Kerr Mackie Primary School

Kerr Mackie Primary School Gledhow Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS8 1NE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The school is good and improving. The strong leadership of the headteacher, supported well by the staff, governors and senior leaders, has been key to the significant improvements made since the previous inspection.  Many children start school with skills and abilities that are below those expected. They make good progress and reach average attainment by the end of Year 6.  Teaching and learning are good and sometimes outstanding. Well-planned lessons meet the needs of most pupils, including those who are learning English as an additional language.  Pupils behave well and say they feel safe. They work well with each other. The school’s motto ‘together everyone achieves more’ is clearly evident in practice. The revised curriculum is engaging pupils and motivating them to learn. They clearly enjoy being at school as shown by attendance that is above average and continuing to improve.  The headteacher creates a strong sense of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

purpose where everyone’s contribution is valued and all are keen to improve still further. The governing body provides a good level of both challenge and support. As a result of effective leadership and management, pupils’ achievement, the quality of teaching and pupils’ behaviour have all improved significantly.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There are a small number of lessons where pupils do not make quite as much progress. Pupils’ work is sometimes too easy, learning time is wasted and pupils do not always have clear enough guidance on how to improve their work or improve their language skills.  Pupils do not always have enough opportunity to extend their skills further by following their own lines of enquiry or to apply their numeracy skills across the curriculum.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 16 teachers teaching 16 lessons and listened to pupils read. Several short visits to other lessons were also conducted.  Meetings and discussions were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority, school leaders and staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at pupils’ books. They scrutinised a range of documentation, including that related to school improvement planning, records of pupils’ progress, safeguarding information and the school’s self-evaluation.  The inspection team took account of parents’ views. They met parents informally during the school day and took account of telephoned comments and 32 parents’ responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Fiona Gowers, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Paul Plumridge Additional Inspector Carol Machell Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized primary school. A below average proportion of pupils is known to be eligible for the pupil premium.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well above average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action and the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectation for attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching from good to outstanding by:  giving pupils of different abilities suitably challenging tasks  making sure no learning time is wasted  providing even more opportunities to enrich all pupils’ English language acquisition skills in all areas of the curriculum  ensuring a greater consistency in marking to match the best examples in school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the achievement of more-able pupils by providing more opportunities to:  extend their skills and learning by following their own lines of enquiry  apply and improve their numeracy skills across the curriculum.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy learning, work hard and achieve well. The school’s detailed records of pupils’ ongoing progress and work in their books confirm that current pupils, including those eligible for the pupil premium, are making good progress over time.  When children start school their skills and abilities are typically below those expected, particularly in their communication and language skills. Significant improvements in teaching throughout school have ensured that most pupils make better than expected progress to reach average attainment by the end of Year 6.  Imaginative opportunities are provided for pupils to practise and consolidate their speaking, reading and writing skills, and to challenge their thinking through special events, trips and topics. However, pupils do not always have enough opportunity to practise and improve their numeracy skills across the curriculum. As a result, progress in mathematics, although good, is a

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The achievement of pupils is good

little slower.  Attainment in reading is rising. Pupils read widely and often and many are developing into enthusiastic readers.  Although the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level for their age is above the national proportion in some classes, fewer pupils are attaining the above-average levels. This is because learning activities are not always challenging enough for more-able pupils in particular. Occasionally, opportunities are missed for pupils to make even more rapid progress by following their own lines of enquiry.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. Since the previous inspection the development of a special educational needs leadership team has ensured the school is now more successfully identifying and meeting pupils’ individual needs.  Through more-refined assessment and tracking of pupils’ progress, the school identified that some pupils who are learning English as an additional language were not performing quite as

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The achievement of pupils is good

well as expected. The school revised the curriculum to incorporate a greater emphasis on speaking and listening activities in lessons. As a result, the relative gaps in achievement are closing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is usually good and there are examples of outstanding practice. As a result, most pupils achieve well and make better than expected progress.  Children enjoy a stimulating range of learning activities both indoors and outdoors in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Where teaching is most effective, teachers have higher expectations and enable pupils to make rapid progress. Teachers skilfully stretch pupils in their thinking, helping them develop the skills and confidence to follow their own lines of enquiry and make connections in their learning for themselves. This was summed up by a group of pupils who explained: ‘Teachers help us with our learning. They do not just tell us the answers. They give us clues and help us find the answer.’  In a particularly effective lesson, pupils worked tirelessly with high levels of engagement as they considered why the River Nile was so important to the Egyptians. In another lesson children in

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The quality of teaching is good

the Early Years Foundation Stage showed very high levels of enjoyment, independently extending their learning further as they retold a familiar tale and wrote letters to a character in the story.  In a few lessons pupils do not make such good progress. This is because they are not always challenged enough. Sometimes they repeat work they can easily do or waste learning time while they wait for other pupils to complete their work. Sometimes the teacher is talking for an extended period. In such lessons the emphasis is on completing an activity rather than what pupils are learning.  The school is successfully fostering the English language acquisition skills of all pupils, including those learning English as an additional language. A more consistent approach is helping ensure all pupils have time to discuss their learning and answer questions in full sentences. However, some pupils do not have enough opportunity to use more sophisticated descriptive or technical

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The quality of teaching is good

language correctly.  A range of visual and interactive resources and intervention programmes supports the learning of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs well. Teachers and teaching assistants are generally skilled at drawing from pupils an understanding of what they are doing and why and this helps pupils make good progress.  Work is generally well marked and offers pupils constructive feedback. However, too often points for improvement are not always clear enough to help accelerate pupils’ progress further.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children get off to a good start to their learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nurturing environment helps them grow into enthusiastic learners and cooperate well with each other.  Pupils are polite, friendly and caring throughout school. Positive attitudes ensure a calm, orderly environment that is conducive to learning. Pupils listen respectfully to adults and work well together in pairs and groups. Pupils are proud of their accomplishments and take responsibility for their own conduct.  Good relationships in school help foster pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils carry out a range of roles in school and enjoy participating in activities in the locality, such as planting bulbs and attending the festival in a local park.  Pupils say that behaviour has improved significantly in school and inspectors endorse this view. Most pupils behave well. Although a few pupils lose concentration a little when a lesson is not

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

quite as effective, they do not impede the learning of others.  Pupils say they feel safe and well cared for in school. They say bullying is rare and that if any unkind behaviour does occur on occasion it is successfully addressed by staff at school.  Pupils have a very good understanding about how to keep themselves safe and avoid risk, including when using computers and other electronic communication devices. Well-organised activities in the playground are helping to maintain safe and happy playtimes.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has been instrumental in bringing about significant improvements at Kerr Mackie. She is well supported by a skilled leadership team and committed staff.  Plans for improvement have been successful because they are founded on accurate self- evaluation. The impact of new initiatives is carefully monitored and evaluated to ensure that they enhance pupils’ learning and well-being.  The quality of teaching is improving as a result of accurate monitoring, effective performance management and professional development, which is closely linked to the needs of the school. Measures to improve the quality of teaching have been successful because teaching staff and pupils have been directly involved in their development. This has led to greater consistency in approach throughout school, which helps pupils systematically build on their skills as they move from one class to the next.  There is a growing number of extra-curricular and enrichment opportunities, developing links

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The leadership and management are good

with other schools. These, and interventions from the school’s pastoral team, provide effective support for pupils’ social and emotional development.  School leaders are clearly focused on improving provision further. The mathematics curriculum has been improved since the school identified that pupils were not performing quite as well in mathematics as in other subjects. The curriculum for pupils in Year 1 is being developed to provide more independent learning opportunities and build on the strong practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The vast majority of parents who responded to Parent View at the time of the inspection said they would recommend the school to others. The school works hard to strengthen the partnership with parents through a growing number of workshops, meetings and courses.  Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements. The development of a more corporate team approach is leading to greater rigour regarding the regular review of safeguarding

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The leadership and management are good

procedures.  The school provides good opportunities for pupils of all abilities and backgrounds to find success. It gives high priority to fostering good relationships. All groups of pupils, including disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language are integrated into all aspects of school life. Staff work hard to ensure potential barriers to success are removed and discrimination is eliminated.  The local authority provides helpful light-touch support for this good school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body readily holds the school to account through their professional expertise and community links.  Coaching programmes to support new governors and the development of a more efficient committee structure help governors develop the skills to get to the heart of the key issues facing the school.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 107910 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 405130

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 468 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Gillian Hayward Headteacher Mrs Angela Ronicle Date of previous school inspection 14 February 2011 Telephone number 0113 3368499 Fax number 0113 2370569 Email address office@kerrmackie.leeds.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

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

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