Calverley Parkside Primary School

Calverley Parkside Primary School Victoria Street, Calverley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire LS28 5PQ

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, senior leaders and governors do not have the capacity to tackle important weaknesses and inconsistencies in key areas of the school’s work.  The school’s arrangements for keeping pupils safe and protecting them from harm are ineffective. The headteacher and governors have poor oversight of safeguarding. Systems for identifying and supporting pupils who need help and protection are weak.  The headteacher and governors do not have a precise enough understanding of the school’s effectiveness. The school’s development plan lacks focus on the things that need to improve. Senior leaders do not use the monitoring information they collect to check if the actions they are taking are having the intended impact.  Until recently, the governing body has been weak and ineffective.  The headteacher and governors do not have strong enough oversight of the use of pupil premium funding and its impact on the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

outcomes achieved by disadvantaged pupils.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is too variable. Too often, pupils’ progress is held back because the work they are set is not well matched to their interests and different levels of ability.  Key stage 2 pupils do not make consistently strong progress from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils’ learning and progress in mathematics in key stage 2 are especially variable.  Senior leaders do not follow up behaviour incidents robustly enough. As a result, pupils do not learn how to improve and manage their behaviour.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make strong progress. The early years provision is led well and the quality of provision is improving quickly.  Levels of attendance are above the national average for primary schools and very few pupils are persistently absent from school.  Provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is led well by the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo).  In 2016/17, the outcomes achieved by children in the early years and pupils in Years 1 and 2 improved and were above national averages.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 As a matter of urgency, ensure that safeguarding arrangements are effective by: – making sure that all concerns about pupils’ safety and welfare are acted upon and pupils are given the timely and effective help and protection they need – ensuring that records of all safeguarding concerns and the actions taken by leaders and staff are detailed and of high quality – making sure there is effective oversight of the school’s safeguarding arrangements by the headteacher, senior leaders and governors.  Rapidly improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – leaders and governors have an accurate and comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the school’s performance – improvement plans are sharply focused on the school’s key weaknesses and are regularly and robustly reviewed and updated – performance management is used to drive improvement in teaching, accelerate pupils’ progress, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and hold teachers and leaders

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

more rigorously to account – additional funding, including the pupil premium, is used effectively and the impact of this funding on outcomes for pupils is closely monitored by senior leaders.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and accelerate the progress pupils make, especially in key stage 2 and in mathematics, by making sure that: – teachers use assessment information to plan learning activities which are closely matched to pupils’ interests and levels of ability – pupils are challenged to use and apply their mathematical knowledge and skills to reason and solve complex problems.  Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by making sure that: – senior leaders and staff follow up behaviour incidents and analyse these incidents to work out how to help pupils to manage and improve their behaviour.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 There are fundamental weaknesses in the school’s leadership, management and governance. Inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, and the outcomes pupils achieve have not been tackled well enough. As a result, all require improvement in order to be good. Crucially, important leadership and management systems are fragile and there is an acute lack of diligence in checking key areas of the school’s work, including the arrangements for identifying and supporting pupils who need help and protection.  The school’s self-evaluation does not cut to the heart of what is working well and what needs to improve at Calverley Parkside. Equally, the school’s development plan does not focus sharply enough on the things that will make the biggest difference to pupils’ learning and development. The impact of leaders’ actions has been diluted by this lack

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

of focus and, as a result, a considerable amount of time and energy has been wasted. The headteacher has not used performance management well enough to support and challenge senior leaders and teachers. Oversight of these arrangements by the governing body is poor.  The headteacher and senior leaders collect a range of information about the school’s effectiveness. This includes information about the quality of teaching, learning and assessment based on observations in lessons, checks on pupils’ work and discussion with pupils about their learning and progress. Importantly, however, senior leaders do not use this information well enough to secure improvement in teachers’ practice. This means that improvement is too slow and, on occasion, weaker features of teaching, learning and assessment are allowed to persist. In contrast, improvement in the curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment in the early years has been purposefully

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

and effectively led by the deputy headteacher. As a result, the quality of the school’s early years provision and the progress made by children in the Nursery and Reception classes are improving quickly.  Similarly, monitoring information is not used well to improve pupils’ behaviour, safety and welfare. Although infrequent, the relatively few incidents of challenging behaviour are not followed up systematically by senior leaders. As a result, too little is done to help pupils learn how to manage and improve their behaviour. The records of actions taken by the headteacher, who is the designated safeguarding leader (DSL), in response to concerns raised about pupils’ safety and welfare, give serious cause for concern. These records show that leaders do not always take the timely action needed to help and protect pupils. In the absence of these written records, the headteacher could not assure inspectors that the school’s safeguarding arrangements are effective.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 The school’s self-evaluation correctly identifies that middle leadership is weak. Wider leadership roles and responsibilities are unclear and those who have recently taken on the leadership of a subject lack the experience needed to be effective. The development of middle leadership has been hampered by the high level of staff turnover since the school’s last inspection. Again, this weakness has reduced the school’s capacity to secure the necessary improvement in key areas of its work.  The headteacher does not have effective oversight of the school’s use of pupil premium funding and the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium. Neither the headteacher nor governors have a clear picture of the impact of pupil premium funding on the outcomes achieved by disadvantaged pupils. There is a similar lack of clarity about the impact of primary PE and sport premium on pupils’ levels of participation and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

attainment in PE and sport.  In contrast, SEN funding is used in a highly effective way to improve the outcomes of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. The assistant headteacher, who is the school’s SENCo, has developed and implemented effective systems for identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of this key group of pupils. As a result, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, including those who have complex needs, are making accelerated progress in their learning and development.  The curriculum provides pupils with a range of opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. The curriculum is enriched and extended through extra-curricular activities and out-of-school visits, including outdoor and adventurous activities and residential visits. Pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is promoted well throughout the school. Pupils are learning

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

about people who have different cultures, backgrounds and faiths. They are well prepared for their lives as citizens in modern Britain, in part because the values of tolerance and respect for other people are promoted consistently and effectively.  Parents’ views about the school differ widely. Almost all parents told inspectors that their children are safe, happy and well supported. Parents of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities spoke positively about the school’s approach to meeting their children’s needs. Some parents, however, have lost confidence in the headteacher and the school’s governing body. Inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, frequent staff changes and serially poor responses to concerns were cited by parents who had a less positive view of the school’s effectiveness.

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Governance of the school

 Until very recently, the school’s governance has been weak.  The governing body has provided too little support for the headteacher and senior leaders, and governors have failed to challenge them and hold them to account. As a result, weaknesses in numerous areas of the school’s work, for example the management of performance, self-evaluation, improvement planning and the use of additional funding have not been tackled.  Oversight of the school’s safeguarding arrangements has been ineffective. Governors have accepted the headteacher’s view that safeguarding is effective without the necessary level of scrutiny or challenge.  The newly appointed chair of the governing body has acted quickly to strengthen governance. An external review of governance has been commissioned and new governors are bringing greater knowledge and skills to their governance roles. This is clearly evident in the minutes from this term’s governing body meetings. At this stage,

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Governance of the school

however, their actions have had minimal impact on the school’s overall performance.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Records show that concerns about children’s safety and welfare are not always acted upon in a timely and effective way. This is unacceptable.  The headteacher has a limited understanding of the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements. He does not check whether staff are knowledgeable enough or whether systems are sufficiently robust. Although the school’s safeguarding policy is reviewed and updated regularly, too many staff do not understand the school’s approach to keeping pupils safe and protecting them from harm. These weaknesses have been amplified by the poor oversight of safeguarding by governors.  Checks on the suitability of staff to work in the school are comprehensive and records of these checks are up to date.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement because it is too variable. In some classes, pupils make strong progress because learning activities are interesting and challenging. In other classes, pupils’ progress is sometimes held back because the work set, for example for the most able pupils in English and mathematics, is not challenging enough.  Sometimes, teachers do not use information about what pupils know, understand and can do to inform their planning and teaching. Some pupils who need help and support to understand concepts and methods in mathematics, for example, are set work which is too hard. Also, occasionally, errors and misconceptions in their work are not picked up. Sometimes, pupils who have already grasped a mathematical concept repeat calculations when their responses already show accuracy and fluency. As a result, they do not deepen their understanding by using and applying their knowledge and skills to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

solve complex mathematical problems.  In contrast, the work in Year 6 pupils’ English and mathematics books and their ‘challenge books’ shows that assessment information is used skilfully to promote pupils’ learning and progress. The teacher is quick to spot when pupils need additional help to catch up, when there are gaps in their knowledge, skills and understanding or when they need to move on to more demanding work. As a result, Year 6 pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are making accelerated progress from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.  Some teachers explain ideas well and question pupils skilfully. In the Year 2 class, for example, the teacher explained the features of effective story writing well and, as a result, pupils’ writing plans included information about settings and story events, and ideas about characters. Engaging learning activities and effective questioning helped

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

pupils to develop their use of powerful adjectives to improve the standard of their writing. However, ideas and concepts are not explained clearly or modelled well by some teachers and, occasionally, teachers’ questioning does not give pupils the opportunity to explain their ideas and understanding. This holds back the progress pupils make.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are supported effectively because their needs are identified and assessed accurately and learning activities are well matched to their interests and levels of ability. Some teaching assistants make an effective contribution to the progress pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make. This is because they have strong subject knowledge and a clearly defined role in supporting pupils’ learning and development. However, several teaching assistants have been appointed recently and, in some key stage 1 and 2 classes, they have a less clear role.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Reading is taught increasingly well. The most able pupils in key stage 2 enjoy reading and read fluently and confidently with interest and understanding. Key stage 1 pupils develop their phonics knowledge and their confidence in reading well. As a result, there is an improving trend in the proportion of pupils who have achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils’ safety and welfare are not promoted effectively because the arrangements for identifying and supporting pupils who need help and protection are ineffective. Records show that leaders do not always take the timely action needed to help and protect pupils when concerns are identified.  In contrast, however, pupils told inspectors that they feel safe and well cared for in school. Pupils are knowledgeable about the importance of being active and eating healthy foods. Key stage 1 and 2 pupils know about how to keep safe when they are using computers and the internet. They know to tell an adult if they are worried about something or if someone says, or does, something unkind.  Typically, pupils have positive attitudes to learning. When teachers’ expectations are high and when the work set captures and sustains pupils’ interest, they work hard and

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Personal development and welfare

apply themselves well. However, sometimes pupils lose interest and drift off task when they are set uninteresting or unchallenging work.  Pupils are kind, thoughtful and considerate. They willingly help each other, for example when given a position of responsibility at lunchtime. Pupils are polite and respectful because these values are consistently well promoted.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  In general, pupils behave responsibly and conduct themselves well with minimal direction from teachers, teaching assistants and other adults. At breaktimes and lunchtimes pupils interact and play cooperatively. Incidents of challenging behaviour are rare. However, leaders do not use information about the small number of these incidents systematically or well to help pupils learn how to improve and manage their behaviour.  Pupils told inspectors that there are very few incidents of discriminatory behaviour or bullying. Almost all said that these incidents are dealt with quickly and effectively. Some pupils, and a small number of parents, have less confidence in the school’s approach to dealing with bullying incidents.  In 2016/17, attendance was above the national average for primary schools. Very few pupils were persistently absent. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils was also

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Behaviour

higher than the average for other pupils nationally in 2016/17. There has been further improvement in attendance, which so far in 2017/18 is higher than it was in the same period in 2016/17.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Outcomes for pupils require improvement because there is too much variability in the progress pupils make and the standards they reach in English and mathematics. The progress current pupils make varies between classes. In Years 2, 4 and 6, for example, pupils make strong progress from their different starting points. The most able pupils, disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities make similarly strong progress in these classes as a result of effective teaching and carefully targeted support and intervention. Importantly, however, this is not consistently the case in other classes in key stages 1 and 2.  The outcomes achieved by Year 6 pupils in 2015/16 were not good enough. Although the progress made by Year 6 pupils improved from 2015/16 to 2016/17, fewer achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. From 2015/16 to 2016/17, the proportion of Year 6 pupils achieving the expected standard in all three

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

subjects also declined. Over time, the outcomes achieved by key stage 2 pupils in mathematics have been too variable.  In 2016/17, pupils achieved better outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check than in 2015/16. The proportion of Year 1 pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics was higher than the national average. The outcomes achieved by Year 2 pupils improved significantly from 2015/16 to 2016/17. A higher proportion of Year 2 pupils achieved the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics in 2016/17. These figures were above those in other primary schools nationally. Although a higher proportion of Year 2 pupils were working at greater depth in these subjects in 2016/17, fewer were working at greater depth in writing than in reading or mathematics.  The outcomes achieved by children at the end of the early years improved from 2015/16 to 2016/17. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

improved and was above the national average.  Children in the early years and pupils in Years 1 and 2 make strong progress in reading as a result of effective teaching. Pupils develop their phonics knowledge quickly and, as a result, read with increasing accuracy and confidence. Year 6 pupils, including the most able Year 6 pupils, read fluently and expressively showing a good understanding of the texts they are reading. Key stage 2 pupils told inspectors that they enjoy reading at school and at home.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 The early years provision is inadequate because the school’s safeguarding arrangements are ineffective. This is because the lack of diligence in identifying and supporting pupils who need help and protection also affects children in the Nursery and Reception classes. In all other respects, children’s safety and welfare are promoted well in the Nursery and Reception classes and, importantly, the early years provision has many strengths.  The deputy headteacher has an accurate picture of the effectiveness of the early years provision. She has made sure that the new team of early years teachers and staff are well trained and that the early years provision gives children the high-quality start they need. For example, children’s communication, language and literacy development are well supported in the early years and ‘talking partners’ have an important role in promoting children’s engagement and learning. The deputy headteacher also knows,

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Early years provision Inadequate

however, that the outdoor learning environment does not provide a rich enough range of experiences and opportunities for children to develop their interest and skills in mathematics.  Most children join the Nursery class with a level of development that is typical for their age. However, a small number of children have starting points which are significantly below age-related expectations. On-entry assessments of children’s starting points are comprehensive and accurate and, as a result of carefully planned provision and effective teaching, children make strong progress and achieve good outcomes.  The arrangements for identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of children who have SEN and/or disabilities are effective. Disadvantaged children are well supported and their learning and progress are tracked carefully. As a result, they make similarly strong progress in both the Nursery and Reception classes.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 The deputy headteacher, teachers and staff know each child well and they assess and track their knowledge, skills and understanding accurately. The children’s learning journals capture their learning and progress in a comprehensive and informative way.  Early years staff work closely with parents and a wide range of pre-school providers in the local area. Children’s transition into the Nursery class is carefully structured and sensitively supported. This ‘nurturing’ approach is highly valued by parents.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the effectiveness of the early years provision and the high-quality care and support their children receive. Parents told inspectors that their children settle quickly into the Nursery class as a result of the school’s flexible, child-centred approach.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.calverleyparkside.leeds.sch.uk

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School details

Email address head@calverleyparkside.leeds.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22–23 November 2012

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Information about this school

 The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the use and impact of pupil premium and the primary PE and sport premium and information about governors and the structure and responsibilities of the governing body and its committees on its website.  Calverley Parkside is an average-sized primary school. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium is lower than that found nationally.  The proportion of pupils who need support for their SEN and/or disabilities is similar to the national average. A lower-than-average proportion of pupils have a statement of SEN or an education, health and care (EHC) plan.  In 2015/16, the school met the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning on both days of the inspection. They also spoke to pupils and examined the work in their books. Several lessons were visited jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, senior leaders, four governors and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors spoke informally to parents at the start and end of the school day. There were 86 responses recorded on Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including 81 free-text responses. Inspectors considered 66 responses to the online pupil survey and 20 responses to the online staff survey.  Inspectors examined documents relating to governance, self-evaluation, school improvement planning, pupils’ progress, attendance, behaviour, the curriculum and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Nick Whittaker, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Cathy Morgan Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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