Moorside Primary School

Moorside Community Primary School Inspection report

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108492 Unique Reference Number Newcastle upon Tyne Local Authority 309705 Inspection number 27 November 2007 Inspection date Andrea Lyons HMI 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 413 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Brian Hannah Chair Ms June Foster Headteacher 1 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Beaconsfield Street School address Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE4 5AW 0191 2720239 Telephone number 0191 2261635 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 27 November 2007 Inspection date 309705 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school, and investigated the following issues: pupils’ achievement; the quality of teaching and learning; and the leadership and management of the school, gathering evidence from: observations of lessons and one assembly; discussions with staff, pupils and governors; parents’ and carers’ replies to the inspection questionnaire; scrutiny of pupils’ work; and examination of a wide range of documentary evidence provided by the school. Other aspects of the school’s work were not inspected in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school’s own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in the report.

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Description of the school

This is a very large primary school situated in an area of extreme social deprivation. Around half of the pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals, but the school identifies many more who do not access their entitlement. Just under half the pupils are White British and many come from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds. Between them, pupils speak 48 community languages and many are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. An increasing number of pupils are from the families of migrant workers. Their English is often minimal and their stay at the school is comparatively short. Overall, the number of pupils entering and leaving the school other than at the usual times is much higher than the national average. The number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is just above the national average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Moorside Community Primary School, 27 November 2007

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Grade: 1

Moorside is an outstanding school. It accepts pupils from a wide range of cultures and abilities, at many times in the school year, and quickly settles them in to its calm and purposeful learning environment. There are well established routines and high expectations, and the care, guidance and support offered to pupils is outstanding. As a result, pupils make exceptional progress in their personal development. Pupils who remain at the school for a number of years also make outstanding progress academically, as do pupils who receive targeted support. Where required, pupils are offered a highly effective programme of support to acquire English skills or to support any learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and as a result make good and often outstanding progress in these areas. Many of the pupils who only attend for a short period make good progress. Higher ability pupils make good or better progress and usually reach the higher levels at the end of

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Grade: 1

Key Stage 2, even if they joined the school with a low level of skills. The standards achieved by the school fluctuate from year to year, depending on factors such as the number of pupils moving in or out of the school. However, overall standards remain below the national average. Many of the pupils who start school in the Nursery or Reception class have skills which are very significantly below those expected for their age, particularly in language and social skills. Because of this very low starting point, their work does not always meet the expected standards despite their exceptional progress. Results are also adversely affected by the number of pupils with a low level of skills joining the school in Key Stage 2, and many of the higher achieving pupils leaving to join the city’s middle school system. Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development,

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Grade: 1

is outstanding. Parents are very positive about the school. They say: ‘The school goes out of its way to support both parents and children to get the best education for every child… it always puts the interest of the child first’. Pupils demonstrate a very good degree of mutual support and understanding. For example, fluent English speakers act as buddies to new starters with little or no English. They model expected routines and behaviours and know how to find children with the same community language, so that they can act as translators. They say that there is no racism or bullying in the school, because pupils know how important it is to prevent them and staff would act quickly to stop any instances if they occurred. Behaviour is good. Pupils work well independently and in groups, and understand the class, group and individual targets set. This contributes greatly to their progress and to their increasing self confidence

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Grade: 1

and self esteem. Pupils have a very good understanding of how to keep healthy and safe both within and outside school. They contribute to the local community in a number of ways and talk confidently about the school’s role in improving it through, for example, putting up signs to prevent litter. Attendance rates suffer from factors such as religious festivals, but other than this attendance is satisfactory. Pupils enjoy school very much and are rightly proud of it. They say that teachers make lessons fun, really listen to what pupils say, and always make them feel safe. Teaching is good, and sometimes outstanding. Teachers establish excellent relationships with pupils and manage their classes well. The working atmosphere is relaxed and purposeful. Both teaching and support staff have an excellent understanding of pupils’ changing needs as they improve, and adapt their approaches in class accordingly to maintain the pace of progress. In

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Grade: 1

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Moorside Community Primary School, 27 November 2007 the best lessons teachers assess pupils’ progress and understanding effectively through focused questioning and use of pupils’ own self assessment. The curriculum covers all that is required, and is well enriched and enhanced by a very wide range of additional activities, both within school and through out of school clubs. Excellent whole school planning ensures that a wide range of teaching strategies are built into the curriculum to ensure that all pupils can access it, for instance by ensuring use of practical and visual learning to support spoken English. The school provides creative opportunities such as specialist music teaching throughout the school, and makes very good use of many visits and visitors to expand pupils’ knowledge and experience of the world. As a result pupils are highly motivated and enthusiastic about their learning, particularly with regard to the popular ‘creativity

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Grade: 1

weeks’ and areas where they feel they can learn more independently, such as science and topic work. Teachers use assessment and marking well to ensure that work is well matched to individual and group needs, and that pupils know what they need to do next to improve. The school has a wealth of data on pupils’ progress. It analyses this well to identify areas where pupils need additional help or challenge, and sets challenging targets. It analyses the patterns of pupils’ standards very effectively, both for individuals and groups of pupils, to support planning for school improvement. However, it does not consistently use its information on pupil progress in the same way, which reduces its effectiveness. The leadership and management of the school are outstanding. The headteacher is an inspirational leader who ensures that the school continually evaluates and improves its provision for pupils. She is well supported by a very strong leadership team, and by a committed and

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Grade: 1

positive staff. The school regularly seeks and acts on the views of parents and pupils, and works effectively with a wide range of partners both within and outside the local community. The Governing Body is good. It is very well informed about the school generally, although it does not challenge the school sufficiently about curriculum areas or individual pupil progress. It provides excellent support to the school. The school’s combination of support for pupils with ambition for their future makes a real difference to their chances in life. It provides excellent value for money and has an outstanding capacity to improve.

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Grade: 1

Provision in the Foundation Stage is outstanding. On entry to Nursery, many children have an exceptionally low level of skill and experience. They make good progress in most areas, and outstanding progress in their language and social development. Their reading and writing skills are less well developed. They continue this pattern of progress in Reception class, with the result that by the end of the foundation stage about half the pupils have skills at around the levels expected for their age.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Use data on pupil progress to inform planning for school improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop the Governing Body’s ability to challenge the school about subject areas and patterns of pupil progress. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Moorside Community Primary School, 27 November 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Moorside Community Primary School, 27 November 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? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 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 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 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 1 How well learners enjoy their education 3 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?

1 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Moorside Community Primary School, 27 November 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 2 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Moorside Community Primary School, 27 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

28 November 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Moorside Community Primary School, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5AW Thank you for welcoming me to your school. I enjoyed meeting you very much indeed. I must thank in particular the pupils who kindly gave up their lunch time to meet me and give me their views about the school. You gave me remarkably mature and thoughtful responses to my questions, and were extremely polite and good at representing yourselves. Your comments really helped me come to a judgement on how good your school is. Moorside School is outstanding. That means that it is one of the best in the country, so you can be very proud. Although many children come to school speaking little English and sometimes have not had much education, you all make good progress. Children who have been at the school for a long time, or who have been given extra help, make outstanding progress. You all make outstanding progress in your personal development, which is shown in your good

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

behaviour, attitudes to work, and self confidence. You know how to stay safe and keep healthy, and how to help improve your community. You are very good at helping each other. Staff at school work exceptionally hard to keep improving what they can do for you. This has the result that there are lots of interesting additional activities built in to your work, and that the teaching you receive is good. Staff care for you extremely well, and you say that you can always trust them. You said that one of the very good things about school is that teachers and other staff always really listen to you, and I agree. They put you at the centre of school, which is as it should be. I have asked Ms Foster and the staff and Governing Body to do two things to make the school even better. These are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ to use information about how well you are making progress to help them in their usual plans for improving the school ■ for the Governing Body to ask the school about your progress and about particular subject areas in the curriculum. However, the school is so well run that I know staff and governors will continue to try to improve it all the time in all sorts of different ways anyway! Please thank your parents for me for sending in the questionnaires. They all think that the school is a very good school. You can help the school go on from strength to strength by continuing to do what you are already doing. Keep working hard, helping each other and the staff, and being interested in learning. Good luck for the future. I am sure you will all do well. Yours sincerely Andrea Lyons Her Majesty’s Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Moorside Community Primary School, 27 November 2007

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