although leaders are aware of how each teacher needs to improve their own performance, sometimes they do not ensure that teachers address their weaknesses.  Pupils from different backgrounds and cultures make similar rates of progress. Leaders and managers promote equality well. They ensure that vulnerable pupils and families, in particular, are well cared for.  All staff understand the importance of keeping children safe. They know their roles and responsibilities and are vigilant in their day-to- day work.  Leaders have reflected on last year’s academic results. They have made changes this year, which has resulted in teaching and progress

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

being stronger.  Governors ensure that funding, including that for disadvantaged pupils, is used wisely. However, their work with school leaders could be improved further.  Parents’ and carers’ views about school performance are variable. Leaders are keen to ensure that parents’ views are listened to and acted on.  Pupils behave well. Their attitudes to learning are positive in all year groups.  This year, staff have refined their work designed to improve attendance. Pupils are attending more frequently as a result.  In the early years, children get a good start to their education at Stanley Road.

p.1

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve leadership and management by ensuring that: – teaching is consistently effective in every year group – governors refine their work to ensure that more effective support and challenge are provided for the school – parents are more engaged in the work of the school.  Improve teaching so that it is consistently effective by teachers using support from leaders to improve their own practice in order for pupils to reach required standards by the end of each year.

p.2

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher, together with the deputy headteacher, provides effective leadership. They have a clear understanding of the diverse school community. They show their ambition for all pupils and families by continually refining the curriculum. It encourages all pupils to achieve as well as they can.  Leaders’ work ensures that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is part of everyday life at Stanley Road. Pupils talk about how their REAL (relevant, engaging, aspirational, lifelong) curriculum enables them to learn about different cultures and beliefs through learning from each other. As a result, there is a harmonious school community within which pupils learn about how to live healthily and respectfully in modern Britain.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher have skilfully developed the curriculum model. They considered carefully its rationale, design and how it would be implemented. It has the school’s values at the heart of its work. The REAL curriculum

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

recognises the diverse needs of the local community, notably the language needs of pupils with little or no English.  Subject leaders are developing their leadership skills well. They are a dynamic group, prepared to debate different ideas about how to further improve teaching and learning. They collaborate effectively, which means that their checks on how well pupils are progressing are rigorous. This ensures that there is strong capacity for further improvement.  All leaders are effective in evaluating the impact of their work. They share their findings with each other, which leads to a collegiate approach to school improvement. An effective assessment system has been developed, which all leaders use to check how well pupils are progressing in their areas of responsibility. For example, the leader with responsibility for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities checks that this group of pupils make similar rates of progress to other

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

pupils.  Staff benefit from training which is tailored to their, and the school’s, particular needs. Middle and senior leaders lead these sessions. The wide range of leaders are confident in their leadership work as they understand well how they contribute to school improvement.  Equality underpins the curriculum. Leaders ensure that pupils and families of different cultures represented in the Stanley Road locality benefit well. In the early years, for example, staff ensure that parents are welcomed into school to see how their children are learning. There was no evidence of discrimination seen during the inspection.  Leaders use the pupil premium money wisely to fund strategies which are designed to help pupils to be ready for learning. For example, the pastoral team has more staff employed, which enables more families to benefit from English language courses. This is helping disadvantaged pupils to attain higher academic standards.

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders identified the aims that they want the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium to achieve. These are to enable pupils to experience more competitive sport and to support teaching staff in improving their teaching of PE. These aims have been realised. Pupils represent their school, and compete well, at a range of local events, including hockey and cricket. A wide range of after-school and lunchtime clubs complement the curriculum well, with pupils learning about working as a team and developing leadership skills.  Leaders know that there is no single aspect of teaching across the school which requires improvement. Rather, each teacher has their own strengths and areas for improvement. Leaders do not ensure that teachers effectively address their own weaknesses.  Some parents indicated that they would like more information and a say in school developments. For example, as the school explores how it might work with other

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

schools in the future, parents want to learn about this process and express their views.  Support commissioned on behalf of the local authority has focused on developing middle leaders. This has been effective. Senior leaders benefit from the monitoring and evaluation work of middle leaders. The commissioned support is also supporting governors with their improvement plans.

p.4

Governance of the school

 Governance is effective.  Governors know the local community well. This helps them appreciate the reasons why the school curriculum is effective.  Governors understand the importance of ensuring that pupils from all cultural groups are welcome and included at Stanley Road. Consequently, they check that pupil premium funding has been spent appropriately, providing support for all vulnerable families through the very effective pastoral team.  Leaders provide governors with information about teaching performance. This includes details of pupils’ academic achievement. Governors understand how leaders have improved the way that such information is presented to them.  However, governors need to improve the way they work with school leaders to enable them to better explore their curiosity about school performance, for example how to use achievement information to check that pupils with different prior attainment are

p.4

Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  School staff are aware of safeguarding issues that pupils from Stanley Road might encounter. Leaders ensure that training helps staff look out for any signs of concern. This has led to a culture of vigilance, which ensures that there is effective provision.  Leaders use their record-keeping systems to satisfy themselves that any concerns are followed through to a satisfactory conclusion. Pupils and staff state that the school is a safe place to learn and play.  Teaching and non-teaching staff are knowledgeable. They know what they do differently as a result of their training. For example, they monitor pupils’ attendance to see if there are patterns of absence which might raise concern.

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is good. Teaching staff use their curriculum training to help pupils think deeply in lessons. Philosophy is a feature of day-to-day classroom life. During the inspection, pupils described how adults’ questioning helps them explore issues which interest them, for example being asked questions which probe pupils’ views about animal rights following a school visit to a zoo.  Pupils benefit from clear oral and written feedback given by classroom staff. The policy for this is embedded across all year groups. Teachers use their secure subject knowledge to check if pupils have secured certain skills before providing new activities.  Teachers use resources well to ensure that pupils from different backgrounds receive good-quality support in lessons. For example, teaching assistants are deployed to work with pupils who might require additional support. This includes working with pupils who speak English as an additional language.

p.5

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers and leaders formally discuss the effectiveness of teaching for disadvantaged pupils every term. The pastoral team reflects on this shared information and then works with identified pupils and families. This results in the positive ethos seen in classrooms, as all pupils are keen to learn.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are taught well. Teachers alert leaders about any learning difficulties that pupils might be experiencing. Leaders then work with teachers to plan a different approach. If pupils continue to find learning difficult, then more specific teaching is provided and monitored closely.  Teachers rightly identify pupils’ vocabulary development as a feature of their teaching. In classrooms visited during the inspection, staff presented pupils with activities which required them to use technical words related to the topics they were learning. This benefited all learners, notably those with English language needs. Pupils of all abilities

p.5

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

learn well from effective phonics teaching. They are able to tackle unfamiliar texts with confidence.  Pupils are required to write across a range of different subjects. They use their good knowledge of grammar, punctuation and spelling to write technically correct pieces which convey their ideas well to the reader. Teachers ensure that pupils understand the purpose of their writing and who they are writing for.  The teaching of mathematics is carefully planned by teachers. They make sure that pupils work on activities which require them to use specific mathematical skills at different times during the academic year. This helps pupils embed their understanding of different concepts and allows pupils new to the school to learn the same skills. Teachers ask probing questions which require pupils to explain their ideas accurately.  The most able pupils are given work which challenges them well. This is seen in the

p.5

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics, as well as in foundation subjects. For example, in history, Year 6 pupils displayed high-level grammar skills in describing characters from fictional Second World War texts.  Homework is designed to complement the curriculum. Reading, spelling and number tasks are provided, as well as occasional work which requires pupils to research topics. Sufficient time is given for pupils to complete activities, which means that pupils from different cultural groups can attend out-of-school activities relevant to them.  The quality of teaching is variable. This is because different aspects of teaching are stronger or weaker in different classes. These include the frequency of teachers interrupting pupils’ learning and how teachers ascertain how well pupils have secured understanding during lessons. There is no single characteristic that requires improvement across the school.

p.5

Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils understand the importance of learning and playing in a school community which welcomes and embraces all cultures. As a result, pupils are keen to talk about their learning in respect of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils are very considerate of each other. They listen attentively to one another’s views. In lessons, they are not afraid of making mistakes, as they know that their classmates will see this as a sign of strength rather than weakness.  The curriculum helps pupils become confident learners. Pupils benefit very well from lessons which encourage them to express their opinions and develop their thinking skills.  Pupils’ emotional well-being is particularly well provided for. The pastoral team leader ensures that her team actively seeks out where they can support pupils and families.

p.6

Personal development and welfare

This team is a key part of the day-to-day working of the school. This means that teachers frequently seek advice from this team. Pupils’ physical well-being is well supported through the effective use of the PE and sport premium funding.  Pupils know what they can do to help themselves stay safe. For example, they know what they need to do to stay safe when learning and playing online. They are clear about how and why cyber bullying occurs and what they need to look out for.  Staff deal with any incidents of poor behaviour, which might include bullying, effectively. Recorded incidents are used to check that any follow-up actions take place. Staff supervise pupils well at break and lunchtimes, monitoring areas well and playing with groups of pupils.

p.6

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils conduct themselves well in lessons. Around school, pupils’ behaviour is mostly appropriate. Occasionally, pupils choose not to adhere to school expectations when not supervised by adults, for example running in corridors.  In the breakfast club, pupils cooperate well in their play. The club’s staff attend safeguarding training along with other school staff and so receive the same level of support. As a result, pupils are kept safe during these sessions.  Pupils know that they can talk to staff should they become concerned about anything. Pupils said that they were happy to talk with any staff at different times of the day. Consequently, pupils’ views about behaviour are positive. Parental views are variable.  Pupils display positive attitudes to learning. The wide range of subjects taught engage pupils well. This includes those pupils who previously displayed inappropriate

p.6

Behaviour

behaviour. The effective arts provision has had a notable impact.  The pastoral team, together with senior leaders, has refined its strategies designed to improve attendance this year. Particular work has been carried out with families and cultural groups. This has led to a significant reduction in persistent absence rates. Despite this, overall attendance remains below the national average.

p.7

Outcomes for pupils Good

 Last year, pupils in Year 2 attained standards similar to those seen in previous cohorts. These standards were similar to those attained by other pupils around the country. Pupils in Year 6 did not make sufficient progress to attain required standards.  Last year, the Year 6 cohort had a number of pupils join late in key stage 2. The school had limited time to help these pupils make strong progress. Also, the achievement of pupils who had been at Stanley Road for longer periods of time was not as good as it should have been.  This year, pupils are making strong progress in all year groups. Some pupils join the school part way through key stages, notably key stage 2. As staff have less time to work with these pupils, the attainment of different cohorts is not as high as might be expected. This means that some pupils do not move into new year groups with the skills expected for their age.  Disadvantaged pupils achieve similarly well to other pupils. This is because pupils

p.7

Outcomes for pupils Good

benefit from work designed to help them have positive attitudes to learning. Last year, disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 did not attain well or make strong progress in core subjects.  Pupils make similar rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because teachers ensure that pupils consolidate core skills in a wide range of different subjects. For example, pupils use their reading about different artists to write about their opinions coherently. Leaders have ensured that teaching enables pupils to secure subject-specific skills, such as historical enquiry.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make similar progress to other pupils. The longer pupils are at Stanley Road, the better progress they make.  Those pupils who need to make faster progress in order to catch up with their peers make the strongest progress when compared with other pupils. This is the case in all core subjects. In reading, pupils who speak English as an additional language receive

p.7

Outcomes for pupils Good

particularly effective provision.  Over the past three years, a similar proportion of pupils attained the required standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. These proportions were in line with the national averages. This year, pupils in key stage 1 are making good progress.

p.7

Early years provision Good

 Recent staffing changes have resulted in different staff leading the provision in the early years. Senior leaders have managed these changes well. The current leader is effective. Any considered changes to the work are well thought through prior to any action taking place.  All staff work well together. They collate and discuss children’s achievement information. Staff deliver activities which sustain children’s attention well. This is because children are motivated. Children learn well through different experiences each day.  Teaching in the early years is effective. The teaching in Reception is particularly strong. This is because staff use their knowledge about children’s use of language to ask questions which make them think more carefully about their views.  Owing to the effective work of the pastoral team, children display strong attitudes to learning in all classrooms. Disadvantaged children, in particular, are keen to show

p.8

Early years provision Good

adults what they can do.  When children first enter either Nursery or Reception, their skills and abilities are often well below those expected for their age. They make good progress, notably in early language development, through both year groups.  Over the past few years, a smaller proportion of children left the early years with the required attainment when compared with national figures. This means that each cohort is not as well prepared for Year 1 as might be expected. However, good progress is maintained through key stage 1, which results in higher attainment at the end of Year 2.  Parents appreciate the opportunities to come into school to learn about their children’s work. Workshops, including phonics workshops, help parents understand how different parts of the curriculum are taught. Effective engagement with parents is enhanced through frequent coffee mornings.  Staff have developed good links with outside agencies. This means that if staff wish to

p.8

Early years provision Good

seek specific guidance about a child’s learning, they can do so quickly. Effective support from the leader with responsibility for children who have SEN and/or disabilities and the pastoral team means that once children’s needs are identified, prompt support is actioned.  The leader of the early years ensures that all statutory welfare requirements, including those for safeguarding, are met.

p.8

School details

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

p.9

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.9

School details

Email address office@stanleyroad.worcs.sch.uk

p.9

School details

Date of previous inspection 23 January 2014

p.9

Information about this school

 Stanley Road is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The two largest ethnic groups are White British and Asian or Asian British Pakistani. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is similar to the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is similar to the national average. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is above average.  Pupils entering the school part way through key stages are often from families who have recently moved to this country with little or no knowledge of the English language.  The early years is made up of one part-time Nursery class and two full-time Reception classes. Pupils in other year groups are taught in single-age classes. There are two classes in each year group.

p.9

Information about this school

 There is one newly qualified teacher at the school.  Pupils from Stanley Road can attend a before-school breakfast club. It is overseen by the governing body and was observed as part of this inspection.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.

p.10

Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in every year group. They visited 20 lessons, three of which were observed jointly with either the headteacher or the deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, staff, the chair of the governing body and other governors and also with a local authority representative.  The inspectors met frequently with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  The inspectors talked to pupils about their reading. They listened to higher- and lower- ability pupils read.  The inspectors examined work in pupils’ books from a range of subjects.  The school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised.  The inspectors looked at a range of documentation written to support school improvement. This included minutes of governors’ meetings and attendance information.  The inspectors took account of Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire, which had 53 responses from parents. They spoke with individual and groups of parents.

p.11

Information about this inspection

 The inspectors reviewed the school’s website

p.11

Inspection team

Jeremy Bird, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

p.11

Inspection team

Michael Onyon 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 .

p.11

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 .

p.12

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.

p.12

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 .

p.12

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.

p.12

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 .

p.12

Inspection team

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, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.12

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.12

Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.12