Wykebeck Primary School

Brander Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS9 6QH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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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This is a good school

 Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage in their understanding of numbers and in their personal and social development.  Pupils’ achievement is good. They make good progress from their starting points and standards have risen in the last two years.  Teaching across the school is good. It has improved considerably since the previous inspection as a result of clear-sighted and determined leadership by the headteacher, senior leaders and governors.  Pupils express very positive views of the school. They say they enjoy school.  Pupils who have special educational needs, those eligible for pupil premium funding, those from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language make at least good progress from their starting points.  Pupils’ work is marked well and helps them to improve their learning. It celebrates what they have done well and sets out the next steps

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This is a good school

they should take. Teaching assistants provide good support to pupils who need extra help with their work.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils from diverse backgrounds care for one another; they say they feel very safe at school.  The headteacher’s strong leadership and determination to provide all pupils with the best chances. This is resulting in rapid improvement. She has made some big changes to improve both the teaching and the achievement of pupils.  Governors use their skills well to support and challenge the leadership team in order to achieve their high ambitions for the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching does not yet result in pupils doing exceptionally well.  The standards that pupils reach remain below average in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  Attendance is below the national average.  Occasionally, work is not accurately matched to the ability of all pupils and so they do not always make as much progress as they can.  There are missed opportunities in the Early Years Foundation Stage to help children even more in their communication and language acquisition.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons, as well as groups of pupils or individuals working with specialist teachers and teaching assistants. Three lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors looked in on pupils during lunchtime and in the breakfast club and visited the playground during break times.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, staff and members of the governing body. A telephone conversation was also held with a representative of the governing body. In addition, the lead inspector met with a representative from the local authority to discuss the nature and impact of support provided for the school.  Inspectors talked with pupils, looked closely at pupils’ work in their books and listened to pupils from Year 1 and Year 6 read.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of school documentation. This included: safeguarding records and those relating to behaviour and attendance; records of pupils’ performance; the school’s

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Information about this inspection

self-evaluation and improvement plans; evaluations of the quality of teaching over time; and minutes of governors’ meetings. The school’s web site was also looked at.  Inspectors held informal discussions with parents. They took into account the 16 responses to the Parent View online survey and the school’s own parent questionnaire conducted in November 2013.  Fifty staff members completed the voluntary staff questionnaire and their responses were taken into account.  The inspection took place during the school’s transition week where all pupils were working with their new class teachers and support staff.

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Inspection team

Michael Wintle, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Rosemary Batty Additional Inspector Tony Price Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Wykebeck Primary School is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well above the national average, as is the proportion who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who need extra help identified as school action is below average. Those supported by school action plus or with a statement of special needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is nearly three times above average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those families who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are in local authority care.)  In 2013 the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  There have been a significant number of staffing changes since the last inspection. This has

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Information about this school

included the restructuring of the senior management team and a redefining of staff roles and responsibilities.  The proportion of pupils who join or leave the school at other than the usual times is well-above average.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics still further by improving the quality of teaching by: - sharing outstanding practice already evident in school to improve teacher skills still further - ensuring the work set for all abilities is neither too easy nor too hard and gives appropriate challenge, particularly for the most able - making sure all areas of learning and especially communication and language feature even more prominently in the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure even quicker progress in language and phonics, for example by displaying letter and word prompts to help with language acquisition.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve attendance still further by: - working even more closely with parents to ensure they understand the importance of sending their children to school regularly and on time - maintaining and building upon current efforts to improve attendance and punctuality while also seeking new ways of encouraging pupils to come to school regularly and on time.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The quality of teaching is typically good and so pupils make good progress throughout the school. The vast majority of parents agree that their children do well here.  Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge generally well below those typical for their age and especially in communication and language. They make good progress in both Nursery and Reception particularly in their number skills and personal development. They join Year 1 with skills that have improved from well below-typical to below typical. Communication and language skills are well supported, but progress is not as good as in other areas because prompts to help with language acquisition are not a prominent feature in the classrooms and outdoors.  Standards in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics are below average, but have risen sharply since the last inspection. Standards for the current year groups

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The achievement of pupils is good

are improving further in all three subjects. The large number of pupils who join and leave the school at other than the usual times and who are new to learning English as an additional language impact on the overall results figures. A key feature is, however, how quickly pupils settle into the school and soon begin to make good progress from their individual starting points.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are catered for well because they are well taught and given particular support. As a result they make similar progress to other groups of pupils. Inspection evidence confirms that their rate of progress in 2014 has accelerated and is now above the national average.  Pupils eligible for pupil premium funding make good progress because the school focuses on their particular needs. The attainment gap between this group of pupils, including those who are eligible for free school meals, and others closed in 2014 for the Year 6 pupils in reading, writing

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The achievement of pupils is good

and mathematics. This is similar for all year groups across the school.  Standards in 2014 show significant improvements. Many more pupils attained the expected Level 4 in reading, writing and mathematics. The number of pupils achieving the higher Level 5 in national tests also rose significantly in 2014, but not enough pupils gained this higher level in reading, writing and mathematics and so the school performance is still below national comparisons.  Most pupils enjoy reading. Inspection evidence shows that progress in reading is good and more pupils are achieving standards expected of them by the end of Year 6 than has been the case in the recent past. There is a consistent focus on reading across the school. Pupils have a clear understanding of how letters are linked to sounds and this helps them to read words they are not used to. As a result, this year’s national screening check of Year 1 pupils’ use of phonics to

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The achievement of pupils is good

help in their reading showed pupils here to be doing better than pupils nationally.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Since the last inspection teaching has improved and is now typically good. Some is outstanding. As a result pupils’ level of attainment continues to rise.  Teachers plan and develop lessons that capture pupils’ interest. In a Year 5 mathematics activity, pupils were investigating numbers. Pupils set off at a storming pace and were engrossed in recognising number patterns and how they could play with numbers and quickly find multiples of numbers. Teaching was exciting and challenging pupils to work hard to find the right answers.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Children are looked after well, with several parents commenting to an inspector that they especially value the strong focus on developing personal and social skills. Children’s physical development is also strongly supported. Whilst progress in communication and language is good, it is not better than good because prompts and efforts to develop children’s language are not as prominent as they could be both

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The quality of teaching is good

in the classroom and outdoors.  The introduction of ‘learning muscles’ into classrooms has impacted very well on learning. These are the six muscles the teachers use to help support pupils’ learning. Pupils talked excitedly about using their ‘inquisitive muscle’ to help them explore a problem they had to work out in a Year 5 topic lesson on the food chain. Pupils confidently talked to each other and made good progress with this new learning.  The quality of marking has improved significantly since the last inspection and guidance is typically of high quality. Teachers highlight the strengths and next steps for improvement and pupils respond to this advice.  Due to the inspection coinciding with transition week, at the time many pupils were new to their class teachers and teaching assistants. Yet teachers had already established positive relationships with the pupils who said they enjoyed their new teachers and classrooms.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff use their subject knowledge well to question pupils to deepen their thinking.  There is a good learning atmosphere in all classrooms and encouragement is used well to motivate pupils.  In the small proportion of lessons where teaching is less than good and requires improvement, some pupils do not always make as much progress as they could. The main reason for this is that the work pupils are asked to do does not take sufficient account of what they can already do. Consequently, tasks are sometimes too hard for some and too easy for others. This is particularly the case for the most able. One most able girl said that she enjoyed the learning and wanted to be challenged more.  Teaching assistants provide sensitive and skilled support when needed. They ask probing questions and encourage pupils to work without help as much as possible.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils respond well to instructions and have good attitudes to learning. Almost all pupils listen carefully, work hard and are keen to succeed. Most pupils say that behaviour is generally good.  Pupils readily accept responsibility and the opportunity to contribute to the school community, for example, as play leaders helping the younger pupils in Year 1 and Year 2.  Behaviour is not outstanding because very occasionally, when pupils are not sufficiently challenged, learning slows and a few pupils become fidgety and start to chat amongst themselves.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a clear understanding of most types of bullying and the risks they might face in their everyday lives.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to use technology, including safe use of the internet. They are clear that they trust and have confidence in their teachers and adults in the school to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

keep them safe and to deal with any worries they might have. One Year 6 pupil said, ‘All the teachers sort any problems out. They always help me work out tricky problems.’  Attendance is low and below the national average, although it has improved significantly since the last inspection. Pupils are sometimes also late for school although instances of this are declining. Pupil premium funding has been used to employ a liaison officer who is helping parents improve their children’s attendance and punctuality.  Overwhelmingly, parents and staff agree that the school keeps children safe and that behaviour is good in the school.  The school’s own survey and discussions held with staff and parents demonstrates that the school provides a safe environment and that pupils enjoy school and behave well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has a thorough understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Her high ambitions are shared by her deputy headteacher, staff and governors ensuring continuous improvement in achievement and the quality of teaching since the last inspection in a very challenging environment.  Leaders at all levels use their accurate understanding of how well the school is doing to plan and implement priorities for improvement. This is evident, for example, in the success of the school’s marking policy, which has increased achievement especially in writing and mathematics because pupils across the school are better supported.  Tracking systems designed to help senior and subject leaders and teachers to see how pupils are doing are detailed and accurate, enabling leaders to focus relentlessly on the impact of teachers’ work.  Senior leaders use assessment information well to drive improvement forward, particularly in Key

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The leadership and management are good

Stage 2. They use the information well to increase rates of progress for pupils and specific groups of pupils including those from minority ethnic backgrounds.  The management of teachers’ performance has been used well to raise standards with clear links to the progress pupils make. Targets are also linked to priority areas on all development plans and teachers’ areas of responsibility. This has helped to support teachers who are new to the profession to develop their skills.  The school’s curriculum is good. Pupils are given opportunities to develop their skills across a range of subjects. Literacy and numeracy are now well taught. Pupils are given opportunities to experience a range of visits. Year 6 pupils spoke excitedly about their trip to Leeds Metropolitan University and ‘going to university’. They eagerly explained how they were involved in letter hunts across the campus.  The recent funding for developing sporting skills has been used effectively. The school has

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The leadership and management are good

employed a sports coach to help improve the quality of physical education in the school. Staff work alongside the coach in order to improve their own knowledge and skills so that in the future they will be more able to support learning in this area.  The school is committed to equality of opportunity for all its pupils and ensures that discrimination is not tolerated. Consequently, pupils of all abilities benefit from a good quality of education and the school helps pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness well.  The local authority has a good relationship with the school and provides support when required.  The governance of the school: - Governance is good. Governors are very supportive of and committed to the school. They visit regularly, know the school extremely well and are determined to promote the school in performing even better. They rigorously check and challenge the work of leaders within the

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The leadership and management are good

school, particularly the quality of teaching and the progress of different groups. They have a highly effective oversight of the school and fully understand the strengths and areas to develop still further. This is clearly evident in the well-documented questions they ask about different groups of pupils. Governors know that pupil premium funding is being used wisely to make sure that individual pupils get the right type of support. For example, the establishing of a nurture room has had a major impact on pupils’ personal and social development. Governors keep a keen eye on finances. They ensure that teachers’ salary increases are closely linked to the progress pupils make. Governors make sure that statutory requirements are met, particularly those relating to 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 107933 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 442203

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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 384 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Grenville Jensen Headteacher Jennifer Millington Date of previous school inspection 7 November 2012 Telephone number 0113 249 1525 Fax number 0113 248 4640 Email address jennifer.millington@wykebeckprimary.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 and 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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