Parkland Primary School South Wigston

Inspection of a good school: Parkland Primary School South Wigston St Thomas Road, Wigston, Leicestershire LE18 4TA

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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Outcome

Parkland Primary School South Wigston continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Andrew Hayes. This school is part of Discovery Schools Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Paul Stone, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Richard Bettsworth.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parkland Primary School South Wigston is an inclusive, nurturing school. The school’s curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are disadvantaged. Pupils feel well supported. One pupil said, ‘The teachers always help us, and if we are stuck, they help us by giving us examples of what we need to do.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their learning and focus well in lessons. They are polite and interact with each other and adults with respect. Pupils are happy and feel safe. One pupil said, ‘We have a pastoral team who anyone can talk to about things that are worrying or upsetting them.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some pupils benefit from different approaches to help them access their learning. For example, some pupils access specialist adult support and a range of resources that meet their individual needs. The strong pastoral team provides high-quality emotional support for both pupils and families. Pupils like knowing that they can access this support if and when they need to.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have access to a wide range of clubs, including for gymnastics, dance, and arts and crafts. Pupils also enjoy the opportunities they have to take on extra responsibility, for example by becoming a school councillor or sports ambassador. 26 and 27 September 2023

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better?

Children in early years show high levels of independence. Staff interact purposefully with children and encourage early language development. In Reception Year, children access a wide range of learning opportunities, both indoors and outdoors. Children learn through playing, exploring and taking appropriate risks. Children are clear about routines and expectations. Adults regularly check children’s development at different points in the year. Children are well prepared for key stage 1.

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better?

The school has prioritised reading. The phonics programme is well sequenced, and staff are well trained. Pupils identify sounds independently. Some pupils receive support to blend sounds together to read unfamiliar words. Pupils enjoy reading. Classrooms have phonics resources displayed, which pupils use to help them with their writing. They use the posters to support their spelling, for example.

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better?

Mathematics lessons provide pupils with the opportunity to develop their fluency and their reasoning and problem-solving skills. Classroom environments support pupils with their learning. For example, in one lesson, pupils referred to a mathematics display. They checked the model for rounding to see whether they needed to round a number up or down.

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better?

The school is in the process of introducing a new, wider curriculum for the foundation subjects. As a result, some subjects are not as well established as others. In some subjects, the important knowledge that pupils will learn is clearly identified. Teachers regularly check what pupils remember. However, this is not yet the case for all subjects. The checks that teachers make at the end of subject units are not as well developed in some subjects. This means that, in some foundation subjects, pupils do not always remember what they have learned as effectively as they could.

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better?

Pupils with SEND are supported well. The school works with a range of external agencies. This work ensures that pupils with SEND access an ambitious and appropriate curriculum. Pupils with SEND use a range of suitably adapted tasks to help them build their knowledge of subject-specific vocabulary. Staff support pupils with SEND effectively so that these pupils write with more accuracy and detail.

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better?

The school is passionate about inclusion, and as a result, many pupils benefit from therapeutic approaches to support their social, emotional and mental health needs. Pupils who require it receive carefully planned and tailored programmes of support to help them manage their behaviour. The pastoral team is highly skilled.

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better?

Pupils demonstrate a secure understanding of British values. Pupils can talk about each value with confidence and relate these values to their everyday lives. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum is well sequenced. It includes content related to relationships and sex education (RSE). Assemblies recap content covered in the PSHE and RSE curriculums, including direct reference to British values. This helps pupils to remember what they have learned. 26 and 27 September 2023

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Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of different types of relationships and families. Pupils have the chance to take on trust-wide areas of responsibility, such as being a member of the pupil parliament. Pupils value these opportunities.

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Staff, including early career teachers, feel well supported. They access a wide range of training opportunities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of foundation subjects, the curriculums do not precisely identify the specific knowledge that pupils should learn. This limits the consistency and effectiveness with which teachers check pupils’ learning in these subjects. As a result, teachers cannot consistently help pupils to build their knowledge. The school should ensure that the curriculum sets out exactly what pupils should learn and when in these subjects, and that there is a consistent approach to assessing what pupils do and do not know in order to ensure that pupils achieve as well as they should.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2018.

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How can I feed back my views?

to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 26 and 27 September 2023

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 February 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Discovery Schools Academy Trust.  The headteacher is currently on a secondment in another school in the local authority. The interim headteacher was previously the deputy headteacher.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 26 and 27 September 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector listened to some pupils in Years 1 and 3 reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector checked the work that pupils had produced, looked at subject plans and spoke with pupils and subject leaders for several other subjects.  The inspector met with leaders responsible for behaviour, personal development, early years and the provision for pupils with SEND.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector spoke with parents and carers at the end of the school day.

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 The inspector reviewed a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan. The inspector met with members of the governing advisory board. This included the chair of the board.  The inspector met with a school improvement representative of the trust.  The inspector considered the responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including any free-text comments, as well as the results of Ofsted’s survey for school staff.

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Inspection team

Luella Manssen, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 September 2023

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regulates and inspects to 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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