Worthinghead Primary School

Worthinghead Primary School Inspection report

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107246 Unique Reference Number Bradford Local Authority 324555 Inspection number 30 January 2009 Inspection date Julie Price Grimshaw Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 5–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 166 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Jim Tate Chair Mrs P Allison Headteacher 17 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Wyke Lane School address Wyke Bradford West Yorkshire BD12 9EL 01274 414904 Telephone number 01274 414904 Fax number

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5–11 Age group 30 January 2009 Inspection date 324555 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. 2 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the rate of pupils' current progress across the school; the extent to which instability in staffing has affected the school's work; and the accuracy of the school's self-evaluation. Evidence was gathered from: national published assessment data and the school's own records; scrutiny of pupils' work, a range of school documentation and parents' questionnaires; observations of the school at work; and discussions with staff, pupils and members of the governing body. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average school serving a mixed area that includes some social and economic disadvantage. The great majority of pupils are of White British heritage, and the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well below the national average. Very few pupils speak a home language other than English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly in line with average. There is Early Years Foundation Stage provision in the Reception class. The school holds the Activemark and Healthy Schools awards. Since the last inspection, the school has been affected by significant instability in staffing.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009

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Grade: 3

Worthinghead is a friendly and welcoming school that provides a satisfactory education for its pupils. There are some significant strengths in the school's work, notably the high quality pastoral care that effectively supports pupils' good personal development. Instability in staffing, due to a combination of long-term absence and staff turnover, has impaired the school's efforts to build on its previous successes. Nevertheless, the school has taken steps to bring about improvement since the last inspection, having addressed most of the issues raised. The majority of parents are supportive of the school, with typical comments including, 'The school is a very happy place to be', and 'my child loves school'. In particular, the school's success in meeting the personal needs of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities was praised by the parents of those pupils. A significant minority of parents, however, expressed concerns relating

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Grade: 3

to the disruption in staffing, and in particular to the lack of continuity in teaching for some pupils. Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage but pupils' progress across Key Stages 1 and 2 is more inconsistent. However, achievement is satisfactory overall, and by the end of Year 6 standards are in line with the national average. The school has responded very well to the issue raised at the last inspection concerning pupils' standards and achievement in writing. A clear focus on this area has led to a sharp and substantial improvement in the quality of pupils' writing, and standards in writing are now above average at the end of both key stages. Standards in science are broadly average. Standards and achievement in mathematics dipped in 2008, and the proportion of pupils reaching the nationally expected level at the end of Key Stage 2 was below average. Although the school has taken action to address weaknesses

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Grade: 3

in mathematics, it is too early to judge the impact of this work. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities progress at a similar rate to their classmates. Although teaching is satisfactory overall, the inconsistency in the rate of pupils' progress across the school is a reflection of some variability in the quality of teaching and learning. Good relationships between teachers and pupils are a strong feature of all lessons, and teachers use information and communication technology well to support learning. In the best lessons, teaching is lively, there are a variety of practical activities and pupils make good progress. Pupils appreciate the good quality support provided by staff. They say that this helps them to feel safe and secure in school. Good quality guidance on internet safety means that pupils are aware of how to stay safe online. Current safeguarding requirements are met. Although pastoral care

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Grade: 3

is very good, academic guidance is no better than satisfactory. The issue related to the quality of teachers' marking, identified during the last inspection, has been addressed to some extent, with most teachers giving good, clear written guidance to pupils. However, in a few classes, marking is too critical and does not encourage pupils and in a minority of cases, pupils are not given sufficient information on how to improve. There are established systems for tracking pupils' progress. Pupils are fully aware of their targets in literacy and know exactly what they need to do to improve, but this is not always the case in mathematics. The school works well in partnership with outside agencies to support pupils with particular needs, including those in public care. A successful programme of personal, social and health education leads to pupils having a good awareness of how to lead a healthy lifestyle. They are

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Grade: 3

proud that their school has received the Healthy Schools Award, and even very young pupils are eager to talk about the importance of 'five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables every day'. Pupils enjoy school and are keen to learn. They behave well, and are polite and courteous. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009 Pupils enjoy supporting the school community: they say 'our school council really get things done!' and they are proud of their fundraising efforts within the local community. They respond well to the school's good system of rewards and sanctions. Pupils are adequately prepared for the next stage in their education. Pupils' social, moral and spiritual development is good overall. The school's promotion of community cohesion is satisfactory overall. School leaders are aware that there is scope for more work in promoting pupils' understanding of faiths and cultures

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Grade: 3

other than their own, and they are beginning to address this. The curriculum is good. An emerging strength is the development of links across subjects, which is supporting pupils' enjoyment of their learning. There are carefully planned opportunities for pupils to practise writing skills across the curriculum, which have contributed to their recent success in this area. There is a good range of enrichment activities, including a residential trip in Year 5 described by pupils as 'absolutely brilliant', so much so that younger pupils look forward to their turn with much excitement. The school has also worked well with businesses in order to development aspects of the curriculum; for example, successful work on reading has been promoted by a local utilities company. The headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team are very committed to the school. Leadership and management are satisfactory because disruptions in staffing have

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Grade: 3

presented considerable challenges and pupils have not made consistently good progress. The school has a very accurate overview of its strengths and weaknesses but has had limited success in tackling areas for improvement. Governors are keen to support the school and enjoy their links with classes. Nevertheless, the governing body is not sufficiently involved in evaluating the quality of the school's work, which slows progress in addressing identified issues. The school is now working hard to restore stability to staffing, and has satisfactory capacity for further improvement.

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Grade: 2

Children's skill levels on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage vary from year to year, but are broadly in line with typical expectations for their age. Most make good progress, particularly in terms of their personal development. Parents typically describe the Early Years Foundation Stage as 'a lovely environment' and praise the efforts of staff that lead to children making good progress. Staff are responsive to the needs of particular groups of children; for example, in this year's class there are many more boys than girls, and activities have been carefully selected in order to inspire and motivate boys, whilst successfully promoting the development of personal and social skills. Boys and girls alike enjoyed putting on 'spacesuits' so that they could embark on adventures, supported sensitively and skilfully by staff. Others, led capably by an adult, were keen to find out about weighing objects through practical activities. Children

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Grade: 2

are happy and work well together. Staff carry out detailed regular observations of children so that they can accurately assess progress across the year. This enables staff to intervene with tailored support where children are not making the expected progress. By the end of the EYFS, children have met the targets set for them and their skills are in line with, or above, typical expectations. The Early Years Foundation Stage classroom is a pleasant and stimulating environment, but outdoor space is limited and there are insufficient resources to enable staff and children to make the most of outdoor learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve achievement and standards in mathematics. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009 ■ Increase the involvement of the governing body in evaluating the school's work.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop the outdoor area in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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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. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009

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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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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? 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009

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learners?

2 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 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know, I visited your school recently together with another inspector so that we could find out how well you are doing. I would like to thank you for making us feel so welcome and for sharing your views with us. I would also like to share our main findings with you. Worthinghead is a satisfactory school with some good features. One of these is the way in which the staff care for you, which we know you appreciate. You enjoy learning about lots of different topics in your lessons, and also the clubs and activities outside normal school hours. Year 6 pupils told me that they had a brilliant time when they went on the residential trip in Year 5, and I could see that many of you in Years 1 to 5 are really looking forward to it! You know lots about the importance of healthy eating and exercise, and I was impressed that you know about how to stay safe when you use the internet and email. We must congratulate you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

on your singing in assembly, which was wonderful. You make satisfactory progress during your time at Worthinghead. It's great that you do well with your writing. We know that the staff put lots of work into helping you become really good writers, and this certainly pays off because your standards in writing are above average. However, things aren't quite as good in mathematics, and so we've asked the school to think about how this can be improved. You can help here, of course, by trying extra hard in mathematics lessons. The children in Reception get off to a really good start and make good progress. They have a lovely classroom and the staff support them really well, but we think that the outdoor area for Reception children could be made even better. We know that your headteacher and all the staff are keen for every one of you to do really well at Worthinghead. They know the school very well and have lots of good ideas to move things

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

forward. We've suggested that the governors help them with this by looking closely together at what the school does well and what can be improved. We are pleased that so many of you are proud to be pupils at Worthinghead, and we wish you every success in the future. 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Worthinghead Primary School, 30 January 2009

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