Sharlston Community School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Sharlston Community School Hammer Lane, Sharlston Common, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF4 1DH

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Outcome

Sharlston Community School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Luke Oldroyd. This school is part of Waterton Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Dave Dickinson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Steve Johnson.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Sharlston is a nurturing school with high expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour. Pupils strive to meet these. This is evident in pupils’ work and their positive attitudes to their learning. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well across a range of subjects. As children leave early years, they are well prepared for Year 1. By the end of Year 6, pupils acquire the knowledge they need for secondary education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and at other times of the school day. They are kind to their peers and treat each other with respect. Staff implement the new behaviour policy consistently well. The school works with pupils and families to help them understand the importance of attending school regularly. As a result, pupils’ attendance is now improving at an increased rate.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a real sense of community at this school. Pupils feel safe and know that if they have any worries or concerns, adults will help them. Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities to enrich their wider personal development. They speak enthusiastically about leadership roles they have such as becoming a member of the children’s parliament or the eco-group.

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

Pupils develop their knowledge through a curriculum that builds year on year from 3 and 4 December 2024

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Nursery to Year 6. They regularly revisit and make connections between new and previous learning. For example, pupils in Year 6 use their knowledge of electricity to construct circuits to investigate resistance. Pupils in Year 5 talk about how previously learned skills in physical education help them master more complex balances.

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Children make a good start in the early years. Staff develop children’s early language and number skills effectively. They support children to be able to work together and share resources. Routines are well developed, and children know what is expected of them. There is a purposeful atmosphere as they learn. For example, children are totally focused when watching the effects of mixing paint with blocks of ice. They are equally attentive when using their mathematical knowledge to place the correct number of candles on a birthday cake for their peers.

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The school prioritises reading. Staff are well trained in the teaching of phonics. The school tracks pupils’ progress carefully in the phonics programme. Pupils who are struggling with particular sounds are given extra support. This helps them to catch up with their peers. Pupils have many opportunities to practise their reading skills and develop as fluent readers.

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The school swiftly identifies the needs of pupils with SEND so that they can get the support and access to extra resources they may require. Staff adjust teaching for pupils with SEND when necessary. This helps pupils with SEND to achieve well.

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Teachers make frequent checks on pupils’ learning. However, in a small number of subjects, these checks do not identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge well enough. Because of this, some pupils’ learning does not always build successfully on what they already know.

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Even though attendance has rapidly improved, it continues to be a priority. The school monitors attendance closely, checking for patterns. It uses this information to support families where attendance is a concern. The school’s recent actions have successfully led to a significant reduction in persistent absence.

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The school’s personal development programme enables pupils to develop as active, respectful citizens who are well prepared for life beyond the school. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations. They have a strong awareness of the school’s values and link some of these to fundamental British values. Pupils are taught to understand and celebrate differences. One pupil, reflecting the views of many, stated, ‘This is a friendly school, everyone is made to feel welcome.’ All pupils benefit from the clubs and enrichment opportunities offered by the school.

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The school is well led and managed. The trust has a secure oversight of the school. Alongside the academy standards committee, the trust has a clear focus on the quality of education provided by the school and carries out its duties effectively. The school has an accurate understanding of its strengths and also the areas on which to focus to make it even better. Staff feel valued. Morale is high, and they work well as a cohesive team. 3 and 4 December 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school does not identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge precisely enough to inform future teaching. This means that, on occasions, pupils’ learning does not build on what they know as well as it could. The school should continue to refine how it checks pupils’ learning in these subjects so that pupils build knowledge well across all areas of the curriculum.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in April 2019.

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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. 3 and 4 December 2024

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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). 3 and 4 December 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 30 April 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Waterton Academy Trust.  Since the previous inspection, there has been a change in leadership at the school. The headteacher took up their post in September 2024.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, school staff, representatives of the academy standards council, representatives of the trust central team and the CEO.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning 3 and 4 December 2024

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and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector 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 inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Andy Taylor, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 December 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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