Waulud Primary School

Waulud Primary School Wauluds Bank Drive, Luton, LU3 3LZ

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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.  It has improved since the previous inspection because the headteacher and the governing body have focused on raising expectations and improving the quality of teaching.  Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in all key stages because most of the teaching is good.  Standards throughout the school have risen steadily, and at the end of Year 6 they are broadly average.  Pupils behave well and have a good understanding of personal safety.  Attendance has improved and is above average.  Imaginative displays in classrooms and around the school support pupils’ learning well.  The curriculum is well organised and is enhanced by clubs, trips and visitors to the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally, lessons are not taught well enough.  Boys do not do as well as girls, and more- able pupils are not always given hard enough work.  Pupils are not given sufficient written guidance to improve their work in mathematics.  Insufficient use is made of modern technology to help pupils learn.  Although senior leaders check lessons regularly, they do not always focus sufficiently on what needs to be done to improve learning.  The governing body does not carry out detailed checks on the progress of different groups of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 21 lessons, of which three were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, the inspection team made a number of other shorter visits to lessons and attended two assemblies.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, staff, groups of pupils, and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation, including the data the school has collected on pupils’ attainment and progress, procedures for keeping pupils safe and the school development plan. They heard some pupils in Years 2 and 6 read.  Inspectors took account of the seven responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in making their judgements.

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Inspection team

David Wynford-Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Kanwaljit Singh Additional Inspector Gillian Scobie Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average primary school.  The majority of the pupils are from different minority ethnic backgrounds. The largest groups are of Asian and Afro-Caribbean origin. Approximately a third of the pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils speaking English as an additional language is well above average, but few are at the early stages of learning English.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is well above the national average, but very few are supported at school action plus or through a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding is well above the national average. This funding is received for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for children in the care of the local authority.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all teachers consistently:  use assessment information to plan more demanding work for the more-able pupils, and to make sure that the boys make as much progress as the girls  make more use of information and communication technology to stimulate pupils’ learning  provide pupils with clear guidance on the next steps they need to take in order to improve their work in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the leadership of the school by:  focusing lesson observations and the resulting feedback to teachers more sharply on what teachers have to do to ensure pupils make even quicker progress  ensuring the governing body monitors the outcomes of groups of pupils more closely and regularly asks challenging questions of the senior leadership team.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress and achieve well. The impact of the focus on improving outcomes in writing and mathematics is evident in all year groups. Standards are rising steadily.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge below, and sometimes well below, those expected for their age. By the end of Year 6, standards are broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children settle well into the Nursery and the Reception classes and form good relationships with each other and adults. They develop their social and communication skills well and make at least the expected rate of progress in all areas of learning. In the past, children’s skills in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of the Reception Year were below those expected of a typical five-year-old; more recently, they are broadly similar.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the end of Year 2, pupils read with reasonable confidence and with skills similar to those expected for their age. They use phonics (the sounds that letters make) and clues in the text appropriately to read unfamiliar words. More-able pupils know how to find the meaning of words in a dictionary. When writing, they use a reasonable range of vocabulary and use basic punctuation fairly accurately. In mathematics, pupils are developing their understanding of number well and talk about and explain their work using an appropriate range of mathematical terminology.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the end of Year 6, pupils are reading at levels expected for their age. They use a range of strategies to help decode words and can hypothesise how stories might develop. They talk confidently about their favourite authors and say why they like the style of writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are developing their writing skills well and have responded enthusiastically to the recent emphasis on promoting writing throughout the school. They write for a range of purposes and are consolidating their writing skills in other subjects. Occasionally, common words are misspelt and some pupils do not bring their writing to life by using adjectives, alliteration and similes.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In mathematics, pupils have a secure understanding of number and shape. Older pupils are able to calculate the length of the sides of different shapes and accurately explain how they did it.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Girls make quicker progress and reach higher standards than boys; White British boys make the least progress. Some pupils, particularly the more-able, do not reach the standards they are capable of. For example, in 2012 too few gained the higher National Curriculum Level 5 in the Year 6 national tests in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, pupils who speak English as an additional language and those for whom the school receives additional funding make good progress in relation to their starting points and needs. This is because the work set for them is matched closely to their ability levels and they receive good help and guidance.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching has improved considerably since the previous inspection. Most of the teaching is good; the strongest teaching is in Years 2, 5 and 6.  Teachers have responded enthusiastically to the initiatives to improve their professional skills and have adopted many of the suggestions made at courses and whole-staff training sessions. This has resulted in pupils making accelerated progress, particularly in writing and mathematics. However, teachers do not consistently use information and communication technology sufficiently imaginatively to enhance learning in all subjects. For example, they rarely enrich lessons with video clips or encourage pupils to use voice recorders.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and support staff from parallel classes work together to plan lessons. Most lessons are well planned and ensure that all pupils, including potentially vulnerable pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are fully included and have equal access to the same learning opportunities as other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers help pupils see the relevance of their learning by adopting a themed or topic approach to pull subjects together. Lessons are brought to life by visits and visitors to the school. For example, pupils in Year 2 talked with ‘Samuel Pepys’ about the ‘Great fire of London', while pupils in Year 5 worked with staff from an outdoor pursuits centre to build a shelter.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers usually convey high expectations of work and behaviour. Lessons proceed at a quick pace and pupils make a full contribution to the lesson. Teachers use questioning skills effectively to challenge and consolidate pupils’ thinking. However, some lessons do not motivate the boys to the same extent as the girls.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Assessment information is generally used well to match the work closely to the needs of most pupils. A few pupils, especially the more-able, do not achieve as well as they should because some teachers do not always make their expectations clear.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils receive regular feedback on their work. Detailed marking and very helpful comments in pupils’ writing books give them clear guidance on the next steps they need to take in order to reach their targets. Marking in mathematics is not as informative.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well. At times, their behaviour is exemplary. Pupils get on well together in lessons and around the school. Incidents of bullying of any kind, such as name-calling, fighting, racial, religious and cyber-bullying, are very rare. No racist incident or serious misbehaviour has been reported since the previous inspection. Pupils say that if an incident occurred, it would be dealt with quickly and fairly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know how to keep themselves and others safe and have a good understanding of potential dangers, for example when using computers to access the internet, or when approached by strangers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are proud of their school and take pride in the environment and ensure that displays and equipment are treated with respect. Pupils are polite and routinely demonstrate good manners as they move around the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attendance has improved steadily and is now above average for primary schools. This is because pupils enjoy coming to school, lessons are more interesting and they are given more responsibilities.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning contribute much to their good progress and developing social skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 Under the determined and effective leadership of the headteacher, middle leaders are developing their roles well and contributing much to improving pupils’ learning. A great deal has been accomplished in raising standards in writing and mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff are proud to be associated with the school and share in the plans to make it even better. They attend courses and meet on a regular basis with the headteacher to discuss the pupils’ attainment and progress. Clear targets for development are set and monitored. The headteacher uses this information to help the governors decide if individual teachers should be paid more.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers are observed by the headteacher and middle leaders on a regular basis. However, they do not consistently use their findings thoroughly enough to pinpoint exactly what teachers have to do to ensure all pupils, especially the more-able, achieve the level they are capable of reaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school development plan is based on an accurate evaluation of the school’s performance. The priorities for improvement are appropriate. Staff are now rightly turning their attention to helping pupils improve their reading skills more quickly.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders ensure that the extensive buildings are bright, and high-quality displays throughout the school reflect a stimulating and broad curriculum. In all classes, there is a strong focus on developing the pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. Around the school, walls are covered with work reflecting the pupils’ experiences within the school and on visits. The artwork is of very good quality.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided good support to improve the quality of teaching, especially in writing and mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body makes a good contribution to improving the school. It supports and checks most of the work of the school well, but there is insufficient documentary evidence of the governing body asking difficult questions of the leadership team. The governing body checks the school’s budget on a termly basis. Governors are aware of the additional money the school receives through pupil premium funding but does not check closely enough how the money is spent and the impact of the expenditure on pupils’ attainment and progress. Scrutiny of documentation shows that the money is allocated to employ additional staff to facilitate small-group work and to provide pupils who should benefit from this funding with a range of additional enriching activities. Assessment records show that these pupils are making good progress and the gap in performance between them and other pupils is closing. The governing

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The leadership and management are good

body has responded promptly to the recent changes in teacher appraisal and capability procedures, and updated the related policy for the start of the autumn term. A date has been set to evaluate the headteacher’s performance. Governors are frequent visitors and are developing their skills through regular attendance at courses. They make sure the school meets national requirements for safeguarding pupils.

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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 131850 Local authority Luton Inspection number 402511

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 394 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Robert Denison Headteacher Patricia Griffin Date of previous school inspection 9 March 2010 Telephone number 01582 593469 Fax number 01582 565151 Email address Waulud.primary.admin@luton.gov.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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