Heaton Park Primary School

Inspection Report Heaton Park Primary School

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105306 Unique Reference Number Bury Local Authority 287188 Inspection number 22 °23 February 2007 Inspection dates Robert Robinson 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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Cuckoo Lane School address Primary Type of school Whitefield Community School category Manchester M45 6TE 3 °11 Age range of pupils 0161 7739554 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 2537296 Fax number 367 Number on roll (school) Mr G Van Hecke Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr P Lord Headteacher 26 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 287188 22 °23 February 2007 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average primary school. Most pupils are of White British or Asian ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is about average, although a higher than average proportion have statements of special educational need. The socio-economic circumstances of the area are below average, as is attainment on entry to Nursery. Since the last inspection there have been significant changes of senior leaders. The headteacher commenced his duties in September 2006 and the deputy headteacher in January 2005.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007

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Grade: 3

Heaton Park Primary is a satisfactory school. Although the school considers itself to be a good school, pupils' satisfactory achievement does not support this judgement. The school has continued to improve since its previous inspection. The recently appointed headteacher understands what needs to be done to raise standards further. Initiatives have been put in place recently to raise pupils' achievement but, as yet, they have not had sufficient time to impact on performance. Although the school has a wealth of information about pupils' attainment, too little use has been made of the data until recently to track their progress and to set them challenging targets so they achieve as well as they could. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory, though it varies from satisfactory to outstanding; as a result, pupils' progress is variable. This is because the monitoring of teaching has not been rigorous enough to improve teaching to good or better overall

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Grade: 3

to enable pupils to make consistently good progress throughout the school. Provision in the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) is good because of good teaching and a well organised curriculum. By the time children enter Year 1 their standards are broadly average. Throughout the rest of the school, overall satisfactory progress results in standards by the end of Year 6 being broadly average, although standards in English, particularly writing, are behind those in mathematics. Too few opportunities are available for pupils to use and develop their literacy skills in other subjects. Pupils develop a good understanding of right and wrong and develop harmonious relationships with each other. They enjoy school and behave well both in lessons and around school. As a result, the school is a calm and orderly place, where pupils say they feel safe and well cared for. Pupils, including those with learning difficulties

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Grade: 3

and/or disabilities, receive a good level of pastoral care; members of staff are supportive and know the pupils well. The management of the school has been strengthened recently by the expansion and changed remit of the senior management team. The team works hard and enthusiastically, with a good team spirit and a shared vision for improving the school. Self-evaluation is satisfactory and identifies the school's strengths and areas where improvements are needed. The school's capacity to continue to improve is satisfactory, as is the value for money it offers. Parents have mixed views of the school. For example, parents report that 'their children are happy, safe and doing well' and 'the school is a good place for children to learn'. However, a few parents are concerned about recent changes and feel that they have had a lack of information about them.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the system for monitoring pupils' progress and make more effective use of assessment information to ensure that pupils achieve as well as they can, particularly in writing. • Improve the consistency of teaching through rigorous monitoring of pupils' learning. 2 Inspection Report: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007

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Grade: 3

The achievement of all groups of pupils is satisfactory. Standards in Year 6 are broadly average, and have been so since the previous inspection. Pupils make satisfactory progress because of overall adequate teaching and pupils' good attitudes to learning. Statistical information shows that pupils' progress varies between year groups, although it is satisfactory overall. Children enter school with a very wide range of attainment. Overall, attainment on entry to Nursery has dipped to below average in recent years. This is because an increased proportion of children are entering the school with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage and reach close to expected levels in all the areas of learning by the end of Reception. In Years 1 to 6 pupils make satisfactory progress. Pupils of different ethnic backgrounds and gender make similar progress, although boys' standards are lower than those of

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Grade: 3

girls', particularly in writing. Targets set for 2006 national tests were close to being met at the level expected nationally.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. This makes a positive contribution to their achievement. Behaviour is good because of teachers' consistent use of the school's procedures. Pupils know how to stay safe and keep healthy. Generally, pupils are free from bullying, and feel confident that any incidences would be quickly and effectively dealt with. The school has awards for being a healthy and active school. These underline the school's commitment towards promoting pupils' health and safety. Pupils are satisfactorily prepared for the future because of their average standards in basic skills in literacy and numeracy. Pupils make a satisfactory contribution to the school community, for example, through the work of the school council and contributions to local and national charities. Attendance is in line with the national average.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and this leads to pupils making satisfactory progress. Variations in teaching from satisfactory to good or better result in uneven progress across the school. Most lessons are planned well and linked to pupils' level of attainment. Interactive whiteboards are used effectively to explain new learning. Relationships are positive and this contributes strongly to pupils' enjoyment in learning. In some lessons, the pace of learning occasionally dips and opportunities are missed to capture pupils' interests. Good use is made of teaching assistants to support the teaching of basic skills and to help pupils with learning difficulties and/or 3 Inspection Report: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007 disabilities. The management of pupils' behaviour is effective and, as a result, pupils work well whether working with a teacher or independently. The most effective teaching

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Grade: 3

engages pupils through good methods and organisation with effective use of resources, including information and communication technology. This results in pupils making brisk progress in their learning. The marking of pupils' work is too variable and rarely provides pointers for improvement.

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Grade: 3

A broad and balanced curriculum satisfactorily meets the needs of all pupils. The curriculum is divided into separate subjects and the planning of lessons does not link sufficiently learning in one subject with that in another. For example, pupils often do not write up science investigations independently, to strengthen their literacy skills. The successes in the Foundation Stage are because of good curricular planning and detailed tracking of individual children's progress. However, there are insufficient opportunities for the children in Reception to extend their learning outdoors because of accommodation difficulties. This has been recognised by the school and it is actively seeking ways to overcome the difficulties. There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities and take-up is good, particularly in sporting activities. French has been added to the curriculum throughout Years 3 to 6 and the whole school participates in a French

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Grade: 3

Day which extends pupils' awareness of the traditions that exist in other cultures.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall. A calm and purposeful atmosphere helps the youngest children to settle quickly into the school's routines. Staff are fully committed to pupils' welfare and the school meets current national requirements for safeguarding of children. However, systems to set pupils individual targets linked to levels of the National Curriculum and to check their progress are insufficient. Pupils are helped to develop a good awareness of healthy lifestyles. Child protection procedures are established and understood by all staff, who have benefited from training. Careful risk assessment, particularly for activities off the school premises, demonstrates a strong commitment to pupils' safety. Pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities or require help with a particular problem are well supported by staff. Pupils feel that their views are listened to and that their concerns

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Grade: 3

are addressed. Good links with secondary schools ease pupils' transition smoothly to the next step of their education.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The recently appointed headteacher has maintained the strengths of the school and put in place initiatives to improve standards, particularly in writing. A newly constituted management team leads the well established 4 Inspection Report: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007 teaching staff. A strong team spirit among the staff has led to a willingness to address change and forge forward with initiatives to improve pupils' achievements. The impact of the considerable number of recent developments has yet to be realised. The school is working hard to develop its system of quality assurance to monitor all aspects of its work. Subject coordinators are starting to play an important part in establishing and monitoring the delivery of the curriculum and standards in their subjects, but it is too soon to see the impact of their work. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

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Grade: 3

are included well into all aspects of school life and their parents appreciate this. The governing body offers a satisfactory level of support and challenge for the leadership and management in shaping the direction of the school, for example, in its drive to improve standards in literacy. 5 Inspection Report: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007 .

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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: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007

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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 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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?

3 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: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007

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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: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming Mr Martin, Mr Stafford and myself to your school and being so polite and friendly. We enjoyed our visit and we want to share with you what we thought about your school. We are pleased that you enjoy school, behave well and all get on so well together. We appreciated that you are cared for well by staff, feel safe at the school and have good opportunities to take part in activities that will keep you healthy. A strength in lessons is your good attitudes to learning and that you all get on well with your teachers. In many lessons we saw, the teaching was good or better, although some were only satisfactory. We have asked the school to make sure the quality of teaching is good or better at all times so you make faster progress and reach higher standards. To improve your standards further, particularly in writing, we have asked the school to use the information it has about your progress to set you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

challenging targets which you understand. We have also asked your teachers to ensure that they all teach as well as possible and regularly check on how well you are learning. This will help you to see what you must do to improve. We trust that you will work hard to meet your targets and improve your standards in writing. We appreciated talking to you about your work and watching you learn. We wish you well for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Heaton Park Primary School, 22 °23 February 2007

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