Scholes (Elmet) Primary School

Scholes (Elmet) Primary School Station Road, Scholes, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS15 4BJ

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Since the previous inspection, senior leaders, supported by governors, have successfully tackled all of the areas requiring improvement. Governance has improved so that governors provide effective challenge and support.  Teaching, learning and assessment have improved so that outcomes are now securely good. Strengths have been maintained and the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics across key stage 2 has improved.  Pupils make good progress from their different starting points. This is reflected in the way that most pupils produce a good amount of work to a high standard. However, there are a few inconsistencies and not enough is always expected of all pupils, particularly in subjects other than English and mathematics.  A three-year trend of improvement means that pupils now reach above-average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However, there are small inconsistencies in the progress

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

of specific groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils.  While extra funding is used to good effect, the school’s evaluations of the use of the pupil premium funding do not always pinpoint where work has been most and least effective or how to better meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils.  Across the school, including in the early years, teaching is good. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong.  Not all additional adults are deployed well enough to fully support pupils’ learning.  Pupils benefit from an engaging curriculum, with many positive educational experiences. Pupils attend regularly because they find learning interesting. As a consequence, pupils’ attendance is above average.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and sometimes impeccable. Pupils say that they feel safe at school and that bullying is rare.  Children get off to a good start to their education in the early years and are well prepared for their learning in Year 1 and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

beyond.  The school’s work to foster pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.  Most parents and carers are very positive about the school, which they say is much improved. Parents say their children are happy, safe and making good progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop leadership and management by making sure that the use of the pupil premium grant is more effectively evaluated in order to better pinpoint its impact so that the use of this resource can be further fine-tuned.  Further improve the quality of teaching, and thereby improve outcomes further, by ensuring that: – additional adults are effectively deployed in all classes to fully support pupils’ learning – all teachers plan opportunities to extend and deepen the learning of all groups of pupils, particularly in foundation subjects.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The executive headteacher and head of school have taken effective steps to robustly address the key priorities identified at the last inspection. As a consequence, teaching and outcomes have improved.  Leaders have effectively marshalled support from across the federation and from the local authority. With the support of federation leaders, middle and subject leadership has been strengthened.  The staff team who, with governors, have high aspirations for the school, have created a happy and harmonious school community. The very caring and nurturing culture is underpinned by positive and respectful relationships. Pupils told inspectors they valued the care provided by staff.  The broad and balanced curriculum is well matched to pupils’ needs and interests. Topics regularly have stories linked to them. For example, in Years 3 and 4, a story about a firework maker was used as the stimulus for science, language work and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

artwork.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted effectively. For example, a visit from a circus performer highlighted the importance of perseverance, using the example of how he had learned to spin plates.  Pupils are taught about major world religions and older pupils told inspectors that this helps them to understand and respect people’s differences. As a result, pupils are effectively prepared for life in modern Britain.  The primary physical education and sport funding is used effectively to promote daily exercise and physical activity. Pupils experience a wide range of sports and activities, including dodgeball, cross-country, netball and orienteering. Older pupils talk about the advantages of having a school swimming pool and many say this helped them to learn to swim from an early age.  Self-evaluation is effective. Good systems are used to check on the impact of teaching

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

on learning and progress. School improvement planning priorities are effectively identified. Teachers are provided with regular guidance and support and so the quality of teaching and learning has improved.  Leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively to support disadvantaged pupils’ learning and ensure that they can participate in all aspects of school life, including educational trips and visits. At the end of Year 6 in 2018, disadvantaged pupils’ progress in all subjects was strong. While effective overall, sometimes leaders’ evaluation of the impact of the pupil premium funding is not precise in pinpointing the success of this and where further work could be undertaken.

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Governance of the school

 Governance has improved significantly. With the support of the local authority, governors acted on the recommendations of the governance review. An audit of governors’ skills, along with some new appointments, means that, between them, members of the governing body have a suitably broad range of skills.  Governors take their roles and responsibilities seriously and are regular visitors to the school. As a consequence, they know the school’s strengths and areas where further development is needed. They provide an appropriate balance of challenge and support to school leaders. For example, they have probed and challenged the school’s use of additional resources.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  All of the required checks on staff are undertaken as part of the school’s recruitment processes.  There is a strong culture of care. Pupils say they are well cared for and there is always someone to help if there are any problems. Pupils talk about ‘trusted adults’ who they can turn to if there are any difficulties.  Pupils say they feel safe because any problems with bullying are sorted out quickly.  Staff have appropriate training and know what procedures to follow if they have any child protection concerns. Where appropriate, staff work effectively with other agencies.  The school site is well looked after, and the grounds are kept safe. Pupils follow well- established routines so that they move around the site in a safe and orderly way.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Over time, the quality of teaching is good. This is confirmed by the quality of pupils’ work and the inspectors’ observations of the impact of teaching and learning on pupils’ progress.  Staff enjoy good relationships with pupils. As a consequence, pupils’ behaviour for learning is strong and they try hard to meet their teachers’ expectations. This is demonstrated by the way pupils respond quickly to their teachers’ instructions. Pupils take pride in their work, settle quickly to tasks and are reflective in planning, revising and reviewing their work.  The teaching of reading is effective. Phonics is taught systematically and well. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy reading often and widely, and they regularly borrow books from the school library.  Writing is taught effectively, and pupils’ books show they have opportunities to write at length across a range of subjects. Teachers are skilled at guiding pupils to improve

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

their writing. As a result, standards in writing at the end of key stage 2 have shown continuous improvement over a period of time.  Mathematics is taught well, and pupils use a range of strategies to complete different types of calculations. Pupils’ confidence at recalling and using multiplication tables facts are developed well. Pupils are given good opportunities to explain how they tackle problem-solving and reasoning activities. A diet of regular problem-solving and reasoning activities means that pupils make good gains in these areas.  Teachers’ subject knowledge has improved since the last inspection. Teachers now use their subject knowledge to provide clear explanations to pupils. Teachers also use questioning well to check on pupils’ understanding and extend their thinking. They use open questioning well to check understanding.  Well-understood classroom routines mean that classrooms are calm and orderly. Most

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

teachers have high expectations of how pupils should present their work and, as a consequence, pupils show great pride in their work.  Most activities are well planned to engage and interest pupils. For example, in a Year 2 class, pupils received a letter from a fictitious teddy bear, and this was used as a stimulus for reading and writing a letter. However, on some occasions, not enough is expected of all groups of pupils, particularly in subjects other than English and mathematics. This limits some pupils’ ability to deepen and extend their understanding in all subjects.  Although there are some good examples of additional adults being used to good effect, this is not always the case. On a small number of occasions, the skills of additional adults are not fully used to extend pupils’ learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils know how to be successful learners, and this is reflected in their good engagement in lessons. Pupils enthusiastically take part in the regular ‘wake up and shake up’ sessions.  Pupils who spoke to inspectors reported that they feel safe in school. They are confident in their knowledge of how to keep themselves safe online.  Pupils respect each other and understand that differences should be celebrated.  Parents are confident that pupils are well cared for and safe in school. For example, pupils told inspectors that they understood the start-of-day and end-of-day routines, as well as what to do if their parent was not in the playground when they left school.  Pupils develop a good understanding of rights and responsibilities. For example, pupils from across the school researched different charities to select a charity to support.

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Personal development and welfare

Each class then had to present their ideas to the school council for it to make the final selection.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils say there is little bullying, and scrutiny of school behaviour records shows that, if any does occur, it is dealt with appropriately.  Pupils behave well in classrooms and around the school. They move safely from room to room. They are happy to hold doors open and welcome visitors. They socialise well together, both in the dining room and outside.  Pupils know and understand that the school rules are designed to keep everyone safe. Pupils say that their learning is only rarely disrupted by the behaviour of other pupils.  Pupils’ enjoyment is reflected in their above-average rates of school attendance. Pupils were observed by inspectors happily and enthusiastically arriving at school early and ready to learn. However, although attendance is above average for most groups of pupils, a disproportionate number of disadvantaged pupils are persistently absent.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 When children join the school in the early years, their skills and knowledge are generally typical for their age. They make good progress from their differing starting points.  Improvements to the quality of teaching mean that standards and progress have improved. As a consequence, outcomes at the end of Year 6 improved significantly in 2018 so that pupils reached standards that were above the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and their good behaviour, along with their skills in reading, writing and mathematics, ensure that they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Outcomes at the end of Year 2 have been consistently in line with the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2018, the broadly average standards represented good progress for these pupils from their different starting points.  Across the school, pupils are making good progress in a wide range of subjects. For

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Outcomes for pupils Good

example, in science, older pupils were able to explain the relationship between the sun and the moon, as well as features of the solar system.  It is notable that most key stage 1 pupils make strong progress in swimming so that most are able to swim before they join key stage 2.  Effective phonics teaching means that pupils are making good gains in their early reading skills. Year 1 pupils who read to inspectors were mostly confidently able to sound out new words.  The school ensures that most disadvantaged pupils across the school make good progress from their different starting points. There are some gaps in the attainment of disadvantaged pupils compared to their peers within the school and compared to other pupils nationally. Although rates of progress are good, from year to year, there are differences in the standards that girls and boys reach, with girls generally reaching higher standards than boys.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress because they receive the right level of support, including from other agencies. Their good progress is clear in work in their exercise books.

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Early years provision Good

 Effective leadership has consolidated the strengths in the early years. With clear direction from the early years leader, the staff team works consistently to ensure that all aspects of the setting, including the learning environment and the curriculum, are constantly under scrutiny. This is leading to high expectations because staff work hard to embed changes. For example, a writing initiative has been introduced in Reception to engage boys more fully in writing. ‘Writing Warriors’ has been successful in engaging boys in writing and is ensuring that a greater proportion of boys are now achieving well in their writing.  The early years leader works effectively with the senior leadership team to evaluate the work of the early years setting. They have developed successfully the learning in the outdoor area, which is a hive of activity where children are given opportunities to take their learning to the next level.

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Early years provision Good

 Partnerships with parents are particularly strong. Their contributions to their children’s records of achievement are valued and parents are encouraged to send pictures and texts which identify their child’s progress across the areas of learning.  Children make good progress across the setting to achieve well. In 2018, girls achieved better than boys and a below-average proportion of boys reached a good level of development. Leaders have taken steps to better engage both boys and girls. Although leaders are aware that there are still some differences between the attainment of boys and girls, inspection evidence confirms that boys and girls are now making good progress. Analysis of assessments and children’s learning shows more boys are on track to reach or exceed a good level of development by the end of the year than did so in 2018.  Children behave well and they readily share resources and learning spaces so that their

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Early years provision Good

days in school are rarely interrupted. Any children who struggle to settle when they start school are supported well so they soon engage well and get to know the routines. Any small disagreements are swiftly resolved by skilful staff.  Adults build successfully on children’s vocabulary so that they are increasingly confident when speaking about their learning. Adults encourage children to be independent and, consequently, children in the early years show a great deal of resilience in their learning, sticking with tasks until completion and tidying up as they go along.  In a harmonious atmosphere, children learn and play well together. Their natural curiosity is harnessed effectively, which encourages continual learning. For example, Nursery children delighted in studying the tadpoles in the classroom and squealed with delight as they then squished the tapioca which had been provided to replicate the feel

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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

Email address scholesoffice@spherefederation.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19–20 January 2017

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Information about this school

 Scholes (Elmet) Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. It is one of three schools in the Sphere Federation, along with Moortown Primary School and St James’ Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School (Wetherby).  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. Few pupils speak English as an additional language and the proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is well below average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below average and the proportion who have an education, health and care plan is below average.  Some pupils attend a breakfast club which is managed by an independent provider and did not form part of this inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed a range of lessons in all year groups, as well as the teaching of phonics in small groups. Some observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders. Pupils’ work in books was scrutinised in class and separately with senior leaders.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and held discussions with pupils from across the school in formal and informal meetings.  Inspectors took account of the 52 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, which included 40 free-text responses. Inspectors spoke informally with parents at the start and end of each day. Responses to the inspection questionnaires completed by 26 members of staff were also considered, along with the 48 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.  Meetings were held with five governors, including the chair of the governing body, and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors met with various school and federation leaders, including teams responsible

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Information about this inspection

for leading English and mathematics, along with the science and the curriculum team. A meeting was held with the federation leader responsible for the early years provision.  Inspectors examined a range of documents, including: the school’s checks on the quality of teaching and reviews of its own performance; development plans; information about pupils’ progress; records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour; and safeguarding documentation.

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Inspection team

Amraz Ali, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

James Kilner 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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