Kingsway Primary School

Kingsway Primary School Inspection report

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104997 Unique Reference Number Wirral Local Authority 324141 Inspection number 8–9 December 2008 Inspection dates Graham Martin Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 134 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Vacant Chair Miss F Foster Headteacher 18 January 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Ashville Road School address Wallasey Merseyside CH44 9EF 0151 638 5195 Telephone number 0151 638 9820 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 8–9 December 2008 Inspection dates 324141 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average school, situated in an area with very high levels of disadvantage. Nearly two thirds of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is much higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above the national average. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. A small minority speak English as an additional language. More than the national average of pupils join or leave the school at other than the usual times. Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision consists of a part-time Nursery which provides morning places for ten children aged three and four and a full-time Reception class for the older four- and five-year-olds. The school has achieved a number of nationally and locally recognised awards, including the national Basic Skills Quality Mark, the Artsmark, an ECO Schools Silver Award and an Inclusion Mark awarded by the local

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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: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008

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Grade: 3

Kingsway School's overall effectiveness is satisfactory. Pupils behave well and they develop good cultural understanding. They enjoy positive relationships with adults and with each other. School leaders evaluate the school's effectiveness well and have begun to take good action to improve it. These are good features of the school's work. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory overall. From their very low start in the EYFS, pupils make satisfactory progress overall throughout the school. However, this is inconsistent across subjects. Pupils achieve well in writing and mathematics so that standards by the end of Year 6 are average. In reading and science pupils do not do as well and standards are below average. Improvements in the teaching of reading are now giving pupils a satisfactory foundation in the development of reading skills so that standards are improving but remain below average in both key stages.

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Grade: 3

The provisional Year 6 national test results in 2008, together with school data, show that standards in science are below average. Although achievement in science is currently inadequate inspection evidence indicates that it is improving. School leaders are taking effective steps to address the weaknesses in pupils' investigative skills in science and improvements in the teaching of science are giving pupils more opportunities to carry out practical scientific investigations. Pupils' personal development and well-being is satisfactory. Pupils report that they are happy at school. They are polite and courteous to visitors and they have a good understanding of how their actions affect others. Their appreciation of the diversity and richness of other cultures is good because the school provides pupils with rich opportunities to learn about these things through visits, assemblies and creative activities. Pupils' understanding of how to keep safe

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Grade: 3

and live healthy lifestyles is satisfactory. They are proud that they have begun to make a contribution to the school community through the work of the recently formed school council. They make a satisfactory contribution to the wider community by raising funds for various local and national charities. Attendance is broadly average. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Effective monitoring is identifying areas for development. Improvements in the teaching of reading and science, for example, are improving the quality of learning in these two areas. Good teaching of writing and mathematics in Key Stage 2 promotes good achievement in these subjects. Teachers have begun to use marking effectively to raise standards. In some classes exceptionally good marking accelerates pupils' progress and helps them to improve their own work. The school is working hard to extend and enhance pupils' learning opportunities. Currently, the curriculum is satisfactory but it is becoming

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Grade: 3

steadily more enriched and relevant to pupils' interests, such as through the provision for sport, art, music and residential visits. Pupils have begun to develop and use their literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects and school leaders are monitoring these developments and their impact on pupils' learning well. The day-to-day care of pupils is good. Pupils say that they feel safe and well cared for. They confirm that there is always someone to help them if they have any concerns. Support and guidance for pupils' academic development is satisfactory. Teachers have set pupils targets for their learning and pupils are developing an understanding of how working towards these targets helps them to improve their work. School leaders evaluate the school well and set appropriately challenging goals for the improvement. This is backed up with effective checks to confirm the impact of actions taken 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008

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Grade: 3

to improve it, such as by monitoring teaching, learning and pupils' progress. Day-to-day management by school leaders is satisfactory but governance is inadequate as the governing body does not operate effectively. This limits the school's capacity to improve which is satisfactory rather than good, as the school evaluates it to be. Partnerships with parents and the wider community are satisfactory and the school takes appropriate steps to promote community cohesion. However, the school does not communicate its vision or celebrate its successes well enough to ensure that parents are kept informed and understand how it is making improvements.

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Grade: 3

Children enter the Nursery with skills that are very low compared with what is typical for this age. Their speaking, listening and communication skills are often particularly poor and this affects their early reading and writing development. Their progress is satisfactory in all areas of their learning. Even so, by the end of the EYFS few children reach the early learning goals expected. The care and welfare is satisfactory overall. However, the staff take good care to settle the children into the Nursery and Reception classes and parents value this. The children make good friends, treat each other and adults with respect and become happy learners. Teaching in the EYFS is satisfactory. Teachers give children appropriate help to improve their speaking, listening and communication skills, often one to one. Learning is assessed appropriately and these assessments help teachers to move children's skills on at a satisfactory pace. The

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Grade: 3

organisation of activities to promote learning in the indoor areas is satisfactory. They provide a relevant and appropriate focus on personal development and basic skills, as well as the wider curriculum. Children have opportunities to learn alongside adults, use computers to practice letter and number skills and choose activities that help them to use their skills independently, such as making Christmas cards and writing messages in them. However, although children's physical development is satisfactory, the outside area is not organised to provide sufficient opportunities for children to develop a wider range of skills using outdoor apparatus. Leadership of the EYFS is satisfactory.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in reading in both key stages.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in science by the end of Year 6.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve provision for outdoor learning in the EYFS.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Communicate information about the school's work and its plans for improvement more effectively to parents and the community. 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

Pupils make satisfactory progress overall from Year 1 to Year 6. National assessments show that standards in reading and mathematics in Key Stage 1 have been significantly below average in recent years and below average in writing. In the current Year 2 standards are below average overall. Pupils are now achieving better in reading in Key Stage 1 due to the recent introduction 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008 of an updated reading scheme. Their low standards in Key Stage 1 has affected pupils' progress in later years, particularly in reading, and they have had to do much to catch up in Key Stage 2. The 2008 Year 6 provisional test results indicate that standards in science were well below average, indicating that the progress made by these pupils was unsatisfactory. The school's data shows that standards in the current Year 6 are average in English and mathematics. Progress

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Grade: 3

is improving in science and standards are improving but there remains much to do. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and those who speak English as an additional language, achieve satisfactorily due to the appropriate support provided.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory overall. Pupils enjoy coming to school and they behave well. They say that school is 'fun and interesting' and that their teachers are keen to help them. They feel safe in school and have good relationships with adults. Pupils' attendance is average but punctuality for a small minority of pupils is not good enough. The school works hard to address this. Pupils welcome new opportunities to take on responsibilities, such as planning to improve a courtyard through a school council project and supervising younger children as activity leaders at playtimes. Pupils' cultural development is good. They particularly enjoy the good opportunities to learn about the variety and richness of other faiths and cultures from visits to places of worship and creative activities. Pupils' attitudes towards adopting a healthy lifestyle and the importance of keeping safe are

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Grade: 3

satisfactory. They say that incidents of bullying are rare and dealt with quickly and effectively by staff. Their preparation for their future economic well-being is satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Effective checks and clear guidance by school leaders are helping to increase the occurrence of good teaching. However, teaching and learning are satisfactory overall because these actions to improve teaching have not yet impacted across the whole school. In good lessons, teachers explain clearly what pupils are expected to learn and set a range of tasks and targets to suit pupils' different abilities and needs. Teachers follow the guidelines for marking work well and this is helping to raise standards. For pupils in some classes, exceptionally good marking gives clear guidance on the next steps they need to take to improve. When this happens, pupils respond well to the challenge and make good progress in their learning. Pupils themselves say how they learn better when their teachers explain clearly to them how to reach the next steps. Improvements to the teaching of reading and investigative work in science are beginning to

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Grade: 3

improve pupils' progress throughout the school.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum meets requirements. The school has made a start on extending pupils' learning experiences and linking subjects. Pupils like the school's new approach to making the curriculum more exciting. They say they enjoy learning this way. One pupil commented, 'I like the way we use ICT when doing our literacy.' They welcome French and Spanish lessons and have enjoyed a variety of opportunities to visit interesting places and study them. For instance, they had fun 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008 drawing waves crashing on Llandudno beach, huddled in warm clothes on a summer's day. Additionally, the much talked about residential visit to Bala provided good opportunities for personal and social development. Visits to a mosque and a Hindu temple enrich pupils' appreciation of other cultures. Good and colourful displays, such as those of Aboriginal art and African masks, testify to the good provision for multicultural education. There is a satisfactory

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Grade: 3

range of after-school activities and the 'active playgrounds' scheme gives pupils a good appreciation of the value of exercise.

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Grade: 3

The day-to-day care of pupils is good. A comment typifying how parents feel pupils' well-being is promoted reflected how well and happily a child had settled following a move from another school because the teachers and other children had been so helpful and understanding of her needs. Pupils say that they feel secure in school and are well supervised, with risk assessments conducted whenever needed. Procedures to safeguard pupils follow latest government guidelines and child protection procedures are in place. Steps have been taken to improve achievement by setting learning targets for pupils and by giving them clearer feedback in the marking of their work. This is now satisfactory but inconsistent. Not all teachers are giving pupils clearer guidance on how to achieve their potential.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher and deputy headteacher have established a good working partnership. They evaluate the school's work carefully and their school improvement plan identifies clearly what will be improved and how. School leaders have taken good action to raise standards, such as introducing a new reading scheme, implementing new ways to use marking to help pupils improve their work and ensuring that the investigation skills of science are now taught more effectively. There is a good partnership with the local authority that supports improvement but the governing body does not carry out its work as effectively as it should. For example, the headteacher has had to make difficult management decisions independently because governors' committee meetings have not been properly convened. Governance does not, therefore, contribute well enough to school improvement and is inadequate. On balance, the majority of

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Grade: 3

parents have positive views of the school and its work. However, they are divided in some of their opinions because school leaders have not explained their vision and intentions well enough to the wider community. The school's promotion of community cohesion is satisfactory. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 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: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 3 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 3 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008

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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 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I enjoyed meeting you when I came to inspect Kingsway Primary School recently. I thought you were very friendly and helpful and I was pleased to see how well you behave. You told me that you are happy at school and enjoy the things you learn. You said that the teachers look after you well and that some of your lessons are fun. There was a very sensible comment from you about how much better you learn when teachers mark your work helpfully and explain your targets clearly. Your school gives you a satisfactory education and there are some good things about it too. Your knowledge of how interesting other cultures are is good because of the visits and visitors you have. I particularly liked the art work you have made based on Aboriginal and African traditions. Your headteacher and deputy headteacher are working hard to make more of your lessons fun and exciting learning experiences. They are trying hard to help you to raise your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

standards of English, mathematics and science. I have asked your school to improve some things that will make your school better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you reach higher standards in reading throughout the school and science by the end of Year 6. ■ Make sure that the children in the Nursery and Reception classes have a better place to play and learn outside. ■ Ensure that the school's governors give more help and support for the school's work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Give your parents and the community better information about what the school is doing to improve your education. Thank you again for your friendly welcome to Kingsway. I know that you are keen to do well and I hope that you will all keep having fun and trying hard with your learning. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsway Primary School, 8–9 December 2008

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