Headlands Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior, Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of Headlands Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior, Infant and Nursery School Headlands Road, Liversedge, West Yorkshire WF15 6PR

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good Nursery School 12 and 13 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of ‘Team Headlands.’ They enjoy coming to school. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive and respectful. Pupils feel confident that staff will always listen and help if they have any worries. Pupils say that this helps them to feel safe and secure in school. This is a highly inclusive school. Every pupil is welcome and valued as a unique individual. Adults support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. This is reflected in their positive behaviour in lessons and around school. Children in the early years settle quickly into the expected routines.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the school’s generous and well-developed outdoor space. This aspect of the school’s provision helps to support pupils’ physical and mental health and well- being. Pupils go on a range of educational visits and take part in many clubs and activities, such as forest school. These wider activities contribute well to pupils’ development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff put the best interests of pupils at the heart of everything they do. The school has high academic expectations for all. Overall, pupils achieve highly as they move through the curriculum. As a result, pupils are well prepared for their next stage of learning.

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

The school has been through a period of significant change since the last inspection. There have been several changes to the leadership team. This has now settled. Pupils, staff, parents, and carers are positive about the many recent improvements to the curriculum, pupils’ behaviour, and pupils’ wider development. Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages in published outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in reading and mathematics. The school’s work to develop pupils’ writing is effective but is taking longer to impact on published outcomes.

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

Pupils learn to read as soon as they start school. Staff have received the training they need to deliver the phonics programme skilfully. Pupils learn to use phonics to blend sounds and read words quickly. Books match the sounds that pupils learn, which helps them be successful, confident readers. The school fosters a love of reading and ensures that all pupils can enjoy a wide range of books from the newly stocked library.

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

Children in the early years learn to work and play well together quickly. There are warm relationships between staff and children. Children engage with each other and take part in activities with enthusiasm. The curriculum is well planned and builds on what children can do. Teachers lead whole-class and group sessions effectively. However, the indoor and outdoor learning provision is not well developed. This means there are insufficient opportunities for children to practise and embed new learning and language. Some children do not achieve as well as they could. Nursery School 12 and 13 November 2024

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Pupils study a wide range of subjects. The school has carefully planned and sequenced the curriculum. From the early years through to Year 6, the knowledge that pupils should learn is clearly identified. However, in some subjects, pupils’ knowledge is less secure than in others. Sometimes, staff use lesson tasks that are not well designed to support pupils’ learning. This means that pupils struggle to focus on the most important knowledge.

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The school identifies pupils with SEND as early as possible and provides focused support. The school works effectively with different agencies to ensure that children with SEND receive the support and care that they need. Pupils are taught to understand their emotions and ways to manage them. High-quality pastoral care supports pupils and their families well. Pupils attend school regularly. The school tracks attendance closely and responds quickly when concerns arise.

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The school has developed an effective programme for pupils’ personal development. Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain. They believe that everyone should be treated equally and fairly. Pupils regularly discuss topical news issues. This helps pupils to appreciate that people have different opinions. Pupils are taught how to stay safe online and are taught about essential road safety and stranger danger. Pupils have an age- appropriate understanding of healthy friendships and relationships.

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School leaders and governors have a clear, shared vision for the school. They have effective strategies in place to make sure that improvement priorities are making a difference. The school makes sure that staff’s workload and well-being are considered at every stage. Staff say there is a listening and supportive culture. They feel valued.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some lessons, teachers do not focus on teaching the most important knowledge. Sometimes there is too much lesson content, or exciting activities distract pupils from the intended learning. As a result, pupils do not internalise and remember what they have been taught. The school should make sure that teachers precisely teach the most important knowledge and that pupils remember it.  In the early years, some areas of indoor and outdoor provision do not provide rich and meaningful opportunities for learning across the curriculum. Some adults are unsure of the intended learning in areas of provision. As a result, children are not achieving as well as they could. The school must ensure that all aspects of provision in the early years contribute effectively to children’s learning and development and that adults are clear about the intended learning in each area. Nursery School 12 and 13 November 2024

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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.

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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). Nursery School 12 and 13 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in January 2024.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school has a religious character and is a Church of England school. It was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 on 28 February 2023. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. Nursery School 12 and 13 November 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other senior leaders, other school staff, representatives of the local governing committee, a representative of the local authority and a representative of the Diocese of Leeds.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, computing, art, and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects, looked at samples of pupils’ work in these subjects and visited classes.  An inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to a familiar adult.

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 Inspectors met with some parents at the beginning of the school day.  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.  Inspectors analysed the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and Ofsted’s pupil survey.  Inspectors reviewed responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Tracy Duffy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lauren Watson Ofsted Inspector Nursery School 12 and 13 November 2024

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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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