Robin Hood Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Robin Hood Primary School Leeds Road, Robin Hood, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF3 3BG

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Outcome

Robin Hood Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This extremely popular school is heavily oversubscribed. This is because the school has a strong reputation. It is held in high regard by parents and carers and the local community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well at Robin Hood. Bullying happens very rarely. Pupils work together to find solutions when problems arise. They successfully reduced the number of arguments about football that used to happen at breaktimes. Pupils chose teams that they thought were well balanced and then stuck with them. Pupils play football at breaktimes much more happily now that the teams are matched fairly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. This ambition is not fully realised for the most able pupils, who are not challenged enough. Leaders recognise this as a key priority for improvement.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum for pupils’ wider development is a real strength. Pupils are very excited about the new ‘cultural passport programme’ that started recently. They enjoyed helping to design the different experiences that pupils could look forward to in each year group. Some of these link to the first curriculum driver, ‘citizenship and community’. Pupils’ experiences of linking with care homes is helping to develop their respect for older people.

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

Children get off to a flying start in the early years. Leaders have skilfully developed the learning environment to maximise children’s opportunities to learn when they are playing. This includes the outdoor classroom. For example, pupils practise their counting skills to 10 with large wooden frames outside. They have fun choosing different objects, such as fir cones or shiny pebbles, to build up their numbers. Children sometimes choose a few of each object to represent number bonds. Children check they are right by carefully re- counting the objects one by one. This enticing play is helping children to make good progress, consolidating their understanding of numerical patterns. 23 and 24 May 2023

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Leaders identified that they needed to improve the curriculum for early reading. They introduced a new phonics curriculum in 2022, which all staff follow to the letter. Pupils in key stage 1 can read at least as well as they should for their age. Although some reading books match pupils’ phonic knowledge well, teachers sometimes give pupils books to read that are far too easy for them. This includes the most able pupils. This is holding these pupils back.

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Leaders work well together in effective curriculum teams. Morale is high because staff feel so well supported by the headteacher. They also enjoy working at Robin Hood because pupils are so polite and courteous. Pupils behave well in lessons consistently.

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Leaders have adapted curriculum plans to include local or regional references wherever possible. For example, in history, pupils learned about the village’s fallen heroes by visiting the war memorial. Leaders explored the library’s historical artefacts department to find interesting sources of evidence, such as an evacuation letter from a child from Leeds dated September 1939. This is helping pupils understand the interrelationship between regional, British and wider world history.

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In all curriculum subjects, staff use assessments skilfully to check pupils’ learning and recall of facts. Teachers appreciate the time that leaders give them to complete this work. Staff say that leaders regularly ask them for ideas to further reduce workload. They feel valued because leaders listen to their ideas and act on them if they can.

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In some subjects, such as mathematics, teachers do not always allow the most able pupils to move on quickly enough when these pupils are clearly ready. Staff backtrack to ensure that pupils’ knowledge is secure. This is important for those pupils who need this repetition. However, in some year groups, teachers provide pupils with more of the same repetitive work, when pupils have already got everything right. This is holding the most able pupils back.

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The curriculum is adapted well for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are given alternative means of recording if they struggle with their writing. Some pupils attend a ‘sensory circuit’ session before school every day. This helps to improve pupils’ motor skills and balance. They enjoy burning off energy. This helps these pupils to settle into the classroom, ready to learn at the start of the day.

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The curriculum for pupils’ wider development is rich. Leaders seize learning opportunities from topical events. For example, pupils enjoyed learning about democracy and voting by studying the voting system in the Eurovision Song Contest.

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Pupils in key stage 2 enjoyed the lacrosse club so much they have asked for it to be repeated in the summer term. Pupils are learning about the importance of healthy lifestyles. 23 and 24 May 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including governors, made checks to ensure that the alternative provision used by the school is safe.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make all the necessary safeguarding checks when recruiting staff. There was one gap on the single central record that was rectified on day 1 of the inspection.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured suitable controls for pupil movement across the access road between the school and field, where there is vehicular access during the school day.

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Safeguarding

The curriculum helps pupils to learn about risks, including vaping, and peer pressure. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of risk in real life and online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The implementation of the curriculum, including for early reading and mathematics, does not always show greater ambition for the most able pupils. Some pupils grasp concepts more rapidly than others. However, evidence of deeper learning tasks for these pupils is limited. This sometimes holds the most able pupils back. Leaders should ensure that there is sufficient challenge for the most able pupils in 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2018.

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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. 23 and 24 May 2023

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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. 23 and 24 May 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 January 2018

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Information about this school

 This school is well above the average size.  The school uses one registered alternative provider. This provision is based at Middleton Primary School in Leeds.

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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 this into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met the headteacher, the deputy and assistant headteachers. The special educational needs coordinator also met the inspector. The reading, mathematics and history subject leaders met the inspector separately.  A meeting was held with five governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading and phonics, 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. 23 and 24 May 2023

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 The inspector met with senior staff who lead the wider curriculum, including the leaders of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety was evaluated at breakfast club, in lessons and at lunchtime.  The school business manager and senior safeguarding leaders met the inspector to discuss recruitment and safeguarding records.  The inspector reviewed responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and survey responses from staff and pupils. The inspector spoke to several parents before the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 23 and 24 May 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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