Co-op Academy Oakwood

Co-op Academy Oakwood North Farm Road, Leeds LS8 3LZ

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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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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

 Over time, leaders have not been successful in ensuring that teaching, learning and assessment are consistently good across the school. Therefore, pupils’ outcomes are not consistently good across the curriculum.  While signs of improvement can be seen for current pupils, they have not yet caught up. Too few pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are working at the expected and higher standards. Standards at the end of key stages 1 and 2 are lower than average as a result.  Senior leaders, and senior education leaders in the trust have overly positive views of the quality of teaching, pupils’ progress and the school’s overall effectiveness. In recent times, instability in staffing has led to inconsistencies in the quality of teaching.  Although leaders have identified the most pressing issues, many improvements are at an early stage of development. As a result, these are not firmly embedded and are not part of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the fabric of the school.  Teachers do not use assessment information effectively enough. Expectations of what pupils can achieve vary. Sometimes, work lacks challenge for the most able or does not meet the needs of lower-attaining pupils and pupils new to speaking English. As a result, this slows pupils’ progress in lessons.  Teachers do not consistently insist on high standards of pupils’ presentation and handwriting. Consequently, pupils’ presentation and handwriting are variable in quality.  Some pupils do not spell common everyday words correctly. Sometimes, adults do not pick up on and address these errors. The school has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher has a clear view of the priorities to improve the school. Leaders have started to address the school’s shortcomings with effective support from the trust.  Children in the early years get off to a good start. Children make good progress from their low starting points. The quality of the early years is good.  Pupils’ personal development and welfare are a strength of the school. Pupils feel safe and mix well together. Their behaviour is good. Pupils are happy and feel safe in school.  Leaders’ actions have ensured that pupils enjoy school. This is reflected in their good attendance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of teaching, learning and assessment in key stages 1 and 2 so that pupils make good progress across the curriculum by ensuring that: – teaching, learning and assessment are consistently good in a wide range of subjects and in all year groups – teachers use assessment information skilfully to plan suitably challenging work for all groups of pupils, especially lower-attaining pupils, pupils new to speaking English and the most able pupils – all staff have high expectations of presentation for the writing that pupils produce – pupils’ spelling of everyday common words is secure.  Improve pupils’ outcomes by: – making sure that more pupils reach at least the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Years 2 and 6 so that outcomes are in line with the national averages – increasing the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who reach the expected standard

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

at the end of key stages 1 and 2.  Improve leadership and management by ensuring that the recently introduced initiatives to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment are firmly embedded across the school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Since her appointment in January 2019, the headteacher has identified the most urgent priorities that need tackling. The headteacher, along with other leaders, recognises that pupils’ attainment, particularly at the end of key stages 1 and 2, has been too low over time. Current pupils’ work in books shows that standards are inconsistent across the school. Shortcomings in teaching have meant that pupils have not made consistently good progress over time. Leaders have begun to iron out the inconsistencies in teaching, learning and assessment.  Leaders regularly check the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the school. They have introduced a number of initiatives to improve pupils’ outcomes. Leaders have not been afraid to roll up their sleeves and demonstrate effective practice. Although there are green shoots of improvement, leaders’ actions have not had a sustained and positive effect across the school to ensure that pupils make good

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

progress in a wide range of subjects.  The school’s effectiveness is not as strong as leaders and some senior education leaders in the trust judge it to be in their evaluation of its performance. The quality of teaching varies too much across the school. At times, expectations for pupils’ learning are too low and this limits some pupils’ progress.  The large majority of teachers feel well supported. Leaders, including middle leaders, have implemented a range of training to help teachers to improve their teaching. For example, teachers have been upskilled in the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. Even so, these changes are not fully embedded and have not ensured that pupils achieve consistently well in reading, writing and mathematics.  Trust leaders provide support to school staff and leaders in a range of different ways. This includes support for the new headteacher. More recently, specific one-to-one

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

advice and guidance from the trust have helped leaders to make improvements to pupils’ reading skills across the school.  The use of additional funding for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has had a variable impact. There are good examples when pupils experience kind, helpful and sensitive support. However, in some instances, support is not as effective. As a result, the achievement of pupils with SEND is not consistently good.  The curriculum contains all that it should. Leaders have ensured that pupils learn a broad range of subjects. Pupils are motivated by the interesting topics they learn about. For example, pupils enjoyed learning about the Egyptians and created carefully crafted models of pyramids. However, the quality of pupils’ work in subjects other than English and mathematics is too variable.  Leaders ensure that pupils learn about and understand British values, including the rule

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

of law. Some older pupils have participated in a scenario when they took on the roles of different members in a court of law. As a result, this helped them to understand the rule of law and debate real-life scenarios.  Leaders’ use of the pupil premium funding over time has not been judicious. Some pupils have made good progress. However, this is not the case for all disadvantaged pupils. There remains too much difference between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils nationally. Current use of the funding is ensuring that more disadvantaged pupils are starting to catch up.  The primary physical education (PE) and sport premium is used appropriately. Pupils have access to a wide range of sporting opportunities, including basketball, tennis, football and rugby. The funding has helped staff to work alongside specialist coaches, improving the overall quality of PE teaching.  The school engages very well with parents and carers. They told inspectors that they

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

appreciate that staff are friendly and approachable. Parents feel that they can raise concerns with adults, which are dealt with quickly. One parent summed up the view of many: ‘Since the headteacher took over the school in January, I have seen a positive change within the school.’

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Governance of the school

 Governors have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Governors bring a wealth of experience and a good mix of skills to the table. Governors take their professional development seriously. They update their knowledge through completing training regularly. As a result, they provide a good balance of challenge and support to leaders.  Governors are highly committed to school improvement. Through their regular visits into school, they are acutely aware of the challenges the school faces. Governors understand how instability in staffing has taken up leaders’ time and resulted in inconsistencies throughout the school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders ensure a strong culture of safeguarding as a result of their work. Systems for recruiting staff and pre-employment checks are thorough and fit for purpose. Similarly, health and safety procedures ensure that the school site is a safe haven for staff and pupils.  Staff have access to regular training, including weekly staff meetings that specifically deal with safeguarding issues. As a result, staff are well trained to spot potential signs of distress and to report concerns. Leaders act swiftly on concerns to make sure that pupils are safe from harm.  Staff work effectively with parents during and outside the school year. Staff have good relationships with families and help to support them beyond the school day.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement. Over time, teaching has not enabled pupils to achieve as consistently well as they should across the curriculum. Instability in staffing has hindered leaders’ efforts to raise the overall quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Leaders are determined, and are taking steps, to improve the overall quality of teaching for pupils.  The quality of teaching varies across year groups and subjects. Some teachers do not use assessment information effectively. They do not plan work and activities which are appropriately matched to pupils’ varying needs and abilities. As a result, some pupils are provided with work which is either too easy or too hard.  The teaching of writing is inconsistent across classes and key stages. The standards of pupils’ writing across the school are not consistently high. While some books show high expectations of pupils’ handwriting and accurate spelling, this is inconsistent. As a

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

result, pupils’ presentation and spelling vary.  Leaders have made the teaching of mathematics a priority. It is beginning to improve because of the training put in place for teachers. Pupils are being exposed to a broader diet of investigative work that requires them to use their reasoning skills. For example, pupils enjoyed applying their mathematical skills to investigate the link between exercise and its effect on their heart rate. However, some teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve remain too low.  Teachers are working hard to instil and foster a love of reading in pupils. Teachers regularly read a range of books aloud to pupils. For some pupils, particularly the most able, this is helping them to understand new vocabulary and the author’s choice of language. However, some teachers overlook the opportunity to ensure that pupils, particularly lower-ability pupils and pupils new to speaking English, fully understand the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

text. As a result, these pupils sometimes lose focus and become disengaged from reading.  Most teaching assistants provide helpful support to pupils. In particular, they work with individuals and small groups of pupils of different abilities to help them to be included in lessons.  Teachers try hard to enliven the curriculum by making links between subjects, particularly science and literacy. For example, pupils in Year 2 enjoyed learning about the wonder of space and hearing a story about a boy who travelled to the moon.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Leaders have established a highly inclusive ethos. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are respectful of people who come from different countries or have different beliefs. For example, a group of pupils led an assembly to teach their peers about the festival of Ramadan.  Pupils told inspectors that they are happy in school and that they feel safe. They understand how to keep themselves safe when using technology. They know the importance of not disclosing personal information when working online.  Adults teach pupils effectively about being healthy and encourage pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles. For example, pupils have a good understanding of the importance of eating vegetables regularly and not having too many sugary drinks. Pupils have ample opportunities to take part in a wide range of activities to keep themselves fit and

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Personal development and welfare

healthy. Additionally, pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs on offer, including an art club and a newspaper club.  Pupils have a good understanding of what constitutes bullying and say that instances of bullying are rare. Pupils are confident that adults deal with it swiftly and take effective action should it occur.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils conduct themselves well in lessons and during the school day. Pupils have a clear understanding of the school’s behaviour and reward system. They enjoy receiving rewards, such as stickers, for good behaviour.  In class, behaviour is good. Most pupils have a good attitude to learning and are keen to learn, especially when they are appropriately challenged by the work set. For example, pupils were engrossed in discussion about the age people have to be to use different forms of social media, such as YouTube and Twitter. On occasions, especially where work is not matched to pupils’ needs, some pupils become distracted and lose concentration. As a consequence, their progress slows.  Pupils behave well at playtimes. Adults provide a wide range of interesting activities for pupils. Playtimes are active and happy occasions where pupils take part in vigorous activities such as dancing to music and playing football.

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Behaviour

 Leaders successfully promote the importance of good attendance. They use a wide range of strategies to ensure that pupils attend school regularly, including providing a breakfast club and using a minibus to collect pupils every day. As a result, the school’s attendance figures closely match the national average.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils’ outcomes require improvement because pupils’ attainment and progress over time in key stages 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics are too variable. Some teachers do not take enough account of pupils’ assessment information to challenge pupils sufficiently to ensure that they achieve highly enough. This includes pupils with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.  Since the previous inspection, the standards pupils have reached at the end of key stage 1 and 2 have been below average in reading, writing and mathematics. Current assessment information shows that more pupils are reaching the expected standards, particularly at key stage 1. However, pupils’ attainment, including that of disadvantaged pupils, still lags behind that of other pupils nationally.  Over time, very few pupils have attained the higher standards at the end of key stages 1 and 2. Leaders are working hard to address this inconsistency by raising expectations

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

of what pupils can achieve. Inspection evidence shows that some of the most able pupils are achieving more highly.  Pupils’ outcomes in phonics in Years 1 and 2 have fluctuated over time. There are instances of effective support for pupils. For example, adults listen to pupils read regularly, particularly pupils with SEND and pupils new to speaking English. Timely support helps these pupils to practise and apply the sounds they have learned when reading unfamiliar words. In other instances, books are not well matched to pupils’ abilities or are too easy for the most able.  An extensive scrutiny of work in pupils’ books shows that pupils’ progress, while improving, varies too much in different subjects and across the school. Leaders acknowledge that some pupils’ writing and spelling skills are inconsistent in a range of subjects.  Higher-than-average numbers of pupils join the school during the school year. Some of

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

these pupils join with little or no English. Adults provide effective support for these pupils to acquire basic skills. School assessment records indicate that the longer pupils are on roll, the more highly they achieve. Even so, pupils’ attainment and progress across the school and subjects are variable.

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Early years provision Good

 Children join the Nursery with skills and abilities that are generally below those typical for their age. Over the past three years, around half of children have achieved a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year. Current inspection evidence shows that an increasing proportion of children, particularly girls, are achieving well. This has improved more quickly than in previous years and is closer to the national average.  The experienced and well-respected leader for the early years has a strong knowledge of how children learn. Her high expectations are shared by adults in the early years. Adults model their expectations and establish routines that help children to be independent. Adults seize opportunities to respond to children’s needs and interests. For example, some children were interested in animals and enjoyed ‘making medicine’ for endangered species.  The stimulating indoor and outdoor environments are inspiring and well matched to

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Early years provision Good

children’s needs. Both environments are well designed and well resourced to help children learn and play effectively alongside each other. Activities and experiences help to develop children’s basic skills, particularly in speaking and listening.  Adults ensure that children acquire basic skills in phonics, reading and writing. Children learn the sounds letters make and apply them when reading and writing. Girls, in particular, enjoy applying their learned skills to write independently in the absence of an adult. When guided by an adult, boys apply their learned skills to write well. However, boys do not routinely do this when working independently.  The early years additional funding for disadvantaged children is spent well. Leaders ensure that, through effective teaching, these children get the support they need to make good progress. Inspection evidence shows that disadvantaged children in the

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Early years provision Good

early years are catching up.  The school’s partnership with parents is good. Parents hold the early years in high regard. They shared very positive views with an inspector about how happy they are with the provision and with the progress their children make.  All welfare requirements are met. Leaders are very vigilant and ensure that children learn in a safe and stimulating environment. Children play and learn happily, feeling both safe and secure.

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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

Date of previous inspection 3–4 June 2015

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, who are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding, is above average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and who speak English as an additional language is well above average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is broadly in line with the national average.  Children in the early years receive full-time education in the Reception class.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.  The school is part of Co-operative Academies Trust. The school converted to academy status in September 2013.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited lessons in key stages 1 and 2 and the early years, covering all teaching staff. Some of these visits took place with senior leaders accompanying inspectors.  During visits to classrooms, inspectors looked in pupils’ books and talked to pupils about their learning.  Inspectors scrutinised samples of pupils’ work from all year groups.  An inspector held discussions with groups of pupils from Years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.  Inspectors also listened to a range of pupils read from key stages 1 and 2.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, including between lessons, at breaktimes and at lunchtimes.  Inspectors spoke informally with parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors scrutinised a number of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plans, attendance records and safeguarding information.  Inspectors took into account the 20 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online survey,

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Information about this inspection

Parent View, including the 19 free-text responses. They also analysed the 43 responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire and the 24 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Brian Stillings, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Adrian Fearn 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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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