Mount Pleasant Primary School

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

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Mrs Naeem Nazir Headteacher Mount Pleasant Primary School Victoria Road Lockwood Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD1 3RT

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Short inspection of Mount Pleasant Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 28 March 2017 with Ella Besharati, Ofsted Inspector, 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 2013.

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Short inspection of Mount Pleasant Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have created a very effective leadership team in the two years you have been leading the school. Despite being housed in temporary accommodation, awaiting the completion of a new school, you have made sure that the school is a calm and welcoming environment supporting good learning.

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Short inspection of Mount Pleasant Primary School

At the previous inspection, leaders were asked to make sure that teachers set tasks that are pitched at the right level for all pupils. Inspectors found that you, and your subject leaders, have supported teachers well in planning work to match the range of abilities within classes and across year groups. Teachers have worked with subject leaders and this has increased their expectations and the quality of work they plan for pupils. As a result, pupils across key stage 2 are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics with more pupils attaining the expected standards in key stage 1. Occasionally, pupils are not encouraged to choose the most challenging tasks to strengthen their learning further and reach the very highest standards, especially in mathematics.

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Short inspection of Mount Pleasant Primary School

Inspectors were keen to find out how adults are helping pupils to overcome misconceptions and how they are helping pupils who are struggling with their work in class. This was another area identified at the previous inspection as requiring further attention. We found that your teachers and teaching assistants check pupils’ work quickly and offer good support to those who might be struggling. You have provided effective training for staff to strengthen support for pupils. Teaching assistants and teachers quickly help pupils to catch up with others. They are especially skilled in helping pupils who join the school speaking English as an additional language. Inspectors noticed that there are times when pupils’ work is not checked carefully enough to make sure that spelling and the use of English grammar are of a high standard and mistakes are not repeated.

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Short inspection of Mount Pleasant Primary School

More recently, you have recognised that pupils require greater and more consistently challenging work in key stage 1 to make sure that more of them attain greater depth in their learning. Inspectors analysed pupils’ work throughout key stages 1 and 2, finding that your work, and that of your subject leaders, is beginning to have a positive impact and standards are improving. However, some inconsistencies remain in the teaching of writing and mathematics across key stage 1 and in some classes in key stage 2. Although pupils are making good progress, you recognise the need to ensure greater accuracy in the checking of pupils’ work, and swifter challenge in mathematics and writing to make sure that the highest standards are reached.

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Short inspection of Mount Pleasant Primary School

You and your leadership team have made sure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Staff are vigilant and very aware that safeguarding is not just leadership’s responsibility but their responsibility too. Your designated lead for safeguarding keeps accurate records that support children’s safety effectively. He makes sure that staff are aware of their duties, for example by regularly quizzing them at staff meetings. Also, he and other leaders regularly speak to staff about their duty to keep children safe. New staff told inspectors about the comprehensive training they had undertaken on arrival at the school. The school works closely with parents and external agencies in the local authority to ensure that children are kept safe. Pupils told inspectors they are safe in school and inspectors found that pupils are very knowledgeable about how to stay safe.

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Short inspection of Mount Pleasant Primary School

Governors receive appropriate reports about safeguarding and child protection at their regular meetings. The safeguarding governor checks that procedures meet statutory requirements. Governors and leaders make sure that all adults on the school site are checked to confirm that they are fit to work with children. Parents who spoke to inspectors indicated that children are safe and well cared for in school.

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Inspection findings

 Your staff and parents are supportive of your ambitions to strengthen pupils’ attainment further. It is impressive how well you have managed many new teachers, and the interruptions caused by building work, and still maintained good teaching and progress for pupils.  Plans for improvement focus well on the key actions to strengthen teaching and outcomes for pupils. However, you are not always clear about how much you want pupils to progress because of the actions you are taking. This limits precise analysis by you and your governors of how effective each of the actions is.  You have introduced an exciting curriculum. Memorable experiences for pupils, such as visiting the local steam railway and having a life-size model of a dinosaur in school, inspire pupils. Teachers plan interesting tasks for pupils and good opportunities to write extensively in English lessons, but not enough in other subjects to deepen pupils’ understanding and further strengthen writing

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Inspection findings

skills.  Your leadership team checks pupils’ learning and the quality of teaching regularly. Leaders offer good advice and support to teachers to strengthen learning. Teachers act on that good advice and there is clear evidence that standards are increasing further. Teachers provide challenging work for pupils but do not make sure that pupils engage swiftly with the more challenging tasks, particularly in mathematics. Occasionally, pupils choose tasks that are too easy and consequently their pace of learning slows.  The additional government funding to support disadvantaged pupils and the small number who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used extremely well. Pupils are given high-quality support for their learning from both teachers and teaching assistants. You make certain that funds are available to provide extra support for anyone not making strong progress. Disadvantaged pupils make exceptional progress in reading. Their attainment in reading is

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Inspection findings

higher than that of other pupils nationally and close to that of others in mathematics and writing.  Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and this contributes well to the good progress they make. Pupils are tolerant, respectful and very keen to please the adults they work with. Consequently, learning is good. However, pupils do not check spelling and grammar in their written work well enough and adults do not encourage them to be meticulous enough in checking work.  Reading is promoted exceptionally well across the school and leads to strong progress and much enthusiasm from pupils. You provide high-quality books and a good range of literature including poetry and Shakespearean plays.  Strong leadership and teaching in the early years help children to develop their communication and language skills rapidly. Boys are catching up with the good skills of girls. For example, ‘playdough disco’ is an innovative way in which you

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Inspection findings

are developing boys’ fine motor skills to improve their handwriting.  Partnerships with parents and the community are strong. Parents know they are welcome in school and that you are readily available. You provide courses to support parents’ understanding of what their children are being taught and informal sessions for pre-school children and their parents.  Governors are clear about the strengths and areas for development in the school. Many have educational expertise and challenge you and your leaders well. They are informed about the school’s work through a range of external reviews and comprehensive reports from you. They support and challenge you well to make sure that the school provides a good education for pupils.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 plans for improvement identify the progress you expect pupils to make because of the actions being taken  there are greater opportunities for pupils to write at length in a wide range of subjects, that pupils concentrate on accurate spelling and that teachers check pupils’ English grammar, spelling and punctuation to further strengthen writing  pupils, especially those of middle ability and the most able, undertake challenging tasks so that the proportion of pupils attaining the highest standard in reading, writing and mathematics is at least average, especially by the end of key stage 1.

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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 Kirklees. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, inspectors met regularly with you and your leaders as part of a professional dialogue throughout the day. An inspector met with the chair of the governing body and three other governors. A separate meeting was held with a representative of the local authority. Inspectors conducted an analysis of pupils’ work in a wide range of subjects. Inspectors observed a range of teaching and listened to some pupils reading in each class. Inspectors spoke to pupils throughout the day about their safety and learning in school as well as speaking with parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors looked at the school’s review of its own performance, its development and improvement plan, a number of key school policies and the minutes of governing body meetings. I analysed the 33 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire. I met with the school’s designated safeguarding lead and considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection and

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