Kerr Mackie Primary School

Kerr Mackie Primary School Inspection report

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107910 Unique Reference Number Leeds Local Authority 309533 Inspection number 16 °17 January 2008 Inspection dates Robert Robinson 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 474 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Fiona Gilbank Chair Mr A Farley Headteacher 26 April 2004 Date of previous school inspection Gledhow Lane School address Leeds West Yorkshire LS8 1NE 0113 2930141 Telephone number 0113 2930141 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 16 °17 January 2008 Inspection dates 309533 Inspection number .

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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

This is a large primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11. An increasing proportion of pupils attending the school are from backgrounds other than White British: about half of the pupils are White British and half are from Asian or Asian British backgrounds. A high proportion of pupils are learning English as an additional language. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. However, the school caters for the needs of a small number of pupils with complex physical needs. The school has gained the local authority's Healthy School and the Stephen Lawrence awards. Since the last inspection there have been significant changes of senior leadership including the headteacher and deputy headteacher. The headteacher took up his appointment in September 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school. The headteacher and deputy headteacher, assisted by governors, are providing effective leadership and steering the school towards the next phase of development. The management of the school is satisfactory. Team leaders' and curriculum coordinators' roles in relation to monitoring pupils' learning and checking standards in their areas of responsibilities are insufficiently developed. Achievement from entry to the Nursery to the end of Year 6 is satisfactory. Standards of the present group of pupils in Year 6 are broadly average. Children do not make good enough progress in the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception). However, pupils' progress speeds up from entry to Year 1. Overall pupils make good progress from Years 1 to 6. The quality of teaching and learning ranges from satisfactory to outstanding in Years 1 to 6 and much of the teaching is good. Relationships are harmonious between pupils and between

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Grade: 3

pupils and staff. Teachers manage behaviour well in the classroom though a few pupils find maintaining high standards of behaviour difficult at lunchtimes and playtimes. A calm working environment is apparent in older year groups. These pupils enjoy discussing their work with partners and expressing their views in whole-class discussions. This assists their good pace of learning. Racial harmony is particularly impressive and pervades the school. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are fully included in all aspects of school life. Those with profound disabilities flourish in the caring and supportive atmosphere because of the help they receive from adults and other children. In turn, they add much to the life of the school. The pace of change has been brisk during the past year. Teachers are becoming increasingly more accountable for the progress of pupils in their classes. The recent development of a

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Grade: 3

computerised system to track pupils' progress is helping the staff to set challenging targets for pupils in each year group and for teachers and the leadership to check accurately the progress of all groups of pupils. Parents' views of the school are mixed. Most parents are highly supportive of the school, although a few have concerns. The leadership has an accurate grasp of the strengths of the school and what it must do to improve. It is too soon to assess the impact of the many well founded and necessary initiatives already put in place to improve the school.

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Grade: 4

Provision in the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) is inadequate. Children have a poor start to their schooling because the teaching is not good enough to stimulate and interest children sufficiently to move their learning on at a fast enough pace. Children join the school with a wide range of skills which are overall about average. Limited attention is given to planning for their diverse needs or accurately recording and checking their progress. As a result, children do not achieve as well as they should. Standards in Reception are overall below expectations, particularly in some aspects of personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, and mathematical development. Over several years, by the end of Reception there have been marked differences in the progress and standards of children coming from similar starting points. There is a lack of purpose in activities that are not directly led by

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Grade: 4

teachers or teaching assistants. The pace of learning is too slow and there is too much wasted 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008 time. Outdoor activities are not used sufficiently to initiate, consolidate, enrich or extend learning. Behavioural strategies are insecure, resulting in children flitting from activity to activity, on occasions running around the classroom and climbing on furniture and not being actively involved in learning. Shortly after taking up his appointment, the headteacher identified the weaknesses in the Foundation Stage and has taken steps to improve provision. The headteacher, fully supported by the governing body, has put in place an action plan to improve the provision. A new electronic system to track children's progress has been developed and recently implemented and is beginning to provide more worthwhile data to replace the previous uninformative systems. The

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Grade: 4

actions taken by the headteacher and governors provide a platform for improvement. However, much remains to be done to provide an acceptable standard of education for children in this part of the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop the leadership and management roles of team leaders and curriculum coordinators.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Although standards and progress in the Foundation Stage are inadequate, overall, achievement is satisfactory throughout the school. Pupils' progress picks up in Year 1 and Year 2. Weaknesses apparent on entry to Year 1 are tackled. By the end of Year 2 pupils reach standards that are broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. In Years 3 to 6 pupils continue to make good progress, particularly in English. Over time, there has been some fluctuation in standards between average and above average according to the different cohorts. Standards in 2007 improved and targets set at the end of Year 6 were exceeded. Standards of the present group of pupils in Year 6 were below average at the end of Year 2. They have made good progress in Years 3 to 6 and standards are now broadly average.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development and well-being, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are satisfactory overall. In Years 1 to 6 pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, are fully involved in the life of the school. Pupils enjoy school and most attend regularly. They have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They enthusiastically take part in 'wake up and shake up' sessions and participate in after-school sporting clubs. Pupils feel safe at school and bullying is not an issue. They consider they are looked after well by staff and are confident to approach them if they have any concerns. One pupil spoke for many with the words, 'When a problem arises it always gets sorted out.' Pupils show care and consideration for each other, especially for those with physical difficulties. Behaviour is satisfactory overall. The majority of pupils behave well, however, a few pupils do

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Grade: 3

not behave well enough in less supervised situations around the school. Older pupils have good 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008 attitudes to work and have a sound grasp of basic skills. This prepares them well for future learning.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning overall is satisfactory. Teaching improves as pupils move through the school. The teaching of pupils in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory and often good. Teachers share with pupils what they are to learn and clearly identify steps to help pupils to succeed. Discussion is encouraged but occasionally questioning is directed mainly to those who indicate they know the answer. In most lessons the pace of learning is brisk although, in some, pupils spend too much time listening rather than being actively involved in learning. Teachers manage pupils' behaviour well and older pupils' attitudes to learning are good. Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to pupils' learning, particularly for lower-ability pupils, those learning English as an additional language and pupils with physical disabilities. Interactive whiteboards assist teachers to make new learning more understandable as well as consolidating

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Grade: 3

The curriculum meets the needs of pupils satisfactorily. A strong emphasis upon English and mathematics enables pupils to have a sound grasp of basic skills. In Years 1 and 2, gaps in pupils' prior learning are remedied. In Years 3 to 6 the curriculum successfully enables most pupils, including those learning English as an additional language, to reach at least national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. The curriculum is enriched and broadened by activity weeks, such as the Asian Heritage Week, visits and visitors and a range of out-of-school visits. This assists pupils' personal development. The linking of subjects together in order to make learning more relevant and exciting is at an early stage of development. Spanish lessons are available after school.

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Grade: 3

Child safeguarding procedures are in place. Health and safety and risk assessment procedures promote a safe environment. Parents and pupils agree that children are looked after well. Inclusion of all pupils is strong so that pupils feel valued and happy. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are identified early and carefully planned support is provided by a dedicated team of teaching assistants. Those pupils learning English as an additional language are increasingly being provided with additional help. Recent improvements in the checking of their progress are helping staff to focus more closely on the support these pupils need. Pupils are encouraged to analyse their conduct and take appropriate actions to make amends. Vulnerable pupils and pupils with challenging behaviour are supported well. The marking of pupils' work in Years 1 to 6 is thorough and consistent. It clearly tells pupils

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Grade: 3

how well they have done and what they must do to continue to improve. Pupils are set curricular targets which they know and understand. The long-term monitoring of their progress in relation to levels of the National Curriculum is only recent and not yet shared fully with pupils and parents. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008

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Grade: 3

The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors have a clear view of what the school needs to do to improve. Much has been done during the past year to improve management and provision for pupils. High priority has been the professional development and accountability of all staff. A comprehensive electronic database of pupils' standards has been established. This is increasingly being used to check the performance of individual pupils and groups of pupils. The school is now able to assess the progress of pupils, for example according to class group, gender and ethnic background. Targets are now set for pupils in reading, writing and mathematics in all year groups from Years 1 to 6. A revised management structure has been established this academic year to involve all staff in the management of the school. Team leaders and curriculum coordinators have been challenged to lead other members of staff and take increased responsibility for pupils' learning and

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Grade: 3

standards. Many of these members of the senior staff are new to their roles. They have not fully developed their skills in monitoring pupils' learning and academic progress in order to fulfil their duties. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 4 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 3 The behaviour of learners 3 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?

3 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008

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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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming the team of inspectors to your school and being so polite and friendly. We enjoyed our visit and we want to share with you what we thought about your school. Your school provides you with a satisfactory education. Standards by the end of Year 6 are about average. We realise that most of you enjoy school and you appreciate the teaching and help you receive. You told us that you feel safe in school and you have someone to talk to if you have any concerns. We know that you are proud of your school and all get on well together. We were impressed by older pupils' behaviour when working with staff, although a few of you need to be better behaved when not directly supervised. You have a good understanding of how to keep healthy and we were pleased that you feel safe in school. We have asked your school to improve the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception). To do this, the quality of teaching and management of the Foundation Stage has to be better. In

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

addition, we want the school to help staff team leaders and curriculum coordinators to develop their leadership and management roles. We appreciated talking to you about your work and watching you learn. We wish you well for the future. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Kerr Mackie Primary School, 16 °17 January 2008

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