Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Staincliffe Hall Road, Staincliffe Batley , West Yorkshire, WF17 7QX

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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 Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils behave exceptionally well. They are treated with respect by all staff and in return are respectful to adults and each other and very responsive to teacher instructions and help. This helps them learn well in class.  The achievement of pupils overall is good, with pupils making outstanding progress in mathematics where pupils develop very good mental arithmetic skills.  Teaching has improved since the last inspection and is now mostly good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers want their pupils to do the very best they can: lessons are carefully planned to achieve this.  The school is a cohesive and inclusive caring community where pupils are safe. As a church school serving a majority Muslim community it sensitively celebrates and respects both Christian and Islamic festivals, cultures and practices and provides rich life experiences for its pupils.  School leaders at all levels are united in a clear

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

understanding of what they are trying to achieve.  Senior leaders and governors are highly ambitious for the school. They know the school well, recognise that they are an improving school, support teaching and achievement well and aspire to become an outstanding school for the benefit of its pupils.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although pupils’ work in English is improving, it is not as good as pupils’ performance in mathematics. Boys’ writing is a particular issue for improvement which is recognised and being addressed by the school. Opportunities to develop writing skills in other subjects and by using computers are not always exploited as well as they could be.  Some teaching requires improvement because it is not yet good and is not always well matched to the needs of the weakest pupils.  Although the recently implemented management structure is having a positive impact, it includes some teachers with new leadership responsibilities who are still establishing themselves in their roles. Inspection report: Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 27–28 November 2012 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons of which three were joint observations with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher. In addition, inspectors made a number of other short visits to lessons and were able to observe Year 3 and Year 4 pupils from the link village primary school on an educational visit.  Meetings were held with three groups of pupils including the school council, the headteacher, the senior leadership team, year group leaders and literacy and numeracy coordinators, a local authority representative and three governors (the Chair, vice-chair and parish priest).  Inspectors took account of the 36 responses to the staff questionnaire, the seven responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s recent questionnaire for parents.  They observed the school’s work and scrutinised a number of documents including the school’s improvement plans, data on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring files, the work

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Information about this inspection

pupils were doing in their books, minutes of the governing body meetings and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Mick Blaylock, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Prydwen Elfed-Owens Additional Inspector Tony Buckley Additional Inspector Inspection report: Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 27–28 November 2012 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 Staincliffe Church of England Junior school is a larger than average-sized primary school.  Over 95% of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. About three fifths are of Pakistani heritage and almost one third are of Indian heritage. For over 90% of the pupils, English is not their first language.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is above average.  The proportion of students supported by school action is well above average although the proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The school has developed an informal partnership with a Yorkshire village primary school for educational and cultural exchange visits.  In 2012, the school exceeded the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching always meets the needs of pupils who are struggling with their work while continuing to have high expectations for all pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in English with a particular focus on:  improving boys’ writing - supporting pupils whose English is weak and who still require help with recognising sounds and letters through consistently good or better teaching that exploits every opportunity to use reading and writing skills across the curriculum and gives pupils opportunities to make appropriate use of digital technologies.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Embed new management structures and responsibilities through providing the necessary support, challenge and development opportunities for staff with new leadership responsibilities enabling them to operate effectively in their role in raising standards and improving teaching. Inspection report: Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 27–28 November 2012 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2012, the achievement of pupils in Year 6 showed an improvement on the previous year’s results. From below average starting points pupils made significantly better progress in mathematics than that typically found to reach national standards. In English, while the proportions making the expected progress were above average, the standards reached were below average. This is because although girls’ writing was in line with national averages, boys’ reading and writing were both below. It also reflects their low starting points and the challenge for many of learning English as an additional language.  The school’s own tracking systems show pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics throughout the school that is consistent with and slightly above national expectations. Progress for pupils in Year 3 appears low in the school’s own analyses but is partly explained by recording systems that do not accurately reflect the performance of pupils who

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The achievement of pupils is good

have just reached Level 3 at the end of Key Stage 1. Lesson observations indicated that progress of pupils in Year 3 was consistent with that throughout the school. The scrutiny of pupils’ work confirmed that they are making good progress throughout the school from Year 3 to Year 6. Parents overwhelmingly agree that their children make good progress at the school. This includes those pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding.  The outstanding progress in mathematics has been achieved with the school’s own ‘Rainbow mathematics’. This enterprising scheme is popular with pupils and promotes agility in mental mathematics through pupils’ independent practice and weekly testing. The scheme has been developed further to ‘Jungle maths’ for those finding the subject difficult and ‘Planet maths’ to extend the more-able pupils.  Those pupils with disabilities and special educational needs make good progress. They are well

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The achievement of pupils is good

supported by teaching assistants in class. The many pupils who are learning English as an additional language are also well supported by teaching assistants, including bilingual support.  Pupils make good progress in their reading. Regular use of the school’s attractive new library and its varied collection of books help to promote reading. Enterprising strategies are used by the school to encourage reluctant readers, particularly boys. This includes identifying novels and non-fiction reflecting their interests. The school is increasingly aware of the need to continue to use the linking of letters and sounds to help weak readers and those pupils still at an early stage in learning English. By the end of Year 6 pupils are working with a sophisticated and challenging vocabulary.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching observed in the course of the inspection was mostly good with some that was outstanding and a similar proportion that required improvement because it was not good. None of the teaching observed was judged to be inadequate. The work of the year group leaders in coordinating the planning of lessons is a real strength ensuring consistency for pupils across each year group.  Teaching is characterised by high aspirations for all pupils, excellent relationships and good use of praise and rewards to encourage pupils in their learning. In some cases teachers’ high aspirations proved too challenging for some weaker pupils. These pupils struggled to cope with teachers talking for too long or found the pace of lessons too swift. In most cases, however, work was well matched to the different needs of learners and resulted in high levels of engagement and interest.  Pupils’ speaking skills are developed as they are encouraged to discuss their work although more

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The quality of teaching is good

opportunities for writing could be provided in recording group discussions and in making notes when planning for extended writing. Inspectors saw some good examples of extended writing in pupils’ books including Year 3. Teachers make skilful use of interactive whiteboards but despite Inspection report: Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 27–28 November 2012 5 of 9

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The quality of teaching is good

the school having acquired new laptops there was not enough evidence of these being effectively used to support pupils’ learning.  Pupils are consistently encouraged to reflect on and assess their own work. Teachers effectively assess pupils’ understanding and adapt their teaching in response to the successes and challenges that pupils are finding in their work. The marking of pupils’ work with pupil-centred comments to help pupils improve is working well for older pupils in the school but less so for younger pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils are very polite, well mannered and considerate. They are keen to chat, show respect to other pupils and adults and take real pride in their school. Excellent behaviour is modelled by staff in the respect they show the pupils. It is also encouraged by the high expectations of staff and their excellent reinforcement of outstanding behaviour through recognition and praise. ‘Caught doing good’ cards are an example of this whereby names of pupils are entered into a raffle for prizes drawn in a school assembly. The school also has a highly motivating merit system for academic achievement with rewards such as a football or a cricket bat that are valued by the pupils.  Pupils want to learn and their excellent behaviour helps them learn well. They respond readily to teacher instructions and are eager to please their teachers. Older pupils have a very clear understanding of their specific work targets in English and mathematics. In group-work pupils

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

listen well to each other and are often involved in animated paired discussions in their work.  Pupils say, ‘we feel very safe in this school’, and they feel their behaviour is very good. There was unanimous agreement in both parent and staff questionnaires that pupils are safe at this school. Pupils report that bullying is rare and will be effectively dealt with by teachers if it does occur. The school has a ‘Bullying box’ for reporting any concerns. Pupils are keenly aware of the different types of bullying including cyber-bullying and the dangers of social networking sites.  Attendance has improved over recent years and is now above the national average. The scheduling of staff training days to coincide with the festival of Eid is just one of the enterprising ways the school has used to improve attendance. There have been no exclusions or recorded racist incidents in either the last or the current academic year.

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The leadership and management are good

 The ambition of the senior leaders and governors is seen in their business plan with the clearly stated intention of becoming an outstanding school within two years. A new management structure which includes a business manager has released senior leaders to focus more on improving teaching and learning to raise standards. Consequently, teaching is improving and standards are rising. Some staff who are recently appointed to management positions are at an early stage of establishing their roles in challenging, supporting and developing the effectiveness of their colleagues.  The school has responded well to the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection implementing measures that have secured rising standards in the past two years. The school now has good systems in place to regularly measure and track pupils’ progress.  The newly appointed deputy and assistant headteacher have a support and mentoring role in the

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The leadership and management are good

professional development of teachers. They work closely with the Year Group leaders who are bringing greater consistency in teaching through coordinating the work of the teachers within each year.  Improvements in teaching have been secured through rigorous classroom observation with developmental feedback and also through challenging weaker teaching. One teacher commented that feedback from the school’s own observations had helped her to improve considerably in her teaching. There is appropriate linkage between improving teachers’ performance and salary progression. Inspection report: Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 27–28 November 2012 6 of 9

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The leadership and management are good

 The stimulating curriculum supports well the school priorities in developing reading and writing with topics that will engage boys and is subject to regular review. It is enhanced through a range of trips that pupils recognise as linked to their learning and that also provide broader life experiences. These have included trips to the theatre, Chester Zoo, and Manchester United Football Club where one child expressed surprise at seeing a field inside a building! Pupil premium funding ensures that no child is excluded on the basis of cost. Lunchtime clubs are also popular providing rich opportunities as diverse as Ju-jitsu and the Staincliffe singers.  The school does well in preparing pupils for life in modern democratic Britain, preventing extremist behaviour, tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities through its excellent development of spiritual, moral, social and cultural values and understanding. Termly

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The leadership and management are good

shared assemblies with the Imam and parish priest – referred to as the ‘men in black’ – promote respect and understanding. Links with the Yorkshire village school are proving mutually beneficial. The school is rightly proud of its fund-raising for charities and the Staincliffe singers, mostly Muslim pupils from a church school, performing at a Holocaust Memorial Evening.  The school’s safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements.  The governance of the school:  Increasingly effective governance is evident in the challenge and support that the governing body provides, particularly for the headteacher. Governors have a good awareness of current school priorities and of the progress that the school has made in raising standards and in improving the quality of teaching. They are increasingly involved in recruitment, and promotions that recognize and reward good teaching. Governors recognise the improved

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The leadership and management are good

financial management resulting from the appointment of the business manager. They now have a firm hand on school spending including the use of pupil premium funds which have been used for teaching assistant support, developments in technology and purchasing books . Governors provide increasing challenge in productive meetings and have a greater engagement in the life of the school. They are keen to increase community representation on the governing body particularly to strengthen links with local businesses. Inspection report: Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 27–28 November 2012 7 of 9

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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. Inspection report: Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 27–28 November 2012 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 107710 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 405121

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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 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 351 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Susan James Headteacher Paul Spencer Date of previous school inspection 13 September 2010 Telephone number 01924 326756 Fax number – Email address head.staincliffe@edukirklees.net 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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