Adel St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Jane Hainsworth Headteacher Adel St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School Long Causeway Adel Leeds West Yorkshire LS16 8EX

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School

Following my visit to the school on 8 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 June 2011.

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School

Your recent appointment as permanent headteacher has brought renewed clarity to the work of the school. With the help of the local authority, you accurately evaluate the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This is helping you to appraise the effectiveness of teaching honestly and to put into place actions, based on reliable analysis, to address any issues raised.

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School

Targets for teachers are focused on improving pupils’ outcomes, and the monitoring and feedback that you give to teachers is helping them to improve their practice. Middle leaders are relatively new to their roles and are undertaking some monitoring and development activities, but their impact is limited thus far. You have given good support and sufficient time for staff to develop their subject knowledge to deliver the new curriculum and to get to grips with new assessment systems, so staff are confident in assessing what pupils know and can do. You and the staff demonstrate high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning. As a result, pupils’ behaviour around school and during learning is very good. High expectations extend beyond the social to the academic expectations of pupils. Consequently, attainment of pupils is slightly above national averages. You have worked with staff to raise attainment in writing, the area to improve at the

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School

point of the last inspection. The curriculum has been designed to appeal to boys as well as girls, with careful selection of topics and texts. Lesson observations show that boys are as motivated to learn as girls. Most pupils achieve high levels in writing, although a number of boys and a few disadvantaged pupils are not achieving the high levels they are capable of. You are providing a range of support to help disadvantaged pupils to access school activities, but have not fully evaluated the impact of this provision on the progress of pupils.

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School

Your work to ensure that pupils are safeguarded has been rigorous. You have recently revised all procedures and policies to ensure a safe site for playing and learning. Staff carry out risk assessments for all aspects of pupil activity and are appropriately trained in safeguarding. Pupils say they feel safe from harm. They learn how to keep safe when using the internet and when out in the community.

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Inspection findings

 You, and the staff, are ensuring that pupils receive a vibrant and relevant curriculum. The curriculum is enabling pupils to develop a good understanding of modern British values, and to learn about different faiths and cultures. Teachers are planning lessons effectively so that pupils are excited and enthused. For example, pupils were engrossed in discovering the inside of a fish during dissection, and loudly and confidently rehearsed and presented a news bulletin to the class during the exploration of a news script.  Teaching assistants are effective in their work to support pupils’ learning, particularly in one-to-one situations.  Teachers’ use of questions is very effective in helping to probe for learning and to stretch pupils’ thinking. For the most part, the level of challenge presented to pupils is high. Pupils, in particular the most able, were seen to be challenged well by exploring new concepts through effective open-ended

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Inspection findings

tasks. For example, in one lesson pupils were generating their own sums using equipment and natural materials such as shells and sticks. The marking and feedback policy is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning. Despite concerns raised by a few parents, homework, delivered through the ‘learning logs’, is a strength and is helping pupils to develop creative and resilient attitudes to learning.  Routines for discussion and sharing of ideas are well established and pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. In a Key Stage 2 mathematics lesson, pupils explained to others how they might multiply and divide fractions, leaving the teacher in no doubt that they had fully understood the method.  There is a strong culture of listening to pupils throughout the school, and the opportunity to express their thoughts comes through structures such as the school council, peer mentors, the racial harmony committee and young

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Inspection findings

leaders. Pupils’ views are also taken into account through the monitoring and evaluation of the school’s work.  Pupils are very cooperative in their play. They care about each other and are kind. Pupils benefit from high levels of supervision during play times, and, as a consequence, play times are safe and happy times of the day. There is a good balance of activity between the very active and quieter walking and talking. Pupils are keen to say how much they love school.  Teaching in the early years is effective in preparing children for Year 1. Effective teaching is helping pupils to read and write. In a phonics (the sounds that letters make) lesson seen, all pupils joined in with articulating sounds with accompanying actions, with great gusto. Routines are well established, helping children to gain independence and to interact well with others. Several parents expressed their delight at how quickly their child

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Inspection findings

had settled and made progress since starting at school.  Governors are committed and capable supporters of the school. They offer the right amount of challenge and support for school leaders. The chair of the governing body is well informed about the performance of the school through regular meetings with the headteacher and a representative of the local authority.  You reward good behaviour and regular attendance in school and, in recent years, attendance has been steadily above average. However, there has been an increase in the number of pupils absent from school this year, and the number of pupils who are persistently absent has risen, representing a decline in attendance.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the provision for disadvantaged pupils is more precisely focused so they are able to achieve rates of progress in line with other pupils nationally  the teaching of writing continues to improve so that all pupils, but boys in particular, achieve the higher levels they are capable of  leaders continue to work with pupils and parents to reverse the current decline in attendance. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales, the regional schools commissioner and the Director of Children's Services for Leeds City Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this one-day inspection I was able to discuss the work of the school with you and your staff. We visited classrooms together to observe teaching and learning. I looked at pupils’ work in books and spoke with pupils throughout the day. Discussions with a representative of the local authority and six members of the governing body helped to provide additional information. School documentation, assessment information, policies and information posted on the school website were also taken into account. I looked at the online questionnaire (Parent View) to gather 20 parents’ views about the school, and took into account the views of 13 staff through online questionnaires.

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