Prince Edward Primary School

Prince Edward Primary School Inspection report

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107090 Unique Reference Number Sheffield Local Authority 309310 Inspection number 20 °21 February 2008 Inspection dates Andrew Clark 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 345 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Richard Foster Chair Mr Harry Wood Headteacher 17 May 2004 Date of previous school inspection 747 City Road School address Sheffield South Yorkshire S12 2AA 0114 2281900 Telephone number 0114 2399307 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 20 °21 February 2008 Inspection dates 309310 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

The school is larger than average. It is in a regeneration area near the centre of Sheffield and serves an area of social and economic disadvantage. The percentage of pupils eligible for a free school meal is well above average. The proportion of pupils identified with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is very high. The majority of pupils are White British with a small minority from African or Asian backgrounds. There are no pupils at an early stage of learning English. The school has the Healthy Schools Award. A new headteacher was appointed in September 2007. The school is in a Learning Partnership with Birley Community Primary School.

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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: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008

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Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a Notice to Improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to standards and pupils' achievement in English, mathematics and science and their attendance. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school and is leading a comprehensive programme of improvement, well supported by a leadership team who are growing in confidence and experience. As a result, the school's honest self-evaluation accurately identifies where improvements are being made and where shortcomings remain. Although pupils are now making satisfactory progress in lessons, there is some way to go to make up for the longstanding underachievement in the school. Consequently, standards are

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Grade: 4

well below national averages in English, mathematics and science at both key stages and pupils' achievement is inadequate. Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is satisfactory. Pupils are well behaved in lessons and at playtimes because teachers set clear expectations and the many pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties are well supported. They majority of pupils enjoy their lessons and are eager to improve. Despite some hard work by the school, the attendance of some pupils is too low and this limits their achievement. Pupils know how to keep healthy and willingly take advantage of a range of after-school sporting activities. The school has achieved the Healthy Schools Award. Teaching and learning are satisfactory, although emerging strengths and the sharing of good practice have not been in place long enough, or applied consistently enough, to secure the

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Grade: 4

necessary improvement in standards and achievement. Relationships are good and lessons are planned well to challenge and motivate pupils. Occasionally, lessons are not exciting enough. Marking is increasingly used well to indicate to pupils how they can improve their work and make better progress. However, this is not consistent in all classes and the setting of individual learning targets is at an early stage of development. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils' learning. The curriculum is satisfactory. There is a clear focus on English and mathematics and an increasing emphasis on information and communication technology. Pupils' learning experiences are enhanced by regular visits, including a residential visit in Year 6. The quality of care, guidance and support for pupils is satisfactory. The pastoral care for pupils is good and procedures to keep pupils safe are thorough and robust. New procedures to track and monitor pupils' academic

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Grade: 4

progress are beginning to improve pupils' achievement, but have not been in place long enough to raise standards. Parents are very supportive of recent school developments. Leadership and management are satisfactory. A very close partnership with another local school, also led by the new headteacher, has contributed to the establishment of monitoring and evaluation processes which have identified weaknesses and have improved teamwork and staff stability. The governing body plays a satisfactory and increasing role in the life of the school, providing support and challenge to the leadership. The evidence of improving achievement and satisfactory teaching and learning indicate that the school has the capacity to improve, while recognising that it has a long way to go to bring about all the improvement that is necessary. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008

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Grade: 3

The children start the nursery with skills which are well below those typical for their age. The progress they make through Nursery and Reception is satisfactory. They make good progress in their personal development and reach levels similar to the local average by the end of the Reception year. In all other areas standards remain low. Leadership is satisfactory. Detailed systems to track individual children's progress are in place but they do not give a sufficient overview of whole-class progress. As a result, opportunities to provide activities to improve learning for all children are missed. Effective systems to welcome children into school mean they settle well. Parents welcome the care and support their children receive and the guidance they are given. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Strengths of teaching are in teacher's skilful questioning and the involvement of all adults in children's role play, to encourage early

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Grade: 3

language skills and personal development. The accommodation, especially in the Nursery, limits the range of opportunities for children, especially for activities involving large resources, and full advantage is not always taken of the outdoor provision. A new Foundation Unit is due to open very shortly.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve pupils' achievements and raise standards in English, mathematics and science at both key stages. ■ Work with families to improve attendance to bring it in line with national averages.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching so learning and achievement are consistently good or better.

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Grade: 4

Leaders and managers acknowledge in the school's own self evaluation that pupils' standards and achievement are inadequate and significant improvement is required. The latest results of National Curriculum assessments and tests show that standards are well below average in English, mathematics and science in year 2 and Year 6 and that this has been the case since the last inspection. The achievement for all groups of pupils has been too low. The evidence from the school's new tracking systems and observations of progress in lessons and in pupils' work clearly indicates that achievement is improving for all abilities in English and mathematics since September, but is not yet good enough. An increasing number of pupils are showing improved achievement and are narrowing the gap towards the levels expected for their age. This is a result of improving teaching and learning, making better use of assessment information

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Grade: 4

and rigorous monitoring by leaders. The school recognises that there is a considerable backlog of underachievement to address before standards are acceptable.

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Grade: 3

Leaders have taken a clear and strong approach towards improving behaviour, which is appreciated by pupils, parents and teachers. As a result, pupils now work and play in a calm atmosphere and enjoy their learning. Those with emotional and social difficulties learn to control their behaviour increasingly well through skilled teaching aimed at raising self-esteem. Despite the support of the school and external agencies, attendance and punctuality remain a problem for a significant number of pupils whose parents allow them to be regularly late for school or 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008 take unauthorised days off. However, there has been some recent improvement to overall levels of attendance. Pupils are developing good skills in working together and organising their work, but their low basic skills mean they are not well enough prepared for their future well-being.

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Grade: 3

Pupils feel safe at school and free from bullying because they know staff will listen and help them. They take responsibilities through the school council and as playground buddies and enjoy fundraising for a wide range of charities.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' learning is satisfactory because teaching is satisfactory overall with some that is good or outstanding. Although improving, teaching is not yet consistently strong enough to eradicate the legacy of underachievement that has persisted for many years. After a period of flux, staffing is now more stable. Five out of six staff in Key Stage 2 joined in September 2007. All staff have responded positively to new leadership; morale is high and there is good collaboration. While there are now several strengths to teaching, they are not consistent to all lessons. The best lessons are planned well. The 'ice breaker' at the start of these lessons consists of highly motivating activities such as a game or visual task on the interactive whiteboard, which engages pupils' attention. Classroom displays are stimulating and often used well for learning in the best lessons. Many teachers have high expectations of pupils' presentation and care in their

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Grade: 3

work. This leads pupils to have a sense of pride and to strive for higher achievement. In good lessons teachers involve pupils in understanding the purpose of their lesson and allow them to measure their own progress. Occasionally, the drive to improve standards leads to work being too difficult for the least able pupils.

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Grade: 3

The school offers a balanced curriculum that is becoming increasingly responsive to pupils' needs. For example, daily science lessons have been introduced to improve pupils' retention of the skills and knowledge they need to raise standards. The school has made good progress in implementing the new national framework for English and mathematics and this is helping to improve pupils' achievement. There is a programme of regular visits for pupils, including residential visits and the curriculum is further enhanced by visitors to the school. There is a pleasing range of after-school activities, including a variety of sports. The provision for pupils with learning difficulties is satisfactory and improving as the school makes increasingly good use of its tracking systems to provide the most appropriate learning support.

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Grade: 3

There is a very high proportion of pupils identified as being at risk of underachievement and their needs are closely monitored. The school works well with many different agencies to ensure good levels of day-to-day pastoral care. Procedures to promote better behaviour and attendance are robust. They have recently been improved and have already had a good impact on behaviour but less so on attendance. There are appropriate procedures for safeguarding pupils and keeping them safe and healthy. The promotion of pupils' personal, social and health development is satisfactory. The highly valued and very well attended breakfast club gives many pupils a 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008 focused start to the day. The school has recently improved its tracking of pupils' progress so that this is now satisfactory and developing. However, the use of pupils' individual targets to

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Grade: 3

raise achievement is at an early stage of development and many pupils are not sufficiently aware of their targets.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher has used the strengths of both schools in the Learning Partnership, particularly the skills and time of its senior staff, to create a leadership structure clearly focused on raising achievement through improving teaching and learning. This has led to improved management at all levels based on a good range of first-hand monitoring and evaluation. The governing body, which is now up to strength, took an important role in supporting the Learning Partnership as a way to improve standards. Governors have a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. School improvement planning is soundly based on accurate self-evaluation. Leaders demonstrate satisfactory capacity to drive forward the necessary improvements. However, the current low standards and inadequate achievement by pupils mean that the school has not made sufficient progress since the last inspection and does not provide value for money.

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Grade: 3

Parents and pupils welcome the sense of purpose and openness the headteacher has established. Many parents wrote to the inspectors to express their positive views on the recent changes in the school. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008 .

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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: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008

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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? No 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? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

4 How well do learners achieve? 4 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 4 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 How well learners enjoy their education 4 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008

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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 3 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? Yes Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave us when we inspected your school recently. We enjoyed spending time talking to you. Walking up and down your long corridors helped to keep us fit! We found that you enjoyed lessons and behaved well. You told us that you like your teachers and feel safe in school and this is reflected in your good behaviour. You like being involved in the school council and taking part in many of the clubs and sporting activities after school. You know how to keep healthy and many of you get a great start to the day at the busy breakfast club. We judge that your school is satisfactory in some areas, but it needs a lot of work to make some things better. We have given it a 'Notice to Improve'. Another inspector will visit you again in the near future to see if things are improving. We found that too many of you do not do as well as you should and do not reach a high enough standard in English, mathematics and science by the time you leave school. Some pupils take

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

too much time off school or arrive late and this prevents them from learning as much as they should. Many teachers plan interesting lessons for you and help you work hard. Unfortunately not all do this, so some lessons are not as good as they could be. We have asked the school to make sure you reach higher standards and that everyone attends school as often as they should. We have also asked teachers to make all their lessons as good as they can be. You can help by coming to school every day and working hard. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Prince Edward Primary School, 20 °21 February 2008

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