Farsley Springbank Primary School

Inspection Report Farsley Springbank Junior School

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107849 Unique Reference Number Leeds Local Authority 287929 Inspection number 22 February 2007 Inspection date Christine Harrison Reporting inspector

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

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Wesley Street School address Primary Type of school Farsley, Pudsey Community School category West Yorkshire LS28 5LE 7 °11 Age range of pupils 0113 2146098 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0113 2394774 Fax number 226 Number on roll (school) Mrs J Bakes Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs J Agar Headteacher 26 March 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 287929 22 February 2007 7 °11 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 Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This school is of average size and serves the village of Farsley to the west of Leeds. The majority of pupils are of White British background with very few pupils from a range of minority ethnic groups. All pupils speak English as their first language. The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is below average. Pupils come from a wide variety of backgrounds but, overall, their social circumstances are above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational need are both average. Pupils' attainment on entry to the school is broadly average. The school holds Investors in Pupils, Active Mark and Healthy Schools level 1 awards. There is a privately run nursery and child care facility on the school site.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school where pupils very much enjoy learning and achieve well. Standards at the end of Year 6 are above the national average overall and better than might be expected, given pupils' test results when they enter the school. Standards in mathematics and science are above average and standards in English are average. Pupils make excellent progress in science as a result of particularly careful planning for the subject. Within English, pupils make good progress in reading but their progress in writing is satisfactory. The school has introduced several sensible strategies to encourage pupils' writing and standards are improving. Pupils' personal development is outstanding. They are happy to come to school and this is reflected in very good attendance. Their behaviour is excellent both in lessons and around the school. Pupils are polite to visitors and kind and friendly to each other. They are keen to lead a healthy lifestyle; many of them are involved, for example, in

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Grade: 2

athletics and dance and preparing healthy meals in the 'Kids' Kitchen'. Pupils feel safe in school and are well informed about how to keep safe outside school. There are good opportunities for pupils to take responsibility, notably as monitors in Year 6. Pupils are beginning to take part in business enterprise initiatives, helping to prepare them for the world of work. The school provides good care, guidance and support for all pupils, including those who are vulnerable. A 'buddy' system, together with a lunchtime club, ensures that anyone who is feeling insecure has someone to talk to or somewhere to go. The school now has more pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities than in the past and more of those pupils need high levels of support. Agencies that work extremely effectively with the school, speak highly of the school's work in enabling these pupils to make good progress and take a full part in the life of the school.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good overall and the excellent leadership of the headteacher is an important strength. As one parent, reflecting the views of many, said: 'The headteacher has wonderful enthusiasm that rubs off on staff and pupils alike.' She has brought the school from a situation of 'serious weaknesses' eight years ago to its present, securely good, position. She has formed strong partnerships with other schools in the area but relinquished her lead roles in these partnerships when recent major changes in staffing meant that she wanted to concentrate on coaching and supporting new teachers during their early days in school. The result is that the good quality of teaching and learning has been maintained through the changes. Teachers prepare their lessons carefully and create a calm and happy working atmosphere. They make particularly good use of the interactive whiteboards to provide

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Grade: 2

clear instructions so that pupils know exactly what they have to do. Teaching assistants work most effectively to support pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, notably in reinforcing the teacher's questioning so that pupils are fully involved. The school's curriculum is good; it is carefully planned with suitable emphasis on developing basic skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication 2 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007 technology (ICT). The school has recently improved its ICT resources and is aware of the need to make more use of ICT across all subjects to add extra variety to the ways in which pupils learn. Pupils speak very appreciatively of the good range of extra-curricular activities. In particular, the Springbank TV project is providing valuable opportunities, especially, but not exclusively, for pupils who are gifted and talented.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards and achievement in writing across the school. • Make more use of ICT in subjects across the curriculum to increase the variety of learning activities.

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Grade: 2

Standards are above average and all pupils achieve well. Pupils' progress in lessons and in their written work shows that they are maintaining the overall good progress shown by the 2006 results and that writing, where standards are average, is improving. The school is currently reviewing and modifying the curriculum for several subjects, most recently in art, and this is proving successful in raising standards. Some very good paintings and models, inspired by the work of various artists, enhance the display around the school. Pupils achieve well in dance, with an enthusiastic and energetic Haka as their latest project.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils enjoy school and speak highly of the friendly atmosphere. Relationships between staff and pupils are excellent. Several parents comment on their child's increased confidence and pride in their achievements since starting at the school. Pupils value the school council and what it has achieved for them. They are awaiting, with great enthusiasm, the refurbishment of the toilets, for which they have chosen the d Ácor. The Investors in Pupils scheme is very well used to set personal and group targets and then reward pupils with both praise and certificates when the target is achieved. The school's success in encouraging pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles is reflected in the Active Mark and the Healthy Schools level 1 awards. Assemblies make a very strong contribution to all aspects of personal development. Pupils have, for example, opportunities to reflect, to celebrate achievements and to

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Grade: 1

3 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007 consider moral issues. They sing, not only hymns but also for the sheer enjoyment of singing a good song - an uplifting experience for everybody concerned.

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Grade: 2

Teachers make good use of pupils' existing knowledge when beginning a topic, whether it is an investigation into the history of Farsley or an introduction to the properties of solids, liquids and gases. They ask searching questions that make pupils think and require them to use a wide vocabulary in their answers. Teachers make good use of assessment information to motivate pupils. Particularly in literacy, they make it absolutely clear to pupils what they need to do to achieve a particular level. Pupils respond well to this approach and are keen to put the advice into practice. Occasionally, teachers move too quickly in challenging the higher attainers and leave the lower attainers slightly behind. Usually, though not always, this is picked up and the problem is overcome later in the lesson.

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Grade: 2

The good curriculum meets pupils' needs and enables them to achieve well. Pupils study all the subjects that they should and also learn French in Year 6. A careful blend of new ideas with traditionally successful strategies helps to secure pupils' learning. For example, small 'chunks' of punctuation are taught at the start of each day and essential mathematical techniques are re-visited frequently so that pupils don't have time to forget the basics. The school already uses ICT to add variety to pupils' learning in some subjects, for example, in mathematics, but it is not yet used sufficiently in other subjects. Pupils benefit from a good range of extra-curricular activities including clubs, sports, visits and a residential opportunity to sample outdoor pursuits, that makes a significant contribution to their personal development.

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Grade: 2

The school has very good procedures for child protection, vetting staff and for ensuring pupils' health and safety. Pupils are confident that there is always someone to turn to if they have a problem. The school tracks pupils' progress carefully and knows how well they are doing. However, this information is not yet being used quite as effectively as it might be in triggering action to overcome any relative weaknesses in pupils' progress. 4 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007

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Grade: 2

The headteacher has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and good plans for future improvement. The school has very recently appointed a new deputy headteacher with proven skills. Also, the school has several relatively inexperienced teachers who already demonstrate some good teaching skills and are rapidly gaining experience and further expertise. Staff development is a strength of the school. One teacher is currently training to become intervention manager and to work alongside the headteacher in supporting pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Although the school has been a little short of experienced staff to contribute to the monitoring of its effectiveness, this is no longer the case. The team now in place is strong. Governors provide effective support and ask appropriate questions when they have concerns. Hence, the school has very good capacity for

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Grade: 2

further improvement. It provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know, I visited your school yesterday to check how well it is getting on. Thank you very much for making me feel so welcome and for making my day so interesting and enjoyable. In particular, thank you to those of you who talked to me and told me how much you enjoy school, especially the subjects where you can be active and make things, and the extra activities, clubs and visits that teachers work hard to provide. After considering everything, I decided that yours is a good school. I was especially pleased by the happy atmosphere around school, your excellent behaviour and, of course, the good standards that you reach in your work. I was also impressed by the way your headteacher leads the school. She is very enthusiastic and inspires and encourages everybody in school. Even in a good school, there are things that could be improved. Your teachers know that some of you still find writing difficult so I have recommended that they make even greater efforts

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to help you improve your writing. I hope that you will keep on trying hard because writing does get easier with practice. I have also suggested that you use computers more often in all your subjects because I saw how well Year 6 were starting to use them in English. Finally, I have two special memories of my day in your school. The singing in assembly was wonderful and I certainly will not forget the Haka which was so fierce and challenging that I am sure even the Maoris themselves would be impressed. With best wishes for the future 9 Inspection Report: Farsley Springbank Junior School, 22 February 2007

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