Eastburn Junior and Infant School

Eastburn Junior and Infant School Green Close, Eastburn, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD20 8UX

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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

 The headteacher has high expectations and a clear vision for the school. Since her appointment in September 2018, there have been significant improvements in the quality of teaching and in pupils’ outcomes.  The leadership team is extremely effective. The headteacher and deputy headteacher are proactive and knowledgeable, and work cohesively together.  A noticeable strength of the school’s ethos is the quality of the relationships. Leaders and staff get to know pupils’ individual needs and provide a high level of care. As a result, pupils are happy and well behaved.  Pupils have exceptionally positive attitudes to learning. They are resilient, work collaboratively and relish challenge. This is demonstrated in the pride they take in their work.  Vulnerable pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are supported effectively. Consequently, they

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

make good progress from their starting points.  Parents and carers are very positive about the school. They agree that their children receive a good standard of education and are well cared for.  Leadership of the early years is strong. Children in the Reception classes receive a good start to their education because the rich environment and high standards of care support them to make good progress.  Overall, pupils progress well because they generally experience suitably strong teaching. However, high-quality teaching is not consistent across all lessons and across all subjects.  The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to learn a range of subjects. However, further improvements are needed to deepen pupils’ reading skills, to access challenging texts. This work is under way.  Governors support the school well. They offer effective challenge about the progress that pupils are making in their learning. However,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

they are less knowledgeable about the use of additional funding and its impact on pupil outcomes.  Pupils work and play together regardless of their age, gender or background. They behave well in class and around school. They enjoy their leadership opportunities and know that their views will be considered.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching and learning and thus the outcomes for pupils by ensuring that: – teaching gives pupils the skills to tackle more challenging texts in reading – the strong practice of some teachers in adjusting the tasks to meet the needs of learners is replicated across the school.  Further improve leadership and management by ensuring that: – middle leaders, including the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), have more opportunities to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching in their subject areas, in order to spread good practice – governors have a full understanding of the impact of extra funding, such as the pupil premium, on pupil outcomes.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Since her appointment in September 2018, the headteacher has quickly gained the trust and support of parents, staff and pupils. Working closely with the deputy head and governors, the headteacher demonstrates an unwavering vision to ensure that high standards are in place and pupils thrive at school.  Leaders and governors use their deep understanding of the school community to bring about effective change. Actions happen quickly and are communicated well. The school development plan and subject leaders’ action plans have clear timescales and measurable success criteria. This sharp and reflective focus has led to a swift improvement in the quality of leadership, teaching, outcomes and behaviour.  Staff work well as a team and morale is high. One member of staff commented, ‘The demand on staff over the last three years has been extremely high. However, leaders and managers have focused determinedly on the key areas for development rather

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

than expecting rapid change in all areas simultaneously.’  Leaders have taken decisive action to improve the teaching of writing and mathematics in key stage 2 following the disappointing results in 2016 and 2017. All staff have been aware of the key school improvement priorities and have worked efficiently to improve the quality of pupils’ writing and mathematics across the school.  Middle leaders are very passionate about the subjects they lead. Their enthusiasm is infectious. They have a clear vision for their subject and think carefully about actions that will improve the quality of teaching within them. However, middle leaders do not yet have the opportunity to monitor and evaluate, at first-hand, the quality of education in their subject areas.  Leaders use the pupil premium funding very effectively. The high quality of pastoral work, alongside well-trained teaching assistants, ensures that disadvantaged pupils are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

making similar rates of progress to other pupils at the school.  The school encourages pupils to lead healthy lifestyles. Leaders use additional funding for physical education (PE) and sport particularly effectively. Pupils have a wealth of opportunities to take part in sports both within lessons and at after-school clubs. The school achieves regular success in inter-school competitions.  Pupils with SEND receive high-quality support. The SENCo ensures that the needs of all identified pupils are met, by means of thorough assessments and comprehensive plans. Teaching assistants receive appropriate training and support to enable them to understand specific needs, such as autism or attachment disorder. As a result, pupils with SEND make good progress and play a full and active part in school life.  Through the school’s focus on developing pupils’ learning powers, all groups of pupils in the school have developed positive attitudes to learning. This initiative has been

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

carefully planned and embraced by all staff in the school. Leaders can demonstrate the positive impact that this is having on learning attitudes, behaviour and pupil outcomes.  The rich and varied curriculum fosters pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development throughout. Pupils learn about other cultures and study different religions in depth. The school’s work with other schools across the world has developed a deep understanding and respect for pupils from other countries and backgrounds.  The breadth of the curriculum ensures that pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain. Teachers make good use of the local area through a strong focus on local history and geography. Creative elements run throughout each topic. For example, high-quality music teaching is being built into all topics across the school.  Parents are very happy with the school. The vast majority who responded to Ofsted’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

online questionnaire, Parent View, said they would recommend the school to other parents. One parent commented, ‘It has been great to see the improvements that have been made over the past few years. I love the emphasis on building learning power; this is an approach that my children understand and engage with. Eastburn Primary is a lovely place for them to be, thank you.’ Another parent commented, ‘The school has worked really well to accommodate and integrate its minority Muslim children.’

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Governance of the school

 Governance of the school is generally strong. Governors are very keen to ensure that the school continues to improve and take their roles and responsibilities very seriously. There is a good balance of support and challenge. They understand and take account of the diverse nature of the community which the school serves.  Governors’ attention to safeguarding is diligent. They regularly check the school’s single central record and work closely with the school’s designated safeguarding lead. They sensibly undertake an annual safeguarding audit and make sure that any actions are followed up swiftly.  Governors have the necessary skills for their roles, and have a full and clear understanding of the school’s performance information. They receive regular progress reports from leaders, and ask the right questions about the progress different groups are making. Consequently, their challenge and support for leaders is sharp about

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Governance of the school

improving the quality of teaching and learning. All governors, including those who have recently joined the governing body, actively seek out and attend useful training to gain a deeper understanding of their statutory duties.  However, governors do not yet have a full understanding of the impact of additional funding, such as the pupil premium, and therefore are not fully challenging leaders on the difference this funding use is making to pupils.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The level of care and consideration for pupils’ safety is superb. The designated safeguarding leaders have well-organised systems in place to ensure that concerns are recorded and followed up promptly. If leaders feel that the responses from external agencies are not good enough, they work with tenacity to ensure that secure safeguarding measures are put in place.  Training for staff is regular and useful. They have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities and report concerns in a timely way. Staff are clear about statutory guidance on aspects such as peer-on-peer abuse and the ‘Prevent’ duty. Leaders carry out regular checks to make sure that staff understand changes in the school’s safeguarding policy.  The strong safeguarding culture in the school is reflected well in pupils’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Safety is taught well in the curriculum and through

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Safeguarding

assemblies. For example, the police were in school recently to talk to pupils about the dangers of the internet. Pupils talk knowledgeably about different risks. The older pupils who spoke with me during the inspection have a clear understanding of how to stay alert to dangers online.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Leaders have introduced a range of new approaches to teaching, which are starting to provide greater consistency. Good teaching, high expectations for pupils’ achievement and constructive learning behaviours create a positive climate for learning. Pupils are keen to learn because activities are interesting and stimulate their thinking. Pupils are attentive and focus carefully on their work. As a result, current pupils make good progress, particularly in mathematics and writing.  The quality of questioning is a strong characteristic of the effective teaching. Teachers and teaching assistants ask a good range of questions to deepen pupils’ understanding. Some teachers use this very skilfully during lessons to clarify misconceptions or to provide further challenge. Pupils are successfully encouraged to recall facts, explain their reasoning and be curious learners.  Through the school’s commitment to developing learning powers, pupils are taught to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

be effective and committed learners. As a result, pupils respond well to challenges teachers may give them and do not give up until they have achieved them.  The teaching of writing has had a successful focus. The clear sequence to learning means pupils develop skills and knowledge that build on their prior learning. Pupils then apply these in their writing across the curriculum. Progress is clear, with high- quality writing as a result. This consistency of approach across the school has ensured that the teaching of writing has improved rapidly.  Pupils’ confidence in mathematics has improved significantly. Teachers use good subject knowledge to ensure that pupils know how to calculate accurately and efficiently. Pupils regularly apply their mathematical understanding through problem solving. In the strongest mathematics teaching in the school, teachers ask questions that stretch pupils to explain and reason in their mathematical thinking.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Phonics teaching is effective. Pupils are well engaged because teaching is lively and fun, and meets the range of abilities. When pupils have mastered new sounds, they quickly move on to applying them in writing. Younger children apply their knowledge to writing words and sentences. As a result, early writing and reading skills are developing quickly.  Leaders have worked hard to develop a love of reading across the school. Pupils enjoy reading and they talk with enthusiasm about the new school library and how the wide selection of books is inspiring them to read more challenging authors, such as Philip Pullman and Patrick Ness. However, the teaching of reading does not yet give all pupils the higher-level skills to tackle more challenging texts.  Teaching enables the most able pupils to achieve well, particularly in English and mathematics. Pupils are routinely provided with work that stretches them. They are

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

challenged to ask and answer questions, and think carefully about their learning.  Pupils with SEND receive valuable support through well-planned activities and sensitive help from additional adults who work closely with teachers. Staff have very positive relationships with pupils and work effectively to motivate them to learn.  Pupils work cooperatively, and teachers provide lots of opportunities for them to collaborate and share ideas. Pupils are very flexible learners and this reflects their self- confidence and their ability to adapt to different learning challenges.  Teachers regularly check pupils’ progress during the lesson, which helps to support the strong pace of learning. Pupils really appreciate that an adult will respond to their work quickly, so they can move on or receive additional help. At the few times when teaching is not as strong as it could be, teachers are less confident in using information

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

gathered during the lesson to move pupils on quickly enough.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils speak highly of the school. They say that teachers care for them and that they feel valued. They appreciate the different roles and responsibilities they have and say they take an active part in school life through jobs such as school councillor, house captain and being a Barnardo’s ambassador – where they actively celebrate positive identities and diversities.  Pupils talked about different religions with sensitivity and compassion. They said, ‘Here people are treated the same. Everyone is the same – they may look different or act differently but we’re all the same on the inside.’  Pupils’ attitudes to learning and school life are extremely positive. Pupils enjoy the learning, concentrate well and work hard. They relish the chance to learn new skills and knowledge. When asked what is the best thing about the school, one pupil replied,

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Personal development and welfare

‘Learning itself. We have a wide variety of learning that’s fun. It’s so fun here!’  Pupils are fully engaged in their learning. They are motivated to learn and the new approaches to behaviour and ideas about learning powers are clearly having a very positive impact on behaviour in the classroom. Pupils are resilient and determined, and work together extremely effectively to become independent learners.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is strong. Pupils’ conduct is consistently calm and orderly throughout the school day. Pupils listen attentively to adults and respond swiftly to instructions. Pupils understand the school’s rules. They know exactly what is expected of them because routines are clear and well established.  Pupils are unreservedly polite, courteous and friendly.  Pupils are proud of their learning and almost all take care with the presentation of their work.  Pupils says although bullying does happen, it is rare. When there is an issue it is dealt with by adults in the school. Pupils say that there is always an adult they can go to with concerns, or they can use the school’s worry box, that is checked regularly. Issues are always followed up.  The strong safeguarding culture in the school is reflected well in pupils’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Safety is taught well in the curriculum and through

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Behaviour

assemblies. For example, the police were in school recently to explain to pupils about the dangers of the internet. Pupils talk knowledgeably about different risks. The older pupils who spoke with me during the inspection have a clear understanding of the meaning of online grooming and how to stay alert to such dangers.  The pastoral team are very effective in the work they do. They check daily to ensure that the most vulnerable pupils are in school, and they work with them and their families to ensure that these pupils are ready to learn. A high level of support and care for this group of pupils ensures that any issues are quickly dealt with because pupils know they are safe and that adults listen to them.  Pupils’ enjoyment of school is evident in their high levels of attendance. Pupils’ attendance is above average. Persistent absence is significantly below that of other schools. However, leaders are not complacent and continue to track attendance closely

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Attainment by the end of key stage 2 is rising. In 2018, the proportion of pupils who attained the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was above the national average. Current data indicates that the proportion of pupils achieving and exceeding the expected standard at key stage 1 and key stage 2 will continue to rise.  Pupils’ attainment by the end of key stage 1 is also improving. Over time, the proportions of pupils attaining the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics were closer to those seen nationally. Current evidence shows that outcomes at the end of key stage 1 are continuing to improve, with an above-average proportion achieving the higher standards.  The school’s own assessment information shows that disadvantaged pupils are making good progress from their starting points. Teachers know who disadvantaged pupils are and funding is spent appropriately to address their barriers to learning. Pupils with

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Outcomes for pupils Good

SEND benefit from appropriately matched support and make good progress from their starting points.  The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics has been similar to that seen nationally for two out of three years. Teachers demonstrate good phonics knowledge, and pupils make good progress throughout their time in school.  Work in current pupils’ books and the school’s own assessment information show that pupils are making good progress in English and mathematics. Writing across the curriculum is of a high quality, with pupils taking increased care and attention to handwriting and spellings.

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Early years provision Good

 Children receive a good start to their education in Reception. Staff are attentive and tuned into children’s needs. Positive relationships are at the heart of children’s learning and experiences. As a result, children behave well and are happy.  Progress since the last inspection has been rapid. Teachers plan activities carefully to ensure that there is a balance between provision for child-initiated learning and that which is adult-led.  In Reception, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is improving. Current evidence shows that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is in line with the national average from starting points that are broadly typical for their age.  The early years leader, although new to her role, has quickly established a team of staff who support each other well for the benefit of the children. Leaders carefully consider how the curriculum stimulates children’s interests.

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Early years provision Good

 Children enjoy a happy and successful start to school. They join the school with levels of development broadly typical for their age, although many pupils enter with skills below this in reading, writing and number. By the end of Reception, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is close to the national average. These outcomes mean that children are well prepared for Year 1.  Children develop good phonics skills in the early years because teaching is effective. Children proficiently use their knowledge of letters and the sounds these represent when they read and write. During the inspection, children enthusiastically found and wrote lists of simple, accurately spelled, three-letter words.  Adult-led activities challenge children appropriately to ensure that learning is embedded and extended. Examples of higher levels of learning are evident in children’s learning journals in all areas but the greatest progress is evident in reading and

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Early years provision Good

writing.  Early years pupil premium funding is targeted to meet specific needs. For example, it was used to support a family to improve attendance rates. This well-planned support resulted in both improving attendance and learning progress.  Safeguarding procedures are secure and training is up to date. Staff are very vigilant and concern themselves with all aspects of health and well-being. This includes having an awareness of children’s eating and toilet habits, so if these are considered to be a barrier to learning, staff offer support as appropriate.  Leaders and teachers work closely with parents. Parents are regularly invited to stay and play sessions, where staff are readily available for informal discussions about their children. The school’s very effective partnerships with parents are at the heart of their children’s learning. Parents value the way in which staff go out of their way to ensure

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Early years provision Good

that children settle quickly and feel happy in school.

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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 office@eastburn.bradford.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14–15 March 2017

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average. However, the proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is above average.  A large majority of pupils come from a White British background.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The headteacher was appointed as substantive headteacher in September 2018, before which time she was in post as head of school.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in all classes. Almost all observations were done jointly with senior leaders.  The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and spoke to a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors held meetings with senior and middle leaders.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents by considering the 108 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke informally with parents at the start of the first day of the inspection.  Inspectors considered the views of a range of staff.  Inspectors spoke to pupils informally and met with a group of pupils from Year 2 to Year 6.  Inspectors listened to pupils read. They looked at work in pupils’ books with school leaders, including the leaders of mathematics and English.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness and the minutes of the governing body’s meetings.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors examined the school’s records of current pupils’ progress and attendance. Safeguarding procedures were also reviewed, including the arrangements for keeping pupils safe and recruiting staff.

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Inspection team

Eve Morris, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Christine Turner 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

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

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