Greenbank Primary School

Age group Published Reference no. Greenbank Primary School

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Unique Reference Number 133332 LEA Liverpool

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Inspection number 274860 Inspection dates 8 – 9 June 2005 Reporting inspector Adrian Simm

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Inspection deemed to have been carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 according to section 12(3) of the same act.

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Type of School Primary School address School category Community Age range of pupils 3 - 11 Mossley Avenue Liverpool L18 1JB Gender of pupils Mixed Telephone number 0151 522 5748 Number on roll 461 Fax number 0151 522 5749 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair of governors Ms Anne Pope Date of previous inspection N/A Headteacher Mr Wilfred Rowe

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3 - 11 June 2005 274860 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was a pilot of the new arrangements for inspection announced by Ofsted in its consultation paper of February 2004. It was carried out with the support and co-operation of Greenbank Primary School and of the local education authority.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school opened in September 2003, following the amalgamation of two local schools. It is popular with parents and bigger than other primary schools. Free school meals are above the national average. Forty-five per cent of pupils have white, British backgrounds. The principal languages of pupils who have English as an additional language are Somali, Bengali and Arabic. These pupils tend to start school with little or no English. The number of pupils with special educational needs is above average; these pupils mainly have moderate and specific learning difficulties. The school is part of a local education authority project and is designated as a School of Excellence for teaching German.

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Key for inspection grades

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness of the school

The school is effective. This judgement matches the school’s own view of itself and that of parents and pupils. Improvements in the last two years bode well for the future. The school is well led and managed by a team that realises that, if it is to move on more effectively, it must be sharper in analysing what is working well and what else needs to be done. The school has the enthusiasm and skills to succeed. Quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are outstanding. The Foundation Stage accommodation, resources and management are real strengths. The school gives good value for money.

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Overall effectiveness of the school

Standards in mathematics and science are broadly average and this marks a good improvement from 2004. The same improvement is not evident in English; standards have fallen, but are average overall. Pupils progress well throughout Years 1 to 6 because of good teaching and learning, in which support staff play a significant part. Progress for all groups of pupils in the Foundation Stage is very good. Pupils enjoy and flourish on a curriculum that is extended significantly by activities such as German, performing arts and musical instrument tuition. Personal development is good and enriched by learning that builds significantly on the rich and varied cultural heritages of the pupils. However, below average attendance, and poor timekeeping for a very small but significant minority of pupils, has not been addressed sufficiently enough.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Work with parents to improve pupils’ attendance and timekeeping.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that planning for all aspects of school development is built on a much sharper view by the headteacher and senior staff of what is working well and what else needs to be done. Inspection Report: Greenbank Primary School, 8 – 9 June 2005 3

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Achievement and standards

Overall, pupils progress well from Years 1 to 6. Year 6 pupils are on track to meet current targets, which are sufficiently challenging. Attainment on entry to the nursery is low overall; it is very low in communication, language and literacy skills. Children progress very well in the Foundation Stage. Standards by the end of Year 2 are below average, but this represents good progress from their low start on entry. It is also a stronger picture than in 2004. The causes of underachievement that were evident in the work of Year 6 pupils in 2004, in mathematics and science, have been tackled effectively to ensure current Year 6 pupils are not affected. Whilst national assessment results in English in 2004 were unexpectedly high and well ahead of the school’s predictions, standards overall this year in English, mathematics and science are currently what would be expected.

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Achievement and standards

Overall, pupils with learning difficulties progress well. Those whose first language is not English, and others with a range of different cultural backgrounds, progress equally as well as others. The school gives every sign of having improved the achievement of higher attaining pupils but is rightly continuing to watch this closely. Pupils are proud of their standards in German, which are very high.

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Personal development and well-being

The school judges pupils’ personal development to be outstanding. Whilst some features are outstanding overall, inspectors consider it to be good. Pupils are polite and courteous. The school council takes its responsibilities seriously in improving their school community. Parents are very supportive of the Eco project, with pupils contributing very positively to enhancing the school environment and the local area. Pupils enjoy school and practise good citizenship. They like their new building. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe and follow healthy lifestyles. Pupils behave well in lessons. Attitudes are good and pupils work hard. Their spiritual, moral and social development is strong. Cultural development is first- rate. Pupils have a multitude of opportunities, such as the performing arts, in which to learn about and show respect and understanding for the different cultures of pupils in the school.

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Personal development and well-being

Playtimes can be boisterous at times. A small minority has adult help to build self-control. For pupils in need of it, the ‘buddy bench’ is effective. Pupils say Inspection Report: Greenbank Primary School, 8 – 9 June 2005 4

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Personal development and well-being

that they feel safe in school and trust adults. The school has tried hard to achieve good attendance and punctuality. However, partly because of holidays taken in term time, attendance is below average. Pupils’ punctuality is a problem for a small, but significant, number of families.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are good. One of the strengths is the careful planning of lessons, based on good knowledge of all pupils’ needs. This was apparent in mathematics and literacy, where pupils are set or grouped by ability. Pupils with learning difficulties receive effective support. For example, for those with specific learning difficulties provision is very good. The school is well staffed to support pupils whose first language is not English effectively. Assessment systems are developing well, but need time to start producing the level of detail necessary for the analysis of pupils’ progress to be rigorous enough. The school has already identified that pupils are not involved sufficiently in assessing their own work.

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Teaching and learning

Relationships are positive and pupils feel well supported. They are all involved in lessons and encouraged to make effective contributions. Pupils enjoy their learning and want to do well. This was very obvious in a German lesson in the nursery, where children’s excitement was tangible.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching in the Foundation Stage is a particular strength. Teachers organise a wide range of experiences for children, all of which provide very well for their literacy skills and personal development.

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Teaching and learning

One of the major strengths of the teaching is the high quality of support staff. They make a very valuable contribution to the success of lessons. Examples of their effectiveness were seen in classes where they involved themselves in children’s learning in the Foundation Stage, and led focused groups in literacy and numeracy lessons. The skills and support of the information and communication technology (ICT) technician effectively enhances teachers’ skills and pupils’ learning.

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Curriculum and other activities

Lessons that are well planned to suit all groups of pupils are complemented by many opportunities to develop talents, for example in music, sport, the arts, ICT and speaking a foreign language. Many pupils take part in a wide range of after-school clubs. Residential trips in this country and in Germany extend pupils’ personal development very well. As well as contributing to pupils’ enjoyment of school, these activities offer pupils good role models for developing healthy and varied lifestyles. The school makes every effort to give all pupils the chance to benefit from what is on offer and to prepare them well for the next stage in their education. Occasionally, in some year groups, children in one class get more lesson time than in the parallel class, such as in English or mathematics. This is one example where the leadership team is not as tight as they might be in checking what is happening or in analysing whether

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Curriculum and other activities

this makes any difference to pupils’ progress.

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Care, guidance and support

A strong ethos of care pervades all aspects of school life. Child protection and health and safety routines are in place and known by staff. Staff want all pupils to succeed in their work and to be safe and content. Systems to track pupils’ progress are strengthening, which will help senior leaders to be even more rigorous in their monitoring of pupils’ progress. At the instigation of parents concerned about the nutritional value of school food, a ‘meals’ committee was set up, which checks frequently on the quality of the healthier food choices now provided. This is just one example of how parents are involved as full partners in school life. The school prides itself rightly on its strong anti-racist and anti- bullying approach to its work. Staff are sympathetic to the needs of all pupils regardless of ability, gender or ethnic background. The school monitors closely the unsociable behaviour of a small minority and involves parents when

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has successfully amalgamated the two schools, which was the central aim initially. His strong commitment to pupils with special educational needs, to promoting the personal development of all pupils and embracing their multi-ethnic Inspection Report: Greenbank Primary School, 8 – 9 June 2005 6

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Leadership and management

backgrounds has resulted in a school ethos that is positive and inclusive. Governors have worked effectively to get organised and to support the new school through the changes. Governors have ensured that the school is well resourced and that all statutory requirements are met. This has had a major impact on provision and achievement, for example in areas such as ICT and the Foundation Stage. The school is working through from a deficit to a balanced budget and is now using resources effectively to achieve this.

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Leadership and management

The senior management team has an enthusiastic and solid base for future development. Staff have focused successfully on raising standards in the short term. The school has identified accurately what it needs to do in the future and the inspection team agrees with the priorities. However, planning to achieve future priorities is not focused sharply enough. For example, the school is developing its systems for the monitoring of teaching and learning but information from this is not used fully effectively to focus on the next few important areas of development that will further strengthen staff’s expertise. Also, although the school identified correctly the need to improve the punctuality of some pupils, not enough has been done to bring about improvement. There is no action plan that would help the school to address this.

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Grade: 2

procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about HMI-led Ofsted inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Key to judgements: Grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate.

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2

How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners’ well-being?

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2

The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school’s self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the school opened Yes

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How well do learners achieve? 2

The standards reached by learners 3 How well learners’ make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners

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2

How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress 2

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2

The extent of learners’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community. 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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2

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education

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2

How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review

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3

How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can

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2

How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities

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2

The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected Y

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy Yes/No/NA

Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are taught about sexual health risks Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe. Yes/No/NA

Procedures for Child Protection meet the requirements of Working Together to Safeguard Children Yes

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe. Yes/No/NA

Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them Yes

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How well learners enjoy and achieve Yes/No/NA

Support is given to learners with poor behaviour and attendance Yes Learners’ personal and academic development are monitored Yes

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution Yes/No/NA

Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, are consulted when key decisions affecting them have to be made and their views are listened to Yes

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution Yes/No/NA

Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes

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Yes/No/NA

There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop their enterprise and financial skills, and work in teams Yes

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Yes/No/NA

Education and training for all learners in 14-19 is co-ordinated to give experience of work based learning NA

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Annex B

To the children of Greenbank Primary School Mossley Avenue Liverpool L18 1JB

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Annex B

As you know, three inspectors visited your school recently to find out how well your teachers are helping you with your learning.

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Annex B

Thank you for being so friendly and willing to talk to us. It was really useful to listen to what you had to say about what you enjoy doing.

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Annex B

The things we think are really good about your school are:

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Annex B

• The way your headteacher and other grown ups look after each and every one of you and help you to work hard and do well. • The wonderful start you are given to school life by all of the staff in the nursery and reception classes. • How much you enjoy your German lessons. You speak the language extremely well for your age. • Those of you who need an extra bit of help in your work and relationships have someone to turn to. • How well you all look out for each other and want to be helpful in everything you do. Well done.

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Annex B

We have asked your teachers to improve a couple of things to make your school even better. These are:

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Annex B

• To help those of you who are late to school, and take more time off school than you should, to improve your timekeeping and attendance. • For your headteacher and staff to be clearer how they are going to make your school even better than it already is.

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Annex B

We hope you carry on enjoying school and help your teachers all you can.

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Annex B

Adrian Simm Paula Allison Brian Ashcroft Suite 13 WLTM Centre Moss Lane View Skelmersdale WN8 9TN T 01695 725000 F 01695 725500 Www.cfbt.com inspectionservices@cfbt.com

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