Princeville Primary School

Princeville Primary School Willowfield Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 2AH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Most pupils make the progress expected of them and many do better than this in both English and mathematics.  The large majority of teaching is good and some is outstanding. Teachers plan interesting work that relates to the ‘real world’. As a result, pupils are highly motivated to learn.  Teachers give clear explanations. This helps pupils to start their work swiftly and make good progress in lessons.  Leaders have an accurate understanding of the quality of teaching and learning. They share their impressive teaching skills with others to drive forward the quality of teaching and learning and, as a result, the school is improving.  Pupils say they feel safe in school because they are well cared for by their teachers and other adults. Pupils behave well and they have positive attitudes to learning.  Leaders and managers take effective action to ensure that pupils do not fall behind in their

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learning.  Governors use their skills well to support and challenge the leadership team in order to achieve their high ambitions for the school.  Leaders, managers and governors have developed a strong sense of purpose among all staff. This contributes well to ensuring good teaching and achievement. As a result pupils are well-prepared for the next stage of their education.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is a very small minority of teaching that requires improvement and not enough is outstanding.  Sometimes, teachers do not always provide enough time for pupils to discuss topics before they are asked to write about them.  Occasionally, teachers do not check that the work given to pupils is challenging enough.  In some lessons, teachers do not allow pupils to work at length without their guidance. As a result pupils are not given enough time to work things out for themselves.  The measures used by leaders and managers to set targets for teachers’ performance management and plan for improvement are not always sharply focused on the improvements in progress they expect pupils to make.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 34 lessons given by 18 teachers, one higher-level teaching assistant and a sports coach. Three joint observations were undertaken with senior leaders.  Inspectors spoke to three groups of pupils about their learning in lessons and their safety in school. Inspectors listened to some pupils reading.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, school staff and a representative of the local authority. In addition, inspectors looked at the school’s review of its performance, its development plan, safeguarding information, school policies and governing body minutes of meetings.  The inspectors analysed 22 responses to Parent View (the online parent questionnaire). They also analysed parents’ responses to a school questionnaire. Inspectors spoke to some parents at the start of the school day and with a group of parents who meet regularly in school.  The views of 19 staff who returned questionnaires were taken into account.

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Inspection team

James McGrath, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Sharon Bruton Additional Inspector Susan Hall Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is twice as big as the average-sized primary school. The number of pupils is increasing each year as its admission number has been increased.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children that are looked after.)  Most pupils are from Asian backgrounds; a few are from other minority ethnic groups. Few pupils speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is average. The proportion of pupils 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 in English and mathematics.

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Information about this school

 The school holds the ICT Mark, a Basic Skills Award and a Healthy School Award.  There have been significant changes in teaching staff since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that more is outstanding and the very small minority that requires improvement is eradicated by making sure that all teachers:  allow pupils enough time to discuss their ideas before starting their writing tasks to improve the quality of written work  check the work of all groups of pupils and adjust it, if necessary, to make sure it is challenging enough for them  provide greater opportunities for pupils to work things out for themselves.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the impact of development plans and teachers’ performance management by making sure the measures used to judge success are closely linked to improvements in pupils’ learning and progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children start school with skills that are well below those typical for their age. Their skills are better in mathematics than in reading, writing and communication. Nursery and Reception classrooms, along with the outside learning areas, provide children with stimulating environments in which to learn. Skilful teaching and imaginative, purposeful activities help children learn well and make good progress. Children have a good start to their education.  Throughout Key Stage 1 pupils continue to make good progress. They are reaching standards that are close to average in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. Although standards in reading are below average, they are improving.  Pupils at the end of Year 6 in 2012 started Key Stage 2 with standards that were well below average. They made good progress throughout Key Stage 2, in both English and mathematics, to reach average standards overall. Although their progress in English was good, their progress

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The achievement of pupils is good

in writing was not as strong as in reading.  An analysis of pupils’ work carried out by inspectors show that teachers have introduced exciting opportunities for pupils to write at length. This is helping to improve the quality of writing. It is clear from pupils’ work and the school’s accurate review of data that more pupils will make the progress expected of them in writing than previously. Results are set to rise in English and mathematics in 2013. Pupils are continuing to make good progress. Pupils are becoming confident mathematicians who enjoy solving practical problems using their good recall of mathematical number and facts.  Those pupils supported at school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs make good progress and achieve well. This is due to the good support they receive from their teachers and highly skilled teaching assistants.  Due to the good support they are given in both English and mathematics, those pupils known to

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The achievement of pupils is good

be eligible for the pupil premium, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, attain as well as those who are not eligible. In comparison with similar pupils nationally, they achieve well. Pupils in Year 6 in 2012 for example, were about six months ahead of similar pupils in mathematics and a couple of months ahead in English. The achievement of these pupils is a good example of the school’s successful promotion of equality of opportunity.  Reading is a priority in school. The school’s strong focus on the development of reading is encouraging more pupils to read widely. Teachers encourage pupils to read ‘out loud’ and to use electronic books to develop their interest in reading. By the end of Year 6, pupils read with expression, enthusiasm and have a good understanding of what they are reading. In the most recent screening check for reading at the end of Year 1, pupils’ skills were as expected nationally

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The achievement of pupils is good

in linking letters and sounds to help them read words. Inspectors saw outstanding teaching of letters and sounds in Nursery and Reception for children at the very early stages of learning English as an additional language and, as a result, these children were making rapid progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and give clear explanations about what pupils have to do. This helps pupils to make a swift start to their work and make good progress with their tasks.  All teachers plan lessons in detail and provide pupils with work that relates well to the ‘real world’. In a Year 6 lesson, pupils were working out the cost of camping equipment for a future school expedition. They were calculating the percentage discount and starting to make recommendations about where they would buy the equipment. Pupils were highly motivated and discussed their results well with other pupils, they all made good progress.  In the best lessons, teachers use computers well to capture pupils’ interest and develop pupils’ skills in using computers. In an English lesson, Year 5 pupils worked in groups using ‘tablet computers’ to add music to a black and white film they had made. The music had to match the

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The quality of teaching is good

emotions of the actors. Pupils made outstanding progress as they discussed their work well and improved it to meet the high standards set by the teacher.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and many provide good suggestions for improvement. Most pupils are clear about how to improve and many make efforts to make their work better. This helps pupils to make good progress with their work.  Teachers circulate well around the class to check what pupils are doing. However, they do not always check whether the work could be more challenging for pupils. Although pupils generally make good progress their progress is not yet better as not all teachers increase the level of challenge enough during the lesson. Some pupils are capable of achieving more.  Teachers are keen to make sure their pupils learn quickly and in most lessons the pace is brisk. Sometimes, teachers are too quick to ask pupils to start a writing task and do not provide

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The quality of teaching is good

enough time for pupils to talk about and think carefully about what they are going to write or to gather others’ opinions to improve their writing.  In some lessons, teachers do not give pupils enough time to work at length without their guidance. As a result pupils are not always given enough chances to work things out for themselves and learn on their own.  Teaching assistants and higher-level teaching assistants work well with all groups of pupils. They are well briefed by the teachers and know what is expected of them. Pupils hold them in high regard.  Parents were unanimous in pointing out that they think teaching is good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils follow the instructions of their teachers very well and are keen to learn. They enjoy their work and are very industrious. They listen well to the views of others and treat each other with dignity and respect. Occasionally, a few pupils lose concentration and need to be prompted too often by their teacher to focus on their work.  Pupils are proud of their school and say they have ‘good teachers who teach them well’. Pupils are polite and courteous towards adults. Boys in particular, take great pleasure in explaining what they are learning to the inspectors.  Around the school pupils are well behaved as they know what is expected of them and they know the consequences if the school rules are broken. Pupils enjoy the rewards they earn for their class through collecting points for good behaviour, working well together and persevering with their work. They believe that the school’s reward system helps them behave well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 At lunch and break times, pupils play well together. Adult play leaders help younger children to make good use of the play equipment. Older pupils enjoy their responsibilities as playground buddies.  The school council takes its responsibilities seriously and are proud of some of the changes that have occurred due to their efforts. They believe that they are listened to and that they help to ‘give pupils a voice’.  Pupils say they feel very safe at school. They say that there have been a few instances of bullying. They are confident that when bullying is reported the school takes action. Pupils have made videos and posters to raise awareness of the different forms of bullying, including cyber- bullying, and know what to do should it occur. They have a good understanding of internet safety and say that they would not answer unknown emails and would report them to adults.  Overall, attendance is below average. The school’s attendance officer and family support team

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

have good procedures to support improvements in attendance and punctuality. As a result pupils attend well and their attendance is above average.  All parents responding to the online questionnaire (Parent View) said that their children were safe and most believe behaviour is good. Those parents spoken to by inspectors were exceptionally positive about the school.  Staff are overwhelmingly positive about pupils’ behaviour in school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and governors have developed a strong sense of purpose among all of the staff. The headteacher has given more people responsibilities for leadership in order to help drive forward her ambitions for this expanding school. These leaders are supporting the headteacher exceptionally well and are instrumental in the sustained improvement in progress being made by the pupils.  Leaders have correctly identified the main priorities for the school. This has resulted in a more interesting curriculum and a much improved focus on reading and writing to drive standards up.  The school has developed an extremely thorough system for checking pupils’ achievement. It helps leaders to identify pupils who are falling behind and those with specific learning needs. Leaders take swift action to give pupils additional support to help them learn better.  Performance management for teachers supports the school’s priorities and clearly identifies the

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The leadership and management are good

skills they need to improve their teaching. However, objectives for teachers are not sharply linked to improving pupils’ achievements or the school’s system for setting pupils’ targets.  The school has organised a professional review system for teaching assistants to identify training to support their role in school. Access to training for all classroom staff is a good example of equality of opportunity. As a consequence, there are several higher-level teaching assistants in school.  Leaders and managers use their expert teaching skills to help staff to improve their teaching. They give exemplar lessons and coach teachers to improve teaching skills. They provide opportunities for teachers to observe highly skilled teachers from another school in order to further improve the quality of teaching. They check the impact of their work through action plans, ‘focus week’ observations of teaching and other regular observations of teaching. The

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The leadership and management are good

staff are unanimous that leaders do all they can to improve teaching.  The curriculum provides many good creative opportunities for pupils and has a strong emphasis on reading, writing and mathematics. When designing the curriculum, teachers plan exciting opportunities for learning. This gives pupils a strong interest in the work that is planned for them. The curriculum is supporting pupils’ good progress and their improving standards.  Art, music, singing and drama are strengths of the school. These and external visitors, such as a Buddhist monk, make a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The local authority has provided light-touch support for this good school. It completes a yearly check on the school’s performance, raising matters with the headteacher when appropriate.  The governance of the school:  Governors use their skills well to support the school. They have a good understanding of the

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The leadership and management are good

quality of teaching as they spend time linking with year groups. They join the leadership team during ‘focus weeks’ to see teachers and pupils in action in the classroom. Governors understand pupils’ progress data fully and ask searching questions of the headteacher to determine what needs to be done to improve standards. The governing body uses its expertise to support the headteacher in establishing the school’s priorities. They have regular financial reports and make checks on the school’s budget. Governors have approved the use of pupil- premium funding to employ additional support for pupils from teachers and teaching assistants. They monitor effectively the impact of this support on pupils’ progress. They understand fully the arrangements linking teachers’ performance and pay. When teachers’ targets are not met they challenge the headteacher to ensure that there is improvement. Governors have received training and ensure that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding

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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 107239 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 413032

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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 555 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mohammed Salim Headteacher Sara Rawnsley Date of previous school inspection 24 November 2009 Telephone number 01274 573298 Fax number 01274 576021 Email address office@princeville.bradford.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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