Keelham Primary School

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

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Miss Debra Butler Headteacher Keelham Primary School Well Heads Denholme Gate Bradford West Yorkshire BD13 4HH

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 8 November 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 April 2013.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

Your highly effective and stable leadership team has ensured that the school has sustained its high standards by responding promptly to any changes in pupils’ outcomes so that it has continued to improve. You are dedicated to developing pupils as rounded individuals and have successfully created a culture where pupils have a voice, are valued by staff and make a positive contribution to school systems and procedures. As a result, they are incredibly proud of their school and relish the opportunities and responsibilities they are given. Similarly, you have instilled a culture of learning and development among the staff. Teachers and teaching assistants are keen to reflect on their teaching and the impact it has on pupils’ learning so they can become more effective in their roles. As a result, staff morale is high and together you take collective responsibility for improving pupils’ outcomes.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

Overall, outcomes have been very strong over time. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of early years has been consistently above the national average. Likewise, the proportion of pupils who meet the standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has also been repeatedly above, and often well above, national figures. By the end of key stages 1 and 2, attainment at the expected standard has almost always been above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. However, attainment beyond the expected standard has been more variable and was below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 1 in 2017. Leaders are determined in their actions to support more pupils to progress beyond the expectations in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of each key stage.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

Leaders have successfully addressed most of the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. For example, pupils are now more frequently using and applying their mathematical skills in a range of real-life situations. Additionally, clear learning intentions and success criteria are shared with pupils so they have an understanding of what is expected and are more independent in checking and improving their own work. However, leaders acknowledge that in terms of challenging the most able pupils, there is still more to do to ensure that they make consistently strong progress across all year groups and subjects.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

Governors are passionate about improving the school and are keen to support and challenge school leaders to enable this. They use the skills which they bring to the role, along with additional training, to support them in effectively fulfilling their roles and responsibilities. External verification of the school’s effectiveness from a range of sources helps them check on the accuracy of information they receive from leaders. Regular visits to the school also enable governors to see for themselves the impact of leaders’ actions. Throughout their work, governors are determined to ensure that pupils not only succeed academically, but also develop socially and emotionally so they are well prepared for the next step of education and their lives beyond.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

Pupils are incredibly supportive of each other, demonstrated by the caring attitudes shown when they cooperated together in a mixed-age group. Their very high attendance, which is well above the national average, is testament to their enjoyment of school and the value they see in their education.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

You have created a vigilant culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Leaders and governors make sure that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are detailed and of high quality. You make sure that staff receive regular training updates so that they are effective in recognising and responding to signs of concern.

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Short inspection of Keelham Primary School

Pupils are very happy at school. They say that behaviour is good and they do not think bullying is an issue. They trust that staff will deal with any issues of poor behaviour firmly and fairly through the behaviour system. Leaders are diligent in ensuring that pupils know how to keep themselves and others safe, for example, on the busy road outside the school. You make sure that the curriculum effectively develops pupils’ understanding of potential dangers, such as bullying and when using the internet. As a result, pupils explain with confidence how to stay safe in a range of situations.

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Inspection findings

 Self-evaluation systems and procedures are well developed and support leaders and governors in correctly identifying the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The most appropriate priorities are then identified in the school improvement plan. Leaders share the plan with pupils in a child-friendly way and it is displayed around the school so that everyone has a shared commitment to achieving continually improving outcomes. The headteacher and deputy headteacher regularly review pupils’ progress through achievement meetings. They give precise feedback to teachers following book scrutiny, pupil discussions and lesson observations, and this is helping teachers to know how to improve the effectiveness of their teaching. Therefore, leaders have maintained the good quality of teaching and learning, despite recent changes to staffing. As a consequence of the support they receive, staff feel highly valued. They feel that

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Inspection findings

their skills are recognised and they are given responsibilities alongside any training needed to help them flourish. Not only are senior leaders highly effective, they have also built the skills of a wider range of staff to create greater capacity for further improvement.  Leaders have had some success with challenging the most able pupils. For example, progress in reading and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 in 2017 was broadly average, and the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standard was above the national average. Leaders recognise that more pupils, especially those with high prior attainment, need to make accelerated progress. This will enable an increasing proportion of pupils to exceed the expected standard by the end of each key stage in reading, writing and mathematics. You are beginning to fine tune your assessment system so that you can more precisely track the progress of each cohort over time. Achievement meetings are giving teachers

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Inspection findings

and other staff better awareness of the year-group expectations and whether there are any gaps in pupils’ learning. This is allowing them to make adaptations to planning so that tasks are more precisely matched to individual and group needs. As a result, work in lesson and books demonstrates that the most able pupils are currently making strong progress with their learning.  Leaders have been quick to address the disappointing dip in pupils’ attainment and progress in writing at the end of key stage 2 in 2017. There is already clear evidence of the impact of leaders’ actions in supporting current pupils to make better progress with their writing. The leader of English took immediate action to remedy the situation by introducing a range of whole-school approaches to support and develop pupils’ writing. The subject leader has also raised teachers’ awareness of the expectations for pupils and has secured greater accuracy in the

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Inspection findings

assessment of pupils’ writing through moderation activities with other schools. Already, pupils are developing greater writing stamina and are enthusiastic about their writing tasks, which are linked with their learning across the wider curriculum.  Leaders have been working on improving the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics. Pupils speak very fondly of mathematics and all of the pupils I spoke to said it was their favourite subject. They recognise the changes made by leaders and enjoy the range of open-ended tasks which involve pupils in reasoning and problem solving to develop their thinking and encourage a deeper level of understanding. The subject leader has worked hard to make sure that there are real-life reasons for pupils to use their mathematical skills, for example in science and when baking. Additionally, regular maths challenges and competitions are not only highly motivating for pupils but are successful in

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Inspection findings

securing pupils’ instant recall of basic number facts. As a result of leaders’ actions, outcomes in mathematics at the end of Year 6 improved in 2017. All pupils met the expected standard and an above-average proportion exceeded the standard.

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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 greater proportion of pupils make accelerated progress and exceed the expectations in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of each key stage.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you and the deputy headteacher. I also met with two members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. I evaluated documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, information about pupils’ progress, minutes of governing body meetings, attendance records, and information about safeguarding. I spoke with several parents at the start of the school day and considered the 31 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I met with a group of pupils from a range of year groups and spoke with a group of teachers and teaching assistants. You and I visited every classroom together to observe teaching and learning, listen to pupils read and scrutinise pupils’ work in their books.

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