Park Lane Primary & Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • continuing to develop the roles of the subject leaders so that they have a sustained, positive impact on outcomes for pupils
  • ensuring that the curriculum gives pupils access to a wider range of subjects, including those that are statutory.
• Further improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in Year 6, ensuring that pupils make consistently good progress across the full range of subjects, including English and mathematics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The executive headteacher and senior leaders are fervent in their vision to ensure that pupils at Park Lane Primary School receive a good quality of education. Staff, governors and parents have a positive view of how the school is being led. Consequently, staff morale is high. Pupils enjoy coming to school.
• Senior leaders know the strengths and weaknesses of the school and plan accordingly. They use additional funding well to develop the knowledge and skills of all staff. The teaching of phonics is a good example of this. The new phonics scheme is having a positive impact on pupils’ progress in early reading and writing skills, particularly in the early years and in key stage 1.
• Central staff from the academy trust have supported senior leaders and the local governing body. This has been effective in enhancing the quality of teaching and in improving outcomes, particularly in mathematics and writing.
• Senior leaders use a range of approaches to improve aspects of provision. These include school-to-school support within the academy trust and opportunities to share best practice within a range of settings, especially in Year 6. This is beginning to have a clear impact on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in most classes. There is focused professional development for all staff. This ensures that subject knowledge, especially in English and mathematics, is good and most staff have high expectations of what pupils should learn in each year group.
• The special educational needs coordinator has a good understanding of her role. She has clear procedures in place to address the needs of pupils with SEND. Along with senior leaders, she monitors the quality of the curriculum and additional teaching for pupils with SEND to ensure that they are making a difference to pupils’ progress. As a result, pupils with SEND are making good progress from their starting points.
• The key stage leaders are enthusiastic and provide strong leadership in the areas and subjects they are responsible for. They have a precise understanding of strengths and what needs to be done to improve further. They have a structured timetable for monitoring the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. This is having a noticeable impact on pupils’ progress, especially in mathematics and English.
• The sports leader has ensured that the sports premium is used effectively. She has provided a range of extra resources, including the ‘sports crew’ at lunchtime, where pupils are encouraged to join in with a variety of physical activities. Due to this, there has been a significant reduction in accidents and incidents on the playground during lunchtime. These funds have also been used to create opportunities for teachers to develop their expertise in teaching physical education.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used well. Actions are targeted to meet a range of needs. Leaders frequently check the progress of disadvantaged pupils. Differences between the progress of disadvantaged pupils and other non-disadvantaged pupils nationally are diminishing rapidly.
• The English and mathematics curriculums have been planned well. They provide tasks that solidly build on what pupils already know and opportunity for further development. There is now a consistent approach to deepening pupils’ understanding and developing their reasoning.
• The wider curriculum does not always give pupils enough opportunities to enable them to learn across a variety of subjects. This includes limitations in pupils’ access to the statutory teaching of religious education as required through the terms of the school’s funding agreement.
• There are strong aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, for example pupils show tolerance and respect. They enjoy helping each other. Further examples include the class charters, which encourage high expectations of pupils’ work, and the ‘south hall superstars’, which celebrates good progress in key stage 1.
• The roles of subject leaders are not consistently well developed. This is because some are not fully involved in making checks on the quality of teaching in their areas of responsibility, and in checking the progress that pupils make in these subjects.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a good overview of the school and are ambitious for its future. With support from the chief executive officer of the academy trust they are effective in holding the executive headteacher to account for school improvement.
• Governors are clear about the roles they undertake, but sometimes rely too heavily on individual governors who have specific responsibilities. This means that not all of them have a clear view of some aspects of the school’s work.
• The board of governors regularly reviews its own performance and, as a result, has identified areas for improvement. This is enabling the governor team to be more effective in raising standards.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Pupils say that school is a safe place to be. They understand about who to talk to if they have any worries or concerns, and they say that relationships are positive. School leaders are vigilant about pupils’ safety and wellbeing.
• Leaders, staff and governors undertake regular training to support them in understanding all aspects of safeguarding, including preventing radicalisation and extremism. For example, staff have a weekly safeguarding quiz during staff meetings, and all staff are given regular updates on safeguarding matters. Staff understand and can explain their duties and responsibilities for keeping pupils safe.
• Governors fulfil their duty to check that policies and procedures for safeguarding are in place and working well so that pupils are kept safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching has improved. Pupils are now making more progress with their learning in English and mathematics in most year groups. Teachers have increasingly high expectations of what pupils can and should achieve.
• Pupils say that the range of supportive resources they have access to really helps them to learn. In Year 3, for example, pupils used mathematics boxes containing practical equipment such as cubes, counters and number grids to develop their mathematical reasoning and problem-solving independently.
• Where teaching is most effective, lessons are well-planned and follow sequences of learning which build on pupils’ skills and knowledge. This was seen to good effect in a Year 6 computing lesson where pupils were using a range of software to develop programming skills.
• Pupils are developing their mathematical skills well across most year groups. Teachers and teaching assistants regularly check that pupils have understood their learning. The teaching assistant worked closely with a group of lower-ability pupils to ensure that they used practical mathematical apparatus effectively to support their learning.
• Teachers and teaching assistants work well together. Teaching assistants are trained appropriately and are given the information they need about pupils’ learning to carry out their roles effectively. They ask challenging questions to help to address pupils’ misconceptions. Teachers deploy teaching assistants well to check for gaps in pupils’ learning, ensuring that progress is sustained.
• The teaching of phonics across key stage one and in the early years is strong. There is a clear and consistent approach which enables pupils to use phonetic skills to read and write unfamiliar words. Year 1 pupils were seen enthusiastically joining in with their phonics group sound work and writing simple sentences.
• Pupils say that in class they receive helpful feedback about what they are doing well and where they are they need to improve. Even so, inspectors found that some pupils repeat mistakes in their written work.
• In reading, teachers are developing pupils’ enthusiasm and comprehension skills well. For example, in Year 1 and Year 2 pupils are reading books at an appropriate level for their age with confidence. They have a variety of strategies to help them to read unfamiliar words, and they enjoyed reading to the inspector. In Year 5, guided reading, where teachers work directly with pupils to analyse and discuss texts, enables pupils to develop better understanding of the text they are reading. As a result, pupils are making progress.
• In effective lessons, teachers are using writing and mathematics in other subjects. This was seen to good effect in a Year 1 history lesson about dinosaurs and a Year 5 geography lesson about the River Nile. Writing seen in both lessons was of a high standard and equivalent to that seen in their English books.
• Pupils’ learning in Year 6 is not always as strong as it is elsewhere in the school. While pupils do well in computing, for example, there is unevenness in their progress across a range of subjects, including mathematics and English.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils were confident to speak with the inspectors and engaged with them enthusiastically. Pupils of all ages have clear opinions about their school and are not afraid to voice them. Pupils said that they enjoy lessons, especially when they are challenging. Pupils say that adults help with everything, especially if they are struggling with work.
• Pupils understand what bullying means. When asked by inspectors, they provided clear explanations. Pupils say that unkindness and bullying are rare. Pupils know that adults are there to help them and are confident that adults will listen to them. Pupils are encouraged to use the ‘worry box’ that is checked by Year 6 pupils. This is highly effective, and pupils told inspectors that they enjoyed helping each other.
• Pupils are taught how to keep safe in and out of school. They learn how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. They understand what to do if they encounter concerns while using computers or other devices.
• Pupils of all ages are sensitive to and understand different relationships. When talking with an inspector about different family structures, including pupils who have two Dads or two Mums, one Year 6 pupil said, ‘It doesn’t matter who you fall in love with.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They are focused and attentive in lessons and make the most of their learning time. Inspectors observed rare low-level disruption in lessons, which was quickly dealt with by staff.
• Pupils’ conduct in the playground and the hall at playtime and lunchtime is good. They are actively engaged in a variety of different activities or in a social situation such as chatting with their friends. Inspectors saw no inappropriate behaviour during these times. Pupils respond positively to adults’ instructions and are clear about how they should behave.
• Pupils are polite and sensible when moving between lessons, for example from smaller phonics groups back into whole-class sessions. Their behaviour is good. They know the routines and what is expected of them. They move around with little fuss and are quickly back in class, ready to learn.
• Attendance is in line with the national average. The school has a clear process in place to encourage and support good attendance. Staff work with families to ensure that pupils attend regularly.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check has been consistently above the national average for the last three years.
• At the end of key stage 1, in 2018, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and writing was in line with the national average, and in mathematics it was comfortably above the national average.
• In 2018, pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of key stage 2 have improved, especially in writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils who attained the expected and higher standards in writing and mathematics was in line with the national average. The attainment and progress of the most able pupils were in line with or above the national average in all subjects, including reading.
• In-school assessment information and work in pupils’ books show that current pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in most year groups. Work in mathematics books shows how pupils apply their knowledge to solving different problems.
• In English and mathematics, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make good progress from their individual starting points. Leaders regularly check on the progress that disadvantaged pupils are making and address the gaps in their learning. The special educational needs coordinator ensures that tailored support and teaching are adapted appropriately to effectively meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Work in books shows that they are achieving as well as all other pupils across all year groups.
• Pupils’ knowledge in subjects other than English and mathematics is not as advanced. This is because subject leaders do not measure their progress well enough. Consequently, they do not know when teaching needs to be adapted to give pupils the opportunity to deepen their learning.
• Pupils currently in Year 6 do not make consistently good progress across subjects. Work in some pupils’ books shows that expectations of what they can achieve are not always high enough and so they are not challenged to do as well as they could.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader provides enthusiastic and capable leadership. She has an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision and has made many improvements since taking up her role. Planning for children’s learning is effective. Aspirations are high.
• Most children arrive in the Reception class with levels of development and skills which are below that typical for their age. From these low starting points, children make good progress and a high proportion reach a good level of development by the end of Reception. As a result, children are well prepared for key stage 1.
• Children’s starting points in both Nursery and Reception Years are assessed rigorously. Assessments are checked for accuracy both internally between classes and externally with other schools. Parents are encouraged to share in their children’s assessments through an online assessment tool. Parents respond positively to being part of their children’s learning.
• Adults use the accurate assessments to plan a range of activities for children in both Nursery and Reception classes. Staff regularly record children’s progress. This is reviewed weekly by teachers and the early years leader to ensure accuracy.
• Children play well together. They are confident and happy to talk about what they are learning. Two children were busy playing schools and were happy to tell inspectors about what they were doing. Other children were seen attempting some independent writing. Both the indoor and outdoor environments are engaging and were being used by many children.
• Safeguarding is effective. Adults ensure that the environment is safe and secure. Leaders have ensured that staff are well trained in safeguarding, and legal requirements are met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140499 Cambridgeshire 10058686 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy Converter 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 468 Appropriate authority The board of trustees Chair Tracey Bennett-Tighe Executive Headteacher Rob Litten Telephone number 01733 203 433 Website Email address www.parklane.cambs.sch.uk head@parklane.cambs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 4 to 5 October 2016

Information about this school

• This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• Almost all pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The school has nursery provision where children attend either full- or part-time.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. This included observing learning in all classes, most of which were jointly seen with senior leaders.
• The inspectors spoke with pupils and scrutinised books to take account of the work that has been done and the progress that pupils make.
• The teaching of phonics was observed. Inspectors listened to a number of pupils read from Year 1, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 5.
• Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, senior leaders, members of the governing body and the chief executive officer of Aspire Academy Trust. The lead inspector also held a telephone conversation with an external adviser who works with the school.
• Inspectors examined a range of documentation around child protection and scrutinised the recruitment checks made by school leaders when employing staff. The arrangements for pupils with SEND were also considered.
• The inspectors spoke informally with parents to gather their views. Responses to Ofsted’s free-text system and Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire were also considered.
• The inspectors spoke to staff and took account of 29 responses to the Ofsted online staff survey. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online pupils’ survey.

Inspection team

Samantha Stewart, lead inspector James Adkins Paula Masters Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector