Scapegoat Hill Junior and Infant School

Scapegoat Hill Junior and Infant School School Road, Scapegoat Hill, Golcar HD7 4NU

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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 Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The executive headteacher and senior leaders of the school have led rapid improvement in all areas and it is now a good school.  Governors and all staff are highly committed to helping the school improve and morale is high.  From their different starting points, pupils of all abilities make good progress in reading, mathematics and especially writing.  Children in the early years make good progress due to good teaching and leadership. They are well behaved and highly motivated.  Teaching is good. Teachers have good relationships with pupils and well planned activities capture pupils’ interests, helping them to learn as a whole class, in groups or independently.  Expectations for behaviour and learning are consistently high across all subjects. This positive culture and the broad curriculum contribute well to the personal development of pupils.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe is good. All pupils say that they feel safe and are well cared

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This is a good school

for. Parents and staff agree with the pupils.  Behaviour is good, both in lessons and around the school. Pupils get on well with each other and their positive attitudes to learning contribute to their good progress.  School leaders provide support and training for staff, which enables them to improve their teaching and this contributes to increasing pupil progress, especially in reading and mathematics.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils in key stage 2 have historic gaps in their knowledge, understanding and use of higher order reading skills that make it harder for them to make progress that is good or better.  Sometimes the most-able pupils complete work they can already do before moving on to more challenging activities.  Not all the recent changes to opportunities for learning outside the classroom are embedded strongly enough to fully deepen the knowledge, understanding and skills of all pupils.  Parents of children in the early years have not been given regular opportunities to contribute to or be involved in their child’s learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop the opportunities for parents to contribute and be involved in their children’s learning in the early years provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop the opportunities for active learning outside the classroom to support and deepen understanding and skills across a wide range of subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further increase the progress that pupils make by:  providing more opportunities for pupils in key stage 2 to develop their knowledge and understanding to confidently use and apply higher order reading skills  ensuring that the most-able pupils have timely opportunities to extend and deepen their learning in all lessons.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The executive headteacher and deputy headteacher have a clarity of vision that has been the catalyst for rapid improvement in all areas of the school, especially in the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. They have managed the pace of change very effectively so that staff, governors, parents and pupils are all ambitious to make the school better.  The governing body and headteacher have a very accurate evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The strong record of improvement since the previous inspection shows that leaders have the capacity to improve the school further.  Highly motivated staff have contributed to the improvement in teaching and learning. They relish the regular training opportunities within the federation to develop their skills and share best practice, particularly in the teaching of reading and mathematics.  Systems to check on pupils’ progress are very effective. If the progress of a pupil begins to slow, then

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

personalised learning programmes are put into place promptly. Frequent checks are made to ensure this support is helping the pupil to catch up. All groups of pupils, including the very small number who are supported by the pupil premium and those who have special educational needs or disability, are closely checked to make sure that they are making good progress from their starting points.  Leaders observe teachers in the classroom regularly and check on the quality of the work that pupils complete over time. This has led to pupils’ learning being good, with some that is outstanding. Teachers are held accountable for the progress that their pupils make and this is reflected in the targets set for staff in their performance management.  The curriculum is good. The displays around the school reflect the exciting range of learning that often reflects pupils’ interests. Regular ‘learning festivals’ allow for pupils to work cooperatively, choosing their

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

own learning activities that reflect their preferred learning styles. In ‘Shaping challenge’, pupils were able to explore mathematics from many cross-curricular angles and work with artists from the local community – such opportunities help promote a love of learning which spills into their everyday lives. Learning opportunities outside the classroom, including in the outdoor environment, are being developed to help pupils further extend and apply their knowledge and skills. These are not yet fully established.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education pervades all aspects of school life. Pupils enjoy regular visits, especially within the local area, and working with visitors, for example, when learning to play music from around the world on African drums.  Governors and school leaders ensure that the pupil premium is used to good effect so that disadvantaged pupils make similar progress and have the same opportunities as all other pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The primary sports funding has been used well to increase the opportunities for pupils to learn a range of sports including dance and rugby and to take part in competitive events in the local area. The pupils are proud to have performed dance routines in the Pennine Showcase, held in a regional theatre. Pupils are aware of how exercise is important for a healthy lifestyle and enjoy being outside in all weathers.  Local authority support has been highly effective. It has particularly supported the development of the federation, the skills of the governing body and the provision of specialist consultant time for improving the teaching of reading and mathematics.  Governors and all staff are forever mindful of safeguarding and the arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff training is kept up to date, staff recruitment procedures are followed rigorously and staff members know the actions they should take if they are concerned about a pupil.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school  Governance is shared across the two schools in the federation, allowing for strategic financial management, increased leadership capacity and the sharing of specialist staff, which greatly benefits both schools.  Governors have worked effectively with the local authority to develop their skills to act in a strategic manner to support and challenge the school. The governors are increasingly adept at asking challenging questions of the school leaders that reflect their understanding of information about the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils make. They take a keen interest in the progress of each individual pupil.  Governors are enthusiastic and committed to the school. They are clear about what the school needs to do to continue to improve and have enabled the changes needed to rapidly improve school leadership and the teaching of reading and mathematics.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers have high expectations for learning, and this is seen in the quality of work that pupils record in their books, the increase in pupils’ progress across the school and the observations made during the inspection.  Interesting activities capture pupils’ interests and allow them to broaden their learning experiences. For example, in a religious education lesson for Years 3 and 4, pupils spent some time in the woodland quietly reflecting on the good things in their life. On their return to the classroom, they were able to share how this experience made them feel and reflect maturely on why quiet times might be valued within religious life.  Pupils are clear about what they are learning as explanations are precise and build on previous learning. This allows pupils to set to work on their tasks and quickly make progress that is at least good. There are a few occasions when the most-able pupils know what to do and yet have to begin on a similar task to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

other pupils before moving on to more challenging activities. This slows the opportunity to deepen and extend their learning.  ‘I love reading’ is a statement made by a Year 2 pupil and echoed by all pupils spoken to. This is a significant improvement since the previous inspection. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 speak highly of the wide range of books they can read, their enjoyment of individual reading interviews and how the school positively responds to requests to purchase books that reflect pupils’ interest. Higher order reading skills that develop skills of comprehension are now taught from Reception. For example, in a phonics session, (the sounds that letters represent), the teaching assistant explored the different meanings of the word ‘lair’ when a child eagerly wanted to add it to a list of words that contain the sound ‘air’ as they had heard it being used in an exciting story.  Writing is a strength of the school. Pupils enjoy writing as they are offered a wide range of interesting

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

reasons to write. For example, in Years 5 and 6, pupils were eager to improve their grammatical skills by adding frontal adverbial phrases and subordinate and relative clauses to a response to their class reading book ‘The invention of Hugh Cabret’. In the early years provision, children are often encouraged to write in response to a conversation and even reluctant writers freely express themselves as they clearly understand the reason for their writing.  Mathematics teaching is good. Pupils are encouraged to develop their mental arithmetic and problem- solving skills and apply these to their learning. For example, in Years 1 and 2, pupils had to explain how they knew that 9 + 2 was the same as 2 + 9 and were moved on in their learning to explore, understand and create inverse number facts.  Teaching assistants are aware of the learning expected in each lesson and are skilful in helping pupils make progress. For example, in Years 3 and 4, the teaching assistant used questioning effectively to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

enable pupils to independently annotate a diagram of a plant with information about what helps a plant to grow.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils have a strong voice within the school. This is a significant improvement since the previous inspection. The ‘learners’ voice’ enables pupils to have their say in aspects of school life, for example, the whole school recently voted on ‘Scape rules’ that underpin the ethos of the school.  Pupils enjoy opportunities to have responsibilities, from older pupils helping in the dining room to being democratically elected to the school council. The school council recently organised fundraising activities to purchase bicycle racks to promote independence and encourage healthy lifestyles. The school council is active in promoting British values.  All pupils say that they feel safe at school. Pupils feel valued and able to take risks, for example, taking part in class assemblies in front of parents or in the federation Christmas performance. Pupils are taught

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Personal development and welfare

how to stay safe outside school, for example on the roads.  Most pupils talked to have had no experience of bullying. Pupils know the difference between bullying and falling out with friends. They are taught about different types of bullying including cyber-bullying. All are confident that if bullying occurred, it would be quickly sorted out. Intolerant language is rarely heard and never accepted.  Within the small school community, each child and pupil is valued and nurtured to develop a strong sense of individual identity and self-worth.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and welcoming. Pupils use good manners naturally, including when asking for their school lunches. Acts of courtesy are freely given, for example holding the door open for each other and for adults.  Most pupils have highly positive attitudes to learning, though a small number of pupils sometimes opt out of full involvement in their learning unless given gentle reminders of expected behaviour by the adults in the room. Disruption to learning is rare.  Pupils play well with each other outside. Older pupils regularly support younger pupils, for example giving encouragement and suggestions when trying to do a handstand.  The work in pupils’ books is neat, complete and well presented, reflecting a pride in their learning.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and this is reflected in their excellent attendance and exemplary punctuality.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Progress has improved since the previous inspection and pupils in all year groups are now making good or better progress in a wide range of subjects.  Pupils in key stage 1 make good progress and attain standards above those typically expected in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2. More pupils in Year 1 than seen nationally achieve the phonics screening check.  Good progress now continues throughout key stage 2. Inspection evidence shows that since the previous inspection, pupils’ progress has increased and more pupils are on track to make better progress than that typically seen, especially in writing and mathematics. Historical inconsistencies in opportunities for key stage 2 pupils to apply their knowledge and understanding of higher order reading skills mean that better levels of progress in reading are not as strong but are rapidly improving.  The small number of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs or disability

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Outcomes for pupils are good

make good progress from their individual starting points as they receive highly individualised support that is regularly reviewed and closely matches their needs.  Across all year groups, pupils are making consistently good progress in a wide range of subjects. This is a result of the improvement in the quality of teaching, the curriculum and the careful tracking of pupils’ progress since the previous inspection. For example, Year 6 pupils in science and geography are attaining and exceeding expected levels of knowledge, understanding and skills as found nationally.  The most-able pupils are encouraged and challenged to make good and better progress. Mixed-age classes enable the most-able pupils to work together. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 were challenged to work in pairs to solve a large number of equivalent ratios expressed in varying forms to complete a shape puzzle. This enabled active and focused mathematical discussions to take place as

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Outcomes for pupils are good

pupils enthusiastically gave reasons for their decisions, and this promoted good and better progress.  Year groups in the school are small and each has different strengths and weaknesses. The school tackles all discrimination effectively and promotes equality of opportunity as pupils become confident and successful learners. This results in there being little difference in the progress made by boys and girls, disadvantaged or non-disadvantaged pupils or those from a minority ethnic group.

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Early years provision is good

 Children start in Reception with skills that are a mixture of broadly typical or below typical for their age. By the end of Reception, children make good progress and are generally ready for the step up to Year 1.  Leadership has been strengthened since the new leader of early years arrived. She has a very clear understanding of how children learn and has implemented changes, particularly to the teaching of reading and writing to support and increase the progress that children make.  The highly experienced and passionate early years teaching and support staff ensure that activities are carefully planned to meet the learning needs of all children, including the most able and those with special educational needs, so that they make good progress. For example, a teacher was observed with most-able children solving subtraction number sentences with numbers over 10, and a teaching assistant played a game of number bingo with a less confident child to aid their learning of colour and digits to 10.

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Early years provision is good

Presently there are no children in receipt of pupil premium in early years.  Expectations for behaviour are high and children have the opportunity to model their behaviour on the older pupils in class 1 and so learn to cooperate, take turns and concentrate on their learning. For example, a child from Reception working alongside a Year 1 pupil maintained concentration on construction while holding an animated discussion on the characteristics of their small brick vehicles. The Reception child reflected the ethos of early years during the discussion when they remarked, ‘You can do anything if you keep trying’.  Children feel well cared for and safe. Parents are confident that their children are well looked after. All welfare requirements are met.  Parents are highly positive about the early years but have limited opportunities to contribute actively to their children’s learning. The school is aware of this and is working to enable parents to be more involved

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School details

Unique reference number 107645 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 10009186

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 71 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Sykes Executive headteacher Gail Newton Telephone number 01484 222210 Website www.scapegoat-hill.kirklees.sch.uk Email address office.scapegoathill@kirkleeseducation.uk Date of previous inspection 12  13 February 2014

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Information about this school

 Scapegoat Hill is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Since the previous inspection, there has been a significant change in staffing including the appointment of a new executive headteacher and deputy headteacher.  In September 2015, the school formed a federation with Linthwaite Clough Junior Infant and Nursery School.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and almost all pupils speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is lower than the national average.  The school has three classes. Reception children and pupils in Years 1 and 2 are taught together in class 1, Years 3 and 4 are taught in class 2 and Years 5 and 6 in class 3.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is much lower than the national average. These pupils are eligible for support through the pupil premium. The pupil premium is additional funding for those

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Information about this school

pupils who are eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed lessons in all classes and four observations were undertaken jointly with a senior leader of the school. Small-group sessions led by teaching staff and teaching assistants were also observed. In addition, the inspector visited a school assembly.  The inspector spoke to a group of key stage 2 pupils about their learning, listened to pupils read and informally chatted to a number of pupils in the playground and in the dining hall. Views expressed by 18 pupils through the online pupil questionnaire were considered.  The inspector met with six governors, a representative of the local authority and all teaching staff.  Pupils’ work books from a wide range of subjects were carefully looked at with a senior leader.  The inspector looked at the school’s review of its own performance, its development plan, arrangements for safeguarding, and systems for checking the quality of teaching and those for tracking pupils’

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Information about this inspection

progress.  Thirty-six responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were analysed. The inspector also spoke informally with parents at the end of the day and considered views expressed by text and letter.  Six responses to the staff questionnaire were considered.

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Inspection team

Fiona Dixon, lead inspector Ofsted 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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