Pinehurst Primary School Anfield Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and raise attainment so that all groups of pupils make at least good progress, by:
  • sharing the stronger teaching practice that exists within the school
  • ensuring that teachers challenge pupils more effectively and intervene promptly to help them learn at a faster rate
  • making certain that teachers take account of pupils’ prior learning so that lessons are closely matched to their needs and levels of ability
  • raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils are expected to know, understand and do to improve the standards that pupils achieve in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Improve leadership and management, by:
  • improving the quality and accuracy of leaders’ evaluation of key areas of school performance so that they can pinpoint weaknesses and drive improvement
  • ensuring that plans for the use of pupil premium funding and the sports grant focus more precisely on measurable outcomes to enable governors to check and evaluate improvements.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders have not been able to sustain the good progress and outcomes for pupils since the last inspection. The expectations of the standards that pupils should achieve in reading, writing and mathematics in each year group are not high enough.
• Leaders know the school’s strengths and weaker aspects. School development planning is focused on the right priorities but leaders’ evaluations are not sharp enough. This leads to a lack of clarity about the impact of actions and this weakness impedes improvements.
• Plans for additional funding, including the pupil premium and physical education and sport premium, show it is used to enhance the curriculum. This includes lunchtime activities led by sports coaches and a wide range of interventions to support disadvantaged pupils. However, the measures of success which leaders choose are predominantly checks on whether actions have been completed rather than evaluative assessments of whether outcomes for pupils have been improved.
• The headteacher has established a more rigorous system for monitoring teaching. This information is used to strengthen the quality of teaching, learning and assessment resulting, for example, in recent changes to the curriculum for English and mathematics. These include a systematic approach to the teaching of phonics. However, these plans have been introduced gradually and have not had sufficient time to have enough impact on raising standards across the school.
• There are strengths in leadership, showing leaders’ capacity to improve provision. The school offers a safe and supportive environment for staff and pupils. A committed team of staff work hard to improve their practice. They value additional training opportunities, which are increasing their confidence. Morale is rising. Staff enjoy working in the school. Parents speak highly of staff and the support that their children receive. Pupils feel included and happy in school.
• The headteacher has taken decisive action to improve leadership, providing training and support for middle leaders. Systems to drive improvement have been established. For example, subject leaders now make regular checks on the work in pupils’ books and this has led to improvements to the quality of teaching and learning in some subjects. In science and history, pupils’ work shows good progress and they are confident in using skills that are specific to these subjects.
• High numbers of new pupils, including international new arrivals, have resulted in an increase of 25% in the number of pupils on roll since 2017. Leaders manage the induction of new pupils and their families very successfully, welcoming them into the harmonious and supportive atmosphere of the school.
• Leadership of the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is effective and these pupils make good progress. The experienced leader has a clear understanding of the needs of pupils and provides good-quality training and support to staff. Funding is used appropriately to support the needs of pupils.
• The headteacher and senior leaders have established a culture of positive behaviour and have secured the strong support of staff in this and many other areas. Pupils’ good attitudes to learning are the result of consistently high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. This is providing a firm foundation to improve progress.
• Leaders ensure that vulnerable pupils are very well supported to feel safe and happy in school. They deploy well-trained staff who skilfully deliver therapeutic programmes to pupils experiencing social and emotional difficulties.
• The curriculum is rich and varied and has a positive impact on pupils’ personal development. Leaders use specialist teachers to enhance the curriculum and pupils benefit from high-quality Spanish and physical education teaching. A range of activities beyond the formal curriculum are incorporated into the school day, including cookery sessions designed to develop an understanding of healthy eating and an awareness of how food is sourced. The impact on progress is increasing because of these opportunities, along with the changes in place to improve English and mathematics.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted seamlessly through the curriculum and the ethos of the school. Pupils have many opportunities to learn about each other’s differences and to practise tolerance to improve the lives of people around them.
• British values are taught explicitly through the curriculum and more generally through the routines of the school. For example, pupils understand the parliamentary system and democracy through their discussions about ‘Brexit’. The school council has a strong voice, as demonstrated by the changes that it has made to the school’s reward system.

Governance of the school

• Governors, like the staff, are passionate about the school. They are very proud of its standing in the community and the important role that the school plays in the lives of children and families.
• Governors are realistic about the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have a strong commitment to improving the school. They welcome the advice of the local authority to help analyse school performance and use this information to challenge leaders.
• Governors manage the performance of the headteacher effectively and are aware of staff salary progression. They ensure that additional funding is used as intended. However, the information that they are given to show the impact of actions, including on the use of pupil premium and sport funding, does not provide enough information to fully evaluate whether or not actions have a positive impact on pupils’ achievement.
• Governors are aware of the challenges that leaders face in trying to improve the attendance of pupils and they contribute their skills and knowledge of the local community to strengthen the work of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Systems in place to keep pupils safe are robust. Staff recruitment procedures are thorough and well-trained staff are deployed appropriately.
• The caring culture established among staff and pupils creates a climate where concerns can be identified and reported. The designated safeguarding leaders work closely with staff and external agencies to provide highly effective support to children and their families.
• Absences are followed up quickly and staff ensure that children arrive in school safely. School staff support parents when needed and they make strenuous efforts to continue to improve the attendance of pupils.
• The school’s curriculum deliberately addresses issues of safety for pupils, including anti-bullying, online safety and risks associated with drugs and alcohol.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Although improving, teaching is not consistent enough over time and across the school to enable pupils who have low starting points to catch up and reach the standards expected for their age by the end of Year 6.
• Most teachers plan lessons that interest pupils. However, pupils’ books show that assessment information is not always used accurately enough. It does not pinpoint the knowledge and skills pupils need to acquire or consolidate in order to make further improvements. In their writing, for example, older pupils edit their own work but do not have the skills to correct their mistakes and are not supported to identify them. Consequently, they make the same basic errors repeatedly over time.
• Recent changes to the school’s policy of teaching reading across the school are resulting in more rapid improvements in pupils’ reading skills and knowledge of phonics in key stage 1. Teachers are improving the skills of older pupils and they are developing an enjoyment of reading. An example seen in Year 6 showed pupils engaged in a lively debate about discrimination as they read extracts from the book ‘Wonder’, about a boy who ‘is different’. However, a significant number of pupils across the school have gaps in learning and they do not practise reading frequently enough to support them to catch up quickly.
• Teachers do not set work for the most able pupils that is always sufficiently challenging to allow them to reach the higher standards. This is seen when pupils who are secure in their learning complete work that is too easy for them. In some classes, the questions teachers ask are too specific and do not enable pupils, including the most able, to explore their learning or deepen their thinking.
• There are strengths in teaching that provide the school with capacity to share best practice and secure improvements. Pupils’ books indicate, where teaching is strongest, that teachers have high expectations and pupils make good progress.
• Teachers establish positive relationships with pupils. There is consistency in teachers’ expectations of pupils’ behaviour and there are very few examples of lost learning time through lack of attention. Pupils show positive attitudes to their work and this contributes to improving rates of progress.
• Teaching is strong when teachers use their subject knowledge to ensure that pupils experience specific subjects in depth, building their skills in these areas. In science, for example, pupils tackle practical investigations, make predictions and devise tests to try out their hypotheses. Similarly, in art, pupils in key stage 1 prepared a background in the style of Lowry, using primary colours. Teachers added challenge by asking pupils to change the landscape from Salford to Liverpool.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The care and support of pupils is a real strength of the school. Leaders work highly effectively with external health and social care agencies. Together with the school’s own family support worker, the school ensures that the broader needs of pupils and their families are very well supported.
• The physical and emotional well-being of pupils are a high priority. Leaders have established specific groups with well-trained staff to support vulnerable pupils and help them grow in confidence.
• Pupils are proud of their school and most show positive attitudes towards their learning. Staff teach pupils skills to help them develop resilience and self-reliance. For example, images displayed throughout the school remind pupils that they have choices and each finger represents a different action to take before seeking help.
• Pupils’ views are valued. They are encouraged to discuss their learning and some pupils are given more formal opportunities to develop the skills of debating. Pupils told inspectors that ‘everyone in school is respectful and nice’.
• Pupils’ aspirations are raised as they learn about various job opportunities that are linked to success in different school subjects. Posters advising ‘don’t wish for it, work for it’ help pupils develop positive attitudes to learning.
• Pupils know how to keep safe in different situations, including when online. They understand the dangers presented on the internet and are aware of how to protect themselves.
• School records support pupils’ comments that incidents of bullying are rare. Pupils are confident that staff will help them to sort out any problems and will keep them safe.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Adults have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour in class and around school. Pupils respond very positively to these expectations because relationships between adults and pupils are strong. Pupils conduct themselves well in lessons and most are eager to collaborate on paired and group activities.
• Pupils are calm and orderly as they move around the school and any low-level disruption is dealt with consistently. Pupils are taught to be reflective, to empathise and to manage their feelings. There is a restorative approach to resolving conflict and preventing harm. These strategies have had a very positive impact on reducing the number of incidents of negative behaviour.
• Most pupils attend school regularly, arrive on time and are ready to learn. The remaining minority are well supported to make improvements. The school works extremely hard with some families to break down cultural barriers and establish good patterns of attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes for pupils require improvement because attainment and progress are variable across subjects and year groups. Inspectors carefully considered the school’s own data which shows the impact that the high percentage of pupils moving in and out of the school has on results of national assessments. For example, in Year 6 one third of the current pupils were not on roll in Year 2. New pupils often arrive without any records of prior attainment. However, standards for a few pupils who have been in school the longest remain low in some year groups and their progress is not fast enough to enable them to catch up.
• In 2016 and 2017, progress and attainment in mathematics were in the bottom 20% of all schools nationally for pupils in Year 6. In addition, the proportion of pupils reaching age-related expectations was below national figures in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Attainment at the end of Year 2 in 2017 was below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. The achievement of disadvantaged pupils was slightly better than that of other pupils in school but still below that of other pupils nationally.
• The school’s own assessment information and work in pupils’ books shows that across the school, pupils are making better progress overall compared to last year. This is stronger in reading and mathematics than in writing, where actions taken to bring about improvements are taking longer to have an impact on progress. As a result, pupils who have been in school the longest are making up previously lost ground. However, progress remains variable and is directly linked to the quality of teaching.
• A greater proportion of the current Year 6 pupils are making more rapid progress in reading, writing and mathematics. School records show that more pupils are currently working at the standards expected for their age compared to last year.
• Disadvantaged pupils currently at the school are making more rapid progress, especially in reading and writing, than non-disadvantaged pupils in the school. Pupil premium funding is spent in line with its intended purposes, with success more evident in writing.
• Leaders have recognised the need for improvements and have introduced the right strategies to address the problems. It is clear that the focus on securing pupils’ early literacy skills is beginning to pay off. In the Year 1 phonics screening check, an increasing proportion of pupils are reaching the expected standard for their age. Observations of teaching and work in pupils’ books demonstrate that this trend is continuing.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities often make good progress from their various starting points. Pupils respond well to the attentive support that they receive from teaching assistants both in class and in small groups. The needs of individuals are carefully considered and specific programmes designed to support them.
• Recent improvements in teaching mean that the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are beginning to make improved rates of progress. This is still inconsistent and reflects the varied practice seen across year groups.
• Pupils make good progress in a range of other subjects, including science and history. This is because teachers give pupils rich opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and understanding in ways that interest and enthuse them.
• Although skills in English and mathematics are improving, there is still more to do to ensure that pupils leave school fully prepared for the curriculum in key stage 3.

Early years provision Good

• Adults set high and consistent expectations for children’s behaviour and learning and are good role models. Consequently, children know what is expected of them, behave well, feel safe and grow in confidence.
• Most children start school in either Nursery or Reception with levels of knowledge and skills below those typical for their age. The majority of children, including those who are disadvantaged, make good progress by the end of Reception as a result of effective teaching.
• In addition to good teaching, staff provide strong pastoral support that helps to promote security and consistency in the children’s lives. Close attention is paid to the needs of individual children and activities are adapted to ensure that they maintain interest and good learning takes place.
• Staff prioritise strong relationships with parents and work hard to maintain efficient communication between home and school. Parents are encouraged to ‘stay and play’ in school with their children. They are encouraged to contribute their views on the progress that their children are making. Parents also receive information about their children on a regular basis.
• Leadership of the early years is effective. The leader has an accurate understanding of the strengths and development areas. She has adjusted the environment to provide additional support for boys, whose progress is slower than girls’. Initiatives such as ‘The Hobbit Hut’ enthuse and encourage boys to read. These are having a positive effect and, as a result, boys are catching up.
• The indoor and outdoor classroom areas for the Reception classes provide exciting and stimulating learning opportunities. Nursery staff skilfully plan opportunities to make full use of other spaces in school to compensate for their small outdoor area.
• The youngest, two-year-old, children are very well supported by caring and patient staff in their own classroom area. Children play happily alongside each other, showing a good understanding of the routines. For example, they greet staff with enthusiasm and welcome each other with a song. Children show confidence moving around the limited space and do so safely. Leaders have plans to accommodate the increasing numbers of children in a larger classroom.
• Arrangements for safeguarding in the early years match the effective procedures seen across the school. All staff are well trained and monitor children closely to ensure that they are safe. Strong links with the family liaison officer mean that parents can quickly get help when they need it.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 134471 Liverpool 10043217 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 Maintained 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 409 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Liverpool Gary McAdam Stephanie Tasker 0151 263 1300 www.pinehurst-primary.co.uk pinehurst-ao@pinehurst-primary.co.uk Date of previous inspection June 2013

Information about this school

• The school is larger than average compared to other primary schools.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• The percentages of pupils from minority ethnic groups and of pupils who speak English as an additional language are above the national averages. 

• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is above average.
• The school met the government’s current floor standards in 2017, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in each class of the school, including joint observations with the headteacher.
• Discussions were held with senior leaders, members of staff and three representatives of the governing body.
• Inspectors spoke to two representatives of the local authority.
• Inspectors examined a wide range of documentation, including that relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance, school improvement planning, assessment information and reports on the quality of teaching.
• Inspectors spoke to pupils informally during the school day and observed them during playtime, lunch and before and after school. They also met formally with one group of pupils to talk about their learning, behaviour and safety.
• Inspectors heard a number of children read.
• Inspectors took note of displays around the school.
• A range of pupils’ books were scrutinised with school leaders
• Inspectors spoke to a number of parents at the start of the day and took account of responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also took note of the responses that they received to the inspection questionnaire for school staff and the questionnaire for pupils. 


Inspection team

Cathy Parkinson, lead inspector Ann Dimeck Linda Griffiths

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector