Stanley Road Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 14 May 2008

Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School Inspection report

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116759 Unique Reference Number Worcestershire Local Authority 312391 Inspection number 13 °14 May 2008 Inspection dates Arnalena Bee 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 270 School The governing body Appropriate authority Norman Tomsett Chair Anne Potter Headteacher 20 June 2005 Date of previous school inspection Stanley Road School address Worcester WR5 1BD 01905 355043 Telephone number 01905 350784 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 13 °14 May 2008 Inspection dates 312391 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

Stanley Road is larger than most primary schools. Pupils come from a number of ethnic groups, the largest being from Pakistani and White British backgrounds. The percentage of pupils who leave or join the school at times other than the usual is above average. The proportion of pupils who have difficulty acquiring literacy and numeracy skills, behavioural difficulties and/or disabilities is well above average. The number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is high and some of these are at the very early stages of learning English.

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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: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Stanley Road provides a good education for its pupils. There is a strong ethos of good racial harmony in this multicultural school, one pupil accurately describing it as 'a big happy family.' The good focus on pupils' personal development and care enables them to play and work in harmony despite their many different backgrounds or any difficulty they may have. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils are especially enthusiastic about the responsibilities they are given, such as turning all the computers off at the end of the day. One girl in Year 6 said, 'It is very important that I am a good role model for the youngest children.' Pupils make a good contribution to the local community and wider world through fund raising for different charities. Good links with other establishments such as the local hospice enable pupils to learn about life from others' points of view. As a result of visits to the

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Grade: 2

hospice, pupils have planned and prepared a DVD in different languages for the people who live there. The good personal and social skills that they develop prepare them well for their next school. Their academic skills are not as strong. Children in the Foundation Stage get off to a steady start and make satisfactory progress. Standards are below average in Year 6 but, in relation to their starting points, pupils' achievement is good. A number of factors affect the standards pupils reach in all parts of the school. There are high numbers of pupils who have difficulty acquiring literacy and numeracy skills in most classes. The school accommodates a higher than average proportion of pupils from many different countries who speak English as an additional language. In addition, the number of pupils who leave or join the school at different times during the academic year is high. The teaching is good overall and classes are well managed. The academic guidance that pupils

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Grade: 2

receive is good in some respects. Progress is carefully tracked to enable pupils to reach their predicted grades in literacy, mathematics and science. In some classes, the marking is good and gives not only supportive but also informative comments that enable pupils to know exactly what they need to do to improve. In other classes, however, pupils do not receive such helpful advice. Marking does not focus enough on improving spelling and the presentation of pupils' work. All pupils are well cared for and the support they receive to help them develop personally is good. Parents agree and are supportive of all the things the school does for their children. One parent said it all, as she wrote, 'Pupils are happy at this school. They like their teachers and lessons and make lots of friends. Pupils receive a good education at Stanley Road.' A strength in the good curriculum is the excellent opportunities pupils are given to develop

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Grade: 2

skills and knowledge through out of school clubs, well planned visits and talking and working with interesting visitors who are invited in to school. The headteacher and her team, including the governors, have a clear idea of the strengths and what is needed to improve the school further, for example, the need to focus on improving standards in writing. The senior management team is relatively new but is effectively focused on raising achievement and standards. Much of what they have done is recent and is yet to have an impact on achievement and standards at the top of the school. However, standards have risen at the end of Year 2, particularly in writing, since the school was inspected last. Another success is the improving attendance, which is satisfactory this year. These emerging strengths in the school's leadership provide the school with a good capacity to become even better. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 2008

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Grade: 3

Parents are pleased that their children are happy, settle in quickly and enjoy coming to school each day. This is because induction procedures are good. Children do not reach the levels expected for their ages by the time they start Year 1. Nevertheless, in relation to their starting points, this represents satisfactory progress. Children make greatest progress in developing their personal and social skills. They get on well with each other and the adults who help them, and behaviour is good. The teaching is satisfactory and sometimes good. A strength in the teaching is the good support given by bilingual teaching assistants to children who are at the early stages of learning English. This enables them to take part in all that goes on. The children are offered a good mix of activities, some that are led by adults and some that they select themselves. At times, adults' expectations regarding listening and following instructions, such

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Grade: 3

as putting up a hand to answer a question, are not high enough. In the sessions where children continually shout out, learning slows down and the flow of the lesson is disrupted. As children begin to make marks on paper and start to develop an understanding of letters, they are not always given enough guidance on how to form letters properly and develop their writing. Children in the Nursery and the Reception class are well cared for whilst they are in school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure teachers' marking clearly informs pupils what they need to do to improve whilst particularly focusing on developing both spelling and presentation so that achievement and standards improve. ■ Develop provision in the Foundation Stage so that in all lessons, teaching is good and children learn well.

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Grade: 2

Although standards are below average at the end of Years 2 and 6, pupils achieve well in relation to their differing starting points. Pupils who have difficulty acquiring literacy and numeracy skills, behavioural difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress in overcoming their difficulties because they are well supported. Those who join the school at different times of the year are well supported and as a result settle in quickly and achieve well. Pupils who speak English as an additional language are supported effectively, especially by bilingual teaching assistants and achieve well. Pupils do well because progress is checked regularly and if pupils are not on course to reach their targets they are given effective support. When teachers mark pupils' work they do not give pupils enough guidance to help them make good progress in developing their spelling skills.

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Grade: 2

The school has received several healthy school awards. Pupils are keen to lead a healthy lifestyle, particularly through their many sporting activities, and walking and cycling to school. They talk knowledgeably about the foods that contain lots of fat and the importance of a balanced diet and, vitamins and carbohydrates. Pupils know about the importance of keeping safe and the potential dangers they may come across. Older pupils speak confidently about the STAR programme, which they say reminds them to stop, think, act and reflect. Pupils are adamant 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 2008 that they are well looked after in school, and always have an adult to help them if necessary. Occasionally, an incident of bullying is reported, but nearly all pupils think that adults deal with this quickly and fairly. Behaviour is good and almost all pupils enjoy school. They say they

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Grade: 2

particularly like going on the many visits out of school. Low attendance has been a problem for several years, often due to extended visits abroad by some families, but it has improved this year to a satisfactory level just below the national average.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is good and, as a result, all pupils learn well. Adults who work in the classrooms develop good relationships with their pupils. Classes are well organised and teachers' management of behaviour is good. In addition, teaching assistants make an effective contribution to the learning of all pupils by being well prepared and giving good quality support. As a result, pupils develop positive attitudes to learning and work hard. Adults focus on developing both speaking and listening skills. Each week pupils visit other classes and act as 'Talking Partners'. This not only promotes speaking and listening but also develops their social skills. Pupils who speak English as an additional language soon begin to develop the confidence to speak. This was clearly demonstrated during a discussion with a group of older pupils. A boy who has recently learnt how to speak English, confidently contributed to the discussion and then was

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Grade: 2

applauded by his classmates. Occasionally, more able pupils are not challenged sufficiently and are not encouraged to complete their work quickly and accurately. At times, teachers allow pupils to spend too long on the carpet, which slows down the pace of learning. Pupils' work shows that not all teachers pay enough attention to improving pupils' spelling ability or the presentation of their work.

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Grade: 2

This is an inclusive school, which successfully integrates many different groups of pupils into classes. Provision for the arts is a particular strength, evident in the school's achievement of the Artsmark Gold Award on three occasions. Pupils have opportunities, from a young age, to perform their dance work at festivals. The curriculum is being adapted to make the most of the local area and to take account of pupils' interests. It is organised around interesting topics, with mathematics and science being taught separately to ensure these subjects remain meaningful. The curriculum successfully promotes pupils' cultural development as well as their knowledge of how to stay safe and healthy. A wide range of activities are provided during out of school hours, which add to pupils' personal development. Provision for literacy and numeracy is good. However, although pupils have many opportunities to write in other subjects, literacy

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Grade: 2

skills learnt previously are not always well promoted during these occasions. Provision for information and communication technology is satisfactory and all pupils have good opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge as they work in the computer suite.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' safety and well-being are important in this caring school. The school's procedures for promoting health and safety are established and thorough. Attendance is promoted well through 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 2008 approaches that pupils find motivating. Pupils say they like receiving the certificates they are given for good attendance. Pupils with specific needs are supported effectively through the school's close work with a number of external agencies. Good links have been made with secondary schools so that pupils feel well prepared when they move on to their next school. The best marking is supportive and informs pupils well about what they need to do to improve. However, some marking is not good enough to give pupils clear insights into what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, along with her team of staff and governors, are committed to improving this school even further. A new senior management team has developed well over a short period. Senior leaders and managers are well organised, keen and eager to get on with developing their areas of responsibility. They have a good idea of what is needed to improve their subjects further. Much has been done, for example, booklets have been produced to enable parents to support their children more successfully, and systems to allow pupils to begin to self-assess their own work have been introduced. A system for setting individual targets has been set up and shared with parents. Monitoring of teaching and tracking how well pupils are doing is thorough and is enabling pupils to make good progress. Improvement since the previous inspection has been good but the issue relating to improving marking has only partially been

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Grade: 2

addressed. Governors are knowledgeable and well informed about the work of the school. As a result, they support and challenge the school well. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 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? 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? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 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 2 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 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?

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: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 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 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear Pupils Inspection of Stanley Road Primary School, Worcester, WR5 1BD Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to visit you recently. You behave well and we were pleased to see how much you like coming to school. We enjoyed talking to you and could see that you have learnt lots about eating healthily, the need to take regular exercise and keeping yourself safe. We think you go to a good school and those who look after you at home agree.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ These are the main things we found out about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Those of you in the Nursery and the Reception classes make steady progress.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ In Years 1 to 6 you make good progress because you are taught well; however, the standards you reach in English, mathematics and science are not yet as high as those in most schools. ■ You are all cared for and looked after well when you are in school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The headteacher and governors, along with the other adults who work in the school, lead and manage the school well. ■ The teachers arrange many excellent opportunities for you to learn more about things, for example, planning exciting visits out to places and inviting interesting people into school to talk and work with you; we know you enjoy these. We have asked the school to do a few things to improve the education you receive.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Check that those of you in the Nursery and Reception make good progress in everything you do. ■ Make sure that when teachers mark your books you can clearly see what you need to do to improve; we think you need to be shown especially how to spell words correctly and encouraged to make your work neater. You can all help by continuing to work hard every day. Best wishes Nina Bee Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Worcester, Stanley Road Primary School, 13 °14 May 2008

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