Gildersome Primary School

Gildersome Primary School Town Street, Gildersome, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS27 7AB

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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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This is a good school

 The quality of teaching and learning is good and some is outstanding and as a result, pupils make good progress overall during their time at the school.  From low starting points, almost all pupils reach the levels expected for their age at the end of Year 6 and overall their attainment is above average.  Pupils with special educational needs and those eligible for the pupil premium make good progress because they are effectively supported.  Behaviour is good. Pupils are friendly towards one another and they feel safe in school. One pupil commented on the respect adults and pupils show one another.  Leaders and managers have had a strong impact on improving teaching and pupils’ achievement. Hence, the school has made overall good improvement since the last inspection.  Governors offer good support and challenge and ensure that the pupil premium funding is spent effectively.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some teaching in Key Stage 1 and Early Years Foundation Stage is not as strong as in other parts of the school. As a result, some pupils in these year groups, particularly the more able, do not make as much progress as they could.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are not always encouraged to work on their own at tasks that excite them. As a result, some children do not make as much progress as they should.  As a result of the relative weakness of the leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is some lack of consistency in both the children’s achievement and in how they are taught.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons. In addition, the inspection team made a number of short visits to lessons, listened to pupils reading and inspectors undertook learning walks.  Meetings were held with groups of staff, pupils, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors were able to take into account the 47 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors talked to parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors scrutinised a number of documents, including school improvement plans, minutes of the governing body meetings and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

David Tingle, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jennifer Platt Additional Inspector Jan Lomas Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger than average-sized primary school and has recently expanded to two-form entry.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is slightly below average but is increasing.  The great majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is below that found in most schools, and the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has recently opened a nursery at the school which is run by the governing body.  The school has recently been refurbished and extended.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve teaching to be consistently good or better throughout the school in order to improve pupils’ progress to outstanding by:  ensuring that work is always set at the correct level for pupils, especially for the more able in writing in Key Stage 1  improving pupils’ handwriting  in the Early Years Foundation Stage, especially in the Reception classes, accelerating children’s progress by ensuring that the outdoor area is better used and that teaching always captures children’s interest, is brisk and allows children to become more independent  providing training for learning support assistants to enable then to be more effective in lessons  sharing across the school the excellent practice seen in some classes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further strengthen leadership and management by:  ensuring the Early Years Foundation Stage is effectively led so that there is a greater consistency in children’s progress and in teaching in this key stage  shortening the school’s development plan and being clearer about how the success of actions taken to improve things will be measured.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Overall achievement is good because pupils make good progress from their low starting points in order to reach attainment which is above the national average.  Attainment in reading is slightly behind that of writing and mathematics. More pupils than the national average reach much higher standards than expected for their age in mathematics.  Children’s progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage requires improvement, although overall it is now accelerating with the opening of the new nursery. Newcomers are making good progress and settle quickly because good routines t have been established and parents are very happy with the provision.  Progress slows in the Reception classes where teaching and learning is less effective because some tasks are not challenging enough and do not provide the children with the opportunity to learn independently.  In Year 1, pupils’ progress in phonics (letters and the sounds they make) has not been fast

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The achievement of pupils is good

enough and their performance in the national screening check in 2012 was below average. The school’s response was swift with a new approach to teaching letters and sounds introduced throughout the school. Latest assessments indicate that more pupils are now on track to reach the expected levels.  Progress from Year 2 to Year 6 is good because of the accelerated pace of learning being made in Key Stage 2 where teaching is the strongest. Attainment at the end of Year 2 is broadly in line with the nationally expected level in reading and in mathematics but in 2012 was below average in writing, especially for the more-able pupils.  The new approach to teaching letters and sounds is improving pupils’ reading. The pupils who read to inspectors were enthusiastic and enjoyed reading a variety of books. The younger pupils used their newly acquired skills to sound out unfamiliar words correctly. The older pupils were

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The achievement of pupils is good

willing readers who enjoyed the humour in some of the books they read, but also enjoyed reading for research.  Attainment in Year 6 has improved over the last three years and is now above the national average in English and mathematics. More pupils now reach higher levels in response to the high expectations in Years 5 and 6.  Pupils’ work is sometimes presented with untidy handwriting.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because of the prompt assessments the school carries out and the well-planned programmes of support that are put in place.  The attainment of pupils entitled to the pupil premium is getting closer and closer to those pupils who are not eligible for the funding and the gap has narrowed well over recent years. The additional support given to these groups ensures that there is equality of opportunity for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good overall with examples of outstanding practice in upper Key Stage 2. This enables pupils to make good progress overall, although there is still some variation in the quality of teaching between classes.  In the best lessons, pupils make good or better progress because expectations from the teachers are high and the work planned makes sure all pupils are given work that gets the best out of them. As a result, pupils work hard and enjoy their learning, remarking, ‘the teacher works us hard and makes us think. It’s fun.’ Teachers ask pupils questions that allow them to know how well the pupils are doing and teachers use information on how well pupils are doing in order to plan future lessons.  Learning support assistants are used most effectively to support pupils in small group work. However, some of them lack the subject skills to enable them to help pupils when they find their work difficult.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, the overall quality of teaching requires improvement. It is stronger in the Nursery class where more attention is given to children finding out for themselves. Organisation is clear, with ongoing assessment used to guide the activities. These strengths are less apparent in the Reception class where some sessions involve children sitting listening to the teacher for too long and the activities fail to excite the children or allow them to make choices.  The outdoor area has not been fully completed since the school was refurbished. Although staff make some use of what is available, this is not always used to extend children’s learning.  In some lessons, teachers do not plan the work well enough to ensure that all pupils are given tasks that allow them to learn quickly enough. Some teachers mark pupils’ work in a way that helps them to do better next time, but not all.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils are not always encouraged to present their work to the standard of which they are capable and pupils are not always proud of their work. As a result, pupils’ handwriting is sometimes untidy.  The overall quality of marking by most teachers is good and this helps pupils know how to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

 Both in lessons and during break times and lunchtimes, pupils behave well and show good manners towards each other and to adults.  Pupils say that bullying is rare and that any is very quickly dealt with by staff and that they feel safe and secure at all times in the school. Pupils say they think school is ‘fabulous’ and very much enjoy the homework that is linked to the topic work.  Pupils show good awareness of the potential dangers of the internet and were keen to tell inspectors what they should do if they feel threatened in any way.  Attendance is improving and is now average.  In lessons, pupils behave well. Only on the few occasions when teaching does not challenge or excite them enough do they fail to concentrate fully.  The school has good systems to help pupils behave well. The school’s records of behaviour show that pupils respond well to the school’s system of rewards for good behaviour, including the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

introduction of the house teams.  Parents are regularly kept informed about their child’s behaviour and are encouraged to support the school by participating in the Friday rewards activities.

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The leadership and management is good

 Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s performance and use this information to implement successful actions to improve the school’s performance. The school development plan contains key priorities for improvement but it is rather lengthy and is not clear about how the success of implemented actions will be measured.  The leadership of teaching and learning is effective and has resulted in good improvements in pupils’ attainment and progress.  The checks made on the quality of teaching and learning are effective and lead to an accurate view of which aspects of the school’s work need attention. However, leaders acknowledge that there is still some variation in teaching quality, particularly in the Reception classes, but rightly judge that teaching continues to improve.  Training is improving teaching as, for example, the new approach to teaching letters and sounds. However, the lack of training for some learning support assistants means they are not

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The leadership and management is good

always able to support pupils’ learning sufficiently well.  The tracking of pupils’ attainment and progress is good and this means that staff are clear about how well pupils achieve. A new system has just been put in place and this has the potential to provide an even more effective tool to track pupils’ progress.  Teachers, managers and governors meet regularly to discuss and review the progress pupils are making. Teachers are set targets based on pupils’ progress and are expected to explain any lack of progress. Other targets are based on the school’s priorities with salary progression linked to achieving these targets.  The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is not as effective as it might be which means there are some inconsistencies in the way children are taught and the progress they make.  Safeguarding meets all current government requirements.  Equality of opportunity is promoted well. The use of additional support is rapidly closing the gaps

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The leadership and management is good

in achievement between different groups of pupils. Moreover, any discrimination is tackled decisively whenever and wherever it is detected.  Pupil premium funding is used to support pupils in reading and to enable the school to have smaller teaching groups.  The topic work is used to enable pupils to use their basic skills across a range of subjects and the pupils are extremely motivated by the range of visits they make and the people who come in to school. This approach has allowed parents to become more involved with their children’s work and so developed strong links with the community. The wide range of links pupils have with communities around Britain and the world has helped to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.  The local authority has provided strong support to the school, for example, governor training.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has held the school to account on matters relating to the quality of

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The leadership and management is good

teaching, the effectiveness of the use of the funding provided by the pupil premium and how teachers’ salaries relate to the quality of their teaching. Its members receive clear information from school leaders on the progress pupils make and this is enabling members of the governing body to challenge and support the school rigorously.

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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 107848 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 405127

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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 266 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Smart Headteacher Stefan Kurth Date of previous school inspection 8 March 2011 Telephone number 0113 201 2450 Fax number Not applicable Email address headteacher@gildersome.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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