Parson Street Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils and want them to achieve well. They are bringing about positive changes to improve the curriculum. However, the quality of education pupils receive is not yet good.

Aspects of the curriculum are not implemented well enough. Some pupils have gaps in their wider curriculum subject knowledge. Staff do not consistently support pupils who struggle to read well enough in some year groups.

Pupils enjoy school and build strong and positive relationships with adults. They know who to go to if they have a worry or concern. This makes them feel safe.

Pupils enjoy the opportunities to develop as individuals.

Behaviour across the ...school is inconsistent. At playtimes, some pupils can be overly boisterous.

Staff do not always deal with this effectively. Low-level disruption occurs in some classes, which distracts others. Pupils understand what bullying is.

They are confident that when bullying happens, adults deal with it well.

Staff know their pupils and families well. Parents are positive about the school's work, especially the strong pastoral support.

One parent commented, 'My child's emotional support has been paramount; this reassures me as a happy child, they will be a happy learner.'

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders prioritise children's language and communication skills in the early years. Children learn phonics from the time they start in the Nursery.

Children listen attentively to a wide range of stories, songs and rhymes. Staff communicate with children effectively. Staff develop children's speech and language by encouraging them to speak in full sentences.

Leaders have recently implemented a new phonics programme. However, this is yet to be fully rolled out beyond the early years. There are inconsistencies in the way phonics is taught.

Teaching is not always building on what pupils already know. Some pupils who struggle to read do not get the precise help they need. As a result, they are not catching up quickly enough.

The mathematics curriculum is coherent and sequenced well. Teachers ensure that learning is adapted to meet the needs of pupils. Pupils have frequent opportunities to secure their learning through the 'try it, twist it, explore it' approach.

Pupils enjoy mathematics. They are able to confidently recall prior learning. Adults in the early years expose children to relevant mathematical vocabulary from the moment they start in the Nursery.

Adults build in opportunities for children to revisit and consolidate their learning. This helps them to learn more and remember more.

Leaders have recently implemented a new approach to the teaching of other subjects across the curriculum.

This new curriculum has been coherently planned and sequenced. However, it is too early to see an impact. Pupils do not yet have the in-depth knowledge and understanding of some subjects over time.

For example, in history, pupils could recall topic headings covered, but struggled to articulate key content previously learned.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities access the same curriculum as their peers. Staff understand the needs of pupils well.

Staff ensure that learning and support are adapted to enable these pupils to be successful.

Staff provide a consistent and proportionate approach to dealing with behaviour, especially for pupils with the most complex needs. However, this is not always the same for other pupils.

Although leaders have put in place a new policy for supporting behaviour, this is not consistently applied or understood by all staff. As a result, some pupils do not behave as well as they should, both in class and around the school site.

Leaders have a clear understanding of the needs of their community.

They provide high-quality pastoral support for pupils that results in positive relationships with parents. Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to take on leadership roles, such as being house captains, play leaders or members of the school council. The school's personal, social, health and economic education programme enhances pupils' understanding of difference and equalities.

Leaders prioritise the well-being of staff. This is appreciated by most staff, including those who are new to the profession. Leaders have developed a programme of training and coaching for staff to develop their practice.

Trust leaders and governors know the school well. They have been pivotal in guiding the school with its curriculum development. They provide appropriate challenge to enable the school to move forwards in its development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff act in the best interests of keeping pupils safe. Effective policies and procedures are in place.

Staff know how to report concerns, and know these will be taken seriously. Leaders ensure that staff receive up-to-date and relevant training. Leaders actively engage with external agencies to support vulnerable children and families to receive the right help.

Employment checks on staff are thorough. Pupils said that they feel safe in school. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe online.

The curriculum supports pupils' understanding of risk and healthy relationships.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils who struggle with reading do not receive the precise support they need in order to get better at reading. As a result, they do not read as fluently as they should.

Leaders should ensure that staff provide effective support for those pupils who require extra help, so that they read with confidence and fluency. ? There is not yet a coherent approach to the teaching of phonics. Teaching sequences are not systematic enough to build on what pupils already know.

Consequently, pupils' progress slows. Leaders need to ensure that phonics teaching is effective so that pupils have the reading skills to succeed and master the phonic code, building on the strong start children get in the early years. ? Curriculum leaders have a clear understanding of the rationale and content for subjects across the newly implemented curriculum.

However, improvements to the curriculum are not yet embedded fully. As a result, pupils do not confidently recall or articulate both recent and prior knowledge taught. Leaders need to ensure that all teachers provide the necessary depth of knowledge in individual subjects, in order for pupils to know more and remember more over time.

• Some teachers' expectations of pupils' behaviour are not consistently high enough. Consequently, some pupils do not behave as well as they should in structured and unstructured times. Leaders need to ensure that high expectations of behaviour are communicated and consistently applied by all staff, to create a calm and purposeful environment.