Priory Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Secure outstanding teaching in all subjects so that all pupils make substantial and sustained progress by ensuring that:
  • teachers consistently challenge the most able pupils
  • provision for the least able pupils is appropriately planned for so that they can achieve well in every lesson.
• Make certain that children in the early years, particularly boys and disadvantaged pupils, make rapid progress by:
  • ensuring that teachers meticulously plan and adapt provision in all areas, so that children can take the next steps in their learning
  • further developing opportunities for children to develop their writing skills.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher and deputy headteacher have been resolute and determined in improving Priory Primary School so that all pupils are inspired to learn. They are meticulous in checking each aspect of the school’s work and their impact has been to improve the quality of teaching so that outcomes for pupils have risen steadily.
• Senior leaders ensure that targets set for teachers help them to improve aspects of their teaching that will have the biggest impact on pupils’ learning. Records show that monitoring is frequent and teachers are persistently challenged to improve the planning and delivery of lessons so that all pupils can achieve well. Teachers value the coaching and training opportunities they have received, helping them to swiftly improve their teaching. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation of the progress of groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, have ensured that differences in attainment are diminishing over time.
• Middle leaders are very effective in their work to support improvements in the quality of teaching. They are knowledgeable about the subjects they lead and monitor regularly. Middle leaders have been instrumental in the design and delivery of an exciting curriculum.
• Leaders have worked with intensity to ensure that pupils receive rich experiences and meaningful learning in areas other than English and mathematics. Pupils begin many areas of learning with a challenging question, such as ‘Is Hull a good place to live?’ This question led pupils to successfully develop research skills in history, geography and computing. Work in class books shows a strong focus on investigative science. Pupils are helped to deepen their understanding of scientific processes successfully, so that the vast majority are working at expected standards and many are exceeding levels expected for their age. Visits out of school, for example to the theatre, the cinema or the seaside, are helping to make learning relevant and fun.
• The school’s work to promote pupils’ understanding of spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues is highly successful. Pupils are taught how to express their thoughts appropriately through philosophy lessons. In these lessons, pupils generate and consider questions that challenge stereotypes, such as ‘Who do you think you can trust?’ These lessons are highly effective in valuing pupils’ opinions, building their confidence and contributing to preparing them for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils of all ages take part in regular enterprise activities, baking scones to sell at a fundraising coffee morning, for example. The school is participating in ‘The City of Culture’ events and has visited Hull for a workshop with Hull Children’s University to become ambassadors for Hull, developing their role in promoting the city. These activities very successfully help pupils to understand their place in the wider community.
• Extra money provided to the school to support disadvantaged pupils is used effectively to provide additional academic or pastoral support, for example through the deployment of higher-level teaching assistants or a school nurse to work directly with pupils. Leaders are diagnostic in their approach, discussing the barriers to learning faced by individual pupils and putting in bespoke support. As a result of this cohesive approach, disadvantaged pupils make good progress, so that differences in attainment with other pupils are closing by the time they reach Year 6.
• Primary school sports funding is being used successfully to increase the number of pupils taking part in sport. The school offers a very wide range of sporting activities, including football, yoga and sports leadership. Take-up by pupils is high. At the time of the inspection, Year 5 were out on a school trip to Headingley Cricket Club to encourage participation and aspiration in sport.
• The vast majority of parents expressed satisfaction with Priory Primary School. Parents appreciate the chance to join in cooking activities with their children and to attend assemblies where pupils share their work. All parents responding to Ofsted’s online questionnaire said that they would recommend the school to other parents.

Governance of the school

• Governors provide rigorous challenge and very effective support for school leaders.
• The governing body is determined to improve the school’s very good performance and to maintain the rich and varied experiences that pupils gain through school. They ensure that teachers’ effectiveness is clearly linked to pay and career progression.
• Governors benefit from senior leaders’ detailed reports so they have a deep understanding of how the school functions. Governing body minutes show incisive questioning with a particular focus on pupils’ learning and attainment. Governors have a full understanding of how additional monies such as pupil premium and school sports funding are used.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that rigorous systems and procedures are in place to keep pupils safe. A comprehensive set of risk assessments ensure that staff are aware of potential dangers in all aspects of school life.
• The culture of keeping pupils safe from harm permeates all aspects of the school’s work. Staff receive regular training on safeguarding issues and have recently been trained to prevent harm to pupils at risk of radicalisation.
• The leader for special educational needs works closely with families and external agencies to ensure that appropriate support and help is accessed where required. She is in daily contact with teachers, advising on ways to ensure pupils’ needs are well met.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching over time is never less than good, so pupils make good progress throughout the school. Teachers display good subject knowledge and high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and progress in lessons.
• The teaching of mathematics is very effective. Teachers have recently changed their approach, focusing on presenting work which encourages investigation, calculation and problem-solving skills. Through this, pupils are given daily opportunities to develop their fluency in number. The most able pupils are presented with further challenges which deepen their understanding. The least able pupils are supported through the use of well-chosen resources. As a consequence, pupils’ attainment in mathematics is high and pupils are making good progress.
• Teachers’ well-developed subject knowledge is underpinning the accurate teaching of phonics. Consistently well-taught lessons ensure that a higher than average proportion of pupils achieve the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check.
• The teaching of reading is effective in helping a large majority of pupils to read accurately and to develop higher-order reading skills. Pupils are encouraged to read at least three times a week at home and they reported reading a range of challenging texts. By the time they reach Year 6, a large proportion of pupils are fluent, and the most able readers are reaching high, but not the highest, levels. However, in some classes, lower-ability pupils are not making the rapid progress they need to catch up because work given to them in some reading sessions is not appropriately pitched.
• Writing is encouraged through a range of themes. Teachers ensure that pupils are well equipped with the grammatical knowledge they need to achieve levels expected for their age. Even so, some of the least able pupils are unable to succeed in writing lessons because the tasks they are given are not well matched to their ability. In the main, pupils present their writing neatly, using joined handwriting.
• Teachers are determined to provide interesting lessons that ignite pupils’ interests. They plan for learning through a wide range of methods, including practical, hands-on activities. This is particularly evident in scientific enquiry where experimentation is at the heart of science lessons. In a physical education lesson seen, pupils were motivated by moving like witches and wizards or frogs and describing the difference.
• Teachers work closely within the school’s marking policy to highlight to pupils effectively where they have achieved well and to indicate how pupils might improve their work. Pupils regularly follow their teachers’ advice, learning from their mistakes. Consequently, the work in pupils’ books shows good progress over time.
• Both teachers and teaching assistants take responsibility for teaching lower-attaining pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Where practice is most effective, adults support pupils’ learning well through timely questions and appropriate resources that encourage pupils to develop independence.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils who spoke to the inspectors said that they really like school and particularly like going on trips. High proportions of pupils take part in a wide range of clubs and activities, including film, musical theatre and drama, board games and ukulele clubs.
• Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through regular lessons and assemblies. Pupils could speak knowledgeably about internet safety; e-safety is consistently promoted throughout the school.
• Pupils have many opportunities to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. Taking part in extra-curricular activities reinforces this learning, as pupils take part in ‘grow it, cook it’ activities, gardening and the forest school. A recent theatre company visit was effective in promoting an anti-smoking message to pupils, as proven by the posters pupils generated afterwards.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils respond very well to the school’s reward system and enjoy striving for a gold ticket for hard work or thoughtful behaviour. Teachers have consistently high expectations and pupils do not disappoint. Consequently, instances of low-level disruption are very rare.
• Pupils conduct themselves extremely well around school and during social times, showing excellent self-discipline.
• Leaders’ work to promote strategies to wipe out bullying is highly effective and includes exposing pupils to theatre productions and regular assemblies on the theme. Pupils say that bullying is very rare but when it does happen it is quickly dealt with by staff.
• Due to the effective work done by leaders, the vast majority of pupils attend school regularly and on time, so that attendance at Priory Primary School is above national averages for all groups of pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Children enter the school at stages of development below those expected for their age. As a result of good teaching, the proportion of children leaving Reception with a good level of development is broadly in line with the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check in 2016 was in line with the national average, although disadvantaged pupils did not achieve as well as others.
• There has been a steady increase over a three-year period in the number of pupils who are attaining expected levels at key stages 1 and 2. In 2015 and 2016, pupils in both key stages performed at levels significantly above national averages. As a consequence, pupils are very well prepared for the demands of high school.
• Pupils’ progress between key stages 1 and 2 is good and is broadly in line with progress made by pupils nationally. However, some most able pupils, including most able disadvantaged pupils, did not make the rapid progress expected to achieve the highest levels. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress overall, but around half are not reaching the levels that are expected for their age.
• Work in books shows that current pupils make good progress across all year groups and in all subjects. Pupils are productive and the work they are producing is of a good quality. There are some differences between the achievements of boys and girls, with girls generally outperforming boys in reading and writing. As a result of well-targeted small-group teaching and pastoral support, the large differences that exist between disadvantaged pupils and others when pupils start school are closing, so that differences are diminished by the end of key stage 2.

Early years provision Good

• The leader of early years ensures high-quality provision that is enticing children into learning. She has identified areas for development accurately, working with purpose to continually improve the setting. Provision indoors is enabling children to develop their knowledge and understanding across all areas of learning and outdoor provision is helping children to develop their social and physical skills successfully.
• The teaching of phonics is effective in helping children to pick out sounds they can hear in the environment. Children are helped to identify letters and sounds successfully using actions and repetition to reinforce their learning.
• Staff are careful to make sure that children are safe in the setting, and hold appropriate first aid certificates. Children are confident, articulate and happy in school. They play well together, showing that they feel safe in the setting.
• Detailed observations show that children are developing well both socially and emotionally and that their learning in reading and number is accelerating. From below-average starting points, children achieve a level of development above typical for their age. Overall, children are less able to demonstrate age-appropriate writing skills.
• Additional funding provided to school for disadvantaged children is used to provide additional adult support, helping pupils to adjust to school life and getting them ready to learn. Even so, although some improvements can be seen, disadvantaged children are not consistently achieving a good level of development at the same rate as other children, and their attainment in reading and writing is well below that of others.
• Parents feel informed about their child’s progress and say that their comments help teachers to build a picture of their child’s learning. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to attend school to learn alongside their children and to take part in weekly reading sessions. Parents recently joined their children to build scarecrows as part of activities related to harvest festival.

School details

Unique reference number 140290 Local authority Kingston upon Hull Inspection number 10019286 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 300 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Megan Murray Kath Roe 01482 509631 www.prioryprimaryschool.org.uk/ head@priory.hull.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with DfE guidance on what academies should publish.
• Priory Primary School is larger than an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who are eligible for support through the pupil premium is average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• Over 95% of pupils are from White British backgrounds.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics.
• Children in the Reception class attend full time. There is no nursery at the school.
• The school has attained the basic skills quality mark and the primary science mark (silver).

Information about this inspection

• Together with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, inspectors looked at pupil progress data, information about the performance of teachers, documents relating to behaviour and safety and documents relating to safeguarding.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 30 part lessons, some alongside senior leaders.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and observed pupils’ learning in small groups. They spoke with pupils in lessons, at lunchtime and at playtimes, and met with groups of pupils from all classes.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, class teachers and five members of the governing body. A conversation was also held with the school improvement partner.
• Inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the school day. They considered the opinion of 20 parents through Parent View (Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents).
• Inspectors took account of 18 online responses returned by members of staff and 28 responses by pupils.

Inspection team

Lesley Butcher, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Suzette Garland-Grimes Ofsted Inspector Juliet Wright Jen Cave Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector