Haworth Primary School

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

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Mrs Paula Howe Headtea cher Haworth Primary School Rawdon Road Haworth Keighley West Yorkshire BD22 8DW

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 9 April 2019, 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 predecessor school was judged to be good in June 2015.

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Short inspection of Haworth 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 Haworth Primary School

Since your arrival as headteacher at the school in September 2018, you have quickly identified any areas of weaker practice and taken the actions required to strengthen these areas. As a result of these actions, the school has significantly improved during the current academic year under your leadership.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

Immediately upon my arrival at the school it became clear that you and your staff have created an environment where learning is at the heart of everything you do. For example, classroom displays the school calls ‘working walls’ showcase the latest work of the pupils, and teachers and staff use these to stimulate and encourage pupils to ask questions and engage enthusiastically in their own learning.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

You have recognised the need to improve writing across all years in the school, and pupils are encouraged to improve their work so that their writing at least meets age-related expectations in terms of its quality. Where inconsistencies do exist, you have made sure the appropriate support is provided to pupils so that they are able to make the necessary improvements. You have also begun to develop a distributed leadership approach which ensures that leaders at all levels have a thorough understanding of the work of the school as a whole. This has ensured that there is a continuity and consistency of approach across the whole school, which pupils recognise as being the way things are done at Haworth Primary School. Teachers set high expectations in the classroom of all pupils. In all lessons observed and in all of the pupils’ books scrutinised, teachers are careful to consider pupils as individuals with individual needs. The pupils’ abilities and starting points are

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

carefully considered so that pupils are provided with ways to improve which are realistic and achievable, yet remain challenging. Pupils respond well to the guidance teachers provide, and this in turn helps the pupils to improve their knowledge, skills and understanding further. You have invested considerably in the classroom support the school provides for pupils, and for those pupils who are disadvantaged and those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teaching assistants are used skilfully by teachers to support pupils; for example, through their prompting and guiding, pupils are encouraged by the assistants to engage in their own independent learning. Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths in teaching and learning, and an accurate view of the areas of weaker practice. Their evaluations closely matched my own findings during the inspection.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

Pupils are very enthusiastic about their own learning. In the lessons I observed, their attitudes to learning were universally positive. In the early years, staff work very effectively to engage the children’s interest and ensure that they sustain concentration through a range of tasks which closely align to learning goals. The children’s learning journals evidence the wide range of stimulating and engaging activities which have as a focus the needs of the individual child. Great care has been taken to ensure the journals present an accurate and structured record of the children’s development.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

Pupils told me that they are very happy at the school and they appreciate the care and help they receive from all the staff. They believe the school is very welcoming to all pupils and generally pupils ‘get on well’ with each other. Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is in line with the national average, although there are a very small number of pupils who do not attend school as regularly as they should.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

Leaders monitor pupils’ achievement closely and frequently and work in partnership with other schools in the multi-academy trust to standardise and moderate the accuracy of assessment.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

Leaders ensure there is a focus on any specific groups of pupils, such as disadvantaged pupils and those pupils with SEND, using information to identify those pupils who may be falling behind, and to plan further support and any interventions which are required.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

You and your staff are working hard to engage with parents and carers and encourage them to help in supporting their children’s learning. You have a dedicated member of staff on your team who knows parents and families in the community very well and, as such, helps to develop partnerships with parents and carers. Parents speak highly about the developing work of the school in this area. Pupils read well at your school, using the skills they have gained in phonics to read books which are interesting to them and, at the same time, challenge them too. You, and the school’s staff, encourage parents to be active in supporting reading at home, making sure pupils have up-to-date reading records.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

School leaders and governors fulfil their legal safeguarding duties. They have ensured that staff are trained regularly. Policies and procedures are fit for purpose and day-to-day routines are secure. Records, including the single central record of checks on adults’ suitability to work and volunteer at the school, are appropriately and accurately maintained. You work successfully with local agencies to be sure that the needs of pupils and their families are addressed effectively.

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Short inspection of Haworth Primary School

Pupils who I spoke with say that behaviour is good around the school and that they always feel safe. They say that bullying is rare, but if it were to happen teachers and staff will help to resolve the problems. They report that staff take care of them and support them well.

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Inspection findings

 During the inspection, we agreed that we would focus on: how well teaching ensures the strong progress of disadvantaged pupils and those pupils with SEND; how effective the teaching of phonics is; how leaders’ actions are ensuring that pupils’ writing is improving; how leaders ensure that those pupils who do not attend school regularly improve their attendance; and how leaders and governors ensure that the school continues to improve.  Published performance information for the end of key stage 2 in 2018 indicates that pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics was not as strong as in reading. Since your arrival as the new headteacher, you have introduced several initiatives which ensure that there is a greater consistency to the learning experiences of pupils across the school. These actions include the introduction of working walls in all classrooms, which act as a focus for pupils during the school year and

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Inspection findings

encourage them to edit and further improve their work. You have also responded by ensuring that problem-solving and reasoning becomes more of a feature in mathematics than it has been in the past, although you agree that more work needs to be done in this area. The school’s own achievement information and the scrutiny of pupils’ workbooks showed that overall, current pupils are making strong progress in English and are now making stronger progress in mathematics. Pupils achieve well in other subjects too.  Leaders ensure that the additional funding the school receives to support pupils who are disadvantaged and those pupils with SEND is used wisely and effectively. Additional support in the classroom is a strong feature of the school’s approach to supporting pupils so that they make the progress they are capable of. This support, combined with high-quality teaching, ensures that disadvantaged pupils

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Inspection findings

and those pupils with SEND are making good progress. The school’s own information evidences that these pupils often make better progress than others in their classes who have similar starting points. The evidence I collected through lesson observations and looking at pupils’ books confirms this. You are aware that there are some gaps remaining which require your focus to make further improvements. Reading in Year 2 is an example where disadvantaged pupils do not make as much progress as other pupils who have similar starting points.  In 2017, the number of Year 1 pupils who reached the expected standard through phonics teaching fell significantly below the national average. Although in 2018 published information indicates much improvement, I felt it important to investigate the quality of phonics teaching. Through my observations it is evident that phonics teaching is a strength of the school. The teaching is very well

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Inspection findings

structured to allow pupils to make step-by-step progress. School information suggests that current Year 1 pupils are making very strong progress in phonics. Our joint observations of phonics teaching and learning confirm this to be the case.  You have insisted that writing is a focus for improvement across the school. Teachers are consistent in challenging pupils to use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar in their work across all subjects. Pupils respond positively to the guidance teachers provide for them so that they improve their writing further. During visits to lessons, and while looking at pupils’ books, I saw clear evidence that pupils are using these skills effectively to improve their writing, and consequently they are making stronger progress.  Teachers have adopted a structured approach to the teaching of mathematics and it is clear from my observations that pupils are becoming fluent in their

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Inspection findings

mathematical skills. You agree that a priority is now to ensure that pupils benefit from opportunities to further develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics, so that a greater proportion of pupils reach the higher standards at the end of key stage 2.  Leaders have identified the pupils who are persistently absent from the school and they are taking the appropriate and effective actions to encourage pupils, and parents, to value good attendance. The member of staff who works closely with parents is one of a number of points of contact for those parents who need to discuss important issues, and who may need extra support, to help improve attendance, for example. As a result of such determined actions, pupils’ overall attendance has improved, and levels of persistent absence have significantly reduced. However, you agree that this good work needs to continue to further reduce the small number of pupils who are still regularly absent from school.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders and governors are determined to continue to improve the school. The school is part of the Bronte Multi-Academy Trust and you, governors and staff work in partnership with other schools within the trust to develop practice through school improvement initiatives. You work closely with the chief executive officer of the trust and speak highly of the support the trust offers the school.

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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

 work continues with pupils and families to further improve attendance, and, in particular, improve the attendance of the small number of pupils who are regularly absent  teaching and learning in mathematics are further developed so that pupils are challenged to problem-solve and reason more frequently, in everyday contexts.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bradford. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with the headteacher, the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust and a range of other school leaders to discuss the school’s effectiveness. I visited classrooms to observe pupils’ learning with the headteacher, talk to pupils and look at their work. I heard Year 1 and Year 2 pupils read, and I also looked at the quality of work in a wide range of pupils’ books. I considered the 80 responses from parents to the online questionnaire, Parent View, including free- text comments. I also had meetings with groups of pupils to discuss their views about the school and spoke to pupils informally during the lunch break.

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Information about the inspection

I met with the chair of the governing body and two trustees. I evaluated the school’s safeguarding arrangements. I examined school documentation, including: the leaders’ self-evaluation of the school’s overall effectiveness; school improvement planning; information about pupils’ progress; and various policies. I also examined the school’s website.

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