Netherley Park Primary School

104600 Unique Reference Number Liverpool Local Authority 286986 Inspection number 11 °12 September 2006 Inspection dates Frank Carruthers Reporting inspector

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

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Brownbill Bank School address Primary Type of school Liverpool Community School category Merseyside L27 7AE 3 °11 Age range of pupils 0151 4877718 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0151 4886843 Fax number 196 Number on roll (school) Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr A Price Headteacher 11 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 286986 11 °12 September 2006 3°11 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 Education Act 2005, 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 carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is situated in the Netherley ward of Liverpool. The pupils are predominantly White British and none is learning English as an additional language. The proportion of children who are eligible for free school meals is very high. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. Since the time of the last inspection, there has been a change of headteacher and deputy headteacher.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006

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Grade: 3

This is an improving school. It has real strengths in how it cares for the children, keeping them safe and providing them with excellent opportunities to pursue a healthy lifestyle. For example, children are practising what they are taught when it comes to having a balanced diet. Children's behaviour and attitudes to school are good and their good personal development is highly valued by parents, who have very positive views of the school. Standards are broadly average and achievement is satisfactory overall. A year ago, the senior managers of the school took stock of how the school was performing and in particular how well the children were doing in key subjects, such as English, mathematics and science, where achievement is satisfactory overall but inconsistent. It had been clear for some years that children come into the Nursery with attainment below national expectations and achieve well in the Foundation Stage because of the good teaching

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Grade: 3

and learning they enjoy. This good teaching and achievement continues in Years 1 and 2. Assessments at the end of Year 2 show standards in reading, writing and mathematics are average so children are progressing well from low starting points. In Key Stage 2, however, children have not built consistently on this good start or done as well as they could in tests at the end of Year 6. With the support of the local authority, the senior managers and staff set about improving the quality of teaching and learning and helping the children to understand what they need to do to achieve well. This work is benefiting all children but its full impact is yet to be realised in higher standards in Year 6. In the 2006 test results, for instance, standards ranged from near the average in English to below average in mathematics and science. There is more for the staff to do in order to make teaching consistently good throughout the school,

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Grade: 3

for instance, in involving the children more in achieving their targets and in setting suitable work for lower attaining children. Another aspect that is receiving close attention is the poor attendance of a small minority of children whose parents condone unnecessary absences and so undermine the children's achievement. The school is taking firm steps to tackle this and these are already having a positive impact. The school's effectiveness and its potential for improvement are satisfactory. The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. Improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory overall and has accelerated in the last year. The headteacher and deputy, governors and staff have embraced the changes and new demands and are fully committed to school improvement. There are satisfactory systems for judging the school's effectiveness and senior managers now have a generally

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Grade: 3

accurate picture of how well the school is performing.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Make sure children know and understand their targets for learning in English, mathematics and science, how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. 2 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006 • Set work for lower attaining children which caters for their needs specifically and helps them make good progress.

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Grade: 3

When they join the Nursery, some children have learning difficulties and several have speech and language problems. They all make good progress throughout the Foundation Stage and by the end of the Reception year some have reached most of the early learning goals expected of children at this stage of their education, but the majority are still working towards them. Achievement continues to be good in Key Stage 1. In Key Stage 2, progress has been inconsistent across different year groups in the past and standards at the end of Year 6 have fluctuated, in recent years, from broadly average to below average. Achievement of higher attaining children has been good but that of lower attainers has been unsatisfactory. However, as a result of significant input from specialists from the local authority, working closely with staff, this gap is closing and all pupils are beginning to make better progress.

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Grade: 2

Parents are highly supportive of the positive atmosphere in the school, one commenting, 'My child loves school, he has lots of friends and finds the teachers helpful and friendly'. The good relationships evident in the school community strongly promote children's personal and social development. The children enjoy school, are polite, friendly and try hard. Their good behaviour can be seen both in lessons and around school. The children know that bullying is not tolerated. Attendance is improving as a result of a wide range of well planned initiatives, including the introduction of a breakfast club and certificates which acknowledge and reward good attendance. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Older children proudly take responsibility and have raised money for a number of charities and to improve playground resources. Children are very aware of the benefits of healthy eating, thanks

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Grade: 2

to the excellent healthy options at lunchtime, and they take part in a wide variety of physical activities.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory with good features. Teaching seen during the inspection is building well on improvements arising from better monitoring and the support provided by the local authority. Good features evident in those lessons 3 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006 provided children with a variety of challenging, imaginative activities that made learning fun and developed independence. Very little time is wasted because relationships are good and children respond well to teachers' clear expectations of their behaviour. Teachers know clearly what is needed to provide effective support that enables children with additional learning difficulties and/or disabilities to make good progress. In some otherwise satisfactory lessons, various features reduced the impact of teaching on children's learning. For example, planning in one lesson took insufficient account of

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Grade: 3

children's earlier learning and some lower attaining children found the work too difficult and did not make enough progress. Occasionally, marking and feedback were not robust and children were unable to understand what it was they needed to do next in order to make progress. These aspects require improvement if teaching and learning are to be consistently good.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. The work undertaken to enrich the curriculum is still in its infancy and as yet is not making a strong impact on raising standards. After-school activities ranging from needlework through to first aid and sports clubs promote children's physical and creative development well. Children in the Foundation Stage benefit from a rich range of activities that emphasise language and social development. Support for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is satisfactory overall and is most effective where support is well focused on their individual learning needs. Library provision is limited and does not provide a lending facility to foster interest and enjoyment in reading amongst children. Gifted and talented children take part in a wide range of activities in arts, sports and music that often involve youngsters from other schools and enhance their learning well.

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Grade: 2

This aspect is good. The work of the learning mentor is especially effective and is highly regarded by parents and children. Procedures and practices for all aspects of child protection, health, safety and safe recruitment are in place. Arrangements for children starting in the Nursery class are good and a strong relationship is forged with parents. As a result, children settle quickly into routines. Vulnerable children are well supported. The promotion of good behaviour and giving the children a say in school decision making are good; for instance, over improving the school grounds. Through recent initiatives, staff have developed good procedures for tracking children's achievements. These are becoming increasingly effective in identifying the learning needs of children and setting targets for them to achieve. 4 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006

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Grade: 3

Recent steps to improve the achievement of children and raise standards in English, mathematics and science reflect the commitment of the headteacher, deputy and governors to take the lead in initiating change. The commitment of the staff is seen in how they have taken on board different teaching strategies and assessment procedures. All have benefited from the intensive support provided by specialists from the local authority. Monitoring the quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and is now having a good impact on improving teachers' practice. However, it is because much of this work is still in the process of being embedded, with not enough evidence of its effectiveness, that the leadership and management of the school are judged satisfactory rather than good. The school considers its overall effectiveness and capacity to improve to be good, whereas inspectors judge both to be satisfactory. Again, new

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Grade: 3

developments have not had time to have a strong enough impact on these aspects. All aspects of governance are satisfactory and governors have been involved in the recent drive to improve the effectiveness of the school. They have helped to steer the school through a difficult time of falling rolls, and the associated reduction of staff, whilst still maintaining a balanced budget. 5 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for your help when we inspected your school. Please pass on our thanks to the other children we met and spoke to while we were at school. We enjoyed our visit very much. Now we want to share with you what we thought about your school. Your school is giving you a satisfactory standard of education. This means there are some things that the school does well but there are some important things the staff need to do to make the school better. These are some of the things that are good in your school: • the staff take good care of you and help you all to be fit, safe and healthy • the Food for Thought project is excellent • the Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 staff give the children a good start in school • your behaviour is good and you are growing into sensible students who want to learn • the staff provide you with good opportunities for sports as well as activities and clubs after

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school. To help you to do better in English, mathematics and science, we have asked the school to: • make sure you all know what your targets are and what you must do to achieve them • set work that is challenging without being too hard for those of you who find it difficult. You also have got to play a big part in all this, so make sure you attend every day and keep working hard! 9 Inspection Report: Norman Pannell School, 11 °12 September 2006

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