Shakespeare Primary School

Shakespeare Primary School Shakespeare Avenue, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS9 7HP

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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

 Achievement is good and all pupils make good progress from their different starting points. Those pupils who attend the school from Year 1 upwards attain broadly average standards by the end of Year 6.  Achievement is outstanding in reading because there is consistently strong teaching in this subject. Pupils are exceptionally keen readers.  Teaching is good with some that is outstanding. Good clear explanations and perceptive questioning ensure that pupils learn quickly.  Highly-skilled teaching assistants are well organised and make a strong contribution to the good progress of all groups of pupils.  Children in the early years, including those in nursery with hearing impairments, make good progress owing to good teaching and leadership.  Safety is outstanding. All pupils say they feel safe in school. Parents and staff agree. Behaviour is good, pupils are keen to learn and lessons flow smoothly.  The curriculum provides a wealth of opportunities

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

that broaden pupils’ experiences. It supports strong development of pupils’ spiritual moral, social and cultural understanding.  Leaders, including governors, have high aspirations and ambition for the pupils. The headteacher and governors have created a strong capacity for further improvements in the quality of teaching and the achievement of pupils.  Governors know the school well. They make sure that the additional government funding allocated for disadvantaged pupils is used exceptionally well to ensure strong progress for these pupils.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally, some teaching is not consistently good.  Work set for pupils does not always challenge them sufficiently for them to make swift progress.  Marking does not consistently provide pupils with clear subject guidance to enable them to improve their work. Sometimes, pupils are not given enough time to improve their work.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to use their mathematical skills in other subjects nor to solve problems in mathematics.  Some subject leaders are not using the full range of evidence rigorously enough to check the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. Their plans for improvement do not give enough clarity about how changes being made will improve the quality of teaching and standards reached by pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 18 lessons taught by 18 teachers. Two observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher. Each inspector also spent time looking at behaviour and pupils’ work in class in a range of activities.  Inspectors spoke to two groups of pupils about their learning in lessons and their safety in the school. Inspectors also listened to two groups of pupils reading.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body and four other governors. Meetings were held with school staff, including middle and senior leaders.  Inspectors also looked at the school’s review of its own performance, its development plan, school policies and the minutes of governing body meetings. Inspectors also considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work in lessons and scrutinised samples of pupils’ books.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors analysed the 12 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). There were also 16 questionnaires completed by staff which were considered by inspectors. Inspectors also looked at parents’ responses to recent school questionnaires. In addition, an inspector spoke informally with parents at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Jim McGrath, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for 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 those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The pupils come from a wide variety of minority ethnic groups. For the majority of pupils English is not their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is well above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The proportion of pupils joining or leaving the school at other than the usual times is well above average.  There have been significant changes to staff since the last inspection.

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Information about this school

 At the same time as the main inspection, an additional and separate subject inspection of history was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors.  A deaf and hearing impaired resource unit for six nursery age children is based in the school.  There is a children’s centre that has been established on the school site organised by the local authority. This did not form part of the inspection of the school as it is inspected separately and has a separate inspection report.  The provision for children attending in nursery is part time.  The school holds the Stephen Lawrence Award and the Inclusion Charter Mark.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so it is always consistently good or better and thus raising standards for pupils, by making sure:  all groups of pupils are challenged consistently well at all times in all of their subjects  clear subject guidance is given when marking pupils’ work so they know what to do to improve  pupils are given enough time to respond to teachers’ comments  there are more opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical skills in a wide range of subjects  there are more opportunities for pupils to solve problems in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact of leadership and management by ensuring that subject leaders are:  crystal clear about how planned actions will contribute to improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement  more rigorous when checking the quality of teaching and the achievement of pupils in their subjects areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders, including governors, are passionate about pupils’ achievement and personal development. They have developed a strong sense of purpose among all of the staff and are ambitious for the pupils. As a result, the quality of teaching and the achievement of pupils are good.  The headteacher and senior leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. The school’s plan for improvement correctly identifies the main priorities for the school and is particularly clear about how pupils’ writing is to be further improved.  The headteacher has increased the capacity of the senior leadership team to develop the impact of subject leadership across the school. Work in this area has started and is well planned. Subject leaders are highly positive about the support they are getting to support their leadership. However, the impact of this work has yet to ensure that all subject leaders check the quality of teaching rigorously using a wide range of

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The leadership and management are good

evidence.  Plans for improvement in subjects note key actions to be taken. However, they lack clear criteria by which success can be measured in improving the quality of teaching and the achievements of pupils.  There is a thorough system for monitoring pupils’ achievement. This allows leaders to identify pupils who would benefit from additional support. The school’s work in supporting disadvantaged pupils to achieve well is strong, owing to good leadership and teaching. The government funding for disadvantaged pupils is used exceptionally well to employ extra teachers and highly skilled teaching assistants to support these pupils to achieve well.  The system to check the performance of teachers is thorough and identifies the skills they need to improve. The headteacher provides highly effective training opportunities. Newly-qualified teachers are inducted into the school well and given good support in helping them teach well.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is a very effective performance review system for teaching assistants. They have benefited well from this process with the quality of their work being consistently strong. This is a good example of the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity for all.  The curriculum provides a wide range of subjects which develop pupils’ literacy, numeracy and information, communication and technology skills well. The school promotes British values effectively, informing pupils well through assemblies, ‘circle time’ and personal, social and health education. Links with the community police force support this work. Visits to mosques and churches, residentials at adventure camps, work with the Burmantofts pottery project, charity work and the many visitors to school contribute exceptionally well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The primary school sports funding is used very well. Pupils say they enjoy keeping fit and they enjoy

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The leadership and management are good

taking part in sport. They use the table tennis tables and the ‘ball park area’ in the playground exceptionally well. The school has represented the City in cross country and cricket in the ‘West Yorkshire Games’. During the inspection, pupils participated in sporting activities with great enthusiasm.  Links with parents are very strong and they appreciate this. They spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities for them to see the school in action and view their children’s work. Parents are clear that they can discuss matters openly with the headteacher or others in the school and they always get a positive response that helps them and their children. Governors are keen to develop the school’s strong work with parents even further to remove any barriers to children’s education.  The local authority is working in partnership with the school and providing light touch support for this good school. It checks that achievement in the school is at least good. The local authority advisor checks

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The leadership and management are good

the quality of teaching and is supporting the school in its drive to strengthen subject leadership. The local authority is confident that the school provides a good education for its pupils.  The governance of the school:  Governors have a strong understanding of how well the school is doing. They are highly skilled and offer strong challenge and support to the headteacher and subject leaders. They visit the school regularly to see the work of the pupils. Governors are clear about the progress being made by the pupils through their excellent knowledge of national performance measures and how the school compares with them. Governors are involved in educational research and encourage staff to use structured research to identify what can be done to further improve teaching and meet the needs of all pupils even better. They use their skills to check the school’s budget and have approved the use of pupil

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The leadership and management are good

premium funding and know its impact in great detail. Governors understand the arrangements linking teachers’ performance to pay and, along with the headteacher, they challenge any under-performance robustly should it occur. They focus strongly on a wide range of pupils’ outcomes, such as health, family support and academic support to ensure children’s safety, personal and academic achievement. Governors check the school’s procedures for safeguarding which meet statutory requirements.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are polite and courteous and welcoming to visitors. They hold doors open for adults and are happy to tell visitors about the school.  Pupils are very smart in their uniform and this is a testament to how proud they are of their school. The vast majority of pupils take pride in their work.  Pupils are well aware of how they are expected to behave in class and are keen to learn. They enjoy receiving gold stars, golden gifts and certificates for their good work and behaviour. The school is a calm and welcoming place in which children manage their behaviour well both inside and outside the classroom.  Pupils get on well together at lunchtimes and playtimes. Playground friends, pupils trained in supporting others who might need to discuss any behaviour issues or need someone to play with, are very proud of their role. They make sure that everyone has someone to play with.

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Behaviour

 A scrutiny of pupils’ workbooks throughout school shows that pupils do not readily respond to the advice their teachers give them to improve their work and this slows their progress.  A very small number of parents are not making sure that their children meet the school’s expectations for children to be in the playground five minutes before the start of school. This means that their children are not punctual to school. Staff are challenging parents well on this matter and there seems to be some improvement.  Vigilant staff, who act swiftly if pupils are absent, are ensuring that attendance is improving. For this academic year, attendance is above average and was above average on the two days of the inspection.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  The school sets safety as a high priority for all. Pupils told inspectors that they feel ‘really, really, safe in school as all of the teachers look after you’.  Pupils have an excellent understanding of internet safety. The school has trained pupils to be ‘e-cadets’ to support others if they have any questions or queries and to present information in class or in assemblies. They have an exceptional understanding of e-safety which they are happy to share with adults and other pupils.  Parents and pupils say that the school does not tolerate bullying; they are exceptionally confident that it is dealt with very swiftly on the very rare occasions it occurs. Pupils know the different types of bullying as they are well educated through the ‘anti-bullying fortnight’, ‘circle time’ in class and the personal, social and health education programme. They all know they can use the school’s ‘chatter box’ to raise concerns

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Safety

if they wish to do so.  Child protection procedures are extremely thorough. Governors and staff are well trained and work exceptionally well with social services and other agencies in order to ensure children are cared for well.  All pupils said they enjoyed school and they feel happy and safe at school. Parents and staff are unreservedly positive about children’s safety.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good. Some is outstanding, with a small amount that is not always consistently good. School records and pupils’ work show that the quality of teaching is good.  Explanations about what is to be done by pupils are clear and as a result, pupils set to work on their tasks quickly making progress that is usually good and sometimes better.  Questioning is used well to involve pupils and to assess what they understand. Pupils are given time to explain fully what they have learned. Their responses are usually used skilfully to assess what an individual might know and to search out the knowledge of others and deepen their understanding.  An analysis of pupils’ books showed that their work is marked regularly with helpful comments. However, there are occasions when subject-specific suggestions for improvement are not precise enough for pupils to understand how to make their work better. As a result, they do not adjust their work effectively to

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The quality of teaching is good

ensure they make improvements to support stronger progress. There are occasions when pupils do not improve their work even when the points for improvement are clear, sometimes owing to a lack of available time.  Work set is well matched to pupils’ needs and abilities and interests them. Consequently, pupils are keen to learn and make good progress. There are a few occasions when pupils are not consistently well challenged by the work set and they find it too easy; this slows their progress and the standards they are expected to reach are not high enough. Problem solving in mathematics is not always used sufficiently well to challenge pupils and drive up standards.  Literacy is supported well across a wide range of subjects. There are many opportunities for pupils to read well in order to support their learning. This makes a strong contribution to pupils’ outstanding progress in reading. Leaders have set the development of writing as a key priority for the school and now there are

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The quality of teaching is good

good opportunities for pupils to write extensively in many subjects. Pupils’ use of their mathematical skills across a wide range of subjects is less well developed.  Careful assessment of the needs of disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those who join part way through the year is used well to inform teaching. Appropriate resources, including computers, are well-planned into activities to help these pupils make good progress.  Highly-skilled learning support assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. They are organised well and support pupils well. They work skilfully with individuals or groups of pupils, both inside and outside the classroom.  Good relationships and the way praise is used to encourage and motivate pupils is a strong feature in all lessons. As a result, pupils behave well and work hard and do their best.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement is good throughout the school. Progress in reading is outstanding. Over time, the progress in mathematics has been consistently stronger than in writing, however, progress in writing has improved and is now good.  Variations in standards are sometimes affected by the large numbers of pupils joining both Key Stages 1 and 2 at other than the usual times. Starting points for these pupils can sometimes be low. Generally these pupils make good, and sometimes better progress, but this is not always enough for them to reach standards that are close to average.  Over time, pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1. In 2014, those pupils in the school since the start of the key stage reached average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. This year, more pupils are now working at the higher levels of attainment.  Overall progress for those leaving the school at the end of Year 6 in 2014 was well above average. It was

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The achievement of pupils is good

good in writing and outstanding in reading and mathematics. Those pupils who were in the key stage for all, or the majority of time, reached standards that were close to average in reading, writing, mathematics and English grammar, punctuation and spelling from starting points that were well below average.  The most able pupils, those who reach Level 5 by the time they leave school at the end of Year 6, all make more progress than expected nationally. Additional support is given to these pupils both inside and outside school and this is assisting them well in their subjects.  There are a large number of disadvantaged pupils in school. From their low starting points, they make well above average progress owing to the effective use of additional government funding, the pupil premium, which is providing extra teaching and support from highly-skilled teaching assistants.  In 2014, the standards reached by disadvantaged pupils were a year ahead of non-disadvantaged pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

in school in reading, writing and mathematics and half a year ahead in English grammar, punctuation and spelling. In comparison to non-disadvantaged pupils nationally, they were two terms behind in reading and almost a year behind in writing and mathematics. Gaps in standards in comparison to non- disadvantaged pupils nationally are closing more consistently in reading than in writing and mathematics; leaders are aware of this and are tackling it effectively by providing more targeted support for these subjects.  Good leadership and skilful support by teachers and teaching assistants helps disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to make the same strong progress as other pupils in the school.  Pupils for whom English is an additional language are well supported by a highly-skilled teaching assistant who has received specialist training to support these pupils exceptionally well. These pupils reach

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The achievement of pupils is good

standards that are at least the same as others in school and make well above average progress. This is a good example of the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity for all.  Reading is a strength of the school with pupils making consistently outstanding progress. Pupils are capable, confident readers with a wide variety of strategies for reading and decoding. In the most recent screening check for phonics at the end of Year 1, pupils’ skills in linking letters and sounds to read words were average for those in the school since the start of Year 1. Newcomers, many without English as their first language, had developed good strategies for decoding words but their understanding was not good enough to reach average standards. There are many books in school that are easily accessible and pupils choose appropriate books to read. There are daily structured reading sessions and staff teach reading

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The achievement of pupils is good

well. Pupils speak positively about their enjoyment of reading and read widely and often both at home and in school.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s skills on entry to nursery vary considerably. Typically, children are least skilled in using language and communicating. Their experiences in understanding the world around them are limited. Teachers and other adults identify children’s needs very quickly and skilfully develop activities that help children to make good progress.  During their time in nursery, deaf children make exceptional progress because of excellent adult support and knowledge of how to teach these children. Tasks are very well matched to children’s needs, leading to exceptional progress and high levels of interest and engagement from the children.  The calm, purposeful environment and the interesting work, covering all of the areas of learning, help children to develop good attitudes to learning. As they settle into the early years, children begin to select purposeful activities for themselves. There is a well-equipped outdoor learning area which is generally

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The early years provision is good

used effectively to support learning.  Leadership is good. Children’s skills are assessed accurately and adults are well deployed to support all children in making good progress. Children develop the skills to work together and are respectful to each other and to adults. Good teaching is ensuring that, year on year, more children are gaining skills that are typical for their age by the end of Reception particularly in communication and language skills and mathematics.  Children are safe and happy because of the secure procedures that exist in the early years. Adults know the needs of the children well and give them good care and attention. Children quickly develop good social skills and understand what is expected of them. A wide range of activities make a good contribution to children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.  In the Reception class, children enjoyed completing work based on the story of Red Riding Hood. Children

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The early years provision is good

were happily watching and listening to adults and joining in role play. This led to children developing good skills for reading and linking these skills to spelling and writing.  From their varying starting points when joining the school children are well prepared in the early years for the next stage of their education and are enthusiastic about 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 107938 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 449735

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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 381 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Philip Oddy Headteacher Julian Gorton Date of previous school inspection 9 June 2010 Telephone number 0113 3368340 Fax number 0113 2489429 Email address office@shakespeareleeds.org.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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