Whetley Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the effectiveness of leadership, management and governance by ensuring that:
  • the checks on the quality of teaching and learning result in consistently strong teaching in all year groups
  • the design and delivery of the curriculum helps pupils to acquire greater knowledge, skills and understanding in art, music, DT and RE
  • leaders check that pupils acquire knowledge progressively in all subjects
  • the AAB includes more members who are not employed by the school or the trust, and fewer who are.
• Raise attainment further in all key stages by:
  • ensuring that teachers challenge the most able pupils, including those with mid prior attainment, consistently well in a wide range of subjects
  • ensuring that, where teaching is weaker, teachers make more precise use of assessment information to strengthen pupils’ engagement and accelerate their learning
  • making sure that when children in the early years play and explore independently, more consistently strong demands are made on them, and that adults intervene to enhance children’s learning more effectively.
• Further improve pupils’ preparation for life in modern Britain by:
  • developing their knowledge of major world faiths
  • helping them to understand more about gender differences and stereotyping.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders have established an ambitious culture. They uphold high expectations of themselves and others. As a result, conscientious, dedicated teachers and other adults give pupils their best efforts. Pupils feel safe and develop very positive attitudes to learning. The school is continuously improving.
• Leaders track the progress of each pupil meticulously. They check, every week, that teachers are meeting the needs of pupils who need help to reach the standards of which they should be capable. Leaders check the quality of teaching often. As a result, teaching has improved since the last inspection and attainment is rising. There remains some small variability in the quality of teaching, especially in key stage 1.
• Senior leaders, and leaders in the Delta Academy Trust, identify teachers with potential to lead. This helps them to free up time for experienced leaders to support other schools in and beyond the trust. Senior leaders support middle leaders, some of whom have limited previous leadership experience, so that they become increasingly effective.
• Leaders make effective use of the pupil premium funding. They keep a close eye on the progress of each pupil. Disadvantaged pupils are making the same good progress overall as other pupils in the school.
• Most of the pupils who join the school throughout the year are very early in their acquisition of English. Some do not have previous experience of schooling. Leaders assess the pupils when they enter the school. They ensure that teachers help them to begin to read and write English and join in with other pupils as soon as possible. Consequently, these pupils make good progress.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) ensures that the needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are properly diagnosed and that sharp learning targets are set. The pupils largely receive effective support for their learning and make good progress.
• Leaders have taken effective steps to improve reading in key stage 2, where progress over time has been weak. They have ensured that teachers are trained well. They have invested heavily in new, high-quality books. They have introduced a range of strategies that have successfully helped pupils to become more enthusiastic about, and interested in, reading. Pupils’ progress is improving rapidly.
• Pupils value opportunities to take part in many enrichment activities. For example, they enjoy debating competitions with other schools. A large number of educational visits, such as theatre trips, and visits to The Deep and Yorkshire Wildlife Park, stimulate pupils’ learning and give them experiences they may not otherwise have. Physical education (PE) and sport premium funding is used to good effect. All pupils benefit from quality PE and many take part in sporting activities, including inter-school tournaments, throughout the year.
• Leaders have not ensured that pupils do enough art, music, DT and RE. Therefore, pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills in these subjects do not develop incrementally over time.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. They help pupils, from a range of backgrounds, to develop positive attitudes to each other’s differences and to live in harmony. Adults help pupils to become responsible citizens. However, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths and about gender are not as well developed as they might be. This is because leaders do not systematically plan opportunities for pupils to learn about diversity in modern Britain.

Governance of the school

• The trust directors hold senior leaders stringently to account for the progress pupils make, especially in Year 2 and in Year 6. They make sure trust leaders keep a close eye on the work of the school.
• The chair of the AAB also challenges leaders, for example in standards meetings, where the achievement of groups of pupils, including the disadvantaged, is scrutinised. However, the majority of AAB members are employed by the trust and the school. This dilutes accountability as leaders answer to themselves rather than individuals not directly involved in running the school.
• Members of the AAB fulfil the statutory duties required of them, including checking that safeguarding and child protection arrangements are fit for purpose.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders follow safer recruitment guidelines, making sure the required checks are carried out on adults who work in the school. An accurate and up-to-date record is kept of these checks.
• The designated safeguarding lead is meticulous in making sure an accurate record is kept regarding all concerns, big and small, about the safety and welfare of pupils. Adults across the school know their duties because they are trained, including in how to spot signs of radicalisation. They know to whom they should report concerns and how. They take action, following the agreed procedures.
• The school building and site is secure from intruders. Leaders take steps to assess and minimise all sorts of risk. Regular checks, for example on fire equipment, are all in order.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Most teachers uphold high expectations of pupils’ learning and behaviour. They assess accurately what pupils know and can do. They use this information to plan work that helps pupils to deepen and further their knowledge, understanding and skills.
• Most teachers check pupils’ learning during lessons. Often, where pupils have not fully understood their work, they arrange, the same day, extra tuition to help the pupils to catch up.
• Occasionally, and especially in key stage 1, teachers do not give the most able pupils work that is challenging enough early in a lesson. Instead, they ask these pupils to practise easier work. Sometimes, the work can be too hard for some pupils.
• The teaching of early reading is effective. The teaching of reading in key stage 2 has improved considerably. Teachers ask probing questions to help pupils think more carefully about what they read. They help pupils to form and justify opinions. Because teachers are using appealing texts and pupils have access to quality books, as well as electronic reading devices, pupils are much more enthusiastic about reading than they were. Pupils’ progress is improving rapidly.
• Teachers help pupils to understand mathematical concepts. They ask questions that require pupils to reason and explain their thinking. They give pupils many opportunities to practise solving challenging mathematical problems. As a result, progress in mathematics is good.
• Pupils, including those who are new to English, develop their English speaking skills because teachers help them to learn the most important vocabulary and demonstrate to them how to speak clearly. Teachers display helpful resources around the classroom to jog pupils’ memory as they work. Those pupils who speak very little English follow a taught programme that helps them to learn quickly.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and respectful. Teachers help pupils to develop very positive attitudes to their learning. Pupils work hard, respond well to teachers’ feedback, do not waste time and complete their tasks. Pupils enjoy their lessons.
• Adults, including the lunch staff, demonstrate the manners they want pupils to exhibit. They expect the best, so pupils are friendly, polite and welcoming to visitors. They say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. They hold doors open for each other and for adults.
• Pupils learn about how to stay safe, including how to be as safe as possible online. They play together safely. Pupils told inspectors that, occasionally, bullying happens, but that adults are effective at dealing with bullying. Pupils have adults they trust to confide in, if they have any worries.
• Adults and pupils welcome new pupils, who settle and integrate quickly. Pupils of a diverse ethnic mix make friends and get on exceptionally well together. They respect each other’s opinions and listen to each other. Adults teach the important values of respect and tolerance. However, pupils do not learn enough about diverse groups to develop depth of understanding of the different ways people live in modern Britain.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils conduct themselves sensibly around the school building and grounds. They do not have to be reminded often how to behave. They respond quickly to adults’ instructions.
• Because teachers largely challenge pupils well, and lessons are interesting, behaviour in most lessons is exemplary. Occasionally, work is less well matched to pupils’ needs, and younger pupils in particular become less engaged and begin to behave less well.
• Adults address isolated incidents of poor behaviour quickly. Leaders keep a record, so they can spot patterns or trends of less than satisfactory behaviour in individual pupils.
• Attendance over time has been in line with, or above, the national average. This is because leaders monitor the attendance of individuals carefully and take action if attendance drops below an acceptable level. Leaders build positive relationships with parents and carers to support them in getting their children to school. A small upturn in the rates of persistent absence is under control. No groups of pupils are disadvantaged by poor attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• An extraordinarily large proportion of pupils either leave or enter the school mid-year. Many pupils leave the school and return some time later. Some of the pupils have had limited previous schooling. Many pupils experience substantial disruption to their education. These factors affect published historical achievement information, so it does not always reflect the good progress most pupils, currently in the school, make from their varied starting points.
• Most pupils each year reach the required standard in phonics by the end of Year 1. Those who do not are usually those who have joined the school late. They have not received previous early reading teaching and do not have sufficient time to catch up. The vast majority of pupils go on to reach the required phonics standard by the end of Year 2.
• Pupils’ progress in reading by the end of key stage 2 over the last two years has been weaker than in writing and in mathematics. Improved teaching and better resources have resulted in rapidly improving reading comprehension.
• Over time, the difference between the progress of disadvantaged pupils in the school and that of other pupils nationally has been variable. Last year, the progress of disadvantaged pupils was not significantly different from other pupils nationally. Currently, in some year groups, the percentage of disadvantaged pupils on track to reach an appropriate age-related standard is greater than the percentage of other pupils. Overall, any difference between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and that of others in the school is diminishing.
• Pupils who attain high standards earlier in their schooling go on to attain as well as the most able pupils nationally. However, teachers do not always challenge the most able pupils as well as they might. Leaders have identified pupils who have the potential to reach higher standards more efficiently than they have in the past and are keeping track of their progress.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress. Those pupils who do not have SEN and/or disabilities, but who have fallen behind, are catching up so they need less additional support.
• The many pupils who are only just beginning to acquire and develop English make good progress in learning to speak English. With effective support, they make good progress in the basic skills of reading and writing. Many of these pupils who enter the school later in key stage 2, despite making good progress from their low starting points, do not reach nationally expected standards.

Early years provision Good

• Most children enter Nursery with skills, knowledge and understanding below those that are typical for children of their age, especially in English language. Overall, they make good progress in their learning. For those children in Reception who do not join later in the year but have negligible English skills, the proportion reaching a good level of development is broadly in line with the national average for all children. This represents good progress and these pupils are well prepared for Year 1.
• Over the last two years, disadvantaged children have outperformed other children in the school. Leaders recognise the need to ensure that the most able children are challenged so that more of them exceed the early learning goals in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The early years leader keeps an accurate track of each child’s progress. Regular assessment of the children helps adults to identify children’s next steps. Teachers tailor their teaching to the needs of each child, contributing to the good progress they make.
• Leaders have successfully increased engagement with parents. Adults make visits to the children’s homes before they begin Nursery to find out about their early development and interests. Once a week, adults invite parents into the classrooms to see what their children are learning and how they are taught. The majority of parents attend.
• Adults teach children to speak in standard English, progressively building their vocabulary. They speak clearly and encourage children to repeat what they say. Adults praise children’s attempts and children applaud each other’s efforts.
• Adults teach phonics effectively. Children make good progress in matching letters to sounds and using their knowledge to help them read and spell words. Reading books are matched well to children’s developing phonics knowledge to help them build fluency and read accurately. Adults help children to write accurately.
• The quality of learning that takes place when children choose activities is variable. At best, children sustain interest, concentrate and challenge themselves. For example, one inspector observed a group of boys working hard with tape and scissors to build using large cardboard boxes. Some activities and resources make lesser demands of the children, so they lose interest quickly. Where adults intervene in children’s play, this usually, but not always, enhances the learning.
• Children behave well. They follow routines and respond quickly to adults’ instructions. Occasionally, where the activities do not stimulate their interest sufficiently, a few children do not play constructively and behave less well.
• The early years welfare requirements are met. Adults look after the children well. They encourage them to eat healthy snacks.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 139046 Bradford 10047609 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy special sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 591 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Head of academy Telephone number Website Email address Steve Allan Rebecca Stansfield 01274 543711 www.whetleyacademy.org.uk info@whetleyacademy.org.uk Date of previous inspection 17–18 June 2014

Information about this school

• Whetley Academy is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• Almost all the pupils are of minority ethnic heritage. The large majority are of Pakistani heritage. Nearly a third are Roma. Almost all the pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is about one-and-a-half times the national average.
• An extraordinarily high proportion of the pupils enter the school at times other than the beginning of a school year. Many pupils leave and then return to the school after going abroad or attending another school.
• Whetley Academy is in the Delta Academies Trust. The academy advisory board is responsible for scrutinising the work of the senior leadership team. Members of the board are appointed by the trust. The board of directors is another layer of governance that holds leaders to account for the overall effectiveness of the school.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum standards of achievement set by the Department for Education (DfE). The school meets the DfE’s definition of a coasting school based on key stage 2 academic performance in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed parts of lessons, in almost all classes, to see how well pupils learn. A number of leaders joined inspectors as they visited classrooms and as they looked in pupils’ workbooks.
• Inspectors chatted with children informally. They met with groups of pupils to ask them what it is like to be a pupil at the school. Inspectors took account of the responses of 56 pupils to the online pupil survey. They observed pupils as they played and socialised.
• Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders to find out what they have done to improve the school and the difference this has made. The responses of 57 members of staff to the staff survey were considered.
• The lead inspector met with the chair of the AAB and a representative of Delta Academies Trust.
• A number of documents were scrutinised, including the school’s self-evaluation document, school improvement plans and leaders’ monitoring notes. Minutes of AAB meetings were examined. Inspectors looked at information about the achievement of pupils currently in the school. Documents relating to safeguarding and child protection were examined.
• Inspectors chatted with a number of parents, took account of 17 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and considered seven written responses from parents.

Inspection team

Philip Riozzi, lead inspector Linda Collier Andy Taylor Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector