Withinfields Primary School

Inspection of Withinfields Primary School Withinfields, Southowram, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX3 9QJ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 5 and 6 October 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between adults and pupils are friendly and respectful. Pupils receive generous praise and rewards. They smile when adults greet them. They follow the example adults set them, saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Adults manage pupils’ conduct positively and maintain an orderly school. Pupils enjoy their lessons. Leaders prioritise pupils’ personal development. All this helps pupils, with few exceptions, to behave well, develop positive attitudes and feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to respect difference. Bullying and the use of insulting language are not frequent. Pupils trust adults to help sort out problems and to keep them safe. Pupils at risk of harm get the help they need from determined adults. Staff persist with the few pupils who struggle to behave well. These pupils learn to join in safely and engage with learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils learn to read quickly. Pupils who fell behind because of the COVID-19 pandemic are catching up. Pupils acquire much knowledge and vocabulary in a wide range of subjects, such as history, science and art. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get help to learn the same things as their classmates.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Nearly all parents responding to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were effusive in their praise of the school and staff.

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better?

Leaders make learning to read a high priority. Well-trained teachers and support staff are highly effective in teaching the youngest pupils to read. Teachers make sure pupils have carefully chosen reading books to practise. As a result, most pupils learn to read with speed, fluency and confidence at an early stage. Those pupils who do not keep up get plenty of extra practice every day. This includes pupils who fell behind during the pandemic. These pupils, including older pupils and pupils with SEND, are beginning to catch up.

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better?

Pupils of all ages have plenty of good-quality books to choose from. Teachers keep a close eye on whether pupils read at home. Teachers encourage and reward regular independent reading. Most pupils develop positive attitudes to books and reading. However, too many pupils do not choose to read a wide range of books often enough. Not all teachers make reading and story time as enjoyable an experience as it should be.

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better?

Leaders have planned a mathematics curriculum that helps pupils learn concepts, step by step, in the right order. Teachers check pupils understand something before they move on to the next idea. They give pupils plenty of practice to help them remember number facts. Pupils practise using their mathematics knowledge to solve 5 and 6 October 2021

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tricky problems. Most pupils make strong progress. Those who struggle, including pupils with SEND, get the right help to make progress.

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Leaders make sure pupils learn all the subjects in the national curriculum. Leaders have laid out in detail what pupils should learn, in sequence, in each subject from Year 1 to the end of Year 6. This helps pupils learn and remember important information. For example, pupils in Year 5 link what they have recently learned in history lessons about Mayan civilisation to what they remember from previous years about Greek and Egyptian civilisations. However, pupils sometimes do not remember the most important information. This is because teachers are not sufficiently clear about what information is the most essential for pupils to remember. In addition, the tasks teachers give pupils do not always help pupils to deepen their understanding of topics.

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In the early years, in reading and mathematics, children learn and practise the right content that prepares them well to make progress in Year 1. In some areas of learning, leaders have not planned exactly what children need to know before they start Year 1. For example, it is not always clear enough what children will need to know and remember before they start doing key stage 1 subjects like history, geography and science. Nevertheless, children in the early years enjoy a broad curriculum and acquire considerable knowledge.

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The parts of the curriculum that aim to develop pupils personally and socially are very strong. Pupils, the vast majority of whom are White British, remember much of what they are taught about religious, cultural and gender diversity. Staff help them develop open-mindedness and that it is ‘okay to be different’. Leaders and governors understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pupils’ mental health. Leaders have taken, and are taking, effective action to support pupils.

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Over the last few years, leaders at all levels have made great strides in improving pupils’ behaviour and the quality of education. Staff value how senior leaders have helped them to be more effective without creating an intolerable workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are vigilant. They are well trained to recognise signs that pupils may be at risk, for example from harmful online activity. Staff rightly report even the smallest concerns to the right people. Safeguarding leaders keep meticulous records. They are persistent in seeking help. They work closely with other agencies, so pupils are protected. The governing body takes its safeguarding duties seriously.

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Safeguarding

Safer recruitment procedures, for checking adults are suitable to work with children, are robust. The record of the checks made on adults is complete and well managed.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure pupils are taught about a wide range of risks. Pupils feel safe to confide in adults. 5 and 6 October 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Subject leaders have done an enormous amount of work to create an appropriately detailed and comprehensive curriculum. They have considered the most helpful sequencing of content. However, in the non-core subjects, the pre- requisite content, that is likely to be most essential for pupils in their future learning, is sometimes lost in the detail. Leaders should ensure the most essential component knowledge for pupils to remember is identified in each subject so that pupils’ progress is not hampered when they revisit topics later in their school journey.  The composite tasks teachers give pupils to do sometimes detract from what is most important. This means knowledge and understanding are not further developed. Leaders should ensure that teachers plan composite tasks that deepen pupils’ understanding of the subject matter.  The early years curriculum is stimulating, broad and balanced. However, the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

extensive curriculum progression that early years leaders have designed does not identify clearly enough the specific component knowledge children should learn. This is well developed in mathematics and early reading, but not in other areas of learning. For each area of learning in the ‘statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’, leaders should identify the component knowledge that pupils will know and remember to prepare them for each subject of the national curriculum they will study in Year 1 and beyond.  Leaders have done much to promote a love of reading. However, some unhelpful practices undermine the value of books and reading. Story times are sometimes hurried while pupils prepare to go home at the end of the school day. Leaders have not done enough to get most pupils choosing to read. Leaders should take further effective action to develop a love of reading so that more pupils choose to

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How can I feed back my views?

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

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How can I feed back my views?

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

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 5 and 6 October 2021

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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. 5 and 6 October 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200663 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Victoria Percival

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School details

Website www.withinfields.calderdale.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 No relevant changes since the previous inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other members of the senior leadership team and several middle leaders. They met with a representative of the local authority. The lead inspector met with five members of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, art, and design and technology. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to 5 and 6 October 2021

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teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened to pupils reading to teachers and teaching assistants.  Inspectors examined aspects of the curriculum relating to pupils’ personal development.  One of the inspectors met with the special educational needs coordinator, scrutinised the records of some pupils with SEND, and observed some pupils with SEND in their classes. This was to make sure their needs are correctly identified and met.  Inspectors examined the single central record, safeguarding training records and other records relating to keeping pupils safe. They spoke with governors, leaders, teachers, and other staff about their safeguarding duties. They spoke with parents and children about aspects of safeguarding. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors checked the security of the school site.

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 A range of documents were scrutinised, including the school’s self-evaluation document, the school improvement plan, minutes of governing body meetings and records of work with the local authority and other external partners.

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Inspection team

Phil Riozzi, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Matthew Vellensworth Her Majesty’s Inspector 5 and 6 October 2021

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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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