Horsforth Newlaithes Primary School

Horsforth Newlaithes Primary School Victoria Crescent, Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS18 4PT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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.  This is a happy school where pupils flourish in an atmosphere of mutual respect and staff work very hard to help pupils do well.  The passion, drive and enthusiasm of the headteacher and deputy have ensured that the change from a junior to a primary school has been a smooth one.  Leadership and management, including the governors is good and managers at all levels work well together and regularly check how well pupils are learning and being taught.  Pupils make good progress as they move through the school and achieve above average test marks in mathematics and English although their achievement in writing is not as strong as it is in reading.  Children who enter the Early Years Foundation Stage receive an excellent start to their education as a result of the stimulating teaching and high levels of care they receive.  Across all years teaching is consistently good with some that is outstanding. Lessons are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

usually exciting and challenging, but occasionally the most-able pupils are not given harder work to do.  There is a strong sense of community in the school. Pupils’ behaviour and attitude to learning are outstanding. They feel very safe and secure and enjoy coming to school with the result that attendance is consistently above the national average.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is good rather than outstanding.  Achievement in writing is not as good as it is in reading and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons taught by 14 members of staff. Two lessons were carried out as joint observations with the headteacher and one with the deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with staff, pupils and members of the governing body. A meeting was also held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at its self evaluation and development planning. Additionally records of pupils’ progress, arrangements for safeguarding and documentation on the monitoring of teachers’ performance were scrutinised.  Inspectors analysed the 109 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors also spoke to parents as they arrived for assembly. Staff questionnaires were also scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Ray Biglin, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Barbara Hudson Additional Inspector Andrew Morley Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than most primary schools.  In September 2011 the school changed from a junior to a primary school and at present there are no Year 2 pupils.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is well below average.  The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium is well below the national average.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which is the minimum expected for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The vast majority of pupils are from a White British background.  The school has been awarded the Stephen Lawrence award for its work in supporting anti- racism.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching from good to outstanding by:  improving the pace of learning in some lessons by teachers giving pupils more chance to work things out for themselves  ensuring that the work given to the most-able pupils is always hard enough.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that pupils achieve as well in writing as they do in reading and mathematics by:  ensuring that pupils make full use of the advice for improvement given in their marked work in order to improve their writing skills  increasing the opportunities for writing at length in all of the subjects they study.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join Reception with the skills and knowledge expected for their age. As a result of consistently good and sometimes outstanding teaching they make rapid progress and when they enter Year 1 their personal skills and their ability to speak and listen are better than those of pupils of a similar age nationally.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are enthusiastic and confident learners. Good use is made of the outside area seen when children were excitedly looking for fireflies as part of learning about the difference between night-time and daytime.  Throughout the school pupils clearly enjoy their lessons and find them interesting, for example, when Year 4 pupils excitedly dug in a sand tray to piece together fragments of a vase as a way of being introduced to the Ancient Greeks.  Pupils continue to make good progress as they move through the school and leave having achieved above average test results in English and well above average test results in

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The achievement of pupils is good

mathematics. Many pupils make better than expected progress in mathematics but in English the progress in writing is not always as good as that made in reading.  Pupils are confident readers who read fluently and with expression. They enjoy reading both at school and at home and as a result in 2012 Year 6 pupils exceeded the nationally expected standards in their reading tests.  Pupils with disabilities and special educational needs and those supported by the pupil premium make the same progress as that of their classmates.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is typically good and some outstanding teaching was observed in both key stages. Pupils enjoy their lessons and are making good progress overall.  Teachers generally have high expectations of pupils who are keen to apply themselves to any tasks set. Classrooms are managed well and in the best lessons work is always carefully planned to get the best out of all pupils. However, in some lessons pupils do not start working on their own quickly enough. Also in some lessons the work given to the most-able pupils is not always hard enough. For instance in one lesson where children were working on a descriptive piece of writing more could have been asked of the better writers.  Reading is taught well and teachers are skilled in helping children quickly develop their skills in letters and sounds. This emphasis on the importance of reading continues throughout pupils’ time in the school and the majority read widely and often. As one pupil said, ‘I just love reading!’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ books are marked well by their teachers. There are comments that praise hard work and comments that suggest what pupils should do to make their next piece better. Although pupils are encouraged to respond to the advice given, they do not always do this and as result opportunities to improve their writing are sometimes missed.  There is a good range of resources available. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used particularly well. Inspectors observed interactive whiteboards being used skilfully to support learning. In one Year 6 lesson the teacher was able to show exciting photos of the Antarctic landscape as a stimulus for their writing task.  Teachers give their pupils plenty of opportunities to work co-operatively and talk together. Relationships between staff and pupils are excellent. Pupils are keen to work in pairs or in groups and respond well to any instructions given.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school employs a number of well-trained teaching assistants who skilfully and sensitively help pupils who need extra support.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Behaviour is exemplary in lessons and around school. This is a happy school where pupils get on very well with one another and all staff. As a result the atmosphere is calm and harmonious and inspectors were impressed by the pupils’ good manners.  In lessons pupils listen attentively. They discuss and work together very well as seen in a mathematics lesson where groups were set the task of working out how many squares there are on a chess board.  Parents, pupils and staff all agree that behaviour is excellent and that if there are any incidents of inappropriate behaviour they are dealt with effectively. There is a clear behaviour management policy in place, which is understood by pupils and applied consistently by staff. The system employs yellow and red cards but, as the pupils were keen to tell inspectors, red cards are rarely used.  Pupils have no concerns about bullying and as a result feel very safe, secure and well looked

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

after. As one parent said ‘The teachers all care deeply for the children they teach.’  Pupils care about one another and the world around them. Within the school there is an active eco-group and the school has been awarded the Stephen Lawrence award as a result of its work on anti-racism.  Pupils’ enthusiasm for school can be seen by their consistently above average attendance. They arrive at school every day on time, keen and ready to learn.

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The leadership and management are good

 Strong leadership from the headteacher and other senior leaders has led to teaching at the school being consistently good with some being outstanding. As a result pupils achieve well over time, particularly in mathematics.  The headteacher has created a strong team spirit in the school. As one member of staff said ‘I am very proud to be part of this school.’ Consequently senior leaders, staff, governors and pupils pull together and are committed to making the new school effective and demonstrate the capacity to improve it further.  The school has a clear focus on making teaching even better and has organised staff to work in teams to share good practice and help one another become even more effective in the classroom.  Those leaders with specific responsibilities for subject areas work hard to improve achievement for all pupils. They regularly check how well pupils are doing and use information collected to

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The leadership and management are good

help teachers further improve progress for their pupils.  Performance management is rigorous and clearly focused on improvement. Targets are linked to the school development plan, pupils’ progress and professional development. The performance of staff, together with their individual responsibilities, reflect the pay scales awarded.  Pupil premium money is used well. The governors have used some of the money to train teaching assistants to help pupils with their writing and the rest has been used to ensure that all pupils have an equal opportunity to benefit from residential trips.  The way in which the school organises and delivers the subjects available to its pupils is good. In the Early Years Foundation Stage the emphasis is on allowing children to learn through investigation by following their own interests. This creative approach continues with older pupils where the emphasis is on improving skills. Pupils learn about science, history and geography

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The leadership and management are good

through project work such as ‘Antarctica.’ This approach fuels pupils’ imagination but sometimes opportunities for producing longer pieces of writing are missed.  The school makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There are many opportunities for pupils to take part in sporting and cultural activities. Pupils learn to look beyond their own lives and consider the lives of others and the world beyond their immediate community. An excellent example of this is their work to raise money and provide books for a partner school in Eritrea.  As the school has been successful for a period of time, only light touch support has been provided by the local authority in terms of school improvement although help was given with the resources needed to change the school from a junior to a primary school. The school is part of a local cluster group which provides strong support for one another.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a good understanding of how the school is performing and are able to provide a good level of challenge to school leaders. They are aware that achievement in writing needs to match that of mathematics and reading. Governors are frequent visitors to the school and each is attached to a particular class. Individual governors have defined roles according to their skills. School finances are managed well and the governors have used the extra money allocated on the basis of pupil premium to help pupils improve their writing. Governors are actively involved in checking the performance of teachers and that is reflected in the levels of pay awarded. The governors ensure that the school is a safe and secure place for pupils to learn. Discrimination of all types is not tolerated and all statutory safeguarding requirements are met.

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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 107860 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 400191

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 322 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alison Salmon Headteacher Joanne Blacoe Date of previous school inspection 2 March 2010 Telephone number 0113 2588645 Fax number 0113 2588645 Email address headteacher@newlaithes.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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