Alwoodley Primary School

Inspection Report Alwoodley Primary School

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107912 Unique Reference Number Leeds LEA 277866 Inspection number 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 Inspection dates Mr Roger Hartley HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Cranmer Rise School address Primary Type of school Leeds Community School category West Yorkshire LS17 5HX 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 0113 2686104 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0113 2662044 Fax number 479 Number on roll Mrs C Anderson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jane Cholmoundeley Headteacher 18 October 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277866 5 October 2005 - 3 to 11 6 October 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two contracted inspectors.

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Description of the school

Alwoodley Primary School is situated in a large suburban area in the city of Leeds. There are 479 pupils aged 3 to 11 years including 73 pupils who attend the nursery part time. The pupils come from a range of social and cultural backgrounds. Almost half the pupils come from white British backgrounds and just over half come from a variety of minority ethnic backgrounds. Some 62 pupils have been identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including 6 with a statement of special educational need. There are 59 pupils entitled to free school meals.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Alwoodley Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005

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Grade: 2

Alwoodley Primary School is a very effective and popular school, and is well placed to become an outstanding one. Children entering the nursery receive a high quality start to their education, which is systematically built on throughout the key stages. The children make overall good progress throughout the school. The hallmarks of the provision are the ways in which pupils from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to do well, and how the cultural richness of the community is used to enhance the curriculum and the learning. The pupils enjoy coming to school. They are extremely well behaved, look forward to new challenges, are considerate of others, and benefit from the rich diversity within the school. The teaching is good overall with some which is satisfactory and some, which is outstanding. It enables the pupils to make good progress through work, which is almost always presented in an enthusiastic and challenging way.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher provides dynamic leadership and displays a clear shared vision for the school. She is ably supported by an effective senior management team and teachers who thrive on challenge. The school provides good value for money. The inspectors judge that the school is well placed to reach the goals to which it aspires.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise the quality of teaching consistently to the highest level. • Review the quality and use of evaluation and monitoring procedures to enhance performance. • Improve the use of data to better inform the school's self-evaluation.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good. When children begin nursery, overall their level of attainment is below average for their age. However, because of some good and outstanding teaching throughout the Foundation Stage, they make good progress in all areas of learning, particularly in their personal development and communication skills, so that at the end of the stage, levels of attainment in relation to the Early Learning Goals are what they should be for their age, and for some, above that level. The pupils continue to make progress in Key Stage 1 and levels of attainment are maintained; pupils achieve standards expected nationally in English, mathematics and science. By the time pupils reach Year 6, attainment is above average, a feature that has been maintained for some years. The good progress children make is due to good teaching, a rich curriculum, and outstanding personal development, which together

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Grade: 2

have a strong impact on pupils' learning. The teachers set high expectations and the pupils respond well. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive effective support and make good progress. For example, pupils with a range of learning 2 Inspection Report: Alwoodley Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 difficulties often make impressive progress to reach national expectations from a low base.

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Grade: 1

Inspectors agree with the school's judgement that provision for pupils' personal development and their well-being is outstanding. The school successfully achieves its aim of creating a 'stimulating, motivating, challenging, safe, happy, respectful learning environment'. The pupils have extremely positive attitudes to learning and are encouraged to be independent. They know how to deal with personal issues that may arise, although always within the context of having caring adults on whom to rely for guidance and support. Parents are overwhelmingly positive in their comments about the school. Behaviour in and out of lessons is exemplary. Relationships between staff and pupils are excellent; pupils feel their views are listened to and that they are important to the school. The pupils are confident that there is someone to talk to if they have a problem and, as a consequence, pupils' self-esteem is high. The children say they have a very

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Grade: 1

happy school reflected in one pupil's comment that 'the teachers make the lessons fun . school is never boring!' Pupils have the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of stimulating activities to develop their social and cultural awareness. They particularly enjoy special days such as 'International Day', and 'Make Poverty History Day'. Children's spiritual and moral development is a strong element threading through all the school's activity, enhanced by special features such as 'Ethos of the week' when themes introduced in assembly are explored further in classes. Pupils are taught the importance of a healthy lifestyle and keeping safe and the school has achieved the Gold Level 'Active Mark'. Pupils make an extensive contribution to the school and the wider community, for example, the school council has been involved in making suggestions to improve the school grounds, and interviewing new members

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Grade: 1

of staff, while the adoption of Simon the donkey has played an important part in the all round education of pupils, particularly those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school has received the Basic Skills Award and the Investors in Pupils award in recognition of its high quality work in developing pupils' important life skills.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is generally good, sometimes satisfactory, and occasionally outstanding. In the best examples, the pupils make good progress because the lessons are well planned, contain interesting and stimulating activities and are presented in a way that explores the pupils' imaginations and spurs them on to greater effort. The importance teachers attach to the pupils' attitudes to learning is rewarded well, and work is accurately 3 Inspection Report: Alwoodley Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 matched to current learning needs. The pupils enjoy being involved in the 'cut and thrust' of a lesson and are keen to do well. Teachers employ a range of strategies to keep pupils on their toes, through well thought out questions, good use of 'talking partners' and sharing ideas. A feature common to all the teaching seen was the positive way in which teachers encourage the pupils even when their answers fall short of the

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is broad and balanced and there are no gaps in what should be taught. The school is particularly successful in enhancing the curriculum by providing a wide range of enriching activities, including music, sport and a series of special themed days based on topics or curricular areas. The curriculum responds well to the needs of different groups of pupils, for example, pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, high achievers and pupils who are especially gifted and talented. The school makes good use of specialist teaching from the local high school and benefits from facilities at the university for the gifted and talented pupils. Additional support is provided by trained teaching assistants and a range of support staff, and the work in lessons is targeted well to meet the pupils' current learning needs. The teachers often extend skills taught in one subject to promote learning in another

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Grade: 1

to good effect, without losing the essence of the subject being taught, for example, skills learnt in calculation, data handling or writing are often employed to help explain a science investigation or how a design has taken shape.

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Grade: 1

The inspectors agree with the school that the quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding. The school has an air of calm and purpose in which the pupils are well cared for and encouraged to play a full part to the best of their ability. The school is very supportive and encourages all the different groups of pupils to succeed, irrespective of their intellectual or physical ability, through a wide range of sporting and cultural activities. Alwoodley is a truly 'inclusive' school. Relationships at all levels are very positive and every child is made to feel they matter. Health and safety issues are well established and the pupils are actively involved in promoting healthy lifestyles, for example, giving their views through the school council about improving school mealtimes. The learning mentor makes a major contribution to the quality of the provision; she provides very effective support and knows the pupils well.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good overall with some outstanding features. The headteacher provides determined and dynamic leadership and has a clear vision for the school, which is shared and understood by all the staff. She enjoys their 4 Inspection Report: Alwoodley Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 support and morale is high. The school works hard to create a culture of partnership and openness with parents and the local community, which is rewarded by their trust and confidence in what the school has to offer their children. The leadership is clearly focused on providing a learning environment in which pupils can give of their best, live in harmony with each other and where personal well-being is a high priority. The headteacher, together with the deputy headteacher and senior teachers provide effective management. Collectively, they decide the direction of the school and

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Grade: 2

individually carry forward initiatives for major aspects or subject developments. Lines of communication are clear and all teachers with specific responsibilities understand their roles and how their contribution fits into the wider picture of improvement. The headteacher places great importance on different groups within the school having a voice; for example, encouraging parents, pupils, governors and staff groups to contribute ideas towards developing the school improvement plan. There is an appropriately broad range of self-evaluation and monitoring techniques used to check aspects of teaching and learning and also to contribute towards subject action plans. They work well overall, but vary in their level of detail and incisiveness, and are not always followed up with sufficient rigour. The school has amassed a lot of data about how pupils perform. It helpfully informs how pupils make progress, but

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Grade: 2

it could also make a major contribution towards identifying general trends and support the school's self-evaluation processes. The governors are very supportive of the school and know its strengths. They are well organised, take part in lessons and have developed links with individual subject and aspect leaders. The impact on the pupils' learning and personal development is very well supported through the use of resources and the school provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Alwoodley Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Alwoodley Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 1 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Mrs Gowers, Mr Howard and I would like to say how much we enjoyed spending two days in your school. Thank you for being so polite and helping us. We spent a lot of time finding out how well you are learning by watching you work in some of the lessons and talking to Mrs Cholmondley and your teachers. At the end of the inspection, we talked to Mrs Cholmondley and some of your teachers about what we had found out. This is what we said. We thought you were very well behaved, all of the time. The boys and girls in the nursery class worked hard, shared things and took turns. Older children acted responsibly, taking care of books and equipment. You told us that you enjoyed coming to school and felt that the teachers were interested in you and that you were happy to talk to them and they took good care of you. All of you work hard, listen to your teachers and try your best to answer their questions. One of the jobs we have to do when we inspect schools like yours is to see if there are any

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

things which could make your school even better. Of course we couldn't think of anything the children need to do because you're brilliant already! It was a very difficult job because your headteacher and teachers work so very hard. We did make a couple of suggestions about things that you would find boring, such as looking a little more at how they know you are working hard and doing as well as you can, and how the school uses data; many of you learn data handling in your mathematics lessons don't you? So, keep working hard and enjoying your school. We think you are very lucky to be at Alwoodley School!

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