Bramley St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Hough Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS13 3NE

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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.  Bramley St Peter’s has progressed well since its last inspection.  Good and sometimes outstanding teaching across the school enables pupils to learn well.  Standards in Year 2 and Year 6 are rising faster than in most schools nationally.  Groups of pupils, such as those eligible for the pupil premium, are making good progress and the gaps in attainment between them and other pupils are closing quickly.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good and sometimes excellent progress from their well-below typical starting points.  Behaviour is good in classes and around the school. Pupils behave outstandingly in assemblies and in some lessons.  Good improvements in many aspects of the school are due to the headteacher’s drive, for example, in eliminating weak teaching. As a result, this is an improving school.  Governors know the school well, which helps them support and challenge for higher

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

standards.  The school’s lively curriculum enables pupils to learn well and develop as confident, caring and thoughtful individuals.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Despite mostly good teaching, progress is not consistently good in all year groups.  In some lessons, higher-attaining pupils could tackle harder work.  The rate of pupils’ progress in mathematics is not as good as that found in English partly because pupils lack speed and mental agility when using numbers. Inspection report: Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 5–6 March 2013 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 13 lessons or part lessons taught by 10 teachers.  Two lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and a wide range of pupils’ workbooks, in English, mathematics and other subjects, were examined.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, two members of the governing body, the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, some staff and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors took account of 12 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  Nineteen questionnaires from staff were analysed during the inspection.  The inspectors observed the work of the school and examined a variety of documents including those relating to pupils’ progress, the school’s evaluation of its own performance, plans for development, attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Roger Gill, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Pamela Hemphill Additional Inspector Michael Hewlett Additional Inspector Inspection report: Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 5–6 March 2013 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 This school is an average-sized primary school compared to all schools nationally.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil-premium funding is above the national average. Very few pupils are looked after in public care.  A significant minority of pupils join the school partway through their education.  The percentages of pupils supported at school action, at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are above average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups, including those who are learning English as an additional language is below that found nationally.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations of pupils’ attainment and progress.  A breakfast club and after-school club, organised by the school’s governing body, take place on site, which were included in this inspection.  About half of the staff have changed since the school was last inspected.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensuring teaching is consistently good and there is more outstanding teaching by:  setting more ambitious targets for pupils achievement by the end of Year 6  teaching in ways that maximise pupils’ involvement in their learning at all times  making sure that higher-attaining pupils always get work to do that provides sufficient challenge.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the speed of progress in mathematics across the school so that an above average proportion of pupils make faster progress than expected nationally and reach the higher levels of attainment by end of Year 6 by:  ensuring that all pupils can recall number facts quickly and use them confidently when solving problems  giving pupils more opportunities to use and apply their mathematics skills more effectively in all curriculum subjects and developing their confidence in solving mathematical problems. Inspection report: Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 5–6 March 2013 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children’s starting points when they join in Reception are well below those expected for their age. Nevertheless, they make good progress during their first year in school and enter Year 1 as confident learners who are well prepared for learning in all respects. Their achievement in social skills, reading, writing and mathematics is often rapid owing to the skilful teaching they receive.  Pupils continue to progress well in Years 1 and 2, which is shown by their above-average understanding about letters and sounds in reading and the rapidly rising standards, this year, in Year 2.  Progress across the school was predominantly good last year but despite having met the government’s floor standards in 2012, standards overall in English, including reading, and mathematics were below average. Pupils in Year 6, for example, had too much catching up to do because weaker teaching in previous years had left many gaps in their learning. However, this

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The achievement of pupils is good

year, the picture of attainment at the end of Year 6 is entirely different. Standards are rising fast because teaching is better and a number of initiatives implemented by the headteacher and staff, for individual pupils and small groups, are making a powerful difference.  Now, in all but a few cases, pupils’ learning and progress is good from Reception to Year 6. Progress in writing is rapid, especially in literacy lessons, but the speed of learning is not quite so fast in mathematics, particularly in Years 3 and 4. This is because pupils cannot recall number facts very quickly and they lack confidence in applying their knowledge of numbers when solving problems.  Pupils do not get enough opportunity to practise their skills in mathematics in other curriculum subjects, for example, calculating the speed, distance and time of Viking travel. This prevents even the best progress from being outstanding.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In keeping with the school’s success in promoting equal opportunities, groups of pupils such as disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are progressing well. This is because the team of teaching assistants work with such precision to help these pupils to take small steps to success.  Pupils who are supported by the pupil premium fund have made good progress over the last two years. The gap between the attainment of pupils eligible for free school meals and others in the school is closing fast. Moreover, recent entrants to the school are making rapid progress, in general, after their needs are identified well.  The small groups of pupils from minority ethnic heritages achieve well, as do those pupils who join the school partway through their primary education. Higher-attaining pupils, including minority ethnic pupils, make good progress in general, but not enough reach higher levels by the

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The achievement of pupils is good

end of Year 2 and 6, particularly in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has a good influence on pupils’ learning and has improved well since the school’s last inspection. This change has been brought about in many ways related to effective training for teachers and teaching assistants, and a rigorous application of performance management.  Children learn well and sometimes very well in Reception owing to purposeful teaching and varied opportunities to try out their ideas through play. Expectations are high as demonstrated during a literacy session when the teacher asked children what ‘tangled up’ in the story meant. One child gave the correct answer and the conversation moved on in ways that were reminiscent of learning typically seen in Years 1 or 2.  Relationships in lessons are consistently positive and have an outstanding effect when teaching is at its most ambitious and confident, for example in Reception.  Between Years 1 and 6, teaching is mostly good. In Years 3 and 4, pupils’ progress is not always

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The quality of teaching is good

good. This is because teachers do not always ensure that pupils are fully and actively involved in Inspection report: Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 5–6 March 2013 5 of 9

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The quality of teaching is good

their learning all of the time and teachers occasionally spend too long in introducing lessons. Higher-attaining pupils are not always given work that is hard enough for them to progress at a good rate. Despite a fast rate of progress in Year 6 this year, targets set for their attainment are not always ambitious enough.  The teaching of reading produces good results because pupils have mastered the basics of how to link letters with the sounds they make. Furthermore, the emphasis on seeking out the meaning of what they read, in small group sessions, helps pupils well with developing their comprehension skills.  The school’s recent emphasis on how to improve pupils’ writing has produced good results, especially at the end of Year 6. Pupils’ written work, in literacy lessons, includes many examples of thoughtfully constructed sentences and useful comments from the teacher. The school’s current emphasis on mathematics is beginning to yield some quicker progress but it is too soon

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The quality of teaching is good

to see the effect of this in Year 6 results.  Teaching influences pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. For example, the skilful teaching of music inspired pupils to sing the Congolese welcome song with passion, and links in Rwanda encouraged pupils to write lengthy and thoughtful letters to their friends abroad.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy their time at Bramley St Peter’s greatly. Recent newcomers say how safe and well cared for they feel at this school compared to where they came from. ‘Everyone is so friendly here and the staff are so nice.’ is a commonly held belief among the vast majority of pupils.  The good behaviour seen during the inspection is plainly typical of that which occurs at other times. Attendance is much improved to an average level now, which demonstrates pupils increasing interest in coming to school. They rightly consider that the breakfast and after-school facilities contribute well in promoting good behaviour and higher levels of attendance.  Pupils understand about the different forms of bullying, such as regular name calling, and how to stay safe, for example, when using the internet. They are clear that bullying is rare in school and that behaviour, in general, has improved greatly over the last few years. The new systems

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

introduced, aimed at managing pupils’ behaviour, along with the sterling work of the learning mentor, have contributed significantly to these improvements, especially to support the few pupils who find behaving well difficult.  Attitudes and behaviour are sometimes excellent, such as during school assemblies. For example, when an author was in school talking to pupils or when pupils were singing with their specialist music teacher. On both occasions, pupils were captivated by the event. Their joy at taking part was a strong contribution to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Not only are pupils positive about behaviour but also parents, governors and staff agree. Parents’ positive opinions on Parent View were compared to a recent survey, conducted by the school, which gathered a greater number of responses, the vast majority of which were complimentary about pupils’ behaviour.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, who is assisted well by a knowledgeable deputy headteacher, possesses a strong blend of leadership and managerial skills. As a result the school has made good progress since its last inspection. New staff have been selected and inducted well at the same time that previous weaknesses in teaching and learning have been eliminated. Consequently, standards are rising well.  The curriculum has a positive effect on pupils’ progress and their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The increased emphasis on reading through the brand new school library has helped to promote an additional enthusiasm for reading. Green-screen movie making, which won pupils a second prize in a national competition, for example, has also played its part Inspection report: Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 5–6 March 2013 6 of 9

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The leadership and management are good

well in pupils’ personal development.  Teachers are, rightly, convinced that the school’s system of appraisal and performance management, which is linked to pay scales, along with its productive links with other schools and the very relevant training they receive, all contribute well to their greater confidence in teaching and better results from pupils.  Good leadership includes that provided by subject leaders and colleagues responsible for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. It falls short of being outstanding because there is more to do in improving teaching generally and pupils’ progress in mathematics. Recent initiatives aimed at improving pupils’ achievement in mathematics, such as making sure that teaching assistants skills are well developed so that they can support pupils well, are beginning to have a positive effect. However, pupils do not yet have enough chances to

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The leadership and management are good

practise their mathematical skills when they complete work as part of other subjects.  The school evaluates itself accurately and has received good help in doing this from the local authority, which supports it well.  The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well and are involved on a weekly basis, for example, in discussing pupils’ progress or attending the school council meetings to view the school through pupils’ eyes. At a strategic level, they have a strong knowledge of how the school’s finances are geared to improving learning and raising standards. They have a firm understanding of how good the school is, particularly in respect of the impact of teaching on standards by the end of Year 2 and 6. They understand the school’s system for performance management and how teachers are rewarded and what is being done to make sure all teaching is good or better. Furthermore, they know how well groups of pupils are doing, for example, those with special

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The leadership and management are good

educational needs or those who receive pupil-premium funding. Governors fulfil their statutory duties and ensure safeguarding meets requirements. Inspection report: Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 5–6 March 2013 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: Bramley St Peter’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 5–6 March 2013 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 108003 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 400959

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 251 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Jorysz Headteacher Cath Harbrow Date of previous school inspection 16 June 2010 Telephone number 0113 2146078 Fax number 0113 2047007 Email address harbroc01@leedslearning.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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