Queensway Primary School

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

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Mr Alun Davies Headteacher Queensway Primary School Coppice Wood Avenue Yeadon Leeds West Yorkshire LS19 7LF

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 23 May 2017, 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 2012.

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Under your leadership, senior leaders, including governors, have ensured that Queensway continues to improve even though you have undergone significant staff changes over the last few years. You lead by example and model the way in which you expect staff to interact with parents and pupils. Your school has a special warmth and friendliness because you invest time in developing positive relationships across the school. Many parents comment on the high quality of care and nurture that you and your team provide. One parent said, ‘The staff really care about the children, and this is evident from the way in which they interact with them.’

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

You have used additional funds imaginatively to support the mental health and well- being of all pupils. Well-being is a key strength of the school. Investment in ‘The Retreat’ allows pupils to have access to a space outside the main school where they receive a range of holistic therapies to support individual needs. Pupils grow in confidence because you use a range of strategies to help them to cope with modern life. The tranquil setting of ‘The Retreat’ provides a calm space, which pupils find relaxing and therapeutic. Your well-trained staff team delivers a range of classes, including anger management, peer-to-peer massage work, mindfulness and nurture group work. Pupils’ mental health is a key priority. As a result of the high level of holistic care, pupils thrive because their emotional well-being needs are met. Through identifying and addressing barriers to learning, you are increasing opportunities for pupils to succeed. Disadvantaged pupils receive a free breakfast,

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

school visits and residential trips. Identified pupils also benefit from special activities, which your governors are instrumental in supporting, such as donkey therapy and horse riding. You use your funding for disadvantaged pupils to provide a family support manager and a speech and language therapist. You regularly review the impact of their work. Disadvantaged pupils are making similar rates of progress to other pupils. However, too few disadvantaged pupils are reaching greater depth in all subjects, particularly in key stage 1.

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

Another strength of the school is the leadership of special educational needs provided by your assistant headteacher. She ensures that the high numbers of pupils who have identified additional needs receive excellent support. Close liaison with parents and teachers ensures the sharing of relevant information. As a result, parents are particularly glowing in their praise for this aspect of the school’s work. Individual plans to support the progress that pupils make are regularly reviewed, and leaders ensure that pupils are making good progress.

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

You have secured improvements in reading, writing and mathematics since the time of the last inspection. It is clear from work seen in pupils’ books that expectations are high and most pupils are making good progress. Better links between science and mathematics have resulted in more planned opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematics skills in science. In Year 6 in 2016, pupils’ attainment and progress in reading were not as strong as in writing or mathematics, but were still around average. You have identified reading as an area for improvement and are taking effective action to improve outcomes.

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

You have recently strengthened your leadership team and demonstrate good capacity for further improvement. You provide high-quality training and support for staff through your links with the local trust. You also work alongside other headteachers to compare standards between schools and provide more rigour and challenge. Your governors are very experienced and provide both support and challenge. They know the school well and constantly check that improvements that they are being told about are happening in classrooms.

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

You ensure that effective recruitment procedures are in place. Staff, governors and volunteers receive appropriate checks to ensure their suitability to work with children. Safeguarding training is updated regularly, and staff follow the school policies and procedures if they have any concerns about a child.

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Short inspection of Queensway Primary School

Pupils say that they feel safe and parents agree. Your systems to support vulnerable children are strong. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns, and leaders follow up quickly. Record-keeping is detailed. As a result of strong safeguarding procedures and practices, pupils are kept safe.

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Inspection findings

 During the inspection, I looked at the attainment and progress of pupils in key stage 1, particularly those in receipt of additional funding. This was because, in Year 2 in 2016, not enough pupils exceeded the expected standard, and progress from early years was not as strong for the most able pupils. Leaders have identified this as an area for improvement. They have already increased expectations and set targets that are more ambitious. Current progress information shows that more pupils are on track to meet and exceed expectations. Work seen in books shows that most pupils are making good progress across key stage 1. Improved tracking and assessment allow leaders to follow pupils’ progress more closely. Teachers are using a more flexible grouping approach, which is helping them to identify more pupils who are ready to move on to the next stage of learning.  In reading, pupils show positive attitudes to learning and can talk about a wide

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Inspection findings

range of books they have read. Assessment of pupils’ progress in reading is strong. Teachers know what pupils can do, and this informs their planning. Teachers new to the school have not had the professional development provided to others and they are not using assessment information as effectively. Improvements are in place, but leaders are aware that they need embedding across the school.  At the last inspection, you were asked to develop the outdoor area of the early years. You have carried out a range of improvements, including some fixed play equipment and soft flooring areas. You have made good use of the difficult space. Reception and nursery children play well together, and the range of different areas gives children opportunities to sit quietly, work with adults or get involved in more messy activities, such as the ‘mud kitchen’. Your staff regularly review and adapt the outdoor areas to ensure that they are meeting the needs of

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Inspection findings

all children. As a result, children are making good progress across the early years, and learning is fun. The high proportion of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are particularly well catered for. They are well supported in their learning and have strong relationships with adults. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is below the national average, but progress across the early years from children’s lower-than- typical starting points is good.  I looked at the effectiveness of communication between you and parents and carers. This is an area you have worked on over time. You use a range of social media to provide information to parents. The parents I spoke to were particularly positive about how approachable everyone is, and they feel that they can speak to teachers and leaders if they need to. They like the way in which you and your assistant headteacher are visible in the morning, come out to meet and greet

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Inspection findings

their children on arrival and are available for any issues that they may have. This sets the tone for a positive start to the day. Parents of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were particularly enthusiastic in praising communication between home and school.  Finally, I looked at attendance rates for different groups of pupils over the current year. You have improved your attendance procedures and are holding regular meetings with parents. Your family support manager is leading work on attendance and supporting families who need it. As a result, attendance rates have improved for all groups of pupils. You are aware that further ongoing work is required to bring the levels of absence of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities down even further.

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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

 a higher proportion of pupils in key stage 1, particularly disadvantaged pupils, make accelerated progress from their starting points to reach greater depth in their learning in all subjects  recent improvements in reading are embedded to improve outcomes across the school, so that a higher proportion of pupils reach and exceed the expected standard  rates of attendance for disadvantaged pupils and for those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities continue to improve.

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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

Along with you and your deputy headteacher, we visited every class in school with the exception of Year 6 pupils, who were on an educational visit. I looked at a range of pupils’ books to assess standards and rates of progress. I met with your middle leaders, several members of the governing body and spoke to your school improvement partner on the telephone. I listened to some pupils reading and spoke to them about what life was like for them in the school. I scrutinised a range of documentation, including the governing body minutes, self-evaluation, safeguarding information and special educational needs documentation. I talked to a few parents at the start of the school day, considered the 47 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, and examined the 26 written responses. I also considered the 29 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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