Sharp Lane Primary School

Inspection of Sharp Lane Primary School Sharp Lane, Middleton, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS10 4QE

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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 4 and 5 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides an ambitious curriculum in most subjects, including the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Pupils achieve well in these subjects. There is a strong curriculum offer in most other subjects, including physical education (PE). The school is still refining curriculum plans in some curriculum subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has identified characteristics of effective learning, which include being resilient, resourceful and reflective. These characteristics are well understood by pupils. The school rewards pupils when they show these positive traits. Pupils are eager to show that they are building positive relationships. This helps pupils to behave well and treat others with kindness. It helps everyone to feel safe and happy at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has designed a ‘journey’ for pupils in each key stage. Each journey booklet lists a wide range of experiences for pupils in each year group. In the early years, children look forward to searching for butterflies outdoors, or planting some bulbs and watching the flowers grow. In Years 3 and 4, pupils visit an art gallery and go to the theatre. Pupils enjoy recording each activity in their personal booklets. These journeys enrich the wider curriculum and provide rich and interesting cultural experiences that pupils might not have had before.

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better?

The school has provided high-quality training for the whole staff team to improve the curriculum for early reading and phonics. Phonic teaching has been transformed since the last inspection. Pupils are making good progress now. As a result, a higher proportion of pupils can read as well as they should for their age. Leaders are continuing to check that pupils’ reading books are well matched to their phonics knowledge.

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better?

Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to their learning. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength of the school. The school makes reasonable adjustments for pupils with SEND. For example, there is sensory circuit equipment in all key stages for those pupils who have sensory or processing difficulties. Pupils who need this can have movement breaks by bouncing on mini-trampolines or using climbing equipment. Some pupils calm down in ‘the den’, where sensory lighting helps pupils to settle. This helps all pupils to get ready for learning.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum in the early years. Phonic lessons start straight away in Reception. Improving children’s communication and language skills is prioritised in Nursery. Staff prioritise high-quality interactions between staff and children in the early years. There are plenty of opportunities for 4 and 5 October 2023

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children to receive individual or small group attention from adults when they are speaking, listening and learning.

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The curriculum is well sequenced in most curriculum subjects. Pupils are excited by the engaging investigations that the school provides when pupils are working scientifically. For example, in a Year 4 science lesson, pupils made predictions based on their prior knowledge about solids and liquids. Pupils with SEND kept up with their peers. Pupils observed a bath bomb dissolving in water, using scientific vocabulary accurately. They enjoyed spotting gases escaping in the coloured bubbles. By the time that pupils are in upper key stage 2, they recognise and control variables when planning experiments.

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The school is continuing to develop the curriculum and assessment systems in those foundation curriculum subjects that are not as well established as others. Assessment is used skilfully where the subject curriculum is fully in place, to check precisely the progress of pupils’ knowledge and skills.

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The school supports parents and carers well to develop pupils’ good character. The pupils in this school are confident young people who are developing good citizenship skills. ‘Responsibility’ is one of the characteristics of effective learning that the school has identified. Pupils are developing a good understanding of their responsibilities to take care of people who are less fortunate than themselves.

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Pupils are rightly proud of their ‘inclusive’ school, and they use that word to describe it. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of equality and diversity and respect, and they know that people should not be treated unfairly. This is a strong aspect of the school’s work.

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Leaders ensure that pupils learn about positive role models from a range of different cultures. For example, pupils learned about a train guard called Asquith Xavier who successfully challenged racism in 1966 and had a train named after him. Pupils learn about more recent examples of exceptional scientists and authors from a range of different cultures. There is rarely any bullying in this school, and pupils are proud of the fact that there is never any racist bullying. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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The school supports staff workload well. This includes providing the time needed for mentors to meet early career teachers (ECT) regularly to train and support ECTs, providing an effective ECT induction programme.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 A small number of foundation curriculum subjects are not fully established. Therefore, pupils do not have the substantive and disciplinary knowledge that they need, broken down step by step across all subjects, to learn and remember. The school should ensure that the crucial knowledge is identified in the design of all wider curriculum subjects so that pupils build well on their prior learning.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 4 and 5 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 November 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses no alternative provision.  The school delivers the early career framework through the Red Kite Teaching School Hub, which is partnered with the accredited provider, University College London Institute of Education.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a graded (section 5) inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation of the school. 4 and 5 October 2023

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 Inspectors met the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the early years leader and the special educational needs coordinator. The reading, mathematics, science, history and PE subject leaders met inspectors separately.  A meeting was held with six governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading and phonics, mathematics, science, PE and history. For each deep dive, inspectors 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.  Inspectors visited Nursery and Reception classes separately, in addition to the early years lesson visits undertaken as part of the deep dive inspection activities. Inspectors evaluated other evidence of children’s learning in the early years that

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was provided by the school.  Inspectors met with senior staff with responsibility for leading the wider curriculum.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety were evaluated at breakfast club, breaktime, in lessons and at lunchtime. Inspectors also discussed this with pupils in single-sex groups and in individual meetings with pupils.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted Parent View and survey responses from staff. The school did not send out the pupil survey. Inspectors spoke to several parents before the start of the school day. Inspectors held meetings with staff, including separate meetings with early career teachers and

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Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tracy Turner Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 October 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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