Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Inspection report

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107989 Unique Reference Number Leeds Local Authority 324682 Inspection number 10 December 2008 Inspection date Judy Jones 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 Voluntary controlled School category 5–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 102 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 Mrs Janet Gregson Chair Mr Rupert Madeley Headteacher 28 November 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Harrogate Road School address Harewood Leeds West Yorkshire LS17 9LH 0113 288 6394 Telephone number

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5–11 Age group 10 December 2008 Inspection date 324682 Inspection number 0113 288 6758 Fax number

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5–11 Age group 10 December 2008 Inspection date 324682 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. 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. They evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: achievement and standards, the quality of teaching and learning and provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Evidence was drawn from discussions with pupils, parents, teachers and teaching assistants, members of the governing body and the headteacher. Lessons in all four classes were visited and inspectors looked at the school's documentation. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but 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 situated in the village of Harewood, but drawing its pupils from a much wider area including parts of Leeds. It is a diverse community: most pupils are White British and around 25% come from a number of Asian or African minority ethnic backgrounds. There are no pupils at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average and the proportion of pupils eligible for a free school meal is below average. There has been a change of leadership since the previous inspection. The new headteacher took up post in January 2008. The school has National Healthy Schools Award status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. Parents speak highly of it and of the way that it helps their children to grow into responsible young people. Pupils are fully prepared to move on to the next phase of their education with confidence and with the necessary skills to do well. Parents comment on the family atmosphere and the good communication with the school. Pupils too are rightly proud of their school and appreciative of the opportunities it gives them. Achievement is outstanding. By the end of Year 6 standards are exceptionally high from broadly average levels of attainment when they start in the EYFS. Pupils' progress over the two years in Key Stage 1 is good and by the end of Year 2, standards are above average. Pupils in all years are encouraged to share ideas and help each other and this enables them to really enjoy their learning. While pupils in Key Stage 1 are well taught and make good progress, they occasionally

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Grade: 1

spend too long doing tasks they can already manage with ease. Progress accelerates in Key Stage 2 where excellent teaching leads to consistently outstanding achievement. Standards at the end of Year 6 have been very high for at least the past four years in all subjects. The school sets ambitious targets based on pupils' prior attainment and regularly meets or exceeds them. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are very well supported, ensuring they make progress at the same high rate as their peers. Homework in Key Stage 2 plays an exceptionally important part in developing independence that will stand pupils in good stead in the future. As part of this, pupils prepare a piece of work each week based on a newspaper article of their choice. The quality of this writing is very high. The limitations of the building mean that the computer suite, which is quite small, has to be used as a multi-purpose teaching space and this restricts pupils' access to computers. As a

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Grade: 1

result, pupils do not use computers in subjects across the curriculum as much as expected. They do, however, learn skills of word-processing, research and data handling in their information and communication technology (ICT) lessons. The good curriculum is enriched significantly by numerous clubs and sporting activities, as well as a number of residential visits. For example, there are separate residential trips for Years 5 and 6 and a new one night trip planned for Years 3 and 4. Good links with the Harewood Estate provide additional opportunities for pupils to learn in settings other than the classroom. The pupils benefit from the good links with the local parish and the frequent and appreciated visits of the Vicar. Children learn about the wider community and reinforce this excellent knowledge through charity fundraising for national and international charities. Music plays an important part in the life of the school and is well supported by external teachers, both for class lessons

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Grade: 1

and individual instrumental tuition. In the school production pupils sang tunefully and with great enthusiasm. Pupils receive excellent pastoral support and guidance so that they thrive as learners. Their personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. Academic guidance is good and pupils know how well they are doing and what to do to improve their work. Safeguarding procedures meet the latest government requirements. Behaviour is excellent and parents say that older siblings who left the school to go to large secondary schools are confident and settle in quickly, even when they do not know any of the other pupils. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 2008 Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to live healthily and stay safe. They love coming to school because it feels like a happy family and they contribute fully to the local community

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Grade: 1

by, for example, singing in local events. They say they really enjoy learning because the teachers make the lessons fun. A class of Key Stage 2 pupils rounded off a lesson on adverbs by playing a game in which one child had to mime an action and the rest had to guess the adverb portrayed. Their enjoyment and shared learning was a pleasure to see. A strength of teaching in all years is the close planning and collaboration between teachers and the very skilled teaching assistants. The excellent leadership and management have a clear idea of how the school should develop. The headteacher's vision for the school is shared and embraced by all involved with the school and the capacity to improve still further is good. Recent changes in staffing and leadership, including changes within the governing body, have been managed very well and a number of parents commented that they felt they had been kept very well informed throughout the

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Grade: 1

The quality of provision and the outcomes for children are outstanding. Children get off to a flying start in this rich environment because excellent planning focuses on developing key skills. There is a particularly strong emphasis on developing language skills so that children and teachers communicate really well. Activities are chosen to capture children's imagination and enable them to initiate further learning, so that they grow in confidence and self-esteem and relate extremely well to each other. For example, children learn about shape and number through Christmas cake decoration and extend communication skills by playing in Santa's Grotto with their teachers. Excellent relationships flourish, between children and adults and increasingly between children. Behaviour, therefore, is very good. Excellent assessment systems enable teaching and support staff to make children's transition from the many different Nursery

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Grade: 1

settings as seamless as possible. By the time children move into Year 1, they have made excellent progress in all the areas of learning. Links with parents are very strong and children also benefit from the family atmosphere throughout the school, in which older children automatically look after and help the younger ones. Management of the EYFS is outstanding, with excellent communication between the staff, so that children are at all times productively busy and assessment is accurate but unobtrusive.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Share the excellent practice among teachers so that all teaching becomes as good as the best. ■ Increase opportunities for children to use computers across the curriculum. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 2008 .

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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: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 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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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? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

1 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 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: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 2008

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 1 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 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: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you all for making my colleague and me so welcome when we came to inspect your school. Please thank your parents for writing to us, and for taking time out of a busy day to talk to us. Thank you also for helping us find our way around and for showing us your work. You are part of an outstanding school and you are right to be proud of it. You make excellent progress in most of your lessons and reach standards that are much higher than those in most other schools because you enjoy working hard and the teaching you receive is excellent. Some of the writing in Years 5 and 6 is very good indeed. In a small number of lessons we think the work you are given can sometimes be a bit too easy. You know how to do better because teachers clearly explain just what you need to do to improve. We could see how much you enjoy learning and finding things out, and you told us how much you like coming to school. Your school building is quite small and some times seems very busy,

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

but you are sensible and move about safely, particularly on the stairs so accidents are rare. You take very good care of each other and older ones look after the little ones without being told to. There is always something that even outstanding schools can do to be better and we are asking the school to do two things to improve:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure all the teaching you receive is as good as the very best.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Find more opportunities for you to use computers in many different subjects.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

With very best wishes for the future 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 10 December 2008

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