Paradise Primary School

Paradise Primary School 1 Bretton Street, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF12 9BB

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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This is a good school

 Pupils’ personal development and welfare are outstanding. They know how to keep themselves safe and are confident, successful learners.  Pupils reach standards which are consistently at or above those of other pupils nationally in English and mathematics.  Teachers know their pupils well and relationships are good. They plan exciting activities that engage pupils in learning and take effective account of their differing needs.  Children in the early years make good progress from their starting points and are well prepared for the transition to Year 1.  Pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is excellent. Pupils are knowledgeable and highly appreciative of the diversity found in Britain today. They behave well with little need for adult supervision.  The headteacher is passionate about school improvement. She, along with her senior leadership team and governors, quickly identify weaknesses and

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This is a good school

put very effective strategies in place to bring about improvement.  Leaders and managers review policies and procedures regularly so that these are effective. They ensure that the independent school standards and early years requirements are met.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ attendance, although improving, is not yet consistently good.  Not all teachers have high enough expectations of what their pupils can achieve.  Pupils do not get enough opportunities to practise skills learned in English and mathematics in other subjects.  Information on pupils’ achievements is not easily accessible or accurately interpreted by all adults, including senior leaders.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including that for early years, by ensuring that: all adults, including all senior leaders, are able to easily access and interpret the information on pupils’ progress and attainment strategies already implemented to improve attendance are sustained and monitored so that these aspects continue to improve.  Improve the quality of teaching, so that it is consistently good or better, by: raising teachers’ expectations of pupils’ standards in spelling, presentation and calculation in other subjects to match those in English and mathematics giving pupils more opportunities to apply skills learned in English and mathematics in a range of activities.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher is passionate about school improvement. Together with governors, she evaluates and monitors all school activities to maintain and improve on pupils’ personal and academic achievement.  Leaders and managers place a strong emphasis on good-quality training for all staff. Teachers are successfully encouraged to undertake accredited teaching qualifications to improve the quality of their teaching. Consequently, the quality of their teaching quickly improves but teachers frequently move on to take new posts in the maintained school sector. Therefore, staff turnover is often high and the quality of teaching fluctuates.  The headteacher very effectively reviews teachers’ performance termly to help them improve their practice. These reviews are linked to evaluations of their teaching; targets include pupils’ progress and whole-school developments. Monitoring by other serving headteachers also helps guide improvement.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The good continuous professional development that staff receive also means that they are extremely knowledgeable about how to promote fundamental British values and protect pupils from any form of extremism or exploitation.  Leaders and managers plan a curriculum that excites and engages pupils. Numerous trips, themed days and visitors, such as the local Member of Parliament, help enhance learning. They ensure that the broad range of topics studied prepare pupils well for the next stage of their education and for life in a multicultural world.  Parents speak very highly of the school. They are confident that their children are happy and safe at the school and that the school is helping them become good British Muslims. They comment on how well their children accept and enjoy the diversity that is found in Britain today. Parents are well informed about how well their children are doing.  The leadership of pupils’ welfare and behaviour is a strength of the school. All staff are well trained in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

these aspects. Careful monitoring ensures that any issues are quickly and thoroughly dealt with.  Leaders and managers monitor pupils’ progress rigorously. They quickly identify areas for improvement, such as attendance and reading, and monitor the impact meticulously. However, the system for gathering pupils’ progress information is complex. Consequently, not all senior leaders and teachers are able to easily access and evaluate it without specialist support.  The headteacher has implemented a new assessment system. She has involved other school leaders to ensure that this system is well moderated and developed.  The governance of the school Governors support the school well as between them they have a wide range of skills, including in finance, business management and education. The delegation of their responsibilities is well linked to their skills. Governors take an extremely active and vigorous role in school improvement. They meet at

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

least weekly to evaluate school improvement. All leaders and managers are knowledgeable about the independent school standards and regularly review policies and procedures to ensure that they are consistently met. Safeguarding is effective. The school places a high emphasis on safeguarding. The leadership of pupils’ welfare and behaviour is a strength of the school. All staff are well trained in these aspects. Careful monitoring ensures that any issues are quickly and thoroughly dealt with. Governors receive fortnightly reports from the senior leader responsible for safeguarding. There is a current safeguarding policy on the website which meets requirements.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers build excellent relationships with their pupils. They know them very well and engender an atmosphere of mutual respect.  Pupils say they enjoy lessons as teachers make learning fun. Numerous examples of pupils’ interest and engagement were seen by the inspection team. Pupils were fully engaged in making buildings with straws, marshmallows and jelly. The problems posed by the teacher helped them to think very carefully about how to tackle the task set.  Teachers are skilled at meeting the differing needs of pupils. In some lessons, they set different tasks for pupils, matched to their ability levels. In others, they put pupils in smaller groups or engage the help of another adult.  In mathematics lessons, teachers quickly pick up on any misconceptions pupils may have. They give extra support so that pupils can keep up with others.  Adults in the classrooms support pupils well. They take on the role of teacher or teaching assistant

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

depending on their knowledge and skills in the subject being taught. Consequently, pupils are taught by adults with good subject knowledge, enthusiasm and love for the subject they are teaching.  Teachers use different strategies to help pupils learn. In an English lesson, pupils enthusiastically drew on each other’s backs to help learn letter sounds. In another lesson, smelling, touching and looking at a mint plant helped pupils make their writing more interesting.  All work that pupils complete is marked either in lessons or afterwards, and this helps pupils know where they have gone wrong.  Teachers promote a range of skills and concepts in both English and mathematics very well. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to practise these skills in other subjects. Consequently, some pupils do not always develop a secure understanding and teachers cannot fully assess what pupils have learned.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers expect high standards in spelling, presentation and calculation in pupils’ English and mathematics work. However, in other subjects these standards are not maintained. Consequently, pupils’ work is sometimes messy, and simple calculation and spelling mistakes made.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  All adults in the school place a firm emphasis on promoting tolerance and good moral values. Muslim and British values are taught well through a range of situations, such as a cross-curricular day focusing on disability. An ethos of respect and tolerance permeates every interaction between staff and pupils during the school day. Pupils say: ‘We are all one and have equal rights. We treat others as you would want to be treated.’  Pupils know and accept that other people may have different beliefs, needs and family structures. A well- planned and delivered personal, social, health and economic education curriculum means that pupils’ personal development is exceptional.  Playground buddies are democratically elected and then trained by the adult safeguarding lead. Even younger pupils in Key Stage 1 take on this responsibility, so that they can help with any potential issues

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Personal development and welfare

during the school day and at break times. A ‘bully box’ enables pupils to raise issues with the safeguarding lead if they do not want to go to a playground buddy.  A range of strategies, such as e-safety training, healthy eating days, and visits from the police and fire safety team mean that pupils are very aware of how to keep themselves safe and healthy.  Pupils work and play cooperatively. They support each other well in the classroom, which promotes good learning. Pupils regularly take part in debates and peer discussion. Consequently, they learn to listen well, speak articulately and value the opinion of others.  Pupils and parents are very proud of their school. They welcome all visitors and were eager to speak to inspectors at various times during the school day. Pupils spoke eloquently and enthusiastically about how much they love their school and were very happy to explain why.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils move around the school in a controlled and safe manner with little adult supervision. An unexpected evacuation of the school during the inspection was completed calmly, quietly and quickly by pupils of all ages.  Pupils are very aware of the behaviour policy and the rewards and sanctions system. They know that expectations of their behaviour are high.  Pupils play well together most of the time. Adults supervising pupils at break times model good behaviour by encouraging pupils to share equipment.  Parents are very pleased with the behaviour of their children in school and consider it has a positive effect on how they behave when at home. Pupils, parents and staff all say that incidents of bullying are rare.  Generally adults manage behaviour well. On rare occasions there is minor disruption in classrooms when the quality of teaching and behaviour management is not as strong. Arguments sometimes occur in the

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Behaviour

playground, usually when pupils are playing football. The minor disruption and low-level arguments generally involve boys rather than girls.  Pupils’ attendance has previously been just below that of other pupils nationally; it is now in line. Strategies to help improve rates of attendance are working and senior leaders are continuing to monitor the impact to ensure that improvement continues.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Children start Paradise Primary School with levels of development that are typical of, or slightly below, those of other pupils of the same age. They make good progress and leave school with standards above those of other pupils nationally.  In 2014, pupils in Year 1 did not reach an acceptable level of attainment in reading the sounds letters make (phonics). Strategies to improve reading skills worked well and in 2015 pupils reached standards above those of other pupils nationally.  By the time pupils finish Key Stage 1, they are consistently reaching standards in mathematics, reading and writing that are at or above those expected for their age.  Pupils’ progress and standards in mathematics continue to be above other pupils of the same age nationally as they move through Key Stage 2.  Pupils’ progress in reading in Key Stage 2 dipped in 2015. However, the headteacher has quickly implemented strategies, including the purchase of a commercial scheme, to help improve progress in

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Outcomes for pupils are good

reading. She is now carefully monitoring the effects of these strategies. Pupils talk enthusiastically about reading and enjoy the emphasis that has been placed on improving their reading skills.  Pupils reach standards and make progress in their grammar, punctuation and spelling skills that is better than other pupils nationally.

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Early years provision is good

 Children enter the Nursery class with levels of development that are typical of, or slightly below that expected of children that age. Their skills in mathematics, communication and language are lower than expected.  When children leave Reception class, they are reaching levels of development that are at or above those expected for their age in all areas. Consequently, they are well prepared for the transition to Year 1. Their skills in recognising letters and the sounds letters make are improving.  Adults are good at modelling skills to help children learn. They play well alongside children, and help them learn to share and develop good language skills. In Reception, the teacher helped children learn how to remember a number in their heads when doing addition.  Children play very well together and cooperate willingly. They are encouraged to be independent and even the youngest children can be seen putting on their own aprons and coats and cutting their own

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Early years provision is good

pieces of paper.  Parents are well informed about what their child is doing in school and how well they are doing. Parents are able to access this information via the internet. Those who are unable to access the internet are given paper copies.  Adults plan activities carefully so that they engage children’s interests. However, teachers’ planning is occasionally too generic and does not always take into account the needs of older and younger children.  The leader of the early years has been in place since September 2015. She works well with the headteacher to ensure that all appropriate independent school standards and the early years statutory requirements are consistently met.  Along with other senior leaders, the early years leader is unable to precisely access and interpret the information on children’s achievements without specialist support.

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School details

Unique reference number 132099 Inspection number 10007703 DfE registration number 382/6021 This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school. Type of school Muslim Primary School School status Independent school Age range of pupils 2–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 215 Number of part-time pupils 47 Proprietor Paradise School Trust Chair Mr Yasir Patel Headteacher Mrs Hafsa Patel Annual fees (day pupils) £950–£1,250 Telephone number 01924 439803 Website www.paradiseschool.org.uk Email address info@paradiseschool.org.uk Date of previous inspection 13 July 2011

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Information about this school

 Paradise Primary School is an independent Muslim day school for boys and girls between the ages of two and 11 years. Following recent legislative changes and the agreement of the Department for Education, the two-year-old children are now part of the whole-school inspection and not inspected separately.  The younger children attend the Nursery class on a part-time basis. Younger children receive Nursery funding from the local authority.  None of the pupils in the school have a statement of special educational needs.  The school was last inspected in 2011 and the current headteacher took up her post shortly after.  The school has a number of aims and a vision statement, being ‘preparing our children for living in 21 st century Britain by imparting fundamentals of mutual respect, integrity and continuous improvement. To be proud of their Muslim identity and to use all these values to contribute positively to society as equal

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out over two-and-a-half days with one day’s notice.  The inspectors toured the premises both inside and outside.  Inspectors spoke to pupils both informally and in formal groups when they discussed work in books and listened to pupils read. Inspectors also spoke to a number of parents as well as considering the 39 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. Thirty staff responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire were also taken into account.  Inspectors held formal meetings with members of the governing body, the senior leadership team and teachers.  Inspectors visited all classrooms, where they observed learning and behaviour in a range of lessons. They studied pupils’ work in all subjects in all year groups.  Inspectors examined school documentation, such as pupils’ achievement information, and admission and attendance registers. They also studied a range of policies including those relating to behaviour,

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Information about this inspection

safeguarding, welfare, health and safety, and other documents required to check compliance with the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

Jo Sharpe, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Michael Reeves 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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