Park Lane Primary & Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Park Lane Primary & Nursery School continues to be a good school.The headteacher of this school is Rob Litten.

This school is part of Aspire Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Duncan Ramsey, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Zoe Botterill.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and welcoming place to learn.

Pupils follow the school's rules of being safe, ready and respectful. They know that there is an unspoken rule of kindness and treating others with care and respect, which they follow.

From the early years, pupils... learn a well-rounded curriculum that enables them to practise key skills and build on what they know.

As a result, pupils achieve well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve in line with their peers.

The school is an exciting place to be, and because of this attendance is high.

Pupils enjoy the fun and interesting activities that staff plan for them. This includes trips to the local area so that pupils are proud of their community's history. The strong relationships between staff and pupils mean that pupils feel confident to share their worries and concerns.

This helps pupils to feel safe in school.

The wide range of enrichment opportunities allow pupils to learn how to care for and respect their local area. For example, children in Reception pick up litter to care for the environment.

Pupils learn about other cultures and religions and how they feature in their community.

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

The school's curriculum enables pupils to build knowledge over time. The early years curriculum is well-organised.

It sets out the key learning that children will need to be successful in key stage 1. In most subjects, leaders have set out the specifics that they would like pupils to learn and as a result pupils achieve well. Pupils make links and connections across the curriculum.

For example, pupils learn about Whittlesey as a market town. They study why this was important for the industries in the area and why the landmarks are important. Pupils recall their existing knowledge and have the confidence to approach more complex learning.

However, in some subjects, the important information pupils need to know is not clearly set out. This means some subjects are not always taught as consistently as leaders would like. In these subjects, pupils struggle to recall prior learning.

The school has a well-established phonics programme in place. Children learn the sounds that letters make from the start of Reception. Staff have the skills to teach phonics effectively.

They identify pupils who need extra help to keep up with their peers. Pupils develop a love of reading. They have books that are well matched to their reading stage.

This means they get regular practice to become confident, fluent readers. The consistent approach to teaching reading across the school allows pupils to build on their comprehension skills. This means they can confidently discuss and debate a range of texts.

The needs of pupils with SEND are well understood by staff. Teachers know the best ways to help them learn. Teachers make adaptations and adjustments to the curriculum as needed.

This helps pupils with SEND to be successful in their learning. As a result, pupils achieve well, regardless of need.

Staff have warm relationships with pupils.

They are caring and patient and pupils know that there is always someone to listen to them. Pupils refer to the staff as 'trusted adults'. They enjoy attending school.

The school monitors attendance robustly. It supports pupils who struggle to attend regularly.

The way pupils behave in and around the school is calm and purposeful.

Pupils know what staff expect of them and they rise to their high expectations. Those pupils who struggle to make positive choices are well supported to be able to follow the school rules. Pupils understand that some of their peers need more help to be ready for learning and they support them in a caring manner.

In some cases, the schools' approach to managing behaviour is not always communicated well to parents.

Trips, local area visits, assemblies and speakers help pupils enrich their awareness of their local and wider community. Pupils have a deep understanding of different world religions.

They demonstrate respect and tolerance for those who have different beliefs to their own. This helps them to be ready for life in modern Britain. Pupils would welcome more leadership roles so that they can contribute positively to their school.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel valued and appreciate the support and guidance from leaders. The trust works in partnership with the school, ensuring that there is a focus on improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not set out clearly the key knowledge that pupils will learn. This means that the curriculum in these subjects is not always taught as consistently or effectively as leaders expect.

Consequently, pupils develop gaps in their knowledge and do not always have the necessary information needed to access more complex learning. The school needs to set out precisely the key knowledge pupils will need from early years in all subjects and ensure that the curriculum is taught consistently to enable pupils to make strong progress across the full range of subjects.

Background

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

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 the school to be good in January 2019.

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