Drighlington Primary School

Drighlington Primary School Moorland Road, Drighlington, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD11 1JY

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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 dedicated headteacher, ably assisted by the deputy and assistant headteachers, has taken effective action to secure the improvements needed that were outlined in the previous inspection report. The headteacher has been relentless in tackling underperformance and weaker teaching in the school.  The recently restructured leadership team has an accurate view of the strengths and areas for further improvement across the school. Phase leaders are now beginning to take on roles in monitoring the quality of teaching and learning across the school.  The progress and attainment of pupils is steadily improving towards the national average. A higher proportion of pupils now achieve the high or greater depth standards in their work.  The governance of the school is strong. Governors hold school leaders rigorously to account and check carefully that all the information they are given is accurate.  Pupils enjoy their learning and engage fully in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

their lessons. Their attitudes to learning and conduct are very good. They show high levels of respect for all members of the school community.  The school’s use of additional funding makes a positive difference to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and to many pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils is still too variable across the school.  Pupils’ handwriting and presentation of work in key stage 1 are often untidy and spelling is frequently inaccurate. Pupils do not always know how to edit and improve their work, which results in them frequently repeating errors.  The quality of teaching is now good overall. It is particularly strong in the upper part of the school. However, in a small number of classes, the work which pupils are set is not always matched well to their ability and teachers do not always have the highest expectations of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

what each pupil can achieve.  Children get a very strong start to their education in the early years. Recent improvements mean that children make better progress now than in the past and are well prepared to continue learning in Year 1.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and the vast majority attend regularly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching and learning, so that it is good in every class, by ensuring that: – all pupils know what they need to do to edit and improve their work, so that they learn from their mistakes and do not repeat errors – the work which is set for pupils accurately matches their ability and all staff have the highest expectations of every pupil – greater attention is given to improving handwriting, presentation and spelling in pupils’ work.  Fully embed the school’s recently revised strategies to improve the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils, so that the differences between their outcomes and those of other pupils diminish more rapidly.  Continue to develop the skills of senior leaders and phase leaders so they can more rigorously monitor the quality of teaching and learning, and more effectively contribute to securing further improvements in the quality of teaching.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Since the last inspection, the headteacher has been relentless in tackling underperformance and weaker teaching in the school. This has resulted in some disruption to staffing, over time, which has slowed the progress of some pupils. Leaders are working hard to ensure that these pupils receive the support they need to catch up quickly.  The leadership team has recently been restructured and four phase leaders have been appointed. They work closely with the senior leadership team of deputy and assistant headteachers. This has resulted in a more even distribution of leadership tasks, many of which were previously undertaken by the headteacher. The capacity of leaders to improve the school further is good because leadership is now distributed across an increasingly effective, extended team.  Leaders now have clear strategies to evaluate new initiatives and can evidence the impact of actions taken so far. A robust system of assessment has been introduced,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

which ensures that phase leaders have a detailed knowledge of individual pupils’ progress. They analyse this information frequently to make sure that pupils who are falling behind are the target of successful interventions. Leaders are now working with class teachers to support them in using this information more effectively to plan work that is more closely matched to the individual needs of the pupils. Senior and phase leaders are beginning to take on more responsibilities in monitoring the effectiveness of teaching and learning but it is too early to measure the impact of this.  The headteacher ensures that the well-being of pupils and staff is a high priority. Pupils’ well-being is enhanced by an assertive mentoring programme and work to develop pupils’ resilience and problem-solving skills. Pupils feel happy and safe and say that they always have an adult they can go to if they are worried about anything. Staff

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

in all roles across the school are proud to be part of the team. They are benefiting from a range of recently introduced strategies to make their workload more manageable and, as a result, staff morale is very high.  Leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively. Consequently, the large majority of disadvantaged pupils in the school are now making better progress than in the past. Since the last inspection, the gap between their progress and that of other pupils nationally has reduced. The one-year appointment of a ‘pupil premium champion’ made a significant contribution to improving disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes. As a result of a recent pupil premium audit conducted by the local authority, leaders have improved their strategies further to improve outcomes for these pupils, to ensure that this gap diminishes more rapidly in the future.  The school’s work to promote spiritual, social, moral and cultural development, and to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

teach fundamental British values is good. Pupils are democratically elected to serve on the school council and anti-bullying group. They have opportunities to explore various religions through activities such as making Islamic prayer mats and sequencing the Christian story of creation, and they visit various places of worship.  The curriculum is broad and balanced, providing a wide range of interesting opportunities that engage pupils and foster their curiosity. Teachers work hard to ensure that pupils enjoy their learning and that they broaden their knowledge beyond their own community. For example, one pupil told inspectors that a recent school trip to London ‘helped me to see what other people’s lives are like’.  The school works hard to engage and involve parents in school life in a wide variety of ways. Most parents have a very positive view of the school and value highly all that it provides for their child. A significant number of parents choose to send their children to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

the school from out of its catchment area. One such parent commented, ‘We live out of the area and I always feel very grateful that my three children have been fortunate enough to go to this school. They have all made excellent progress and enjoyed their time there.’ Many parents commented very positively on the drive and commitment of the headteacher, with one noting that ‘the school is a far better place because she’s at the heart of it’. A small number of parents expressed some concerns about the leadership of the school through Parent View. These were investigated but inspectors could find no grounds to substantiate them.  The local authority has provided additional support for the school since the previous inspection. This has included support to refine and strengthen the school development plan, working alongside teachers to moderate the assessments of pupils’ work and work with leaders to improve the school’s use of the pupil premium funding. This work

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

has been instrumental in strengthening the school’s leadership team to increase the capacity for further improvement across the school. The school improvement adviser has an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness and provides a high level of challenge, holding leaders to account to ensure that the drive for improvement does not wane.

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Governance of the school

 The governance of the school has improved significantly since the previous inspection. Most governors have been appointed in the last two years and have been carefully selected for the specific skills they can offer to the role. New governors follow a comprehensive induction programme to ensure that they can quickly be effective.  Governors understand their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure that they undertake the necessary training to discharge these duties effectively.  Governors have worked with the headteacher to improve the quality of information they receive about how the school is improving. Governors now have a range of strategies in place to check carefully the information provided by school leaders. They visit the school frequently to monitor its work through talking with pupils and teachers, visiting lessons and looking at pupils’ work. As a result, they now have a much more accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and hold school leaders

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Governance of the school

rigorously to account to secure further improvement.  Governors ensure that additional funding is used well and monitor the impact of this spending. They ensure that they have the information they need from school leaders to understand why and how the money is being spent and what impact it is having.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Policies and procedures meet statutory requirements and are regularly reviewed.  Staff and governors receive regular training in all aspects of safeguarding and are clear about the correct procedures to follow.  Child protection arrangements are rigorous and effective. Staff work very well with the outside agencies involved in specific child protection cases.  There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. The site is secure and pupils feel safe inside school. However, there is a higher-than-usual number of minor accidents at playtimes due to some overexcited play.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 As a result of the headteacher’s drive to eradicate underperformance, the quality of teaching has improved and is now good overall. Leaders continue to address effectively and robustly the small amount of teaching which is not yet securely good. Consequently, the proportion of pupils who reach or exceed the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics is improving quickly towards the national average.  Teaching is consistently strong in the upper part of the school but there are still some aspects to improve in a small number of classes lower down the school. Teachers do not always show pupils where they have made mistakes and how they can rectify these. This means that too many pupils continually repeat these errors, which are then harder to correct further up the school. While the content of pupils’ work is good and strong progress over time is evident, handwriting and presentation of work are often

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

untidy and spelling is frequently inaccurate.  The very positive impact of the school’s recent drive to improve progress and attainment in reading and writing is evident. The particular focus of this work has been to increase and enrich pupils’ vocabulary. Inspectors saw clear evidence of this in lessons. For example, in one Year 2 class, pupils were discussing in groups words to describe how the tribe of people in the story might have felt during a drought. They started with words such as ‘unhappy’ and ‘upset’ and moved on to ‘exhausted’ and ‘anguished’.  Mathematics is taught well and teachers have recently been developing strategies to improve this even further. As a result, any misconceptions are now picked up and addressed quickly. Those pupils who have securely grasped the concept being taught are more quickly moved on to work which allows them to explore it more deeply. However, this practice is not secure in some classes.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Pupils undertake a wide variety of interesting experiments in science. During the inspection, Year 1 pupils were excitedly learning about the body. Older pupils have recently been finding out how to change the length of shadows. In science, pupils have opportunities to use and apply the reasoning and problem-solving skills they learn in mathematics.  While teachers’ expectations of what each pupil can achieve have clearly risen since the last inspection, they are frequently still not high enough in all areas of the school. This is particularly so for pupils of middle prior attainment. Consequently, too few of this group make good progress to reach the higher standards.  Teachers and teaching assistants are good role models for pupils and promote positive and respectful relationships. Pupils are very attentive during lessons and listen carefully to their teacher and to one another. They have very positive attitudes to their learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Since the last inspection, teaching now meets the needs of disadvantaged pupils more effectively and their progress has improved. All staff are now much more aware of the individual needs of these pupils and work closely together to meet them. Disadvantaged pupils benefit from a range of additional, high-quality, academic and pastoral support, where required.  Pupils with SEND benefit from teaching that has improved strongly since the last inspection. As a result of the detailed and carefully considered plans that are in place to support these pupils, they play a full part in school life and make strong progress. Many parents told inspectors how happy they are with the quality of provision for their child with SEND. One parent commented, ‘My child has received a lot of support from the special educational needs coordinator this year, whom I cannot praise highly enough. My child now has a new routine and specific steps in place that have helped

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Drighlington Primary School pupils take pride in their appearance and are very polite. They look after their school and keep it tidy. They show high levels of respect for all members of the school community. They made all inspectors feel very welcome and were eager to talk with them.  Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of bullying and even the youngest pupils can explain what this is and is not. They say that bullying is very rare in school but is dealt with quickly if it happens. Elected pupils run the anti-bullying council and identify ways in which they can further improve provision in school. These include making sure that all pupils understand the difference between an argument and repeated unpleasantness. Pupils are proud that the school has gained the bronze Anti-bullying Award and look forward to achieving the silver level.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations, including online and on the roads, and they know what to do in case of a fire or a terrorist attack. They feel safe in school. However, a small number of younger pupils said they often felt unsafe and anxious in the playground due to the boisterous play of groups of older pupils.  Pupils talked eagerly about the importance of having a ‘growth mindset’, which teaches them to approach difficulties in a positive way. They know that they can learn from making mistakes. They also explained to inspectors how the school’s assertive mentoring programme helps them to manage their learning more effectively.  Pupils develop a strong awareness of global issues. For example, members of the eco- club were recently excited to have filled their battery recycling container and knew why it was important that batteries did not end up in the ocean or in landfill sites.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils in Year 6 are well prepared for the transition to high school through undertaking a variety of activities. They recently spent one lesson planning their route to high school, considering road safety and sustainable ways to travel.  The school provides many trips and visitors to enhance the curriculum. Pupils have recently visited Armley Mills, Eden Camp and ‘This Green Moon’. Parents are frequently invited into school to share a wide variety of experiences and activities with their child.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils know and can explain the school’s behaviour code and understand the consequences of poor behaviour. Their conduct in lessons and around the school is very good. Transition periods are orderly and swift so that no learning time is wasted.  Pupils enjoy school and the vast majority attend regularly. School leaders set high expectations for attendance and punctuality, offering a variety of rewards and incentives for pupils who do well in this area. For example, classes with weekly high attendance rates take a turn on the ‘Drigopoly’ board. Winners of ‘Drigopoly’ then choose a whole-class treat – pupils in one class explained that they had all enjoyed ice lollies in the sunshine. As a result of these strategies, the attendance rate is now broadly in line with the national average.  Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning and pay close attention in lessons. Pupils

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Behaviour

say that poor behaviour is extremely rare in lessons. None was observed during the inspection. Pupils even remain focused in the very few lessons where teaching is less engaging or expectations of teachers are not high enough.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Since the previous inspection, leaders have successfully improved the quality of teaching across the school. As a result of this, the attainment and progress of the pupils have improved steadily in all subjects.  Rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics, at the end of key stage 2, have been sustained or improved to be in line with or slightly above the national average benchmark.  Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has steadily improved in key stage 1 and key stage 2 and is now broadly in line with national averages. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standards has also increased.  In 2018, key stage 2 pupils of high prior attainment made very strong progress, especially in mathematics. However, where the expectations of teachers are not high enough, the progress of middle-attaining pupils, in various parts of the school, is more variable. As a result, too few reach the higher standard at key stage 2 or the greater

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Outcomes for pupils Good

depth of understanding at key stage 1.  Pupils develop strong skills in phonics and the proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check remains consistently in line with the national average. These skills support pupils effectively in learning to read and write.  Outcomes for the vast majority of disadvantaged pupils are also improving steadily. This improvement was particularly evident in the attainment of disadvantaged pupils at the end of key stage 1 in 2018. In the same year, at the end of key stage 2, disadvantaged pupils made better progress in reading and mathematics than other pupils nationally but their progress was less strong in writing.  As a result of meticulous assessment of their starting points, together with a good understanding of what they can achieve overall, pupils with SEND make good progress. Very occasionally, however, teachers set work that is too difficult for some of these

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Outcomes for pupils Good

pupils.  Pupils also make good progress in a variety of other subjects. They work in a range of media in art as they study the work of a variety of artists. They visit historical places – such as the site of the Battle of Adwalton Moor – to enhance their work in history. Each class is named after a country and pupils extend their geographical skills and cultural knowledge by learning about aspects of this country across the year. The musical skills of various staff members are used effectively across the school and were seen in action during the inspection when Year 4 pupils were enthusiastically learning how to play ‘Hot Cross Buns’ on the recorder.

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Early years provision Good

 The early years leader is enthusiastic and capable. Joining the school in September 2018, she quickly acquired an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses in the Nursery and Reception classes and has made many significant improvements. She leads and plans well. Her aspirations for the children, and for the provision as a whole, are high. She has successfully communicated these aspirations to the early years staff, drawing them together into an effective, cohesive team.  Most children enter the school with skills that are broadly typical for their age. In previous years, the progress of many was insufficient. As a result of the recent improvements in teaching, children make better progress and the proportion reaching a good level of development this year is in line with the national average. Children get off to a good start in Nursery, consolidate their skills effectively through the Reception

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Early years provision Good

Year and are well prepared for Year 1.  As a result of the increased expectations of staff, more children are now making better progress to exceed the standards expected for their age. However, staff do not always have the highest expectations of all children, particularly the most able, so not all make the very best progress of which they are capable.  Teaching and learning in the early years are good and are particularly strong in the Nursery. Bright, well-planned and stimulating classrooms and outdoor learning areas provide a wide range of interesting and exciting activities to engage the children.  Good teaching means that children quickly develop the skills they need to learn to read, write and count. A secure, systematic approach to the teaching of phonics provides children with the tools they need to learn to read and write. The writing that children produce is highly valued and is displayed all around the classroom. Children

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Early years provision Good

also make good progress in developing their mathematical skills and many can confidently add up numbers to 10. They practise all of these skills confidently and enthusiastically during their self-chosen activities.  Adults work well with the children and relationships across the setting are warm and nurturing. Clearly established routines provide security and consistency. However, adults’ questioning skills vary. Sometimes, learning is capped because adults do not ask questions that support, challenge and extend children’s learning sufficiently.  Children are highly motivated and eager to learn. During this inspection, they were excited about their pirate theme. Some children were enjoying being in a boat looking for treasure and others wrote a letter to a pirate. Another group of children spent a long time working together to build a pirate ship so that they could sail to a desert island to look for treasure.

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Early years provision Good

 Relationships with parents in the early years are very good. They have many opportunities to come into school to work and play alongside their child. During the inspection, many parents were enjoying a ‘stay and play’ session which focused on bedtime stories. Some parents found a cosy spot to share a story with their child while others observed and joined in with the small-group story sessions that staff were modelling with other children. Parents are extremely positive about the provision in early years. One commented, ‘The facilities are great and improving all the time and there’s always something new for the children to be involved in.’  Staff have clear procedures in place to make sure that children are safe at all times. All of the welfare requirements are met and safeguarding is effective.

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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 info@drighlingtonprimary.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8–9 February 2017

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The Nursery runs morning and afternoon sessions, which children attend flexibly, according to need.  The number of disadvantaged pupils in the school is below average.  Most of the pupils in the school are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who have support for SEND is average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is below average.  Since the last inspection, the structure of the senior leadership team has changed. The team now consists of one deputy headteacher, two assistant headteachers, four phase leaders and the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator (SENDCo), who work under the direction of the headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all year groups and in a range of subjects. Some of the observations of lessons and some of the scrutiny of work in pupils’ books were undertaken jointly with leaders.  Inspectors held meetings with members of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair. They also met with senior and phase leaders, pupils and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with them about their experiences of reading at school and at home.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed at different times of the school day and inspectors spoke with pupils and parents about behaviour in school. Inspectors also observed the provision in the school’s breakfast club and after-school club.  Inspectors talked with pupils about their work, their enjoyment of school and their opinions on behaviour and safety. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Information about this inspection

 A wide range of documents was scrutinised, including those relating to safeguarding, pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance, the school’s development priorities and the school’s own evaluations of teaching and learning.  Inspectors considered the views of parents through the 122 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including the 78 responses made through the free- text facility. Inspectors also spoke with a number of parents at various points during the inspection.  Inspectors considered the views of staff through discussions and the 17 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Heather Mensah, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mary Lanovy-Taylor 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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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