Parson Street Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that strategies to reduce variation in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the school are embedded and, consequently, improve outcomes
  • continuing to support leaders, particularly those new to their posts, to further develop their skills and expertise in driving whole-school improvement
  • ensuring that leaders more effectively use additional funding provided for disadvantaged pupils to help this group of pupils make more rapid progress
  • continuing to embed the improvements being made in the early years to ensure that children make consistently strong progress from their starting points.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by:
  • developing teachers’ skills in using assessment information to plan and adapt teaching so that it meets the needs of all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities
  • ensuring that teaching consistently challenges the most able to build on the skills they have to deepen their understanding
  • further developing teachers’ proficiency in extending pupils’ higher-order skills in reading.
• Improve attendance by:
  • continuing to implement strategies which reduce absence and robustly challenging those who do not attend school regularly.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have not ensured that the quality of teaching is consistently improving the standards pupils reach and the progress they make from their starting points.
• Changes made to governance and the newly reconfigured leadership team provide the capacity to address the issues that still require attention. Leaders are now in the process of implementing their agreed priorities to improve the school. However, this work is recent and yet to be fully realised in terms of improving pupils’ outcomes.
• Leaders understand the work they need to do to drive the improvements necessary. They have a clear vision for the school and show ambition for the achievements and well-being of pupils. This underpins all aspects of the school’s work, resulting in a positive ‘can-do’ climate.
• Leaders have the energy and optimism required to make the changes necessary. They look outward, actively seeking challenge and support from within the multi-academy trust and also more widely. They are reflective and respond positively to feedback, using it to improve. However, their skills and expertise need further refinement to have a full impact on outcomes.
• Senior leaders know that they need to develop the skills of the wider leadership team further. They provide training to share expertise with team leaders, but there is still work to do. Nevertheless, middle leaders are increasingly clear about their roles and responsibilities in raising standards.
• Leaders have raised expectations of what pupils can achieve. They have increased the level of challenge for most pupils and have strengthened external moderation and validation to ensure that assessment information is reliable. However, this information lacks the clarity needed for teachers to plan work effectively which precisely meets the needs of pupils.
• Leaders have taken action when the quality of teaching falls short of expectations. They have recently developed a more coherent and reliable system so that they can accurately monitor and improve the quality of teaching. Staff, including teaching assistants, have responded positively to the training provided. However, this has yet to have a full impact, as there are still too many inconsistencies in teachers’ practice.
• Disadvantaged pupils are not making the progress they should. Leaders have identified the barriers to learning for this group of pupils and have implemented strategies to address them. Many of these barriers relate to social and emotional needs, with much effective nurturing provided to address these. This has resulted in improvements in pupils’ behaviour and engagement in learning but is not yet evident in their academic outcomes.
• Leaders make sure that provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is in place. Information about pupils’ social and emotional needs is detailed but the analysis of their academic progress is not precise enough.
• Leaders have taken effective action to enable pupils to learn about wider knowledge from across subject areas in a stimulating and engaging way. For example, pupils participated with interest and enthusiasm in a science lesson which explored the effect that sugary drinks have on teeth. Pupils considered the science behind this effect, developed their ability to write for a specific audience and purpose and then discussed the school’s own approach to healthy eating.
• Extra-curricular activities, including those provided through the additional sport premium funding, support pupils’ learning well. Leaders are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils to widen their experiences.

Governance of the school

• Governors are committed to the success of the school but have been too slow to address issues that have led to underperformance.
• Governors use external support and advice effectively. As a result, they are now better equipped to support and challenge the school’s leaders to make the improvements needed at the pace required.
• Governors meet regularly with school leaders to evaluate the impact of the school’s improvement priorities. Senior leaders are open and honest about the information provided, and governors visit the school regularly to ensure that evidence supports the assertions leaders make.
• Governors ensure that leaders accurately track how they use additional funding and target it appropriately. However, they have not ensured that the impact on pupils’ outcomes is rapid enough, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders give safeguarding a high priority across the school. Governors routinely check that all processes and policies are up to date and that school records are thorough. The school’s electronic tracking system provides a clear chronology of reports and actions, meaning that the system for recording referrals is effective.
• Staff are confident in applying child protection procedures. Training is a priority throughout the year and includes training on protecting pupils from radicalisation and extremism. As a result, there is a pervasive culture of vigilance.
• Leaders are proactive and rigorous, working with external partners and parents and carers to support pupils who are at risk. Where necessary, they challenge other agencies to ensure that the action taken is timely and effective.
• The majority of parents who provided feedback agree that their children are well cared for and feel safe at school. This is a view shared by pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not consistently good enough. This is because the planned activities do not always meet the needs of learners. Challenge for the most able is not consistently evident, which means that they are not able to demonstrate higher levels of understanding. Similarly, teachers do not consistently give the appropriate support to pupils who have fallen behind.
• Pupils’ ability in reading continues to require improvement. Pupils in key stage 2 have gaps in their reading skills, particularly in their ability to read at speed and with resilience. However, teachers’ use of phonics training is effective in enabling pupils to address gaps in their grasp of phonics. Pupils are therefore increasingly able to decode words, but skills such as inference and prediction are still more challenging. This has a negative impact on outcomes.
• Teachers’ focus on literacy is having an impact on pupils’ confidence to write in a more independent and extended way. Younger pupils are able to explain sentence structure and begin to use a variety of punctuation. However, inaccurate spelling and punctuation hamper some pupils’ skills in expressing their meaning effectively. Teachers do not address such weaknesses sufficiently, and therefore pupils’ writing does not improve rapidly enough.
• Teachers regularly develop pupils’ understanding of basic skills in mathematics. Pupils are now more confident in their ability to make simple calculations. However, they find it more difficult to apply this knowledge to tackle increasingly complex processes such as reasoning and problem-solving.
• At key stage 2, more-able pupils say they want greater challenge in mathematics. These pupils have few opportunities to deepen their understanding and apply their knowledge and skills to more complex, multi-staged problems.
• At key stage 1, pupils make stronger progress in mathematics when teachers plan activities which are rich and engaging. In these instances, teachers encourage pupils to explore different methodologies and use a variety of techniques that support pupils well. Opportunities to reinforce sequencing using real-life scenarios are well founded and effective. However, in some teaching, poor planning and management of resources mean that pupils are not able to progress quickly enough.
• The impact of the feedback that teachers provide in line with the school’s marking policy is too variable. Pupils’ misconceptions are not always spotted and therefore continue into subsequent work.
• Teachers’ planning does not specifically address the needs of disadvantaged pupils. While high-ability pupils can demonstrate secure understanding of grammatical structures and functions, teachers do not always tackle the needs of lower prior-attaining pupils effectively. Consequently, difficulties in letter formation and understanding of letters and sounds continue into subsequent work. These pupils fall further behind their peers, and this continues as they move through key stage 2.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities have provision to support their needs either individually or as part of a small group. For example, the ‘Maths Meet’ sessions are highly paced and clearly focused on gaps in pupils’ knowledge. However, while these additional sessions are successful in the short term, teachers do not always build on them during classwork. Therefore, pupils are not able to apply their knowledge more widely and securely in the longer term. Consequently, pupils are not able to demonstrate improvement in these skills over time.
• Learning is best secured when teachers use subject knowledge and questioning to probe, develop and assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding. In these instances, pupils are secure in their understanding of content. Therefore, they successfully concentrate on how sentence structure and adventurous vocabulary can be used to best effect.
• Staff encourage pupils to read regularly and this has contributed to the development of a positive reading culture. Pupils are now more confident to choose books that are suitable. They say they would like greater access to the library to allow them to change their books more regularly.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Staff provide a rich calendar of activities to celebrate diversity and the understanding of a range of faiths and cultures. Teachers prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. Key stage 2 pupils spoke enthusiastically about the work they have done to consider issues of equality and are knowledgeable about how to challenge discrimination and prejudice.
• Staff take every opportunity to reinforce the core values that underpin the school’s work. As a result, these are embedded and effective in promoting largely positive attitudes. Pupils readily take the opportunities presented to develop leadership skills.
• The large majority of pupils are positive about their experience of the school. They understand expectations and are confident and willing to talk about their experiences. They are proud of their school and respect their environment.
• Pupils are largely supportive of each other and enjoy opportunities to celebrate each other’s work. For example, the Year 2 assembly successfully involved all pupils and encouraged them to reflect in an engaging way on their new learning. Many parents also attended.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum provides meaningful activities for pupils to consider issues relating to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Pupils are able to consider topics on a local and global scale. Well-planned visits and visitors are effective in widening pupils’ experiences further.
• The school’s work to promote pupils’ understanding of risk is age-appropriate and clearly mapped across the curriculum. Pupils recognise different types of risk and understand how to keep themselves safe, including when online.
• Pupils say that bullying is rare but are confident that staff deal with it effectively when it occurs. Pupils told inspectors that they know who to talk to when other children are being ‘unkind’.
• Leaders seek to form positive partnerships and have developed forums where parents can contribute ideas. They provide information and actively encourage parents to be involved in their children’s learning. For example, the Year 3 ‘Kickstart’ programme, designed to encourage parents to listen to their child read from Nursery to Year 3, was well attended at the start of the day.
• Staff supervision ensures that pupils play together positively in the well-resourced areas. Staff are vigilant in ensuring that the site is secure.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• The rates of absence and persistent absence are still too high. Leaders have implemented more rigorous systems to ensure that pupils attend regularly. They know the barriers that exist for vulnerable pupils and are committed to addressing them. As a result, attendance has improved and persistent absence has decreased. However, it is too early to see sustained improvement over a longer period.
• The large majority of pupils conduct themselves well, both in lessons and around the school. They are warm and welcoming to visitors, holding open doors and responding to greetings. Pupils and parents generally agree that behaviour is positive, but a minority of pupils say that the behaviour of some pupils disrupts their learning.
• Leaders are well aware of pupils who find their behaviour difficult to manage and have introduced effective strategies to assist them. Each morning staff meet and greet parents and pupils. This means that staff are better prepared to deal with situations that might arise throughout the day.
• Where behaviour falls short of the standards expected, ‘The Hub’ and the reflective room provide suitable spaces for pupils to consider their actions. They are also able to access the support they need. This is having a positive impact on pupils, who are then better able to manage their emotions. It has led to a reduction in the number of behaviour incidents overall, particularly those leading to exclusion.
• Teachers and additional adults understand and apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently. They are confident in using techniques to manage disputes effectively to avoid escalation of incidents.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Over recent years, outcomes at the end of Year 6 have been weak. Pupils’ progress has been below national figures in reading, writing and mathematics. Current pupils demonstrate an improvement in the progress they are making across core subjects but outcomes are not as strong in reading as they are in writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have not made sufficient progress over time in reading, writing and mathematics. Current pupils are now making better progress, particularly in writing at key stage 2.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make consistently good progress in the core areas. Leaders’ analysis of the academic progress of this group is not secure and needs further scrutiny to evaluate accurately the impact of the support provided.
• The proportion of pupils who meet the required standard in the phonics screening check has declined over a three-year period and is below national expectations. Teachers have now placed a greater emphasis on developing these skills to tackle this underperformance. This has led to a rise in the number of current Year 1 pupils who are demonstrating this knowledge. The majority of Year 2 pupils who did not meet the standard in Year 1 are now on track to meet this expectation.
• At the end of Year 2, pupils’ outcomes are in line with national figures for writing and mathematics but are not as secure in reading. The work of current pupils shows this continues to be the case.
• The progress of most-able pupils at the end of Year 6 improved in 2017. In addition, attainment for the most able pupils at the end of Year 2 was above national figures for writing and mathematics. The school’s information shows that current pupils continue to make good progress. However, in some classes, pupils are not consistently challenged to make the progress they are capable of.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development, the standard expected at the end of early years, has been below national figures for a number of years. Inconsistency in the quality of teaching has had a negative impact on the quality of outcomes. Leaders have now made the necessary changes, and staffing is stable. This is supporting children to make increased rates of progress.
• Most children join the school with very low starting points and, from these, current children make strong progress. However, not enough children reach the level of development expected by the end of Reception, particularly in communication skills, literacy and mathematics.
• Curriculum planning is coherent and provides meaningful activities for children to develop their skills, both in the classroom and outside areas. The mathematics curriculum provides structured support and teachers regularly use a range of strategies to develop sequencing and counting skills.
• Children are now using their knowledge of phonics to sound out and read simple words. Most-able children are using their knowledge of sounds to build up irregular words.
• Disadvantaged children, those who have SEN and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language do not improve as rapidly as their peers. Children who have limited vocabulary, or who have poor pencil control when forming letters and numbers, are struggling when they move into Year 1. Therefore, these pupils are not ready for their next stage of learning. These weaknesses often continue throughout key stage 1.
• Staff have created an environment that is effective in supporting children to develop vocabulary and communication skills. Classrooms are safe and stimulating, supporting children to refine their gross and fine motor skills. Children share and cooperate well with each other. They respond positively to adults and are able to follow more complex instructions.
• Staff work successfully with the majority of parents to help them to support their children’s learning. Staff and parents communicate regularly and, as a result, there is a shared understanding of children’s achievements and welfare needs. Staff work proactively with the family support worker to provide strong pastoral support for parents who find it more difficult to engage with the school.

School details

Unique reference number 138904 Local authority Bristol City Council Inspection number 10047641 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 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 472 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Gerry Rice Headteacher Jamie Barry Telephone number 01179030226 Website www.parsonstreet.com Email address office@parsonstreet.com Date of previous inspection 4–5 November 2014

Information about this school

• Parson Street Primary joined the Trust in Learning Academies multi-academy trust in September 2016.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are from a White British background, but the number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above the national average.
• The number of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited lessons across a range of subjects and age groups and scrutinised pupils’ written work. Some of the observations were conducted jointly with curriculum leaders and members of the leadership team.
• Meetings were held with members of the leadership team and representatives of the governing body. In addition, inspectors met with curriculum leaders and pastoral managers. An inspector spoke on the telephone with the chair of the trustees.
• Inspectors met with pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, both formally and informally, to discuss their views about their learning.
• Inspectors looked at the school’s documentation, including the evaluation of the school’s effectiveness and priorities for future improvement, progress, behaviour and attendance information relating to current pupils, and governors’ minutes.
• School polices relating to safeguarding, pupils’ behaviour, the use of additional funding, including pupil premium and sport premium, and the curriculum were also scrutinised.
• Inspectors listened to a selection of pupils read.
• Inspectors considered 33 responses to Ofsted’s online survey Parent View and the recent survey conducted by the school on the views of pupils and staff.

Inspection team

Sarah McGinnis, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ross Newman Ofsted Inspector Jan Isaac Ofsted Inspector