Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Elaine Bown Headteacher Wigton Moor Primary School Barfield Crescent Leeds West Yorkshire LS17 8RU

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Subject inspection of Wigton Moor Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 12 December 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. The findings do not change the overall effectiveness judgement of outstanding from the last section 5 inspection.

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Subject inspection of Wigton Moor Primary School

This inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for a no formal designation inspection of schools. The inspection was carried out to enable Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector to better understand the quality of education in specific subjects provided by outstanding primary schools.

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Main findings

The history curriculum leader has been in post for over a year. She is developing an understanding of what needs to be done to improve the history curriculum. She is keen to establish links with other schools and organisations to develop the history curriculum further. Teachers are enthusiastic about the teaching of history. Pupils who made their views known during the inspection enjoy their history lessons.

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Main findings

Leaders place high importance on developing pupils’ chronological understanding of the periods of study. Pupils told me that timelines around the classroom, and in their books, help them to place a period of history in time. Pupils are clear about where the people or historical events that they study fit within a chronological framework.

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Main findings

Leaders ensure that the scope of the national curriculum is covered. There has been some consideration given to the order in which topics are taught, including links with other subjects such as geography and science. However, the sequence of the curriculum is still in development. The curriculum is not coherently planned. Leaders have not considered carefully opportunities for pupils to revisit and review previous learning so that pupils remember more over time and develop an increasing depth of understanding of historical concepts. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should in history.

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Main findings

Leaders acknowledge that the history curriculum needs to be more ambitious for all pupils. Leaders are not clear enough about the crucial components that pupils must learn to reach more ambitious endpoints. Assessment is not focused consistently enough on checking how well pupils have acquired the knowledge that teachers want them to learn.

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Main findings

Pupils show some understanding of the topics they are currently learning. They understand some key concepts such as ‘empire’ and ‘civilisation’. However, there are limited opportunities to develop pupils’ disciplinary knowledge in history. Teachers are not developing well enough pupils’ understanding of historical concepts such as causation, contrasts and connections between periods of study, significance and analysis of trends over time. Instead, pupils typically compare the period of history they are studying with life today.

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Main findings

In history, pupils write about the facts they have learned or researched. Pupils’ extended written work in history concentrates more on the development of pupils’ English skills, rather than pupils writing in response to historical enquiry questions. Pupils are not developing an appreciation of historical interpretations. For instance, they have very few opportunities to examine the writings of historians.

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Evidence

During the inspection, I met with you and the history curriculum leader to discuss the history curriculum. I scrutinised history curriculum plans and the history policy. I visited lessons with the curriculum leader. We visited lessons in Reception and Years 1, 3, 5 and 6. I looked at a selection of books from the lessons visited, along with the curriculum leader and the deputy headteacher. I met with the teachers from the lessons I had visited. I talked to pupils in lessons and met formally with a group of pupils from Years 5 and 6.

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Context

Wigton Moor Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. There are currently 450 pupils on roll. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than the national average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average. The school has a lower than average proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is also below the national average.

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Context

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Leeds. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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