Farsley Farfield Primary School

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

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Mr Peter Harris Headteacher Farsley Farfield Primary School Cote Lane Farsley Pudsey West Yorkshire LS28 5ED

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 20 March 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 February 2013.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield 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 Farsley Farfield Primary School

Under your determined leadership, the school has continued to go from strength to strength. You and your team have successfully created an inclusive school that celebrates learning and progress for all. Your staff are proud to be part of this. They share your high expectations and work hard to achieve your vision to provide the best possible for your pupils and families. Your curriculum offers a wide range of learning experiences for pupils and as a result is vibrant, rich and engaging.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

Pupils are overwhelmingly positive about the work of the school. The pupils I spoke to told me they ‘love’ school because of the fun learning and ‘great teachers’. They described a community where everyone knows each other and works well together to support each other’s learning. The school is a lively, happy place. Pupils show high levels of resilience, wanting to do well, and they are keen to share their achievements. For example, in Reception, children wanted to show me their plans for building an aeroplane, explaining how they had constructed it. In classrooms we visited, pupils’ behaviour was exemplary. Pupils work hard, they don’t give up easily and they are proud of what they learn. We saw how positive relationships are between children and their teachers and support staff.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

Parents and carers are also very happy with the school’s work. Many commented extremely positively on the contribution the school makes to the local community and the way in which everyone is valued. One parent said that the school ‘embraces the diversity and different cultures in the community’.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

Parents were overwhelmingly positive about the curriculum on offer. I agree that the curriculum is rich and vibrant, with many exciting events on offer. For example, pupils are given a wide variety of learning experiences, including a school farm, regular cooking, horticulture, arts and many sporting activities, both within the school day and through many after school clubs. All pupils engage with these opportunities. You are rightly proud of winning the National Healthy Schools Award last year, which recognises the achievement of your pupils in health and well-being.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

You have maintained but also developed the strengths of the school that were identified in the previous inspection report, and you have achieved the recommendations for improvement. Teaching in the school is consistently good, with some teaching being outstanding. As a result, there have been improvements in the progress made and standards reached by pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. There has been improvement too in the way in which pupils present their work. Your school improvement plans are well-considered and based on a close analysis of pupils’ progress. You are clear that the improvements seen, especially in mathematics, need to be sustained and developed further so that rapid progress is secured across the school. This is especially needed for some pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

Governors are dedicated and proud of all that the school has achieved. They have developed a strong understanding and use their skills well to ensure that school information and financial decisions are accurate. Visits to the school by governors are frequent and induction for new governors is strong. Governors hold leaders to account well for the spending of the pupil premium and the sports funding. They make sure that this money makes a positive difference for pupils.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

School leaders have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are accurate. Staff are vetted carefully prior to appointment and all of the necessary checks are made to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. The governor responsible for safeguarding meets with the designated safeguarding leader regularly to ensure processes are being followed. There is a clear culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Staff are trained well and use the school’s systems effectively so that all small worries about pupils are captured. Leaders use this information well to secure a clear picture about pupils and make good use of external agencies when appropriate.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

You and your staff have worked hard to ensure pupils have a good understanding of what bullying looks like. Pupils said that bullying is rare in their school and that when it does occur it is dealt with swiftly. This is confirmed by the school’s records. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when online. School leaders have also worked well with parents in order to help them recognise potential risks related to social media. Pupils too are really clear about the importance of internet safety. One Year 2 pupil told me that, ‘when searching online make sure the page has the padlock symbol’.

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Short inspection of Farsley Farfield Primary School

Pupils’ attendance is at the national average. Pupils value their education and understand why it is important to attend regularly and to be on time. For some pupils whose attendance is a concern, you have strong systems in place and are helping those families understand the importance of attending school. Pupils say that behaviour in lessons is good for the vast majority, but understand that a few pupils occasionally find learning difficult. However, they said that they were able to help those children improve in class through helping them understand and showing them how to behave.

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Inspection findings

 During the inspection, I considered how well leaders are supporting boys to improve their writing. This line of enquiry arose from historical information indicating that boys were not doing as well as girls in 2017. I found that leaders had addressed this issue extremely successfully. Pupils read well and use good strategies to work out the meaning of words, which is helping them understand different texts. The current progress in boys’ writing shows that they are making rapid gains and the quality of work is of a high standard. You have focused on developing clearer links to good reading to help pupils model good writing. This includes plenty of opportunities for boys to write at length. Allied with the improvements seen in grammar, punctuation and spelling, you are improving pupils’ use of effective language. This was seen in a narrative piece where one boy had described the approach of darkness in the evening as ‘deeply, creeping

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Inspection findings

light’.  We agreed that we would look at how well pupils are using and applying their mathematical skills in reasoning and problem-solving. As leaders you have revised the mathematics programme and introduced strategies to support staff in improving their practice. The work in books shows that pupils are making strong progress from their starting points and are using and applying these skills in different contexts. For example, Year 2 middle prior attaining pupils are able to use and apply fractions to identify which area of a shape is bigger. Any misconceptions are corrected by the teacher and followed up in future pieces of work. Pupils are able to apply their skills across a range of subjects including design technology. In one Year 5 group, pupils were using their understanding of coordinates and coding to programme a wheeled toy around a maze. Leaders support staff by providing good training and resources, working in partnership

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Inspection findings

with the other schools in the area. We agreed that there needed to be further opportunities for some middle leaders to monitor practice through lesson observations in order to maintain the progress made and offer further support to teachers.  I also looked at how well pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are supported. I found strong provision in school, and from their starting points a significant number of pupils make good progress. Many parents commented on this aspect of the school’s work in their response to the online questionnaire, Parent View. For example, one parent wrote, ‘Staff make every effort to know my child and find the best ways to meet his needs. I am so happy with their efforts, I really couldn’t have asked for more’. Another added, ‘the teaching has been consistently excellent’. However, we agreed that there is still more to be done to ensure that all learning in all curriculum areas is well-matched to pupils’ needs so

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Inspection findings

that activities and resources help all pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to make rapid progress.  I looked at pupils’ attendance and especially that of the small number of pupils who find it difficult to attend regularly. You have been relentless in your work to improve attendance and this has paid off. Your pastoral leader works closely with pupils and families, monitoring attendance carefully. Effective systems are in place to make sure the vast majority of pupils attend school regularly and on time. A number of creative incentives, including rewards and certificates, have had a positive effect. As a result, attendance is in line with the national average and the number of pupils who are regularly absent has reduced. However, we agreed that you would continue with this focus to make sure that all pupils and parents understand how important it is to have good attendance.  Finally, we looked at how leaders are tackling any incidents of bullying because

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Inspection findings

you have identified this within your school self-evaluation. Behaviour records are well-maintained and they confirm that actions to address inappropriate behaviour are timely and are swiftly followed up. These actions include working with pupils and parents to resolve any issues. You have offered good information from external sources, for example the police and the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. As a result of this work, pupils are very clear about what they should do and who they should talk to if bullying does occur. Pupils I spoke to during the inspection said that bullying was rare. They added that they felt safe in school because ‘teachers care’.

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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

 improvements already made in teaching mathematics are further embedded and developed so that rapid progress is secured for all pupils across the school  all learning in all curriculum areas is well-matched to pupils’ needs so that activities and resources help all pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to make rapid progress  all middle leaders are given opportunities to develop skills as strong as the best already in school in monitoring, evaluating and improving the quality of teaching and learning in their subject areas  the sharp focus on improving attendance continues for the small number of pupils whose attendance is a concern.

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

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Information about the inspection

I met with you, members of the leadership team, school staff and members of the governing body. I also spoke to your school adviser from the local authority. With you, I visited classes in school to observe pupils learning, spoke with pupils, listened to them read and looked at their books. I also spoke to pupils at morning break and lunchtime and took into account the 128 responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey. I spoke to parents at the start of the school day and considered the 144 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and two letters written by parents. I spoke with staff and took account of the 33 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey. I met with middle leaders for English and mathematics, and we looked at a selection of pupils’ work in their books. I also looked at a range of documentation, including information about the work of governors, safeguarding, attendance, behaviour, SEN and teaching and learning. I scrutinised and discussed the school’s

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Information about the inspection

tracking of pupil progress and attainment and the self-evaluation and plans for improvement.

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