Ryhill Junior, Infant and Nursery School

Ryhill Junior, Infant and Nursery School Chapel Street, Ryhill, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 2AD

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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.  The headteacher and senior leadership team have worked well as a team to ensure Ryhill is a good and improving school where pupils are encouraged to have high aspirations.  All groups of pupils make good progress from their individual starting points. Pupils are accelerating their progress from Key Stage 1, with more pupils achieving above the expected level in the Key Stage 2 tests.  The teaching is continuously improving, with more becoming outstanding.  Behaviour is good. Pupils are keen to learn. Pupils say they feel safe in school.  Attendance has improved and is above average because pupils enjoy coming to school.  Parents have high regard for the school’s work and say they would recommend the school to another parent.  The curriculum gives pupils a wide range of opportunities to experience their learning beyond the classroom through the many trips that are offered.  The school provides well for pupils’ spiritual,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

moral, social and cultural development.  Governors have good knowledge about the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They work well with the headteacher to improve the quality of teaching and achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Currently, not enough teaching is outstanding to enable attainment in mathematics and English to improve further.  On occasions, pupils are not doing the work of which they are capable.  Mathematics is not taught and used enough in other subjects.  Middle leaders are at the early stages of learning about their roles and are not yet able to drive improvements in their areas sufficiently independently.

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Information about this inspection

 Fourteen lessons or part-lessons and an assembly were observed and every class was visited. Two visits to lessons were undertaken as joint observations with the headteacher. A number of short visits to classrooms were made to look at pupils’ work in their books and the range of activities on offer to pupils. Inspectors listened to some pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 read.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, other senior leaders and a representative from the local authority. A representative group of pupils from Years 1 to 6 was spoken with to gather their views about the school and to talk to them about their work.  A meeting was held with the Chair of the Governing Body and four other governors.  Inspectors analysed 24 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, (Parent View), about the school and the responses from 18 members of staff to the Ofsted questionnaire.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including the school’s plans for improvement, data

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Information about this inspection

and information on pupils’ progress and minutes of governing body meetings. An analysis of the school’s records of monitoring of teaching and the management of performance was conducted.

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Inspection team

Andrew Morley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Philip Choi Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is average. The pupil premium is additional government funding allocated to the school for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children of service families or those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  A lower than average proportion of pupils speaks English as an additional language.  Pupils are mainly classified as White British.  In 2013, the school met the current government floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school provides a breakfast club for the pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 by:  setting teachers sharper targets for improvement that link to specific aspects of pupils’ achievement and check these rigorously to ensure that they are having the desired effect on pupils’ learning  ensuring that teachers check pupils’ progress in lessons and, if necessary, adapt tasks to ensure that pupils are challenged to maximise their progress  providing more opportunities to use mathematics in other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  strengthening the roles of the middle leaders so that they can be fully involved with, and independently check on, the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects  ensuring that subject leaders use their analysis of information to challenge all teachers to further raise pupils’ attainment in their subject.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are typically below the levels expected for their age. By the time they leave Year 6, pupils' attainment in reading, writing, grammar and mathematics is close to the national average. This represents good progress from pupils’ starting points.  They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage because adults interact well and effectively question children to promote their thinking, exploration and communication skills.  At the end of Key Stage 1, in 2013, standards were broadly average as pupils make rapid gains in their learning. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 are typically close to average, with pupils making good progress from their individual starting points in Year 3. In 2013, the proportion of pupils making better than expected progress was above the national average in writing and mathematics and in line with the national average in reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Reading is promoted well in all subjects. Pupils spoke with enthusiasm about the books and authors that are used to inspire and guide their learning. Reading is promoted well throughout the school and, as a result, pupils thoroughly enjoy reading for pleasure. Results from the phonics (sounds that letters make) screening check taken by the Year 1 pupils in 2013 were average.  Improving writing was identified as an issue that the school needed to tackle following the last inspection. This skill is now promoted well in all subjects. Pupils are given plenty of opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills, so that they can clearly articulate their ideas before writing them down. Standards are continuing to rise and progress is good.  Pupils achieve well in mathematics. This is because they are encouraged to practise calculation skills and make best use of the latest computer technology to develop their mental mathematics

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The achievement of pupils is good

skills. However, mathematical skills are not developed and applied as effectively as those in speaking, reading and writing in other subjects.  The most able pupils are accelerating their progress, with an increasing proportion now achieving the higher levels.  The special educational needs leader ensures that all teaching assistants who work closely with those pupils who are disabled and have special educational needs receive specialist training. As a result, these pupils make at least good progress and often do better than their peers nationally.  The pupil premium funding is spent well. Part of it is used to subsidise trips and visits that help to widen pupils’ knowledge beyond the school. This has contributed to gaps closing between those eligible for the pupil premium funding and others in the school. In the 2013 national tests, those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals attained equally as well as others in the

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The achievement of pupils is good

school in reading and mathematics and were about one term behind in writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good because teachers’ expectations ensure that pupils’ progress is consistent and evidence in pupils’ work shows that pupils are doing well over time.  Teaching in all subjects, including in mathematics and English, is usually good, with examples of outstanding practice. Evidence in the pupils’ work shows that this is consistent over time.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, good provision ensures the children enjoy, and are motivated in, their learning. Adults take every opportunity to extend children’s language and numeracy skills by regularly asking them about the things that they are doing. They make good use of the indoor and the outdoor spaces to develop children’s skills. An example of this was when children had great fun and made good progress in exploring water in the outdoor area.  The teaching of reading is good. For example, Year 2 pupils make good progress because of the

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The quality of teaching is good

knowledge of their teacher and the additional support from Year 6 pupils who are skilled in the support they provide. In addition, pupils are supported well by the regular teaching of letters and sounds, and extra support programmes are used effectively to support less-able readers.  The teaching of writing is much improved and there are many of examples of pupils developing their writing in their history and geography studies.  Mathematics teaching is good and pupils have the opportunity to apply their basic calculation skills in tackling practical problems. While there are some examples of pupils developing mathematics skills within their topic, they do not have enough opportunity to apply mathematical thinking in a range of subjects.  The teaching for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, and also the small number of pupils who speak English as an additional language, is planned and organised well.

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The quality of teaching is good

The teacher with responsibility for these pupils is passionate about ensuring that this group of pupils does well. A mixture of whole-class, small-group and individual sessions is used effectively to help these pupils make good progress.  Most of the teaching makes sure that the tasks set for the pupils are challenging. However, on occasions, pupils are given tasks that are too easy and even when this is recognised, teachers do not change what they are expecting pupils to do. This means that learning and progress slows for some of the pupils, particularly the most able.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils, staff and parents agree that behaviour is good. Pupils are welcoming, friendly and courteous. They conduct themselves well around the school. They are independent and orderly. There is no litter and there are no coats or any clothing on the floor, indicating pupils’ respect for the school environment.  Pupils play well together at break times, and during wet playtimes behaviour is good. This is because there are established routines that pupils follow. On the playground, the pupils have a wealth of equipment to support their play and they appreciate the support of their ‘Play Leaders’ and ‘Sports Leaders’.  Pupils are very clear about the different behaviour systems that are in place. The atmosphere in the dining hall at lunchtimes is calm and pupils enjoy chatting to their friends over lunch.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. This is reflected in the prompt and punctual starts to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

lessons. Pupils are very polite and work well with each other during lessons. The school encourages pupils to communicate with each other effectively through the use of ‘talk partners’. However, while pupils demonstrated some good learning skills, they do not always apply themselves to the task in hand to achieve the level of which they are capable.  Pupils in Year 6 and those involved in the school council are learning to build and develop their leadership skills well. This is because all of them relish having some form of responsibility in the school. For example, the ‘Reading Buddies’ showed great maturity and enhanced the learning of pupils in a Year 2 guided reading lesson.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a good knowledge and understanding of the different types of bullying. They feel safe and have confidence in all of the adults. They know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A very large majority of the parents interviewed, and those who responded to Parent View, say that their child is well looked after and feels safe at the school. An overwhelming majority say they would recommend the school to another parent.  Leaders have been relentless in their efforts to secure good attendance, which is now above average, showing that the school’s methods are working and pupils enjoy coming to school.  The breakfast club provides pupils with a healthy and settled start to the school day.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, in combination with other senior leaders, is determined to bring about further improvements to the school. She works closely with the leadership team and governing body to promote improvement in pupils’ learning and performance. There is a team approach and a great amount of trust among the staff and wider community.  The school knows its strengths and areas for further development well through the wide programme of activities to check on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. This information is shared fully with governors. However, the scrutiny of books and lesson observations do not place a sharp enough focus on the progress pupils are making when forming judgements about teachers’ performance.  Performance management arrangements provide support and appropriate training for teachers. More challenging targets in 2012 that are linked to the school improvement plan priorities, the

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The leadership and management are good

Teachers’ Standards and pupils’ achievement have raised expectations and improved teaching, which is now good or better. Teachers are aware of the relationship between performance management, promotion and salaries.  Training, including teachers learning from each other, is helping to improve teaching, demonstrating the school’s good capacity for further improvement.  Middle leaders are given good opportunities to work alongside the senior leaders when they are undertaking their monitoring roles. However, they are not as yet using the information they gather about classroom practice to provide sufficient challenge to colleagues to make improvements.  The curriculum’s depth and richness are developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness outstandingly well. Pupils benefit greatly from their link with a school in Gambia and enjoy blogging with the pupils there. Visitors to the school, a wide variety of trips and many

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The leadership and management are good

after-school activities raise pupils’ aspirations. Pupils spoke with great enthusiasm about enrichment activities such as the circus week, visits to Skipton Castle and the residential at an outward bound centre.  The school is making good use of the sport funding by providing specialist teachers for physical education. These specialists work alongside staff to develop their skills to teach a range of sports.  Partnership work with a local cluster of schools and links to Hemsworth Arts and Community Academy enhance staff and curriculum development.  The local authority is effective in supporting and challenging the school to improve. Direct support by the school improvement officer has strengthened the quality of leadership and teaching and learning in the school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is highly skilled and effective. Governors strengthen the overall leadership of the school considerably. Governors are acutely aware of the school’s strengths and

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The leadership and management are good

weaknesses. They are highly ambitious for further improvements. They use the good quality information provided, including national data about how well pupils are performing nationally, to inform their searching questions about the performance of different groups of pupils in the school.  Governors ensure that the pupil premium is spent well and check that the pupils entitled to the funding are benefiting from its use. Governors are fully supportive of the school, but also consistently challenge its performance. Visits to the school to gain first-hand evidence helps fully inform governors of the impact of school improvement plans. Consequently, governors are very aware of how good teaching is in the school and how priorities set in the school improvement plan are helping to make it even better. They know that an even sharper focus on raising the attainment of pupils will help the school to improve further.

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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 130972 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 440878

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 223 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Matthew Mullarkey Headteacher Emma Jones Date of previous school inspection 30 March 2011 Telephone number 01226 722530 Fax number 01226 727969 Email address headteacher@ryhill.wakefield.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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