Woodchurch Road Primary School

Woodchurch Road Primary School Inspection report

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105047 Unique Reference Number Wirral Local Authority 324147 Inspection number 5 February 2009 Inspection date Dee Brigstock 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 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 427 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 Mr F Doyle Chair Mrs A Maher Headteacher 27 February 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Woodchurch Road School address Oxton Birkenhead Merseyside CH42 9LJ 0151 6523104 Telephone number 0151 6537276 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 5 February 2009 Inspection date 324147 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 9 Inspection Report: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: pupils' achievement with an additional focus on higher achieving pupils; the quality of care, guidance and support provided for pupils; and the curriculum for the youngest children in the Reception classes. Evidence was gathered from the school's self-evaluation, assessment records, policies and governing body minutes, observation of the school at work, discussions with senior staff and pupils and the parent questionnaires. Other aspects of the school were not investigated in detail but the inspectors 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 large school serving an area of relatively high social disadvantage. A well above average proportion of pupils are entitled to free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including those with a statement of special educational needs, is above average. Almost all pupils are White British with few from other ethnic groups. Very few pupils are at an early stage of learning English and a small number of pupils are looked after by the local authority. Most children join the Early Years Foundation Stage in the Reception class having had some pre-school nursery experience. The school has several awards. For example: Basic Skills Quality Mark, Inclusion, Gold Activemark, Healthy School, Investors in People and International School. There is a pre-school and out of school care provision on site; they are run by private providers and did not form part of this inspection.

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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: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009

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Grade: 2

This is a good school in which pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. It provides good value for money. Pupils' achievement is good and standards are higher than at the last inspection, demonstrating the school's good capacity to improve. When most children join the Early Years Foundation Stage their skills are well below those expected for their age, with language and mathematical skills being particularly low. Despite making good progress, few meet the goals expected for their age by the time they join Year 1. By Year 2, standards are broadly average and by Year 6 they are above average, demonstrating pupils' continuous good achievement in response to the school's good quality provision. Pupils and adults get on well together. Adults are good role models for pupils and pupils' behaviour is outstanding. This is demonstrated particularly well by the sensible, safe way they negotiate the corridors and stairs in school and how well they play together in the yard. Pupils

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Grade: 2

say they enjoy school very much, and they show a real interest in the good quality, well-enriched curriculum and their learning. They really appreciate the visits and visitors they have and the wide range of extra-curricular clubs and societies on offer, which enrich their learning. The curriculum is organised into themes, which successfully encourage pupils to make links between different subjects and areas of learning. The excellent work pupils complete within their personal and social curriculum gives them a good understanding of how to be healthy, stay safe and about the variety of faiths and traditions in the local community. Other initiatives, for example, independent cash-generating ventures, effectively give pupils confidence for the future. Despite pupils' clear enjoyment of school, attendance is just average because several families take their children on holiday during term time. Teaching is good. Most parents comment very positively on the quality of teaching and how

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Grade: 2

accessible teachers are to them. A typical comment being, 'The teachers in this school do not just get to know the children – they understand them.' Leaders have invested in additional staffing to make teaching groups smaller in English, mathematics and science. This has successfully raised standards, particularly for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This group benefits from very well-planned small group work and makes consistently good progress. One of the school's goals is to lift the proportion of pupils gaining the higher levels by the end of Years 2 and 6, and many pupils are well on their way to doing this. However, teachers of the middle and higher attaining groups in English and mathematics do not routinely plan different learning activities for smaller groups within the sets, as they do so successfully for the lower attaining pupils. This limits some higher attaining pupils' progress.

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Grade: 2

The school provides good quality care, guidance and support for pupils. Policies and procedures for protecting children meet requirements and are kept up to date. All pupils have challenging targets to meet and these are regularly reviewed. Teachers mark pupils' work rigorously, assessing progress and informing them clearly how to improve further. Indeed the older pupils are beginning to mark their own work with some accuracy. When marking, teachers also correct spellings and grammatical mistakes but there is no evidence in pupils' books to show that pupils do these corrections or learn from their errors. This is a missed opportunity for pupils to improve their work further. Leadership and management are good. Governors have a clear view of what the school is doing to improve further and they monitor its progress rigorously. The headteacher has an excellent understanding of the school's position as shown by the accurate school self-evaluation. The

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009 senior management team is recently established. All members are eager to play their part within their areas of responsibility, which accurately reflect the school's priorities; for example, in accessing additional support and training in mathematics. The school's impact on community cohesion is good. It has numerous links within the local community such as the local football club, which sends in members to help pupils with their work. It has also established links with three schools in Africa to give pupils a wider understanding of different communities.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and knowledge of the new Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum result in good quality teaching and planning. This enables the children to make good progress from their well below expected starting points in almost all areas of learning. Parents comment very positively on the welcome their children have in the class and how approachable staff are. A typical comment is, 'It is a fantastic, orderly, fun and nurturing environment.' All children have equal opportunities to take part in similar planned learning experiences. They have time to consolidate and practise their learning in their own independent activities, during which adults accurately assess their learning. Adults' modelling of speech successfully promotes children's language and communication skills. For example, the home corners are currently airports; when children are checking in, adults ask them, 'Are you carrying anything sharp?' Although the

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Grade: 2

outdoor classroom is not freely available throughout the day, when children do go outside, they find interesting and engaging learning experiences. For example, boys were particularly keen to make paper aeroplanes and measure how far they could fly. In such practical ways, teachers are successfully focusing on the school's priorities to raise standards in communication, language and literacy and in mathematical development. Children's skills at the end of Reception are mostly below those expected for their age. Good care and guidance results in children making very good progress in their personal development, learning from adults. As a result, they are extremely well behaved and cooperative with each other. They attain the skills expected for their age in this area and in physical development.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Regularly plan different learning activities and tasks for groups within the middle and higher attaining band of pupils. ■ Update the marking policy to ensure that pupils learn from their mistakes. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009 .

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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: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009

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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? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 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/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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 1 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? 2 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 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

On behalf of the other inspector and myself, I would like to thank you for your friendly welcome when we came to inspect your school recently. We really enjoyed talking with you. Thank you too for showing us your books and answering all our questions about your work. I must say that we were very impressed with all the fantastic artwork around the school. Those Tudor costumes were stunning! We found that your school gives you a good standard of education. Here are some of the really good things about your school. Your headteacher and other senior staff have a very good idea of what works well and what could be improved and they are always trying to find ways to make the school even better for you. You make good progress throughout your time in school and, overall, reach above average standards by the end of Year 6 so that you are well prepared to move on to your next schools. The youngest children have a good time in Reception and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

also make good progress. We were very impressed by your excellent behaviour, particularly when you went up and down the stairs so safely and courteously. You have good opportunities to express your opinions and are good learners. Everyone is included and has the chance to shine. We thought your thematic work in the curriculum was particularly interesting and your PSHE work books were excellent. Your teachers plan interesting lessons for you and teach you well. You move between your sets for English, mathematics and science really sensibly. We have asked your teachers to design more group work for you in these sets so that all of you have equally challenging work to do. We have also asked them to make sure you do your corrections so that you learn from your mistakes! Thank you again for your welcome. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Woodchurch Road Primary School, 5 February 2009

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