Middleton St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Middleton St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Moor Flatts Road, Middleton, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS10 3SW

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

p.1

This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 The standards in Key Stage 2 for the last two years, and for Key Stage 1 in 2013, were broadly average compared to other schools.  Not enough pupils reached the higher levels at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics in the last two years.  In 2013, the proportions of pupils making more than expected progress from their different starting points in the key subjects are below those in other schools.  The standard of teaching varies and not enough teaching is consistently good and better.  Some teachers and teaching assistants do not expect enough from pupils, including the most able, and they are not given work that ensures that they make the best progress.  The school improvement plan is based on an over optimistic view of the school’s performance.  The governing body is not clear about the performance of the school. They do not hold the headteacher to account well enough in order to make the necessary improvements.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 Pupils behave well and the school has good systems for managing behaviour.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage because of the good and outstanding teaching.  Attendance has risen because the headteacher has recruited staff and partners who work well with pupils and parents.  Checks in 2013 on phonic skills (the knowledge of letters and sounds to help read unfamiliar words) for pupils in Year 1 show that these pupils do better than pupils in other schools.  Evidence from recent checks made on the progress of pupils shows that the standards in reading, writing and mathematics are rising. This indicates that this is an improving school. Inspection report: Middleton St Mary’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11–12 December 2013 2 of 9

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 21 lessons including parts of lessons. All teachers were observed at least once. One lesson was observed jointly with the headteacher.  The inspectors met with staff, pupils and parents. They held a meeting with the Chair and Vice- chair of the Governing Body and one other governor. They met a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took into account 14 staff questionnaires. They looked at information from previous surveys carried out by the school to gather views of parents. Ten responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) were also considered.  The inspectors talked to pupils in the playground and classrooms and held discussions with pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2. They listened to pupils read and observed them moving around inside and outside the school at different times of the day.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and considered a number of documents, including the

p.2

Information about this inspection

school’s safeguarding arrangements, policy for handling pupils, recruitment records, evaluation of its performance, its improvement plan and minutes from governors’ meetings.

p.2

Inspection team

Jonathan Woodyatt, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jennifer Platt Additional Inspector Frances Farnorth Additional Inspector Inspection report: Middleton St Mary’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11–12 December 2013 3 of 9

p.2

Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is average compared to other schools. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is much higher than average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is much higher than 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 by the local authority.)  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Last term the Chair and Vice-chair of the governing body resigned. A new Chair and Vice-chair

p.3

Information about this school

have since been appointed.  The school hosts a breakfast club run by an outside organisation.  The school works closely with a national charity that provides support for pupils, parents and teachers. The charity uses several rooms in the school.  The school is an associate member of the South Leeds Learning Trust and part of the local Cluster of schools.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good and outstanding teaching and eradicate any weak teaching in order to raise standards and increase progress in reading, writing and mathematics by:  significantly raising teachers’ and teaching assistants’ expectations of pupils to produce work at a higher standard  ensuring teachers have the skills required to make the necessary improvements in lesson planning  teachers systematically checking pupils’ progress to ensure a clear oversight and early intervention to improve pupils’ learning  ensuring work is matched well to the needs of different pupils, including the most able.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leaders by ensuring that information gathered on all aspects of the school’s performance, including teaching, is analysed accurately, that the findings are understood fully and are used to raise standards quickly.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 An external review of governance, to include a specific focus on the school’s use of the pupil premium, should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved. Inspection report: Middleton St Mary’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11–12 December 2013 4 of 9

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Not enough pupils are making consistently good progress and reaching the higher standards in literacy and numeracy.  The standards in reading, writing and mathematics were broadly average at the end of Year 6 in 2012 and 2013 and also at the end of Year 2 in 2013.  The proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels, including the most able, in reading, writing and mathematics is below that of other schools and has been for the last two years.  Not enough pupils in Year 6 made more than the progress expected of them in the key subjects in 2013 and this has dipped from the previous year.  As a result, in 2013 pupils made average progress overall in Key Stages 1 and 2, taking into account their different starting points. This is broadly similar for pupils who left at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2012. However, recent information provided by the school and evidence from work in books indicates that progress has now improved in both key stages.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The attainment and progress of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium vary across the school. In 2013, Year 2 pupils’ attainment was below that of other pupils by approximately one term in English and mathematics. In Year 6, such pupils’ attainment was below others by approximately three terms. Recent results show that the gap in the school has reduced and is closer to half this as a result of effective support by staff.  Pupils with statements of special educational needs and those supported at school action plus do broadly as well as others in the school and when compared to those in other schools nationally. Pupils who are supported at school action do slightly less well than others in the school or others nationally.  In 2013, the national reading check of Year 1 pupils’ phonic skills showed that an above average proportion of pupils exceeded the levels expected for their age.  Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are typically well below those

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

of other pupils nationally. They make good progress because of the skilled teaching and stimulating activities, such as matching shapes on the computer or constructing pipes to get water down a chute. Some children leave at the end of Nursery and some start for the first time in Reception. Consequently the group of pupils who enter Year 1 are not the same group that started in Nursery. Despite the good progress made by children who complete the two years in the Early Years Foundation Stage, most pupils enter Year 1 with skills that are below those expected for their age.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although teaching is improving, it is not yet consistently good over time and requires improvement. As a result, pupils do not make enough good progress or reach the higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics.  Work in books demonstrates that at times teachers do not always have high enough expectations of pupils to achieve at the next level. For example, pupils’ written work shows that some pupils have good writing skills and yet they are not expected to write at length often enough.  In the teaching that requires improvement teachers do not have the skills, for example in their planning, to make the necessary improvements in order to get the best work from pupils. Work in one mathematics lesson was too easy, said some pupils, who had completed tasks and were waiting for the next activity.  Teaching assistants make up the larger proportion of the teaching staff in the school. They typically contribute to the learning by supporting pupils either individually or in small groups,

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

both inside and outside the classrooms. They are more effective when the learning is carefully Inspection report: Middleton St Mary’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11–12 December 2013 5 of 9

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

planned with appropriate activities and less effective when learning is not and they spend too much time explaining what to do.  Pupils learning phonics were seen in one lesson to make good progress. This was because the teacher ensured that they knew what pupils were learning by checking regularly during the lesson and moving pupils onto harder combinations of sounds. However, not enough lessons involved systematic checking by teachers on the work being done both in the classroom or outside with teaching assistants.  Where the teaching was good or better, activities ensured that pupils were kept involved and interested in the learning. However, in some lessons too many tasks were overly repetitive and pupils practised the same skills so their pace of new learning slowed.  Good practice was seen in teachers’ marking of pupils’ work with good opportunities for pupils to reflect on and respond to teacher comments.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the outstanding lessons seen, work matched pupils’ needs and skills very well. For example, in a Year 5 mathematics lesson pupils were expected to solve problems by combining the different skills of adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying. The teacher provided challenges that precisely suited their level of knowledge so that all the pupils, including the most able, made outstanding progress.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ good behaviour was evident in lessons, outside and around the school during the inspection. They respond quickly to requests made by adults and are good at cooperating when working together in pairs or small groups.  Pupils told inspectors about the different ways that they know about keeping themselves safe, such as when they are using computers. They say that the school looks after them well, that they feel safe in the school and that they can always talk to the teachers. Parent and staff responses in conversations and surveys agree with this.  Attendance levels have increased and are above levels in other schools because of effective initiatives put in place by the headteacher. Regular checking made by the attendance staff on pupils’ attendance and engagement with parents is playing a key role in this and in reducing the number of pupils who do not attend frequently enough. The breakfast club partnership also

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

encourages more pupils to attend.  Behaviour is managed very well by the school. Staff work very hard and successfully to ensure pupils’ behaviour improves. Teachers and teaching assistants work well with a very small number of pupils who have significant behavioural difficulties. Pupils told inspectors that teachers act quickly to support pupils who are misbehaving.  There have been no permanent exclusions for a number of years. The school’s records show that last year there was one fixed term exclusion and none in the previous year.  The few incidents of racist behaviour in the school’s logs are mainly name-calling. The school is committed to tackling any discrimination and these incidents are one-off events and are dealt with well by the school. Parents and staff agree that the school deals effectively with bullying.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The evaluation of the school’s performance carried out by the headteacher and governors is not accurate enough to rapidly bring about the whole school improvements that are required, for example in raising the standard of teaching so that pupils’ performance improves.  Although leaders at all levels, including middle leaders, gather a wide range of information in order for them to know how well pupils are performing, it is not always used as well as it should be. For example, detailed information gathered about the progress being made by pupils supported by the pupil premium has not been fully understood by the governors for them to be clear about its impact or to be able to hold leaders to account when pupils do not do well Inspection report: Middleton St Mary’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11–12 December 2013 6 of 9

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

enough.  The monitoring of teachers’ performance in lessons is carried out by the headteacher and senior leaders. Plans are in place to train other staff to do these important checks. During the inspection, inspectors agreed with a large proportion of the judgements on the quality of teaching over time that the headteacher has made. However, the governing body place too much reliance on the judgements made by the staff and do not check rigorously for themselves.  The headteacher fully recognises the value of building partnerships to ensure pupils can receive extra support in the school. As a result, the breakfast club and national charity partnerships have been instrumental in increasing attendance and enabling pupils and parents to have more support with concerns that they want to talk about. Partnerships with other schools have helped teachers to learn how to improve their skills from observing other teachers.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum is effective in meeting the needs of pupils, for example pupils with different abilities and special educational needs are given regular support from teaching assistants. Trips, such as a residential stay at an outdoor activity centre, bring learning to life and help develop essential social skills.  The provision for pupils’ good social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is enhanced by the close relationship with the local church. Visits to other places of worship and lessons in religious education support learning about other faiths and increase pupils’ cultural awareness.  The local authority visits the school at least four times per year as part of their support. They help the school to arrange specialist training for those aspects that the headteacher seeks to develop.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has been struggling to ensure that there are enough governors attending

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

meetings and recently changed the way that they organise themselves to reflect this, including appointing a new Chair and Vice-chair. They have recently received training to help them understand how to analyse the school’s performance information, but in the conversation with the inspector they were still not clear about what the different information means. Although they visit the school and spend time in the classrooms, they are not clear enough about what good teaching looks like to be able to hold the headteacher to account and to ensure that the school’s own evaluation of its performance is accurate. Governors have assessed the performance of the headteacher and linked it to her pay, though they are not clear about this aspect for other teachers.  The governors use the financial resources effectively to provide appropriate levels of staffing. The school is committed to meeting pupils’ different needs by ensuring every pupil has an

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

equal opportunity to reach their potential. They have put in place additional sports activities and increased the support for developing teachers’ skills in order to utilise the extra funding provided. They ensure that the school meets its statutory duties including safeguarding arrangements. Inspection report: Middleton St Mary’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11–12 December 2013 7 of 9

p.6

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

p.7

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: Middleton St Mary’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11–12 December 2013 8 of 9

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 108002 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 425772

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 448 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andy Myers Headteacher Sarah Graham Date of previous school inspection 18 October 2011 Telephone number 0113 271 7206 Fax number 0113 270 3676 Email address grahamsm02@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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9