Park Lane Primary School

Park Lane Primary School Inspection report

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109790 Unique Reference Number Reading Local Authority 288496 Inspection number 24 °25 September 2007 Inspection dates Olson Davis 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 5 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 430 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr M Wall Chair Mrs N Browne Headteacher 4 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection School Road School address Tilehurst Reading RG31 5BD 01189 015515 Telephone number 01189 015516 Fax number

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5-11 Age group 24 °25 September 2007 Inspection dates 288496 Inspection number .

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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 large school is on a split site. The school is over-subscribed and this has led to large classes in the junior department. There are plans to build a new school in the near future. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is below the national average. Most pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils at the early stages of learning English is lower than in most schools. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is in line with the national average although there is some variation between year groups.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 2007

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Grade: 3

Park Lane Primary is a satisfactory school with good features. Under the good leadership of the headteacher and deputy headteacher and supported by a strong governing body the school is making rapid and sustainable improvement from a period of instability when standards were declining. The leaders' effective use of good school self-evaluation and a sharply focused school improvement plan have led to many improvements in provision and achievement. Behaviour has improved and standards are higher in mathematics and science. There is good capacity to build on these recent successes. The caring approach adopted by all adults ensures that there is a calm and supportive environment in which pupils can develop. Pupils make a good start in the Foundation Stage in their personal development. By the time they reach Year 6 they are confident, mature members of a harmonious community. The school's good care, support and guidance contribute to pupils' good personal development.

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Grade: 3

This is shown by their evident enjoyment of school, positive attitudes to work and their good attendance. They are polite and friendly. The vast majority of parents are supportive of the school and feel that their children do well academically and socially. One parent wrote, 'My child loves all aspects of school life. He never complains about going and runs to the gate every morning.' Understandably, a few parents express concerns that deficiencies in accommodation have affected their children's progress adversely. One commented, '...the school is hampered by the cramped accommodation and large class sizes.' Teaching is satisfactory and as a result, pupils make steady progress in their learning. Achievement is satisfactory and standards are average. Teaching is quite often good, but not consistently so because teachers have too few opportunities to share good practice. Although there are good examples of teachers checking on pupils' progress this is not the case in all

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Grade: 3

lessons and this sometimes leads to a slow pace in learning. Teachers have improved the way that they teach mathematics and science. As a result, standards have improved in these subjects. Standards in writing are not as high as they should be because pupils have too few opportunities to develop their writing skills other than in literacy lessons. Leadership and management overall are satisfactory. Senior leaders give clear direction to the work of the school. Middle managers offer useful support and advice to colleagues throughout the school. However, they do not sufficiently monitor the quality of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility or work alongside their colleagues. This limits their ability to raise standards by providing help where it is most needed. Governors carry out their role diligently and effectively. They work assiduously to address the difficulties caused by the school's

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Grade: 2

The Foundation Stage is good. This area of the school has a new co-ordinator who has developed a well-organised and motivated staff team who provide a rich and stimulating learning environment for the youngest children in the school. Children thrive in a curriculum that is well planned to ensure coverage of all areas of learning. The Foundation Stage team assess children thoroughly so that they know how to manage the next steps in their learning. Children make good progress in all areas and are well prepared for Year 1. More recently there has been particular focus on the development of early writing skills 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 2007 to develop children's confidence to 'have a go' and enjoy writing. This success in developing early writing skills is helping the school to move towards its aim of improving pupils' writing throughout the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve writing by providing more opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills in other subjects. ■ Make the quality of teaching consistent so that all lessons have good pace and that all teachers keep a closer check on pupils' progress. ■ Develop the role of middle managers to ensure that each has proper oversight of standards and the quality of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Attainment on entry is average. Children make good progress and many reach the goals set for the end of the Reception year. They do particularly well in their personal, social and emotional development. The pupils achieve satisfactorily from Year 1 to Year 6. Standards in the current Year 6 are average and boys and girls make satisfactory progress. The school is likely to reach its targets this year. Effective school self-evaluation and swift action by the headteacher brought an improvement in standards in mathematics and science in 2007. The school focused its teaching on improving pupils' investigational skills. However, standards in writing at the end of Years 2 and 6 were not as high because pupils do not have enough opportunities to write purposefully in other subjects. Vulnerable pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities, make the same progress as their classmates because of the effective additional

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Grade: 2

The school has successfully revised its procedures for promoting good behaviour and pupils respond well showing respect and care for each other. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They show a strong social sense by raising money for charities at home and abroad. The school choir is active in the community. Pupils make enthusiastic contributions to the life of the school and feel that their views are valued. For example, the school has introduced a 'friendship bench' in the school garden and has made changes to break-time arrangements on the recommendation of the active school council. Pupils have a good understanding of the benefits of good diet and exercise. They eagerly participate in the many opportunities for sport and exercise. Pupils have a sound grasp of basic skills and good personal and social skills. This prepares them satisfactorily for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 2

5 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 2007

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Grade: 3

There are some clear strengths in teaching across the school despite some inconsistencies. Pupils feel involved in their learning because they understand what they are expected to learn and achieve by the end of the lesson. Relationships between adults and pupils are good and this helps the children to tackle their work with confidence and enthusiasm. Some teachers are skilled at questioning pupils to check their understanding throughout the lesson, adapting the lesson and tasks to meet their needs. However, not all teachers check so carefully on pupils' learning to ensure that they are making good progress. In some lessons, the pace of learning slows because introductory sessions are too long. Therefore, pupils have insufficient time to complete their tasks and to write for extended periods. Teaching assistants work closely with teachers to provide good support to individuals and small groups who need additional help.

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Grade: 3

The school's focus on developing pupils' investigative skills is working and is successfully raising achievement in mathematics and science. Opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills are becoming increasingly effective in literacy lessons but are not planned well enough in other subjects. Pupils speak enthusiastically about design technology and physical education and their artwork is vibrant and celebrated in lively displays. Pupils' learning and personal development benefit from a well-planned programme in personal, social and health education. Pupils' learning also profits from the good links with parents, other schools and outside agencies. The school environment, especially the garden area, is used well to promote learning in the Foundation Stage and on the Key Stage 1 site. However, deficiencies in the Key Stage 2 site limit opportunities for more active learning for the older pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pastoral care is strong and pupils feel well supported and safe. Parents appreciate this aspect of the school's work. One wrote, 'I feel the ethos for the pupils' happiness and social well-being is very good'. Supervision at break and lunchtime is rigorous and enables pupils to enjoy safely the many playground activities. Pupils report that any rare incidents of disruption or bullying are dealt with swiftly and effectively. All requirements for ensuring pupils' health and safety and the safeguarding of pupils are met. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are supported well. There are well-organised systems for identifying and meeting their needs. Teachers make good use of assessment data to guide pupils on how to improve in English and mathematics, but this is not as well established in other subjects.

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Grade: 3

School leaders know the school well. The headteacher promotes a strong, caring ethos in which pupils make good progress in their personal development. She is ably supported by the deputy headteacher and together they have accurately evaluated the school's work. The school 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 2007 improvement plan correctly identifies the key areas for improvement, including the need to improve standards in writing. Prompt and effective action by the headteacher has resulted in improved standards in science and mathematics. This illustrates the school's good capacity to improve. The headteacher regularly monitors the quality of teaching with a focus on raising standards. Careful checks are made to ensure that advice has been taken up but some variation in the quality of teaching remains. This is because middle managers are not sufficiently involved in monitoring the quality of teaching and learning and in working alongside colleagues. This

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Grade: 3

limits their contribution to raising standards in their areas of responsibility. Governors are strongly involved in the process of school improvement. They carry out their monitoring role well and provide good challenge to the school. Governors are concerned by the large class sizes and have provided additional teachers and teaching assistants to increase the amount of group teaching. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

5 October 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Park Lane Primary School,Reading,RG31 5BD My fellow inspectors and I visited your school recently to check how well you were getting on. Thank you for being so friendly and making us feel so welcome. We found that your school provides you with a satisfactory education and has some good features. Here are some of the good things about your school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ your attendance is good and the staff take good care of you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the children in the Foundation Stage do well because they are given interesting activities

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you enjoy your learning and the other activities in school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you behave well and want to do your best in lessons

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the school listens to you when you suggest how things could be better and you value being given responsibilities ■ you are making satisfactory progress in your learning and this is getting better

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the headteacher and governors have clear plans on how to improve the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

To improve further, we have asked the school to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ help you to do better in your writing by giving you more opportunities to practise your writing skills in different subjects ■ make sure that teachers share their ideas on what works best, so that all lessons are brisk and lively ■ encourage teachers with responsibilities to visit classrooms more often to see how well you are learning. We hope that you will continue to enjoy your school. We also hope that you will help your teachers as they work hard to make your school even better for you. Yours sincerely, Olson Davis Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Park Lane Primary School, 24 °25 September 2007

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