Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Toni Hayzen Headteacher Pembroke Park Primary School Devizes Road Salisbury Wiltshire SP2 9LY

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Pembroke Park Primary School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection of your school that took place on 11 and 12 July 2023, on behalf of His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require special measures following the graded (section 5) inspection that took place in July 2022.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Pembroke Park Primary School

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders, staff, the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, a primary director from the trust, trustees and governors the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also visited lessons, looked at pupils’ learning in books, heard pupils read, spoke with pupils and parents and looked at school documentation. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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measures. Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work

is necessary for the category of concern to be removed.

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measures. Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work

I am of the opinion that the school may appoint early career teachers.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Since the previous inspection, the leadership of the school has been successfully secured. The previous inspection report acknowledged that new leaders had started to tackle the significant weaknesses at the school. This work has continued at pace. Substantive

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

leaders have acted rapidly to impact areas they deemed a priority. This includes implementing a well-sequenced curriculum, ensuring early reading and phonics are taught well, improving the quality of provision in the early years foundation stage and the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, pupils are receiving a much better quality of education.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

You and your senior leaders are relentlessly determined to turn this school around to ensure all pupils experience success in their learning. The new vision you have put in place, ‘every child, every chance, every day,’ is beginning to shine through. You have the full support of your staff and the wider trust leaders to continue this improvement journey.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

Since the previous inspection, there has been a significant focus on reading. All staff receive the training that they need. Adults say that this supports them in ensuring their subject knowledge is secure, and their teaching of phonics is accurate. A programme is in place to help children and pupils at the early stages of reading. They have a daily phonics lesson. In addition, these pupils have extra sessions to check they have remembered what they have been taught through the introduction of the fast track and fresh start programmes. Pupils now read books that precisely match the sounds that they know. This enables them to read with confidence and increased fluency. Pupils say they enjoy reading as it helps them learn and know more. Pupils welcome the opportunity to use the library, which is well stocked with high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts. Pupils enjoy listening to stories in school.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

Together with your subject leaders, you have constructed an ambitious and well-planned curriculum. You ensure that all the key knowledge you want pupils to know and remember is in place across all subjects. You have carefully considered the vocabulary you want pupils to learn. You recognise that work is needed to enable pupils to make connections in their learning across all the subjects they study. You have plans in place to make this happen. However, you fully acknowledge that there remains a legacy of significant underachievement for pupils, and there are too many gaps in their knowledge across the curriculum to ensure they are ready for the next stage of their education. You are working to ensure that assessment is secure across all subjects to enable you to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge accurately and to plan the next steps in their learning.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

With your leaders, you have worked hard to ensure that pupils with SEND are accurately identified. This means pupils who need support are getting it more quickly. Pupils now have access to an adapted curriculum which better meets their needs. As senior leaders, you know that elements of this provision require refinement to make sure that it is as effective as possible to enable SEND pupils to experience even greater success.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

Children in the early years are experiencing a much better provision. This is because you have staff in place who are well trained and knowledgeable about early years practice. Careful consideration is given to the curriculum to ensure children have the experiences they need before moving into the next stage of their education. For example, outdoor learning has been significantly enhanced since the previous inspection. Children can now

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

extend their knowledge through continuous provision, such as using the outdoor kitchen to reinforce and further develop their vocabulary.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

The trust has commissioned external support to work alongside leaders in carrying out the necessary improvements. This includes a focus on early years, the curriculum and provision for pupils with SEND. Leaders use this successfully to ensure pupils get the most effective education. In addition to the areas of improvement identified in the last inspection, external school improvement advisers, parents, staff and pupils comment about the significant improvements in pupils’ behaviour. Pupils told me that it is now extremely rare for their learning to be disrupted during lessons. They are also confident that bullying is not tolerated and that adults take decisive action should it occur.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

Governors and trustees demonstrate a secure understanding of the current strengths and weaknesses of the school. They challenge leaders and make checks to ensure that the necessary improvements are being addressed successfully to improve the quality of education. Parents are delighted with the rapid changes that have been made and the impact the new leaders are having on improving their children’s educational experiences.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the Magna Learning Partnership multi-academy trust, the Department for Education's regional director and the director of children's services for Wiltshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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