East Garforth Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the early years provision so that it is good, especially in the Reception Year, by:
  • making sure that expectations of what children can achieve are consistently high and activities are challenging, especially for the most able
  • making sure that assessments of what children know and can do are rigorous and using this information to accurately pinpoint children’s next steps in learning
  • developing the questioning skills of adults in order to effectively extend and support children’s understanding and learning
  • strengthening provision for developing good early handwriting skills
  • improving the quality of outdoor provision.
• Further improve teaching and learning for the lower-prior-attaining pupils in key stages 1 and 2 by ensuring that planned work effectively meets their needs.
• Develop pupils’ understanding of people from other faiths and cultures.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The new headteacher has had a positive impact at the school. She quickly addressed what needed to improve and relentlessly focused on ensuring that pupils make good progress. She is well supported by the executive principal and other senior leaders. Together, they have rapidly improved the school’s effectiveness so that it is good. Teaching in key stages 1 and 2, for example, is now good and current pupils in these key stages are making good progress.
• Leaders check the quality of teaching robustly. They monitor lessons, scrutinise pupils’ work to check that the quality of teaching is consistently good and different groups of pupils are making good progress. Through fortnightly progress meetings, staff are held to account and any identified actions are agreed and followed up swiftly at key stages 1 and 2. Although teaching is now good in key stages 1 and 2, leaders are well aware that provision in the early years, especially in Reception, requires improvement. Plans to improve provision are now underway.
• Leaders promote staff training well. This, along with the effective support from the academy trust has enabled teachers to learn from specialist practitioners. This has also strengthened the quality of the school’s middle leadership. Good teaching practice in the school is shared effectively, such as with less experienced practitioners.
• Leaders ensure that performance management is linked to pupils’ achievements and improvements in teaching. They know where teaching is strongest and where additional support is required. Leaders are still revising their approaches so that targets are formally assessed at a mid-point through the process in order to hold staff to account even more effectively.
• Subject leaders for mathematics and English check the quality of teaching well to support improved standards. Areas for improvement identified through their work have been tackled and, as a result, the quality of teaching has improved especially in writing and mathematics reasoning skills. This has made a significant impact on improving outcomes for all pupils at both key stages 1 and 2.
• Leaders have used the pupil premium funding to good effect to provide additional wider opportunities and learning support for disadvantaged pupils. Consequently, targeted interventions have resulted in disadvantaged pupils making better progress than other pupils in reading and mathematics.
• The special educational needs coordinator has worked productively with external agencies and an educational psychologist. She has a clear view of the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Plans show clear approaches to supporting learning. Funding for this group is used effectively, especially in providing specific interventions to support learning of individual pupils. Most pupils make good progress from their starting points.
• Leaders use the funding for primary school physical education and sport well. Pupils enjoy attending a wide range of sports clubs and take part in inter-school competitions including skipping, cricket and football. Specialised sports coaches work supportively to develop expertise in staff as well as leading weekly sports sessions with pupils.
• The broad curriculum is complemented by a range of extra-curricular activities. For each topic, teachers plan ‘challenges’ to inspire pupils to learn. For example, as part of the inspirational people topic, Year 4 wrote their own protest songs in response to learning about civil rights in the United States in the 1960s. All pupils are offered visits to the theatre and take part in arts and dance projects. The school singing club is also a popular choice. In Years 5 and 6, pupils have opportunities for more adventurous activities on a residential visit.
• Overall, pupils’ moral, social and cultural development is well threaded through into the school’s curriculum. Good opportunities to use and apply skills enable pupils to embed their learning in a purposeful way. Leaders and staff promote a culture of respect and high ambition for all pupils. Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and care for each other reflect this positive ethos. They understand democracy and the importance of rules and laws. Although elements of multicultural education are in place, leaders are yet to ensure that pupils have a good understanding of people from other faiths and cultures and how they contribute to modern Britain.
• Parents strongly appreciate the works of leaders, teachers and support staff. The overwhelming majority of parents hold positive views about the school. They recognise the enormous number of improvements introduced since the last inspection, particularly those of the headteacher. Parents acknowledge that staff ‘go the extra mile’ to ensure their children do well. Parents are kept well informed through regular newsletters, the school’s website and social media.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective. Governors are clear about their roles and responsibilities. Their knowledge and understanding of the school is strong. They make frequent checks to ensure that the information they receive from school leaders is accurate. Governors actively pursue lines of enquiry to ensure that leaders’ actions lead to improvements. They are a strength of the school.
• The academy trust has provided effective training which has brought increased rigour, challenge and accountability to school leaders.
• Governors diligently monitor additional funds, such as the pupil premium. They understand that provision for a small number of pupils needs to be monitored carefully. As a result, leaders have accurately recorded the precise impact of actions to support disadvantaged pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders take prompt action if they have a concern about a child’s well-being. The school’s record-keeping is very detailed and of a high standard. Designated leaders for safeguarding regularly review the school’s records to check pupils are safe and that risk assessments are securely in place. Governors monitor the single central record every term and ensure that the required checks are made when recruiting staff.
• All staff and governors receive regular training for safeguarding. Training is up to date for all staff including aspects such as the ‘Prevent’ duty, female genital mutilation and child sexual exploitation. The school site is well maintained and secure.
• The care and culture of safeguarding within school is evident in the way pupils feel safe. Staff and pupils know each other well and pupils trust the adults. They know who to talk to if they are worried. Parents are confident that the school’s systems keep their children safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Senior leaders, along with the support from the trust, have ensured that the quality of teaching has improved and is now good in both key stages 1 and 2.
• Teachers know pupils well. They use exciting and innovative experiences to engage and excite pupils in their learning. In Year 4 in music, pupils were particularly well engaged and responded with great enthusiasm when discussing how crescendo can be used in a musical composition to reflect the sounds of war. One pupil said, ‘I can’t wait to do my work.’
• The teaching of writing is now a school strength and the quality of pupils’ writing is good. Pupils receive frequent opportunities to write in different genres, at length and across the curriculum. Their writing about a trip to a wildlife park highlighted which animals they liked best and why. Pupils were inspired to write a letter to the Queen about animal welfare.
• Grammar, spelling and punctuation skills are well taught. Pupils’ work shows accuracy and self-correction. Teachers swiftly identify and correct mistakes. Pupils understand the connections between reading and writing, enabling them to address errors as they write. Pupils are happy to redraft their work and understand how to improve it. Feedback from teachers on what they need to do next is clear and helps them to improve their writing.
• Phonics teaching is well organised and effective. Pupils who read to inspectors demonstrated a secure grasp of phonics knowledge.
• Pupils are provided with good opportunities to apply their reading, writing and speaking skills in a variety of subjects across the curriculum.
• The teaching of mathematics is much improved and is effective. Teachers are confident in developing fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills. They ensure that pupils understand and can use mathematics in different contexts. As a result, pupils use these skills to solve complex problems. In Year 6, for example, pupils used their reasoning and thinking skills to work out shapes that have a numerically equal area and perimeter.
• Teaching in science has also improved. Work in pupils’ topic books shows that pupils are making good progress and are learning to develop a broad range of scientific concepts. Pupils can plan and carry out their own scientific investigations and record their findings accurately.
• Although leaders and teachers have worked hard to improve teaching and learning for lower-prior-attaining pupils, work does not always meet their needs. Sometimes it is too hard or too easy. Pupils sometimes lose learning time while they wait for help.
• While teaching in the Nursery is generally good, in Reception it requires improvement. Assessments of what children already know and can do are not effective in making sure activities are well matched to children’s needs. Work for the most able children, for example, lacks challenge.

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 promotes a nurturing and safe environment where everyone is respected. As a result, pupils are friendly, well-mannered and confident. They are interested in talking to visitors and most have the self-assurance to put forward their points of view politely but assertively. Inspectors also saw work from pupils imagining what it was like to be a historical character or someone very different from themselves.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in and out of school, including when using the internet. They understand the system for sharing concerns with staff and said that since September, any disputes are dealt with quickly.
• The school council takes its duties seriously. It has been involved in democratic elections and its members have been appointed through a voting system. They are currently planning to improve the range of outdoor equipment available at playtime.
• Pupils show great tolerance and respect for others in their school community. One pupil said, ‘We make sure that new children coming to our school have a friend straight away to help them settle in and don’t feel frightened or lonely.’ However, pupils’ understanding of the differences of faiths and cultures are not fully developed. Some pupils lack confidence talking about this. Some have misconceptions about how different people live and worship.
• Parents agree that staff place a high priority on pupils’ personal development and welfare. They particularly acknowledge the support provided to support children with additional learning needs.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• The school environment is orderly and calm. Pupils walk sensibly around the school, entering and leaving lessons, the playground and assembly with due regard for school rules. Playtime and lunchtimes offer pupils a variety of activities including sports equipment, climbing frames and quiet areas where children can sit and talk. In the dining room, pupils chat quietly over lunch and tidy up without having to be asked.
• The new behaviour system introduced in September is understood by pupils and staff and is applied consistently. Pupils receive rewards for hard work and good behaviour in the form of ‘dojos’. These are for a celebration assembly at the end of term.
• While most pupils behave well during most lessons, some lower-prior-attaining pupils do occasionally become inattentive. These incidents of low-level misbehaviour, while infrequent, generally result either from a lack of understanding about their work or from an activity that is insufficiently challenging.
• Attendance is in line with the national average. Pupils enjoy attending school. Staff are proactive in supporting families where attendance is an issue. The appointment of an attendance officer is having a positive impact on working with these families to promote good attendance. As a result, the number of pupils who are persistently absent has decreased markedly this year.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Since the previous inspection, in key stages 1 and 2, pupils’ achievement has improved. Current assessments and work in books shows that pupils in both these key stages are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• By the end of Year 6 in 2016, a slightly above average proportion of pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. While progress was good overall, it was stronger in reading and mathematics than in writing. As a result of better teaching, the current achievement of pupils in writing is improving strongly.
• The achievement of the most able pupils is good. Most-able pupils in key stage 1 and 2 are challenged well in order to reach the higher standards, especially in reading and mathematics. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are higher than in the past, especially in mathematics. Pupils now regularly tackle challenging mathematical activities. In the early years, however, most-able children do not do well because work lacks challenge.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are also making good progress. Leaders provide further support so that the differences between outcomes for these pupils and those of all other pupils are diminishing. Swift action is taken to accelerate progress for any pupil who is in danger of falling behind.
• Pupils with lower prior attainment sometimes do not do as well as they could. Their progress is sometimes held back because they have a lack of understanding about their work. Occasionally, activities lack challenge.
• Pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils is used wisely to provide additional teaching, social and emotional support, and enrichment activities. As a result, these pupils are making good and improving progress. Current progress data shows that, overall, disadvantaged pupils in key stage 1 and lower key stage 2 are making even better progress than others in the school. Even so, leaders are not complacent. They remain focused on ensuring that every pupil makes good progress from their starting points.
• Pupils achieve well in reading. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been on an improving trend and in 2016 was line with the national average. The introduction of a new phonics system means there is more rigour in the teaching of letters and sounds. Pupils, including the most able and the disadvantaged pupils, are making good progress in reading.
• In 2016, a below-average proportion of pupils reached the expected standard in writing at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Achievement in writing is now much improved, especially in lower key stage 2, where pupils are producing accurate and high-quality written work. Expectations for pupils’ presentation of their work have been raised. Pupils take pride in their work. In most books, standards of presentation are good. In the early years, the approach to teaching handwriting does not always ensure that children develop fluency in their letter formation from the start. There are missed opportunities for children in Reception to practise early writing skills.
• Parents are positive about the progress their children are making and feel the school provides them with useful information about their children’s progress.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching in the early years has not resulted in good progress for children. Staff absence has contributed to inconsistencies in the quality of teaching.
• Most children enter the Nursery Year with skills and abilities typical for children of their age. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of their Reception Year in 2016 was similar to the national average. However, children do not make as much progress as others nationally from the same starting points. Progress in the Reception Year, in particular, requires improvement.
• Teaching requires improvement. Expectations of what children can achieve are not high enough. In particular, there is a lack of challenge for the most able children in the Reception Year.
• Tracking and assessment of children’s learning lacks rigour. Although adults assess children’s skills, knowledge and understanding on entry to the early years, these assessments are sometimes imprecise. Ongoing assessments of what children know and can do are not used effectively to set challenging and interesting activities and ensure children make good progress. Assessments place too little focus on pinpointing what children need to do and learn to improve. Too many opportunities to develop children’s learning and understanding are missed as a result.
• Adults’ skills in questioning children in order to effectively extend and support their understanding and learning are still developing. Teaching assistants offer help with equipment and making sure children behave well. However, their role in modelling and supporting children’s independent learning is underdeveloped.
• Strategies to develop children’s motor skills are engaging and interactive. Activities using play dough develop children’s coordination and hand muscles. However, the teaching of early handwriting requires improvement, such as forming letters correctly.
• The indoor environment is busy and well resourced. However, outdoor provision is underdeveloped. Children are not given enough opportunities to develop their skills when learning outdoors.
• The curriculum is broad and topical. For example, children talked about keeping safe after a visit by the police. A session about sun safety ensured that children understand how to keep safe in the sun. A strong focus is placed on making sure children learn in a safe and secure setting and behave well. Across the early years there is a happy atmosphere and children work well together. Welfare requirements are met.
• Teaching in the Nursery Year is often stronger. Children are challenged, for example in phonics, and, as a result, progress is good. Children are keen and motivated.
• The early years leader has an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of provision, but over time has not implemented changes quickly enough. Staff development has taken place but has not resulted in the necessary improvements to teaching and provision, especially in Reception Year and to outdoor provision. The new headteacher acknowledges that children need to do better in the early years. Her support has already had some impact in accelerating children’s progress. However, this is yet to be demonstrated in improved outcomes.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140068 Leeds 10031024 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 294 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Academy trust Julie Mounty Patricia Gavins (Executive Principal) Rachael Binns (Head of Academy) Telephone number 0113 2127100 Website Email address www.egpa.org.uk info@egpa.org.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 June 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• This is a slightly larger than average-sized primary school.
• Most pupils are White British. A smaller than average proportion are from minority ethnic backgrounds.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national figure, and the proportion with an education, health and care plan is well below average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.
• The school joined the Delta Academy Trust in 2013. Following significant staffing changes both to leadership, management and teaching staff the new Head of School took up her post in September 2016.
• The Nursery offers part-time places during mornings or afternoons only. Reception children attend on a full-time basis.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors gathered a wide range of evidence during the inspection, including through observations of teaching, some of which were undertaken jointly with the headteacher and assistant headteacher. Inspectors also scrutinised pupils’ work from a range of subjects, including English and mathematics, as well as hearing pupils read. Inspectors visited all classrooms as well as observing pupils during an assembly, at breaktimes, and at lunch.
• Inspectors met with the school’s staff, including the headteacher and executive principal. Discussions were also held with governors including the chair of the governing body, teachers, pupils and parents. The lead inspector met with the regional director of primary schools within the Delta Academy Trust.
• Inspectors considered a wide range of documentation relating to the school’s work. This included: the school’s development plan; leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness; leaders’ records of checks on teaching and learning; and information about pupils’ attainment, progress, behaviour and attendance. Inspectors examined records concerning safeguarding and the governing body’s minutes.
• Inspectors analysed the 51 responses and 37 written comments submitted to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. They also considered the 11 responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire. There were no pupil responses to Ofsted’s online pupil questionnaire.

Inspection team

Jen Cave, lead inspector Tim Scargill Stephen Rigby

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector