Boothroyd Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the quality of teaching so that more pupils reach or exceed the expected standard in reading and writing by:
  • teaching pupils to investigate and understand better the words they are reading
  • developing a consistent approach to the teaching of handwriting
  • ensuring that all staff have consistently high expectations, especially of the most able pupils
  • helping pupils to understand how they learn, so that they become more independent and fully engaged in all of their lessons.
• Continue to work closely with families to improve attendance and reduce the number of pupils who are persistently absent from school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since the previous inspection, the principal has worked closely with governors and members of the trust to strengthen and improve the leadership of the school. They have reviewed the leadership structure and appointed a vice-principal to lead teaching and learning. They increased the support and training for assistant principals in order to develop their skills further. As a result, these leaders are successfully implementing and evaluating a range of improvement strategies across the school, which are impacting positively on the progress and attainment of all pupils.
• Leaders have accurately identified the areas for improvement and can demonstrate that their actions are having a positive impact. They recognise those areas of their work which still need to improve further and are taking the right steps to address these.
• Leaders at all levels have high expectations of themselves, of staff and of pupils. Through the effective use of a systematic coaching model, all staff, including those who do not teach, now regularly reflect on their own practice. They are willing to challenge themselves and are keen to improve their teaching further. Leaders work closely with staff to identify specific training and support that will provide them with additional ways to improve and develop their skills.
• Leaders’ work to support staff in managing their workload is extremely strong. Staff at all levels say that they are nurtured in a very caring community and their mental health and well-being are the highest priority. Leaders provide staff with a good level of support but also challenge them to be the best that they can be – and staff readily accept this challenge. Leaders have created a culture in which staff are open in sharing together the areas that they need to improve further.
• The school’s work to promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values, is very strong. It is completely interwoven throughout the whole curriculum and a wide range of activities take place to embed this. For example, pupils recently improved their knowledge of democracy when school council members interviewed their local Member of Parliament. The school community has a diverse range of races, religions, cultures and languages, and pupils have a very well-developed understanding and acceptance of these. This diversity is valued by everyone and is celebrated across all of the school’s work. Leaders ensure that staff understand their duty to prevent radicalisation and extremism.
• Parents are very supportive of the school and appreciate the high level of care and support that staff provide for their children. One parent told inspectors that, ‘This is an amazing school! Teachers really care for children and always are happy to talk to me – they know me very well.’ Parents have no concerns about behaviour and say that leaders are very ‘strict’ about attendance. Even so, a small number of pupils are repeatedly absent.
• Leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well. High-quality teaching, supported by additional group work, means that they make good progress. Pupils access a wide range of extra-curricular activities to increase their life experiences. Additional funding for physical education and sports is used well to provide a wide range of activities for pupils to improve their team skills, self-confidence and physical fitness.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. There is a very strong focus on developing the pupils’ life-skills. Pupils have a wide range of opportunities for ‘hands-on’, practical experiences. These deepen their knowledge and understanding, extend their vocabulary effectively and ensure that they are increasingly well-prepared for the next stage of their education. Opportunities include looking after the school’s goats and chickens and a strong programme of ‘Forest Schools’ work. Trips to a wide range of destinations, combined with many different visitors into school, underpin this curriculum and provide the stimulus for topic work. However, pupils do not always have sufficient opportunities to record and further develop these experiences through their written work.
• Members of the trust and education consultants from their sponsor have worked very closely with the school since the previous inspection. This support has been effective in developing leadership at all levels across the school and in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Staff appreciate the opportunities they get to develop their practice through work with other academies across the trust.

Governance of the school

• Governance has improved rapidly since the last inspection and is now strong. Both the trust and the Task Group governing body understand their responsibilities clearly. The Task Group is very committed to the school and its governors have an accurate understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. Members monitor improvements effectively and hold the leadership team to account rigorously in all aspects of the school’s work.
• Governors have an accurate understanding of the school’s performance information, including that for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEND. In their meetings with school leaders, they ask challenging questions to check that the additional funding they receive is used well and is having a positive impact on outcomes for these groups of pupils.
• In order to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the school’s work, governors regularly conduct ‘evidence trails’ with a specific focus. This supports them in assessing how quickly the school is improving. One such evidence trail was conducted recently, where governors worked in pairs to interview teachers. This helped governors to get a clear understanding of the impact of the systematic coaching model which is helping staff to reflect on and improve their practice.
• Governors have a clear understanding of their statutory responsibilities for safeguarding and ensure that they undertake regular training to support them with this.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Policies and procedures meet statutory requirements and all staff and governors work effectively to keep the pupils safe. They receive regular training and are clear about the correct safeguarding procedures to follow. They read and follow the latest government guidance for safeguarding.
• Systems for child protection are rigorous and effective. The school’s records show that links with individual families, especially where pupils are in vulnerable circumstances, demonstrate the school’s deep duty of care. Pastoral and inclusion leaders, in particular, go out of their way to ensure that pupils are safe and receive a high level of care and support.
• The trust undertakes an annual audit of safeguarding to ensure that it remains effective. Any issues arising from this are dealt with promptly.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching and learning are at least good in all classes. Some aspects of the practice of a few teachers is very strong and is shared with other teachers.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge and share this effectively with the pupils. As a result, pupils use a wide range of mathematical and grammatical vocabulary correctly and confidently.
• Most teachers have high expectations of pupils and this means that pupils’ attainment and progress are improving rapidly. However, not all teachers have sufficiently high expectations of the most able pupils, especially in reading and writing, so too few make the progress of which they are capable.
• The quality of the teaching of reading and writing has rapidly improved since the last inspection. The teaching of phonics is strong across the school and quickly gives pupils the skills they need to learn to read. However, teachers have identified that many pupils do not have a sufficiently rich and extensive vocabulary. This means that they find it more difficult to develop the skills they need in order to gain a deeper understanding of the text they are reading through inference and deduction. As a result, too few reach the expected standard in reading by the end of key stage 2.
• Teachers have introduced strategies which skilfully support pupils to increase their vocabulary on a daily basis. These are also proving to be effective in supporting and increasing the comprehension skills of all pupils, especially those who are new to English.
• Mathematics is a strength of the school. The sequence of learning in lessons is very clear and this helps pupils to acquire new skills effectively. One pupil told inspectors, ‘I love maths – it’s easy because my teacher explains things well.’ In most classes, pupils are quickly moved on to tackle more difficult challenges in lessons when they show that they have confidently understood the initial learning. Pupils in Year 2 were keen to show off their newly acquired knowledge about three-dimensional shapes to inspectors, explaining that, ‘These are vertices – that’s just a posh name for corners!’
• Presentation in books is generally neat and most pupils take pride in their work. However, while the handwriting of many older pupils is neat, the school does not have a consistent approach to the teaching of handwriting and so the quality of this is very variable, especially in the lower part of the school. This slows the progress of many pupils.
• Books show clear evidence of good progress over time. Teachers generally apply the school’s marking policy effectively. For example, ‘Sort it’ time is a feature of lessons where pupils focus on improving their previous work. However, the impact of the school’s policy on improving pupils’ subsequent work is not as consistently evident in English subjects as it is in mathematics.
• The vast majority of pupils clearly enjoy learning and immerse themselves fully in their work. However, in a small proportion of lessons where teaching is less engaging, a small minority of pupils can become passive or distracted.
• Teachers make effective use of assessment to identify and fill gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding. They work together well in year-group teams to collate and analyse the data they gather on pupils’ performance and use their findings to inform their future planning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils receive exemplary support for their mental health and well-being. Pupils can explain how staff care for them in this way and how much they appreciate this. They know that they will always be helped by the pastoral team if they have any worries. The school’s environment is organised very well to promote calmness and well-being, and this has a very positive effect on the progress and attainment of the pupils. Well-being sessions are fully integrated into the timetable. As a result of this work, the school received the Mental Health in Schools Award at the bronze level in 2018.
• Pupils’ emotional and physical well-being are of paramount importance to staff. Pupils with SEND, and others in vulnerable circumstances, receive an extraordinary level of care from a dedicated and highly effective pastoral and inclusion team. The school’s system of ‘Inclusion Child Champions’ builds a secure network of care around each vulnerable pupil. As a result, these pupils participate fully in school life and make good progress.
• Pupils develop their physical well-being through regular opportunities to participate in sport. The vast majority of pupils participate in some form of after-school club and have taken part in a variety of sports, including football, fun sports, dance, martial arts and cricket. All pupils are encouraged to take part in the ‘Couch to 5k’ running challenge. Alongside the regular physical education lessons, these activities have developed pupils’ skills, stamina and keenness for competition. The school achieved the Healthy Living Award in 2016 and 2018.
• Pupils have a very well-developed understanding of all aspects of diversity because this is explored and celebrated in all aspects of school life. They understand and can talk in a mature way about the different choices people make about gender and sexuality. In discussions with inspectors, they described many aspects of their learning about the festivals and traditions of different faiths.
• Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to apply for roles and responsibilities in school life. The school council members are elected each year by their class and have a very high level of involvement in many aspects of school life. School captains are also chosen from Year 6 pupils who demonstrate responsibility, impeccable behaviour and strong communication and leadership skills. In each class, pupil leaders help other pupils with their work once they have finished their own.
• Pupils understand very clearly about how to keep themselves safe and are very confident in the school’s work to keep them safe. For example, they have experienced regular ‘lockdown’ procedures, and they understand why it is necessary to practise this.
• Pupils are encouraged to aim high and work hard to realise their ambitions regardless of their circumstances. In this way, the school helps pupils to understand the wide range of exciting opportunities available to them in the future.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are polite and considerate and conduct themselves well around the school. They show high levels of respect for all members of the school community. Transition periods are orderly and swift.
• Pupils are proud of their school and really enjoy attending. They say that they enjoy coming to school because they ‘enjoy lessons and the well-being sessions’. They are very positive about learning because teachers are helpful and really care. One pupil commented, ‘We work hard but teachers make it fun for us. We need a really good education.’
• Pupils work hard and the vast majority engage well and stay on task in lessons. However, attitudes to learning are not yet consistently strong across the school. Some lose learning time and become restless while waiting for an adult to come and help them. This sometimes leads to a little low-level disruption in lessons.
• Pupils know and can explain the school’s behaviour code, and they understand the consequences of poor behaviour. The school has noted a reduction in the number of pupils moving to ‘red’ on the behaviour system and repeat offenders are few. The ‘reflection room’ is used well to manage instances of poor behaviour, and pupils understand this strategy clearly.
• School leaders set very high standards for attendance and punctuality, offering a variety of rewards for classes and individual pupils who do well in this area. For example, classes with the highest attendance each week receive money paid into the ‘Bank of Boothroyd’. When this has accumulated, pupils choose what treat they will buy for their class. Leaders publish weekly league tables of class attendance on the school’s website. The vast majority of pupils have a high attendance rate.
• Leaders are doing all that they possibly can do to reduce the number of pupils who are persistently absent. They work very closely with the families concerned to give them the best level of support. However, a small number of families continue to take their children out of school for extended periods. Consequently, the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent remains well above the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Since the previous inspection, leaders have successfully improved the quality of teaching across the school. As a result of this, the attainment and progress of the pupils have improved rapidly in all subjects.
• The proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check has risen rapidly and is now in line with the national average. Pupils use their increasing skills in phonics effectively to improve their reading and writing.
• Attainment in key stage one is rising rapidly. As a result, the proportion of pupils meeting at least the expected standard in writing and mathematics is now similar to the national figure. However, attainment in reading is still below the national average.
• Attainment in key stage 2 is also improving consistently and rapidly in reading, writing, mathematics and science. However, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in these subjects remains well below the national average. Attainment in English grammar, punctuation and spelling is higher and has been broadly in line with the national average for the last two years.
• A small proportion of key stage 1 and key stage 2 pupils reached the greater depth or higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics in 2018. However, these figures are still well below the national average. Teachers do not consistently have the highest expectations for the most able pupils.
• The progress of pupils in key stage 2 has improved over time and is now broadly average in each subject. However, high prior-attaining pupils do not consistently make the best progress of which they are capable.
• The school’s performance information for all groups of pupils currently in the school indicates that these outcomes are being sustained or improved further. The work in pupils’ books also confirms this.
• Outcomes in reading, while improving, are not as high as those in writing and mathematics. Many pupils read fluently and with understanding. However, there are too many inconsistencies in their level of confidence to speculate about what they read and to locate efficiently, and explain succinctly, key information in texts.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils in each year group is good. Leaders regularly assess how well these pupils are doing, and they respond quickly to address any gaps in learning by providing additional teaching time and extra group sessions. Consequently, across the school, the gap in knowledge and attainment between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils is narrowing or has closed. In 2018, disadvantaged pupils at the end of key stage 2 made better progress than other pupils nationally.
• The school’s work to provide additional support for those pupils who speak English as an additional language is very strong. Consequently, they make similar progress to other pupils.

Early years provision Outstanding

• As a result of incisive leadership, precise assessment and high-quality teaching, children make outstanding progress. From well-below typical starting points, the proportion of children who reach a good level of development has increased year-on-year and is now in line with the national average. As a result, children are very well prepared for Year 1.
• Teachers provide a highly stimulating and very well-organised environment where children are inquisitive, curious and show excellent levels of concentration. Learning areas promote a wide range of valuable learning experiences. Adults also strongly promote children’s emotional well-being and help them to build effective relationships.
• Highly trained and skilled teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations of children. They plan activities which consistently provide the right level of challenge for all ability groups. Children’s thinking is extended through sensitive and timely intervention by adults, who ask probing questions so that children make connections in their learning and deepen their understanding. As a result, children talk confidently about what they are doing – even those in the early stages of learning English.
• The classrooms are vibrant, with stimulating displays and exciting areas for the children to investigate and explore. The outdoor space is very well planned, offering a huge variety of exciting and challenging activities. Children learn exceptionally well, whether they are being taught directly or working on their own. They are almost always totally engaged in their learning. Adults use every opportunity to extend children’s vocabulary. For example, they model effective speaking and listening and provide many opportunities for repetition of key words in sentences.
• Children are keen to learn, because activities are fun and engaging and capture their imaginations. During the inspection, children were excited to find much ice in the outdoor area. They could explain why the water had turned to ice and knew that it would melt if they held it in their warm hands. Other children were enjoying a vigorous exercise session, waving scarves and jumping around to music as they followed the lead of an adult. They noticed and exclaimed on the increase in their heart beat as a result of this exercise.
• Parents are very supportive of the school and appreciate the many opportunities they have to be involved in their child’s learning. Highly effective transition arrangements into the early years ensure that children settle in very quickly.
• Children have many opportunities to practise their numeracy and literacy skills in independent activities. For example, some children were making tickets to admit people to the ‘igloo’ and used their knowledge of phonics to write the word on these tickets. One child told an inspector that he was ‘in charge of counting’. Only four children were allowed in the ‘igloo’ at a time, and when five children were in there, he knew that one must come out.
• High expectations and precise attention to the developmental stage of every child mean that staff know how to support each child’s learning so that all do well. Disadvantaged children, those who are new to English and those with SEND all receive the tailored support they need to make good progress. Work in books shows children’s achievement accelerating through the year.
• Safeguarding practices in the early years are highly effective. There are no breaches of statutory welfare requirements. Children are safe and well supported.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140234 Kirklees 10059065 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 converter 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 640 Appropriate authority The board of trustees Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Claire Livingstone Kyrstie Joslin 01924 450 289 www.boothroydprimaryacademy.co.uk boothroyd@focus-trust.co.uk Date of previous inspection 14 to 15 September 2016

Information about this school

• Boothroyd Academy became an academy in October 2013. It is part of Focus-Trust, which is a multi-academy chain of 15 primary academies.
• Focus-Trust is a company limited by guarantee and is a charitable trust. Responsibility for the academies that make up the trust lies with the board of trustees. There is a separate local governing board for each academy, which is known as the Task Group Governing Body. The trust has overall responsibility for the governance of the academy and devolves some of this responsibility to the Task Group Governing Body. The trust and its sponsor, Focus Education, provide regular support for each academy through improvement partners and consultants.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEND is well below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is below the national average.
• The very large majority of pupils are of Asian or Asian British Pakistani heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who are eligible for support through the additional pupil premium funding is much higher than the national average.
• The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.
• The school provides full-time places for children in the three Reception classes and part-time places for children in the Nursery. Children enter the Nursery when they are three years old.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes. They carried out some observations jointly with the principal and vice-principal. Inspectors also observed the provision in the school’s breakfast club and after-school club.
• Inspectors listened to some pupils read and spoke with several pupils about the work in their books. Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of pupils’ work across a range of subjects.
• Inspectors talked with pupils about their enjoyment of school and their opinions on behaviour and safety. They observed pupils at playtime, at the start of the school day and during transitions between lessons.
• The inspection team considered a wide range of school documents. These included the school’s review of its own performance, the school development plan, governing board task group documents, behaviour and attendance records, information about the progress of the pupils, action plans for various subjects and documents relating to safeguarding.
• Inspectors held discussions with staff and the governing board task group. The lead inspector met with the trust’s academy improvement partners and chief executive.
• Inspectors considered the 14 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. There were no responses to Ofsted’s electronic pupils’ and staff’s surveys. However, inspectors considered pupils’ comments during the inspection and responses to the school’s own similar questionnaires. They also spoke informally with groups of parents in the playground.

Inspection team

Heather Mensah, lead inspector Judy Shaw Lesley Bowyer Adrian Fearn

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector