Tranmere Park Primary School

Tranmere Park Primary School Inspection report

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107855 Unique Reference Number Leeds Local Authority 324663 Inspection number 20–21 January 2009 Inspection dates Gordon Potter 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 5–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 298 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 David Killerby Chair Ms Kirsten Finley Headteacher 21 June 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Ridge Close School address Tranmere Park Guiseley Leeds West Yorkshire LS20 8JJ 01943 875050 Telephone number

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5–11 Age group 20–21 January 2009 Inspection dates 324663 Inspection number 01943 871041 Fax number

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5–11 Age group 20–21 January 2009 Inspection dates 324663 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. 3 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average primary school which serves an area of significant social advantage, although some pupils attend from beyond the immediate area. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well below average. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those whose first language is not English are below average. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average and the proportion with a statement of special educational need is well below average. More pupils than is usual leave or join during the school year. Children enter the Reception classes in the Early Years Foundation Stage in the autumn term. The school has the Artsmark Silver and Activemark Gold awards. It also has Advanced Healthy School status and the Stephen Lawrence Standard. There is an out of school club on site, which is run by a private provider 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 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school which has improved even more since its previous inspection. The relentless drive to maintain high standards and to improve the learning experiences of pupils even further has resulted in an ever more vibrant curriculum so that pupils have an outstanding enjoyment of school. As parents say, 'Children are exposed to a wide range of intellectual stimuli and enjoy the best possible education in a caring and challenging environment. They are well equipped for future schooling and for life as a whole.' Teaching and learning are outstanding. Teachers engage pupils in a range of interesting independent and group work activities and they make it very clear to pupils what they are to learn. The curriculum is outstanding. It is based on pupils' interests and the development of skills which help pupils to achieve high standards. It is enhanced by an excellent range of activities and visits to promote learning and community cohesion. These activities excite pupils

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Grade: 1

and encourage them to explore new areas of experience. However, there are too few opportunities for pupils to use their highly developed writing skills in extended and creative tasks or in subjects other than English. In 2007, pupils attained exceptionally high standards by the end of Year 6. This represented outstanding progress considering their starting points. Inspection evidence and provisional results for 2008 show that standards remain exceptionally high and that pupils in all classes continue to make extremely rapid progress. Their achievement is outstanding. Outstanding care and support from a caring staff promote pupils' excellent personal development and well-being. Academic guidance is outstanding. Detailed analysis of data and meticulous marking of pupils' work ensure that the setting of targets is effective in enabling pupils to make excellent progress. Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding and pupils show remarkable

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Grade: 1

self-confidence and concern for one another. Pupils enjoy school immensely and this is reflected in their well above average attendance. They readily take on responsibilities, such as school council and eco council members. Pupils have an outstanding understanding of how to keep healthy and stay fit, as the school strongly promotes these qualities. Pupils develop highly effective life skills as they move through the school because of the varied high quality experiences they receive. Leadership and management are outstanding. The excellent headteacher has established a leadership team which shares her clear vision of school improvement. Well focused and appropriate initiatives have had an impact on further improving provision in school and in maintaining high academic standards. There is exceptional teamwork and the headteacher encourages all teachers and the team of teaching assistants to develop their leadership roles.

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Grade: 1

There is exemplary understanding of the school's many strengths and meticulous development planning to ensure that any relative weaknesses are addressed. This has ensured continued improvement for the school, even on its previous outstanding inspection. It therefore offers outstanding value for money and has an outstanding capacity to improve further.

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Grade: 1

Children enter the Reception class with skills broadly typical for their age. They make extremely rapid progress as a result of very effective teaching, strong care and support and an outstanding curriculum. At the end of their first year at school many are reaching skill levels which are well 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009 above those expected for their age. Parents say, 'It is as good a start as any child could have.' This gives children a very firm foundation for the start of Year 1. The Reception classrooms provide a stimulating learning environment that excites children's curiosity and helps them become independent learners. For example, acting out the story of Cinderella in the role play area gives children an opportunity to work together, developing their social and language skills and creativity. The outside learning area, although small, is very well used; there are well

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Grade: 1

advanced plans to enhance this provision. Children from a wide range of pre-school settings settle very happily into school as a result of thoughtful and well planned induction procedures. There is outstanding leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff work together as a very strong team, carefully monitoring pupils' progress and adapting teaching to the learning needs of the children to ensure that they thrive.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Offer more opportunities for pupils to use their well developed writing skills in extended and creative tasks in all subjects.

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Grade: 1

Standards are consistently and exceptionally high and achievement is outstanding. From starting points which are broadly in line with national expectations pupils make rapid progress in the Reception class and in Years 1 and 2, so that at the end of Key Stage 1 they achieve standards which are consistently well above national averages. Results in the 2007 tests for Year 6 continued the trend of being well above national averages, with a high proportion of pupils achieving the highest levels. Provisional results for 2008, current school data and inspection evidence indicate that standards remain exceptionally high and that pupils are making even more progress than in previous years. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make similar progress to their peers as a result of very effective intervention to meet their needs.

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Grade: 1

Pupils speak of their school with loyalty and pride. Their exceptional enjoyment is reflected in high levels of attendance. Behaviour is exemplary in lessons and around the school. Pupils are polite, helpful and supportive of one another so that they feel safe and well cared for. Pupils show excellent cultural awareness and are encouraged to think deeply about social and moral issues. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. A range of external accreditation and awards shows the high quality of personal development in sport and health. Pupils make a significant contribution to the school community through the elected school council, sports council, eco council and fair trade committee. Pupils are also strongly involved in the wider community with contributions to the annual carnival and developments in the environment. Their enterprise skills are well developed through this work. These and the many

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Grade: 1

other skills they acquire, allied to the high standards they achieve, mean that pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next phase of their education. 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009

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Grade: 1

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding and contributes markedly to the outstanding progress pupils make. The main reason for this is that teachers make learning fun and pupils thrive in their lessons. Lessons are meticulously planned so that there is a wide range of interesting tasks which meet the needs of all pupils and in which pupils are actively involved. Particularly effective is the way pupils are encouraged to develop their speaking and listening skills through a range of group work and presentation activities. Relationships and attitudes are outstanding, so that pupils concentrate on all activities and support one another with their learning. In one outstanding lesson, for example, there was an excellent balance between the teacher modelling the activity and pupils applying the skill they had learned very effectively. Teachers use questions very well to ascertain what pupils understand and what they have

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Grade: 1

learned. On very rare occasions, the pace of lessons drops because teachers are over conscientious in checking that pupils know what they are doing and this prevent pupils getting on with the task. Teaching assistants are very well used to support planning and to help pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make the same outstanding progress as their peers.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. It is responsive, inclusive and stimulating and continually evolving to meet the needs and interests of all learners. It offers opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking and listening, artistic and design skills. There is an excellent development of information and communication technology so that pupils can work effectively both in school and at home. There are many outstanding enrichment activities such as visits to the beach and activity weeks which allow pupils to learn at first-hand. There is an increasing range of activities, including learning French, which helps pupils to develop their understanding of the wider world and which contributes to community cohesion. A strong programme of personal, social and health education contributes to pupils' outstanding personal development. There is a particularly strong focus on literacy and numeracy which enables pupils to achieve exceptionally highly in

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Grade: 1

English and mathematics. However, the school misses opportunities for the pupils to use their highly developed writing skills in a range of extended and creative writing tasks in all subjects. There is an exceptional programme of extra-curricular activities, including a journalism club and a variety of sporting activities, which very many pupils attend and enjoy.

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Grade: 1

Pastoral care and academic guidance are outstanding. Parents say the school recognises children's, 'individuality, strengths and development needs' and feel their children are very well cared for and valued. Staff are totally committed to the well-being of pupils. Robust arrangements for health and safety and safeguarding children are in place and meet national guidelines. Pupils who need extra help are identified early and help is readily available. There is smooth transition between classes and key stages and an excellent programme of activities to prepare pupils for the next phase of education. Rigorous monitoring of pupils' progress gives teachers all the information they need to ensure pupils have appropriate targets to improve 7 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009 their work. Allied to meticulous marking, this ensures that pupils know how to make progress

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Grade: 1

and has an impact on maintaining high standards.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding. The focused and skilful leadership of the excellent headteacher, very ably supported by the senior management team, ensures that there is no complacency in this highly successful school so that its overall effectiveness remains outstanding. Meticulous processes for monitoring and review, which involve all staff in a range of planning teams, mean that the school knows itself remarkably well and plans accordingly to ensure continued improvement. Staff thrive on the responsibility and accountability they are offered. The setting of very challenging targets has ensured that high standards have been maintained. There is very impressive commitment to community cohesion which has impacted on the outstanding curriculum and pupils' outstanding social and cultural development. The governing body offers outstanding support and challenge to the school so that the high aspirations of

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Grade: 1

the pupils and parents are met. Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of parents are hugely supportive of the work of the school and the way it cares for the social, personal and academic needs of their children. 8 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 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? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

1 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 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/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. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 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 1 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? 1 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 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? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

On behalf of the team, thank you so much for making us welcome when we inspected your school. Tranmere Park Primary School is an outstanding school which keeps getting better. The staff care for you extremely well. They help you to enjoy your learning because they make your lessons fun and arrange many exciting activities for you to do. They encourage you to know what you need to learn in each lesson. We were pleased to see that you work hard and do your best. You come to school on time and care for one another in the playground. We think that you behave extremely well and you look after one another. You are very polite and helpful and we enjoyed talking to you about your school. You told us that you look forward to coming to school because you enjoy your lessons and that you like your teachers. You said you appreciated the activities the school provides for you, such as the clubs and sporting activities. Your parents and carers like the school very much,

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

especially the way in which your teachers care for you and help you to enjoy your learning. We have asked your teachers to do one thing to make your school even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Give you more opportunities to use your excellent writing skills in extended and creative tasks in all subjects. You can help by continuing to do your very best-as I am sure you will. Thank you for all your help and I wish you every success in all you do in the future. 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Tranmere Park Primary School, 20–21 January 2009

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