Templenewsam Halton Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Templenewsam Halton Primary School Pinfold Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS15 7SY

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Outcome

Templenewsam Halton Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school rules ‘we are safe, motivated and respectful’ are at the heart of this community school. Pupils take pride in behaving well. Staff have high expectations. They apply the rules consistently. Pupils say staff are fair. In return, pupils want to do well. They value being named on the class recognition wall. Pupils strive to achieve the Grace Wheeldon Award for kindness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that bullying is rare. If it happens, staff deal with it immediately. Pupils feel safe. There are many ways pupils can take on responsibilities, for example being a ‘food friend’ and helping younger pupils at lunchtime. Staff use school display boards to celebrate pupils’ learning and achievements outside school. The ‘science selfie’ display shares information about the science experiments pupils complete at home.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders use the ‘Temple 30’ to complement the school’s curriculum. This is a series of activities which enrich pupils’ learning experiences. These include activities such as den building and growing vegetables. Pupils love gaining their ‘Temple 30’ stamps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils can take part in a range of clubs, such as drumming, computing and dodgeball. Some pupils in Year 5 are taking part in the ‘SHOUT’ programme with the fire service. This enables them to work alongside the local fire brigade to find out about their work. This is a very popular activity.

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

Since the last inspection, all members of the senior leadership team are new. They have redesigned the school’s curriculum. They have also changed the way they communicate with parents. There are a small minority of parents who believe this communication could be better. Leaders have managed these changes well, in light of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

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

Leaders have designed the new curriculum around the values of communication, building 9 and 10 March 2023

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a sense of community and adventure. They have identified and planned the important knowledge they want pupils to know from the early years to Year 6. Teachers focus on the important vocabulary they want pupils to learn. This vocabulary, known as ‘SPLAT’ words, is displayed in every classroom. Pupils receive rewards when they use these words in explanations or written work.

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In some foundation subjects, the steps needed to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not clear. In these subjects, there is more to do to clarify how the learning is adapted for pupils with SEND. Leaders have started work in these subjects, building on the successes seen in reading and mathematics. Leaders for SEND know pupils in the school well and ensure that they receive appropriate provision.

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Staff plan visits and first-hand experiences to enhance the curriculum. In history, Year 3 pupils remember important facts about the Stone Age. They used this knowledge on a school trip. The visit brought their learning to life. Teachers make links to previous learning effectively. This means that pupils can make connections between different times and events in history.

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Leaders prioritise reading. They have introduced a new approach to the teaching of phonics. Staff use this approach effectively. Children learn to listen to sounds in Nursery. This learning is then built on in phonics lessons in Reception and beyond. Teachers quickly identify pupils who need extra help. These pupils receive effective support. This helps them to catch up quickly. Pupils now achieve well. Pupils read books that contain the sounds they know. Every class enjoys the daily storytelling sessions. All pupils have the opportunity to read a wide variety of texts, written by a range of different authors. Older pupils say there are many books to choose from in their classrooms. One Year 6 pupil described reading as enjoyable because ‘it takes you to lots of different places’.

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In early years, leaders ensure there is a mathematics link in all activities. For example, children count back five pencils into a pot when tidying up. From Reception, leaders have introduced ‘memorable maths’ sessions. Pupils say this helps them to revisit prior learning. Teachers use ‘growing green’ time to help pupils to see mistakes, make corrections and extend their thinking. Year 6 pupils say that this has helped them with learning about percentages.

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All staff have clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. In the early years, staff model a ‘my turn, your turn’ approach to learning. This helps the youngest children follow clear routines from the start.

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Pupils appreciate differences and value different beliefs. They enjoy learning about religions and people from other cultures. Pupils take given roles and responsibilities seriously, for example becoming subject ambassadors or members of the School Council. All pupils are welcome to share their opinions. They know staff listen to their views.

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Staff feel valued and supported by leaders. They say that their workload is manageable. Staff appreciate the support they receive from subject leaders. Subject leaders find network meetings with others across the trust helpful. 9 and 10 March 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding procedures are robust. Checks made on the suitability of staff are thorough. Leaders know pupils and their families well. Staff are well trained to identify concerns. They find the weekly safeguarding bulletins useful. Parents have access to a wealth of safeguarding support on the school’s website.

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Safeguarding

Staff use different safety scenarios to teach pupils how to keep themselves safe. Pupils love Focus Fridays. This is a time when staff give all pupils a safeguarding scenario. Pupils say this helps them to talk through a range of problems. Other pupils say that talking to ‘Bobby Bear’ in the nurture room helps them to talk through any concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, the information on support plans for pupils with SEND is not sufficiently detailed to enable teachers to adapt learning successfully. This hinders their learning. Leaders should ensure that the plans designed to help pupils with SEND are detailed and can be used effectively to adapt lessons, to help pupils with SEND achieve equally highly across all subjects.

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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 predecessor school, Templenewsam Halton Primary School, to be good in March 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 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. 9 and 10 March 2023

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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. 9 and 10 March 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Templenewsam Halton Primary School converted to become an academy school in November 2018. When its predecessor school, Templenewsam Halton Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher have started at the school.  The school offers a breakfast club and several after-school clubs.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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.  The inspector met with senior leaders from the school, three members of the local governing body and two trustees. Meetings were held with representatives from the trust.  The inspector carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, 9 and 10 March 2023

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mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed during lesson visits and at breaktimes. Pupils shared their views on behaviour during discussions.  The inspector reviewed safeguarding records, including the single central record. Discussions with staff and pupils were held to check their understanding of safeguarding.  The views of parents were sought face-to-face, and the inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View.  The inspector considered the views of staff from meeting with staff and the responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.  The inspector held meetings with the special educational needs coordinator to consider the curriculum for pupils with SEND.  The inspector considered responses from pupils to the online questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Ian Clennan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 March 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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