Ladybrook Primary School

Ladybrook Primary School Gleneagles Close, Seal Road, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 2LT

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Early years provision Outstanding 1

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Ladybrook is an outstanding school in all respects. It gives pupils a first class education and prepares them extremely well for the future.  Leaders and managers, including governors, are highly ambitious for the school. They have a real drive and determination to ensure that every child develops and achieves as well as possible.  The quality of teaching is outstanding and ensures that pupils make outstanding progress. This includes the most able pupils, those who are disadvantaged and those who are disabled or have special educational needs.  Teachers know the needs and interests of their pupils well. They instil a love of learning by setting work that is innovative and interesting. They encourage pupils to reflect on their work. As a result, pupils develop a deep understanding of their learning.  Pupils’ achievement is outstanding across the school. The progress that they make from their individual starting points is outstanding and they

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

leave at the end of Year 6 with standards that are significantly above those found nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.  The overall effectiveness of the early years provision is outstanding. Children get off to an excellent start to their time in school.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and plays a large part in their successful learning. They have a thirst for knowledge and understanding, from Nursery through to Year 6, and take a real pride in their work. They are very respectful of others, both in class and around the school.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher are constantly reviewing how well the school is doing. Any area of relative weakness is tackled most effectively. The quality of teaching is continually improving and achievement is rising. All areas for

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

improvement identified at the previous inspection have been addressed fully.  Pupils’ progress is checked rigorously and parents are kept very well informed of how well their children are doing. The school has a wealth of data about pupils’ progress and leaders are exploring simpler ways of accessing key information about pupils’ progress from their database.  Pupils are overwhelmingly positive about their experiences at school and the pleasure that they get from learning. This is illustrated well by the following quote from one pupil, ‘Even the uninteresting is made interesting here.’

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 12 lessons taught by 11 members of staff, two of which were joint observations with members of the senior leadership team. In addition, the inspectors also made short visits to lessons and listened to pupils read.  The inspectors examined information about current pupils’ learning and progress as well as learning and progress of all classes in the previous year. The inspectors looked at a wide range of work in displays and in pupils’ books.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the leader of the early years, teachers in charge of subjects, the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors looked at a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding and child protection, and the school development plan.  The inspectors scrutinised records on attendance and behaviour, as well as information about the quality

p.2

Information about this inspection

of teaching and the performance of staff.  The inspectors took account of the 71 responses to the on line questionnaire (Parent View) and the 29 responses from members of staff.

p.2

Inspection team

Alison Thomson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Ladybrook is an average-sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are from a White British background and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.)  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs is average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  There is early years provision in a Reception class and part-time Nursery.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop simpler methods for accessing key information about pupils’ achievement from their electronic records.

p.3

The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a vision and determination to make learning as enjoyable as possible and they have been extremely successful in doing so. As a result, teaching and pupils’ achievement have improved since the previous inspection and are both outstanding.  The headteacher has been fully supported by governors and by all members of staff. According to the staff questionnaire, staff are happy with all aspects of the school. Many staff went on to add comments such as, ‘This is a very special learning community’ and ‘It’s a joy to work here’.  Leadership and management of teaching are excellent. Teachers continually review how well they teach, and the help that they receive to improve is specific to their needs. Some of the money from the primary physical education (PE) and sports funding has been used to boost teaching skills further, through the use of expert PE coaches.

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

 Teachers who are in charge of subjects or areas fulfil their roles impressively. They hold other teachers to account for the quality of their teaching and for the progress that pupils make. They, in turn, are held to account well by senior leaders. All staff are keen to share best practice and say that they gain much from doing so. They find it particularly helpful to observe other teachers working with the class they normally teach, as it allows them to reflect on how each of their pupils learns best.  The school sets its pupils challenging targets and checks regularly on how well pupils are meeting them. Any hint of underachievement by any pupil, irrespective of ability, is picked up very early and pupils are helped to improve through well-focused help in small groups. This has been particularly successful in mathematics and literacy, and has resulted in outstanding progress and in attainment that is well above

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

average.  While the school has a wealth of information about pupils’ progress, it recognises the need to be able to access key information about pupils’ progress more easily from its database of information. Leaders are beginning to research this.  The curriculum is innovative, exciting and captures the interests of pupils well. For example, in Year 1 pupils respond to the messages that elves leave, and Year 5 pupils research and debate the extent to which Queen Victoria was a good queen. Literacy, numeracy and information communication technology (ICT) are integrated well into many activities.  The school provides pupils with many memorable experiences through visits and visitors. Pupils told the inspectors how much they had enjoyed learning about local history at Bramall Hall, and learning about space and the Ancient Greeks from visitors. Experiences such as these enhance the pupils’ spiritual, moral,

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

social and cultural development.  Pupils also told the inspectors about the extensive range of after-school clubs on offer. These include a business club and a construction club, as well as many sporting clubs. They are very proud of their recently acquired football trophy which has pride of place in the school entrance.  The school provides equal opportunities for all pupils. Pupils are very clear that everyone is treated equally to achieve as well as they can.  Safeguarding meets statutory requirements. The school looks after its pupils well and places a high emphasis on keeping its pupils safe. As a result, all pupils feel safe.  The school is always striving to improve its practice. It keeps abreast of current research on children’s learning and teachers are given the freedom to be creative in their approach.  The local authority provides the school with light support, describing it as ‘a school that is quite special’.

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors are very committed to the school and play an active role. They are knowledgeable about the ethos of the school and where its relative strengths lie. They come into school often, visiting lessons and talking to pupils about their work. This allows them to hold the school effectively to account. The governing body plays a key role in allocating funding, including that for disadvantaged pupils, and its members are aware of the good impact that this is having. They are becoming more knowledgeable in understanding data about pupils’ progress and they are involved in the linking of teachers’ pay to their performance. They have their own development plan which demonstrates that they, too, are keen to keep on improving their practice.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Older pupils told the inspectors that it has been so for some time.  Parents and staff rate pupils’ behaviour highly. Pupils are a little more critical, rating behaviour between eight and nine out of 10. When asked why it is not 10 out of 10, they said that there is always room for a few people to behave better.  Pupils are very polite, courteous and respectful to adults and to each other. They describe their school as very friendly and one where people get on well with each other.  Pupils take a great pride in their school and say that there is little that they would want to change. They take on responsibility readily, for example being on the school council or helping younger children at playtimes. They even volunteer to take on jobs that are less glamorous, such as helping to clear up the dirty plates at lunchtimes.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are very impressive. Pupils told the inspectors how much they enjoyed their

p.5

Behaviour

learning, describing it as ‘interesting and fun’. They explained that they had targets not only in areas such as literacy and mathematics, but also in thinking skills. When asked what thinking skills were, they explained that they were ways in which learning could be improved, such as ‘having a go’ and ‘keeping going’.  Pupils produce neat and tidy work and they are very willing partners with their teachers in improving their learning. The pupils’ books show a dialogue between pupils and their teachers. Pupils respond well to their teachers’ comments and many pupils are able to assess how well they have done before teachers mark their work.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school. Attendance is excellent and has been significantly above average for a number of years.

p.5

Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. As a result, all groups of pupils feel extremely safe and well looked after in school.  Pupils have an excellent understanding of the different forms of bullying, including racist and homophobic bullying. One young pupil commented, ‘it’s OK to be different.’ Pupils say that there is hardly any bullying and when people do fall out, adults sort things out immediately. Pupils, even the youngest ones, have an excellent understanding of e-safety and why this is important.  Parents agreed strongly that their children feel safe and that the school looks after them well.  Pupils promote safety for others well. The school council canvasses pupils’ views about what might constitute unsafe situations and how any risks could be minimised.

p.5

The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is outstanding and results in pupils making outstanding progress throughout the school.  Teachers are very knowledgeable and work hard to make learning purposeful and fun. As a result, pupils develop a love of learning and want to do well.  Basic skills of literacy, numeracy and communication are woven seamlessly into interesting topics, many of which are innovative. Pupils develop levels of skill far above those expected for their ages, such as accessing relevant information from Internet websites.  Year 6 pupils were seen making exceptional progress in their learning and understanding in a lesson about Japan where they were able to summarise information succinctly from both written and verbal sources. They took turns acting as teachers to small groups of their peers, clarifying areas that some found difficult. As well as building confidence and improving communication skills, this lesson contributed well to

p.5

The quality of teaching is outstanding

the pupils’ understanding of other cultures.  Throughout lessons teachers check how well pupils are learning and reshape tasks as necessary. They provide pupils with ways in which they can tell if they are learning well and encourage them to check their work for themselves.  Teaching assistants work seamlessly with teachers, sometimes assisting pupils with additional needs and sometimes working with the most able pupils. This enables the learning of all pupils to be maximised.  Reflection is a feature of many lessons. Examples include Year 5 learning what it would be like to live in Victorian times or Year 3 learning about thinking skills to help them to be better learners. Such lessons impact well on pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development.  Pupils’ learning is extended well through their homework. This is sometimes open-ended and offers the pupils the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity.

p.5

The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Marking is exemplary. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and give very specific comments on how pupils may improve their work or extend their learning. They give pupils time to respond to such comments. This results in a most effective dialogue being built up, with a huge impact on learning and progress.

p.6

The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils achieve exceptionally well and make outstanding progress from their individual starting points. They leave at the end of Year 6 with standards that are significantly above those found nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.  Progress is outstanding throughout the school and for all groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, disabled or who have special educational needs, and also the most able pupils. This was evidenced during the inspection by observations in lessons, work scrutiny and also the school’s data on pupils’ attainment and progress.  Published data for 2014 show that, compared to all pupils nationally, disadvantaged pupils in school were about two terms ahead in writing and just over one term ahead in reading and in mathematics. The data also show that gaps between the standards attained by disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils in the school are closing rapidly. Disadvantaged pupils are in line with their peers in reading and writing and

p.6

The achievement of pupils is outstanding

just short of one term behind in mathematics.  The achievement of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is outstanding. Teachers and teaching assistants question pupils very skilfully to enable them to access their work.  The most able pupils make outstanding progress because teachers stretch them as much as possible. They thrive on challenge and have many opportunities to reinforce their learning, especially when they are finding work a little tricky.  Pupils throughout the school exhibit a love of reading and read widely on a range of topics. Some of the topics they study are linked to books, such as Kenzuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo.  The school uses the primary sports funding very well for specialist coaching, for both staff and pupils. There is a high level of participation in sport, including yoga, football for girls and dance for boys. This promotes pupils’ physical well-being. The school wins many competitions in a wide range of sports,

p.6

The achievement of pupils is outstanding

including football, cricket and gymnastics.

p.6

The early years provision is outstanding

 Children get off to an excellent start in the early years. They love coming to school, and thoroughly enjoy learning. The inspectors were impressed by the extremely positive attitudes and independence of the children.  Children enter Nursery with a broad range of skills but, overall, these are generally typical for their age. Good induction procedures and a stimulating environment help them to settle quickly and gain much in confidence.  Teaching is outstanding in both the Nursery and in the Reception and results in children making outstanding progress in both year groups. This is also the case for children who start with skills lower than those typical for their age or those who join Reception, not having been at the school’s Nursery.  The 2014 early years’ data show that there is a much higher proportion of children than found nationally reaching a good level of development. This includes boys as well as girls and also children with additional

p.6

The early years provision is outstanding

needs. Information from the school about the progress of children currently in school indicates that this is also likely to be the case this year.  The early years’ curriculum extends into Year 1 for those who need it. This ensures a seamless transition into the next stage of learning.  Adults regularly assess what children can and cannot do, and children’s work is celebrated well in their own display areas. Staff plan well for the needs of individual children so that aspects of learning that are less strong are reinforced and learning is moved on effectively.  All safeguarding measures are in place and children are part of a caring and successful school community. Children exhibit an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They respect others and behave exceptionally well.  The leadership and management of the early years are outstanding. Adults work very well together as a cohesive team. Much work has been done successfully on addressing the previous area for improvement,

p.6

The early years provision is outstanding

that of developing the outdoor area as a place to extend learning. There are now many opportunities for children to be creative, such as the mud kitchen or the wigwam den.  Parents are encouraged to contribute to their children’s learning and are very much welcomed into school from well before their children actually start.

p.7

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

p.8

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.

p.8

School details

Unique reference number 106055 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 448291

p.9

School details

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

p.9

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 238 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mike Wilson Headteacher Sheila Penny Date of previous school inspection 25 January 2010 Telephone number 0161 439 8444 Fax number 0161 439 9908 Email address headteacher@ladybrook.stockport.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 .

p.9

School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

p.10

School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10

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

p.10

School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.10

School details

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

p.10