Setting

Ms Dawn Lowry Yeadon Westfield Infant School Westfield Grove Yeadon Leeds LS19 7NQ

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Short inspection of Yeadon Westfield Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 3 March 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in May 2011.

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Short inspection of Yeadon Westfield Infant School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment you have worked closely with governors and your staff team to ensure that the areas identified for improvement at the last inspection have been addressed and strengthened. Standards have continued to rise and you are now focusing on ensuring that there is consistency across the whole school.

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Short inspection of Yeadon Westfield Infant School

Your self-evaluation is accurate and pinpoints exactly the areas on which you need to focus if you are to further increase pupils’ progress and take the school to outstanding. You constantly seek and respond to the views of all members of your school community to drive improvements. You listen to pupils, staff, parents, governors and advice from the local authority , bringing all this information together to form your school development plan. This is enabling you to have a precise picture of where further improvements are needed and where your school’s many strengths lie.

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Short inspection of Yeadon Westfield Infant School

You have maintained a stable team because staff feel valued and respected. You and your leadership team work alongside teachers to help them identify the strongest practice and address any areas for improvement. You have created a culture of trust and an appetite for self-improvement. You are beginning to work more closely with a wider group of schools to validate your own judgements on teaching and learning. More joint working is also enabling teachers to compare work Ofsted

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Short inspection of Yeadon Westfield Infant School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk samples and secure agreement of the new expectations across the partnership. This is providing more rigour and challenge.

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Short inspection of Yeadon Westfield Infant School

The recent safeguarding audit highlights many strengths and you have quickly rectified any minor areas for improvement. This has helped to further strengthen procedures. Your safeguarding leads can show evidence of work they have carried out to support individual pupils and families. Case studies show that leaders engage with all agencies and are tenacious in following up any concerns.

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Inspection findings

 The quality of teaching and learning in the school is good. Teachers question pupils to ensure they understand their work and help them to move on. Activities are carefully planned to interest the pupils and keep them motivated. Work is pitched at the right level for most pupils, but the most able pupils are not always given the challenge required to ensure they make the best progress they can.  In Key Stage 1, outcomes show that most pupils leave the school at above average levels of attainment. Standards in phonics (the sounds letters make) are continuing to rise in the Year 1 national check, and there are high expectations of what pupils can achieve in reading.  Practical activities help pupils to learn about mathematics in a different range of contexts. The way in which teachers assess in mathematics gives instant feedback to pupils about their progress. Leaders carefully check assessments against work samples to confirm the accuracy of teachers’

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Inspection findings

judgements.  Progress in writing books shows that by the end of Key Stage 1, pupils are writing fluently using a neat, joined-up handwriting style. They are given many opportunities to apply themselves to longer pieces of writing.  Teachers work hard to make learning fun and enjoyable across the school. In the nursery, the youngest children showed great enthusiasm in playing a lively game of matching shapes outdoors. They were keen to name different shapes, and match them to corresponding chalked shapes on the ground. Most children are working within and above age-related expectations. For children who were less confident, the teacher skilfully supported their learning, enabling them to achieve success.  Outcomes at the end of the early years show an increasing trend in the number of children who are reaching the required level of development. Journals carefully record children’s progress throughout their first years.

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Inspection findings

Children are provided with a range of opportunities to develop their own interests. Some discrepancies in the assessments carried out in the early years suggest that leaders need to carefully check the information collected and investigate any obvious inconsistencies that arise.  Pupils enjoy a wealth of experiences through which they gain a sense of responsibility. Opportunities are provided to support pupils’ personal development, for example, pupils serve lunch, take part in school council meetings, raise money for charities and give their views on how to improve their school. They enjoy coming to school and want to please their teachers.  Behaviour around school is exceptional. Pupils are welcoming to visitors, polite and well mannered. They treat each other with respect and show consideration and kindness. Strong behaviour systems are used consistently to reinforce positive behaviour. A child who demonstrated

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Inspection findings

particularly challenging behaviour, for example, was managed extremely well, without disrupting the learning of other pupils.  Parental involvement is strong, and the 63 parents who sent in written responses to the questionnaire were very positive about the school. Phrases such as, ‘approachable’, ‘high standards’, ‘amazing’, ‘fantastic’, ‘excellent’, are repeated time and time again. Parents frequently comment on the interesting curriculum, how stimulated their children are and how well teachers contribute to their children’s highly positive first experiences of school. Leaders work hard to maintain these relationships.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 teachers provide a higher level of challenge for the most-able pupils across the whole school, particularly in writing and mathematics.  assessments carried out in early years are checked closely to ensure they accurately reflect where children are in their learning.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Director of Children’s Services for Leeds. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this short one day inspection, I met with the headteacher, assistant headteachers, governors, safeguarding leads, a group of pupils and a consultant from the local authority. I analysed 63 responses from Parent View which were all extremely positive and 29 staff questionnaires.

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