Little London Community Primary School

Little London Community Primary School Meanwood Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS7 1SR

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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

 This is a good school which offers a diverse range of pupils a good standard of education in a caring and nurturing environment.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a very clear understanding of the needs of the pupils and have brought about much improvement since the previous inspection. As a result, pupils are now making good and sometimes even better progress across the school.  Governors are skilled in interpreting data relating to pupils’ progress. Their rigorous and well- informed approach has allowed them to challenge as well as support the decisions of senior leaders. This has contributed directly to the school’s continuous improvement.  Pupils’ behaviour is good both inside and outside the classroom. Their good attitudes to learning contribute well to their good progress. Many are new to England and speaking English. Despite this, they settle quickly because as pupils commented, ‘everyone here is a friend’.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 As a result of a robust internet safety policy and well-organised bike and road safety courses, pupils of all ages become proficient at learning how to keep safe both inside and outside school.  Teaching is nearly always good, with some examples of outstanding practice. Pupils clearly enjoy learning and make good progress overall, as demonstrated by the good quality of work seen in their books .  Pupils’ achievement is good across the school. The vast majority make good progress, often from low starting points. Standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 6 last year were above the national average in mathematics, writing and reading .  The vast majority of parents feel the Reception class gives their children a good start to their education. Well-planned activities, both inside and outside the classroom ensure children make good progress from a variety of different starting points.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils make less progress in mathematics than in reading and writing because sometimes staff lack confidence and skills when teaching mathematics. Work set does not always give pupils sufficient opportunity to practise previously learnt skills.  Teachers’ marking and feedback do not consistently give pupils sufficient guidance on how to improve the presentation of their work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed a good number of lessons and parts of lessons taught by teachers and support staff. Two lesson observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher. The inspection team also listened to pupils from Year 1 read and examined the quality of work in the books of pupils from across the school.  The inspection team held meetings and had discussions with pupils, the headteacher, middle leaders, members of the school’s staff and four members of the governing body. A telephone discussion with a representative from the local authority was also held.  The inspection team took into account the views of 20 parents who responded to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). They also took into account the views of 18 other parents who met informally with the inspection team at the school gate and a further 88 parents who recently completed questionnaires set by the school.  The inspection team studied health and safety documentation, documents relating to the procedures to

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Information about this inspection

check the performance of staff, pupils’ attendance data and the school’s system for checking pupils’ progress.

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Inspection team

Marian Thomas, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger than average sized primary school, which has more pupils on roll since the last inspection and now has three Reception classes.  Pupils come from a very wide range of ethnic groups with less than 10% from families of White British heritage. Approximately 25%of pupils are of African heritage. There are 54 different languages spoken by pupils and over 70% of pupils do not have English as a first language.  A much higher than average proportion of pupils is disadvantaged. These are pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority who are supported by the pupil premium funding.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported through school action is higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also higher than the national average.

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Information about this school

 Last year the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Within the school, there is a small unit which caters for up to eight pupils from primary schools situated on the north west side of Leeds who have behavioural difficulties. Pupils attend for up to two terms and remain on the role of their own school. Pupils are educated separately in the morning but often join mainstream classes in the afternoon.  The school runs a wide range of support groups for parents, including supporting their children’s learning and family needs. These include ESOL (support for families new to English), Family Literacy, What a family can do, Webster Stratton Parenting Group and a Let’s Get Cooking group.  The school runs a breakfast club from 7.30am to 8.55am each morning for pupils and an after-school club, which runs from the end of the school day until 6.pm.

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Information about this school

 A children’s centre is located next to the school.  In order to accommodate the increasing number of pupils in the school’s catchment area, a large building project is currently underway on and close to the school site. The new school building is due to be ready in 2015.  Since the last inspection, a new deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher have been appointed.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ achievement in mathematics by:  providing further training in order to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of the staff in teaching mathematics  increasing opportunities for pupils to practise their mathematical knowledge and skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that marking and feedback consistently give sufficient guidance to pupils on how to improve the presentation of their work.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership and management are good. The leadership of the headteacher is exceptional. She has a very clearly-focused vision of what is needed to take the school forward, which is shared by senior leaders and staff alike. A well-organised and detailed plan for continuous improvement is in place which is focused on achieving excellent outcomes for pupils by improving the quality of teaching still further.  Senior leaders regularly monitor the quality of teaching, which has continued to improve since the previous inspection. Evidence of this improvement can be seen in the rise in standards in English across the school. It is also evident and the continuation of pupils’ good behaviour in lessons identified in the previous inspection report.  English is not the first language of many of the pupils who join the school. Because staff are highly skilled at recognising their often complex needs, pupils make consistently good and even better progress across

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The leadership and management are good

the school in reading and writing. However, they make slightly less progress in mathematics, particularly in the early years and in Key Stage 1. This is because some staff are less confident in teaching mathematics and as a result, pupils’ achievement slows.  Provision in the early years has improved since the last inspection despite a threefold increase in the numbers of children attending the Reception classes. Achievement has improved for all groups of children, including those for whom the school receives additional funding. The newly appointed leader of the early years is planning further improvements to both the inside and outside areas and has already introduced a more robust method of measuring children’s progress.  Middle leaders play a key role in monitoring the quality of teaching in their subjects, making a direct contribution to the achievement of all groups of pupils. For example, the physical education (PE)

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The leadership and management are good

coordinator checks closely the impact of the allocation of the sports funding by monitoring the increase in the numbers of pupils taking part in sports activities.  The headteacher and governing body ensure performance targets for staff link directly to pupils’ achievement and the targets within the school’s improvement plan. Checks on the performance of staff are undertaken regularly and this information has been used to make decisions on teachers’ pay.  Nurturing every pupil is at the heart of the school’s ethos. Senior leaders ensure everyone is welcomed into school and that each pupil has an equal opportunity to succeed. Pupils understand this clearly and it reflects in their good behaviour, caring attitudes and the good progress of all groups of pupils.  The school has introduced changes to the curriculum in line with the revised national framework. The current curriculum is well planned, and subjects are clearly linked. It meets all aspects of the new

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The leadership and management are good

requirements. An example of how it prepares pupils for life in British society could be seen in Year 4 where pupils were clearly enjoying learning how to Morris dance, as part of a topic which looked at ‘Being British’. Pupils described this experience as great fun, as evidenced by their keenness to start the lesson and the concentration with which they undertook the often complicated dance steps.  The curriculum is enriched with a myriad of different day trips and residential visits which bring learning to life for pupils. For example Year 5 recently visited Whitby in order to experience life on a replica of Captain Cook’s 17 th Century sailing ship, The Endeavour. A residential trip to a local farm to study aspects of the natural world and animal care was described by pupils as ‘the best time I have ever had’. Experiences such as these contribute well to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents spoken with during the inspection and those who made their views known through the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) strongly supported the work of the school, speaking highly of staff and the work of the headteacher in particular. They feel the school supports not only their children, but also shows them how to support their children’s learning. All felt welcomed and appreciated and almost all would recommend the school to others.  School clubs abound and are clearly appreciated by pupils because they offer opportunities to try new things and develop new skills, for example, in lacrosse and table tennis.  The school has used its allocation of sports funding effectively to increase pupils’ access to a diverse variety of different sports and to improve their skills in, for example, rugby, skipping and climbing. Funds have been spent on training to enable staff to improve their own skills and knowledge in teaching PE. As a

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The leadership and management are good

result of these initiatives, the number of pupils participating in sport has increased. For example, pupils now regularly skip at break and lunchtimes improving their physical skills, health and well-being.  The local authority has supported the school well over the last year offering a good range of support to the headteacher, who they feel has managed the large and at times, onerous task of overseeing the building work well.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has a good range of skills and experience, which governors regularly update by undertaking further training. Their good knowledge and understanding of the data relating to pupils’ progress enables them to offer robust challenge to senior leaders on the achievement of pupils and the quality of teaching.  Governors manage the spending of the pupil premium funding prudently and this careful management has enabled them to support the large number of disadvantaged pupils well. As a result, last year this

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The leadership and management are good

group made good progress overall in school and better progress than their peers in reading and writing.  In partnership with senior leaders, governors have developed an effective system for checking the performance of all staff, which rewards good teaching and addresses underperformance.  Safeguarding procedures and policies meet current requirements. Governors undertake regular child protection training and carry out regular checks on the premises and buildings. The finance committee ensures that financial resources made available to the school are managed effectively as evidenced by the school’s current budget surplus.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ good attitudes and behaviour ensure that learning in classrooms is rarely interrupted by incidents of inappropriate behaviour. This has contributed directly to the improvement in pupils’ achievement across the school.  A very caring approach to all is promoted throughout the school, as demonstrated by the close friendships between all pupils. The befriending role played by playground buddies ensures no one is left out at playtime.  Parents hold the view that behaviour is good and that their children are safe and happy at school. A comment made by one sums up the views of others: ‘My child just loves school and would like to come at the weekend’.  School records show that no pupil has been excluded since the previous inspection, or at all in the last seven years. There are very few incidents of unacceptable behaviour because of the effective way in which the behaviour policy is consistently applied across the school and the high expectations of staff.

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Behaviour

 Pupils clearly enjoy coming to school and are eager to attend and arrive on time. As a result, attendance is currently above the national average for similar schools and almost all pupils arrive punctually, keen and eager to learn.  ‘Playtimes are good fun’, commented a pupil. ‘I love skipping and often have a competition with my friend to see who can skip for the longest’. ‘There is just so much more to do, no one has time to fall out’, commented a second pupil. This was clear evidence of the effectiveness of the school’s focus on skipping, which has contributed to improvement in pupils’ behaviour outside the classroom.  The strong focus school gives to the importance of attending school has contributed to the increase in attendance since the previous inspection, as has the work of the parent support worker who works hard in supporting families to improve children’s attendance and punctuality.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Staff are well trained to recognise early signs of abuse and work closely with outside agencies to ensure pupils’ safety both inside and outside school.  Pupils say they feel very safe, because staff are always there to help them.  School leaders recognise that road traffic accidents often involve children and that some pupils in school are new to England. Road safety training has been put in place in order to enable pupils to stay safe when crossing the road and when riding their bicycles.  The inspection team spoke with different groups of pupils, both formally and informally. All were clear about the different forms bullying can take and felt incidents happen very rarely because staff ensure pupils are made aware of how to keep safe and where to turn should an incident happen inside or outside school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching and pupils’ learning is good overall. Pupils’ progress records and evidence in pupils’ books support senior leaders’ view that the quality of teaching is good over time. Reading and writing are taught well across the school as evidenced by pupils’ good and better progress.  Teachers use information about how well pupils are doing to plan future learning effectively. As a result, the work set accurately meets the needs of pupils, enabling all groups, including the most able and those who are disadvantaged, to make good progress overall.  Homework is set regularly for pupils across the school from an early age. Most pupils spoken with during the inspection said they enjoy completing it. Parents also feel completing homework is important and recognise that this extension to their children’s’ learning has played an important role in increasing their achievement.  Teaching assistants share teachers’ high expectations for the progress of the pupils in their care. Effective

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The quality of teaching is good

teamwork and planning is apparent within classrooms and results in pupils’ increased enjoyment of learning which in turn reflects in their good attitudes and behaviour.  Last year pupils made good and sometimes even better progress in reading in Key Stages 1 and 2 due to the carefully planned and consistent teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) across the school.  Overall, pupils’ progress in mathematics is not as good as in English, although results for last year’s Year 6 pupils showed marked improvement. However, Key Stage 1 results remained lower in mathematics than in English. This is because some staff are less confident in teaching mathematics than English. For example in Key Stage 1, fewer mathematical activities were held in the free choice area of the classroom and in the early years provision, fewer observations were made by staff on children’s progress in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

Discussions with staff also confirmed that they felt more confident teaching English than mathematics. This impacts on pupils’ progress overall.  Extra sessions planned for pupils who need extra help with their learning are well thought out and carefully monitored. As a result, these pupils make the same good progress as others in the school.  Pupils’ work is mostly marked diligently. However, the school’s marking policy is not always fully adhered to and so it is not always made clear to pupils how they can improve their work. When this happens, progress slows and presentation can become shoddy in some books.  Lessons in religious education, personal and social education and art and design promote pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement is good despite the many barriers to learning they encounter. Current school data show that all groups, including disadvantaged pupils, are making good progress from a range of different starting points across the school.  The 2013 national data show standards in English and mathematics attained by the majority of pupils were lower than those nationally at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Disadvantaged pupils made similar progress to those nationally and were approximately one term behind other pupils at the end of Key Stage 2.  The 2014 national data paints a much brighter picture. Pupils’ attainment in Year 6, from a range of starting points, is higher than last year, particularly in writing and mathematics. Attainment in Key Stage 1 has also improved to close to national expectations in reading, and writing with a small dip in mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment also improved with pupils outperforming other pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

nationally and their school peers in reading and mathematics by more than a term. This is a clear indication that gaps in achievement are closing between this group and their peers.  Progress last year for disadvantaged pupils also improved in Key Stage 2 compared with other pupils nationally. Their success is due to the highly effective use of the pupil premium funding, which the school uses to provide extra support to boost pupils’ achievement in a variety of different ways, including one-to- one and small group sessions.  Overall progress in mathematics is slower than in English. This is because sometimes work set in mathematics lessons does not give pupils sufficient opportunity to use their skills and knowledge through, for example, solving a mathematical problem.  The well-stocked school library promotes reading well and is much appreciated by pupils. After- school sessions, which allow parents to choose books to read with their children, are also highly regarded by

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The achievement of pupils is good

families. Bi-lingual books abound and encourage even the most reluctant reader to, as one pupil commented, ‘get lost in a book’ and make progress in reading.  The most able pupils in Year 6 are currently making good or even better progress in mathematics and English. Last year three pupils attained the highest Level 6 in mathematics, which represented excellent progress. A small group are currently receiving extra support and tuition with the expectation that they will reach the highest standards of which they are capable at the end of this year. School data shows that the most able pupils across the school are making good progress overall.  Last year, standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 were below those expected nationally. However many pupils started at times other than at the start of the school year and most were new to English. Standards achieved by the majority of pupils who started in the school’s

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The achievement of pupils is good

Reception class were higher than those nationally.  Current school data shows pupils across the school have got off to a good start and are set to make even greater gains next year. Lesson observations, a scrutiny of pupils’ work and listening to pupils read during the inspection supports this view.  The school is justifiably proud of the good standards achieved by Year 1 pupils in the phonics screening check, which tests pupils’ ability to link letters to sounds.  The well-targeted support for all groups, including disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, including those that attend the behavioural unit, the most able and those from other ethnic backgrounds means they make equally good progress as their peers in English and mathematics. This shows the school’s continued commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils.

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The early years provision is good

 Outcomes for children who join the early years Reception class are good. They make good progress overall from a wide range of starting points. Staff work closely together to ensure activities set match the social, emotional and academic needs of all children.  Leadership and management and the quality of teaching are good and ensure children leave well prepared for Year 1. Despite a sharp increase in numbers, the newly appointed early years coordinator has a clear understanding of the needs of all children in her care. With the help of staff in the unit, activities are planned which ensure children make good progress in most areas of the curriculum.  Children arrive in the Reception class age from a range of different backgrounds and mostly with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age. Some are very new to English and have little or no experience of an educational setting. Some come from very difficult circumstances with families who are

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The early years provision is good

seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.  Despite these very real barriers, they quickly settle into the calm and welcoming atmosphere of the Reception classes, separating from parents with little fuss.  At the end of last year the majority reached or exceeded the expected standard development in the majority of areas of the curriculum. This represents good progress from low starting points for all groups of children, including those for whom the school receives extra funding and the most able.  Activities inside and outside the classroom support children to become active and inquisitive learners. At the time of the inspection, children were making tea light holders as part of a Divali celebration. Opportunities such as these promote children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills well.  Staff and teachers in the Reception classes have high expectations of what children can achieve. They support and guide children well. Their good use of questions to promote learning and increase children’s

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The early years provision is good

curiosity and a desire to find out more ensure the majority make good progress during their time in the Reception Year.  Relationships between staff and children are strong, as evidenced by the way children quickly settle within the setting and develop an early understanding of how to behave. A clear example of this was seen in the calm way in which children played together, demonstrating good social skills and behaviour.  Parents spoken with during the inspection praised staff, commenting on the very friendly welcome in all the Reception classrooms. Many particularly appreciate the chance to stay and learn with their children at the start of the school day, commenting that they felt it had helped them to learn how to support their children’s learning at home.

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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 107888 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 448364

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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 339 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Susan Knights Headteacher Jill Wood Date of previous school inspection 24 February 2010 Telephone number 0113 244 2457 Fax number 0113 246 5170 Email address office@littlelondonprimary.co.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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