Cottingley Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning to increase even further the proportion of pupils, including those in early years and the most able, who achieve the expected and higher standards, by:
  • sharing the strong practice within the school to ensure that pupils’ progress, including disadvantaged pupils’ progress, continues to improve
  • refining even further the approaches to the teaching of reading and mathematics so that these accelerate pupils’ progress in these subjects
  • improving the quality of handwriting, spelling, punctuation and presentation, particularly in key stage 1.
• Improve the leadership and management of subjects, by developing the skills and expertise of middle leaders in monitoring the wider curriculum in order to gauge an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas for development within their area of responsibility.
• Continue to improve pupils’ attendance and reduce persistent absence, by regularly refining and checking the effectiveness of school strategies.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher is relentless in driving forward improvements across the school. Together with the committed deputy headteacher, she has secured a vision of high expectations to improve pupils’ outcomes across the school. Their combined expertise is having a positive impact on the work of the school.
• The headteacher places a strong emphasis on high-quality professional development and has developed a culture where staff are dedicated to improving their practice. Staff feel well supported, particularly those who are new to the profession or are recently qualified. Despite issues with staff recruitment and staff absence, the headteacher has successfully managed the development of staff and has relentlessly continued the school’s improvement.
• The school has been well supported by the trust, which has challenged the school on a regular basis. The trust’s support and professional development have improved the capacity of leaders. In addition, partnership working with other schools has improved the quality of teaching and learning.
• Regular monitoring and evaluation of teaching in English and mathematics have ensured that lessons are planned well and staff are increasingly skilled in teaching these subjects. Assessment in these subjects and pupil progress meetings are used effectively to track pupils’ progress and to ensure that they achieve well.
• Leaders’ actions have led to steady improvement in Year 6 outcomes. Pupils’ attainment was high in 2018 and the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics increased significantly.
• Leaders have ensured that staff have been effectively trained to support pupils’ personal, emotional and mental health needs. As a result, there is a positive ethos and the culture within the school is harmonious and mutually respectful.
• The leadership of special educational needs is effective and funding is used well. Staff provide effective support for pupils’ academic needs and their emotional and mental health needs.
• The school’s recently adopted ‘themed’ learning provides pupils with opportunities to develop their reading, writing, phonic and mathematical skills in a range of subjects, including science, history and geography across the curriculum. The themes chosen allow opportunities for the development of subject-specific knowledge and skills that are built sequentially. As a result, pupils’ progress in a range of subjects is good.
• Many middle leaders are recently new to post and have limited opportunities to monitor their subject in order to secure improvements.
• Pupil premium funding is used effectively to reduce barriers to learning that may be experienced by disadvantaged pupils. Leaders provide well-tailored personal and emotional support for pupils. However, there is still some variability in the progress of pupils by the end of key stages 1 and 2. The use of pupil premium funding is having a positive impact upon the personal development of pupils, including reducing their persistent absence and increasing their attendance.
• The primary physical education (PE) and sport funding is carefully planned and used well. A sports coach provides additional support during lunchtimes and pupils take part in competitive sport. Leaders evaluate their plans to ensure that the impact of funding has a positive effect on pupils’ outcomes.
• The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school is quick to respond to events and provides good guidance to pupils on current issues. Pupils show respect for people from all backgrounds and faiths, and have a good understanding of British values.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective. Governors’ enthusiasm, wide range of skills and strong commitment ensure that the school is continuing its road to further improvement. They hold senior leaders to account and effectively challenge the headteacher.
• The trust’s support has developed the expertise of the governing body. Governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching across the school and they monitor the school’s work through regular focused visits. They have restructured the way that they work, so that they have a focus on pupils’ outcomes and evaluate the effectiveness of the key issues in the school’s improvement plan. Governors scrutinise the use of the pupil premium funding effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well. Governors are not afraid to challenge school performance.
• Governors and the parent community advisory board foster positive relationships between the school and the local community. Governors are fully conversant with their statutory duties for safeguarding and ensure that staff are recruited with appropriate procedures.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The leadership team ensures that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. There is a safe and caring culture. The safeguarding team is vigilant in checking that procedures are implemented to protect pupils.
• All staff understand their obligations for safeguarding. This is emphasised throughout the school’s work, as well as in lessons.
• Pupils say that they feel safe and talk about how they trust the adults in school who look after them. Parents and carers who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agree that the school looks after their children well and that this results in their child feeling safe in school. The school conducts a range of risk assessments to keep pupils and staff safe.
• All members of staff are checked for their suitability to work with children. Accurate and up-to-date records of these checks are maintained.
• Leaders, teachers and other staff are aware of the school’s procedures for safeguarding. They take appropriate action when necessary. They liaise with outside agencies when they have a concern and they work hard to support families in need.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. The atmosphere and culture in the classrooms, and around the school, support pupils’ learning well. Most teachers have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct. Teachers establish a productive working atmosphere and there are good relationships between staff and pupils and between pupils. This is reflected in pupils’ positive attitudes in lessons and means that time in lessons is spent on learning. The organised learning environment provides pupils with high-quality resources.
• Teachers use assessment of pupils’ work accurately to, in the main, pitch work at the right level. This ensures that the learning needs of pupils are mostly well met. However, some activities are not demanding enough for pupils of all abilities and this results in some loss of learning time.
• Teachers use questioning effectively to promote pupils’ learning and progress in lessons. This was seen to good effect in a Year 2 spelling lesson, where the teacher questioned pupils about the number of sounds in words. They discussed their work with partners and this enabled them to accelerate their own progress as they worked independently.
• The teaching of reading is good. The teaching of phonics is consistently effective in helping young pupils to decode words and develop the early skills of reading. Pupils are able to use and apply their knowledge with confidence when reading and writing unfamiliar words. Pupils read with enjoyment, expression and fluency. Reading approaches, such as self-correction for example, are used to support comprehension and understanding. Pupils have engaged positively with the ‘Resilient Reader’ programme and this is helping to develop and hone their comprehension skills. Older pupils read regularly and review what they have read.
• The improvements in the teaching of writing mean that pupils enjoy writing. This is evident from their use of language in their written work. Teachers adapt their methods of teaching to suit pupils’ learning and interests.
• Writing lessons are clearly structured to provide good building blocks for pupils to write well and apply these skills across other subjects in the curriculum. However, in key stage 1, handwriting and presentation are not taught sufficiently well to affect the presentation of written work.
• The whole-school approach to the teaching of mathematics, and the good quality of teaching, have ensured that pupils are proficient in using and applying basic mathematical skills. For example, pupils share their mathematical reasoning to explain their solutions to problems. However, some teachers move pupils on to the next stage of fluency when they have not demonstrated that they are secure with current work. In some classes, teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations of what the most able pupils could do to achieve higher levels, as it is not always clear to pupils what they need to do to reach these.
• A review of pupils’ work, carried out by inspectors, identified that themed work was particularly impressive. The theme books, which each pupil produces, detail opportunities for pupils to develop links across the whole curriculum and to write at length in a range of genres.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported by teaching assistants and individual learning programmes. This support enables them to access the curriculum and achieve well alongside their peers.
• Teaching assistants make a positive contribution to teaching across the school and work in partnership with teachers. This strengthens learning for all pupils, and particularly for those who need specific support. They work flexibly within classes and this is instrumental in increasing pupils’ progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school is an integral part of the local community. The needs of pupils and families are well known, and support is provided where necessary. The school rightly has a strong reputation for pastoral care within the community.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations. Pupils are taught and encouraged to take sensible risks and are taught how to use equipment safely. They understand the risks of using the internet and social media.
• Pupils have a good understanding of what bullying means, including bullying related to race and gender. Pupils respect the recently introduced behaviour policy and know there are consequences for bad behaviour. Evidence shows that behaviour is sometimes an issue with one or two pupils in school, but that staff deal with these incidents effectively.
• The majority of the pupils who responded to the online survey said that they feel safe in school and that their school encourages them to look after their physical and mental health. Pupils are happy that there is an adult in school whom they can talk to if something is worrying them.
• The school’s ethos promotes tolerance and understanding of differences. Pupils have a good understanding of British values, which prepares them well for life in modern Britain.
• The school’s breakfast club offers pupils a calm and purposeful start to the school day. Pupils are safe and happy, and thrive in the positive atmosphere created by the staff.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils behave well around school and in classrooms. They are responsive to staff, who effectively manage incidents of misbehaviour. Challenging pupils are managed sensitively, but without compromising the school’s expectations.
• Pupils are proud of their school. They are polite, well mannered and confident to engage in conversation. They listen well to adults and their peers and show respect for the views of others. Despite the playground being restricted due to the building works, pupils play cooperatively when they are outdoors and move around the school in an orderly way.
• Pupils feel safe in school and know how to keep themselves safe. For example, they have engaged well with the risks associated with the significant building works currently at the school.
• Attendance and absence procedures are thorough, with incentives to reward individuals and classes. Whole-school strategies are having a positive impact, and although attendance is below the national average, it is improving. The school’s support for those pupils who had previously been persistently absent has improved their attendance, but there is still work to be carried out to improve attendance overall.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils’ outcomes are good and improving. Pupils’ attainment and progress are rigorously tracked across the school. Consequently, standards in reading, writing and mathematics have increased due to improved teaching and the impact of staff professional development.
• Pupils make strong improvement from entry to the school. By the time they leave key stage 2, an above-average proportion of pupils reach the age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The percentage of pupils achieving the required standard in phonics at the end of Year 1 has increased over the last three years and was in line with the national average in 2018. This is because of the improved teaching of the sounds that letters represent that has been matched to pupils’ ability.
• At the end of key stage 1, pupils leave with standards that are below national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the attainment gap is closing, particularly at the higher levels. Standards in reading and mathematics are higher than those in writing. This is due to pupils’ weaker handwriting, presentation and grammatical skills, which do not sufficiently accelerate their progress and improve standards.
• In 2018, pupils’ attainment in the key stage 2 statutory tests was above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics at the expected standard. At the higher standard, pupils’ attainment was lower than that seen nationally in all areas. Pupils’ progress from their starting points was below average.
• The progress and attainment of pupils currently in the school are good. Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils are challenged to produce work that is of their very best.
• Pupils’ outcomes in subjects beyond English and mathematics are good and improving. This is because there are numerous opportunities, through the themed curriculum, for pupils to deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding of a range of subjects across the curriculum.
• Effective support and precise diagnoses of need ensure that pupils with SEND make good progress. As a result, the vast majority of pupils with SEND can access the subject-specific knowledge and skills associated with their age-related expectations.
• Disadvantaged pupils account for over half of all pupils. Leaders recognise that a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils are regularly absent from school, but they use additional funding to ensure that any missed learning is caught up quickly. As a result, disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes are good overall, and their progress is improving.

Early years provision Good

• Children enter early years with skills and knowledge which are below those typical for their age. They quickly adapt and are happy, motivated and ready to learn. Children have good relationships with adults, as well as with each other. By the time they leave Reception Year, a large majority of children reach a good level of development, and are well equipped for key stage 1.
• Staff understand the needs of children, especially the very young. They appreciate that young children need time to settle, and this is helped by warm and nurturing relationships. All statutory welfare requirements are met.
• The stimulating environment provides children with a variety of exciting experiences and opportunities to develop their skills, including their fine motor skills. Children explore activities and engage positively for sustained periods of time. Children are keen to share their activities with visitors.
• Simple songs and rhymes are used well by staff to engage children in speech and language activities, both indoors and outdoors.
• The teaching of phonics is good. Children learn the basic skills of reading and apply the sounds that they have learned to their spelling. Well-planned activities encourage and develop early writing skills.
• The teaching of mathematics is focused on children acquiring early number skills and reliably counting out articles and partitioning them into equal groups. They accurately record their results and, mostly, form their numbers correctly.
• Children’s behaviour is good, both in the classroom and the outside area. Learning from the classroom is taken outside, whenever possible. Children enjoy playing on the large, fixed play equipment, as well as painting, digging and making music.
• Parents are engaged with children’s learning from the outset. For example, the leader of early years holds regular meetings and workshops for parents based on the current topic or theme of learning. During these sessions, staff model activities for parents to replicate at home and this promotes confidence and relationships between staff and parents.
• The leader of early years has a thorough understanding of the early years setting. She carries out regular monitoring and has an overview of standards. She is analytical in her approach and accurately identifies the next steps in children’s learning. She also ensures the welfare and safety of children.
• The school liaises with external agencies and specialists to support children with specific needs, so that they are integrated well and able to participate fully in school life.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 138973 Leeds 10059061 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 sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 309 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Julie Price Grimshaw Kelly Bentley 0113 270 9503 http://cottingleyprimaryacademy.org contactus@cottingleyprimaryacademy.org Date of previous inspection 8–9 November 2016

Information about this school

• Cottingley Primary Academy is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for funding through the pupil premium grant is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above average.
• The school is a member of the Academies Enterprise Trust.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in lessons, or part-lessons, from Nursery to Year 6. Some of these visits were carried out jointly with the deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors met with groups of pupils and talked informally with pupils at lunchtimes and breaktimes.
• Inspectors listened to pupils reading aloud and talked to them about their reading. Inspectors observed the school’s breakfast club, breaktimes and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors met the headteacher, and senior and subject leaders. Inspectors also met staff responsible for attendance, behaviour, bullying and exclusions, disadvantaged pupils and the PE and sport premium. They also met with teachers in the early stages of their careers.
• The lead inspector met the chair of the local governing body and representatives of the Academies Enterprise Trust.
• Inspectors considered the 10 responses to Parent View, including eight free-text comments. The lead inspector also considered the 19 responses to the staff survey and the 29 responses to the online pupils’ questionnaire. Inspectors met with parents at the beginning of the school day.
• Inspectors observed the work of the school and looked at a broad range of evidence, including the school’s analysis of its strengths and weaknesses, school development planning and monitoring documentation. They also scrutinised the records of attendance, behaviour and accidents.
• Inspectors also looked at an extensive range of pupils’ books and considered the school’s information about current pupils’ progress and attainment.
• The school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised. The lead inspector reviewed the school’s website to confirm whether it met the requirements on the publication of specified information.

Inspection team

Gill Wild, lead inspector Lesley Allwood Michael Reeves

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector