Heygreen Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by:
  • planning tasks that challenge the most able pupils across the curriculum
  • ensuring that tasks set for children in the early years gain the interest of boys, so that boys’ progress continues to strengthen.
• Build upon the effective actions taken to tackle poor attendance so that pupils’ rates of attendance and persistent absence improve to be in line with national averages.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and staff have high aspirations for the school and its pupils. The school is a safe and well-organised learning environment. The number of pupils who join or leave the school during each school year is high and leaders manage this well. Relationships with parents are a strength of the school. Leaders have worked hard to develop a culture where they want to ‘grow their own’ pupils from the early years upwards. Leaders endeavour to live out their mission statement, ‘Excellence in all we do’. Leaders have a clear focus on improving school attendance further. They recognise that pupils miss opportunities to excel across the curriculum due to frequent absences.
• The Rainbow Education multi-academy trust has provided good support. The executive headteacher, along with the trust leadership team, provides support in a timely and effective manner. For example, the trust’s head of teaching and learning along with the trust’s head of early years provide support to staff, ensuring that best practice is disseminated between partner schools.
• Pupils and their families are warmly welcomed. Pupils arrive early to access the free breakfast club. Pupils recently arrived from abroad are quickly integrated into the school community. The school recognises and celebrates the rich diversity of the many religions and cultures which exist in the school.
• The school has undergone significant changes in staffing since it joined the trust. Leaders, including those in the trust, have ensured that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good across the school. Where there are inconsistencies, leaders provide targeted training.
• All staff benefit from regular professional development, which is closely aligned to the school’s development priorities. Leaders work well across the trust to support teachers. Teachers say that they benefit from engaging in professional dialogue with other teachers.
• School and trust senior leaders know the school well. The school development plan clearly sets out the areas that need to be addressed. School leaders measure their actions carefully. They continue to strive for consistently strong outcomes for pupils in all year groups. The school leaders’ identified priorities for this year accurately reflect the areas needing improvement.
• Subject leaders have a good understanding of their areas of responsibility. Experienced staff support leaders who are newly appointed. They help them develop the skills necessary to lead their subject areas well. All subject leaders check on the quality of pupils’ work both in school and with trust partner schools. Leaders make regular checks on the quality and accuracy of teachers’ assessments. As a result, pupils achieve well in a wide range of subjects.
• Leaders have clear plans in place to ensure that additional funds for disadvantaged pupils are spent well. Leaders evaluate the impact of their spending with care. They recognise the many challenges that families face. Additional funds are used effectively. For example, they are used well to bring about improvements in disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and to raise levels of engagement with difficult-to-reach and vulnerable families.
• Pupils benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum. Leaders have a strong rationale for the knowledge and skills that they want to equip pupils with. Leaders have a clear strategy in place to teach individual subjects. Furthermore, links are made across the curriculum which support pupils’ good progress in a wide range of subjects. For example, in mathematics, pupils’ skills are developed well. In geography, pupils read grid references and temperature scales. In science, they create graphs and mathematical diagrams increasing in complexity as they move through school.
• The sport premium funding is used effectively. Pupils benefit from expert teaching which ensures that pupils make good progress in sport. Pupils enjoy attending the many after-school sports clubs that are available. For example, the football team plays in a league for local schools which helps pupils to compete with their peers.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils have many opportunities to develop an understanding of life in modern Britain. The curriculum gives pupils rich opportunities to experience life away from their local surroundings. For example, taking part in residential visits adds depth to pupils’ learning while they have also visited places of worship and museums. Pupils recently benefited from participating in a question-and-answer session with the local Member of Parliament. Pupils also engage in many fundraising activities for charity.
• The school uses additional funds well to support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Leaders recognise that a large proportion of pupils enter school with weak communication and language skills. Consequently, pupils receive additional support and leaders measure the impact of this support rigorously. Parents are involved in setting targets for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Due to this close attention to detail and strong teaching, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress across the curriculum.
• Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and those that spoke to inspectors, were very positive about the school. They say that leaders are visible and approachable. They comment that leaders deal with problems fairly and in a timely manner. One parent, with a view typical of many, stated, ‘Behaviour is good, and teachers provide challenge.’

Governance of the school

• The local governing body, which is overseen by the board of trustees, has a strong relationship with the school leaders. They are supportive of the headteacher and provide strong support and challenge in all aspects of the school’s work. Governors are knowledgeable about the many strengths of the school. They also recognise where improvements are needed.
• Governors ask probing questions at meetings in relation to the pupils’ attainment and progress. They ensure that safeguarding measures are effective. Governors have a good strategic overview of the school’s effectiveness and fulfil their statutory responsibilities with care.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Stringent checks on adults to ensure that they are safe to work with children are conducted before they are allowed to start at the school. The records relating to the suitability of adults to work in school are detailed and clear. Staff receive appropriate training and fully understand the systems in place for recording safeguarding concerns.
• Leaders work collaboratively with a range of external agencies, including the education welfare officer and children’s social care. Records indicate that all concerns are followed up rigorously.
• The vast majority of parents who responded to Parent View and all parents who spoke with inspectors agreed that their children are safe and well cared for.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment secures good progress for pupils across the curriculum.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. They use effective questioning that challenges pupils to think carefully about their work. For example, teachers model writing effectively, skilfully teasing out responses from pupils and encouraging them to rehearse orally what they want to write. In mathematics, teachers provide regular opportunities for pupils to expand on their answers and articulate their thinking with care.
• Relationships between pupils and staff are strong. Teaching assistants work alongside teachers to provide timely support to pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Teachers plan interesting lessons and work is usually well matched to meet the needs of different pupils. Sometimes, though, teachers do not plan activities across the curriculum that sufficiently challenge the most able pupils. For example, in geography, science and sometimes in mathematics, the most able pupils complete work that does not challenge them appropriately.
• Leaders have introduced a range of strategies to make checks on the accuracy of teachers’ assessments. For example, they regularly check the quality of pupils’ work across a spread of curriculum subjects. Similar checking activities are also carried out alongside the trust partner schools. Teachers said that this helps them plan their teaching and assessment more effectively.
• The teaching of phonics is good, and pupils apply their decoding skills well when reading. All staff receive relevant training to ensure consistency in phonics teaching across all year groups.
• Reading is taught well. Pupils have access to high-quality texts in their classrooms and in the school library. Pupils who read to the inspectors were knowledgeable about a range of contemporary authors. They read regularly in school and their reading books are appropriately challenging. School leaders encourage parents to visit the school library and choose books alongside their children. As such, pupils develop a love of reading.
• Pupils have many opportunities to write across the curriculum. The vast majority of pupils make good progress. Pupils apply their technical writing skills well to different situations. Teachers’ good modelling of writing leads to pupils applying their skills well to independent writing tasks. The teaching of mathematics is good. All staff receive training in mathematical reasoning and problem-solving. It is clear to see the impact of this training in pupils’ books. Pupils apply reasoning to many aspects of their mathematics work and, as such, can explain their mathematical thinking well. They also have opportunities to apply their mathematical skills to a range of other subjects.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are confident learners. Leaders ensure that pupils have high aspirations. For example, pupils benefit from visitors in different industries who speak to them about the jobs they do. As a result, pupils reflect on the skills they will need for the next stages of their education and potential future careers. Leaders also ensure that pupils want to produce their best work consistently and so know how to make their work better.
• Pupils have many opportunities to take on extra responsibilities within school. For example, they put themselves forward for elections as a school councillor. They become reading ambassadors and read to children in the early years at lunchtime. They also join the school football team and represent their school.
• Leaders make improved relationships with parents a priority. All staff know each pupil’s name. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Parents benefit from many workshops that the school facilitates for them. For example, parents attended a recent sex and relationships workshop and a workshop on puberty. As a result, parents are able to support their children better.
• The curriculum enables pupils to have a thorough understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when online and when they are away from school. As a result, pupils are knowledgeable about using the internet.
• Pupils know about different types of bullying through their personal, health and social education curriculum. Pupils know how bullying affects others. The curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to explore themes in relation to their well-being. For example, older pupils have a thorough understanding of equality and show an outstanding awareness of different family types represented in the school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• All pupils, regardless of their backgrounds, play well together at break and lunchtimes. Pupils work well together during lessons. They move around school well and are courteous to adults at all times.
• Incidents of poor behaviour are rare. When these do occur, leaders resolve them quickly and keep clear records. Pupils say that other pupils’ behaviour is good.
• Pupils and teachers understand the school behaviour policy well. Pupils say that teachers apply the policy fairly. This has a positive impact and makes for a harmonious place for pupils to learn in.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved significantly since 2016 and clear actions by leaders have been very successful in ensuring that pupils’ attendance continues to rise and previously high rates of persistent absence are also falling. However, despite these improvements, the whole-school attendance figure remained below the national average in 2017. Most pupils enjoy coming to school and competing for the best attendance prizes, but for some pupils, weak attendance is still an issue.
• Leaders have worked hard to engage with difficult-to-reach and vulnerable families. Leaders recognise that the actions they have put in place must continue, ensuring that attendance continues to rise, and persistent absence continues to fall.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Published information in 2017 shows that the progress pupils made in English and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 was broadly average in comparison to national figures. Pupils’ attainment fell in reading in 2018. Nevertheless, provisional information for 2018 shows that pupils made strong progress in English and mathematics from low starting points. Work in pupils’ books shows that current pupils make good progress and achieve well across the curriculum. This is confirmed by leaders’ own records of pupils’ progress in each class.
• Leaders ensure that any differences between the progress that boys and girls make are addressed quickly. School performance information indicates that, although some boys’ attainment over time has been lower than that of girls, the difference is being eradicated.
• The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check was broadly in line with the national average in 2016 and 2017. Provisional results for 2018 show that a large majority of pupils continue to reach the expected standard in the screening check.
• In 2017, the proportion of pupils in key stage 1 who achieved the expected standard in reading was above the national average. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standards in mathematics and writing was just below the national average. In 2018, the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard fell in reading but remained similar to 2017 figures in writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils achieving greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics rose in 2018 in comparison to 2017.
• Current pupils in key stage 1 are making good progress from their starting points. Work in pupils’ books shows a progression of skills and knowledge across the curriculum. For example, in Year 1, pupils’ writing develops quickly. Pupils in Year 2 apply a range of technical features to their writing, such as different types of sentences. Pupils can explain their work and what they need to do to improve it further.
• Leaders use additional funds well to ensure that disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress. Targeted support through a range of interventions ensures that pupils continue to make good progress from their different starting points.

Early years provision Good

• Effective leadership in the early years has led to improvements in the quality of education. Provision for two year-olds now runs smoothly alongside the existing Nursery and Reception classes.
• Leaders ensure that children are safe in the early years. All staff who work in the early years receive appropriate training.
• Baseline assessments are completed when children enter the Nursery and Reception classes. These confirm that most children’s skills and knowledge are below those typically expected for their age when they first arrive at school, and that children’s communication and language skills are particularly underdeveloped. Through effective teaching, a large proportion of children make good progress and their communication and language skills develop well. Work in children’s books and teachers’ assessment records show that children in all phases of the early years make good and sustained progress.
• Leaders put plans in place to raise the proportion of children achieving a good level of development. Parents now attend regular workshops to help them to understand how to help their children. In 2015, just 37% of children achieved a good level of development. In 2017, this rose to 60% and remained at 60% in 2018.
• There are high levels of parental engagement in the early years. This helps to build strong relationships between home and school. It also helps leaders to develop a culture where they can ‘grow their own’ children, bringing greater stability to the school roll and creating lasting relationships with families.
• Relationships between adults and children in the early years are strong. Children have many opportunities to develop a wide range of skills both inside the classrooms and in the outdoor environments. Adults’ questioning is skilful, and children are encouraged to develop independence through their learning.
• Children enjoy learning new things and applying mathematical and problem-solving skills in the outdoor area. A thematic approach to learning enables them to explore through familiar stories. For example, outside of the classroom children built a house out of bricks for the three little pigs. They talked about the big, bad wolf and engaged in relevant role play, which helped to develop their language skills further.
• The behaviour of pupils in the early years is good. Teachers and adults plan exciting activities to develop children’s learning. However, sometimes activities do not engage or interest boys as much as they do girls. Leaders acknowledge that more must be done to ensure that boys remain engaged in their learning.

School details

Unique reference number 141330 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 10053406 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 2 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 247 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Andy Toole Headteacher Nicola Rutter Telephone number 0151 733 1719 Website www.heygreenblogs.net Email address n.rutter@heygreen.co.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school is part of the Rainbow Education multi-academy trust.
• The headteacher leads the school. She is supported in her role by the executive headteacher, who is the chief executive officer of the Rainbow Education multi-academy trust.
• The school has a local governing body that reports to the multi-academy trust board of trustees.
• The school has two-year-old provision for 24 children as well as a nursery.
• The proportion of disadvantaged children is much higher than average.
• The proportion of girls is much higher than average.
• The proportion of pupils identified as having SEN and/or disabilities is higher than average.

Information about this inspection

• Together with senior leaders, inspectors visited lessons in all year groups.
• Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work and listened to pupils read. They held formal meetings with pupils and spoke to them around school.
• The lead inspector met with three members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors considered the 45 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and the eight free-text responses. Inspectors spoke to eight parents to seek their views of the school.
• Inspectors considered the 19 responses to the staff questionnaire.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of school documentation including the single central record, the school’s self-evaluation and the school development plan. Inspectors viewed examples of assessment information and records of monitoring. Inspectors examined minutes of governors’ meetings.

Inspection team

John Donald, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Mark Quinn Her Majesty’s Inspector