Woodlesford Primary School

Woodlesford Primary School Church Street, Woodlesford, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS26 8RD

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to ensure that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is at least consistently good.  Although governors are now carefully monitoring the work of leaders, over time they have not held leaders to account for the impact of their actions.  Teachers do not routinely provide pupils with enough challenge to ensure that they make good progress from their starting points.  Leaders do not carefully check the impact that the use of pupil premium funding is having on disadvantaged pupils.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop skills and deepen their knowledge and understanding across the wider curriculum.  The teaching of phonics, although recently improved, is not effective. The books that pupils are asked to read are not consistently well matched to their phonics knowledge.  Children in the early years do not make good progress from their starting points. Learning

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

opportunities are not well matched to children’s needs. The organisation of learning and the deployment of adults do not consistently give pupils the right level of support and challenge.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school is diligent in its approach to safeguarding. The culture of safeguarding is strong.  The school provides pupils with a wide range of experiences that promote personal development and welfare and help them to develop ‘the Woody Spirit’.  Pupils are polite friendly and well-behaved.  Pupils value their education. Attendance is above the national average.  Leaders use the physical education (PE) and sports premium funding well.  Well-trained staff provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils make good progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, including governance, by: – increasing the impact that leaders have on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that it becomes consistently good – ensuring that work in subjects other than English and mathematics is deepened so that pupils develop subject-specific skills, knowledge and understanding, year on year – making sure that the impact of actions to support disadvantaged pupils is carefully checked.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by: – increasing the level of challenge, especially for the most able, so that more pupils, including the disadvantaged, make consistently good progress – making sure that there is a consistent approach to teaching phonics and that all staff have the skills needed to teach and support pupils effectively, including in the early years – ensuring that pupils’ reading books are well matched to phonics knowledge

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– making sure that assessment information is consistently used well.  Improve the effectiveness of early years provision by: – making sure that adult-led lessons are well planned and organised so that lessons get off to a swift start – developing provision for independent learning so that activities enable children to sustain their interest and deepen their learning.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leadership instability over the past 12 months has weakened the capacity of leaders to improve the school. They have not taken effective action to ensure that pupils make strong progress from their starting points. Historically, leaders have not been ambitious enough for what pupils can achieve.  Leaders do not have an accurate view of the quality of education in the school. Their self-evaluation in most areas is over-generous.  Over time, the monitoring of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment has not been thorough or systematic. This has resulted in leaders not recognising or addressing the inconsistencies across the school.  The impact of actions to support disadvantaged pupils has not been carefully checked. As a result, leaders do not know which strategies are having an impact on these pupils. They are therefore unable to evidence that the use of pupil premium funding is having an impact on the attainment and progress of these pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Immediately after the last inspection in February 2019, a new improvement plan was written, with support from the school improvement partner. This plan is focused and detailed. It clearly shows how the areas for improvement are now being addressed. Leaders and governors are regularly checking to make sure that actions are being taken effectively within agreed timescales. The monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment is now more regular and focused. Middle leaders are becoming increasingly involved in subject development. However, it is too early to judge the impact of these actions.  The curriculum is broad and is enriched by a wide range of experiences, including educational visits. Pupils have opportunities to study a wide range of subjects. However, work in some subjects is shallow. It does not allow pupils to develop subject- specific skills, knowledge and understanding, year on year. Leaders are beginning to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

take action to address this.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and spiritual development is promoted well throughout the school. The wide range of experiences that pupils have is helping them to be well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Work to support pupils with special educational need and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective. Staff are well trained to deliver the support that these pupils need. Leaders hold teachers to account for the progress that these pupils are making. As a result, these pupils are making good progress.  The school uses the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium well. Pupils have a wide range of sporting opportunities in PE lessons and through after-school clubs. Pupils have many opportunities to take part in competitive sport, for example the annual cross-country event for 10 schools, which is hosted by Woodlesford.  Staff morale is high. Most say that they feel well supported by school leaders. They

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

welcome the recent, increased opportunities they have had for professional development and say they can see the benefit this is beginning to have on the school.

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Governance of the school

 Over time, governors have not held leaders to account sufficiently well to ensure that pupils make good progress. However, they have recently increased the effectiveness of the challenge they give leaders. They are fully involved in regularly monitoring the implementation and impact of the improvement plan that was put in place following the last inspection.  Governors know the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They were quick to point out that, although attainment is above average at the end of key stage 2, progress is not consistently good. They have gained this knowledge from published data, reports from leaders and visits to school.  Governors are keen to support the school. They have been successful in appointing a substantive headteacher to lead the school from September 2019. Some governors are able to use their expertise to give specific help through work to improve the provision for pupils with SEND. However, this means that sometimes governors are working

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Governance of the school

operationally rather than strategically.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  All policies and procedures are fit for purpose. Leaders make sure that staff are well trained and given regular updates. Staff take their responsibilities seriously and report all concerns, no matter how small. Record keeping is clear and shows that, when necessary, appropriate actions are taken immediately. As a result, there is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and have someone to talk to if something is worrying them. Parents and carers agree with this view, most saying that their children are well looked after in school. In response to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, many wrote, ‘My child is happy and safe.’

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the school is not consistently good. There are variations between classes, year groups and subjects. Although there have been some very recent improvements, the issue still requires improvement.  The strength of subject knowledge and effectiveness of teacher modelling varies. Some adults use questioning well to provide support and challenge, but this is not always the case. Misconceptions and errors in basic skills are not always picked up or addressed quickly enough.  There have been some very recent improvements in the teaching of phonics. Adults use the correct vocabulary and encourage pupils to do the same. However, not all staff have the skills they need to teach the skills that pupils need to be able to develop their phonics knowledge quickly. For example, not all staff use sounds correctly and some of the displays encourage pupils to sound out words which are not phonetically

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

decodable.  The use of assessment information is inconsistent. This leads to pupils in some classes being asked to complete work that does not meet their needs. Lower-ability pupils and those pupils with SEND are often well supported in lessons and through additional intervention work. However, other pupils, especially the most able, are not consistently given the right level of challenge. A number of parents who made their views known during the inspection said that the school could push the higher achievers more. Inspectors agree with this view.  Most teachers have high expectations of what most pupils can achieve in English and mathematics. However, work in pupils’ books shows that expectations are much lower in other subjects.  Work in books shows that some pupils are given opportunities to write at length for different purposes in English lessons. However, pupils do not routinely have opportunities to write at length in other subjects.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Adults have good relationships with pupils that support most pupils to develop and sustain positive attitudes to learning. Most pupils say that they enjoy being in school and are excited by their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Most pupils are self-confident and speak positively about their experiences in school. Most are keen to learn and take pride in their work.  Leaders spoke passionately about the work that is done with pupils to raise their aspirations to become future leaders and to take a positive role in society. They affectionately refer to this as developing ’the Woody spirit’.  Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe from potential local dangers which may be posed by the railway and the canal. Pupils are knowledgeable about road and online safety. They understand the importance of sharing with a trusted adult any concerns they may have about any form of abuse.  Pupils are keen to take on extra responsibilities, such as acting as representatives on the school or food councils and being sports ambassadors. One member of the school

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Personal development and welfare

council was eager to give an example of their work by explaining how they spent the profits from a book fair.  Pupils could explain how activities in school promote healthy eating and give them opportunities to keep active. They also have some awareness of emotional and mental health.  Pupils say that bullying is very rare. They say that when it does occur it is dealt with quickly and effectively.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils understand the school’s behaviour policy and respond well to rewards. Most pupils get along well together and are well-behaved, wherever they are in school.  Leaders have put effective systems in place to monitor behaviour. They are very knowledgeable about the typical poor behaviour of a very small minority of pupils. They are proactive in helping these pupils to improve.  Pupils are polite and friendly. They were keen to chat to inspectors and always displayed good manners, saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and holding open doors appropriately.  Leaders have put effective systems in place to monitor and evaluate attendance. Attendance is consistently above the national average. The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged by poor attendance is very small.  In some classes, a small number of pupils engage in off-task behaviour and need to be reminded to listen to their teacher and peers when they are giving explanations or

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Behaviour

reading out work. This is in classes where teaching is less strong.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Over time, pupils have not received consistently good teaching or been challenged effectively to make good progress from their starting points. Pupils’ progress requires improvement.  Inconsistent teaching of phonics has meant that the proportions of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening checks have been variable over time. This proportion was well below the national average in 2018. Inspection evidence shows that most of these pupils are on track to meet the expected standard in Year 2.  Inspection evidence shows that current pupils are not making strong progress in English and mathematics. This is because of inconsistent teaching. Also, in subjects other than English and mathematics, pupils do not make good progress. This is because pupils do not have enough opportunities to study subjects in depth before they move on to other things.  Over time, disadvantaged pupils have not made good progress, especially in reading

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

and writing. Attainment for these pupils is below that of others at the end of key stages 1 and 2. However, in mathematics, the differences in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and others are beginning to diminish.  Attainment, overall, at the end of key stage 2 in reading and mathematics at the expected and higher standard has been above the national average for three years. Although the proportion reaching the expected standard in writing has increased over this period, the proportion reaching the higher standard has declined and was well below the national average in 2018.  Attainment, overall, at the end of key stage 1 has improved over the last three years. In 2018, the proportions of pupils reaching the expected standard and greater depth standard were above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Leaders identify the needs of pupils with SEND precisely and make sure that they have

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

effective support from teaching assistants. As a result, these pupils are making good progress.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Children enter the early years with skills and knowledge which are mostly typical for their age, with some having even higher starting points. The proportion reaching a good level of development has been broadly in line with the national average for the last three years. Current in-school assessments indicate that attainment is broadly similar this year. This does not represent good progress.  Leaders have put systems in place to establish baselines and measure progress. However, this data is not always accurate or used well enough to ensure that children make rapid and sustained progress.  Recent improvements have been made to phonics teaching. However, staff do not always make good use of resources to model letter formation effectively. Nor do children have enough opportunities to write to reinforce their learning.  Adult-led lessons are not always well planned or organised. Children often have to wait

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Early years provision Requires improvement

during the transition between lessons for staff to select and organise resources.  Areas of learning are set out well. However, many children do not use these areas appropriately or sustain their interest in activities. Adults are not always well deployed to support children in their learning. This means that there is often no depth to learning.  Staff are keen to provide children with interesting activities that are designed to engage their interest. However, sometimes the activity detracts from the learning. For example, a group of boys were given items beginning with the letter `s’ that had been frozen in large blocks of ice. The boys then enjoyed trying to break the ice with wooden spoons, but did not learn about the letter’s sound.  The relatively new team of staff are keen to listen to advice about how to improve their practice. However, their eagerness to this has led to some changes that have not been

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Early years provision Requires improvement

carefully thought through.  Some recent changes are beginning to have a positive impact. Progress can be seen in the recently introduced writing books. One child was keen to explain that she likes completing ‘rainbow challenges’.  Leaders are knowledgeable about the strengths and weaknesses in attainment for some groups of children. For example, strategies have been put in place to improve boys’ writing.  Most children cooperate well with each other to play and work together and to share resources. Most are quick to follow the instructions of adults.  Staff have developed good relationships with parents. They are constantly looking for ways to involve parents and encourage them to contribute to ongoing assessment.  All legal safeguarding and welfare requirements are met.

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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 sheena.bell@woodlesford.leeds.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 February 2019

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Information about this school

 Woodlesford Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is much lower than that found nationally.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  The school runs a breakfast club for pupils each morning.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below average.  The deputy headteacher has been acting headteacher since June 2018. A new headteacher has been appointed to lead the school from September 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all year groups. Some of the observations were undertaken jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books alongside middle and senior leaders.  An inspector met with three members of the governing body.  An inspector met with the school improvement partner who was representing the local authority.  A range of documents was scrutinised, including the school’s self-evaluation document, improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings, records of checks on teaching and learning, and attendance and safeguarding information.  Inspectors met formally with a group of pupils, spoke informally to pupils in lessons and listened to pupils read. Inspectors also took account of the 40 responses to the online pupil questionnaire.  Discussions took place with staff about safeguarding and the support and professional development that they receive. Inspectors also took account of the 42 responses to the

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Information about this inspection

online staff questionnaire.  Inspectors considered the views of parents by meeting informally at the start of the school day and through the 200 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.

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Inspection team

Chris Cook, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lesley Allwood 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

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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