Whinmoor St Paul's Church of England Primary School

Whinmoor St Paul’s CofE Primary School Whinmoor Crescent, Seacroft, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS14 1EG

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Teaching and pupils’ achievement in mathematics are not good enough. Teachers’ subject expertise in planning, delivering and assessing is not strong enough to ensure pupils make the good and better progress that they are capable of.  Although most pupils make the progress expected of them, fewer pupils, particularly those who are most able, exceed expectations and achieve higher levels at all key stages of learning.  While children in the early years are helped to settle into school well, adults’ expectations of what they can achieve are not high enough. Opportunities to extend children’s learning are not developed strongly enough.  Leaders’ and governors’ checks on the work of the school do not dig deeply enough. Information they collect on the quality of teaching and learning has not been used effectively in improving teaching and pupils’ outcomes. Consequently, the school is not improving quickly enough.

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This is a school that requires improvement

 The school’s work to develop pupils’ understanding of diversity does not extend to all groups required by legislation.  While there are some strengths in the curriculum, some subjects are not well developed. Pupils pick up misconceptions, which are not addressed by teachers. As a result, their progress and understanding are hampered.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ behaviour has improved since the last inspection. Leaders have tackled weaknesses and pupils’ behaviour makes a positive contribution both to their learning and the sense of community within the school.  The school cares well for its pupils’ well-being. The headteacher is committed to ensuring pupils’ personal, social and emotional needs are met. Pupils and their families are well supported, particularly when they are most vulnerable.  The school provides well for pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development. Pupils, governors and the headteacher are open and honest and unafraid to ‘tell it as it is’.  Provision for pupils who have special educational needs is effective and well led.  The school’s programme of sports coaching provides high-quality activities for pupils and supports their physical development well.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes, particularly in mathematics, by: ensuring the work challenges pupils to think deeply, reason mathematically, and develop greater fluency through applying their skills to a wider variety of problems making sure that more-able pupils are challenged to make better progress and achieve the highest levels developing teachers’ subject expertise in planning, delivering and assessing pupils’ learning ensuring that feedback, including marking, addresses misconceptions in pupils’ understanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the provision and leadership in the early years by: making sure that leaders have an accurate grasp of the achievement of children based on secure assessments, observations and evaluations of children’s learning Ensuring that effective, regular and incisive checks are made on the impact of teaching and the quality of children’s learning developing the range of activities to enhance children’s play and providing better opportunities to develop children’s curiosity, interest and imagination raising adults’ expectations of what children can achieve and ensuring that they extend and develop children’s play.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by: Ensuring that the checks made by leaders and governors delve deeply into the quality of learning and are incisive in evaluating the impact of teaching making sure that leaders’ reports are sharply evaluative and based on full and accurate information developing the skills and expertise of subject leaders to check pupils’ work and evaluate their learning in lessons to ensure that pupils are progressing as well as they can extending the school’s work on diversity to include all characteristics required by legislation.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher works hard and admits that she takes too much on. Her leadership of aspects of pupils’ personal development, well-being and safety is effective and has resulted in positive feedback from pupils and parents and from external audits of the school’s work. She has created a culture of care and support for pupils and their families. This means pupils feel that they are safe and their parents say that they are well looked after by staff.  Improvements in other areas of the school’s work have not been consistent. Where they have been less effective, it is because the checks that leaders make on the quality of teaching are too shallow. Leaders’ expectations are not always high enough. They have not demonstrated the rigour, expertise and determination to delve deeply into the quality of pupils’ learning and the impact teachers are having on pupils’ progress. Consequently, their reports focus on checking whether teachers are complying with

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

systems and procedures rather than evaluating precisely why teaching is not having the impact that it should.  Leadership in mathematics has remained weak since the previous inspection. As a result, teaching and the implementation of the new National Curriculum for mathematics have not been effective in securing improvements in pupils’ outcomes and mathematical understanding. Although the leadership of mathematics has recently changed, reports from leaders show that there is further to go in ensuring greater subject expertise and more incisive evaluation of the impact and quality of teaching.  While the curriculum covers an appropriate range of subjects, these are not always taught effectively. The headteacher is aware that there is much further to go in developing the teaching in a range of subjects. The school has benefited from working in partnerships, which has brought in additional capacity

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

to teaching, for example in physical education (PE), French, and music. In particular, the use of additional funding for school sports has been effectively spent on coaching, which has enhanced school PE lessons and provided pupils with high quality physical activities. As a result, their skills and ability to play competitive sports has increased. Pupils who spoke with inspectors said they wished that there were more after-school clubs for them to join.  The school’s systems for tracking the achievement of pupils have recently changed. Nevertheless, information about pupils’ performance from teachers’ assessments is not accurate across the school and does not match the levels of achievement seen in pupils’ books. Consequently, the information presented to governors does not paint an entirely accurate picture of the school’s performance. Too often leaders have been bogged down in calculating statistics rather than checking to see whether this matches the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

picture on the ground.  The leadership of provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) is effective and a strength of the school. The SEN leader is diligent in identifying and checking on the support for pupils and, as a result of some effective interventions, the number of pupils who need support has reduced to levels which are much closer to the national average.  The school has received some helpful support from working with a local partner school, which is helping teachers to experience and reflect upon good practice. The local authority is aware of the challenges the school faces and has rightly challenged the accuracy of some of the performance information in the early years. However, some visits from consultants have not robustly challenged the lack of high expectations from leaders and the pace of improvement needed to move the school to ‘good’.  The school’s work to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is strong. The honesty of the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

headteacher and candour of governors is shared by pupils, who are confident to say when things are not as good as they need to be. The school has done some positive work to develop pupils’ understanding of culture and diversity. However, this work has not been wide enough to encompass all aspects of society and prepare pupils for all they are likely to encounter in life in modern Britain.  The governance of the school Following a review of governance and significant changes in the membership of the governing body, there have been marked improvements in the work of the governing body. Governors are clear that neither they, nor the school, are ‘where we want to be’, and know that the school must improve further. Governors are honest and bring candour to their discussions. They have engaged in a range of activities to help them find out for themselves about the effectiveness of the school. They have

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

engaged in training to enable them to interrogate published data about pupils’ performance and are aware that they need to scrutinise the information about the achievement of current pupils more closely. Minutes of meetings show that governors are asking appropriate and challenging questions of leaders. However, the information and answers they receive from leaders are not as full, incisive or evaluative as they need to be. This means governors do not delve deeply enough behind the answers given to evaluate the full extent of the progress that the school is making. Consequently, aspects such as self- evaluation, performance management and pay progression are not always informed by robust performance information. Governors are aware of the use of pupil premium funding and the difference it is making in closing the gaps between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their peers.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Since the last inspection, leaders have taken action to address the weakest teaching in the school. Nevertheless, there is further to go to ensure teaching is consistently of the highest quality. Too often in lessons, teachers do not plan work which extends pupils’ thinking and challenges them to explore the subject in enough depth. This is particularly the case for the most-able pupils, who spend too long on work they have already shown they can do.  In some subjects, particularly mathematics and science, teachers’ subject expertise is not developed sufficiently to spot misconceptions in pupils’ work. As a result, some pupils misunderstand key concepts and ideas, which hampers their future learning. For example, one pupil had stated that melting points of most solids are around 50 ° C and that melting depended on how long a solid took to melt. The teacher did not correct this, but praised the pupil’s explanation about melting.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Work in pupils’ books shows that teachers do not always plan and set work that helps to secure pupils’ understanding of mathematical concepts. Problem solving is not embedded in teachers’ practice and is not used to deepen pupils’ mathematical understanding or to link skills and concepts that pupils are learning. In some cases pupils move on from one topic of learning to another without having fully grasped the skills, knowledge or understanding necessary. This is because teachers are too focused on covering curriculum requirements rather than checking and assessing whether pupils have grasped learning securely. Consequently, there are too many occasions when pupils go back to the beginning of a topic to repeat work that they should have already understood.  Although teachers mark pupils’ work regularly, feedback to pupils is not effective in securing improvements in pupils’ progress. This is because teachers do not always address the most important

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

aspects of pupils’ work that need to improve.  The teaching of English is stronger than the teaching of mathematics. There are particular strengths in the teaching of writing for the older pupils. However, opportunities to write imaginatively and use their own ideas do not feature strongly in the work younger pupils are given.  Pupils use their knowledge of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) well to help them decode and read words. However, other strategies for getting the gist of the meaning from a sentence or using cues from pictures and the context of the story are less well developed.  Pupils with special educational needs are well supported, and, with the help of effective interventions, make progress which is similar to their peers and sometimes better. Much of the support they receive has enabled them to make good progress in their personal and social development, which has had a positive

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  The headteacher leads the school’s work to safeguard pupils with great compassion and determination to support pupils’ needs, particularly when they are most vulnerable. Work with a wide range of other agencies ensures pupils’ welfare. Parents who spoke to inspectors and responded to the online questionnaire were very positive about the school’s work to ensure that pupils were safe and well cared for.  Pupils say they feel safe. They have a good understanding of how to keep safe. They know exactly what to do should they have a concern, and know it will be rapidly responded to by adults.  Pupils are knowledgeable about most forms of bullying and are confident to tell an adult should it occur. Parents and all the pupils who spoke to inspectors said that they were confident that bullying was dealt with effectively. One of the reasons for this is the school’s openness to hear what pupils are saying, and

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Personal development and welfare

to act decisively to address any concerns. However, as with diversity, leaders have already acknowledged there is further to go to ensure that pupils are fully aware of all forms of bullying, including, for example, homophobic bullying.  Pupils are confident and understand about keeping safe, particularly in terms of their physical safety, for example, road safety and also when using computers and the internet.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils were clear that behaviour has improved. The school has been successful in addressing aspects of behaviour that were hampering learning in some classes. Pupils understand the consequences of their actions and are clear about the rewards and sanctions that help to ensure their good behaviour.  Pupils show they are ready, willing and able to learn. Behaviour is secure in all classes and learning is rarely disrupted. If their engagement lags, it is most often because teaching is not challenging enough rather than any lack of enthusiasm from pupils.  Pupils are polite and welcoming to visitors and are keen to talk about their school, their achievements and interests. They demonstrate self-discipline and show care for others.  Pupils’ attendance is in line with the national picture and shows a steady trend of improvement. The school works well with those whose absence drops or becomes persistent and through effective support

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Pupils’ achievement in mathematics requires improvement. Across the school, pupils’ work shows their understanding of mathematical concepts is not as secure as it needs to be before they move on to the next stage of learning. This is because teaching does not develop pupils’ mathematical reasoning and problem solving abilities as part of routine learning in mathematics. As a result, pupils do not make the progress they are capable of. In 2015, measures for pupils’ progress in mathematics were significantly below the national average and few made better rates of progress to achieve higher levels.  Although all Year 2 pupils achieved the minimum level in mathematics in 2015, work in their books shows too many are now not working at the correct level. Some are given work that they have already covered. Similarly, in Year 1, pupils are taken back to concepts that were covered in the early years. This slows

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

their progress.  Learning in other subjects is variable and the school does not have a secure grasp of standards in different subject. While there were some strengths observed in pupils’ outcomes in PE and French, work in pupils’ books shows weaknesses in their understanding in other subjects such as science and geography.  There have been some improvements in standards in English. Notwithstanding a dip in 2014, pupils’ levels of achievement in reading and writing are higher than they were at the time of the last inspection.  Pupils’ reading is well supported by their good understanding of phonics, although their grasp of wider strategies to secure their understanding is less well developed.  Although pupils’ achievement in English is broadly average, fewer pupils than might be expected exceed the expected standard in Key Stages 1 and 2. This is because most-able pupils are not challenged enough

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

to make even better progress.  Pupils who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs generally progress as well as their peers. For disadvantaged pupils, where there are gaps in attainment, they are smaller than those seen nationally. Even though the number of pupils in each class is comparatively small, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who make better than expected rates of progress is not as good as it needs to be if they are to achieve the higher levels that they are capable of.

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Early years provision requires improvement

 Leaders’ expectations of children and the quality of their learning in the early years are not high enough and, as a result, provision in the early years requires improvement.  As a result of weaknesses in assessment, leaders do not have a secure grasp of the achievement of children in the early years. Senior leaders and the local authority are aware of concerns that assessment information about the outcomes achieved by children may not be accurate. Assessment information suggests that gaps between groups of children are wider than those seen nationally. During the inspection, the lead inspector sampled evidence from classroom observations, children’s records and teachers’ assessment information and found teacher’s assessments were not secure.  The checks carried out by the early years leader do not dig deeply enough into the quality of learning for children. Adults do not demonstrate secure understanding of aspects of children’s play that characterise

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Early years provision requires improvement

effective learning. Consequently, opportunities for children to be curious and explore interesting and different experiences are limited. Adults do not capitalise on children’s interest and seize the moments when children show they want to explore. For example, one child wanted to find out whether his feet were bigger than another child’s. Rather than suggesting he join in and take a turn to find out, the teacher asked him to play elsewhere until she was ready to work with him.  From typical starting points in both the Nursery and Reception, most children make the progress expected of them to achieve the expected outcomes and are ostensibly ready for learning in Year 1. However, fewer than might be expected make good progress and reach levels that exceed expectations. This is because adults’ questioning and interventions do not always extend children’s play sufficiently or demonstrate high enough expectations of what children can do and achieve. For example, on one

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Early years provision requires improvement

occasion when an adult was talking about an activity, the adult’s questions required limited responses from the children. However, when the adult was called away, the children’s talk became far more animated and revealed much about their thinking and understanding.  Children show they feel safe and confident in the Reception and Nursery classes. There is a strong, caring ethos from the very beginning. Adults liaise with parents and ensure that children are supervised and that their personal needs are met appropriately. However, all staff need to be aware of the possibility of unsafe situations and ensure that they are diligent about logging any potential safeguarding issues should they arise.

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School details

Unique reference number 108051 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 10002101

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 232 Appropriate authority the governing body Chair Rod Watson Headteacher Sheila Storey Telephone number 0113 2657250 Website http://www.whinmoorstpauls.co.uk Email address storey.s@whinmoorstpauls.co.uk Date of previous inspection 17 October 2013

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Information about this school

 Whinmoor St Paul’s is an average sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding is broadly in line with the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  Overall, the proportion of pupils who are disabled and those who have special educational needs is higher than the national average.  The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below the national average, as is the proportion who speak English as an additional language.  Children in the early years attend the Nursery on a part-time basis and are full-time in the Reception Classes.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school is receiving support from the local authority and a national leader of education from Morley Victoria Primary School.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes in the school. This included an observation carried out jointly with the headteacher. Inspectors also made several short drop-in visits to classes and visited small group teaching sessions. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour and spoke with pupils informally at lunchtimes, breaktimes and around the school.  Inspectors scrutinised the work in pupils’ books in a range of subjects and evidence in children’s learning journals in the early years. 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, other leaders, teachers and support staff. Inspectors also met with a representative from the local authority and five governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils and to parents at the beginning of the day to gather their views

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Information about this inspection

alongside 47 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and 23 staff questionnaires.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including the schools information about pupils’ performance, governing body minutes, reports from leaders and their evaluations of the quality of teaching over time, 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 Malcolm Kirtley Her Majesty’s Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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