Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

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

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Mrs Tracey Palk Headteacher Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School Wakefield Road Flushdyke Ossett West Yorkshire WF5 9AN

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 12 September 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 May 2013.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders at all levels are contributing to the school’s continuing success in ensuring good outcomes for pupils.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

In this small school, with several areas of responsibility, your assistant headteacher and middle leaders make a good contribution to school improvement. They have strong subject knowledge and a clear understanding of the national expectations for pupils across the whole curriculum. They show a commitment to constantly updating and improving their own practice to support pupils well in their learning.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

You value the strong partnerships you have with the governors, schools in the Education Ossett Community Trust (EOCT) and the local authority. Governors and school leaders value the strong support they receive from the local authority school improvement adviser. You use this support and guidance well to support your evaluations of the school and when deciding your priorities for improvement.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

Governors have a clear understanding of their role in checking the quality of education provided. They are extremely supportive of the school’s work, but not afraid to challenge when any aspects are not as strong as they could be.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

You have built a culture where every child is listened to and valued. A strong sense of community comes across clearly from your pupils, parents, governors and staff. Pupils speak warmly about the support and care the staff provide. Staff encourage them to do their best and pupils are keen to help others. In a phonics group, when one child was unsure, another child said, ‘Come on. You can do it!’ Pupils are eager to please and their behaviour is excellent.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

With your team, you have successfully addressed key areas for improvement from the last inspection. Leaders and staff have a much better understanding of pupils’ achievement and progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Staff are confident in presenting this information to governors, who in turn ask probing questions about the performance of groups of pupils. In the classroom, staff use the information well to direct pupils’ next steps accurately. Pupils’ work demonstrates that they know how to edit and improve their learning. Pupils respond well to the clear direction given.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

Pupils’ work and school assessment information show that staff now support lower- and middle-ability pupils well in their writing. You agree that there is still more work to be done to help the most able pupils improve their writing and reach higher standards.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

We discussed the improvements that have been made to learning in the early years. Pupils achieve well overall by the end of Year 2, but the pace of learning slows as children move from the early years curriculum to the national curriculum in Year 1.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

All staff are clear on how to recognise concerns and whom to speak to if a child raises a concern. Information is carefully recorded and of high quality. It is responded to appropriately and monitored closely by the designated safeguarding lead and deputy. Work with external agencies is successful in supporting pupils and their families. All staff have recently updated their safeguarding training online, but a small number of staff were not aware of the document, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (September 2016). You have plans in place to make sure that all staff understand the document and relevant aspects of it are included more explicitly within the curriculum.

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Short inspection of Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

Pupils say that they are taught to keep safe in a number of ways. Teaching and guidance include work on keeping safe online, road safety and fire safety. The school uses a number of external visitors, such as the local police, to support this work. Pupils know that they can approach any member of staff for help if they need it and speak confidently about the good support they receive.

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Inspection findings

 The high-quality care and support that staff give to children get them off to a strong start in early years. Adults plan learning opportunities that encourage independence as well as teamwork. At this very early stage in the school year, Reception children could be seen kindly helping the new Nursery children to settle in. Children concentrate on what they are doing and they work together well. One group of boys was very keen to share the ‘ghostbuster vehicles’ they had made together. They explained how many wheels their vehicle had and how it could transform into a different form of transport before demonstrating how quickly it could travel across the floor.  While pupils’ attendance overall is consistently better than that of pupils nationally, a small number of pupils are persistently absent from school. The majority of these pupils are eligible for additional pupil premium funding. You have used some of these finances well to support better attendance. Strategies,

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Inspection findings

including early morning nurture groups, breakfast and staff pick-ups from home, have resulted in clear improvement for some pupils. The school is doing everything it can to support parents in understanding the importance of pupils attending school every day.  Academic and social support for pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is carefully matched to the needs of each individual. Support in lessons and activities such as lunchtime cooking and craft clubs provides opportunities for pupils to improve their skills, knowledge and understanding across the curriculum. As a result, the majority of disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Leaders, through their assessment systems, quickly spot any underperformance, and staff quickly set up specific interventions to support improvement.  Staff’s confidence in making judgements about pupils’ achievement and progress has grown. Work with other schools and with the local authority has ensured that

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Inspection findings

assessments are accurate.  In mathematics, teachers ask searching questions to ensure that each pupil’s learning improves. There is a strong emphasis on encouraging pupils to give clear reasons for their choices and answers. As a result, many pupils explain their learning confidently, using mathematical vocabulary to support their reasoning. Girls and boys make equally strong contributions to discussions and pupils of all abilities are willingly to ‘have a go’ at new tasks. Teachers constantly take opportunities to move learning forward. For example, a pupil confident in using a picture of a crocodile’s open mouth to demonstrate which was the higher of two numbers was praised and then told how to use the words and symbols for ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’.  Staff and governors have a clear commitment to providing learning that is exciting and varied. Opportunities to learn indoors and out, including through

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Inspection findings

educational visits, result in pupils being engaged and interested in their learning.

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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

 pupils make a smooth transition between the early years curriculum and the national curriculum in key stage 1, so that momentum is not lost and children of all abilities continue to learn well in all subjects  the most able pupils are supported in improving their writing skills  the plan to raise the profile of the document ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ with all staff is implemented quickly and relevant aspects of the document are incorporated into the curriculum.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I looked at specific aspects of the school’s work, including leadership, the quality of teaching and learning and safeguarding arrangements. You and I worked closely together observing teaching and learning, looking at pupils’ work and discussing the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement. I met with senior and middle leaders, and staff and pupils, as well as representatives from the governing body, and representatives from the local authority, including the improvement adviser and the advisory teacher for learning support. I scrutinised a range of documentation, including that relating to attendance, safeguarding and the quality of teaching and learning, and external reviews of the school. I considered responses from parents and from the school questionnaires, as well as the 25 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View.

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