Russell Hall Primary School

Inspection of Russell Hall Primary School West End, Queensbury, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD13 2AW

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 17 and 18 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils exemplify the school’s values of respect, collaboration and resilience. Pupils respect each other and their school environment. Older pupils tend to the school garden and clear litter from the local area. Pupils collaborate well with one another. They listen to the opinions of their peers as they discuss new topics. ‘Play Leaders’ help younger pupils engage in games and activities at lunchtimes. The school ensures children in the early years develop resilience and independence in their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in lessons and around the school site is generally very positive. Pupils are happy at school. Staff help them to manage their emotions and overcome challenges. Pupils say that bullying is rare. If it does occur, staff address it effectively. Pupils know how to stay safe in person and online. Parents and carers say that staff quickly get to know children in the early years. Excellent pastoral support continues as pupils get older.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Until recently, the school’s expectations for pupils’ academic attainment were not high enough. As a result, some pupils have not achieved well over time. Pupils’ attainment in national assessments has only recently begun to improve. The school is ambitious that all pupils will now achieve their full potential.

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

The school has made appropriate changes to the curriculum of late. For example, guided reading sessions focus on a wider range of texts than before and specific lessons on grammar and punctuation are used to improve pupils’ written work. Subjects such as science and history also have a clear sequence of learning. The knowledge and skills pupils learn become more complex throughout their time at school.

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

The school’s intentions for what pupils will know and be able to do are not consistently achieved. Sometimes, staff do not select the most appropriate teaching activity to support the intended learning, for example by not giving tasks that deepen pupils’ knowledge of certain topics. However, in the early years, the tasks that children undertake are well tailored to their needs. This prepares them well for key stage 1.

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

Staff do not consistently check if pupils have understood new content before moving on in lessons. This leaves gaps in pupils’ understanding of the curriculum. The school has not ensured that older pupils have secured some of the knowledge and skills they require for the next stage of their education.

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

The school’s approach to teaching pupils to read has improved over time. Pupils now have a more secure understanding of phonics. Pupils learn to read with increasing fluency. Support for pupils in the early stages of learning to read is effective. The school knows where greater precision in phonics teaching is required. Staff receive effective training to help them implement the scheme well. The school library is well resourced and inviting. Older pupils are becoming more enthusiastic about reading. 17 and 18 June 2025

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well understood at the school. Their needs are accurately identified, and support is put in place. Pupils with SEND achieve similarly to their peers. The school has recently developed a ‘nurture’ provision for pupils with SEND. This is of a high quality and led by experienced staff. Children in the early years who might have SEND are quickly identified. Changes to their learning environment are well made.

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The early years curriculum is ambitious for all children. The intended learning is clearly set out. Provision inside the classroom is well considered. Opportunities to read, write and use number are frequent. Staff ask questions that deepen children’s learning effectively. An outdoor area, rich in resources, is supplemented by a garden. Children discover how to grow different foods and learn about wildlife habits. Children develop resilience, and most learn the ambitious curriculum as intended.

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The school has successfully increased pupils’ attendance of late. Persistent absence has reduced. However, some disadvantaged pupils still do not attend as well as their peers. The strategies already in place have been effective at improving this situation over time. Similarly, incidents of poor behaviour and suspensions have significantly reduced.

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The school plans opportunities that enrich pupils’ education. These include visits to places of historical interest or geographical importance. The school’s curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education is well considered. Pupils know how to stay healthy and safe, particularly online. They appreciate the importance of being respectful and tolerant. However, pupils do not develop as strong an understanding of views and beliefs that are different from their own as they might.

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The school has identified several appropriate improvement priorities. Staff are positive about these changes and say that their workload is sensibly considered. Governors recognise that pupils do not achieve as well as they need to. The information governors receive is not as precise as it might be. This limits how effective the governing board is at challenging and supporting school improvement priorities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The teaching activity choices that staff make in key stage 1 and key stage 2 do not consistently match the aims of the curriculum. Some pupils do not learn the curriculum in sufficient depth and do not achieve well, including in external assessments. The school should ensure that staff make appropriate activity choices that support the intended learning and enable pupils to achieve their full potential.  Staff do not consistently check what pupils know and can do in lessons well. Pupils 17 and 18 June 2025

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have gaps in their knowledge which have not been identified or addressed. This limits how well pupils know and remember the curriculum over time. The school should ensure that there is an effective and consistent approach to identifying and addressing gaps in pupils’ knowledge before moving on to new learning.  Some pupils do not have a secure understanding of beliefs that are different from their own. This impacts how well pupils are prepared to contribute to life in modern Britain. The school should ensure that the curriculum gives pupils a secure knowledge of different faiths and cultures.  The governing board has not ensured that it receives the information it requires to support and challenge the school consistently. This has slowed progress to improve the quality of education that pupils receive, particularly for the most disadvantaged. The school should ensure that it has a focused and effective strategy for addressing school

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improvement objectives that is well understood by all stakeholders, especially those responsible for governance.

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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). 17 and 18 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 4 and 5 March 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the headteacher and other senior leaders are new to their role.  The school operates an out-of-school club and a separate extended provision for Nursery children.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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. 17 and 18 June 2025

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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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and representatives of the governing body. Inspectors spoke to teaching and non-teaching staff. Inspectors met with representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. 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 science curriculum.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in and out of lessons. They examined the schools’ behaviour and attendance records. They spoke to pupils about conduct and

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expectations at the school.  Inspectors met with the special educational needs coordinator. They looked at a range of documentation, including education, health and care plans and individual learning plans. Inspectors also checked how pupils with SEND are supported in lessons.  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 considered responses to Ofsted’s parent, pupil and staff surveys, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

John Linkins, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tim Johnson His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 June 2025

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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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