Lower Wortley Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Lower Wortley Primary School Lower Wortley Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS12 4PX

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Outcome

Lower Wortley Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a calm and caring school. Leaders put pupils’ well-being at the centre of everything they do. Staff and pupils treat each other with kindness. Staff make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are included in the experiences on offer. Parents and carers typically said that they could not be happier with the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils learn about the school’s three key values. They are proud to receive rewards for demonstrating citizenship, ambition and resilience. Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. In all classes, pupils listen carefully, behave well and work hard. They behave sensibly around school and say that bullying is not tolerated. Pupils often use the ‘high 5’ system well to sort out problems for themselves. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and when they are not at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils find lessons interesting. They appreciate, and remember about, the different experiences that are on offer. They enjoy voting for their own class rules and taking on responsibilities such as those of games leaders or eco-monitors. During the inspection, the youngest children enjoyed the visiting magician’s thrilling tricks. Older pupils were engrossed in rehearsals for their annual pantomime. They love performing this to staff and parents.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders and governors want all pupils to achieve their best. They want them to become independent thinkers and be positive citizens. Over the past two years, leaders have improved the school’s curriculum and they continue to do so. Teachers know what pupils should understand and remember year on year.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In many subjects, including English, mathematics, science and geography, the curriculum is well planned. Teachers are clear about what pupils need to learn. Pupils learn the right things, in the right order, at the right time and achieve well. Standards achieved in national tests in English and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 26–27 November 2019

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are above the national averages. Pupils who are disadvantaged and those with SEND also achieve very well.

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Subject leaders work well in pairs to develop plans showing what pupils learn and when. They work together to design interesting tasks and often check what pupils think about their learning to ensure that it meets pupils’ needs. Sometimes, though, teachers do not use assessment as effectively as they could to build on what pupils have learned before.

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Leaders and teachers place great importance on making sure pupils enjoy reading. Teachers encourage pupils to read at home as well as at school. Older pupils enjoy reading books and they like talking about them.

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Children settle quickly into Nursery and Reception. Staff understand children’s social and emotional needs very well. They provide children with care and support to help them develop trusting relationships with staff quickly. Staff plan exciting and engaging activities. They promote children’s communication and language well through stories, rhymes and songs.

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Overall, reading is taught well. The teaching of phonics is mostly effective. Teachers check which sounds pupils know. They make sure that the books that pupils read match these sounds. Yet sometimes, these pupils do not catch up in time to pass the phonics check in Year 1 and Year 2. Teachers use helpful resources and provide extra support to make sure that these pupils do not fall further behind. However, staff expertise in teaching phonics varies. Leaders have plans to further improve resources and to ensure that staff teach phonics consistently well.

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Pupils with SEND receive effective support. Each pupil has a SEND profile. This gives their teacher information about what they are good at and what they need to work on. Teachers use the profiles to help them plan lessons that every pupil can take part in.

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Leaders enhance pupils’ personal development and ensure that they gain a deep understanding of British values through the school’s ‘life curriculum’. When recalling what they had learned in history, pupils described how Ancient Greeks ‘introduced democracy’. Termly discovery weeks enable the whole school to explore a theme, for example famous artists. Every pupil can attend clubs and visit places of interest such as Malham Cove. Pupils enjoy learning musical instruments and competing in sports events.

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Staff feel proud to work at the school. Teachers appreciate the training they receive to develop teaching and leadership expertise. They enjoy working with staff from other schools in the learning alliance. Staff said that leaders are supportive and considerate of workload. New teachers feel particularly well supported.

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Governors have a realistic understanding of what is working and what needs to improve. Their plans for improving the school have made a difference.

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The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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There is a culture of vigilance. Staff understand the important role they play in keeping children safe. They receive regular training and follow the school’s policies. Leaders rigorously follow up reported concerns to ensure that pupils who need help are given the right level of support when they need it.

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Pupils are aware of the dangers around them and why it is important to keep themselves safe from harm, including when online. Teachers make sure that pupils think about each other’s safety too. Governors make sure that leaders conduct background checks on adults before they start to work with pupils.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers use several different systems to assess pupils’ work, support them to develop their fluency and build their knowledge into larger ideas. However, checks on learning do not always give teachers the information they need to plan activities that precisely meet pupils’ needs. Subject leaders should improve teachers’ planning and assessment to ensure that all pupils are suitably challenged to learn well.  The teaching of phonics is not as effective as it could be because a few staff do not have a strong understanding of how to teach phonics well. This means that some pupils do not learn to blend sounds as quickly as they should. Leaders need to ensure that all staff who teach phonics are equipped with good subject knowledge so that they can teach it well.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2011.

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find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110851 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.lowerwortley-pri.leeds.sch.uk/

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium funding is average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below average.

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Information about this inspection

 I spoke with leaders, including the headteacher, senior leaders and a member of the governing body. I also met with a representative from the local authority.  I considered documents that leaders provided, including records of the checks that have taken place before adults can work with pupils. I held discussions with leaders about the actions that they take to keep pupils safe.  I looked at reading, science and geography in detail. I talked to leaders and teachers about their curriculum plans. I also talked to pupils about what they knew and remembered in these subjects. I looked at pupils’ work and discussed this with them. I listened to pupils read.  I held discussions with teachers and staff about the training that they have received. 26–27 November 2019

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 The views parents expressed on Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, were considered.  I spoke with pupils and considered their views from the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Cathy Morgan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26–27 November 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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