Russell Hall Primary School

Russell Hall Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 23–24 January 2012 Inspection number 377578 Unique Reference Number 107433 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 377578 Inspection dates 23–24 January 2012 Lead inspector Andrew Clark

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 279 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Manisha Govan Headteacher Christine Nuttall Date of previous school inspection 27 April 2009 School address West End Queensbury Bradford BD13 2AW Telephone number 01274 882116 Fax number 01274 881707 Email address russell@russellhallprimary.co.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Andrew Clark Karen Foster Additional inspector Additional inspector Freda Jackson Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed nine teachers teaching 15 lessons, including a joint observation with a member of the school's senior leadership team. Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, representatives of the governing body, including the Chair of the Governing Body, and school staff, including senior and middle leaders. The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school development plan, safeguarding and behaviour policies, and minutes of the governing body meetings. Sixty-five parental and carers’ questionnaires were analysed, together with those completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Russell Hall is an average sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is average. The large majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. A very small proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs is also broadly average. The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. The school has achieved Healthy School status and the Activemark.

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Information about the school

The headteacher was appointed in September 2010 following the last inspection. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key Findings

 This is a satisfactory school. Parents and carers are positive about their children’s enjoyment of learning and appreciate the improvements made since the last inspection. Pupils of all abilities achieve satisfactorily. They make satisfactory progress and their attainment is average in English and mathematics by time they leave in Year 6. Pupils’ reading skills are also average by Year 2. Pupils do not always make the best progress they are capable of because teachers do not always expect enough from them.

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Key Findings

 The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Relationships between pupils and adults are good and behaviour is well managed. The new leadership team provides a positive role model for effective teaching. However, teachers do not always set clear enough expectations and motivate pupils through exciting activities. Teaching assistants provide skilled support and contribute to the satisfactory progress made by pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs. On a few occasions, weaknesses in the use of marking inhibit pupils from making even better progress.

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Key Findings

 Pupils behave well and feel safe because they are cared for well. Their behaviour is good in lessons and pupils relate well to other pupils and adults. They have a good knowledge of how to avoid unsafe situations, such as cyber-bullying, and they help others to manage and improve their own behaviour through their roles on the school council and other responsibilities. Activities with other schools, where pupils are from different social and cultural backgrounds, make a positive contribution to their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Key Findings

 The new headteacher, senior staff and governing body are making increasingly effective use of monitoring and evaluation procedures and they know the school’s strengths and weaknesses well. However, systems to address the weaknesses, particularly in teaching, are not yet rigorous enough. Therefore, the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve. The good curriculum provides a wide range of opportunities to make good links between subjects and promote pupils’ personal well- being. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good and better teaching in order to hasten pupils’ progress further by: - making expectations for all pupils’ work explicit and challenging - ensuring pupils are active and enthusiastic learners - making full use of marking to engage pupils in reflecting on and improving their own work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase rates of school improvement by ensuring all staff act promptly and effectively in responding to the outcomes of monitoring and evaluation.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundations Stage with skills which are largely typical for their age and they make satisfactory progress overall. There is a trend of rising attainment by the time children start Year 1 because of the increasingly effective, systematic teaching of letters and sounds to promote the children’s early reading skills.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ attainment is average in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave in Year 6. Attainment is also average by Year 2. This is reflected in the results of assessments for Year 2 and national tests for Year 6. Pupils of all abilities make satisfactory progress through the school. The very small proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds makes similar progress to their peers. Effective improvements to the teaching of English have addressed a dip in writing attainment, particularly that of the more-able. Overall, pupils enjoy school and relationships are good. However, they do not always produce work to the highest standards of which they are capable because teachers do not make their expectations clear enough. As a result, their writing sometimes lacks care and spelling is inconsistent.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils usually listen attentively to their teachers and their peers and increasingly speak pertinently in response to carefully framed questions. Sometimes, however, they are too passive in lessons and not fully engaged because the work is not presented in an imaginative and fast-paced way. The pupils work well collaboratively in group activities and enjoy the many opportunities for discussion in pairs. Pupils increasingly take responsibility for managing and improving their own work by, for example, making good use of reference resources, such as dictionaries and the internet. However, in some instances, the marking and feedback pupils receive do not always help them improve their own work and quickly reach the next steps.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ progress in reading is satisfactory by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Attainment is improving because pupils make increasingly good use of skills to recognise letters and their sounds, and combine them to identify new words. Parents and carers share in their children’s progress in reading through the home-school books. Pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs make progress that is in line with their peers. They receive well-trained adult support and appropriate interventions from teachers and teaching assistants, ensuring that pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are developed systematically and applied regularly. In their responses to the inspection questionnaire, parents and carers are of the view that their children make good progress. The findings of the inspection indicate that progress is satisfactory overall, but learning is not always consistently good enough to ensure the best rate of progress.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. It ranges from satisfactory to good. Relationships are consistently good and contribute well to pupils’ good behaviour and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The new leadership team are making increasingly effective use of modelling and coaching to make improvements but these are not yet fully established. In the best lessons, the pupils are set very clear expectations to aim for and learning is fast paced and motivating. For example, exciting role play based on their history studies of the Titanic, enabled pupils to rapidly increase their knowledge and understanding of how to present a balanced argument in a Key Stage 2 English lesson. Teachers sometimes make good use of multi-media technology to present lively animations or interactive games to bring learning to life. However, occasionally lessons do not sufficiently interest pupils or catch their imagination.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers use examples of high-quality written work to demonstrate the levels pupils can achieve. However, they do not consistently reinforce these expectations in the pupils’ daily work. For example, pupils do not always set out their mathematical calculations in an orderly way and, consequently, they make errors. Some of the work in English books lacks the care and precision seen in the best examples. This limits the pupils’ ability to write fluently and accurately on every occasion. Parents and carers are very positive about the quality of teaching in the school and pupils also say that they enjoy their learning. The findings of the inspection reflect the positive features but also identify the need to ensure teaching is more consistently good or better to enable pupils to make the best progress.

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Quality of teaching

Lessons are planned well to match work to the needs of pupils of different abilities. Teaching assistants are deployed well to provide a good range of support allowing teachers to focus their attention where it is needed most. They are well trained to provide specialist support for pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs. Pupils’ work is accurately assessed and regularly marked. On a few occasions, however, teachers do not make the fullest use of marking to ensure pupils take the steps identified to improve their own work systematically and securely. Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to use their reading, writing and mathematical skills throughout the well planned curriculum. For example, pupils’ progress in data handling is developed primarily through their learning in science.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour is good throughout school. There is a rising trend in pupils’ attendance, which is above average, and pupils are punctual and ready to learn. The good relationships between adults and pupils have a positive impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are involved in setting school rules and respond favourably to the ‘Golden Time’ reward and the ‘Always’ badge for those who always do the right thing. Parents and carers have very positive views about pupils’ behaviour and feel their children are well looked after. Pupils also agree that behaviour is good around school and in their lessons. The findings of the inspection reflect these positive views.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school maintains detailed records of any incidents of poor behaviour. These are rare, and strong and appropriate action is taken to address them. There is very little indication of bullying of any kind and pupils, parents and carers are very confident that it would be swiftly and appropriately managed. The pupils are well informed about the dangers of cyber- bullying and steps to take to avoid it. There are many activities such as ‘Life Caravan’ visits and cycling training to prepare pupils well for managing their safety in the future.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The new senior leadership team is ably led by the headteacher and has established a clear direction for school improvement. There is a positive and caring learning environment. Staff are well motivated and ambitious for the school. Senior leaders and middle managers are becoming increasingly well-established in their roles and appreciate their responsibility. However, although appropriate areas for improvements are identified through monitoring and evaluation, steps to address the weaknesses identified are not always clearly established and taken promptly enough. This limits the rate of improvement, particularly to the quality of teaching. The governing body is largely newly appointed and there is a new Chair of the Governing Body. Its members are ambitious and eager to contribute to school development planning and have established new procedures to contribute to monitoring. The governing body is well informed by the

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Leadership and management

headteacher’s analytical progress reports. There is a good commitment to professional development through close links with neighbouring schools. The school has an accurate view of its provision and has a satisfactory capacity for continuous improvement overall. The school has good procedures in place to promote safeguarding and to ensure all staff are suitable to work with children.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is good. It is broad and balanced and prepares the pupils well for the next stage of their education. It has been the central focus for improving the quality of the school’s work. There is now robust planning for the teaching of basic literacy and numeracy and key learning skills. Pupils have good opportunities to apply them. The key strength is the contribution it makes to pupils’ personal development. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Projects such as the ‘Wonderful World Time’ in conjunction with religious organisations have significantly improved pupils’ understanding of different faiths and cultures. Pupils are very aware and sympathetic to the needs of others in many different circumstances. They have good levels of self-esteem and self-awareness. As a result, the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles diversity well.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Russell Hall Primary School, Bradford – BD13 2AW

Thank you for making the inspectors feel very welcome when we inspected your school recently. We enjoyed visiting you in your lessons and joining you at playtimes. You go to a satisfactory school. These are some of the best things about it.

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Inspection of Russell Hall Primary School, Bradford – BD13 2AW

 You reach average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the time you leave school.  You behave well and you told us that there is very little bullying and teachers quickly solve any problems.  Your attendance is good and you say you enjoy coming to school.  Your teachers take good care of you and teach you how to stay safe from harm.  The curriculum is good and you practise reading and writing in different subjects.  You enjoy your lessons and work well together.

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Inspection of Russell Hall Primary School, Bradford – BD13 2AW

To help your school to improve even more, I have asked your headteacher and the governing body to make the teaching and learning even better by:

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Inspection of Russell Hall Primary School, Bradford – BD13 2AW

 making it clear in your lessons what you should be aiming to do  making full use of marking and feedback to involve you in improving your own work and helping you quickly reach the next step in your learning  making sure you are always actively and enthusiastically engaged in the lesson.

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Inspection of Russell Hall Primary School, Bradford – BD13 2AW

You can help by always trying your best, working carefully and continuing to enjoy and attend school.

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Inspection of Russell Hall Primary School, Bradford – BD13 2AW

Andrew Clark Lead Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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