Deighton Gates Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Deighton Gates Primary School Deighton Road, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS22 7XL

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 January 2023

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Outcome

Deighton Gates Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Deighton Gates Primary School is a warm, welcoming and caring school. Pupils are proud to attend and be part of its community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers recognise the school’s work to treat every child as an individual person. They value the time staff take to discuss any concerns that are raised. All parents who responded to Ofsted’s survey, Ofsted Parent View, said that they would recommend the school to others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of all pupils. Pupils live up to these expectations well. Classrooms are calm, orderly places in which pupils focus on learning. Pupils enjoy spending time with their friends at breaktimes. They play well in the extensive grounds.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils from across the school benefit from opportunities to contribute to school life. This includes roles such as school councillors, curriculum ambassadors and ‘play makers’. Pupils represent Deighton Gates in local competitions and participate in events with other schools, as well as within the local community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. Regular opportunities are provided to teach pupils about bullying. Pupils know how to recognise the signs of what bullying is, and what it is not. Leaders act swiftly to address the low number of bullying incidents when they occur.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and courteous and engage well with their peers and adults. Adults interact well with pupils. This provides a nurturing environment for pupils to thrive.

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

In recent months, there have been significant changes to the leadership at the school. Leaders, including governors, have managed this change well. 25 and 26 January 2023

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Over time, leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum to meet the needs and interests of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Leaders are resolute in their aim to ensure that all pupils develop skills in reading at an early stage. Pupils quickly learn to identify and read the sounds that letters make. This helps them to develop fluency and accuracy in their reading. For the small number of Year 1 pupils who do not achieve the required standard in phonics, or do not have a secure grasp of phonics, additional support is provided. Pupils benefit from this.

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The mathematics curriculum enables pupils to apply their knowledge through reasoning and problem-solving. Pupils with SEND are supported effectively to develop their learning through support provided by adults or the use of apparatus such as counters.

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Teachers use assessment effectively to identify gaps in pupils’ learning. They ensure that pupils have a secure grasp of concepts before moving on. During the inspection, this was exemplified in a lesson about division where the teacher checked that pupils had a secure understanding of ‘groups of’ numbers before moving on to a formal method of recording.

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Children in Reception enjoy exploring the range of activities available to them in the large classroom area. They engage well with tasks which build on what they have been learning. For example, having learned about describing objects as ‘heavier than’ or ‘lighter than’, children used balance scales to investigate which objects were heavier than others. Children enjoy participating in whole-class activities. Their vocabulary is developed through songs and rhymes.

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Leaders have identified the key parts of the curriculum that pupils need to learn in all subjects as they progress through the school. This was seen in physical education (PE). Skills in coordination, balance and agility have been clearly mapped to support pupils’ progression in the subject. In Reception, children practised rolling a ball across the floor in a game of ‘sharks and fish’. In Year 4, pupils used their skills to throw a ball with accuracy at a stationary target. This skill was extended further in Year 6 as pupils threw a ball at a moving target. Pupils were able to develop and refine their techniques to improve their success in each task.

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Leaders regularly evaluate the way in which the curriculum is implemented. They are in the process of reviewing the taught content, particularly in subjects at an earlier stage of development. Leaders recognise that opportunities to deepen pupils’ knowledge across the curriculum need further development.

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The number of extra-curricular clubs has increased since the beginning of the academic year. Leaders are continuing to expand this offer so that it is as broad as possible for all pupils. Leaders monitor participation rates to ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND attend. Most pupils from these groups do.

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In assemblies, pupils learn about different cultures, faiths and beliefs. Educational visits, as well as visitors to the school, provide pupils with a range of purposeful cultural 25 and 26 January 2023

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experiences. Pupils enjoyed recalling what they had learned on a memorable trip to London last year.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Strong processes are in place to ensure that pupils are supported effectively in school. Leaders follow up on concerns swiftly and maintain a regular review of pupils to check that they are safe and well.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide regular training so that staff have up-to-date knowledge about current guidance. Clear procedures are in place to report concerns. Governors have oversight of safeguarding and ensure that it is a priority within their work.

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Safeguarding

Robust procedures are followed to check that volunteers and staff are suitable to work with children in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While the curriculum maps out what pupils will learn as they move through school, it does not clearly identify how pupils’ knowledge can be deepened in all subjects. This means that opportunities are sometimes missed for pupils to fully benefit from the school’s intended curriculum. Leaders should further develop ways in which pupils can extend their learning to create deeper links across the curriculum.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 25 and 26 January 2023

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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. 25 and 26 January 2023

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provision

Appropriate authority The governing body

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provision

Date of previous inspection 30 November 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-size primary school.  There have been some recent changes in leadership. The headteacher started in post on 1 September 2022. The deputy headteacher took up the substantive role on 1 January 2023. He had previously worked at the school.  The school is a member of The Wharfe Valley Learning Partnership.  The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is well below the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 25 and 26 January 2023

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 The inspector conducted deep dives in early reading, mathematics and PE to evaluate the quality of education provided. As part of this, the inspector met with leaders, conducted lesson visits and reviewed pupils’ work. Meetings were held separately with staff and pupils to gather their views.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, special educational needs coordinator and learning mentor to discuss the work of the school.  A group of governors met with the inspector. The inspector also spoke to the school’s improvement adviser from the local authority.  The inspector observed breaktimes and spoke to parents at the end of the day.  There were 82 responses to Ofsted’s parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 65 free-text comments. These were reviewed along with the responses to Ofsted’s pupil and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Matthew Harrington, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 25 and 26 January 2023

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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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