Drighlington Primary School

Drighlington Primary School Moorland Road, Drighlington, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD11 1JY

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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’ achievement is good. Since the last inspection pupils’ standards of attainment have risen and rates of progress have accelerated.  Children who start school in the Early Years Foundation Stage often arrive with levels of understanding and knowledge below those of others nationally. The attainment of pupils who leave in Year 6 is close to and often above national expectations. This represents good achievement for the majority of pupils.  Teaching is good overall. This is because teachers are good at using data to tell them what pupils need to learn next. Teaching assistants’ time is also used well to support pupils and this results in pupils making good progress regardless of their level of ability.  Behaviour is good overall. Pupils show good attitudes in the classroom and are keen to learn. The vast majority of pupils spoken to both in meetings and on the playground said they felt safe in school and that incidents of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

bullying were dealt with effectively by staff.  Leaders and managers at all levels work closely together. Since the last inspection they have successfully improved many aspects of the school’s performance including the quality of teaching. Their continued commitment to improving the achievement of all pupils shows their ability to make the school even better in the future.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ achievement in writing is not yet as good as that in reading and mathematics. This is because they do not have sufficient opportunity to produce long pieces of writing.  School leaders have yet to develop sufficiently good relationships with a very small group of parents who hold negative views about school  In a small number of lessons pupils spend too much time listening to teachers talk. This reduces the time pupils have to practise their skills. Pupils do not always get sufficient time to share their learning with teachers and other pupils at the end of lessons.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons and parts of lessons taught by 15 teachers. Joint lesson observations were undertaken with the headteacher. The inspection team also listened to nine pupils from Years 1, 2 and 6 read and examined the quality of work in the books of pupils from across the school.  The inspection team held meetings and had discussions with pupils, senior leaders, members of the school staff, two members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspection team had discussions with a total of 24 parents, three formally and 17 informally at the start of the school day. A further four parents spoke to the inspection team by telephone. Forty-eight parents made their views known to the inspection team through the on-line questionnaire (Parents’ View).  The inspection team studied health and safety documentation, teachers’ curriculum planning, documents relating to the performance management of staff and the school’s system for

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Inspection team

Marian Thomas , Lead inspector Additional Inspector Derek Pattison Additional Inspector Huda Aslam Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized primary school.  Since the last inspection there have been changes to the leadership team with the appointment of three assistant headteachers.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage with a small number from Gypsy Roma and other ethnic backgrounds.  A slightly lower than average proportion of pupils is known to be eligible for the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in the care of the local authority and those from service families).  The proportion of pupils identified with special educational needs through school action is higher than average for similar schools.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is a little lower than the national average.  The school meets the current floor standards set by the government for pupils’ attainment and

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Information about this school

progress.  The school has recently been awarded the Stephen Lawrence Education Standard at Level Two.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be consistently good or better by:  increasing the amount of time pupils spend working independently in lessons  ensuring that pupils have sufficient time at the end of lessons to share their learning experiences with others and the teacher.  Improve pupils’ achievement in writing by ensuring that they are offered more opportunities to undertake longer pieces of writing.  Ensure that senior leaders take effective steps to improve the relationships with the very small number of parents who hold negative views about the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement is good and has continued to improve since the last inspection. The majority of pupils arrive with skills that are below those that are expected for their age. The majority leave school at the end of Year 6 with attainment that is just above that expected nationally in English and mathematics. This represents good achievement.  Children often start school in the Early Years Foundation Stage nursery with lower than expected language and communication skills. They benefit from good and sometimes outstanding teaching as well as from the wide range of activities provided. As a result the majority make good progress and develop early reading, writing, mathematical and social skills that are much closer to expected levels and this prepares them well for Key Stage 1.  Pupils’ progress from Year 1 to Year 6 is good overall. Last year attainment in Key Stage 1 was lower than in Key Stage 2. School leaders have taken swift steps to improve this and currently

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The achievement of pupils is good

the majority of pupils in Years 1 and 2 are making good progress.  Attainment in writing is weaker than in reading or mathematics. This is because pupils are not yet given sufficient opportunities to develop their writing skills by working on longer pieces of work.  The school develops pupils’ reading skills well. The library is well-stocked with books and this has contributed to developing pupils’ love of books and has improved achievement in reading. As one very young pupil said: ‘I love reading stories about animals best and can’t wait to get to school to change my book’.  Pupils who fall behind in reading are given extra support to develop their knowledge of how letters link to sounds. This has contributed to the rise in achievement in reading because it helps them to read unfamiliar words more fluently.  Approximately 20% of pupils of who attend the school are supported by the pupil premium.

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The achievement of pupils is good

These pupils make good progress in comparison to similar groups of pupils across the country. Since the previous inspection there has been a rise in attainment for this group. This demonstrates that the gap is beginning to close between the attainment of this group and others in the school.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs also make good progress. This is because school is exceptionally good at supporting their needs through, for example, extra adult support in the classroom and through teaching in small groups that focus successfully on developing pupils’ reading and writing skills.  The small numbers of pupils who are from Gypsy Roma and other ethnic groups make equally good progress, although often from lower starting points. This is because of school’s continuous commitment to equality of opportunity for all its pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the school is good and has improved significantly since the last inspection. However whilst the majority of teaching observed during the inspection was good or better there were still some inconsistencies where particular aspects of teaching required improvement.  In the best lessons pupils spent a short amount of time sitting on the carpet at the start of lessons and teachers’ explanations were clear and well-focussed. However, in a small number of lessons pupils spent too much time listening at the start of lessons rather than engaging in activities. At this time learning slowed.  Overall staff have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and are skilled at planning work which inspires pupils in lessons. An example of this could be seen in a Year 2 mathematics lesson in which pupils were learning that addition and subtraction are opposite operations. Those that worked with adults were supported very well and those working alone were

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The quality of teaching is good

motivated, engaged and clearly enjoyed the challenge of the activities that were set. Consequently all pupils were able to achieve well.  Parents spoken to appreciate the good start that the school’s Early Years Foundation Stage classes offer their children. A comment made by the parent of one child summed up their feelings well: ‘Staff here are lovely. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming. My child just loves coming.’ Children enjoy coming because they can choose from a range of interesting activities both in the classroom and in the outdoor area. This enables them to explore and discover through play which helps to improve their social skills and make good academic progress.  Teachers are good at using information about how well pupils are doing to plan future lessons. They mark pupils’ books regularly and provide good guidance on how to improve. As a result pupils are clear about the next steps they need to take to make their work better.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Whilst the majority of teachers ensure that their lessons run smoothly to time, occasionally insufficient time is left at the end of a lesson for pupils to talk about what they have learnt and how well they think they have done. This limited teachers’ opportunities to check pupils learning.  Teachers ensure, through the lively and interesting curriculum, that pupils are offered opportunities to use their literacy and numeracy skills in a wide range of subjects. However when they do write it’s more often in short bursts.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy coming to school and most are proud to be members of the school community. Those spoken to during the inspection said they felt listened to and that their thoughts and opinions made a difference to how the school is run.  The majority of pupils behave well both in the classroom and around school. During the inspection pupils showed polite attitudes towards each other, staff and visitors. The majority of parents spoken to during the inspection felt that pupils generally behaved well at school and that staff were caring and approachable.  The vast majority of pupils say they feel safe in school. They are clear about the different forms bullying can take and say they know who to turn to if they encounter problems.  However, a small number of parents shared their concerns with the inspection team about incidents of bullying to their children both inside and outside school. The inspection team made

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

extensive observations of pupils at break and lunch time and held discussions with pupils both formally and informally. They also analysed behaviour records and concluded that although there are some incidents of difficult behaviour they are not common and are dealt with effectively by staff.  Attendance has improved since the previous inspection and is above average for primary schools. This is as a direct result of school’s work with a range of outside agencies who have supported pupils and their families.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and other senior leaders have a clear vision of how successful the school can be. With the support of the governing body, they have continued to improve the school’s performance since the previous inspection. Consequently, the school has moved from being satisfactory to good.  As a result of this clear focus all areas identified in the previous inspection report as in need of improvement have been successfully tackled and pupils’ levels of attainment have risen. This success clearly demonstrates the ability of school leaders to bring about further improvement.  Senior leaders take a very rigorous approach to checking the quality of teaching. This has ensured that the quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection. Staff targets set through management of their performance link directly to pupils’ achievement and the school’s development plan. Checks on the performance of staff are undertaken rigorously and the

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The leadership and management are good

headteacher uses this information to make decisions on teachers’ pay.  Pupils with a range of different needs and abilities are well-supported which ensures that all groups make good progress. This demonstrates the school’s continued commitment to equality of opportunity for all pupils.  Whilst the vast majority of parents hold the work of the school in high esteem a very small group of parents hold negative views about the school and senior leaders in particular. Much of their feelings come from their perceptions of the school’s approach to their concerns about bullying behaviour both inside and outside school. Whilst school leaders and governors have clearly tackled some of these anxieties and subsequent concerns, they have not yet been successful in resolving all the issues raised by this group of parents.  The school’s curriculum is exciting and offers pupils of all abilities a range of experiences. These

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The leadership and management are good

increase pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding well.  The local authority has helped the school to improve by offering school leaders both support and challenge through regular visits.  The governance of the school:  Since the last inspection a new chair of governors has been appointed. Her appointment has added to the broad range of skills and experience within the governing body. These have been deployed successfully to support and challenge the decisions made by school leaders. Governors attend training regularly and this has enabled them to improve staff performance and pupils’ achievement. For example, their improving understanding of the use of data to monitor pupils’ performance has enabled them to recognise the strengths and areas in need of improvement within the school. In partnership with senior leaders they have developed an effective system of performance management for the majority of staff which links pupils’

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The leadership and management are good

achievement to teachers’ pay awards Careful use of pupil premium has enabled the governors to give valuable support to and increase the levels of attainment and progress of this group. The health and safety committee ensures that safeguarding procedures meet current requirements.

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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 134407 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 402608

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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 434 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lena Matthews Headteacher Sue Jackson Date of previous school inspection 7 December 2009 Telephone number 0113 3862390 Fax number 0113 2854784 Email address info@drighlington-pri.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

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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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