Burton Salmon Community Primary School

Burton Salmon Community Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 21–22 May 2012 Inspection number 395359 Unique Reference Number 121385 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 395359 Inspection dates 21–22 May 2012 Lead inspector Jane Hughes

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 41 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Valerie Bate Headteacher Delia Andrews Date of previous school inspection 27 November 2008 School address Burton Salmon Ledgate Lane Leeds LS25 5JY Telephone number 01977 672405 Fax number 01977 672405 Email address headteacher@burtonsalmon.n-yorks.sch.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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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspector observed the teaching of three teachers in eight lessons or part lessons, of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher. Meetings were held with parents and carers, pupils, members of the governing body and school staff, including subject leaders. The inspector took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection. She observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans, safeguarding records, attainment data and assessment information. She listened to pupils read and looked at pupils’ work. The inspector analysed questionnaire responses from 24 parents and carers and those completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This school is much smaller than the average sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is larger than average. Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of disabled pupils, those supported at school action plus or those with a statement of special educational needs is above average. The school has achieved the Gold Standard for Health and Safety, the Activemark, the Sportsmark, Inclusion Quality mark, Silver Eco-Schools award and the Enhanced Healthy School status.

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Information about the school

The school continues to grow. Almost half of pupils currently in Key Stage 2 joined from other schools partway through the key stage. Pupils are taught in two classes. One is for pupils in the Reception Year and Years 1 and 2. The other is for pupils in Years 3 to 6. The school is part of a school sport partnership and a small schools network. 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 good school. It is not yet outstanding because the quality of teaching is not outstanding. Key strengths in pupils’ behaviour and the school’s inclusive ethos have been sustained since its previous inspection. Pupils, parents and carers have wholly positive views of the school. They typically praise the, ‘loving, caring staff who teach with a passion.’

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Key Findings

 All groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, achieve well. Inspection evidence shows that, across the school, pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from generally lower than expected starting points. Attainment is broadly average in English and mathematics by the time pupils leave school. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage learn and develop well and thrive alongside older pupils.

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Key Findings

 There is consistently good teaching across the school and there are examples of outstanding practice . Adults encourage pupils to become resilient learners. The impact of teachers’ marking is variable. Also, pupils are not always encouraged sufficiently to tackle the elements of tests and challenges they find most difficult.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary at all times. The school is happy and harmonious because pupils respect each other and have very positive attitudes to learning. Older pupils are excellent role models for the younger ones. Pupils confirm that they feel safe in school. Adults pay close attention to each pupil’s individual needs.

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Key Findings

 The headteacher and staff, along with the governing body , use their accurate knowledge of the school to continue to improve its performance. The leadership of teaching focuses clearly on developing staff skills to meet the ever-changing needs of pupils. The management of performance is good and motivates staff. The outstanding curriculum enthuses all pupils to become self-motivating learners. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted outstandingly well.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by: - ensuring that, within the regular mathematics challenge, teachers take note of pupils’ choice of questions and encourage them to attempt those that pose greater levels of difficulty - ensuring that teachers’ marking always provides pupils with a point for improvement.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils say that they learn a lot in lessons. All pupils who completed the inspection questionnaire confirmed this. They are consistently attentive and absorbed in their learning. They respond immediately to teachers’ instructions. They are usually keen to try their best. Pupils can explain their individual targets and know the levels at which they are working. Younger pupils concentrated fiercely on sorting three- dimensional shapes into those that could roll, slide or do both. They were able to identify similar shapes in everyday classroom objects. Older pupils were equally engaged during literacy tasks as they compiled a comprehensive list of descriptions of facial characteristics. These reflected various personalities through the range of adjectives used and were matched to different photographs.

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Achievement of pupils

From hugely variable, but more often below expected starting points, children make good progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage. Within the current cohort, an above average proportion has already achieved a good level of development. Children in the Reception Year can sound out with increasing accuracy the new words they read. This is because the teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) captures children’s interest through practical, language-related tasks and games.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment in reading is usually above average by the end of Year 2. By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6, their attainment is broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. In recent years, the Key Stage 2 class has almost doubled in size due to pupils joining midway through their primary education. The small cohorts necessitate individual tracking to demonstrate progress, because published data are unreliable. Individual tracking shows that pupils make good progress from their diverse starting points. Almost all pupils become accomplished readers. Teachers’ assessments and pupils’ current work in English and mathematics show that pupils’ attainment has risen this year. All groups are making good progress overall and there is accelerated progress across the school. The school monitors pupils’ achievement carefully. Any emerging gaps in performance are addressed swiftly. For instance, mathematics has been a key focus for the whole

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Achievement of pupils

school this year because in the previous year, pupils were not achieving in mathematics as well as in English.

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Achievement of pupils

The rapidly increasing proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, as well as pupils whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable, learn as well as their peers. Pupils who experience the effective one-to- one or small group work improve their attainment and their rates of progress accelerate. Whole-school adult training carefully targets key concerns, such as the current focus on dyslexia. Small cohorts make it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions about how well the school is closing any gaps in performance in relation to pupils’ nationally.

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Achievement of pupils

Of the 50% of parents and carers who completed the inspection questionnaire or on-line survey, all strongly agree that their children make good progress. Inspection findings support these views.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers meet the differing needs of pupils well within the two mixed-age classes, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. There is close attention to ensuring that children in the Reception Year experience the full Early Years Foundation Stage programmes of learning. These young children also benefit from working alongside pupils in Years 1 and 2. Adults listen carefully to children’s opinions and encourage them to experiment, investigate, and problem solve. Teachers and teaching assistants provide good levels of challenge and support both in classrooms and outside in the attractively-resourced and enabling learning environment.

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Quality of teaching

All of the parents and carers who returned the inspection questionnaire confirm that their children are taught well. Pupils’ work in lessons and in their books shows that teaching is never less than consistently good. However, although teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and provide encouragement, they sometimes miss opportunities to point out how pupils could improve their work. Where teaching is outstanding, adults are particularly patient with pupils. They ask searching questions but give pupils the time to think logically and weigh their response rather than rushing in with their first thoughts. In this way, pupils throughout the school are encouraged to become increasingly reflective and successful learners. Lessons move along briskly. Expectations are high in terms of what pupils can achieve during timed activities. The greater focus on mathematical knowledge has improved pupils’ skills this year. In both classes, teachers set regular timed tests to check pupils’

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Quality of teaching

knowledge of number bonds, an identified weakness. However, staff do not always spot when pupils concentrate mainly on answering easier problems, rather than focusing more specifically on the most difficult; these are the ones they struggle to use when solving everyday mathematical problems.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers plan the personalised curriculum with great care in order to meet the needs of each pupil. Themed weeks, topics and frequent visits out enhance pupils’ knowledge of the wider world and underpin their good achievement. They maintain close links with a school in Tanzania. Teachers make the most of such links to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development outstandingly well. Themed assemblies provide a weekly focus. All adults galvanise pupils to work productively alongside others. For instance, during an outstanding Reception Year and Key Stage 1 music lesson, pupils successfully created an ostinato (a repeated musical phrase) with a range of percussion instruments. Staff encourage pupils to be curious and enthusiastic learners and pupils respond accordingly.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary in this highly harmonious community. Inspectors concur with the wholly positive parental and carers’ views that behaviour is typically of the highest quality and that pupils are safe in school. Older pupils work, learn and play alongside younger ones with alacrity. There is a true ‘family-feel’ throughout school. Newcomers are treated with respect. They quickly understand the robust philosophy that rules are sensible and are therefore to be followed. Pupils are trustworthy and complete tasks efficiently. For example, eco-leaders encourage others to recycle, grow vegetables and to develop values of sustainability. Pupils say that behaviour is high quality in lessons and around the school. There have been no instances of homophobic bullying, name-calling or racism. Pupils, parents and carers confirm this but recognise that there is a keen awareness of how such incidents

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils understand clearly how to keep themselves safe both in and out of school. They are aware of dangers associated with using the internet and explain how to avoid cyber-bullying. Rates of attendance are consistently above average. The school promotes well the importance of regular and punctual attendance to parents and carers.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher, subject leaders and the governing body are highly ambitious for the school. Accurate self-evaluation identifies where professional development will have most impact. Staff undertake a range of training courses and feel well supported in the development of their skills. The school’s priorities translate to individual targets for staff through a well-established system of performance management. Strong leadership has consolidated good achievement, good teaching and sustained pupils’ outstanding behaviour and safety since the previous inspection, thus highlighting good capacity to improve further.

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Leadership and management

The governing body is knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and priorities. It provides equal measures of strong challenge and support for the headteacher. The school meets requirements with regard to safeguarding. Adults, including administrators, lunchtime and ancillary staff pay the closest attention to pupils’ safety and well-being.

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Leadership and management

There is a strong commitment to promoting equality of opportunity; discriminatory practice is not tolerated. The highly inclusive ethos is leading to numbers swelling as the school’s strong reputation for meeting the specific needs of each pupil spreads. Every barrier to successful learning is regarded as a challenge by the school. Staff use and update regular assessment information and discuss this with the headteacher. Staff keep a close check on pupils’ achievement, identify quickly any concerns and introduce the required support. Parents and carers particularly appreciate this.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is outstanding because of the key emphasis on developing pupils as well-rounded individuals who care about the community in which they live and also pay regard to global issues. Pupils are encouraged to embrace diversity. Teacher-led discussions illustrate pupils’ good recall of visits to different religious buildings, such as mosques and churches. Artistic, musical and cultural activities are prized by all stakeholders. Partnership links with other schools and organisations enable pupils to experience a wide range of sports and enrichment activities that are otherwise unavailable to small schools.

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Leadership and management

The outstanding promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development encourages them to develop honesty, moral principles, and is what parents and carers value so highly about the school’s vision. All the parents and carers who completed the inspection questionnaire express their complete faith in the school’s leadership and staff.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school's efforts to encourage good attendance.

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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

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures

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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 Burton Salmon Community Primary School, Leeds, LS25 5JY

Thank you for your friendly welcome when I inspected your school. It was a pleasure to join you in lessons, to talk with many of you and to listen to some of you read. There is a very strong family feel to your school. This is what many of you, your parents and carers told me you like so much. Your regular attendance at school also shows how much you and your families value your time here.

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Inspection of Burton Salmon Community Primary School, Leeds, LS25 5JY

Burton Salmon is a good school. You learn well and make good progress. Almost half of you do not start your education here but, even so, you reach broadly average attainment by the time you leave. Teaching is of a good quality and is getting better and better. The headteacher and staff know each of you very well. They make sure that you receive just the right level of support to meet your needs. You all show great respect for each other and are also very interested in the lives and views of people around the world. You told me that you feel safe in school and that adults take very good care of you. I agree! Your behaviour is outstanding. It was uplifting to see how well you all get on together at break and lunchtimes. I hope the flower shop is still blooming!

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Inspection of Burton Salmon Community Primary School, Leeds, LS25 5JY

Part of my job is to see what your school could do better. I have asked all the adults to make sure that even more of your lessons are outstanding so that you make still faster progress in your learning. You can help by making sure that you read very carefully what your teachers write when they mark your work because they are going to be noting down even more improvement points for you to work on. Also, make sure you have a good go at some of the harder challenges in your timed mathematics’ tests. Carry on working hard and enjoying school together.

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Inspection of Burton Salmon Community Primary School, Leeds, LS25 5JY

I send you all my very best wishes for the future.

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Inspection of Burton Salmon Community Primary School, Leeds, LS25 5JY

Jane Hughes 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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