Setting

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

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Mr Ian Thomson-Smith Headteacher Otley All Saints CofE Primary School Lisker Drive Otley West Yorkshire LS21 1DF

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 16 January 2018, 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 October 2012.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The last inspection highlighted strengths in pupils’ outcomes, the quality of teaching, leadership, pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning. All these aspects remain strong. Early years provision was also deemed to be effective. This is still the case.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

Parents and carers, staff and pupils are unequivocally positive about all aspects of the school’s work. Parents feel confident about your leadership and know that you are readily available, and always willing to make time to talk. Staff are proud to work in the school. The culture of the school is one of care and calmness, underpinned by strong and shared values.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

Pupils say how much they enjoy coming to school. They talk enthusiastically about the many opportunities they have to play a part in the life of the school. For example, they attach importance to their roles as school councillors and members of the eco committee and enjoy their work as school librarians and receptionists. Pupils develop a strong understanding of the importance of British values. Links with schools overseas, and the many visitors to the school from different cultural backgrounds, encourage pupils’ appreciation of the importance of respect and tolerance, and their insight into global issues such as democracy and equality of opportunity. The excellent range of scientific, sporting and musical experiences on offer, and regular opportunities to take part in school concerts and performances, continue to promote, exceptionally well, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Consequently, pupils are eager to attend school. Those from

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

disadvantaged backgrounds now attend equally well as their peers. All pupils apply themselves very well indeed to their learning. A strong work ethic is tangible in all classes.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

You and other leaders know your school extremely well. You have an accurate understanding of what is working well and why. Leaders have high expectations. As a result, the vast majority of pupils continue to make good progress, including those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Reading outcomes continue to be a strength of the school. Outcomes in mathematics are rapidly rising, and pupils’ writing skills are developing well.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

At the previous inspection, leaders were challenged to ensure that all teaching was at least good, to strengthen processes to check the effectiveness of teaching over time, and to ensure that priorities in the annual school improvement plan were clear and measurable. Since then, you have taken advantage of the good practice in the local family of schools, and beyond, to heighten effective professional development opportunities for all staff. As a consequence, all teaching in the school is now consistently good or better. Regular and comprehensive systems are in place to check the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. The annual improvement plan is a helpful document for leaders at all levels, including governors, to determine how well the school is doing, and to continue to improve its work.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

You and other leaders, however, are not complacent. You recognise that the school can be even better. You have sensibly selected the main priorities aimed at improving the school further. You rightly identify that a small proportion of the most able pupils, especially boys, could be making even more progress across key stage 2, particularly in writing. Visits to lessons and work in pupils’ books suggest that you and your staff are succeeding in raising levels of challenge for these pupils. You are also resolved to develop fully the roles of subject coordinators, so that they can assist, more confidently, senior leaders in checking the effectiveness of the teaching of all subjects across the curriculum.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

Governors are aspirational and equally determined to see the school do even better. They have a good understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas to improve. They provide a good blend of challenge and support and are not afraid to ask difficult questions of leaders. Governors are regular visitors to school. They are confident in providing reports for the full governing body, and its committees, about key aspects of the school’s work, including safeguarding.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

You rightly place the highest priority on keeping pupils safe. Pupils, parents and staff recognise and value this. You have successfully created a culture of vigilance when it comes to keeping children safe. As a result, leaders act swiftly and effectively to address any safeguarding issues that may arise. Staff have taken on board the key messages from the Department for Education’s ‘Keeping children safe in education’ and are encouraged to raise any concerns they may have about pupils, no matter what the issue. Staff know families and individual pupils very well indeed. Pupils say that they feel safe. They have full trust in the adults who look after them, and have every confidence that any worries they have will be listened to and dealt with.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

Staff are well trained in all aspects of safeguarding practice. Staff are clear about reporting concerns they may have and are confident these will be acted upon by key leaders. Any concerns are carefully recorded and analysed in detail. Designated professionals take timely and decisive actions. They have formed strong links with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and a range of external agencies and services. There are secure systems for checking and recording the suitability of adults to work in the school.

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Short Inspection of Otley All Saints CofE Primary School

Pupils are supervised well at break and lunchtimes and you make sure the school site is checked frequently so that any safety issues are resolved without delay. Detailed and thorough risk assessments are carried out prior to any trips and visits. You also provide parents with very useful information on the school’s website, for example advice about how to keep their children safe when using the internet. Pupils’ attendance levels are above average, and the rates of persistent absence are below those seen nationally. Assemblies are used well to teach pupils about keeping safe when online and being tolerant and respectful of others.

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Inspection findings

 Children in the early years get off to a flying start. They enjoy the many stimulating activities and experiences, indoors and outdoors, that encourage them to share, learn and play together. As a result of the excellent relationships they enjoy with all of the adults, boys and girls make at least good progress from starting points that are typical of those seen nationally. They learn well because teaching explicitly focuses on developing their language and communication skills, and lays solid foundations to support their reading, writing and number skills. By the end of the Reception Year, most children attain a good level of development, and a growing number go beyond.  Pupils continue to make good progress across Years 1 and 2. Highly effective teaching of phonics ensures that pupils quickly learn the sounds letters make. As a result, the proportion of children reaching the expected standard in the Year 1

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Inspection findings

phonics screening check is well above the national average, and the vast majority achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2.  Across key stage 2, most pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, make at least good progress in mathematics, and outstanding progress in reading. Inspection evidence shows that daily arithmetic practice is enhancing pupils’ confidence and agility in using the basic skills to calculate orally and accurately. Many pupils can confidently explain key mathematical concepts and the methods they are taking to solve problems. Pupils are enthusiastic readers. The pupils I spoke with said how much they enjoyed reading, both in school and at home.  Writing outcomes for pupils in key stage 2 are also improving. The proportion of Year 6 pupils attaining the expected standard in 2017 rose to well above the

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Inspection findings

national average. The visits to lessons that I made with you, and the books that we sampled together, indicate that teachers are increasingly confident in modelling effective writing skills. They support pupils particularly well to organise their ideas in complex sentences and bespoke paragraphs, use a wide range of punctuation and vocabulary for effect, and maintain accuracy in spelling.  You and your senior leaders recognise the need to accelerate the progress of a small number of the most able pupils in writing, especially boys, across key stage 2, to increase even further the proportion of pupils reaching greater depth.  The detailed assessment system that you have implemented since the last inspection provides you with reliable information about how well all pupils are achieving. As a result, senior leaders have also rightly identified that more pupils could be reaching greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics combined

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Inspection findings

by the time they leave school.  Inspection evidence shows that you and your senior leaders are tenacious in checking the quality of teaching and learning in reading, writing and mathematics. This is not yet the case with coordinators of other subjects. You have suitably prioritised the next stage in their development, so that the effectiveness of the teaching of all subjects can be verified, on a planned basis.  The school’s records of visits to lessons and sampling of pupils’ work indicate that leaders, at all levels, could pay even more attention to the specific gains in learning made by different groups of pupils in response to the daily teaching they receive.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 all of the most able pupils, especially boys, make even faster progress across key stage 2 in writing, so that more reach a greater depth by the end of Year 6  a larger proportion of pupils reach greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics combined by the time they leave school  the roles of subject leaders are further developed to enable them to check the effectiveness of teaching across the full curriculum  the skills of leaders, at all levels, are further honed to enable them to record, and share, the specific gains in learning by different groups of pupils in response to the teaching they receive.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Leeds, 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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