Park Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Park Primary School Monmouth Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN2 4JP

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Inspection dates: 23 and 24 January 2024

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Outcome

Park Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Park Primary School feel listened to and valued. There are strong relationships between pupils and staff. Adults take time to nurture and support each pupil’s understanding and development. Pupils are safe and feel safe. They say that they can always go to an adult with any concerns and that they always get sorted out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has very high expectations for what pupils can achieve. Leaders enrich the curriculum by inviting expert visitors into school to talk about the topics that pupils are learning about. This includes professional and Olympic athletes. Pupils talk about these events fondly and say that these experiences help to make their learning interesting and memorable.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave exceptionally well in classrooms and around the school. Learning time is rarely disrupted. Pupils work well together. They listen attentively and enjoy learning. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils contribute to school life by taking on leadership roles. These include house captains, librarians and ‘ROAARR ambassadors’. These opportunities help pupils to understand how they can have a positive impact on others.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The teaching of reading is a strength in the school. Phonics teaching begins as soon as children start in Reception. Staff check regularly to ensure that pupils learn and remember the sounds they are taught. Pupils read books that are well matched to the sounds that they know. This helps them to become fluent and confident readers. Any pupils at risk of falling behind are quickly identified and supported to catch up. The school fosters a love of reading. Pupils enjoy borrowing books from the new library area. Pupils talk about these books with enthusiasm. 23 and 24 January 2024

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Leaders have worked hard to improve the curriculum. Leaders provide training for staff so that they can confidently and accurately deliver the curriculum. As a result, teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. They present information clearly. They identify gaps in pupils’ understanding and use this information to revisit and reteach different topics when needed. This helps pupils to know more and remember more. However, in some subjects, the school has not identified the precise knowledge that pupils should learn. Sometimes, new learning does not build on what pupils already know. As a result, in some subjects, pupils do not develop the depth of knowledge that they could.

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Staff understand the individual needs of pupils, including those with SEND. Staff work with families and external agencies to identify the best support for pupils. This helps staff to develop personalised pupil targets. These inform how adults in school adjust activities to help pupils, for example by using sentence starters, writing guides, and practical mathematics resources. These adjustments are effective in supporting pupils with SEND to develop their understanding.

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Children in the early years get a positive start to their education. Adults know the children well. They use this understanding to ensure the classroom environment develops children’s learning. Adults design activities to help children consolidate their learning from taught sessions, for example by setting out practical resources to help pupils practise adding and subtracting. These experiences help pupils to thrive and succeed.

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The behaviour of pupils in lessons and around the school is extremely positive. This helps them to get the most out of every lesson. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Pupils talk with confidence and understanding about how they can manage some of the risks they might face. This includes looking for the padlock symbol at the end of a website address. Pupils learn about different religions. This learning is enhanced by visitors from different places of worship. This helps pupils understand and respect different people in modern Britain.

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Leaders have high ambitions for what pupils learn and experience. They have made clear, informed and purposeful improvements to the curriculum. Staff are happy and say that they are supported and valued by leaders.

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Governors effectively hold leaders to account. The school has recently appointed several new members to the governing body. This has further developed the governing body’s capacity to fulfil its responsibilities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 23 and 24 January 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the school has not identified the key knowledge that pupils should learn in each year group. This means that in some subjects, pupils do not build on their prior knowledge progressively. The school should review the curriculum for these subjects and identify precisely what knowledge should be taught and when.

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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 November 2018.

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How can I feed back my views?

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.

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How can I feed back my views?

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). 23 and 24 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make any use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  The inspector carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school 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.  During the inspection, the inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and members of the senior leadership team.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. He considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys. The inspector spoke with parents to gather their views and opinions about the school. 23 and 24 January 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the 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 observed pupils’ behaviour around school and in lessons. He spoke with pupils to gather their views about behaviour and safeguarding in their school.

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Inspection team

Andrew Yeomans, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 January 2024

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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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