Farsley Springbank Primary School

Farsley Springbank Junior School Wesley Street, Farsley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, LS28 5LE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Achievement is outstanding throughout the school in reading, writing and mathematics, for all pupils regardless of ability or background.  Highly skilled senior staff provide outstanding specialist support for Year 6 pupils in English and mathematics to enable a significant proportion to reach the highest standards.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs receive excellent support, particularly from the caring and highly competent learning support assistants.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is outstanding. They are polite and highly respectful to staff. Pupils feel very safe and their care for one another helps to create a calm atmosphere across the school.  Activities and subjects, including the study of philosophy, are linked together in highly creative and stimulating ways to develop pupils’ curiosity and improve their achievement.  Systems for checking and promoting the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

quality of teaching are extensive and highly effective. Rigorous evaluations of performance, coupled with regular opportunities for staff training, ensure the quality of teaching continues to improve.  School leaders, staff and governors are an exceptionally strong team. They have an extremely clear view of what the school is capable of and how to get it there. The drive for excellence in all areas of the school’s work is relentless.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not yet enough teaching that is consistently outstanding.  Teachers do not plan enough opportunities for pupils to work things out for themselves.  Pupils’ work is marked regularly, but teachers and their assistants do not always make it sufficiently clear what pupils have done well and how they can make it even better.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors saw all teachers teach in the 13 lessons observed, four of which were seen together with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made a number of other short visits to lessons and learning areas.  Separate meetings were conducted with governors, staff, senior leaders, an adviser from the local authority and two groups of pupils. The inspectors talked to pupils during lessons and also listened to pupils read.  The 55 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the responses to the school’s own survey of parents’ views were taken into account.  The inspectors took account of the 19 responses to the staff questionnaire.  A number of documents were reviewed. These included pupils’ books, the school’s development plan, its self-evaluation report, information about pupils’ current progress, arrangements for safeguarding and records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance. Reports from the local authority about the school’s

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Inspection team

Cathy Morgan, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Peter Allen Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-sized junior school.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is higher than average.  A lower than average proportion of pupils are supported through school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is lower than that seen nationally. This additional government funding only applies in this school to pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There have been significant changes in staffing since the retirement of the previous headteacher. The deputy headteacher was promoted to acting headteacher in 2010 and then appointed headteacher in 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Eliminate the remaining inconsistencies in teaching in order to improve its quality to outstanding by:  making sure that all teachers use the extensive information about pupils’ progress to plan more opportunities for them to work things out for themselves, and enable them to reach the highest standards in all lessons  improving the quality of marking so that pupils are clear about how to improve their work and can make appropriate corrections.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils join the school with skills which are around those expected for their age. Strong teaching, outstanding individual support and accurate assessments ensure that pupils’ attainment is consistently above the national average across all subjects.  In 2012, a significant proportion of Year 6 pupils made outstanding progress from their individual starting points to reach the higher levels in national tests.  A scrutiny of pupils’ work in Year 6 and the school’s excellent monitoring system show that almost all pupils are working at the level expected for their age in English and mathematics. A significant proportion of pupils are on target to reach the highest standards which are usually seen when pupils are in secondary education.  Support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is outstanding. The monitoring of their progress is rigorous and ensures that support successfully meets their

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

individual needs. These pupils make excellent progress.  Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, who receive pupil premium funding, also make outstanding progress. Their attainment in English and mathematics is often above that of their peers and similar pupils nationally.  Innovative organisation and planning enhances pupils’ learning in all subjects. Pupils’ work shows that they are able to apply their mathematical and literacy skills in practical ways in many subjects. By Year 6, pupils are solving problems, writing stories and developing persuasive arguments beyond the quality expected for their age. For example, responding to difficult questions, such as ‘why did the world go to war? and ‘what makes the world angry?’  Pupils’ reading skills are developed rapidly, with a strong emphasis on phonics (the sounds that letters make), matched by a focus on understanding and enjoyment. Pupils have excellent

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

reading skills and they talk with great enthusiasm about the wide range of books they have read.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is not yet outstanding because, although pupils make rapid and sustained progress this is due to the excellent specialist intervention by senior leaders and not as a result of consistently good or outstanding teaching in lessons. Teachers who are new to the school’s strategies to improve teaching are still developing their expertise; consequently, there are inconsistencies in teachers’ practice across classes.  The majority of teaching is good and some in Year 6 is outstanding. Typical features of this teaching are effective planning, probing questioning and the use of stimulating activities, which involve pupils of all abilities and enable them to think for themselves and develop high level problem-solving skills. Pupils make outstanding progress in these lessons.  Pupils enjoy the wide range of practical activities provided, including the highly effective use of information and communication technology (ICT). Increasingly, there is excellent use of clear

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The quality of teaching is good

criteria for pupils to assess their own and their classmates’ work. Teachers give pupils extensive opportunities to discuss ideas together, so they have excellent speaking, listening and collaborative skills. This has been a major feature in the improvements made in writing as pupils sort out their ideas before they put pen to paper.  Teaching assistants make an excellent contribution to pupils’ learning, particularly disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. They are an integral part of the teaching team, working closely with teachers to provide pupils with high quality support.  The school has extensive information about pupils’ progress. This is not always used well enough to plan opportunities for pupils to tackle thoughtful tasks on their own.  Marking quality varies between classes. In the best examples, pupils receive clear and informative feedback about what they have done well, errors are corrected and next steps

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The quality of teaching is good

identified. However, there is inconsistency in the quality of feedback which prevents pupils from always knowing how they can improve.  The ‘intervention programme’ for older pupils is exemplary in enabling them to reach the highest standards in English and mathematics. Individual and small groups of pupils receive highly effective support from specialist senior teachers, often after school, to enable them to succeed and make rapid progress in these sessions.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils are extremely proud of their school. They show the utmost respect for their teachers and other adults and are very enthusiastic learners. They cooperate extremely effectively and are very helpful towards one another.  Pupils are extremely happy at school, enjoying their learning and opportunities to attend clubs and activities. They say they really enjoy the way teachers gain their interest through exciting activities and opportunities to use ICT. These positive aspects are reflected in high levels of attendance.  Pupils, staff and parents are very positive about behaviour, which is exemplary. Pupils agree that they occasionally have ‘falling outs’ but any major problems are extremely rare and adults quickly sort them out.  Pupils say that bullying is a ‘No No’. They have a thorough understanding of different kinds of bullying from their involvement as anti-bullying ambassadors and events such as the yearly anti-

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

bullying week. Pupils understand well how to keep themselves and each other safe.  The school works exceptionally hard to establish productive relationships with parents to enable them understand how they can help to improve their children’s learning. Feedback from parents is overwhelmingly positive.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 On appointment, the headteacher rapidly strengthened the leadership team and enabled governors to become more actively involved in the work of the school. This had an immediate and positive impact, particularly on the quality of teaching.  The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, provides the school with extremely strong and purposeful leadership. Together they instil in all who work at or are involved with the school, a determination to ‘be the best you can be’. This has been central to the school’s continuous success in maintaining pupils’ outstanding achievement since the previous inspection.  The mentoring of new staff, particularly those who have recently joined the profession, is very well organised and highly effective. This ensures they quickly understand the school’s well- established routines and adhere to the headteacher’s drive for perfection. Those teachers who are new to the school’s latest teaching methods are developing their expertise well but this has

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The leadership and management are outstanding

not yet resulted in outstanding teaching.  All staff are actively involved in bringing about improvement. They attend and contribute to training sessions that keep them abreast of educational developments and develop them as potential leaders.  Improving teaching is at the heart of the school’s work and is checked regularly by senior leaders. The information gathered is used astutely to set challenging targets and to hold staff accountable for raising pupils’ achievement. Targets and progress towards these are linked closely to any increase in salary.  The attention paid to each individual pupil’s learning and development is exemplary. School leaders track meticulously the progress of all pupils to detect any underperformance. Their analyses provide a highly detailed and comprehensive picture of what is working well and where the school needs to focus its efforts next.  The school’s ‘Learning Challenges’ for pupils, link subjects together in highly creative and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

stimulating ways. Activities develop pupils’ curiosity, involve them in planning and improve their achievement, for example, the ‘dangerous curriculum’ has greatly raised boys’ enthusiasm for writing.  Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs, competitions and visits which enable them to develop skills in art, food technology and music. The outstanding provision made for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development promotes their excellent personal development so that pupils are fully prepared for the next stage in their learning.  Leaders and managers know exactly how well the school is doing and have an exceptionally sharp focus on how successful it can be. Together, staff and the governing body ensure that the school has an excellent capacity to improve further.  The local authority supports the school well. This has strengthened the headteacher’s expertise and provided opportunities to work closely with other schools.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has a strong sense of community and uses a variety of methods, including the informative website, to maintain excellent links with parents. They play an active part in their children’s education. All pupils, regardless of background or ability, have equality of opportunity.  Safeguarding procedures meet requirements.  The governance of the school:  The governing body knows the school well. It is exceptionally rigorous in holding school leaders to account for improving teaching and pupils’ achievement. The governing body sets challenging targets for the headteacher and other members of staff. It links the outcomes firmly to decisions regarding any increases in salary. The governing body uses data knowledgeably to compare the effectiveness of the school with other similar schools, both locally and nationally. Finances are tightly controlled and decisions on spending are linked closely to priorities in the school improvement plan. Governors are fully aware of the use of

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The leadership and management are outstanding

pupil premium funding and check very carefully the effect on pupils’ progress. Governors attend training regularly and keep themselves up to date with changes.

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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 107849 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 413294

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 215 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Hickson Headteacher Sharon Percival Date of previous school inspection 22 March 2010 Telephone number 0113 214 6098 Fax number 0113 239 4774 Email address info@farsleyspringbank.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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