Great Preston VC CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve pupils’ outcomes so that all pupils make strong progress and reach their full potential by:
  • ensuring that teachers challenge the most able pupils more consistently
  • increasing the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard and above in writing, especially at key stage 2
  • reducing the difference in performance between the school’s disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally.
• Incorporate easily measurable targets relating to pupils’ attainment and progress into the school development plan so that all leaders can clearly check whether intended improvements have materialised.
• Improve the outside area used by Nursery and Reception children so that it provides a greater range and quality of activities that will support their learning and development.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The arrival of the new headteacher has enabled the school to improve rapidly. She has provided much-needed stability and direction following recent upheavals in staffing at all levels. All members of staff have played an important part in raising attainment. Despite a legacy of poorer outcomes at key stage 2, pupils are now progressing much more quickly than they did previously.
• Senior and middle leaders work well together to ensure that current pupils progress well across all subjects of the national curriculum. All leaders have played their part in securing substantial acceleration in pupils’ progress.
• In setting out her improvement agenda, the headteacher has communicated her vision for a much better quality of education very effectively to all members of staff. Even though there have been many changes in staffing and much-increased expectations of pupils’ progress, staff morale is excellent. Members of staff say that they are proud to belong to the school and recognise that it is providing better teaching than it was in the recent past.
• In making changes, the headteacher has drawn on valuable support and advice from Leeds local authority and the diocese of Leeds. For example, the introduction of an accurate assessment system with local authority advice has enabled members of staff to understand exactly where pupils are in terms of attainment and the scale of any deficits in learning that need to be closed.
• The school’s self-evaluation is accurate. While the linked development plan addresses areas which still need to be improved, it does not contain measurable targets about pupils’ attainment and progress. This prevents all leaders from knowing, with clarity, whether intended actions have been as successful as they planned.
• Leaders provide teachers and teaching assistants with plenty of advice and feedback about the quality of their work in the classroom and how to improve it. Senior and middle leaders check lessons in their subjects and the quality of work that pupils produce. Leaders ensure that a good pace of learning is maintained.
• New and recently qualified teachers confirm that leaders provide them with excellent advice about their work in the classroom. Many described the way that they are supported as being ‘second to none’.
• Although the curriculum puts a strong emphasis on pupils’ personal development, reading, writing and mathematics, this is not at the exclusion of everything else. Leaders ensure that a wide range of extra-curricular activities complements the good provision in all of the national curriculum subjects.
• The school uses its primary school sport and physical education funding well. It pays for specialist teaching in a range of activities that the school could not otherwise provide, such as practical experience of volleyball, goalball and curling.
• Equal opportunities are promoted increasingly well as the use of pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils has become more focused. The use of this funding is clearly targeted on removing barriers to learning where disadvantaged pupils’ needs are greatest. The plan for this work, like the school development plan, does not contain easily measurable targets relating to pupils’ progress to enable its impact to be accurately assessed.
• Leaders ensure that they maintain effective contact with parents. They conduct surveys to gauge parents’ views and identify any concerns that they might have. Parents themselves are happy about the school and most would recommend it to others.

Governance of the school

• Governance has recently been strengthened in response to the efforts of the new headteacher to appoint more governing body members and increase their skills.
• Although there are still two vacancies, the governing body is becoming much more effective in monitoring the work of the school and asking searching questions.
• Some governors have had recent training in the analysis of assessment information so that they can probe and challenge more effectively when they receive reports on pupils’ progress from leaders.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There are clear systems in place that members of staff adhere to consistently. Child protection and safeguarding have a high profile in the daily life of the school.
• The site is very secure and there is plenty of adult supervision at all times. Pupils said that they feel safe in school and that they could easily find an adult to talk to if they need help or feel unwell.
• Very effective checking of the identities of all adults who have access to pupils are embedded into the school’s routines for the recruitment of staff and the monitoring of visitors at reception. Records relating to all employees, governors and volunteers meet all requirements.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• There has been a very substantial improvement in the quality of teaching since the arrival of the new headteacher. She has made it clear that the Year 6 national test results of the past were unacceptable and that pupils must be challenged to do far better in the future. As a consequence, there have been far-reaching decisions about how teachers should make the best use of lesson time and lift the pace of learning for all groups of pupils.
• Effective teaching is enabling pupils to make much better progress in their learning than the previous Year 6 cohort. While pupils remain behind where the school wants them to be in terms of attainment, pupils are starting to make up for previously lost ground in their learning. This acceleration in the pace of learning is particularly evident in Years 5 and 6.
• Good teaching is now enabling pupils to progress well, not just in reading, writing and mathematics, but in the other subjects such as science, geography and history.
• Teachers insist that pupils set their work out well and take a pride in it. Typically, teachers and classroom assistants manage their classes well. They have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and ensure that there is very little disruption to learning. Consequently, pupils can concentrate on their work, listen to explanations without distraction and benefit from well-organised discussions with their peers.
• The teaching of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is now precisely focused on the potential barriers to learning or where pupils are progressing too slowly. Leaders have accurately identified pupils’ needs and increasingly provide targeted support to enable them to progress well.
• Teachers and teaching assistants frequently provide effective support for the least able pupils to enable them to master the topics that the class is studying. They sometimes provide more demanding work for the most able pupils but there are still many occasions where they could challenge pupils further to enable them to fully reach their potential.
• Leaders compile accurate assessments of pupils’ attainment, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics. They know which pupils are reaching the standards expected for their age and which pupils require extra help to catch up.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils benefit from an education which effectively supports their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in many ways. A strong emphasis on respect for all and a clear differentiation between right and wrong are major features.
• Pupils develop a good understanding of religious faiths and cultures which are different from their own, for example Sikhism, Judaism and Islam.
• Welfare provision is increasingly effective because leaders are putting arrangements in place to do their best to ensure that current pupils are not disadvantaged by any personal circumstances or barriers to learning.
• A wide range of extra-curricular and practical activities enable pupils to develop new skills, for example in sport, art, textiles, sculpture and learning to play an instrument.
• Pupils feel safe in school and say that there is very little bullying of any description. They are confident that if bullying should occur then teachers would deal with it effectively.
• Pupils are keen to take responsibility, for example through the school council, the eco-council and during their ‘take over challenge’, when they act out adult roles in the school for a day.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and acquire a secure knowledge and understanding of potential threats to their welfare, for example when using the internet. Pupils’ cycling training gives them a good introduction to road safety.
• Year 6 pupils are confident about their forthcoming transfer to secondary school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are welcoming, polite and helpful. They behave well in class and around the school, such as at break and lunchtimes. Occasionally, a few pupils become inattentive during teachers’ explanations or when their peers have opportunities to answer questions orally in class.
• The presentation of pupils’ work is of good quality in response to the high expectations of teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils set work out logically and most write neatly.
• Pupils are happy in school and are keen to learn. They fully respect the adults who work with them and respond well to them. Incidents of poor behaviour or bullying are infrequent.
• Leaders do all they can to ensure that pupils attend school regularly and do not become disadvantaged through absence. Leaders take a strong and effective line on persistent absence, which is below the national average. Overall, pupils’ attendance is broadly average. Pupils’ punctuality to school and to lessons is good.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Over time, Year 6 national test results in reading, writing and mathematics have not been good enough. They have represented considerable underachievement for all groups of pupils during key stage 2. Fewer pupils reached the expected standards of attainment or demonstrated that they were working at greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics than found nationally. In 2017, disadvantaged pupils’ results were lower than those of other pupils in the school and well below those of similar pupils nationally. These outcomes were very disappointing for this group of pupils, who left Year 2 with above-average attainment.
• Leaders are clear and determined that the disappointing performance of the school over recent years will not be replicated this year. Older pupils in the school are already achieving much better than the 2017 Year 6 cohort. They are making up for previously lost ground due to the good teaching they now receive. As a result, more pupils are working at the expected standard for their age in reading and mathematics. Despite some improvement, deficits in writing are proving harder to shift. A lack of consistent challenge for the most able pupils has led to a smaller proportion of pupils in Year 6 working at greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics than found nationally over time.
• Disadvantaged pupils are doing much better now than in the past. The difference between their performance in reading, writing and mathematics and that of pupils with similar starting points in the school is beginning to reduce in response to the improved teaching and the extra attention that the school is providing for them.
• This improving picture also extends to pupils in Years 3 to 5 who are progressing well in reading and mathematics in response to consistently good teaching. In Years 4 and 5 there is still a weakness in writing because pupils are still making up for previously lost ground.
• Pupils’ work in science is of good quality in all year groups. Pupils are progressing especially well in their understanding of living things and in their competence in conducting experiments. Work in history and geography shows that pupils have the opportunity to research topics quite extensively so that they develop a sense of time and place. A major feature of pupils’ work in these subjects is the way that they present their findings logically and neatly.
• In 2017, assessments at the end of Year 2 were broadly average in reading and writing and just above average in mathematics. The Year 1 phonics screening check results were also above average. Current pupils in Years 1 and 2 are progressing well. Most are reaching the expected standards for their age in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities in all year groups are beginning to progress much more quickly than in the recent past. This is because leaders have accurately identified the nature of their needs and have provided effective support for them.

Early years provision Good

• Children join Nursery with skills and abilities that are broadly typical for their age. They make good progress during the early years due to effective teaching. The proportion of Reception-aged pupils reaching a good level of development compares well with the national picture.
• Children enjoy the activities they can choose for themselves and those provided by adults. Adults devise activities that are inviting for children and designed to develop their skills, particularly in reading, writing and number. Members of staff effectively engage children in conversation to increase their vocabulary.
• Children relate well to the adults who work with them and trust them. They are keen to talk to visitors about their work and themselves. Good behaviour is the norm. Children listen well and are keen to volunteer answers to questions. They learn to take turns and work collaboratively in groups and pairs.
• Children make good progress overall but some work is insufficiently demanding to really challenge the most able children to attain beyond the early learning goals. The outside area does not yet provide children with the same wealth of activities or level of interest that they encounter indoors.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. Children soon learn the sounds that letters represent. They quickly learn to count and can apply their knowledge to answer questions. Teachers and teaching assistants make accurate assessments of children’s progress and use them to focus on any gaps in their learning. The use of pupil premium funding is increasingly focusing on the pupils with the greatest needs.
• Children’s personal development and welfare have a high profile. Children soon get used to and follow the routines in the setting. All safeguarding arrangements are effective. The setting is well led and managed.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 134913 Leeds 10045064 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 Voluntary controlled 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 232 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address David Jordan Katie Pashley 01132 320034 www.greatpreston-pri.leeds.sch.uk admingreatpreston@brigshawtrust.com Date of previous inspection 30 April 2014 – 1 May 2014

Information about this school

• Great Preston Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School is an average-sized primary school.
• Most pupils are White British.
• There have been many changes of headteacher and staffing since the previous inspection. The new headteacher took up her post in September 2017.
• Pupil premium funding supports a below-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils in the school.
• A smaller-than-average proportion of pupils have SEN and/or disabilities.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed 20 lessons, including four jointly with senior staff. They observed pupils in all year groups being taught at least once and looked at a wide range of written work in English, mathematics, science and other subjects.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior staff, subject leaders, the business manager, governors, groups of pupils and representatives from Leeds local authority and the Diocese of Leeds. One inspector had a telephone conversation with the SEN coordinator, who was not in school during the inspection.
• Inspectors listened to several pupils from Year 6 reading aloud.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including the school’s review of its performance, development planning, records of pupils’ progress, attendance records and safeguarding procedures.
• Inspectors took account of the 22 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire and the 47 responses to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire, Parent View.

Inspection team

John Paddick, lead inspector Adrian Fearn Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector