Lift Cottingley

School report Cottingley Primary Academy

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Dulverton Grove, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS11 0HU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 By the time they leave the academy, pupils’ overall attainment is below national levels.  The teaching of mathematics does not develop pupils’ understanding sufficiently. As a result, pupils’ progress is not as strong as it is in English and they are not prepared well enough for the next phase of their education.  Teaching in the early years does not develop and extend children’s play well enough to ensure it makes an effective contribution to their learning.  There are too many instances of low-level disruption in lessons and incidents of disrespectful behaviour and language.  Temporary governance arrangements are still in place and the academy has not established a permanent and full governing body to oversee the long-term strategic direction of the academy.  Many middle leaders are new in their roles and do not have a secure grasp of the standards and effectiveness of teaching in their subjects because

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

the monitoring of subjects is not developed well enough.

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The school has the following strengths

 The passion and commitment of the headteacher is driving improvement, particularly in English.  A robust approach to underperformance means that the weakest teaching is tackled decisively.  Improvements in the teaching of reading and writing mean that pupils’ progress in English is improving strongly.  A positive ethos of nurture and support underpins rigorous systems to ensure pupils are safe.  Close work with other agencies, together with targeted support for their learning, is having a positive impact on the achievement of pupils who are disadvantaged.  Pupils’ attendance has improved markedly and is above the national average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 15 lessons across all 11 classes in the school. These included a joint observation with the headteacher. Inspectors also made several short drop-in visits to classes. Inspectors also visited small group teaching sessions, music sessions and an assembly. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtimes; break times and around the academy.  The work in pupils’ books and children’s learning stories was scrutinised. This included a scrutiny of pupils’ work in mathematics alongside a representative from the Academies Education Trust. Inspectors listened to pupils read and checked the school’s information about progress in reading, writing, mathematics and the early years.  Discussions took place with the headteacher, middle leaders, teachers and support staff. Inspectors also met with a representative from the academy’s sponsor, the Chair of the Governing Body and a community

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Information about this inspection

governor.  Although there were too few responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), inspectors spoke with groups of pupils and to parents and midday supervisors at the beginning of the day and during lunchtimes to ascertain their views.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including the academy’s records of pupils’ performance, evaluations of the quality of teaching over time, its plans for improvement and logs and records of pupils’ behaviour. Safeguarding procedures were also scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Adrian Guy, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 Cottingley Primary Academy is slightly larger than the average sized primary school. The academy opened in December 2012 in the same building as the predecessor school. The academy’s sponsor is Academies Enterprise Trust.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is well above average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority. Currently, there are no pupils looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled and those who have special educational needs is lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  Although the majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds, overall, the make-up of the academy

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Information about this school

is similar to the proportions of different ethnic groups found nationally.  Children in the early years attend the Nursery on a part-time basis and are full time in the Reception classes.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  There have been significant changes in staffing and leadership, since the predecessor school became an academy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ achievement and improve the quality of teaching in mathematics by:  providing training, guidance and support for teachers to improve their subject expertise  ensuring the work set for pupils provides opportunities for them to reason mathematically, think more deeply for themselves and use and apply the skills and knowledge they have been taught  securing the accuracy of teachers’ assessment so that when pupils move to a new class or start a new topic expectations of what pupils can achieve do not slip  making sure teachers use assessment information effectively to match the work they plan to pupils needs more precisely  ensuring marking addresses pupils’ misconceptions and challenges them to extend and deepen their understanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour by:  making sure pupils take more responsibility for managing their own behaviour and decrease the number of incidents of low-level disruptive behaviour in lessons  ensuring pupils develop greater respect for others and reduce the levels of disrespectful and derogatory language.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning in the early years by:  providing training, guidance and support for teachers and additional adults to develop and extend children’s play to ensure it makes a greater contribution to their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by:  ensuring subject leaders monitor the teaching and learning in their subject more effectively and focus on evaluating the impact their actions are having  securing greater accuracy of information about pupils’ attainment and cross checking this is supported by the evidence from observations of pupils’ learning and the work in their books  establishing a permanent governing body to oversee the long-term strategic direction of the academy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The commitment and drive of the new headteacher, who was previously a senior leader at the school, have secured improvements since the school became an academy. As leader of English, she has had a significant impact in improving the standards of reading and writing across the school.  Leaders have undertaken monitoring activities to check that teachers are following agreed policies and approaches to teaching. However, most of the focus for leaders has been on ensuring systems are being followed and there is too little emphasis on the evaluation of this work and the difference it is making to pupils’ outcomes.  In September 2014, the academy introduced a new curriculum. Aspects of English, mathematics, music, Religious Education (RE), French, Physical Education (PE) and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) are taught discretely and other subjects are taught through a topic-based approach. While not

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The leadership and management requires improvement

fully embedded, the scope of the curriculum is broad and balanced and at the end of each topic there is an emphasis on values, which helps to develop pupils' understanding of British values and prepares them for life in modern Britain.  Many teachers who lead subjects are new to their roles and their monitoring of the standards and delivery of their subjects are at an early stage of development. Work in pupils’ books does not reflect the learning intended in the planned topics and there is further to go in ensuring the curriculum is delivered in the way subject leaders intend .  Systems for teachers’ performance management are in place. The academy takes a robust stance on weak teaching and has tackled any inadequate teaching. Records of observations of teaching show improvements have been secured, particularly in the teaching of English and PE, but there is further to go to ensure teaching is consistently effective in promoting the highest standards, particularly in

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The leadership and management requires improvement

mathematics.  The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural is variable. There are strengths in the caring, nurturing ethos of the academy, the promotion of good attendance and the value placed on working together. Similarly, opportunities to engage with instrumental tuition, particularly in Key Stage 2, further develop pupils’ musical understanding. The academy has been successful in promoting the equality of outcomes for different groups. Nevertheless, further improvements are required in the opportunities for reflection and worship in assemblies to ensure pupils have a better understanding of equality and respect for difference to combat the incidents of disrespectful language.  The use of funding to support disadvantaged pupils has been successful in closing gaps in pupils’ attainment, particularly in Key Stage 1. Indeed, there are year groups where pupils who are supported by

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The leadership and management requires improvement

this funding are outperforming their peers. Equally, there are still some gaps and leaders and governors keep a close eye on these to ensure the gaps are closing. Part of the funding has been used to support pupils through partnership with ‘Place-2-Be’, which offers support for pupils’ social and emotional wellbeing and has been part of the successful strategies to close gaps and address the challenges some pupils face.  The academy has used its sports funding to enhance the quality of teaching and provision in physical education, this has been successful in improving the quality of teaching and the engagement of pupils in physical education.  Through links with the academy’s sponsor there has been a variety of external support and consultancies. The sponsor monitors closely the work of the academy and provides challenge in regular meetings to hold the academy to account. This has helped to sustain improvements through some significant changes in

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The leadership and management requires improvement

staffing and leadership.  The governance of the school:  The local management board, established when the academy opened, is still managing the governance of the school. Minutes of meetings show that statutory functions, including those for safeguarding and child protection, are in place and maintained. However, the level of challenge and scrutiny of the work of middle leaders is underdeveloped. The sponsor is aware that the plan to move to a full governing body model and to include representation from parents on the governing body has not moved as quickly as they would have wished.  The new Regional Director of Academies Education Trust is, since September 2014, also holding the position of Chair of the Governing Body. While not ideal, this is enabling the sponsor to ensure close scrutiny of the academy and work with the new headteacher to secure and maintain improvements following significant changes in staffing and leadership since the academy opened. It also means the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

Chair of Governors has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching and of pupils’ achievements. There is also a robust approach to tackling weakness in teaching and this has led to improvements in teaching since the academy opened. Other governors bring skills and useful community links such as the community governor, who is also a Police Community Support Officer, who takes a lead on safeguarding. Support from the sponsor ensures appropriate financial checks and balances are in place, and there is regular monitoring of the academy's finances.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Too often lessons are disrupted by low-level behaviours that hinder pupils’ engagement. During the inspection, inspectors saw marked differences in behaviour. Where it was managed strongly by adults, pupils were able to behave well and did as they were asked. However, inspectors also saw examples of pupils running in corridors, ignoring teachers and adults and, on one occasion, hurting other pupils. Logs of pupils’ behaviour over time confirm that there are too many incidents of this type and that too few pupils are able to manage their own behaviour causing teachers to have to interrupt lessons in order to deal with disruptions. As one pupil put it `it’s too stop-go-stop-go.’  The academy has set up a parents’ forum to engage parents. Parents who spoke to inspectors spoke very positively of the school and none voiced any concerns over the behaviour and safety of pupils. Parents

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Behaviour

were confident that they could approach staff and that they would be listened to and any issues would be addressed.  Pupils’ attention wandered where teaching was less engaging and work was not matched to their needs. Similarly, although the support received by some pupils was effective in helping them engage with learning, too often inspectors saw teaching assistants supervising pupils so closely that this limited their independence. As a result, they did not move on with their work until they had checked with the teaching assistant and this slowed pupils’ progress.  Discussions with pupils showed they were knowledgeable about the different types of bullying and derogatory language but also that they were aware of examples within the academy where bullying and derogatory language were happening. Pupils told inspectors of examples of racist and homophobic language and derogatory mocking of those with disabilities. The academy’s records confirm that a number

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Behaviour

of incidents have happened.  The academy has worked hard to secure improvements in pupils’ attendance, which is currently above the national average. Awards and certificates in weekly assemblies encourage pupils to attend as frequently as they can. The academy offers support to parents to encourage and help pupils arrive at school on time, for example, wake-up calls and places at the breakfast club. Nevertheless, analysis of the academy’s records shows there are still too many pupils who are arriving late for school.

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Safety

 The academy’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are clear about what is meant by safe behaviour and the risks involved in activities such as using the internet and social media. They know for example that ‘some people can fake it’ when they are talking in chatrooms and other internet platforms.  Pupils who spoke to inspectors were also clear about how they had learned about the ‘underwear rule’ in helping them to know how to stay safe from inappropriate sexualised behaviour.  While pupils did say that they were aware of incidents of bullying they were confident in the ability of most staff, particularly the headteacher, to sort it out. Most of the pupils that inspectors spoke with said they felt safe and that they were confident they could go to an adult for help if they needed it.  Systems to keep pupils safe are rigorous and this is strongly underpinned by an academy-wide culture of

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Safety

nurture and support. Links with a Police Community Support Officer, who is also an academy governor, have further strengthened the commitment of academy staff to ensuring that they are vigilant and proactive in supporting pupils to stay safe.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although improvements in the teaching of English have been instrumental in accelerating pupils’ progress, the teaching of mathematics requires improvement. In mathematics lessons, teachers do not plan activities that help pupils to reason mathematically or to deepen their understanding by using and applying the mathematical concepts they are learning.  In English, teachers’ assessments are mostly accurate and sequences of lessons build pupils’ understanding of how to use words to create interesting sentences. This is not the case in mathematics. Too often, when pupils start a new class or topic, the work they are given is too easy and does not reflect the levels they are assessed as being capable of. For example, when learning about the properties of shape, the work in pupils’ books showed most pupils were taken back to the very beginning of the concept and similar work was found in the books of pupils in both infant and junior classes.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Additional adults are supportive of pupils in the classroom. However, too often adults focus on prompting pupils to achieve the correct answer, rather than on developing pupils’ understanding. As a result, the answers to questions may be written correctly but pupils do not think deeply enough for themselves and their understanding and progress are limited.  Work with a PE consultant funded by sports funding from the government has improved the quality of teaching in PE. Observation records show that, over time, pupils have made better progress as a result. In a dance lesson, pupils showed high levels of engagement and responded creatively and thoughtfully to music and were able to describe their movements using words such as ‘unison’, ‘solo’, and ‘duo’.  Teachers’ explanations are generally clear and helpful. However, the use of questioning to make pupils think deeply about ‘why’ or ‘how’ is too limited. In more successful lessons, teachers explain carefully

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

these concepts but too often, particularly in mathematics, there is an emphasis on what pupils should do rather than how they can understand.  Teachers have worked to improve their marking and this is making a difference, particularly in English where pupils use teachers’ comments to improve their writing. Pupils also use computers to re-draft and edit their work. In mathematics, teachers’ marking focuses heavily on checking answers are correct. The extent to which teachers’ marking and comments spot and address misconceptions in pupils’ work or help them to improve or challenge the most able pupils to deepen their thinking, is not well developed.  Targeted teaching for small groups of pupils is well used to help pupils who have been identified as having particular gaps in their learning. This is helping to close gaps between groups, which are carefully tracked each half term.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Since the academy opened, pupils are making more progress. Progress in the academy is beginning to match, and in some cases exceed, rates of progress seen nationally. However, due to previous underachievement, the attainment of pupils who left Year 6 in the summer 2014 was below the national average.  The achievement of pupils who left Year 2 in 2014 improved strongly and matched the national average. The current picture shows that, on average, pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 are working slightly behind the target for their expected progress. One of the reasons for this is weakness in the use of assessment information when they join new classes. Too often the work they are given is not at the correct levels and their progress slows.  Pupils’ progress is strongest in English and evidence from pupils’ work shows that this is continuing across the academy. However, the progress in mathematics suggested by the academy’s data is not evident in

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

pupils’ books or in lessons. This is because teachers’ assessments are not accurate enough and too often focus on what has been taught rather than what has been learned and understood.  Current progress for Year 6 pupils has stalled due to disruptions in teaching. This has also affected pupils’ behaviour, which has also disrupted their learning. In some subjects, pupils have made no progress or even slipped back. Senior leaders are aware of the issue and have a plan to address the issue and get pupils back on track by the end of the year.  Most pupils who have a disability or a statement of special educational needs, are making at least expected progress. Some are making good and accelerated progress because of targeted interventions, which meet their needs effectively.  While the proportion achieving higher levels in Year 2 has improved and reflect the national picture, there are still too few of the most able pupils who achieve the higher levels in Year 6. One of the reasons for

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

this is the lack of challenge for the most able pupils in lessons. Too often the work they are set does not extend or deepen their thinking enough.  The academy monitors closely the achievement of this and other groups and has a clear picture of where there are gaps and the successful use of resources to help close them. The progress of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium has improved. In the assessments at the end of Year 2 in 2014, these pupils outperformed their peers in all areas. Overall, the picture is positive with no gaps in some year groups. However, for others, there are gaps that still need addressing. For Year 6 pupils who left in 2014, disadvantaged pupils achieved equally with their peers in the academy in English but were a term behind in mathematics. Compared to pupils nationally these pupils were a year behind in mathematics, half a year behind in writing and a term behind in reading.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement in reading is improving strongly. A consistent and focused approach to the teaching of phonics together with workshops for parents, appropriate books that are matched well to pupils’ abilities and support for groups of pupils has increased pupils’ confidence to read with greater interest and accuracy.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Over half of the children who start the academy in the Nursery and Reception classes do so with skills that are generally below those typical for their age. Some pupils make strong progress and catch up quickly and the vast majority make the progress expected so that by the time they leave the Reception Year their outcomes are close to the national average.  Children respond positively to the warm and positive relationships established by adults. Adults are keen to help and support children but on occasions do too much for them. This limits the children’s independence and, as a result, opportunities to keep trying and succeed for themselves are missed. Similarly, the extent to which adults develop and extend children’s play requires improvement. Too often adults’ questioning and direction misses opportunities to build on what children show they are curious about and deepen their understanding.  There are clear systems to track children’s achievements and their ‘learning stories’ keep a helpful record

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The early years provision requires improvement

of children’s experiences. However, the use of assessment, including the involvement of parents and other providers, requires improvement. Information about children’s abilities is not shared as effectively and assessments are not used effectively to support all children’s learning. As a result, some children are not challenged sufficiently, which limits their progress, particularly when they move from one year to the next.  Children show that they feel safe and confident in the Reception and Nursery classes. There is a strong nurturing ethos from the very beginning. Adults check the outside area to ensure it is safe and supervise children appropriately. Adults work with the academy’s rigorous safeguarding framework. However, all staff need to be aware of the possibility of unsafe situations and ensure they are confident to challenge safeguarding issues should they find them.  As with other middle leaders in the academy, the early years leader is new in post. She has been diligent

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The early years provision requires improvement

and enthusiastic in getting to grips with the management of the setting, which runs smoothly and calmly. She has made checks of the systems for recording children’s achievements and the tracking of their achievement. However, there has been insufficient focus on the quality of the interaction between adults and children’s play and the impact this has on their learning.

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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 138973 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 440145

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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 Academy sponsor led Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 284 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Pat Towey Headteacher Kelly Bentley Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected as an academy Telephone number 0113 270 9503 Fax number 0113 277 6522 Email address contactus@cottingleyprimaryacademy.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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