Lawns Park Primary School

Inspection Report Lawns Park Primary School

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107973 Unique Reference Number Leeds Local Authority 287980 Inspection number 18 °19 October 2006 Inspection dates Kath Halifax 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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Chapel Lane School address Primary Type of school Old Farnley, Leeds Community School category West Yorkshire LS12 5EX 3 °11 Age range of pupils 0113 2637364 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0113 2637364 Fax number 226 Number on roll (school) Mr Stephen Clark Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Miss R Ford Headteacher 11 October 1999 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 287980 18 °19 October 2006 3°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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Pupils who attend this average size primary school come from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. Most are of White British heritage with a small number from Pakistani, Portuguese or mixed backgrounds. All speak English. The proportion of pupils entitled to a free school meal is broadly average as is the proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Fifty two children attend the nursery either morning or afternoon. Attainment on entry to Reception is slightly below average. The school is oversubscribed. It has gained Investors in People, the Healthy Schools Award and the Sport England Active Mark.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that provides good value for money. Good leadership and management have turned the school round since the last inspection and have engendered a great team spirit. Teaching is now good, as is the curriculum and these have led to average standards by the end of Year 2 rising to above average standards by Year 6 for the past three years. Achievement is good. Of equal importance is the progress children make in their personal development. Much of this is attributable to the school's determination to include and value children from all backgrounds and of all capabilities. Parents, staff and children are justifiably proud of their school and use its well-maintained grounds and building effectively to support learning. Young children settle quickly, become confident and learn to work as part of a team. The accommodation for Nursery is satisfactory, but some of the resources are dated

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Grade: 2

and worn. Despite this, young children achieve well because of a well thought out imaginative programme for learning through play. Good achievement continues in Reception. Children grow in confidence and mature as they move through the other classes because of the good provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Behaviour is good and children enjoy attending school commenting, 'it's great here, you learn lots at Lawns Park' and, 'we work as a team'. Children say they feel cared for and able to express their opinions. They have a good understanding of how to keep healthy, make choices and take responsibility for their actions. Attendance, while satisfactory, is lower than last year. This is because a number of families take holidays in term time. During the inspection twelve children were absent because of family holiday. This means they miss valuable learning time. Standards and achievement have improved considerably since the last inspection when

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Grade: 2

they were well below the national average. Through changes of staff, good training and support, teachers are now confident and manage children's behaviour much better. This means fewer disruptions to learning and has resulted in higher standards and greater achievement. However, in some classes, on occasion, the higher attainers are not stretched quite as much as they could be. Teaching in Year 6 is of a high quality and has enabled pupils to make very good progress, which is seen in the above average standards. The care, support and guidance children receive are good. Procedures for health and safety are satisfactory, with a couple of aspects needing attention. Outstanding links with other schools and health professionals make a significant difference to the well-being of pupils, especially those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. For example, the close partnership with the Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre provides

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Grade: 2

well for those with profound and complex needs, through hydrotherapy, and advice on communication for those who have little language. The partnership with parents is no longer an issue. Parents say they appreciate being involved in their child's learning. Led by a visionary headteacher, the school is reaping the benefits of a restructured management team. The team know what the school does well and what needs to be done to raise the already high standards. Their careful tracking of children's progress 2 Inspection Report: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006 has ensured gaps in learning have been successfully remedied. They are accurate in their assessment of the school's performance and united in their commitment to the advanced plans to become a centre for children's services. Under their leadership, alongside staff enthusiasm, the school is well placed to continue to improve at a good rate.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure the work provided for higher attaining pupils really makes them think. • Work with families to improve children's attendance so they do not have gaps in their learning.

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Grade: 2

Children make a good start in the Nursery and Reception and achieve well. Standards are broadly average by the end of Year 2 and above average by Year 6. Children's good achievement continues to improve because teachers carefully analyse weaker areas, for example, in writing or problem solving, and put special programmes in place. As a result, punctuation has improved. Similarly, drama and role play have gained the interest of boys and are improving their writing. This is an area the school is continuing to work on. There are still differences in the standards reached by boys and girls, especially by Year 2, but this is partly attributable to learning difficulties. Children who have a gift or talent achieve especially well in sport and music. However, managers have identified the need to make better provision for the academically gifted. Achievement in information and communication technology (ICT) is very good because

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Grade: 2

of the way the subject is led and its use in other subjects. Work with the nearby secondary school contributes considerably to the exciting developments. Children's success in English, mathematics, and ICT gives them a good start to their secondary school career.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Children's behaviour has improved since the last inspection and is now good. Despite an increase in the number of children with social, emotional and behavioural needs, some of whom have transferred from other schools, there have been no exclusions for a couple of years. Children are proud to share their achievements. For example, singing as a member of a choir before an audience of 600 in Leeds Town Hall, or treating their parents to a graphics presentation of the school residential visit to Buckden and a live performance of Egyptian mummification, and Tudor dancing. They are equally proud of their charity collections and work for the community. This is especially so for the leaflets they produced in their English lessons for the local church. Children know it is important to be punctual and have good attendance, but

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Grade: 2

do not always have family backing. 3 Inspection Report: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Good teaching is having a positive effect on children's achievements throughout the school. Teachers plan their lessons conscientiously, being clear about what each child will learn in each lesson. This is especially effective in helping children check the knowledge and skills they have acquired in each lesson. Work is matched well to children's individual needs to aid their progress. Tasks are set for children of differing abilities. This contributes well to the progress of most children. However, sometimes, higher attaining children are only provided with more examples of similar work, rather than more difficult work that will really make them think. Skilled classroom assistants and the learning mentor provide very good support to those who find learning difficult. Children learn at an exceptional rate in Year 6. This is because teaching is imaginative, inspiring and challenging to each individual.

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Grade: 2

Staff have worked hard to make the curriculum interesting and meaningful. The grouping together of subjects such as history, geography and religious education through topic work allows children to make links between these different areas of learning. French has been introduced, though this is at an early stage and some teachers lack confidence in teaching the language. The good programme for personal, health, social and citizenship education alongside a range of physical education activities helps children stay safe and contributes well to their health and emotional well-being. Equally, a residential weekend for Year 6 and Year 5 children makes a tremendous contribution to their personal development. The focus on literacy, mathematics and science is paying dividends in the standards children achieve. The provision for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good. That for those who are gifted and

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Grade: 2

Staff know their children well and provide very good support and guidance. Remarkable reflection at the end of each piece of work enables children to check their 'steps to success' and know how well they have achieved. The work of the learning mentor, and the inclusion and well-being coordinator is outstanding. It is instrumental in enabling all children, including those with behavioural needs and those who have troubles in their personal lives, to take advantage of all the school offers. Very good links with the local secondary school prepare children well for their transfer to Year 7. Child protection and health and safety procedures are in place and known to staff. Regular health and safety checks are undertaken. 4 Inspection Report: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management lie behind much of the success achieved by the school. The innovative headteacher, deputy and senior leaders, albeit new to their posts, are all fired with fresh enthusiasm. They have analysed exactly where standards were too low. Help has been targeted at these areas and standards have risen, particularly in Years 1 and 2. The quality of teaching is monitored carefully so the already above average standards of the children are improving further. The initiative for teachers from different year groups to work together is helping good practice to be extended. Consequently, standards in many subjects are very much better from those at the last inspection. Governors play an increasingly active role in school life and carry out their role as expected. However, their visits do not always have a set purpose and findings are not routinely fed back. Nevertheless, the managers are aware of this and are working with

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Grade: 2

the governing body to extend their monitoring of the school's effectiveness. With the strong emphasis on children's personal development, the school councillors accept leadership roles themselves. Children's views, along with those of their parents, are now sought and acted upon. This is giving all concerned a growing strength in the drive for improvement and contributing to the good capacity to continue to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006 .

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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: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006

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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 quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 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: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006

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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: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Mrs Murphy, Mr Nettleship and I enjoyed visiting your school. Thank you for helping us with our work and talking to us. We were impressed by how polite, thoughtful and mature you are. Your school is giving you a good education and some things are especially pleasing. Here are the main ones. • You achieve very well in English, maths, science and ICT. • Your behaviour is good and you tell us you feel safe because of the red and yellow buddies, and the peer mediation scheme. • Links with the SILC and the secondary school make an enormous contribution to your progress, especially for those who learn more slowly. • Those of you who have personal problems and those of you who have medical needs receive very good support. • Your headteacher and managers know exactly what needs to be done to make your school even more successful. Here are the things we have asked your teachers to do to help your school become better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Your teachers are good at planning different work for different pupils, but the work for those of you who learn more quickly sometimes needs to be more difficult to make you think more deeply. • You know your attendance is important, but the absence of many of you means you have missed important work. We enjoyed our short time with you and wish you well for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Lawns Park Primary School, 18 °19 October 2006

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