Elland Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Junior, Infant and Nursery School

School report Elland CofE Junior and Infant School Westgate, Elland, West Yorkshire, HX5 0BB

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Inspection dates 31 October –1 November 2012

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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.  Pupils make good progress. They read well and their handwriting is neat and legible.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics have gone up significantly over the past two years.  The large majority of pupils reach the nationally expected standards in their tests. Each year more and more pupils do better than this.  The school is well led and managed. The leadership of teaching is a strength.  Teaching is good in every class and sometimes it is outstanding. Lessons are active and fun.  Pupils are keen to do well. They work hard and discuss work sensibly with a partner. They work well on their own and in groups.  Attendance has gone up each year for the past three years. It is above average. Few pupils arrive late, because they enjoy coming to school.  Pupils feel safe. Older pupils take care of younger ones at break and lunchtimes. Pupils are kind to each other and play well together.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The curriculum enlivens pupils’ learning. It develops their confidence, awareness and appreciation of art, music and other subjects, and excites their curiosity.  The school has improved considerably since the last inspection. School leaders know exactly what the school needs to do to improve further.  Governors support and challenge the school to good effect. This school continues to get better.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers underuse some teaching techniques to speed up further the more-able pupils’ progress in mathematics.  Pupils in Years 4 to 6 do not spell as well as younger pupils because they have gaps in their knowledge of the links between letters and sounds.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 14 lessons or part lessons, including one lesson in the Nurture Unit. They watched all teachers and some teaching assistants teach.  The inspectors had meetings with staff, two groups of pupils, members of the governing body, and representatives of the diocese and the local authority.  The inspectors heard three groups of pupils read. These represented 10% of the pupils at the school. One group of pupils in Year 6 discussed with an inspector the books they like to read.  The inspection team looked at a range of documentation provided by the school including documentation relating to behaviour, attendance, safeguarding and pupils’ progress.  The inspectors took account of three parents’ views in the online questionnaire (Parent View) and when they talked with parents informally at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Lesley Clark, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Sheila O’Keefe Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  It has a Nurture Unit for pupils in Key Stage 1 who require additional support. The unit serves the needs of this school and other schools in the local area. Staffing is funded partly by the school and partly by the local authority.  Most pupils are White British. A few come from minority ethnic groups.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by school action is above average.  Almost one third of pupils are supported at school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs. This is an above average proportion.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium is high at 50%.  Around one third of pupils join or leave the school at other than the usual times.  Over 75% of staffing, including the deputy headteacher, has changed since the last inspection in October 2010. The headteacher was new to headship in September 2010.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure teachers use a full range of teaching techniques to accelerate further the more-able pupils’ progress in mathematics by:  giving the more-able pupils more times to learn through solving problems  involving them in setting mathematical challenges  giving them more challenging mental and oral work.  Improve pupils’ spelling in Years 4 to 6 by filling the gaps in their knowledge of how letters and sounds are linked so that they understand different spelling patterns.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement has improved significantly over the past two years. The large majority of pupils make better than expected progress.  Most children start school with skills that are below those typically expected for their age, especially in communication, language and literacy. They make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes and confidently try to read, write and use numbers in their play, both indoors and outside.  Pupils in Years 1 to 6 achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. They make good progress in lessons and the work in their books shows good improvement over time.  Three quarters of Year 6 pupils reached the nationally expected standards in their tests in English and mathematics in 2012. Current pupils in Year 6 are performing better than this, with one third of pupils working at a higher level than that expected of their age group.  Pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium do just as well as others. This is

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The achievement of pupils is good

better than similar pupils across the country. The school clearly promotes equality of opportunity well and tackles discrimination effectively.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well because they have extra help in lessons but also work on their own, just like other pupils. Pupils supported at school action plus do better than similar pupils nationally.  Pupils who have help in the Nurture Unit make good progress. They learn how to concentrate so they work successfully alongside others.  Pupils who join the school at different points in the year quickly settle in. They make good progress because staff check what they can do and then tailor tasks so that they quickly move on to challenging work.  Boys and girls of all abilities read avidly. They read every day and their teacher reads to them. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 explained, ‘We have lots of different types of books, even comics and

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The achievement of pupils is good

newspapers, and a shelf of good books in our classroom.’  Pupils in Years 1 and 2 read unfamiliar words confidently. By Year 6, pupils read fluently and with understanding, varying their tone of voice when reading dialogue. Pupils with special educational needs read words such as ‘educational’ and ‘chord’ without hesitation.  Pupils’ writing has improved considerably in a short space of time. A distinctive feature is the way pupils use expressive vocabulary, such as, ‘the indulgence of tempting treats’. They are keen writers of poetry, adding to the class poetry journal in their spare time.  Pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, confidently read their writing out loud, proud of their achievements. Younger pupils spell more accurately than older ones because they have been taught how sounds and letters relate to each other. Pupils in Years 4 to 6 have gaps in their knowledge of spelling patterns and so they make mistakes.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in mathematics because they have lots of practical learning resources to help them to grasp abstract concepts. Pupils of all abilities set out their work neatly. This minimises their making careless mistakes.  Sometimes, the more-able pupils’ learning slows a little when they do not move on to a harder level of mental and oral mathematics quickly enough or learn through working things out for themselves.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers explain clearly to pupils what they are going to learn, using up-to-date technology well to make teaching points clear. Typically, teachers give a brief introduction and then pupils spend most of the lesson learning actively and independently. The impact is seen in good rates of progress for all ability groups.  Pupils have everything they need on their table to organise themselves and start working so no time is wasted. Enticing resources capture pupils’ imaginations, such as the smart bags containing different shapes in sealed envelopes, with mirrors, cauldrons and instructions relating to lines of symmetry which sparked the enthusiasm of Year 3 pupils.  Lessons clearly build on what pupils know and understand but are usually pitched so that those who are more able can make faster progress. This is because teachers have good subject knowledge.  Occasionally, teachers underuse techniques to accelerate the more-able pupils’ learning in

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The quality of teaching is good

mathematics by not giving them specific mental and oral work at their level or more times to learn through solving problems and setting each other challenges. Apart from this, teachers match tasks and activities well to the different groups and individuals in their class to make sure that they give pupils work that gets the best out of them.  Teachers use teaching assistants very well indeed to make sure that different groups of pupils receive the help they need to learn new skills and practise using them. This is why pupils who are new to the school, those who join lessons from the Nurture Unit and those with special educational needs achieve well.  Often, teachers ask pupils searching questions but they also expect pupils to ask questions and to say when they need help. They encourage pupils to talk to each other, discuss ideas and help each other.  Pupils think their teachers are really good, explaining that, ‘They give you ideas to help. They let

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The quality of teaching is good

us find different ways of doing things. Sometimes we’re better than they are!’  Marking is very effective. Pupils mark their own and each other’s work using the same system. As a result they know exactly what to do to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good because staff manage it well. As a result pupils listen attentively to instructions in lessons and quickly get down to work without fussing. They concentrate for long periods of time and talk sensibly with a partner or in groups.  Behaviour is good around the school. Pupils are polite and considerate. Staff help those who find it hard to mix with others. Older pupils help younger ones to get ready for playtime and make sure they have someone to play with.  Boys and girls get on well together. They speak confidently and clearly and are obviously used to discussing ideas. They behave well when they work in groups and respect each other’s views. Pupils say, ‘It is really easy to make new friends with new people coming in all the time.’  Pupils know right from wrong. They follow the school rules which are simple and straightforward such as ‘Do your job.’ They reflect on important issues. They know that to, ‘never stop believing

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

in yourself’ is an important part of success. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.  Pupils are knowledgeable about the different forms of bullying such as cyber-bullying and text messaging. They agree that there is no bullying in school, explaining, ‘We wouldn’t call it bullying, we just argue at times.’ The school’s evidence agrees with pupils’ views.  Pupils feel safe because, ‘There are always adults in the playground and there are gates and fences.’ They are sure that there are no racist or homophobic comments. They said, ‘We’ve talked about terms like “gay”. We know “gay” means happy and use it like that, it’s nice.’

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has led a fast pace of improvements, ably supported by the deputy headteacher. As a result achievement and teaching have improved to good. They have not yet had time to improve to outstanding.  A key initial action was changing the way pupils’ progress was checked and involving teachers in this process. Regular half-termly meetings ensure that potential underachievement is picked up swiftly so that pupils get help when they need it.  At the same time, school leaders took effective action to improve or remove weak teaching. Performance-management targets for staff are specific and challenging and linked to salary progression. New teachers have been successfully introduced to the school’s way of doing things.  School leaders established how lessons should have a strong focus on active and independent learning with many opportunities for pupils to talk. The result is good teaching in all classes and

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The leadership and management are good

some that is outstanding, with a high degree of uniformity in the way that pupils learn.  Teaching assistants are fully involved in all staff training and competently lead different areas of the curriculum. In the afternoons, pupils are taught a wide range of subjects in small groups with ample times to practise their literacy skills in different subjects.  The partnership with parents has strengthened over the past two years, with parents supporting the school’s rigorous stance on lateness and attendance. Achievement has improved as a result.  School leaders took parents’ views into account when deciding how best to use the pupil- premium funding. The success is evident in these pupils’ progress and recognised in the Leading Parent Partnership Award which the school gained in October 2012.  The local authority gave extra help to the school initially, when the headteacher was new to headship. It gives light touch support now because the school has made demonstrable progress

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The leadership and management are good

since the last inspection and clearly has the capacity to improve further.  The governance of the school:  School leader’s work closely with the governing body and governors are keen for the school to do well. They ask challenging questions and check that pupils in danger of underachieving are picked up quickly. They make sure that pupils and staff are safe.

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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 107550 Local authority Calderdale Inspection number 405108

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3  11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 185 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Lynn Lord Headteacher Mrs Wendy Holdsworth Date of previous school inspection October 2010 Telephone number 01422 373159 Fax number 01422 311568 Email address admin@elland.calderdale.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

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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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