Alwoodley Primary School

Alwoodley Primary School Cranmer Rise, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS17 5HX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 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 an outstanding school.  The headteacher is a leader of the highest quality who, with a highly effective team of senior and other leaders, relentlessly pursues excellence in all areas of the school’s work. This constant drive to continuously improve is an exceptional example for pupils.  The school puts the learning and well-being of its pupils at the heart of all its thinking and planning. Consequently, pupils’ attainment is consistently high and their achievement in English, mathematics, information and communication technology (ICT) and science is outstanding.  Teaching is outstanding because teachers’ meticulous planning ensures that pupils of all abilities undertake and enjoy solving exciting and interesting tasks; these tasks make them work hard to think for themselves.  Exceptionally, teachers’ marking does not always provide pupils with enough guidance on how they can improve further in some

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

subjects.  Children get an excellent start to their schooling because of the outstanding provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are exemplary. They are highly motivated to reach the high standards expected by staff. Relationships with each other and respect for all are excellent. Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They feel safe and parents are overwhelmingly positive in their praise for the school.  There is outstanding provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils demonstrate strengths in art, music, physical education and in their awareness of the religions and cultures of others.  The governing body is exceptionally knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement. Systems for checking the quality of the school’s work are highly effective. Rigorous evaluations of performance coupled with extensive opportunities for staff training ensure that the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

quality of teaching goes from strength to strength.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons, two of which were seen together with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. Inspectors also made a number of other short visits to lessons and learning areas.  Separate meetings were conducted with governors, staff, senior leaders, and two groups of pupils. A telephone conversation took place with an adviser from the local authority. The inspectors talked to pupils during lessons, listened to pupils read and scrutinised samples of their work.  The 29 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the results of the school’s own survey of parents’ views were taken into account. The lead inspector also spoke to parents at the beginning of the school day.  The inspectors took account of the 34 responses to the staff questionnaire.  A number of documents were reviewed; these included the school’s development plan, its self- evaluation report, information about pupils’ current progress, arrangements for safeguarding and

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Information about this inspection

records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance. Reports from the local authority about the school’s effectiveness were also examined.

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Inspection team

Cathy Morgan, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Carol Machell Additional Inspector Mary Lanovy-Taylor Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average sized primary school, with two classes in each year group.  More than half of pupils come from a wide range of minority ethnic heritages, and this proportion is higher than usual.  Almost a quarter of pupils speak English as an additional language, and this proportion is higher than average. However, few pupils are at an early stage of learning English.  There are fewer girls than boys in the school overall and the proportion of boys is particularly high in some year groups.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is much lower than average, as is the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is slightly below average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free

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Information about this school

school meals, children from service families and those children that are looked after).  The school exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school provides a breakfast club for its pupils.  There is a privately managed pre-school on site which was not part of this inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers’ marking to match that seen in English. This is to ensure that pupils receive clear guidance on how to improve their work in all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children usually join the Nursery and Reception classes with levels of knowledge and skills below those expected for their age, especially in aspects of communication and language and linking sounds and letters. They make outstanding progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage because they are carefully guided and inspired through some outstanding teaching, to work and play imaginatively together.  A systematic approach to the accurate tracking, assessment and evaluation of children’s achievement ensures that they are all exceptionally well prepared for Key Stage 1. The results of the 2012 Year 1 national reading check on pupils’ knowledge and understanding of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) were well above national averages, particularly for girls.  Outstanding teaching ensures that pupils continue to make outstanding progress throughout the school. No group lags behind. This reflects the school’s commitment to equal opportunities,

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

making sure that all have the chance to succeed.  Pupils consistently perform exceptionally well in the national tests in English and mathematics taken at the end of Year 6. Their results in 2012 were extremely high, particularly in mathematics with two thirds of pupils gaining Level 5 grades and a higher than average proportion gaining Level 6.  Scrutiny of pupils’ work in Year 6 and the school’s excellent monitoring system shows that almost all pupils are working at the level expected for their age and a significant proportion of pupils are, again, on target to reach standards which are usually seen when pupils are in secondary education.  Pupils from a wide variety of backgrounds learn exceptionally well. Those who join the school at different times through the year and those who speak English as an additional language receive immediate and highly effective support. This enables them to catch up quickly with others and,

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

in many cases, exceed them. Excellent individual help from highly skilled staff enables disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs to make the very rapid progress that is typical of this school.  Pupils work shows high levels of achievement in science, history, geography, ICT, singing, playing musical instruments and taking part in physical education. There are many opportunities for pupils to use the exceptional outdoor learning areas and to apply their mathematical and literacy skills in almost all of these subjects.  The school now has well-targeted strategies to support the pupils for whom it receives the pupil premium. In 2012, attainment in English and mathematics for pupils known to be eligible for this additional funding was about two terms behind the very high levels of their classmates but was much better than that of such pupils nationally. Inspection evidence shows that this gap has

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

narrowed quickly and data demonstrates that more pupils are now achieving the highest levels.  The school has a particularly strong reading culture and pupils spoke enthusiastically of their eagerness to read. Those who had found it difficult to learn to read really appreciate the individual help they have been given. Pupils read fluently and with great expression, using all the strategies they have been taught to successfully tackle unfamiliar words. Teachers take every opportunity offered in lessons for pupils to practise their reading skills and the school has achieved the Oxford University Press ‘Outstanding Reading School’ status.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 All pupils make excellent progress in their learning because much of the teaching across the school is outstanding and it is never less than good. Teachers create a calm, welcoming and extremely positive learning environment, which encourages good relationships and promotes high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement.  Teachers constantly strive to provide inspiring learning experiences and magical moments in lessons to fully engage pupils and foster an enjoyment of learning. Staff consistently demonstrate the positive impact of the successful and extensive training they receive in the use of effective teaching methods.  Impeccable planning enables children in the Early Years Foundation Stage to learn through imaginative and creative play. Exceptional use is made of the excellent outdoor environment which is vibrant and full of wildlife, flowers and insects as well as rabbits and chickens. For

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

example, in one lesson the children excitedly but carefully went pond-dipping. Through the skilful questioning of the teacher, they investigated the stages of development of the tadpoles as they grow into frogs. They collected specimens to draw and demonstrated high levels of skill when writing about their findings.  Lesson planning is firmly based on regular and detailed assessments of what pupils already know, so that all groups make outstanding progress. Individual pupils are ably supported in lessons and in small group intervention sessions, by the conscientious, caring and highly competent learning support assistants.  Pupils learn exceptionally well because the teachers give them plenty of chances to find things out for themselves from an early age. For example, in one Year 6 lesson, pupils were absorbed in using handheld computers to research the best techniques to use when designing and creating a persuasive advertisement for their ‘Afternoon Tea,’ which they actually created with

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

the excellent support and baking skills of the teaching assistants.  Pupils are actively involved in setting and reviewing their own and others’ work using clear success criteria. In English, teachers’ marking is thorough and increasingly, pupils are responding to comments which encourage them to progress even further. In other subjects, teachers discuss pupils’ work with them but written feedback in pupils’ books is less informative and prevents them from always knowing how to improve their work.  A review of homework has led to pupils being actively involved in and rewarded for choosing the level of difficulty of their own tasks. This has increased their motivation and improved the quality and complexity of their work. Excellent use is made of the schools’ ‘Virtual Learning Environment’ to enable pupils to complete and submit their homework online.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour at the breakfast club, in lessons and around school is exemplary and is a key factor in the school’s continuing success. Pupils are unreservedly polite and courteous to one another and to staff. There is a strong community feeling to the school. Pupils are extremely proud of their school.  Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils flourish in their personal development because the school fosters exceptionally strong relations and tackles any discrimination. This ensures that everybody has an equal chance to learn. From Reception, pupils develop their critical and creative thinking skills through the school’s philosophy programme. They are taught to respect differences of all kinds and to disagree respectfully. One child said ’there are no right or wrong answers, we think about problems and get our brains working.’  Pupils are happy, polite and very caring. They feel safe and secure in school. Pupils say that

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

there is no bullying because adults help to settle any rare incidents. Pupils’ extensive use of ICT ensures that they and their parents are particularly knowledgeable about staying safe online.  The school is presented in an inspiring way, with three playgrounds containing imaginative spaces including a sensory garden, a wildlife area, a sand pit, and an adventure wall. Pupils say they thoroughly enjoy playing together and using the wide range of equipment available to them.  All parents who spoke to inspectors or responded to the online survey of parents’ views agreed that their children are safe and happy at the school. One parent spoke for many in praising the teachers for ‘making my child love coming to school.’ Attendance levels are high and punctuality is excellent, reflecting pupils’ enjoyment of school and the school’s strong relationships with parents.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The exceptionally effective and experienced headteacher provides the school with a clear vision and has created a strong team spirit among staff, all of whom say they are proud to belong to this school. The headteacher is supported by a very able governing body that has equally high expectations.  Leadership and management of the school is very much a shared responsibility and teachers fulfil their various leadership roles exceptionally well. High standards have been maintained over a long period and, working so closely together, this strong team know what needs to be done to drive forward further plans for improvement. Sharp self-evaluation identifies priorities accurately. These are very well supported by clear action plans, demonstrating an excellent capacity for further development.  Senior leaders lead by example and demonstrate meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of their work. Staff clearly understand their roles, responsibilities and lines of accountability.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

Teachers are set sharp and clear performance targets which have to be met before a rise in salary can be considered. They value the many opportunities they have to learn about and apply innovative teaching methods based on sound research findings.  Each pupil’s progress is carefully tracked and discussed regularly. Teachers work exceptionally well together, and if pupils are not doing as well as they should, individualised programmes are immediately put into place to help them.  Leaders and the governing body ensure that good use has been made of pupil premium money to help eligible pupils to achieve well academically and to take part in all aspects of school life. This has ensured that these pupils make better progress than such pupils nationally.  The curriculum is wide ranging, providing an excellent range of opportunities for pupils, not just in English and mathematics but also in history, geography and Spanish. There are considerable

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The leadership and management are outstanding

strengths, particularly in the fields of ICT and sport. Provision in music is particularly diverse and enables every pupil to learn to play at least three musical instruments.  The local authority provides appropriate light touch support to help the school to maintain a high level of effectiveness. It encourages the highly skilled senior staff to work with other schools in the authority so that as many teachers and pupils as possible can benefit from their extensive expertise.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has excellent systems to involve themselves in all aspects of school life and to keep very well informed. This is particularly true of procedures to keep pupils safe, which consequently meet requirements. Governors contribute strongly to the overall strategic direction of the school, making full use of the wide range of expertise in the governing body to benefit the management of the school. They have a thorough understanding of the data that

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The leadership and management are outstanding

shows how well the school is doing in comparison with others. This enables them to challenge and support staff very effectively. Governors have ensured that procedures to manage teaching quality are robust and are linked to rewarding good performance, and addressing any relative weaknesses decisively.

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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 107912 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 413253

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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 499 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richie Kilner Headteacher Jane Langley Date of previous school inspection 10 December 2008 Telephone number 0113 2686104 Fax number 0113 2662044 Email address j_langley@hotmail.co.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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