St Bartholomew's CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School

St Bartholomew’s CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School Strawberry Lane, Tong Road, Armley, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS12 1SF

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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 Outstanding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Existing leaders and managers are effectively addressing a number of challenges the school faces.  Governors have recently become fully involved in school life. This has put them in a strong position to provide effective support and challenge.  Consistently good teaching ensures that, overall, pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, those who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from generally low starting points.  The promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils are extremely well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Pupils are well behaved and have very positive attitudes to learning. They are proud to belong to such a multicultural school community.  There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school.  Pupils make good progress from typically low starting points. Whenever pupils join the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school, the caring staff make sure that children settle in well and enjoy their learning.  Over time, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of the early years has improved, but remains below the national average. Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has been below the national averages at the end of key stage 1 for three years and fell to below at key stage 2 in reading and mathematics in 2018.  Phonics teaching is well structured. However, books are not well matched to phonics knowledge.  Leaders carefully check progress in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Assessment in other subjects is not as well developed.  Attendance has not been recorded accurately in the school, which artificially inflated the figures. Leaders have acted to ensure that attendance is now recorded accurately. As a result, attendance has fallen to below the national average. 10–11 July 2019

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to improve pupils’ progress from their starting points so that an increasing proportion reach and exceed the age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of the early years and key stages 1 and 2.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment even further by: – ensuring that pupils have the right level of support and challenge in phonics – making sure that books are well matched to phonics knowledge – ensuring that pupils are taught strategies to help them to read with increased understanding – developing assessment so that leaders are aware of standards across the wider curriculum.  Continue to develop strategies to improve attendance so that overall it is at least in line with the national average. 10–11 July 2019

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 There have been recent significant changes in leadership. The headteacher left the school in March 2019. The governors have temporarily promoted the deputy headteacher to the acting headteacher role and one of the assistant headteachers has become the acting deputy headteacher. The intention is to continue with this arrangement until July 2020 to create stability in the school.  Senior leaders are dealing very effectively with the many challenges that they are currently facing. They show a very good understanding of the strengths and areas for development for the school. They have identified and prioritised areas for development and are systematically addressing them.  Senior leaders are very ambitious for the future. They are determined to make sure that every pupil in the school receives the support they need to make as much progress as possible. They are welcoming support from the local authority to help them

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

to realise this vision.  Monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning in English and mathematics is regular and thorough. Strengths and areas for development are collated and used to inform plans for individual and whole-school training. Staff are encouraged to share their learning from courses with their colleagues. Staff morale is high. They welcome and value the balance of support and challenge they are receiving from leaders.  The pupil premium team has written a detailed and comprehensive plan to meet the diverse and often complex needs of disadvantaged pupils. The impact of actions is carefully checked by leaders and governors to ensure that funding is used effectively.  The acting headteacher coordinates the work of a team of leaders who ensure that pupils with SEND are well supported. There are clear systems in place to identify needs and to provide appropriate support from internal and external sources. An effective

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

system to check the impact of strategies is in place.  The primary school physical education (PE) and sport premium has been used well to improve the quality and range of experiences that pupils have. All pupils have opportunities to take part in competitive sport in school and with other schools. These competitions cater for both team sports and personal endeavour, such as running.  Pupils are given a wide range of experiences which effectively promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school actively promotes the St Bart’s principles: believe, achieve, respect, together, succeed. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain through activities that are woven into the life of the school. For example, pupils have opportunities to take part in democratic elections, consider a moral code for living and are helped to be positive members of society through work in the community.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The curriculum has been thoughtfully designed to ensure that a wide range of subjects are taught either through themes or as individual subjects. Senior and middle leaders have created progression documents for each subject to begin to make sure that pupils are able to develop subject-specific skills, knowledge and understanding. Although the curriculum is broad, some subjects are not currently covered in enough depth. 10–11 July 2019  The curriculum is enriched with a range of educational trips and visitors to school. For example, Year 3 visited a coal-mining museum and Year 2 had a visit from the local police to learn more about how they keep us safe. Pupils have a wealth of opportunities to extend their learning by attending many different lunchtime and after-school clubs.  Senior and middle leaders work in teams to lead different subjects. These teams have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their subjects. They have

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

used opportunities to influence practice across school to improve teaching and learning. However, the use of assessment is at an early stage in some subjects.

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Governance of the school

 The involvement of governors in the life of the school has recently increased. They have used visits to school, reports from leaders and published data to gain a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development for the school.  Minutes of meetings and other documentation show that some governors ask challenging questions and are able to hold leaders to account for their actions. For example, a governor could explain how the impact of the spending of pupil premium funding has been monitored.  Governors understand the many challenges that leaders are currently facing and are providing effective support.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  All policies and procedures are fit for purpose. Staff are well trained and receive regular updates. As a result, staff know what signs to look out for and have the confidence to report all concerns, no matter how small. Record-keeping shows that, when necessary, appropriate actions are taken immediately.  Staff know the pupils and their families extremely well. This puts them in an excellent position to respond to individual needs. The school has developed very good relationships with external agencies and engages their support effectively.  Pupils say that they feel safe in school and know that staff care about them. They say that there are lots of adults whom they can go to for support if they have any worries.  Parents say that their children are safe and well looked after in school and that the school responds well if they ever have any concerns.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good across the school. Teachers and teaching assistants have strong subject knowledge. They use this, together with an understanding of individual needs, to plan lessons which keep most pupils engaged in their learning.  Teachers use questioning well to provide both support and challenge. Work is sometimes led by a question, for example ‘Which is the best river, the Nile or the Amazon?’ Such questions provoke valuable thinking and debate. 10–11 July 2019  Ongoing assessment is used effectively to make sure that errors and misconceptions are picked up quickly and addressed. Pupils who need support to keep up with their peers are well supported. Additional provision for disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND and pupils who speak English as an additional language is having a strong impact on pupils’ progress. The school employs a full-time speech therapist who

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

currently gives effective support to around 40 pupils in school.  Homework is used to give pupils additional work to improve spelling and knowledge of times tables. Parents say that their children receive appropriate homework for their age. Year 6 pupils are invited to attend extra study classes after school until they take their statutory tests in May. These classes are then offered to Year 5 pupils.  In mathematics, pupils of all abilities have lots of opportunities to develop fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Teachers model strategies well and encourage pupils to consolidate their understanding by doing the same.  English lessons are structured around good-quality texts. Teachers skilfully use these books to give pupils opportunities to write for different purposes. For example, pupils in Year 3 who were studying ‘The Iron Man’ wrote adverts, letters and descriptions of characters and settings.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The school actively promotes a love of reading. Time to read for pleasure is planned into the week, and adults listen to pupils read daily. Work to improve pupils’ understanding of vocabulary is very effective. However, work to improve comprehension skills is less well developed.  Expectations of conduct, behaviour and attitudes to learning are consistently high. However, although the expectation of what most pupils can achieve is also high, there is some variability.  The deployment of teaching assistants is generally very effective across the school. Many are skilled in delivering effective interventions to support pupils with specific needs. However, teaching assistants are not always used effectively in phonics lessons.  Leaders are confident that the assessments that teachers make in English, mathematics and science are accurate. However, assessment in other subjects is at an earlier stage of development. This means that leaders are unsure of standards of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

attainment in other subjects.  Phonics lessons are well structured and give pupils opportunities to apply their developing knowledge in reading and writing. However, expectations of what pupils can achieve and the level of challenge are not consistently high. The books which pupils use to practise reading are not well matched to phonics knowledge.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. Most are keen to do well and take pride in their work. Pupils were able to speak to inspectors about their learning with confidence. Most pupils are actively involved in their learning. 10–11 July 2019  Pupils are proud of their school. They say that they feel very lucky to be part of such a diverse community. Many look forward to going to school. One pupil said, ‘School is the best thing in my life.’  Pupils of all ages are keen to take on additional responsibilities. Some pupils act as buddies to new non-English-speaking pupils by providing welcomed support in their first language. There is a democratically elected school council which meets weekly to make decisions on behalf of all pupils. Other roles include acting as classroom monitors, supporting pupils on the playground, reading stories to classes and listening

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Personal development and welfare

to pupils read.  Pupils are knowledgeable about the work they have done on road, water and online safety. They have age-appropriate understandings of healthy relationships and understand the importance of reporting any form of abuse.  Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying. They say that bullying is very rare in their school. They say that if it happens, it is dealt with quickly and effectively. Parents and carers who made their views known during the inspection agree with this opinion.  Pupils were keen to tell inspectors about the work they have done on staying healthy. They confidently stated that everyone should do lots of exercise, eat a healthy, balanced diet, drink water, brush their teeth and sleep for eight hours every night. Effective work on mental health and well-being has been done in Year 3 this year. The school has plans to extend this work across the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 Lots of work is done to help pupils to understand the needs of others in society. For example, pupils have read, chatted and played games with the elderly and adults with learning difficulties in their local community.  The school runs breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs which are very well attended. Parents and pupils speak very positively about this wrap-around care.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are well behaved in lessons and move around school in a calm manner. At breaktimes, they cooperate well with each other. They are polite and friendly and show respect for their peers and adults.  A new traffic light behaviour policy has been trialled over this term. Pupils show a good understanding of this system. They say that it is fair, effective and used consistently.  Until recently, the school has not logged behaviour incidents in a systematic manner. A new system to record and analyse incidents of poor behaviour is now being used effectively. This shows that the number of incidents of poor behaviour has reduced over recent months in target year groups.  Leaders have recently reviewed attendance procedures and found some anomalies in the way that attendance was being recorded. Attendance has fallen to below the national average now that it is being recorded accurately. Leaders are working effectively with

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Behaviour

attendance improvement officers to improve the attendance of some pupils. 10–11 July 2019

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Inspection evidence shows that current pupils, in all year groups, are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from generally low starting points. Some pupils are making better than good progress.  Senior leaders hold regular meetings with teachers to check on the progress that pupils are making in reading, writing and mathematics. Where progress is less than good, strategies are discussed and quickly put in place to support pupils to raise their attainment.  The progress of disadvantaged pupils is strong. In many cases, disadvantaged pupils are making better progress than other pupils. Pupils with SEND are well supported and are therefore making progress. However, this progress is often in small steps. Expectations for the most able pupils are high. They are consistently given challenging tasks and therefore most are making at least good progress.  Progress across key stage 2 for all pupils over the last three years in reading, writing

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Outcomes for pupils Good

and mathematics has been particularly strong.  The school faces significant challenge caused by many pupils leaving and joining the school at different times during the school year. Many of these pupils speak little or no English when they join the school. This high pupil mobility has an impact on overall attainment, especially as many join the school just before statutory assessment takes place.  Over time, attainment at the end of Year 2 has been below the national averages. However, attainment at the end of Year 6 has been above or in line with the national averages. Published data in 2018 showed that the proportions of pupils at the end of Year 6 reaching the expected standard in writing and English grammar, punctuation and spelling were above the national averages. However, the proportions reaching the expected standard in reading and mathematics were below the national averages.  Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils, in all year groups, develop skills, knowledge

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Outcomes for pupils Good

and understanding in a wide range of subjects. Progress in science, especially with scientific investigation, is carefully checked and is especially strong. However, some subjects are not covered in enough depth to ensure consistently strong progress.  Leaders have worked to successfully improve the teaching of phonics. Consequently, the proportion of pupils reaching the required standard at the end of Year 1 has improved over the last three years. However, this proportion remains below the national average.

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Early years provision Good

 Children enter the early years with skills and knowledge which are considerably below those typical for their age. They settle into routines quickly and respond well to the clear boundaries that are set by the school. This is because the caring staff are especially skilled in supporting children to develop their social skills.  Classrooms and outdoor areas are well organised and structured. Children are taught 10–11 July 2019 to select, use and tidy away resources with increasing independence. They are well behaved. They quickly learn to cooperate with each other to take turns, share resources and complete joint tasks.  Leaders are quick to assess children’s individual needs when they enter school. All children are well supported, including disadvantaged children and those with SEND or who speak English as an additional language.  Staff work well together as a team. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is

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Early years provision Good

good. All adults use well-thought-out questions to extend learning.  The curriculum is designed around carefully chosen themes which are often linked to one or more books. These themes are used flexibly, taking account of children’s needs and interests. As a result, children quickly become engaged in activities and enjoy their learning.  Staff are welcoming and engage well with parents. There are weekly family learning sessions to help parents to support their children with their learning. Attendance at open days is very high.  Published data shows that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development has been below the national averages for the last three years. However, this proportion has increased over time.  High mobility has a negative impact on overall attainment. Leaders were able to provide strong evidence to show that current children have made good progress from their starting points. More children are exceeding age-related expectations in some

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Early years provision Good

areas of learning than in previous years.  Leaders have identified reading and phonics as areas for development. Leaders have decided to slow down the rate at which new sounds are introduced in phonics because of concerns about lack of retention by children.  All legal safeguarding and welfare requirements are met. 10–11 July 2019

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Jane Wainwright (Acting Headteacher)

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School details

Website www.st-bartholomews.leeds.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 January 2009

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Information about this school

 St Bartholomew’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is much higher than that found nationally.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than that found nationally.  The school has 14 out of 17 possible ethnic groups. The average number of groups for this phase of education is nine.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above average.  A higher than average proportion of pupils leave and join the school at other than normal times. 10–11 July 2019  The school runs breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs.  The deputy headteacher became the acting headteacher in March 2019. 10–11 July 2019

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all year groups. Most of the observations were undertaken jointly with the acting headteacher and other senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books alongside senior and middle leaders.  An inspector met with the chair, and vice-chair, of the governing body.  An inspector met with a representative from the local authority and held a telephone conversation with a representative from the diocese.  A range of documents were 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 groups of pupils, spoke informally to pupils in lessons and listened to pupils read.  Discussions took place with staff about safeguarding and the support and professional development that they receive.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors considered the views of parents by meeting them informally at the start of and during the school day and through the 51 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

Mike Tonge Ofsted Inspector 10–11 July 2019 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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