Setting

Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566932 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email : hcarnall@cfbt.com

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Mr Andrew Eastwood Headteacher Fountain Primary School Fountain Street Morley Leeds LS27 0AW

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Fountain Primary School

Following my visit with Jennifer Platt, additional inspector, to your school on 7 and 8 December 2010, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Fountain Primary School

The inspection was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in January 2010. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Fountain Primary School

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Fountain Primary School

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Fountain Primary School

Newly Qualified Teachers may not be appointed.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Fountain Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Leeds City Council.

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place in January 2010

 Monitor pupils’ attendance more rigorously and take both general and targeted action to improve it.

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place in January 2010

 Ensure that all teaching is at least satisfactory and an increasing proportion is good or better in order to enable pupils to reach the standards they are capable of.

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place in January 2010

 Improve the curriculum by promoting basic skills more effectively, securing pupils’ interest and engagement and providing more opportunities to develop personal skills.

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place in January 2010

 Improve the quality and effectiveness of leadership and management across the school.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, staff, groups of pupils, the Chair and two members of the Governing Body and a representative from the local authority.

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Context

A new leader for Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 started in September 2010. From September until December, the school has employed a temporary deputy headteacher, seconded from a local school and partly funded by the local authority. A new substantive deputy headteacher has been appointed and will start in January 2011. The local authority placed a Lead Teacher for Learning in school in an assistant headteacher role on a part-time basis from Easter 2010. From September 2010 until Easter 2011, the post is full time. The leaders for English and mathematics, who are also senior leaders, are currently on maternity leave. Their classroom responsibilities are covered by temporary teaching staff and their management responsibilities are shared between other senior leaders.

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Context

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals has increased this year and is now above average. The arrangements for class groupings have changed. Almost all classes are single-age group with just the two Year 4 classes including a small number of Year 3 pupils.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Learning and progress in classrooms continue to improve. Pupils say they enjoy lessons more. Most pupils settle to work quickly and work happily without the direct support of an adult, although there are times when the pace of their learning is not rapid enough. Pupils’ interest and excitement about learning have increased following exciting trips, such as to a Viking museum and a science museum, or where topics have interested them. Pupils’ increasing enthusiasm for learning is reflected in the effort they put into their learning logs which they complete as independent work. Pupils’ confidence in speaking and explaining their thinking is improving as more lessons include the opportunity for thinking and time to talk about their work with partners. There are still times when pupils’ interest wanes because they are listening to the teacher talk for too long. Work in pupils’ books demonstrates improving progress since the previous monitoring inspection with

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

pupils paying greater attention to punctuation and sentence structure. However, the presentation of work in books varies between classes, with pupils in some classes taking greater care than others. The provisional 2010 Key Stage 2 national test results in English improved significantly and are broadly average. However, in mathematics results dipped and remain significantly below average. The combined English and mathematics results were below the national floor targets. Indicators for pupils’ progress and achievement in 2010 show these were satisfactory in English but inadequate in mathematics. Progress was similar for girls and boys, although girls’ attainment in English is stronger than boys’ and, in mathematics; boys’ attainment is stronger than girls’. The school met its challenging target for two levels of progress in English but did not in mathematics. The school met its targets for attainment in English but not

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

in mathematics. The provisional results in the 2010 Key Stage 1 assessments show that attainment is still low. It was lower than the previous year, reflecting the weaker prior attainment of the cohort. Attainment is below average in writing and significantly below average in reading and mathematics with few pupils reaching the above-average level in reading and mathematics.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

The outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are broadly average. Within this picture, girls outperform boys. Boys’ performance is below average in communication, language and literacy as well as in personal, social and emotional development.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Analysis of school data indicates that progress is accelerating in all year groups. Higher numbers of pupils are on track to make two levels of progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Increasing numbers of pupils are meeting age-related expectations across the school. Boys’ attainment continues to be further behind age- related expectations than the girls’. Although progress has improved overall, there are a few classes where progress is relatively slower.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Rates of attendance have continued to improve. The number of pupils who are persistently absent has decreased. Parents have responded well to the procedures and checks introduced to encourage good attendance and they especially appreciate the update they receive each half term on their child’s rate of attendance. Learning mentors continue to work effectively with specific families, small groups of pupils and individuals to encourage and support improving attendance. Case studies reveal the success of the school in improving individual attendance significantly.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the areas for improvement:  Monitor pupils’ attendance more rigorously and take both general and targeted action to improve it – good

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The effectiveness of provision

The effectiveness of teaching continues to improve and is supporting the acceleration in pupils’ learning and progress. There remains a high proportion of teaching that is satisfactory and there is not yet sufficient teaching that is good or better to accelerate pupils’ progress further. A set of protocols and guidance has been devised by staff to ensure a common understanding of good learning and teaching. This, alongside a rigorous programme of monitoring and support from senior leaders and local authority consultants, has resulted in improvements to features of teaching, learning and assessment.

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The effectiveness of provision

Relationships between staff and pupils continue to be positive and behaviour is managed well in most lessons, although there are occasions when pupils are allowed to continue to talk when the teacher is talking to the whole class. More of the lessons have clear beginnings with activities that interest pupils and consolidate learning. Teaching assistants are increasingly well briefed and deployed, usually to support lower-attaining pupils. Teachers’ expectations of presentation, though improving, are still variable resulting in pupils in some classes not taking enough care in how they present their work. The use of assessment to support learning is improving. The purpose of lessons and the steps needed to be successful are identified with pupils at the start of most lessons, helping pupils to know how to be successful. The final parts of lessons are used more productively to review how much pupils have learned, although there remain inconsistencies in how well pupils

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The effectiveness of provision

are involved in this process. Teachers are assessing more frequently and accurately in reading, writing and mathematics. They are using this information more often to identify gaps in learning and guide their planning. However, there remain too many lessons when assessment information is not used precisely enough to ensure that tasks match the different abilities of pupils. The use of targets to guide pupils’ learning is inconsistent. There are variations in the frequency and helpfulness of teachers’ marking of pupils’ work.

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The effectiveness of provision

The school continues to develop the curriculum to meet the needs and interests of pupils better. From this Autumn term, units of learning have been devised around topics arising from an audit of pupils’ ideas and interests. The development of basic skills in literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology (ICT) is planned through these units in addition to the daily discrete lessons in literacy and numeracy. The increased interest and enjoyment of learning are evident in some classes as a result of changes in the curriculum. However, this is not consistently evident in all classes. The school has not yet evaluated the impact of the developments in the curriculum on pupils’ outcomes. Staff have worked on a programme designed to develop pupils’ learning skills, ‘Skills for Success’, and this is due to be implemented next term.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the areas for improvement:  Improve the curriculum by promoting basic skills more effectively, securing pupils’ interest and engagement and providing more opportunities to develop personal skills – satisfactory  Ensure that all teaching is at least satisfactory and an increasing proportion is good or better in order to enable pupils to reach the standards they are capable of – satisfactory

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Despite being strengthened during the autumn term, the leadership team remains below full capacity and is still undergoing change. However, senior leaders and managers continue to drive through improvements. The morale of staff remains good and there is an increasing commitment to improvement among the staff. Leaders and managers have successfully focused on developing a common understanding of good learning and teaching. A robust programme of monitoring of teaching and learning and well-targeted support is leading to improvements. Leaders and managers have used improved analysis of pupils’ progress, performance management arrangements and progress review meetings with individual staff to hold class teachers more closely to account. However, there remain inconsistencies in the effectiveness of teaching.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Middle leaders have worked with an external consultant to develop their leadership skills. They are increasingly aware of their role in being accountable for achievement and the quality of provision in the areas for which they are responsible. They have drawn up action plans relating to their areas and are particularly involved in supporting the curriculum developments.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Members of the governing body are enthusiastic and supportive. New governors have added to the range of expertise and skills. Training has been effective in deepening understanding of the role. The governing body has broadened the scope of its monitoring activities. Governors are more directly involved in the school through links with classes and more regular visits to monitor the school. The monitoring visits are underpinned by carefully planned protocols. As a result, the governing body is more able to ask more pertinent questions and is able to hold leaders and managers more closely to account.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the area for improvement:  Improve the quality and effectiveness of leadership and management across the school – satisfactory

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External support

The local authority continues to provide substantial and effective support. It is funding the provision of a lead teacher for learning in the role of assistant headteacher and has partially funded the temporary deputy headteacher post. The School Improvement Adviser has provided support for monitoring and evaluation activities. Local authority National Strategy consultants continue to provide well- focused training and support for the school as a whole and for individual teachers in literacy, numeracy and ICT. The Joint Review Group continues to be a useful means for governors to monitor the school’s performance. A consultant, funded by the local authority, has worked effectively with subject leaders to develop their leadership skills. The school continues to work successfully with Morley Victoria Primary School, particularly on developing the curriculum.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Focus on those actions recently implemented to improve the effectiveness of teaching, learning and assessment in order to accelerate pupils’ progress further and ensure that the impact can be seen in measurable outcomes for pupils.

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