Seven Hills Primary School

SEVEN HILLS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Seven Hills Primary School - 2 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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SEVEN HILLS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Seven Hills Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 3 to 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 387

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Appleby Way Morley Leeds West Yorkshire Postcode: LS27 8LA

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 0113 2527194 Fax number: 0113 2527194

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Mr David Dewhirst

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: April/ May 1998

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Seven Hills is a large primary school situated in Morley, on the outskirts of Leeds. It serves a mixed catchment with the number of parents owning their own homes being approximately equal to the number living in local authority housing. Almost a quarter of all pupils are entitled to school meals free of charge. There are a few pupils (1%) whose home language is not English, but the school serves predominantly British white families. There are, and have been, a number of pupils at the school from traveller families. This number varies from year to year but at the time of the inspection there were 15 attending. The percentage of pupils on the special educational needs register is broadly in line with the national average. There is a growing number of pupils joining and leaving the school other than at nursery or Year 6 with pupils’ mobility being above the national average. When they first start school children demonstrate a wide range of personal and academic skills. However,

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

there are weaknesses in their personal, social and emotional skills as well as their ability to communicate fluently and use Standard English. The school was awarded a School Achievement Award in 2001. It gained a Healthy Schools Award in 2004 and successfully maintained Investors in People after a review in 2003. It is also involved in the Leeds ‘Excellence in Cities’ initiative. The school is presently working towards the ‘Inclusion Chartermark’. Seven Hills Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

3639 Clive Davies Lead inspector Science, information and communication technology, art and design, design and technology, music, physical education, foundation stage of learning 9649 Jean Smith Lay inspector 27777 Rob Greenall Team inspector English, special educational needs 33225 Liz Greensides Team inspector Mathematics, geography, history, religious education

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.oftsed.gov.uk). Seven Hills Primary School - 5

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8-11

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8-11

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 11-16

Teaching and learning The curriculum Care, guidance and support Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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This is a good school that has worked hard to raise the achievement of pupils, especially

boys, in the past few years . Strong and supportive leadership has helped staff have a good understanding about what to do to ensure that the needs of pupils come first. The school has the willingness to improve still further and presently gives good value for money.

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This is a good school that has worked hard to raise the achievement of pupils, especially

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

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This is a good school that has worked hard to raise the achievement of pupils, especially

• The headteacher is very much at the heart of the school and responsible for enabling pupils to achieve to their potential. • Strong provision for pupils’ personal development is making it possible for them to learn effectively, behave well and strive to do their best. • The start provided for children in the nursery is very good and is helping them to make good progress. • In Years 3 to 6 pupils achieve well, especially boys. • All pupils have every chance to do well with pupils with special educational needs, from traveller families and those who have the potential to misbehave achieving well. • Although teaching is good overall, it lacks focus on what pupils need to learn on a lesson-by- lesson basis. • Pupils’ limited oral skills are inhibiting their development in literacy and preventing them from exploring ideas in other subjects.

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This is a good school that has worked hard to raise the achievement of pupils, especially

The school was last inspected in April 1998 and it has made good progress since that time. It has introduced a comprehensive system of curriculum coverage and has worked hard to raise standards in English, mathematics and science.

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The boys in Years 3 to 6 are making very good progress and the vast majority of all pupils

achieve well. There has been a steady improvement in standards over the past few years, although National Curriculum test results have been more varied. The vast majority of pupils are attaining at the levels expected for their age by the end of Year 6. The table below shows that when compared with their attainment at the end of Year 2, Year 6 pupils make well above average progress in Years 3 to 6 (see similar schools section below, where similar schools refers to the improvement made between Year 2 and Year 6).

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The boys in Years 3 to 6 are making very good progress and the vast majority of all pupils

all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2001 2002 2003 2003 English A C D A mathematics B B C A science A B A A* Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2.

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The boys in Years 3 to 6 are making very good progress and the vast majority of all pupils

Many children start school with personal and academic skills that are below those expected for their age. This is more pronounced for boys. During their time in the nursery and reception effective attention is given to children’s social skills, resulting in improvement in their academic work, especially mathematics. Communication skills remain a concern for many, with children finding it difficult to express themselves fluently. As they move into Years 1 and 2 pupils make satisfactory progress but their inability to communicate clearly and descriptively is inhibiting their progress. As a result their attainment in English is well below average at the end of Year 2, with boys being well Seven Hills Primary School - 7 behind girls at this stage. In Years 3 to 6, boys make very good progress and achieve very well. By the end of Year 6, therefore, they are attaining as well as girls. Good attention to problem solving and

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The boys in Years 3 to 6 are making very good progress and the vast majority of all pupils

investigations in mathematics and science results in pupils making rapid progress in these subjects. Throughout the school, pupils with special educational needs make good progress and are very well supported by a range of staff. The learning mentor is also making a very positive impact on pupils who have emotional or behavioural difficulties, so that they can achieve to their potential. In all subjects pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 6 matches what is expected for their age. Pupils’ ICT (informational and communication technology) skills are in line with national expectations and there is appropriate use of ICT across the curriculum.

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Pupils’ personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

are good. The school’s very good attention to the personal development needs of pupils is a very strong feature. There are many opportunities provided for older pupils to take responsibility for aspects of school life. The strong focus on making pupils feel safe and cared for is helping all feel secure and to respond by behaving well.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education is good. The school has a secure coverage of all aspects of the National Curriculum. It is striving to enrich the curriculum by involving pupils in visits to places of interest as well as working with outside agencies to widen the experiences offered to all pupils. The level of care provided for pupils is very good, with all being well known to all staff. Pupils from traveller families and those who are in full time care are particularly well provided for. Teaching is good and having a positive impact on learning. In the nursery the focus on improving children’s skills through practical and outdoor experiences is a strong feature. In the majority of lessons in Years 3 to 6, teachers maximise opportunities for pupils to talk and to explain the processes they use. These lessons challenge all pupils well. However, there is not enough attention, in some lessons, to what pupils are expected to learn and the teaching methods used tend to be too similar. This sometimes

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

results in more able pupils not being challenged sufficiently.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher is a strong driving force and works hard to effect school improvement. He is ably supported and challenged by his governors, who play an active role in school leadership. The other members of the senior management team are very dedicated and enthusiastic. There is a need to re-evaluate the role of middle managers in order to help widening pupils’ learning experiences and to vary the teaching methods adopted through the school.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

This is a school that is very well thought of by parents with the pre-inspection questionnaires indicating very strong support for the staff, especially the headteacher. The pupils also appreciate the care that is given to them and comment favourably on the range of additional activities available. They also express a pride in being part of a ‘special’ school.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are: • Help teachers to give a greater focus on what pupils are going to learn during lessons; • Provide more variety in the teaching methods employed so as to keep pupils’ interest levels high and ensure more able pupils are consistently challenged; • Maximise opportunities for pupils to support their learning through talk; • Consider how the roles and responsibilities of middle managers could be re-evaluated to help the school improve still further. Seven Hills Primary School - 8 Seven Hills Primary School - 9

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

The vast majority of pupils achieve well, with boys in Years 3 to 6 achieving very well .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children in the Foundation Stage of Learning make very good progress and achieve very well. • When compared to their attainment at the end of Year 2 pupils make very good progress in Years 3 to 6 in both mathematics and science. • Boys in Years 3 to 6 make very good progress and achieve very well. • Pupils’ inability to communicate fluently and lack of confidence in using a wide descriptive vocabulary is inhibiting their progress, especially in writing. • Pupils with special educational needs, including those with emotional difficulties, achieve well.

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Commentary

1 The school has very well organised nursery and reception classes which work effectively as one unit making up the school’s Foundation Stage of Learning. They know the distinctive features of the children they serve well and recognise that many start school with personal and academic skills that are below those expected for their age. There is also awareness that this is more pronounced for boys than it is for girls, especially in the area of personal development. The adults working with these children have very good understanding of their needs and have devised a curriculum, following national guidance, which successfully addresses these needs. There is, for example, very good provision for outdoor education and, where possible, activities that are available indoors are also organised for children out of doors. As a result of the effective teaching and curriculum organisation children make good progress and achieve well in all six areas of learning. Effective attention to children’s social

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Commentary

skills results in improvement in their academic work. This is particularly pronounced for mathematics. They make good progress in their communication skills although this area remains a concern, with many children finding it difficult to express themselves fluently, using Standard English.

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Commentary

2 As the two sets of tables set out on the next page illustrate that pupils make good progress in Years 3 to 6, especially when taking account of their attainment at the end of Year 2. This is most evident for mathematics and science. When taking account of their performance measured against other similar schools they also do very well. The improvement between Year 2 and Year 6 is at a well above average rate in each of the three core subjects. This is a very strong position showing that pupils are making good progress and achieving well in Years 3 to 6. At the end of Year 6, for example, pupils’ consistently attain in line with national expectations in mathematics and above national expectations in science. This is a very good position compared with their results in national tests and teacher assessments in Year 2 for these subjects. In English the improvement is not as pronounced when taking account of

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Commentary

national tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 respectively. However, pupils’ writing is improving at a good rate as they move through Years 3 to 6 and the achievement of all pupils, including the more able is good in these years. When taking account of national tests and scrutinising the on-going work there is an improving trend in all the core subjects. However, the rate of improvement is far more evident in Years 3 to 6, where pupils are improving their reading skills, applying their numerical skills and carrying out investigations at a far more confident level than they do in Years 1 and 2. This is after the good work that has occurred in the Foundation Stage of Learning has been followed up with solid consolidation in Years 1 and 2. Seven Hills Primary School - 10 Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2003

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results reading 13.5 (15.2) 15.7 (15.8)

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Commentary

There were 45 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003

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Standards in: School results National results English 26.4 (26.0) 26.8 (27.0) mathematics 27.0 (27.3) 27.0 (27.3) science 30.5 (29.9) 28.6 (28.3) There were 53 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

3 The improvement made by boys in Years 3 to 6 is especially impressive. For example, four- years’ worth of national test results in reading and writing at the end of Year 2 show that boys’ attainment is approximately one year behind girls at the age of 7 but four-years’ worth of English results at the end of Year 6 shows that the gap has closed considerably. In mathematics, the gap that exists at the end of Year 2 has not only been closed but boys’ attainment is better than that of girls at the end of Year 6. The school is quick to recognise the needs of boys and successfully works at helping them to develop positive attitudes to learning. A combination of giving boys responsibilities and praising them for their efforts works well to ensure that by the time they are in Year 3 they are highly motivated and keen to achieve well.

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Commentary

4 Pupils have good working attitudes and show a willingness to persevere at their work. However, it is the lack of fluency in their descriptive language that is hindering their progress. Pupils frequently use terms, such as, ‘I knowed the answer’; ‘I did it in me head’; and, ‘Do we have to close us eyes’. These are typical of phrases that are often used in their writing. This, alongside the limited use of full descriptive terminologies is holding back the progress being made, especially amongst pupils in Years 1 and 2. Pupils are, however, confident when they communicate and are happy to talk to unfamiliar adults and explain ideas to them. In the main, they listen attentively and are happy to offer ideas in classroom discussions. The problem relates to the use of oral and written Standard English and to the range of vocabulary employed. In many classes teachers maximise opportunities to help pupils to develop their

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Commentary

talk. However, in too many lessons there are missed opportunities to do so. Consideration therefore needs to be given to how the school intends to get consistency across all classes when it comes to helping pupils develop their oral and written language.

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Commentary

5 The school is well on its way to achieving the ‘Inclusion Chartermark’. To this end it is clear how it works at promoting the achievement of pupils with special educational needs and pupils who have the propensity to behave in an anti-social way. There is very effective support carried out by the learning mentor to help the pupils who fall into the latter category or who have emotional difficulties to settle into their school work productively. Pupils with learning difficulties have their needs identified early and there is either support in classrooms or out of lessons to help them develop specific skills. A high priority is given to the identification process from nursery onwards, which results in pupils being recognised at early stages and then specialist support provided for them from then on. The identification of small steps required to help them improve is a strong feature of the school’s work. In addition to the

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Commentary

support provided for pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties the school is also Seven Hills Primary School - 11 successful in helping pupils from traveller families to settle into school life and to provide appropriate support for them. In this way the vast majority achieve well and make good progress.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

The school promotes personal development very effectively. As a result pupils’ behaviour, attitudes and the development of their personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. Attendance and punctuality are improving and are now satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils feel highly valued and are very proud of their school. • Relationships throughout the school are very good and the school forms a very harmonious community. • The school’s systematic approach to creating a strong ethos has a very positive impact on personal development. • The mature attitudes and responsible behaviour of older pupils are a strength of the school. • Attendance is improving.

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Commentary

6 This is a happy school. Pupils feel safe and valued. Relationships between adults and pupils and between pupils themselves are very caring. The real sense of community that exists is strikingly seen in the ‘sharing assemblies’. Pupils who are chosen to receive awards listen with great pride to the carefully and sensitively written accounts of their achievements and everyone present takes pleasure in these. Pupils talk enthusiastically about all aspects of school life and are particularly positive about their caring headteacher and teachers, and all the after-school clubs, coaching, visits and special days, which the school provides to enrich their experience of school.

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Commentary

7 Pupils are keen to learn and respond well to the school’s high expectation of good behaviour. Attitudes and behaviour improve as pupils move up through the school. In Years 1 and 2, on the occasions when teaching fails to actively engage pupils’ interest, some of the boys lose concentration and behave inappropriately. Most pupils behave very well in Years 3 to 6. The remarkably positive attitudes and impeccable behaviour of Year 6 pupils is a tribute to their maturity and to the work of the school. Even though the inspection took place after their National Curriculum tests they worked enthusiastically throughout their lessons.

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Commentary

8 The school provides plentiful opportunities for pupils to exercise responsibility and older pupils are very helpful in the smooth running of the school, particularly in the jobs they do at lunchtime. The school council is justifiably proud of the way it provides a voice for pupils and is helping to improve the school, particularly playtime. Games trolleys, the healthy tuck shop, new clubs, changed dining arrangements are amongst a long list of improvements which have been introduced as a result of pupils’ suggestions. Football games organised by the school caretaker are very popular and also help to make lunchtime a pleasant experience.

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Commentary

9 The school’s systematic approach to promoting personal development and to creating a strong ethos is very successful. An example of this is the different ethos statements that are discussed in assemblies and ‘circle time’ each week. This is a good way of encouraging pupils to reflect on many different aspects of experience and ‘circle time’ gives them good opportunities to express their feelings and develop awareness of others. The school works very effectively to counteract racist attitudes and to encourage respect for other people. Incidents of bullying and harassment are infrequent and parents agree that the school deals with them effectively. A few parents expressed concerns about the behaviour of some younger pupils. In the infants’ playground a few boys sometimes behave inappropriately but Seven Hills Primary School - 12 the school has good strategies for dealing with misbehaviour and the learning mentor is

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Commentary

giving very effective help to the few pupils who have behaviour difficulties. Many pupils join the school from other schools and sometimes the school has to work hard to help these pupils to comply with the school’s expectations with regard to behaviour. The success of the school’s strong commitment to inclusion is reflected in the fact that there have been no exclusions for several years.

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Commentary

10 Attendance in the last school year was well below the national average. The main reason for this is the significant number of traveller pupils who are on the school roll, many of whom are often absent. Attendance in the current year has improved significantly, partly because a large family of traveller children has left the school. The rising trend is also due to the school’s close monitoring of attendance and to the popular class attendance awards. The learning mentor has played a key role in this improvement.

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 6.6 School data 0.9 National data 5.4 National data 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education is good. The school has a secure coverage of all aspects of the National Curriculum. It is striving to enrich the curriculum by involving pupils in visits to places of interest as well as working with outside agencies to widen the experiences provided for all pupils. The level of care provided for pupils is very good, with all being well known to all staff. Pupils from traveller families and those who are in full time care are particularly well provided for.

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Teaching and learning

The quality of teaching observed during the inspection was good overall; it is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, but it is good in Foundation Stage and in Years 3 to 6 with a significant proportion of very good teaching in both these age groups.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good teaching, distinguished particularly by strong relationships, leads to good learning in the Foundation Stage and Years 3 - 6, but the quality of learning and relationships is lower in Years 1 and 2. • Teachers place too little focus on what pupils are expected to learn. • Planning for English, mathematics and science is comprehensive and shows good support for pupils with special educational needs, but activities planned for higher attaining pupils sometimes do not have sufficient challenge. • Pupils’ skills in spoken English are not developed well enough to keep pace with their other learning because there is not enough emphasis on this in lessons. • Assessment arrangements are good, although teachers when planning lessons do not always use the information collected and analysed.

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Commentary

11 The table below shows the quality of teaching seen throughout the school during the inspection. More than half were good or better, and no unsatisfactory teaching was seen. Seven Hills Primary School - 13 Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 42 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

0 (0%) 9 (21%) 18 (43%) 15 (36%) 0(0%) 0 (0%) (0%)

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Commentary

The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen.

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Commentary

12 Over half of the lessons observed during the inspection were good or better, with a significant proportion of very good teaching. In these lessons pupils made rapid gains because the work was challenging and interesting, and teaching methods involved a varied range of activities. Particularly good lessons observed were demanding, challenged pupils’ thinking, and were well pitched to suit the pace of pupils’ learning. As a result the pupils were well motivated and stimulated to work hard and they remained engaged in their work to the very end of the lesson. In a Year 3 English lesson the teacher had a powerful impact, with a brisk, lively, enthusiastic and interactive style. She showed a determination to work through pupils’ responses by using open and challenging questions, which kept her in touch with the thinking and learning of the pupils. Not a moment was wasted throughout.

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Commentary

13 A consistent strength of the good teaching is the quality of the relationships between adults and children in the Foundation Stage and pupils in Years 3 - 6. Pupils have a confidence and a desire to succeed, especially as they get older, because of teachers’ very positive attitudes, which raises their self-esteem and pride in what they can do - they try hard because they want to do well. Pupils work well both individually and collaboratively, there are high teacher expectations, and little tension in the classrooms. In Years 1 and 2 there are sometimes lower expectations especially of pupil behaviour, which has an impact on learning, with not all pupils developing a secure understanding of concepts. Where this happens pupils are not as engaged and some inappropriate behaviour can arise which is not always dealt with quickly. As a result some pupils in these year groups make slower progress overall.

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Commentary

14 The school has made recent improvements in planning for subjects other than English, mathematics and science, but these are not yet having enough impact on teaching and learning. Weekly plans are often not specifically adapted for the needs of the pupils, lack detail, and give too little focus on what the pupils are expected to learn. At the start of lessons teachers often tell pupils what they are going to do, rather than what they are going to learn, leading to a lack of purpose to the work and a lack of direction in the teaching. Lessons too frequently rely too much on whole class teaching and offer too few opportunities for pupils to appropriately apply their learning. A stimulating and effective opening session to a history lesson, where pupils were infectious in their enthusiasm and showed very good knowledge and understanding, lacked support for learning at the end, with tasks that were not fully

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Commentary

thought through for all pupils. Across the school teachers do not plan enough variety in the way the pupils are taught or in their learning activities. Plenary sessions, intended to draw learning together at the end of lessons, are often unrelated to the main learning points, and opportunities are missed for pupils to discuss and consolidate their learning.

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Commentary

15 The teaching of English, mathematics and science is good overall, with some very good lessons seen. Good attention is paid to the needs of lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs. They are often well supported by teaching assistants, and their achievement is usually good. Where lessons are only just satisfactory there is a lack of creativity, open questioning, problem solving and investigation. In many of these lessons there is also evidence of insufficient challenge, especially for the higher attaining pupils. Although teachers often plan extension work for these pupils, it is not integrated into the lesson itself, but can be tagged on at the end for pupils who manage to finish. As a result, some pupils waste time on work that is far too easy for them and do not have the opportunity to get to grips with work that is more suitable to their ability. Seven Hills Primary School - 14

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Commentary

16 Poorer oral skills are a barrier to learning across the curriculum, especially in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 to 4. In one science lesson it was clear that pupils were inhibited by their ability to explain the principles they were learning, and many of them found it easier to write or draw what they were intending to do for an experiment, rather than to explain it orally. Although the school recognises these difficulties, in some lessons there are missed opportunities to develop pupils’ speaking skills, and teachers do not put sufficient emphasis on this in planning. Younger pupils, for example, often point or use actions when answering questions, and are not always encouraged or supported to give verbal explanations. Lessons rarely plan opportunities for paired talk between pupils, or for pupil feedback from collaborative work. Good use of English is not always modelled well by all adults.

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Commentary

17 The headteacher has devised very effective procedures for gathering and analysing information about what pupils can and can not do, with a regular calendar for formal and informal assessments. Information is fed into a very effective system for tracking pupils’ progress, which has the potential to provide useful information about variations in achievements for both individuals and groups. However, not all teachers use this information effectively, and work is not always pitched well enough to suit all learners. Sometimes teachers go over work that pupils already understand and set tasks that include activities that do little to develop pupils’ understanding. Pupils’ work is regularly marked. However, although comments on the work are consistently provided and often assess the progress the pupil has made, teachers rarely offer guidance to pupils on how they can improve the quality of their work. Pupils’ mathematics and English books have individual targets in the front, but pupils

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Commentary

spoken to have little idea of how they can be used, or what they need to do to improve.

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The curriculum

The curriculum is satisfactory. As a result of good improvements since the last inspection, it has better breadth and balance, particularly in ICT, and meets all statutory requirements. Resources and teaching assistants support learning well. Pupils participate well in a very good range of opportunities for learning outside lessons.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• A very good programme of out-of- class activities richly extends pupils’ learning experiences, interests and talents. • Provisions for personal, social and health education and citizenship are very good, and are strongly reinforced by wider provisions for promoting pupils’ personal and social skills and healthy lifestyles. • Good provision for pupils with special educational needs enables these pupils to achieve well and play a full part in school life. • Despite good improvements since the last inspection, the taught curriculum still lacks excitement. • The school is strongly committed to meeting the needs of all pupils. However, the work given to the more able pupils does not always stretch them to do their best. • Good arrangements help pupils to move smoothly to each next stage of their education.

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Commentary

18 The school has effectively tackled shortcomings identified by the last inspection. The use of national strategies and schemes of work has brought greater continuity to the development of pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding. Improvements have been particularly good in science and information and communication technology. Whilst the curriculum now satisfies all statutory requirements, it still lacks elements of excitement and creativity for most pupils, especially in Years 1 and 2. Planning is seldom innovative or flexible, and links between subjects are not consistently developed and exploited. A commitment to change in these respects is marked by the growth of theme weeks; by the use of Friday afternoon as Seven Hills Primary School - 15 ‘enrichment time’, and by cross-curricular projects such as the creative project in Year 5 which links science and the arts.

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Commentary

19 The school works very hard to make the curriculum fully inclusive and to ensure that all groups benefit equally from the opportunities it provides. It aims to achieve the Inclusion ‘Chartermark’, and a very good action plan is causing all teachers to evaluate and improve their work in this area. Teachers’ planning for pupils who have special educational needs is rooted in very detailed assessment information, and shaped by well-written individual educational plans (IEPs). Most, but by no means all, teaching assistants make skilful and effective use of the plans to help these pupils to achieve as well as their classmates. A range of special programmes such as ‘early’ and ‘additional’ literacy support strengthens essential skills where they fall short of the demands of the curriculum. The Excellence in Cities initiative has enabled the school to work with other Morley schools to create good opportunities for gifted and talented pupils to work together and extend their skills. However,

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teachers do not consistently take account of the needs of the more able pupils by providing suitably demanding work.

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Commentary

20 Very good provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education and citizenship (PSHCE) reflects the school’s determination to strengthen its community and is a chief strength of the curriculum. A very well-planned and well-managed programme of lessons and circle time links closely to assembly themes and provides a good basis for the development of themed work across subjects. Links with science and physical education strengthen learning in drugs awareness and sex and relationships education. The school’s long-maintained commitment to health education and the Healthy Schools Initiative has been a driving force in the development of PSHCE. The recent award of Level 3 status marks its success. The effectiveness of work in PSHCE is powerfully reinforced by the strong ethos and pastoral work of the school.

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Commentary

21 The very good provision for extra-curricular activities and out-of-school learning is a strength of the school. A rich programme of educational and residential visits widens pupils’ experience of the world; develops their social skills and independence, and extends their learning of the curriculum. Links with business and the community bring visitors into the school to enrich learning. A very good range of popular after-school clubs and activities provides a wealth of opportunities, especially in sports and the arts, for pupils to extend their skills and interests. Pupils in Year 6 have a good opportunity to learn French, and the homework club and clubs for science and ICT support learning outside the school day.

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Commentary

22 The school has invested well in its staffing provision and learning resources. Throughout the school, teaching assistants make a significant contribution to pupils’ achievement. The learning mentor manages them well and her work makes a powerful impact on pupils who find academic and social learning difficult. Learning resources are good in English, mathematics and science, and very good in ICT and the Foundation Stage. The school makes best use of its indoor and outdoor accommodation, but classroom space is cramped, particularly for junior pupils, and the noise that spreads through the open areas often presents a barrier to learning.

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Care, guidance and support

The school puts the needs of its pupils first and makes very good provision in this area , which was considered strong at the last inspection. It involves and consults pupils very well and acts on their views. Arrangements for care, welfare, health and safety are very good. Rigorous monitoring of their personal and academic development informs very good support, advice and guidance for all pupils. The site is well cared for, and the school acts to minimise hazards within and beyond its premises.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school shows a very high level of care and concern for every pupil. Seven Hills Primary School - 16 • Pupils develop very secure and trusting relationships with adults. • Pupils have a valued and very influential voice in the life and development of their school. • Induction arrangements are very good, both for the youngest children and for pupils who join the school late. • Support and guidance for pupils are very good because the school tracks all aspects of their development and teachers know their pupils very well.

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Commentary

23 The school provides a very caring and warmly supportive environment in which pupils feel valued, secure and happy. This area of its work has long been a strength of the school, as parents earnestly agree. Improvements to several features since the last inspection mean that provision in all aspects of this area is very good and without weakness.

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Commentary

24 The ethos of trust is impressive. The school operates as a supportive family and nobody is excluded from activities or belittled. The school’s very good reputation for effective work with Traveller pupils and children in care is well deserved and carefully maintained. Relationships between children and adults, from the headteacher to the youngest child, are very good. Pupils are known and accepted very well as individuals, and they are very confident that, if they have a concern, they can confide in an adult and get help. The learning mentor makes a notable contribution here. Child protection has a high profile. The school ensures that this is handled sensitively and most effectively, and that all staff can take responsibility on the basis of clear policy and up-to-date training. Staff, not least the lunchtime staff, always work in the best interests of all pupils, to safeguard their welfare and protect them from harm. For

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Commentary

example careful risk assessments shape all decisions about activities involving elements of health and safety. Every out-of-school visit exemplifies this determination to eliminate hazards. Most staff have trained in first aid. The promotion of healthy living is a school priority, and the results of its continuing efforts to raise its Healthy School status are strongly evident.

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Commentary

25 The school has very good procedures, and good links with outside agencies, for monitoring pupils’ personal, social and academic development. It uses the information very well to provide guidance, advice and support for all pupils. This has a significant effect on pupils’ achievement, both academically and, perhaps more notably, in their progress towards personal maturity and their ability to take responsibility and independent initiative. The school reviews the progress of pupils with special educational needs very carefully. Well-written individual education plans provide a firm basis for effective support. They highlight key areas for individual improvement, with precise targets, strategies and activities. The school recognises and celebrates individual achievements in behaviour, learning and attitudes to others. Induction arrangements are very good for children entering the nursery. Pupils who

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Commentary

joined the school late by transfer from other schools speak very appreciatively of how well they were welcomed into the school community and helped to integrate by the ‘adopt-a-pupil’ and other strategies that mean ‘Everyone is a friend’.

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Commentary

26 Evidence related to the school’s efforts to gain the Inclusion ‘Chartermark’ shows its determination to involve all pupils in evaluating and improving its work. Pupils know that their views are taken seriously. The school council is a prime example. This is a truly representative and accountable elected body that is proud of its record in influencing those aspects of school life that directly affect pupils. Members offer a long list of achievements such as the ‘buddy bench’, the ‘Healthy Tuck Shop’ and supporting a charity effort that raised £2000 for the NSPCC.

p.16

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

Seven Hills Primary School - 17 The school has a good partnership with parents who hold the school in high esteem. Very good links with the community and good links with other schools enrich pupils’ learning and personal development.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Parents are kept well informed. • The school seeks out parents’ views and responds well to any concerns they raise. • The school needs to continue to find ways of strengthening and extending parents’ support for their children’s learning at home. • Very good links with the community are a strength of the school; they enrich the curriculum and have a positive impact on pupils’ social development.

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Commentary

27 Parents are very positive about all aspects of the school’s work. They have great confidence in the headteacher and they value the way in which the school makes them feel welcome and they can easily talk to staff. They are pleased that their children are happy at school and are making good progress. They appreciate the good services which the school provides for them such as the ‘Before and After School Clubs’ and the ‘mother and toddler’ group. The school’s growing reputation in the community is well deserved.

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Commentary

28 The school keeps parents well informed about school life and the curriculum through good quality information, which includes the prospectus, the annual governors’ report, a Foundation booklet and regular newsletters. Parents have the opportunity to come to three consultation evenings a year, and annual reports on pupils’ progress are full and informative. The headteacher and staff are always ready to discuss any issues or concerns raised by parents. The school regularly consults parents through the use of questionnaires and acts on their suggestions whenever feasible.

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Commentary

29 Parents support the school in a number of ways. The school values the work of the ‘Friends of Seven Hills’, a small group who raise useful funds for the school. Most parents support their children’s learning by listening to their children read and parents are pleased with the pattern of homework, which the school has established. However the school recognises that it needs to find ways to extend and improve the quality of support, which many parents provide for their children’s learning. The SHARE project run by the learning mentor is a very good step in this direction and is highly praised by the parents of nursery and reception children who attend the course. They spoke enthusiastically about the many good ideas they have learnt which they and their children enjoy trying out at home.

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Commentary

30 The school has many useful links with community organisations and agencies, which help to enrich the curriculum. Good links with local churches, sporting organisations, local services, the Groundwork Trust and Morley Town Hall as well as a wide range of visits to places of interest help to make learning relevant and exciting for pupils. Visits from an Indian paper- folder, a Zulu Dance Group, charitable organisations and a Race Awareness team help to extend pupils’ understanding of other peoples. Good links with local high schools are helping to enrich the school’s science and ICT curriculum. A business link benefits Year 5 pupils through the Right to Read Programme. The school works very closely and effectively with local high schools to ensure a smooth and stress-free transfer for its pupils.

p.17

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Seven Hills Primary School - 18 The leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher is at the heart of the school and demonstrates very good leadership.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher provides the staff with energy and drives school improvement forwards. • There is very good analysis of pupils’ performance and effective evaluation of this to help pupils make good progress. • The leadership in the Foundation Stage of Learning is very effective. • The senior management is dedicated and willing but there is a need to re-evaluate the way middle managers work so that school improvement is better supported. • The governors provide the school with effective support and the chair of governors, in particular, challenges the senior management to think through new initiatives. • The school handles its budget well and is well organised in respect of best value purchases.

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Commentary

31 The headteacher is central to all developments and innovations that occur in the school. He is the driving force, eager to move the school onwards to perform at an even higher level. He is very clear that all his innovations need to impact on pupils’ achievement. He has therefore been successful in implementing the action plan, created after the previous inspection, ensuring that standards in the core subjects were being raised. He has also ensured that there is now appropriate curriculum coverage and has adopted most of the national guidelines for each subject area. He recognised that the next stage of development is to encourage staff to look towards more curriculum innovation. At present, his plans for greater curriculum innovation are at early stage of development but are in line with exactly what the school needs to improve still further. He has also accurately identified that there is not

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Commentary

enough variation in teaching methods. Both these issues are areas identified for further development in the next school improvement plan.

p.18

Commentary

32 The headteacher, supported by senior management, is meticulous about keeping track of pupils’ progress. To this end he has devised detailed information, which is built upon annually to help staff recognise the amount of progress that is expected from each individual in their class. The analysis undertaken takes full account of gender and background differences of the pupils and therefore the school is able to identify how different groups of pupils are progressing. This puts the school in a good position to judge pupils’ achievements. An assessment calendar is used effectively to help create the information about pupils’ attainment levels. The school also uses optional national tests for different age groups to help build up a clear picture about how well pupils are doing in meeting their targets. The next stage is for the school to help teachers move on pupils’ levels of attainment by providing

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Commentary

‘child-friendly’ statements that will help clarify what the pupils need to do next in order to improve. This work is currently in progress but still requires some fine-tuning so that information collected by the headteacher is used more effectively by all staff.

p.18

Commentary

33 There is a very strong team in the Foundation Stage of Learning. This team is responsible for giving children a very good start to their education, helping them to make good progress and achieve well. The work in the nursery and reception is carefully co-ordinated and planning, assessment arrangements and organisation are particularly strong features. There are regular liaison meetings between the nursery and reception staff with everyone fully involved and engaged. The needs of the individual children are effectively identified and there is time to give consideration to how best to meet individual’s needs. The way the outdoor environment is planned and used are exceptionally strong features. The staff are clear about which resources are required to enable them to develop children’s skills and money is well targeted to buy equipment which will meet this aim. The expertise of individual staff is fully maximised

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Commentary

in the Foundation Stage so that there is a very strong sense of teamwork throughout. Seven Hills Primary School - 19 34 The senior management team works effectively with everyone contributing fully to school development and improvement. Each member of the senior team is very hard working and dedicated. However, in order for the school to fulfil its aim of greater curriculum innovation and more flexibility within its teaching methodology there is a need to re-evaluate the role of middle managers and look at using key staff as models of good practice. The staff includes members of the teaching staff that have specialist expertise in different areas. These teachers are not necessary highly experienced in terms of years in the profession but still have much to offer as key members in furthering the school aims. The senior management team needs to look at how it can make the most of the strengths of these individuals to help

p.18

Commentary

widen teaching methodologies and to make the curriculum more innovative.

p.19

Commentary

35 The governors offer the school much support and the chair of governors, in particular, provides challenge. The governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and recognise the school’s distinctive features. They receive regular information about different aspects of pupils’ achievements; for example, much time has been spent on discussing the achievement of boys in Years 1 and 2. They also share the desire to help the school move to a more innovative curriculum and cited the work already carried out in the performing arts as one area where improvement was happening. The chair of governors meets regularly with the headteacher and sets demanding targets. He has a high regard for the headteacher and the work that he has carried out over the past few years. However, this does not cloud his judgement about how he wants the school to move forwards in the next few years. The chair of governors and the headteacher have built up a trusting relationship

p.19

Commentary

which allows the chair to ask challenging questions which the headteacher acknowledges as helpful rather than threatening.

p.19

Commentary

36 The school finances are very well organised and ordered. The governors’ finance committee work well with the school’s senior management team to ensure that effective cost effective measures are integrated within the school’s budgetary plans. There is good understanding of ‘best value’ with every aspect of school spending being related to raising achievement. Because the governors have a good understanding about the pupils they serve they are in a strong position to recognise the implications that additional resourcing would have for specific areas. The table below shows that the school holds about the right amount of money in reserve each year and prioritise spending for the pupils they currently have in the school.

p.19

Financial information

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

p.19

Financial information

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 975,879 Balance from previous year 46,400 Total expenditure 981,729 Balance carried forward to the next 40,550 Expenditure per pupil 2,469 Seven Hills Primary School - 20

p.19

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

37 This is a school that has given a great deal of thought to the requirements of its youngest children and has devised a curriculum, taking account of national guidelines, that suits their needs. Planning, organisation and assessment procedures are very good with particular strengths noted in the nursery. One of the strongest features of the work that is taking place is the emphasis given to outdoor education. Adults who work in the nursery and reception have recognised the needs of many boys who start school not always finding it easy to share equipment or being prepared to take their turn. This has resulted in a great deal of emphasis being placed on developing children’s social skills from early on. This is paying dividends throughout the school and is partially responsible for the reason why boys make very good progress later on in the school.

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

38 There is very good liaison with parents. They are kept well-informed about everything that happens during their children’s first two years at school and frequently get access to staff at informal as well as formal occasions. Home visits are conducted before children start school with very good systems in place to help both the children and the parents recognise what they can expect when the children start school. The needs of children with special educational needs are identified early with appropriate plans made to meet their needs. Children from traveller families are particularly well catered for with careful recognition of their needs identified and resources organised to help them make good progress. The teaching in the nursery is almost consistently very good and although it is a little more variable in the reception, the teaching is good overall in the Foundation Stage of Learning.

p.20

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is very good.

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Early recognition of the needs of boys. • Good use of positive assertiveness to help children deal with any issues they find uncomfortable.

p.20

Commentary

39 When children first start school many display personal and social skills that are behind, and sometimes well behind, that expected for their age. This is more prominent amongst boys who sometimes find it difficult to share or to play co-operatively. During their time in the Foundation Stage children make good progress in this area with approximately 80 per cent of the children attaining the learning goal by the end of their reception year. The staff are quick to recognise that many boys find it difficult to cope for themselves when they start. Many parents confess that they have tended to do things for boys more so than girls before they start school. Staff therefore deliberately plan for boys to make decisions about what they are going to do and to look for many opportunities to involve them in co-operative play. There is careful monitoring of boys’ play, particularly within the large construction toy area. Staff plan

p.20

Commentary

to support their play at this time and guide them so that their play becomes more focussed and purposeful.

p.20

Commentary

40 The staff in both nursery and reception classes have developed good systems to help children recognise for themselves what is and is not acceptable behaviour. There is a strong emphasis on adults talking through with individuals what it is they have done that may not conform to living together harmoniously. Children also are encouraged to say ‘stop’ as part of Seven Hills Primary School - 21 the planned positive assertiveness training that is introduced. In the reception, the children are introduced to the ‘Think again’ book, which helps them to consider what they may have done that has upset others. These systems are used in conjunction with many others, which focus on the positive. For example, children are encouraged to self-select their activities as soon as they start school. They are encouraged to be independent and play a full role in clearing away resources after them. The type of activities children are engaged in vary greatly

p.20

Commentary

so that they get used to sitting together in large groups when the occasion demands or working by themselves for prolonged times. The most important feature of the very good provision is that staff are fully aware of the needs of the children they serve and have carefully taken account of their backgrounds and of their distinctiveness.

p.21

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is very good , with particular strengths in helping to develop children’s spoken English.

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Huge emphasis placed on developing children’s spoken English. • Very interesting and supportive activities used to help develop children’s early reading and writing.

p.21

Commentary

41 The staff in the nursery and reception are mostly good at modelling speaking, using Standard English, although this is not consistent throughout. They recognise that many children come into school with well-established patterns of speech that do not conform to Standard English. For example, phrases like, ‘I done it already’ or ‘it my toy’ are frequently used. Staff work hard at giving children a good model to use. Overall, children’s confidence in speaking is not an issue with most being very willing to speak with unfamiliar adults and to answer questions in whole class situations. The staff set up several activities to help children to talk to each other and further enhance their confidence levels. For example, in a reception class, as the teacher was asking questions in a whole class setting, she consistently asked the children to discuss issues with their ‘talk partners’ before answering in front of everyone else. In the nursery, staff

p.21

Commentary

always insist on individuals looking at them when engaged in talk. In this way the children have good awareness of the importance of speaking in full sentences and not just using gestures or shrugs. The emphasis given to speaking and listening is helping these young children make very good progress. Activities such as using puppets to stimulate talk and having questions on the milk table help to put further emphasis on children’s speaking skills. However, it is still an area that the school needs to give emphasis to as children move on through the school.

p.21

Commentary

42 Throughout the Foundation Stage of Learning there is good access to a full range of books. The children enjoy choosing books and can talk with enthusiasm about a number of books that they have become very familiar with. The setting of book areas positively promotes early reading skills, with children sharing a book or re-telling the story using the pictures. The good emphasis given to storytelling is also an important component in helping children to have a positive view of reading. Children are introduced to a system of recognising the sounds letters make through the use of a commercial phonic scheme. This works well in helping children initially to recognise the letters in their own names before beginning to look for blends, such as, ‘sh’, ‘th’ and ‘st’. Similarly, children have ample opportunities to practise their writing. There are several activities set up throughout the day that help nursery aged children

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Commentary

to improve their manipulative skills. Reception-aged children are able to record a variety of messages in the form of letters, lists or just simple phrases. Gradually they become more competent so that by the time they finish in the reception the vast majority are able to write each letter accurately although they still reverse quite a few. As a result of the good progress made 80 per cent of the children are meeting the early learning goal for this area by the time Seven Hills Primary School - 22 they finish in the reception compared with only 50 per cent being in line with the skill level expected when they start in the nursery. The teaching is good for this area and the curriculum organisation and very good assessment systems making the provision very good overall.

p.21

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is very good.

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good promotion of children’s mental and oral number skills. • Very good integration of mathematical development activities in outdoor play.

p.22

Commentary

43 Many children start school with mathematical skills that are below and sometimes well below that expected for their age. During their time in the nursery and reception classes children make very good progress and approximately 80 per cent of them attain the early learning goals for this area by the time they finish their reception year. From early on there is good emphasis placed on developing children’s mental and oral skills. In the nursery this is done mainly through number rhymes and practical activities, which engage the children in counting or ordering number. For example, the children use a dice to help them recognise the numbers 1 to 6, which they then match to the number of wheels that appear on the train they have in front of them. Later in the reception class there is a more ‘formal’ time set aside each day to help children develop their number skills. The use of ‘Kim’s Game’ is successful in

p.22

Commentary

helping children to understand the concept of subtraction. There is very effective concentration on using mathematical vocabulary. The impact is that children quickly develop confidence in this area of learning with many being highly enthusiastic about their number work. Children in the Foundation Stage of Learning make very good progress because of the very good teaching that is happening.

p.22

Commentary

44 One of the strongest features of the mathematical work that is happening in the Foundation Stage of Learning is the emphasis given to mathematics in outdoor play and through practical activities. Almost all activities that are planned for indoors are mirrored outdoors, giving children the opportunity to engage in mathematical development work throughout the day. There are well organised mathematical environments set up for both nursery and reception aged children, where they are helped to recognise shape, number and pattern in everyday situations. Staff maximise opportunities for children to use number in different contexts. For example, in work related to creative play, with staff using words like ‘high’, ‘low’, ‘around’ and ‘behind’ to help stimulate thinking and furthering understanding.

p.22

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is good.

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• High priority given to using visitors and taking children on visits to places of interest to help aid the knowledge and understanding. • Effective emphasis on developing children’s cultural awareness.

p.22

Commentary

45 When children first start school they have a varied background in terms of knowledge of the local area and an understanding about what has happened in the past. During their time in the Seven Hills Primary School - 23 Foundation Stage of Learning children are made aware of many important issues concerning their immediate environment and have opportunities to visit the local veterinary surgery, baby clinics and shops. This helps them to have greater awareness of their environment and of the jobs carried out by different people. As a result they make good progress in this area of learning, which is as a consequence of the good teaching that has occurred. There is also much emphasis placed on children talking about things they have done at home and opportunities are created to help them carry on thinking of these things when they are at school. The effective planning and deployment of adults helps this to happen.

p.22

Commentary

46 Children are provided with many opportunities to find out about the way different people worship and live. They have visited a local Church and have found out about Diwali and considered the importance of ceremonies like weddings and Christenings. There are two children in the nursery from traveller families and the staff help other children understand about their way of life and about the similarities and differences that they have with their own.

p.23

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is very good.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Outdoor provision is particularly supportive of this aspect of children’s development.

p.23

Commentary

47 Children make good progress in this area because there is a strong emphasis on working outdoors, which helps in all aspects of children’s physical development. The very thorough and impressive planning and organisation of outdoor activities results in teaching being very good for this area. The vast majority of children meet the early learning goals for this area by the time they finish their reception year. In the nursery, for example, children control a small electronic car quite skilfully in an area set aside for this to happen. There are different challenges provided for children using the large wheeled vehicles. They have to manoeuvre their bikes, cars and carts through different obstacles and they do so with increasing confidence. There are set periods of time for reception aged children to use the equipment in the hall. This is helping to further promote the physical skills of children. Within classrooms

p.23

Commentary

and out of doors children are provided with frequent opportunities to cut, stick and join materials together. The combination of desk-top activities, use of the mouse for computer work, opportunities provided outdoors, all contribute to helping improve children’s physical skills.

p.23

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision in creative development is good.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Very good focus on creative play in the nursery. • Good opportunities for children to be involved in spontaneous play.

p.23

Commentary

48 There are good opportunities for children to be engaged in spontaneous play. This is much stronger in the nursery than it is in the reception but does occur throughout the Foundation Stage of Learning. There is good progress being made, especially in art, music and creative play. However, this is from a position where many children start school with skills in this area that are below the level expected for their age. In the nursery, the opportunities for Seven Hills Primary School - 24 spontaneous play are seized upon so that children can extend their imagination and creative ideas. For example, one child thought he had seen a monster when playing out of doors. As a result the adult working with the group helped children to make up cardboard binoculars so that they could check the area. Children readily slip in and out of roles as they play in the café or domestic play area. Reception aged children have a formal weekly music lesson, that

p.23

Commentary

normally culminates in a concert for their parents twice each year. Teaching is good for this area with the very good organisation and planning playing a key role in aiding the overall impact of the provision.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well, particularly in Years 3 to 6, and they reach average standards in reading and writing by the time they leave. • Teaching and learning are good overall, with some very good features and more consistent effectiveness in the junior classes. • Leadership and management have improved provision significantly since the last inspection, particularly in teaching. • Provision for developing skills in spoken English is still relatively weak. • Pupils who find literacy difficult have good support and do well, but work set for the most able pupils is often undemanding.

p.24

Commentary

49 Attainment in Year 2 is below average; in Year 6 it is average. In Years 1 and 2 achievement is satisfactory, but girls do better than boys. This is reflected in the results of national tests for Year 2. Boys’ test scores have not improved over several years whilst girls’ scores have risen steadily and significantly. In Years 3 to 6, girls continue to achieve well, but in relation to their attainment in Year 2, boys achieve very well. These changing patterns of achievement correspond closely to variations in the quality of teaching and learning. Whilst the overall quality is good and no unsatisfactory teaching was seen, most lessons in Years 1 and 2 were satisfactory. In Years 3 to 6, on the other hand, all lessons were at least good and a third was very good, with some inspirational qualities.

p.24

Commentary

50 The less effective lessons very clearly share features and patterns of planning and teaching that restrict learning and achievement. Teachers tend to define lesson aims more in terms of what they will do and teach than of what their pupils will learn. The conduct of the lesson reflects this same preoccupation with teaching. As a result, the teacher talks and does too much, thereby casting pupils in a largely inactive role, watching long periods of teaching. Some pupils, particularly boys, become disengaged, and almost all pupils lack opportunities to explore in their own language the skills being taught. Their limited strategies for interacting with pupils and probing their understanding denies teachers opportunities to check and reinforce pupils’ learning as the lesson moves on. More seriously, over time pupils’ lack of opportunity to stretch their own language to capture new learning means that their skills in

p.24

Commentary

spoken English constantly fall short of the rising linguistic and conceptual demands of the curriculum, and not just in English lessons.

p.24

Commentary

51 In Years 3 to 6, lessons are much more focused on learning and teachers use a variety of methods, such as role-play and talk partners, to engage pupils actively in their learning and to monitor its quality. As a result, lessons are exciting, and planning ensures that speaking, Seven Hills Primary School - 25 listening, reading and writing activities interact and support each other well. Teachers are more attuned to the quality of learning across the class, and are better able to adjust pace, emphasis and methods to ensure that different groups learn at their best rate. Even so, they often miss opportunities during and at the end of lessons to prompt pupils to evaluate each other’s work or to reflect on their own new learning, its demands and its uses.

p.24

Commentary

52 The school has recognised for some time pupils’ fundamental need for stronger provisions for the development of spoken English in order to support all learning. It accepts that better provision in this area would strengthen the good developments that are raising standards and attitudes in reading and writing. Experiments with circle time in English lessons are useful but not enough. Planning for speaking and listening is unsystematic and the range of methods often limited. Compared with the good work in literacy, progress in this area is assumed rather than orchestrated; procedures to assess skills are relatively limited, and few targets are set to help spoken English keep pace with curricular demands.

p.25

Commentary

Language and literacy across the curriculum.

p.25

Commentary

53 Good developments of the school’s literacy strategy mean that English and the rest of the curriculum increasingly support each other. Pupils in Year 6 are very aware of how their knowledge of information books and systems helps them to read to learn in history, for example, and of how their writing skills enable them to express their historical knowledge in different ways. Teachers reinforce this awareness by marking all writing in the same constructive way, often keeping literacy targets in view. Here again, however, opportunities for pupils to develop their spoken English through other subjects are not shaped and made consistent by clear overall policy. Nor are they precisely matched to pupils’ actual language and learning needs, though examples of good practice were seen, for instance in science in Year 4.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve very well by the time they leave school because the teaching of mathematical skills and understanding is good in Years 3 to 6. • Pupils retain their knowledge and understanding from previous lessons, and so are able to use a wide range of strategies for number work and problem solving. • In some lessons there is not enough challenge or extension work for higher attaining pupils. • Teachers make effective use of mathematics across other subjects of the curriculum.

p.25

Commentary

54 The school has made good progress in mathematics since the previous inspection. Pupils achieve very well in Years 3 to 6 so that by the time they leave school standards are in line with expectations in relation to national tests. Lessons seen during the inspection, however, and pupils’ responses, skills, and understanding, indicate that they are now working above these standards, and well above in relation to similar schools.

p.25

Commentary

55 Lessons for older pupils contain a good mix of direct teaching, investigation and challenge and so pupils respond well and with enthusiasm. By Year 6 they are beginning to develop their own ideas and approaches to problems. The class teacher assists their independence and ability to choose with continual probing and challenging whilst at the same time giving support and security so that all can, and do, achieve. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 are starting to pick up and use mathematical language, but cannot always use it appropriately, and the teacher does not always reinforce it. For example, in a Year 1 lesson, a pupil tried to explain Seven Hills Primary School - 26 that the sides of a hexagon are parallel and used her hands to do this. The teacher accepted this, but the comment was not used to extend vocabulary or to develop the ideas with the rest of the class.

p.25

Commentary

56 A major feature of many lessons observed was the teaching of an increasingly wide range of strategies for calculation and problem solving. Pupils learn these skills well, and show an ability to remember them and apply them to new situations. They are confident to use different strategies, are able to make independent choices on which ones to use, and are able to explain their choices. In one Year 6 lesson a pupil commented that she fully understood the strategy used by the teacher to check her calculation, but that she ‘wouldn’t have done it that way because …’ - and goes on to give a plausible explanation.

p.26

Commentary

57 Lesson planning follows a very clear structure, which gives an overview of what pupils are expected to learn in the week, and which indicates specific learning tasks for the pupils. In most cases activities are adapted to the different needs of the pupils, and there is often good support for lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs. Although work is usually planned for those with higher ability, this is often in the form of an additional activity when the main task is finished. As a result many pupils do not manage to begin or complete it within the lesson, and their progress and achievement is therefore limited. A good exception to this was seen in Year 5 where higher ability pupils extended their knowledge of ‘chance’ and ‘probability’ with an exciting and challenging activity as the teacher was fully aware that they already understood what the rest of the class was doing. In Years 1 and 2 teachers do

p.26

Commentary

not pay sufficient heed to the information which they have on what pupils can and can not do when preparing lessons. As a result, lessons sometimes cover work that pupils can already do and explain, and activities neither stimulate nor challenge.

p.26

Mathematics across the curriculum

58 Pupils mathematical skills are developed well enough to enable them to make progress in many other areas of the curriculum. For example, pupils in Year 1 measure the weekly growth of sunflowers and can record this graphically. Older pupils ably compare temperatures and weather patterns in different countries with a good range of tables and graphs to support their learning in geography. Links with ICT are also good, with many graphs produced by appropriate programs and in different ways according to ability - for example, block or pie charts to show holiday destinations in Year 2.

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school’s national test results indicate that standards have been well above average by the end of Year 6 for several years. • Very good teaching, with prominent outstanding features, is helping pupils in Years 3 to 6 to make very good progress. • There is good focus on investigational work in Years 3 to 6.

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Commentary

59 The national test results have been well above average for several years. The 2003 results, when compared with school in similar settings, were in the top 5 per cent nationally. When comparing the pupils’ Year 2 teacher assessments with Year 6 results there has been very good progress made, indicating that older pupils are achieving very well in this subject. In 2003, for example 62 per cent of pupils attained at the higher level (level 5), which is 50 per cent more than the national average of 41 per cent. Only 4 per cent failed to attain at the Seven Hills Primary School - 27 expected level for their age, compared with 12 per cent nationally. This compares very favourably with the teacher assessments at the end of Year 2, when results at this time are well below the national average.

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Commentary

60 Very effective teaching in Years 3 to 6 is helping the pupils to achieve very well. Teacher confidence is particularly high especially when it comes to organising and setting up investigational work for pupils. In Year 6, for example, the teacher’s organisation of resources and working patterns enabled pupils to be challenged when investigating how pressure pads could be made to work in different circumstances. The effective ‘question and answer’ session at the beginning of the lesson helped the pupils to have clarity about what was expected of them. This part of the lesson set the tone and the pupils responded to the challenge by working hard and collaborating effectively. In Year 4, a similar focus on investigational work results in pupils making good progress in their understanding of fair testing. In this lesson, pupils investigate which surfaces create greatest friction and what impact this has on the speed of objects travelling over the various surfaces. The teacher’s

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Commentary

good preparation is a very strong feature of the work taking place. The teaching is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, although there are missed opportunities to develop the work as effectively as in Years 3 to 6. For example, the Year 2 teacher’s good initial preparation for pupils to investigate different habitats in the school’s Jubilee Gardens was not built upon when pupils did not have appropriate equipment for looking closely at minibeasts or were not sufficiently prepared to know how to look for them within the habitats.

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Commentary

61 There is a strong emphasis on working from investigations throughout Years 3 to 6. Year 3 pupils are able to explain why shadows are longer at certain times of the day because of the way they have been taught the subject. They can make predictions, hypothesise and consider their results with some confidence. Similarly, pupils in Year 5 are confident about setting up a fair test and recognising variables. They also use appropriate scientific vocabulary. However, many of the pupils’ explanations are hindered by their lack of fluency in spoken English. There is good use of ICT to record their findings. Pupils are familiar with using charts, graphs and tables to set out their findings and older pupils can use spreadsheets to find out more information about different creatures and plants.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Provision in information and communication technology (ICT) is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• There has been much improvement in the provision for this subject since the previous inspection. • Pupils’ skill level is in line with national expectations with older pupils making good progress in Years 3 to 6. • The subject leader is effective and well organised and able to identify strengths and weaknesses within the subject. • There is a growing confidence in using ICT across all subjects.

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Commentary

62 At the time of the previous inspection provision was judged to be weak in this area. However, since then there has been a determined effort to improve the resources available to pupils and staff. This in turn has resulted in improved standards with older pupils being helped to catch up on what they missed out earlier in the school. The new subject leader, working with the senior management team, has had a great deal to do with this improvement. As a result standards are broadly in line with national expectations and gifted pupils are provided with opportunities to extend their skill level through work they are involved with on film-making. Year 2 pupils are now attaining at the levels expected for their age and pupils in Years 3 to 6 Seven Hills Primary School - 28 have done much to catch up on the lack of skills they had at an earlier age and now have the full range of skills that are expected for their age. This good progress in Years 3 to 6 is as a

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Commentary

result of the good teaching that is occurring with teacher confidence levels being high. The Year 6 teacher was very comfortable when introducing pupils to program writing, using commercial software to help in the process. She was able to challenge the more able pupils and they responded by developing their own repeated instructions to make the program more interesting.

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Commentary

63 The subject leader has been the catalyst to aid the school’s improving provision for this subject. She is particularly enthusiastic, well-organised and able to determine what the school is doing well and what needs to be done to continue with the improvement noted to date. She has a very good overview of what is being covered by each age group and collects samples of work to create a whole-school portfolio, which enables her to have a very good view of how well pupils are achieving. The subject leader has led lessons so that other staff have a good role model to follow. Improvement in staff confidence has been as a result of additional training from outside agencies and from support from within the school. The school now seeks to build on this improved position by introducing more computers in each classroom and aiming for interactive whiteboards to be available to all staff.

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

64 There is appropriate use of ICT across all subjects. Year 2 has created bar graphs to record holiday destinations. They have also used branching databases to classify living creatures as part of their work in science. There is frequent use of word processing as part of pupils’ on- going work in English. There is also a conscious effort made by staff to use ICT in art and there is a range of appropriate software available to ensure that this is happening regularly. The humanities curriculum also benefits from the use staff make of ICT. There is good use of software to provide pupils with stimulating ideas to follow through. The only area requiring further attention is control technology where it is recognised that more resources are needed to help staff make more effective use of this aspect of ICT across the curriculum.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils have a good knowledge of a range of different faiths. • Teachers use a good range of visits and visitors to enrich learning.

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Commentary

65 The one lesson observed and the scrutiny of work in books and displays around school indicate that standards by Year 6 are broadly in line with those expected for pupils of this age. Progress and achievement throughout school is good, with the indication that teaching is likely to be good overall. The subject is rightly treated as an equal partner within the humanities curriculum, and the planned scheme of work ensures that pupils study a selection of religions and faiths other than their own. These include Islam and Hinduism, which are compared and contrasted with Christianity and similarities and differences are explained and valued.

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Commentary

66 Pupils’ work in religious education is well displayed, and evidences that pupils are encouraged to have empathy as well as understanding. For example, Year 3 pupils learn about the feelings of the Prodigal Son and Jairus’ Daughter by writing personal diaries of their experiences. Teachers plan good first hand experiences to develop a deeper understanding Seven Hills Primary School - 29 through the use of visits, visitors and artefacts. Pupils in a Year 4 class showed a high level of enthusiasm and interest when discussing a visit they had made to a local Salvation Army Citadel, and could remember in detail the different symbols they had seen and their meaning. They were able to talk about some of the finer meanings of the Christian faith, such as the Holy Spirit and Salvation, and were beginning to be able to express their own views and beliefs.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching is stimulating and knowledgeable helping pupils to progress well and enjoy history lessons. • By the end of Year 6 pupils can discuss in detail topics they have covered, and have good skills to support further learning. • Lessons do not always focus sufficiently on what pupils are intended to learn. • There is a good, planned programme of enrichment.

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Commentary

67 Pupils display a high level of enthusiasm for history in Years 3 to 6 because teaching is interesting and informative. Teachers use a variety of methods to help pupils to learn, including role-play, discussion, imaginative writing and use of primary and secondary sources for investigation. As a result pupils’ attitudes to their learning are very good. Year 5 pupils were animated and knowledgeable in their discussions about the reasons for the many marriages of Henry VIII because they had participated in a role play activity in a previous lesson which was a significant aid in the development of their understanding of the many issues involved. As a result, many pupils have done research into the period of their own will, and have extended their knowledge still further.

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Commentary

68 In infant classes, pupils’ work in history shows that they are beginning to link cause and effect. For example they are able to write imaginary eyewitness accounts of the plague using their learning, and explain what is happening, and why. In Years 5 and 6 pupils have a good grasp of the political situation of the times and understand the reasons for the voyages of exploration in the later Tudor times. They are able to discuss the strengths of different kinds of evidence, and know the importance of both fact and opinion. They are given the opportunity to frame their own questions to widen their awareness and to deepen their knowledge. For example, pupils in Year 3 studying the Ancient Greeks were asked to find questions for what they wanted to know after studying a picture of a Greek Vase. This stimulated their thinking and the many questions posed were both pertinent and appropriate

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Commentary

69 On occasion, and especially in earlier years, teachers do not always sufficiently explore how pupils will develop their knowledge and understanding through the tasks they are given. For example, a class studying differences in the past and present at the seaside were able to use photographs to identify these differences, many with support, and most of them showed interest and enjoyment. However, following this they were given a routine activity of copying from the board, which did little to develop their understanding further and which lacked imagination and was not relevant to the learning at the beginning.

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Commentary

70 The subject leader for history has worked with the leaders of religious education and geography to provide an interesting and relevant programme of enrichment to support learning in these subjects. The emphasis is very much on experiential learning and pupils learn first hand from visits such as those to Clarke Hall, where they dress up and spend a day living in the past. Pupils are considerably stimulated by these visits and other enrichment, and their learning when back in the classroom is considerably enhanced. Seven Hills Primary School - 30

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Geography

71 It was not possible to see any lessons in geography being taught during the inspection, and so no secure judgement can therefore be made on provision. There is insufficient evidence to make an overall judgement on standards or teaching.

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Commentary

72 Insufficient evidence was seen during the inspection to make a secure judgement on provision and standards in art and design, design and technology , music and physical education. However there is appropriate coverage of the subjects using National Curriculum guidelines and assessment. The subject leaders recognise the need to enhance these schemes of work, purchasing and developing materials to extend these areas.

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Commentary

73 Work planned in art and design is varied and interesting. Only two lessons were seen, one in Year 1 and one in Year 3. Three- dimensional work based on the work of Andy Goldworthy in Year 1 and the ‘Angel of the North’ in Year 3, shows that the pupils meet a full range of experiences within the subject. Work on the fire of London by Year 2 shows good development from drawings to printing on fabric. In Years 3 to 6 there is evidence in the art portfolio of work in a range of media being used to support other curriculum areas. Work is developed through research into different methods of recording and interpretation. Throughout the school pupils’ artwork is framed and displayed very effectively to celebrate achievement and boost pupils’ self-esteem. Pupils’ art work successfully contributes towards the vibrant appearance of the school’s interior.

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Commentary

74 The subject leader provides good leadership and has delivered good quality training for staff in order to develop their skills and confidence.

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Commentary

75 In design and technology no lessons were seen. The school has taken action to improve the quality of design and technology by an audit of staff and pupil needs and the provision of resources to give pupils the opportunity to cover all the National Curriculum programmes of study. This subject is well led by the subject leader who gives support to staff by working alongside them and modelling lessons.

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Commentary

76 Years 3 to 6 have activity time on Friday afternoon and there are pupils who attend design and technology sessions regularly using the time to extend their skills. Displays of pupils’ work in the school, evidence in the portfolio and work scrutiny in Year 5 show that they experience the complete design, make and evaluate process. In Year 5 the design stage is thoroughly covered and pupils make good use of annotated drawings and plans, which identify tools and materials and show the stages of development. Pupils in Year 2 made good links with literacy when the hand puppets produced developed competent needlecraft skills for those pupils. This indicates good improvement since the last inspection.

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Commentary

77 One lesson was seen in music in Year 4 where pupils were learning to play a rhythm to the count of three. Teaching and learning were good. A range of evidence was provided which would indicate that there is a good range of opportunities to perform and pupils do so regularly both in school and outside in the local area.

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Commentary

78 One lesson was seen in physical education in Year 2. All aspects of the subject are covered throughout the year with all pupils having swimming lessons and attaining the required standard by Year 5. A wide range of extra curricular sporting activities are available to pupils of all ages with opportunities to take part in inter-school competitions Seven Hills Primary School - 31

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Commentary

79 Only one lesson was seen in this area of the school’s work and so no judgements are made on overall provision. However, pupils’ personal development is clearly a very important part of the school’s work in order to raise pupils’ esteem and to prepare for future life and there have been significant developments in this area over the last three years. Teaching staff have access to a wide range of resources, and receive good support from the subject leader who has produced a comprehensive overall plan for the whole school, with half termly topics such as ‘Ourselves’ or ‘Safety’. She has also introduced a weekly ‘Circle Time’ for all classes. This is linked to the ‘Ethos Statements’, which are changed on a weekly basis and which can be seen in the hall, entrance hall and in all classrooms. The school has recently won the Level 3 Leeds Healthy Schools Award as part of its work with the personal development of pupils.

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 3 How inclusive the school is 3 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 3 Value for money provided by the school 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 3 Pupils’ achievement 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 3 Attendance 4 Attitudes 3 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 3 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The quality of education provided by the school 3 The quality of teaching 3 How well pupils learn 3 The quality of assessment 3 How well the curriculum meets pupils needs 4 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 2 Accommodation and resources 4 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 2 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 2 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 2 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 3 The quality of the school’s links with the community 2 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The leadership and management of the school 3 The governance of the school 3 The leadership of the headteacher 2 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); poor (6); very poor (7). Seven Hills Primary School - 33

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