Leconfield Primary School

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

p.1

Mrs Katie Tracey Headteacher Leconfield Primary School Arram Road Leconfield Beverley HU17 7NP

p.1

Short inspection of Leconfield Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 21 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 May 2013.

p.1

Short inspection of Leconfield Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You began your post as headteacher in 2013 and have effectively managed the school through a time of significant staffing change. You have established a new leadership structure and together you and your team are determined to improve pupils’ outcomes and provide a high standard of education. The school has a unique context in which many pupils leave and join the school throughout the year. You make sure pupils who are new to the school are made to feel welcome and settle in very quickly due to effective systems and routines. Consequently, parents are very positive about the school and feel that pupils are happy, safe and are effectively supported to achieve well academically.

p.1

Short inspection of Leconfield Primary School

Leaders and governors are committed to developing pupils as responsible citizens who not only achieve academically but make a positive contribution to their school. As a result, pupils develop skills which will support them in the next stage of their education and life beyond. You encourage pupils to develop interests and consequently, participation in activities such as sport and the school choir is high. Pupils were keen to tell me about their pride in being part of the choir and performing at Hull City Hall on the evening before the inspection. Similarly, pupils are encouraged to develop leadership skills and carry out a wide range of roles and responsibilities. For example, older pupils support the younger pupils at break and lunchtime and travel ambassadors are currently campaigning for improved safety on the roads and more sustainable means of travel. You have successfully addressed the area for improvement about writing which was

p.1

Short inspection of Leconfield Primary School

identified at the last inspection. As a result, the proportion of pupils reaching and exceeding the expected standard at the end of key stages 1 and 2 was above the national average in 2017. However, you are aware that phonics is an area for improvement. Steps taken by leaders are already improving the quality of phonics teaching and you are keen for an increasing proportion of pupils to meet the expected standard in the phonics screening check by the end of Year 1.

p.2

Short inspection of Leconfield Primary School

Leaders have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and use this to identify appropriate priorities for development. This has resulted in strong and improving outcomes throughout each key stage in reading, writing and mathematics. However, you acknowledge that by including more precise success criteria in school improvement plans, leaders will be able to check the impact of school improvement actions more rigorously. In addition, you have identified that more reliable and accurate assessment information, particularly in reading and mathematics, will support leaders in further increasing the rate of pupils’ progress.

p.2

Short inspection of Leconfield Primary School

Governors ensure that safeguarding is a high priority by including it as a standing agenda item at meetings. Regular safeguarding reports from the designated safeguarding leader and an annual audit support governors in checking that systems in school are fit for purpose and 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.

p.2

Short inspection of Leconfield Primary School

Pupils are very happy at school. They say they feel safe and 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. The curriculum provides countless opportunities to support children in being safe and consequently, pupils talk confidently about how to stay safe, for example when they are online or crossing the road.

p.2

Inspection findings

 Leaders have taken effective action to improve the quality of teaching and learning. A wide range of training and development opportunities have resulted in staff being more reflective on the impact of their teaching on pupils’ learning. Teachers have also established successful links with other schools. This is supporting them in moderating assessment judgements and has raised teachers’ awareness of the curriculum expectations for each year group. Staff value the training they receive and know that the regular feedback from leaders helps them to identify how to improve their practice further. Leaders have successfully created a culture of openness which encourages staff to learn from each other and colleagues in other schools. You are also ensuring that there is capacity for further improvement by giving responsibilities to a wider range of teachers who are now involved in checking the quality of teaching and supporting new staff.

p.2

Inspection findings

 Leaders were disappointed with the dip in reading outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in 2016. However, leaders’ swift action resulted in improved attainment and progress in 2017. You have made sure that reading remains a high priority, as attainment at key stage 2 is still not quite as strong as it is in writing and mathematics. Pupils enjoy reading and talk with pleasure about their favourite authors and the importance of reading regularly. Reading areas in classrooms are capturing pupils’ interest and enthusiasm for reading. Leaders have identified that the school’s assessment information is not currently able to provide reliable and accurate enough information to help them check the progress of individuals and groups of pupils. You are keen to quickly rectify this so that reading can continue to improve at a faster rate.  Pupils’ outcomes in phonics by the end of Year 2 are above average and improving. However, the proportion of pupils who meet the standard in the

p.2

Inspection findings

phonics screening check by the end of Year 1 has been consistently below the national average. Leaders’ actions are resulting in improvements though. Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge in teaching phonics. The new arrangements for teaching phonics also mean that pupils’ understanding is checked regularly. This means that pupils can move on more quickly, which is helping them to make faster progress.  Pupils’ outcomes in writing have improved. Attainment in writing at the end of key stage 1 was above the national average in 2016 and 2017. In key stage 2, progress has been broadly in line with average. In 2017, key stage 2 attainment improved so that the proportion of pupils reaching and exceeding the expected standard was above the national average. Since the last inspection, you have been keen to ensure that pupils have a wider range of opportunities to write across the curriculum. You also identified that in some cohorts, boys were not

p.3

Inspection findings

always reaching as high a standard as their peers nationally. Consequently, teachers are carefully choosing writing tasks, often linked to learning in other subjects, so they appeal to boys’ interests. Teachers now also place a much greater emphasis on supporting pupils to check the accuracy of spelling and handwriting. This has resulted in pupils using their basic skills much more securely throughout their work.  Attendance continues to be above national figures overall and persistent absence remains below the national average. Leaders use a range of reward strategies to encourage good attendance. Additionally, pupils’ attendance data is shared with parents several times a year and a more proactive approach to addressing attendance issues has been introduced. Consequently, parents’ awareness of the importance of good attendance is increasing, and absence for more minor illnesses has reduced. However, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and

p.3

Inspection findings

pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is below average. Leaders are keen to track the attendance of these pupils with greater rigour so they can determine and adopt the most effective actions to bring about improvements.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 the school’s assessment information provides a more reliable indicator of pupils’ attainment and progress  an increasing proportion of pupils reach the expected standard in the phonics screening check by the end of Year 1  the school improvement plan includes more precise success criteria and milestones to help leaders and governors check the impact of school improvement actions more rigorously  attendance for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities improves.

p.4

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 East Riding of Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.4

Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you and the assistant headteacher. I also met with three 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 20 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. Six staff questionnaires were also considered. You and I visited every classroom together to observe teaching and learning, listen to pupils read and scrutinise pupils’ work in their books.

p.4