Westwood Primary School

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

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Mrs Zoe Adams Executive Headteacher Westwood Primary School Bodmin Garth Leeds West Yorkshire LS10 4NU

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 7 November 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 2014.

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Short inspection of Westwood 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 Westwood Primary School

You and your head of school are inspirational leaders who know the school well and have acted quickly to address areas for improvement. As a result, your school has continued to improve since the last inspection. Staff morale is high. Staff are treated with respect and are proud to teach at Westwood Primary school. As one parent said, ‘The staff here go above and beyond and my children are thriving because of them.’

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

This is a school that has its pupils at its heart. You have established an ethos of high expectations, where children believe they can and want to achieve. Pupils are taught to be confident citizens, who relish the chance to speak to adults. They are eloquent and talk with passion about their learning. Pupils’ manners are exceptional. Throughout the day, pupils are polite and courteous to adults and their peers.

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

The pupils I spoke to said that they enjoy coming to school and that lessons were interesting. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the wide range of trips, events and visitors to the school. Sport is a high priority throughout the school. You have created a culture where all pupils want to be active and have a positive attitude towards being active and lead healthy lifestyles. Opportunities to take part and watch ‘real sport’ are also encouraged. For example, on the day of the inspection you took the school football team to see Manchester City play in the Champions League. Pupils explained how ‘burn to learn’ is used as a way to learn while being active. Pupils said that this has ‘made learning stick in our brains’. Strengthening the school’s leadership structure to ensure that improvement is maintained has been a particular priority. You have a strong leadership team, which has begun to support other leaders in the school to drive improvements in their own subjects. You have a

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

gift for spotting talent in staff and, as a result, teachers that have been at the school as newly qualified teachers have developed into very strong leaders.

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

Governors are very passionate about the school. They know the school well and show immense pride in being governors. However, due to the shortage of governors, and therefore some lack of expertise, they are not fully holding school leaders to account.

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

You have taken effective action to address the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. From low starting points in the early years, achievement in reading and writing at key stage 1 has steadily improved over the past three years, with results closer to national averages. Teaching is stronger now and pupils are clear about what they are learning and how to access support.

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

You are passionate about making sure that the school continues to improve even further. You have begun to raise the challenge for the most able pupils in writing through giving them more time to edit and restructure their work, although this is not yet embedded in all year groups.

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. There is a palpable ethos of care and support for children, parents and staff. Leaders and governors are diligent in all matters relating to safeguarding and take their responsibilities very seriously. They make sure that all recruitment checks are carried out on the suitability of staff and keep up to date with safeguarding regulations. All staff have received training, for example on the ‘Prevent’ duty, so that they know how to recognise and report causes for concern. Records show that leaders take prompt and effective action to ensure that pupils receive the support they need. You involve external agencies as appropriate and are tenacious in following up referrals. Records are detailed and of high quality.

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Short inspection of Westwood Primary School

Pupils’ behaviour, both in and out of the classroom, is excellent. Pupils shared how they use British value cards as behaviour rewards. They can discuss these values confidently and the ways in which they can achieve these awards in school. When talking about tolerance, a pupil described it as, ‘It doesn’t matter where you are from, we all deserve the same amount of respect and tolerance.’ Pupils said that they feel safe and are happy. Pupils say there is no bullying and there is always an adult to go to if they are worried.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of my visit, we agreed a number of key lines of enquiry for the inspection. Firstly, I looked at how effectively leaders are addressing the weaker outcomes seen in boys’ writing. Leaders have responded to the issue of boys’ writing by identifying a lack of motivation and purpose to writing. In a short space of time, leaders have brought in measures to motivate all pupils and especially boys to write. The ‘adventures’ approach to planning has had a significant impact on boys’ motivation to write. A group of boys spoke with great enthusiasm about their learning ‘adventures’. They confidently discussed how their writing is based on real life experiences and how they love to write about what they have done. They gave real life examples of writing instructions after making pots and writing a recount after a school visit. The pupils see the purpose to writing and as a result have a passion to write, with one pupil saying: ‘The teaching of writing is perfect for me.

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Inspection findings

It’s really fun. We get help, without adults giving it all away, and we get to write about what actually matters.’  Writing throughout the ‘adventure books’ is of a high quality. Pupils take a great deal of pride in their work and are keen to share their writing with adults and their peers. A writing buddy system has been put in place to share writing across year groups. The impact of this has been a desire for pupils, especially boys, to ensure that they are doing their very best work, so they can share it with their buddies.  Outcomes in writing have remained in line with the national average for the proportion achieving the expected standard at key stage 2. The proportion achieving the higher levels has increased to be above the national average at the end of key stage 2. However, the proportion of pupils achieving the higher levels in writing is inconsistent across school. Pupils in years other than Year 6 are not given enough opportunities to make decisions

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Inspection findings

about their writing and therefore lack opportunities to improve, edit and restructure their work. Challenge is also inconsistent due to a lack of tasks that allow pupils to achieve a higher level in their writing.  I also looked at what the quality of teaching phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) and reading is like across key stage 1. Teaching in key stage 1 is inspirational and motivating. The quality of teaching of phonics is in line with the quality of teaching of phonics throughout the rest of the school. Phonics is a high priority and as a result pupils are making exceptional progress in their phonics. They are beginning to apply this learning to their writing, and, therefore, writing outcomes at key stage 1 are improving. Pupils read well in Year 2. One child called herself ‘A little bookworm’; she read confidently, could list a wide range of authors and retell a whole Julia Donaldson book.

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Inspection findings

 I also wanted to see how leaders ensure that the curriculum is motivating and meaningful and the impact this is having on pupils’ learning. Leaders have thought very carefully about the design of the curriculum and how it reflects the needs of the pupils in the school. The curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that pupils have a hands-on approach to learning through well-thought-out activities, visits and experiences that inspire their learning. Pupils are fully immersed in their learning. One pupil said, ‘We don’t do random stuff. All of our learning is linked together, so it makes more sense to me.’  The school environment is also well planned. It is inspiring and allows the pupils to be immersed in their learning. One example was how classrooms had blacked-out windows and tables covered in black drapes to replicate how it would feel to be in a coal mine.  Finally, I looked at how leaders are improving attendance. Leaders have worked very hard

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Inspection findings

to engage pupils and families about the importance of coming to school. New incentives and rewards have been used very effectively to encourage pupils to come to school regularly. Attendance ambassadors are pupils who support school leaders to promote attendance. Attendance is now close to the national average, with a very small number of pupils who are persistently absent.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they:

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Next steps for the school

 increase the capacity of the governing body so that there are enough skilled governors to hold senior leaders to account  increase the proportion of pupils who achieve the higher levels in their writing through: giving more opportunities for pupils to edit and restructure their work, so they make appropriate word and sentence structure choices ensuring that tasks are challenging enough.

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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

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, the head of school, the deputy head, the assistant head and other middle leaders. I also spoke to two governors and a representative from the local authority. I met with a group of pupils and listened to some children read. I evaluated documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, information about pupils’ progress, minutes of governing body meetings, behaviour and attendance records and information about safeguarding. I considered the 60 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I also looked at the 24 responses to the staff questionnaire and 81 responses to the pupil survey. I visited every classroom with the head of school to observe teaching and learning and to scrutinise pupils’ work in their books.

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