Westwood Primary School

Westwood Primary School Bodmin Garth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS10 4NU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 From below and sometimes significantly below typical starting points when children start school, pupils make good progress through the school. By the end of Year 6, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are average.  Provision for children in the early years is effective because of careful planning and the focus on developing children’s basic literacy and numeracy skills.  In Key Stage 2, teaching is consistently good and sometimes outstanding, resulting in pupils making at least good progress overtime. Achievement in mathematics is particularly good in Key Stage 2. Teaching in Key Stage 1 is improving.  Pupils learn in an inclusive, caring, warm and friendly environment in which the school’s `can do’ motto pervades throughout. Relationships between adults and pupils are extremely positive and supportive.  Pupils are confident, happy and feel safe. Their behaviour is good and sometimes outstanding.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The curriculum is exciting and creative. It enhances pupils’ learning and enjoyment of school.  The steely determination and ambition of the executive headteacher provides very strong leadership and direction. This, along with the support of an able acting head of school, senior and middle leaders, ensures that the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement across the school continually improves. Leaders know that they are yet to ensure that pupils always reach the standards they are capable of by the end of Year 2.  Governors are enthusiastic and provide effective challenge for senior leaders. They check carefully how well pupils are learning and, as a result, are clear about the school’s strengths and areas to develop further.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching in Key Stage 1, although improving, is not yet consistently good. Pupils do not always reach the standards they are capable of by the end of Year 2, particularly in reading and writing.  Expectations of what younger pupils are capable of achieving are not consistently high. For some pupils, especially the boys and most able, work sometimes lacks challenge.  Pupils do not consistently receive clear guidance about how to improve their work or given the time to correct mistakes or respond to teachers’ advice, especially in writing in Key Stage 1.  Opportunities to extend pupils’ reading and writing skills are sometimes overlooked when completing work in subjects other than English.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in many lessons. Two observations were carried out jointly with the executive headteacher and the acting head of school. They observed the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) and listened to groups of pupils read in Years 1, 2, 4 and 6. Inspectors observed support for pupils who have special educational needs. Inspectors looked in detail at the work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors held meetings with senior and middle leaders, teachers and support staff and two groups of pupils, including the school council. Inspectors interviewed members of the governing body and spoke to a representative from the local authority. Documentation about the school’s use of alternative provision was also considered.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation including: the school’s summary of its evaluation of its own performance and development plan; policies and procedures for safeguarding; information about

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Information about this inspection

pupils’ attendance and behaviour; records of the monitoring of teaching and learning; information about pupils’ achievement and minutes of meetings of the governing body.  Inspectors looked at summaries of school questionnaires sent out to parents and pupils recently. They took into account 24 responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire for parents. They also took account of 26 responses to staff questionnaires given out at the start of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Jean Tarry, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Westwood Primary School is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils and therefore supported through the pupil premium is well above the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is higher than average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is higher than the national average.  The school uses specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and behavioural difficulties. The alternative provision is at The Inclusive Learning Service in South Leeds.

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Information about this school

 Since June 2013, the executive headteacher has led Westwood Primary School and Clapgate Primary School. This has resulted in a formal collaboration between the two schools. The executive headteacher is employed by both schools and both schools have a Head of School in place.  The school meets 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.  The school provides a breakfast club each day.  The school’s nursery class provides part-time early years provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to outstanding and so further raise pupils’ achievement, particularly in reading and writing at Key Stage 1, by ensuring that:  teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving are always high and that tasks always challenge pupils of all abilities, particularly the most able and the boys  pupils consistently receive clear guidance about how to improve their work and are given the time correct mistakes and respond to teachers’ advice, especially in writing in Key Stage 1  pupils are given more opportunities to extend their reading and writing skills when they undertake work in subjects other than English.

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The leadership and management are good

 The executive headteacher provides very strong leadership. Her drive and ambition to constantly provide a high quality of education for all pupils are impressive. A very able acting head of school supports her. The senior leadership team continually share ideas and look for ways to improve the school’s work. The school is very well placed to maintain and improve on the higher standards reached at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in 2014. Leaders know that pupils’ progress in Key Stage 1, although already improved is still not as fast as it is in Key Stage 2, particularly in reading and writing, and are addressing this effectively.  Leaders’ checks of the school’s performance ensure that they have a good understanding of what is working well and what requires further attention. Plans to make improvements are discussed regularly at senior leadership meetings. The checks they make on pupils’ progress are effective and are helping to

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The leadership and management are good

raise attainment and ensure equal opportunities for all pupils.  The quality of teaching is checked frequently and, as a result, has improved throughout the school. Senior leaders look carefully at the plans for lessons, the lessons taught and the pupils’ progress in their work. Any weaker aspects of teaching are tackled very quickly with support, which is mostly effective. However, leaders are yet to ensure that teaching of reading and writing in Key Stage 1 is strong as it is in Key Stage 2. As a result, teaching is now improving quickly in Key Stage 1. The management of teachers’ performance through setting targets linked to pupils’ performance is good and has a positive impact on pupils’ learning.  The work of middle leaders is effective. They ensure that there is much that enriches the curriculum and strive to make it as exciting as possible. Pupils experience many trips and thoroughly enjoy their

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The leadership and management are good

residential visits in Years 4, 5 and 6. There are a whole host of activities in which pupils can be involved, such as, music tuition, foreign languages and different sports taught by qualified coaches. There are also good systems in place for leaders and managers to monitor the progress, behaviour and attendance of pupils who attend the alternative provision.  How the school develops pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is a strength of the school. Pupils are taught to be reflective in assemblies, to use resilience with their writing and reading tasks and reasoning in their mathematical development especially when they have to solve challenging problems. The school’s unique `Learning Journey’ work helps pupils to target improvement in their work over a two- week period and this is developing well.  The primary physical education and sports funding is being used effectively and has made an impact with

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The leadership and management are good

staff working alongside qualified sports coaches to improve their own skills. There are extra sports clubs being provided and more involvement in competitions and sports festivals.  Equality of opportunity is promoted and leaders and managers are committed to tackling discrimination of any kind. Leaders ensure that positive relationships are established, particularly with parents.  Procedures and policies for safeguarding pupils are fully in place.  The local authority holds the school in very high regard and has used this school as an example of exemplary practice to other schools in some aspects its work, such as mathematics. The executive headteacher is involved in leading another local school as well as Westwood. She works closely supporting leadership and management across the two schools.  The governance of the school:  The governing body knows the school and uses information about pupils’ progress effectively to

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The leadership and management are good

compare the school’s performance with that of other schools locally and nationally. Governors provide good support and challenge in a quest for improvement.  They know how good the quality of teaching is and what needs to be done to improve it further. Governors know the importance of performance management and its link to pay progression. They are well able to tackle underperformance in teaching while challenging and supporting senior leaders.  Governors ensure that the pupil premium is used appropriately. The governing body checks on the impact that funding has on pupils’ progress in all subjects and has made an impact on the improvements made in many areas.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ attitudes to their work are good and this makes a positive contribution to their good progress especially higher up the school. At times, when teaching does not fully challenge them, such as in Key Stage 1, a few pupils, especially the boys can become restless and give less attention to their work. They are very proud of their school. A typical comment was ‘It’s a friendly place and people who work here care for us and like us’.  In classrooms and on the playground, pupils’ behaviour is good. There is a clear behaviour policy that pupils know about and follow. The pupils are clear about what is and is not acceptable behaviour. The adults are good role models for the pupils to follow, particularly with their manners and attitudes.  The school motto is clear and pupils comment on it and say ‘If you think you can do it, you can’. When asked what was special about the school, a typical comment was ‘We enjoy coming to school as we learn

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Behaviour

so many new things. We are always told we can do well if we work really hard’. Pupils often work hard and achieve well.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The safeguarding requirements are met.  Pupils recognise the difference between bullying and falling out. They report that instances of bullying are rare and when they do happen they are confident the adults will help and any issues will be resolved.  Pupils know how to ask for help. Some pupils work closely with the learning mentors and support staff. The school have a training programme for pupils to access if they find learning how to behave difficult to achieve. This work is extremely effective.  Any attendance issues are addressed very quickly. Attendance is average and is rising. The school has impressed effectively upon parents the importance of their children attending school regularly. The systems and processes in place for checking on attendance are impressive and therefore effective. The pupils really enjoy receiving their special certificates every half term for good attendance.

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Safety

 The breakfast club is well attended and ensures pupils get off to a good start at the beginning of the day. It has proved successful with punctuality and attendance issues.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The impact of the quality of the teaching overtime is good. Some teaching is outstanding because the activities given to pupils very clearly builds on what they already know and can do and meets pupils’ varying needs and abilities exceptionally well on a daily basis.  Classrooms displays provide useful prompts to help pupils remember information and celebrate examples of pupils’ good work. Pupils say they enjoy seeing their work on display as it makes them feel good about themselves.  Teachers check carefully and regularly on how well each pupil is learning. They question pupils effectively to find out precisely what they know and can do and, as a result, teachers are clear about what pupils need to learn next.  In Key Stage 2, teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving are consistently high. For example, Year 6 pupils dressed in animal costumes produced persuasive letters, reports and adverts about

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The quality of teaching is good

aspects of animal welfare. Pupils were expertly moved on as soon as they needed more challenge ensuring rapid progress.  Although teaching in Key Stage 1 is improving strongly, teachers’ expectations are not always consistently high, especially in reading and writing. Work sometimes lacks challenge for the most able and as a result, too few pupils reach the higher levels of attainment by Year 2. Work does not always meet the needs of the boys because they are not consistently motivated and engaged with all their learning tasks.  The teaching of mathematics is consistently good throughout the school because of well-matched provision particularly so for the most able pupils who are provided with activities and challenges that stretch their mathematical skills very effectively.  The teaching of literacy although good overall, is stronger in Key Stage 2 than in Key Stage 1. In literacy lessons, tasks are often well thought out so that pupils learn quickly and ensure that they are given with

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The quality of teaching is good

good opportunities to extend their reading and writing skills. However, there are not yet enough opportunities for pupils, especially the younger ones, to use and apply their literacy skills as part of work in other subjects of the curriculum.  Improvements in the teaching of the linking of letters and the sounds that they make (phonics) have had a positive impact on standards in reading across the school. Even so, the boys and the most able pupils, particularly in Key Stage 1 are not always challenged as much as they could be with their reading tasks.  The quality of marking overall is good, especially in Key Stage 2 where teachers give helpful advice so that pupils know how well they are doing, what to do to improve their work and are given the time they need to correct their mistakes and respond to teachers advice and show they can do it. However, younger pupils are not yet fully clear how to improve their writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching assistants are well trained and have the necessary skills to fully support pupils in English and mathematics. They are also kept sufficiently informed of what pupils are expected to learn and so pupils' progress is good.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 From their starting points when they join in the early years pupils make good progress and reach average standards at the end of Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.  Learning gets off to a good start in the early years due to effective teaching and this good progress continues through Key Stage 1. In previous years, by the end of Year 2, pupils have reached overall standards that are below average. However, due to strong improvements in teaching standards are now rising quickly. In 2014, school data shows rapid improvement lower down the school. Even so, expectations of what pupils in Key Stage 1 are capable of achieving are still not always high enough especially in reading and writing. Sometimes, pupils, especially the boys and the most able pupils are given tasks that do not challenge them enough to achieve their very best.  Standards reached in English and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2 have improved rapidly since

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The achievement of pupils is good

those reported in 2011. In Year 6 in 2013, the proportion of pupils reaching the nationally expected Level 4 overall in reading, writing and mathematics was average. This represents good progress from their previously lower staring points. The proportion of pupils making expected progress and doing better than this compared favourably with the proportion that did so nationally, especially in mathematics. School data, confirmed by inspection evidence, shows that in 2014, this improving trend is continuing in Year 6.  In Key Stage 2, the most able pupils achieve well. They are challenged in their learning and are well motivated to do their best because of teachers’ expectations are high. Unvalidated Year 6 data for 2014 shows that the proportion of pupils reaching Level 5 is higher than the proportion that did so in 2013 and is now similar to the 2013 national average. However, too few reach the higher levels of attainment by the

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The achievement of pupils is good

end of Year 2 because expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low.  Disadvantaged pupils achieve well. At the end of Key Stage 2 in 2013, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in spelling, grammar and punctuation was about one term behind non-disadvantaged pupils in the school and two terms behind non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. In reading, disadvantaged pupils were two and a half terms behind the non-disadvantaged in the school and nationally. In writing, they pupils were about three terms behind in non-disadvantaged pupils in the school and also nationally and in mathematics were half a term behind those in school and one term behind those nationally. School data and inspection evidence shows that in Year 6 in 2014, the previous gaps in attainment between the disadvantaged pupils in the school compared to non-disadvantaged in the school and nationally have now closed. This is as a result of rigorous tracking and good or better teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who have a special educational need make good, and sometimes outstanding, progress because of the highly effective support that they receive from teaching assistants and specialist support teachers.  Pupils who attend alternative provision achieve as well as other pupils because they receive provision that is well matched to their specific need.

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The early years provision is good

 Most children enter the early years in the Nursery or Reception classes with skills that are generally below those typically seen in children of this age. For some children, their skills are significantly below typical starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Children make good progress during their time in the early years because they are well supported, especially in acquiring literacy and numeracy skills. When they leave the Reception Year, a minority reach a good level of development and are well prepared for their next stage of learning, but the majority are still behind what is typical in reading, writing and number.  Teaching is well organised. It provides a calm, nurturing atmosphere, so children feel safe and secure. Relationships are positive and conducive to good progress for all the children. Teaching ensures that learning is enjoyable and that the activities provided meet children’s varying needs and abilities. For

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The early years provision is good

example, they enjoy clomping about in a giant’s boots, having to work out how much it will cost to buy the giants clothes and searching for mini-beasts in the outdoor area with a magnifying glass.  There is a strong emphasis placed on developing children’s social skills and their readiness for learning before they enter Year 1. Children clear up after themselves both inside and outside and confidently make their own decisions about what they what to play with next. They follow instructions from adults carefully and behave well.  Good leadership and management ensure that provision in the early years is good. They ensure that the partnerships with parents are strong. Parents agree that the early years provision is good.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 107954 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 448368

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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 304 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Cathy Gurney Headteacher Zoe Adams Date of previous school inspection 30 June 2010 Telephone number 0113 271 2420 Fax number Not applicable Email address Westwood@westwoodandclapgate.org 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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