Parklands Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of outstanding as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now.

The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Parklands is a true 'community' school in the heart of the local area. The school is determined to ensure equality of access to every wider development and enrichment opportunity, for all pupils.

Consequently, every single educational visit, including the many residential visits, and all after-school clubs are ...completely free to all pupils, to make sure that everyone takes part.

Pupils are polite and generally happy. The school culture is caring.

The school nurtures strong attachments with pupils that help them to thrive. The curriculum includes lessons about equality and fairness. There is an enhanced resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) Pupils on roll in this provision access some lessons with their peers across the school.

Despite the school's extensive efforts to teach pupils to treat everyone with equality and respect, there are still a small number of incidents where a minority of pupils are not respectful of race, making some pupils feel unhappy. The school has reduced bullying significantly, but a few racist bullying incidents continue to occur.

The school has high expectations of pupils.

The school is determined to improve pupils' attainment, following a sharp decline in key stage 2 results in reading, writing and mathematics in 2023. Standards of attainment are improving rapidly.

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

Teachers say that their workload is managed well by leaders, and that morale is high.

They are a united team. In 2023, standards of Year 6 pupils' attainment and progress were significantly below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. The school has improved the curriculum, and the positive impact of this is evident in the standard of work of current pupils now.

Most current pupils are achieving well across the curriculum. However, the school's expectations of the most able key stage 2 pupils are not high enough in some curriculum subjects, including mathematics. The work that the school provides for the most able pupils is too easy.

Teachers are not using assessment well enough to inform the follow-on work that they set for the most able pupils. This is slowing down the progress that these pupils are making.

The school successfully adapts the curriculum to help pupils with SEND.

As a result, pupils with SEND are included and participate fully in all lessons alongside their peers. A visiting specialist uses music and movement to help pupils in the enhanced resourced provision experience learning physically, introducing a few words in each session. This is motivating pupils who are pre-verbal to develop functional speech.

More than a quarter of pupils miss out on learning because they are frequently or persistently absent from school. The school does everything it can to try to get these pupils into school. This includes providing a minibus to collect some pupils every day.

The school analyses each pupil's attendance record closely. The school reminds parents that pupils who are frequently absent are falling further and further behind in their learning.

The school provides a toothbrush and toothpaste for every child in the early years.

Children practise brushing their teeth every day after lunchtime. The school works in partnership with parents to help children learn to be independent and to develop their self-care skills. This is helping more children to achieve the early learning goal linked to 'managing self' within their personal development by the end of Reception.

The school recently introduced a new curriculum for phonics. The school teaches reading consistently well. Some pupils practise their reading at home, but the school also provides extra opportunities for pupils to practise their reading skills to an adult in school.

Most pupils behave well in lessons. A few pupils struggle to regulate their emotions. The school adapts their response depending on each pupil's individual needs.

Some pupils calm down by manipulating sensory equipment or using malleable materials. Other pupils prefer to have 'time out' for a few minutes to read a book. A notice in the recently carpeted library reminds all pupils to 'Leave your worries and your shoes at the door.'



The school regularly teaches pupils that racism is unacceptable. The school has a zero tolerance policy on any type of bullying, including racist bullying. The school addresses all incidents seriously, but a small proportion re-occur.

Pupils are developing social skills that prepare them well for the future. Older pupils take leadership roles helping younger pupils to play harmoniously. Pupils confidently recall their prior learning about different religions.

The school links pupils' history learning about democracy to life in modern Britain. For example, pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of the general election in this country. Pupils are taught about saving for their futures and each pupil is provided with a 'piggy bank' money box to get them started.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The ambitious mathematics curriculum is not implemented well for the most able pupils in key stage 2. As a result, most-able key stage 2 pupils are not achieving as well as they should in mathematics.

The school should ensure that its expectations are sufficiently high for the most able key stage 2 pupils in all curriculum subjects, including mathematics. ? A small number of pupils have experienced racist bullying. Although the school teaches that this is unacceptable and deal with any incidents swiftly, the incidents continue to happen, and some pupils are unhappy about this.

The school should continue to work with parents and pupils to implement its zero tolerance anti-bullying policy. ? Pupils' persistent absence rates are unacceptably high compared to published local and national averages, and by comparison with similar schools. Persistently absent pupils are not receiving their full statutory entitlement to education.

As a result, they are not accessing the full curriculum offer and not achieving as well as they should. The school should continue to analyse attendance data and take appropriate, swift and effective action to reduce persistent absence rates.

Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in September 2017.

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