Stocks Lane Primary School

Stocks Lane Primary School Stocks Lane, Clayton Heights, Bradford, BD13 2RH

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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

 Over time pupils make good progress from their starting points. They reach standards that are above average in reading, writing and English grammar, punctuation, and spelling, and average in mathematics.  Children in the early years make good progress and are well prepared for the step up to Year 1.  Teaching is consistently good across the school. This is a very happy school with a positive climate for learning. The work set for pupils is interesting and helps them to learn well.  Teaching assistants are highly skilled and support the good learning of individuals and small groups of pupils inside and outside the classroom.  Behaviour is good in lessons and around the school. Pupils of all ages enjoy holding positions of responsibility, are well mannered and caring and helpful towards each other and all adults.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe is outstanding. All pupils say they feel extremely safe

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

in school and are very proud of their school. Parents and staff agree with pupils.  The headteacher is very dedicated to the school and ambitious for each pupil to achieve their potential; she is strongly supported in this by the governors and all members of staff. As a result, the quality of the school’s teaching and performance continue to improve.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not yet enough outstanding teaching in all subjects throughout the school to result in outstanding achievement for pupils.  The accuracy and confidence with which pupils use their mental mathematics skills is not consistently good and so the rate of progress in mathematics is not as strong as it is in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited lessons in all classes and observed all teachers. She observed small-group sessions where pupils were practising letters and sounds (phonics) led by teachers and teaching assistants and also small-group and individual learning sessions led by teaching assistants. One observation was undertaken jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector listened to pupils read in Years 1 and 2 and held a formal discussion with pupils from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. She talked informally to many pupils, including in the playground and while sitting with them eating lunch in the dining hall.  Meetings were held with the local authority, the governing body, teaching staff and senior leaders.  The inspector looked at the school’s review of its own performance, its plans for improvement, the minutes of governors’ meetings and documents relating to safeguarding, systems for checking the quality of teaching and tracking of pupil progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The views of parents were gained from informal discussions in the playground, the 16 responses to Parent View (the online questionnaire) and the school’s most recent survey of parents’ views. The views of staff were gained from meetings and from a scrutiny of the 11 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Fiona Dixon, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Stocks Lane Primary School is a much smaller school than the average-sized primary school.  All pupils in Key Stage 1 and 2 are taught in mixed-age classes. Children attend early years provision full time.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is well below average, with some year groups having no eligible pupils. (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 disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The school works closely with seven local primary schools and the local high school in the Great Heights Cluster.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in mathematics and English by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this school

 The school has gained the Investors in Pupils award.  There have been significant changes in teaching staff and leadership since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that more is outstanding in order to ensure that pupils’ achievement in all subjects is outstanding by: - providing more opportunities for teachers to develop their skills through, for example, observing outstanding practice within the school and elsewhere - developing the teaching of mental mathematics skills to increase pupil accuracy and confidence in using them in both oral and written tasks.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is very dedicated to the school and ambitious for each pupil to achieve their potential. She, along with the governors and staff, share a common vision and commitment to high expectations for achievement, behaviour and sustained improvement. For example, recent improvements in the quality of the teaching of phonics and reading have led to a rapid increase in pupil progress and attainment in this area.  Leadership and management of the early years is also good. The recently appointed leader has a clear vision of how good early years can be. She has further improved the learning environment and is developing the opportunities for more rapid progress to be made by children in number work and writing.  School leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have correctly identified the priorities for the school, including the need to improve the mental mathematics skills of

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The leadership and management are good

pupils. Plans are clear and regularly checked so that improvements can be seen precisely and the school knows what it still needs to do to improve further.  Leadership of teaching is strong and thorough and this has led to all teaching being at least good, with some that is outstanding. The small number of staff in the school means that the ability to observe, share and further the skills that lead to more lessons being outstanding is very limited.  Teachers have targets based on their performance and salary progression is linked to both pupils’ progress and achievement and to the teacher’s contribution to whole-school improvements.  Subject leaders are managing and developing their subject areas very effectively. For example, the new subject ‘computing’ is being taught well across all year groups.  The work of the school to promote equality of opportunity, foster good relations and tackle all forms of

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The leadership and management are good

discrimination is excellent. Pupils who are disadvantaged and who are disabled or have special educational needs all achieve well from their starting points and thrive in a happy, positive school that celebrates the uniqueness of each child.  The curriculum is good and provides many creative opportunities for pupils to explore a wide range of subjects that often reflect their own interests, such as pupils in Year 5 and 6 finding out about the importance of chocolate in Mayan culture.  Displays around the school show the exciting variety of learning opportunities that develop pupil’s skills for life in modern Britain, such as Year 3 and 4 learning the art of debating. Regular visits and visitors, charitable events and exploration of world faiths and cultures develop in pupils a strong sense of tolerance, ‘fair play’ and respect for others. Pupils confidently express understanding of the difference of

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The leadership and management are good

right and wrong and the importance of caring for others. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Partnership-working with schools in the Great Heights cluster is very helpful. Teachers share ideas for improving the quality of teaching and learning and checking that pupils’ work is graded correctly. Pupils from this small school benefit as they regularly share a broad range of activities with children from very diverse backgrounds, for example, the recent Key Stage 2 anti-bullying drama performance.  Effective use is made of the primary sport funding. It has increased participation in sports as varied as karate and ballet. The skills of teachers have improved and pupils regularly enjoy a wider range of physical activities in well-taught lessons. Pupils confidently talk about the importance of exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.  The local authority provides ‘light touch’ support for this good school. They have helped the school to

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The leadership and management are good

develop effective links with local headteachers to be able to conduct accurate school reviews and learn from observing high quality practice.  The governance of the school: - Governance is a strength of the school. Governors have a good understanding of how well the school is doing compared to other schools and are involved in taking action to continue improvement. - They regularly visit the school to see the work of the pupils and teachers. Governors use this knowledge and information about pupils’ achievement to challenge and support the headteacher very effectively. - Governors make sure the school is delivering good value for money. They check how the pupil premium funding is spent and the positive impact this has on the attainment and well-being of the pupils who are supported by it. They make sure that the sport premium funding is also benefiting the health and fitness of pupils. - The governors carefully and thoroughly carry out their statutory duties, including those for safeguarding

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are keen and enthusiastic to learn. A very small number sometimes find it hard to work on their own without supervision.  Pupils are very polite and courteous. They happily talk about the friendly and caring climate of the school. Pupils are welcoming to visitors and keen to share their interests and explain their work.  Pupils play well at breaks and lunchtimes. Different ages play together enjoying a wide range of games, from imaginary horses and superheroes, to skipping and playing with hoops and balls.  Pupils relish the many positions of responsibility they hold within the school, from being a reading, mathematics or ‘office’ buddy, a sports leader or a caring buddy, where older pupils help the youngest children to collect and cut up their lunch. The school council allows the views of the pupils to be heard. Recent pupil-initiated improvements include the bright and colourful redecoration of the early years and

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Behaviour

Key Stage 1 toilets and the development of activities, including ribbons for plaiting and weaving, in the playground.  Pupils are smartly dressed in their school uniform and take good care of their learning environment. Pupils are very proud to be members of Stocks Lane Primary School.  Attendance is consistently above average and punctuality is excellent.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  All pupils say they feel extremely safe and are happy in school. Parents and teachers agree with this.  Pupils understand different forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying, name-calling, racism and homophobic bullying. No pupil spoken to could remember any bullying taking place and trusted adults to act upon any form of inappropriate behaviour and stop it immediately. School records confirm that bullying incidents are rare.  Pupils are aware of how to keep themselves safe. Teaching about risk-taking behaviours begins in Reception and continues to Year 6. They are trained in age-appropriate road and cycle safety, water and fire safety, drug and alcohol misuse, keeping safe in the dark and on residential adventure trips. The school ensures that all activities, in and out of school, are risk-assessed and carefully planned in order to

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Safety

keep pupils safe.  Safeguarding, including child protection policies are robust and rigorously reviewed to ensure that they comply with all local authority and government guidelines.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is consistently good, with some that is outstanding.  Teachers have high expectations for pupils’ learning. The work seen in the books, in wall displays and through observation clearly shows that teachers set work for the different abilities within their classes so that every pupil is working at the right level to stretch and challenge them. This year the most able pupils in Year 6 are working towards Level 6, a standard well above that expected for their age, in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ work is always carefully marked. Pupils know what they have done well and also what they need to do to get even better. Their progress is accelerated as they always go back to correct and learn from their mistakes.  The pace of learning in reading and writing is good. There are not enough opportunities for all pupils to practise their skills in mental mathematics regularly and so across the school there are a small number of

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils who are not confident or accurate in using these skills. This can slow their progress in mathematics.  Teachers use questioning effectively to check on pupils’ knowledge, encourage participation and expand understanding. For example, in a Years 1 and 2 lesson on weather forecasting, the pupils explored the regions of the United Kingdom and the teacher skilfully taught the pupils to identify the difference of region to county and then town. Following this, pupils were very enthusiastic to write and present their own forecast.  Teaching assistants are highly skilled. In the daily, highly focused, phonics lessons pupils enjoy the variety of games and activities so much that they do not always realise how much they have learnt! Teaching assistants teach individual and small groups of pupils in areas of learning that they have found difficult and this increases their progress. This excellent matching of provision to individual need means that all

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils, including those who are supported through pupil premium or disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make the same good progress as their peers do.  Reading, writing and communication and mathematics are taught well across different subjects. There are many opportunities for pupils to develop these skills, for example, the children in Reception have discussed and recorded the qualities of their own superheroes, Years 1 and 2 have written about why a meerkat cannot live at the North Pole and Years 5 and 6 have deciphered and solved problems using symbolic representations of numbers found in the ancient Mayan society.  Teachers provide homework to extend learning. It is linked to the class topic and made interesting for pupils, because they can choose tasks that enthuse and interest them, for example, while exploring sounds of the jungle pupils in Years 3 and 4 could make instruments to replicate the sounds of the

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The quality of teaching is good

environment.  ‘Reading opens the door to other learning’ was a comment made by a pupil which other pupils agreed with. Pupils read widely and often. There are daily opportunities to improve reading. The development of guided reading sessions has led to increased progress and attainment across the school. Pupils regularly enjoy being able to take part in events that encourage a love of reading, for example, meeting an author, dressing as a favourite book character or celebrating ‘World Book Day’.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement is good and has improved, particularly in reading and phonics, because of improvements in the quality of teaching.  Standards in the school can vary year on year because classes are small and the ability of the pupils in the groups fluctuates. A close examination of pupils’ work and information provided by the school shows that pupils throughout Key Stages 1 and 2 are making good progress.  The proportion of pupils reaching the nationally expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check has rapidly increased to above that found nationally. This reflects the improvements in the quality of teaching of phonics throughout early years and Key Stage 1.  In 2014 standards at the end of Year 2 were above average in reading, writing and mathematics and this reflects the typical picture over time.  At Key Stage 2 pupils continue to make good progress. Their attainment in reading, writing and English

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The achievement of pupils is good

grammar, punctuation and spelling is above average. Attainment in mathematics is not as strong as that seen in other subjects at the higher Level 5.  The most-able pupils make good progress because they are challenged by teachers in school and by the opportunity to work with pupils of similar ability in the frequent Level 6 classes in reading, writing and mathematics held in the Great Heights cluster schools. Work seen in books and in activities during lessons show that the brightest pupils are continuing to make good gains in their learning.  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.  There are too few pupils at the end of Year 6 who are eligible for the pupil premium funding to comment on their attainment. These disadvantaged pupils consistently make good progress, often better than their

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The achievement of pupils is good

peers, and achieve well from their starting points.

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The early years provision is good

 Most children join Reception with skills and knowledge that are typical for their age. Children make good progress especially in reading, communication and language and in making relationships. They are well prepared for the step up to Year 1.  Behaviour is excellent, with children showing great care and consideration for each other. For example, a child was writing cards for all her friends and another child was happily supporting her sounding out each name phonetically. Children are safe and happy and all welfare requirements are met.  Children have many varied and stimulating opportunities to learn inside and outside the classroom. For example, a child enjoyed independently dressing up in a ski-suit and confidently counting the penguins he found inside the igloo. His learning was extended by the teaching assistant hiding a penguin and encouraging the child to say how many penguins he now had. Children enjoy the challenge of learning

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The early years provision is good

new skills, which was seen when a group showed great concentration and enjoyment while working with the teacher describing and writing sentences about the ‘big, bad mouse’ found in the story of the Gruffalo.  Assessment is frequent and used well to plan the next steps for each child, including the most able and those who are disabled or have special educational needs, so that all make good progress. Staff use hand- held digital tablets to photograph and record learning as it occurs and this builds an effective profile of each child’s learning journey.  Parents have very positive views about the early years at Stocks Lane Primary School. The teacher ‘meets and greets’ parents every day, there are regular ‘stay and play’ opportunities and they know how well their child is doing, as they can regularly see work in their child’s ‘learning journey’.  Leadership in the early years is good. Recent improvements in the quality of the learning environment

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The early years provision is good

allow for more opportunities for the development of number work and writing, especially for the most-able children, to further increase children’s progress in these areas of 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 107237 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 449141

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 105 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ann Worsnop Headteacher Nicky Kilvington Date of previous school inspection 2 March 2011 Telephone number 01274 880569 Fax number 01274 818303 Email address office@stockslane.bradford.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 .

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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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