Stanningley Primary School

Stanningley Primary School Leeds and Bradford Road, Stanningley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, LS28 6PE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 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

 Children in the early years make good progress and are well prepared for learning in Year 1.  Pupils continue to make good progress in Key Stage 1. Since the previous inspection, standards at the end of Year 2 have risen and are broadly in line with national averages.  Standards reached at the end of Year 6 are above average in reading, writing and mathematics. All pupils make at least expected progress, and many make progress that is better than this.  The most able pupils are challenged to attain highly. Some attain the highest Level 6 in mathematics, a standard well above that expected at the end of Year 6.  Teaching is consistently good. Some teaching in each key stage is outstanding.  Teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations and provide motivating, well-planned lessons that meet the needs and interests of pupils.  Pupils of all ages consistently display a love of learning. They work effectively on their own, in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pairs, and in groups.  Behaviour in and out of the classroom is excellent. Pupils relish the many opportunities to hold positions of responsibility.  All pupils are extremely polite and welcoming. They say they are happy, feel safe and are very proud of their school.  The highly dedicated headteacher relentlessly and successfully seeks to improve the school. This is seen in the recent development of middle leaders, the teaching of reading and the continued focus on providing a highly inclusive and exemplary learning environment for all pupils.  The governing body know how well the school is doing and actively support and challenge the school to continue to improve further.

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The school is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils, in some classes, do not always have the opportunity to correct and learn from their mistakes, particularly in mathematics.  The range of opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematical skills across the curriculum is not as well developed as it is for reading and writing.  The teaching of the skills that enable strong progress in English grammar, punctuation and spelling is not yet consistent across all year groups. Consequently, attainment at the end of Year 6 in English grammar, punctuation and spelling is not as strong as that seen in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons, including two observations carried out jointly with the headteacher. They scrutinised the work in pupils’ books and talked to pupils about their learning.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed in the playground, assembly, corridors, dining room and classrooms. Inspectors also held formal and informal discussions with pupils about behaviour and safety.  The inspectors took account of 46 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), 160 responses to a recent school-based survey of parental views, and 21 staff questionnaires.  Inspectors looked at many documents that show the workings of the school. These included the school’s view of its own performance, pupils’ achievement, performance management, safeguarding, attendance

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Information about this inspection

and the minutes of the meetings of the governing body.

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Inspection team

Fiona Dixon, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Stanningley Primary School is an average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are from a White British background.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  Children who attend early years nursery provision attend the school part time, either for the morning or afternoon.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and so eligible for support through the pupil premium is above average. The pupil premium is additional funding allocated to the school for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority. Both these groups are referred to as disadvantaged pupils.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further raise the achievement of pupils by:  making sure all teachers always give pupils the opportunity to respond to the careful marking of their work in order to correct and learn from their mistakes, especially in mathematics  extending the range and frequency of opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical knowledge across different subjects in order to increase their confidence in using and applying their skills in different situations  carefully planning the teaching of English grammar, punctuation and spelling so that the progress of pupils is more consistent across all year groups and attainment rises at the end of Year 6.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is highly dedicated and has relentlessly and successfully worked to improve the school. She has created a highly inclusive and exemplary learning environment for all pupils and has led recent improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. The headteacher has created a culture of shared ownership for school improvement by developing the skills of senior and middle leaders who now effectively and proudly take responsibility to further improve the quality of teaching and learning. The impact of this can be seen in the steadily increasing rates of progress and rising attainment of pupils across the school.  School leaders’ evaluation of the school’s current performance is accurate. They have correctly identified the priorities for further development, including the need to improve pupils’ grammar, punctuation and spelling skills. Plans are precise, regularly checked and clearly show which improvements have taken place

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The leadership and management are good

and what is still required to move the school forward.  Checks on the quality of teaching and learning help to drive improvement. Leaders regularly watch teachers at work and check the quality of their pupils’ learning over time. These routines ensure that teaching is consistently good and continually improving; some teaching is outstanding. Teachers are held accountable for pupils’ progress and staff performance is linked to pay progression.  The work of the school to promote equality of opportunity and tackle all forms of discrimination is exemplary. The extremely well-attended breakfast club and the recently established nurture class reflect the school’s work with parents and the community to create an environment of respect, safety and learning that allows all pupils to thrive.  Across all year groups, including early years, the school plans work under a common theme that draws all subjects together. These themes, like ‘Sparkle and Shine’, inspire and interest pupils and increase their

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The leadership and management are good

thirst to learn new skills and extend their knowledge and understanding. Regular visitors, trips and pupil- led assemblies also help to bring learning to life. Themed whole-school studies, such as Peace Week, Healthy Living Week and Black History Month, contribute to pupils’ appreciation of the values that guide people’s actions and beliefs, and help them to develop an understanding of life in modern Britain, especially aspects that are not readily experienced locally.  The primary school sport funding is being used to increase pupils’ opportunities to participate in a wide range of activities including indoor rock climbing, curling and basketball. Pupils regularly and successfully take part in competitive sports. Staff skills have improved and the quality of physical education teaching is good. Pupils talk confidently about their understanding of the link between physical activity and healthy lifestyles.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides ‘light touch’ support. The school uses the services of the local authority to improve the skills of their staff; recent staff training and development has focused on preparation for the new national curriculum.  Parents and carers are actively involved in the life of the school, volunteering to listen to pupils read and to accompany them on school trips. They are overwhelmingly happy with the school’s work and many echoed the views expressed by parents at the school gate that, ‘my child loves everything about this school’ and ‘this is the ideal school for my child’.  The governance of the school:  Governors are knowledgeable about how well the school is doing compared to other schools and are involved in taking action to continue improvement. Governors are linked to individual classes and regularly visit the school to spend time watching the staff and pupils at work. This, alongside

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The leadership and management are good

information from school leaders, helps them understand the quality of teaching, behaviour and achievement of pupils.  Governors regularly attend training and so continually improve their skills to provide a high level of both support and challenge to the school leaders. They carefully carry out their statutory duties including those for safeguarding and financial management.  The spending of the pupil premium and the difference this makes to the achievement of disadvantaged pupils is well understood and monitored to make sure that barriers to learning are being successfully lowered. Governors are proud of the improvements in the quality of teaching and provision and much higher levels of pupil participation in physical activity gained through the use of the primary school sport funding.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. The headteacher and governors have very high expectations for behaviour from all pupils, and all staff exemplify and maintain these high standards. The atmosphere for learning is positive and every day is treated as a fresh start allowing all pupils to thrive and make the most of every opportunity.  In class, pupils show a love of learning. From early in their school life, they work well when part of a group, with partners or alone. Pupils know that they will be listened to and given support. They show great concentration when learning and will always ‘have a go’ even when they find a task difficult.  Pupils display good manners as a matter of course and happily talk about their positive time at school. They are very proud to wear their uniform and say that this makes them feel as if they all belong to a big family. The many innovative plant containers maintained by the pupils reflect their care for their school.

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Behaviour

 Positions of responsibility are relished, from emptying the eco-bins to reading the meters, with the site supervisor, to check on energy consumption. Reception children appreciate and enjoy being supported at lunchtime by their Year 6 buddies. The school council, run by pupils, actively works to improve their local environment through, for example, campaigning to stop a recently proposed reduction in the local library opening hours.  Attendance is excellent; it is consistently well-above average and pupils’ punctuality is exemplary. There have been no exclusions for many years.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils, parents and staff say that bullying is rare and, if it ever occurs, it is not tolerated and is stopped. Pupils are taught about the different forms of bullying including name-calling, racism, cyber and homophobic bullying. Pupils are capable of ‘problem- solving’ difficulties when there is a ‘falling out’ and act quickly to restore friendships.  Pupils have many opportunities to learn how to stay safe. Reception children practise road safety on visits to the local library or shops, and the dangers of water are taught during swimming lessons. Pupils are taught how to be safe when out alone, and when cycling; and about the dangers of alcohol and drug misuse. The school ensures that all activities, in and out of school, are risk-assessed and carefully planned in order to keep pupils safe.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good across the school with some that is outstanding in each key stage. The steadily increasing levels of attainment and the quality of work displayed around the school and recorded in pupils’ books, show that teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations.  Teachers know what their pupils can do and what they need to do next to extend their learning further. For example, in a Year 3 lesson on writing a non-chronological report, pupils were given tasks that closely matched their learning needs, allowing them to apply existing knowledge, skills and experience to help them learn more. They could quickly and independently apply their experiences of autumn, Halloween and Bonfire night to this form of writing. This high-quality planning enabled every pupil, including the most able, to make good progress.  In another example, seen in a Year 6 science lesson, the teacher’s good subject knowledge and clear

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The quality of teaching is good

explanations enabled pupils to work in a well-informed and enthusiastic way to solve problems and build electrical circuits.  Teaching assistants increase the progress of the individuals and groups of pupils that they support. They are skilled at delivering activities that move on learning and use questioning to encourage pupils to have the confidence to complete their tasks successfully. In a Year 1 phonics (letters and the sounds they make) session, for example, the fun robotic sounding out of words and the ‘sound train’ writing activity, supported by some superb questioning, meant that rapid progress was made by all.  Teachers regularly and carefully mark the work of pupils so that they know what they have done well and what they need to do to improve further. Some highly effective feedback was seen in Year 4 pupils’ books, for example, where teacher comments clearly helped pupils to increase their understanding of how to use

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The quality of teaching is good

adverbs. Nevertheless, in some classes, pupils do not always have the opportunity to correct and learn from their mistakes, particularly in mathematics, and this can slow their progress.  Pupils’ literacy, numeracy and communication skills are developed across different subjects. Records of pupils’ work shows, for instance, Year 2 pupils have written about Victorian toys and Year 4 pupils have measured the length of shadows at different times of the day. During an assembly, Year 6 pupils expressed their feelings of achievement following a recent residential trip. While pupils have many opportunities to apply their literacy skills in different subjects, over time there are fewer opportunities for them to practise their numeracy skills. Although achievement in mathematics is good, some pupils are not always confident to apply their skills in different situations.  Pupils enjoy reading every day and eagerly use the new comfortable reading areas in each classroom and

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The quality of teaching is good

the refurbished library. Pupils talk keenly about ‘dipping into’ non-fiction books to find out ‘fascinating facts’ that help with their learning. Regular visits from poets and the annual family ‘pyjama party’ during book week successfully encourage a love of reading, storytelling and poetry.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment at the end of both key stages has risen since the previous inspection.  Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1. In the 2014 phonics screening check the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard was higher than that seen nationally. Standards at the end of Year 2 have risen over time and, in 2014, the proportion of pupils attaining at the typically expected Level 2b was above the national average for reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment at the higher Level 3 is moving closer to national average.  In Key Stage 2, pupils continue to make good progress and their attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 is above average. Achievement in English grammar, punctuation and spelling, although improving, is not as strong as that seen in other subjects.  The most able pupils are aware that they are expected to tackle more challenging work than other pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

and to reach higher standards, and they do. This expectation is reflected in the 2014 test results where all the most able pupils gained the higher Level 5 in reading and mathematics, and some pupils attained the highest Level 6 in mathematics. Work seen in books and activities undertaken in lessons show that the brightest pupils are continuing to make good gains in their learning.  The gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and non-disadvantaged pupils in the school is closing. In 2014, the in-school attainment gap had narrowed so that disadvantaged pupils were just over a year behind in mathematics, and about a year behind in reading and writing. The gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils in the school and non-disadvantaged pupils nationally narrowed to less than two terms in mathematics and reading and about half a year in writing. It is worth noting that, in school, the non-disadvantaged pupils did particularly well with 2014 attainment being around one year

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The achievement of pupils is good

ahead of all pupils nationally.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress from their individual starting points because they receive support that closely matches their needs.

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The early years provision is good

 Over time, about half of the children joining early years, start with skills and knowledge that are typical for their age and about half join with skills and knowledge that are lower than this, particularly in communication, language and personal, social and emotional development.  Children make good progress especially in physical development, personal, social and emotional development and mathematical development and, consequently, they are well prepared for learning in Year 1.  The recently appointed leader of early years is further strengthening the already high expectations in this nurturing, well-organised and caring provision. A new assessment system has improved the tracking of children’s progress, including those with special educational needs, so that there is prompt and carefully targeted support to challenge and increase their skills and knowledge.  Highly effective learning opportunities are planned carefully and capture the imagination of the children.

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The early years provision is good

For example, children attentively listened to the animated story of Rama and Sita from the ‘Sparkle and Shine’ school theme and some sharp questioning helped them to predict events and to develop their ability to discuss who was their favourite character and why.  Children move between activities that enable them to work alone, with other children, or with an adult. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of learning run through all subjects as was clearly seen when children worked alongside an adult to make a diva lamp. Children showed resilience to work clay into the shape modelled by the adult and took pleasure in decorating the lamp with similar patterns to the original Indian example they could see.  Parents are encouraged to contribute to the learning journals of their children, to regularly attend the ‘stay and play’ sessions and become confident in how to help their children learn though different workshops

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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 107966 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 449232

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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 252 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jennifer Kerry Headteacher Jackie Reid Date of previous school inspection 10 March 2011 Telephone number 0113 255 7677 Email address jackie.reid@stanningleyprimary.com 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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