Hunslet Moor Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Eradicate variations in the quality of teaching, so that pupils make consistently strong progress by ensuring that: all staff have the highest expectations of what pupils can and should achieve the effective practice evident in most teaching is systematically shared across all year groups.
• Continue to improve the teaching of reading across the school by:
  • building on the strong and effective practice in the early years and key stage 1
  • training all adults in school to teach reading effectively
  • ensuring that all areas of the early years environment are rich in opportunities to develop and extend language
  • providing more opportunities for parents to understand the teaching of phonics and early reading approaches, so that they are better placed to support their children as readers.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The school is very well led. The headteacher inspires those around her and instils her values of self-belief and high expectation. She is a strong force for good, within both the school and the local community. She is trusted, respected and valued by staff, parents and pupils.
• Leaders have worked relentlessly and have successfully transformed the school since the previous inspection. They have a clear sense of moral purpose and are determined to improve outcomes for pupils at Hunslet Moor. Recently, they have skilfully managed a complex building and expansion programme that has resulted in a modern, fit-for-purpose learning environment. This new build contributes significantly to pupils’ learning.
• Senior leaders share the strong vision for teaching and learning and communicate this well. All staff understand it clearly. This has increased expectations of pupils and staff. As a result, there is now much greater consistency in teaching and learning and improved outcomes for pupils throughout the school.
• Leaders make regular checks on the quality of teaching and learning and provide precise feedback for staff. This is having a positive impact and improving teaching and learning. The monitoring helps to identify, inform and focus training needs for the whole school and for individuals. Tailored professional development is ensuring that the quality of teaching and learning continues to improve. However, a small amount of teaching remains inconsistent. Leaders are taking effective action to bring about the required improvements.
• Leaders have created a culture where staff feel empowered to try new approaches and take a lead across the school. They continually support each other and share what works. This means that teaching, learning and assessment are continually improving. For example, the introduction of a whole-school approach to support pupils to improve their writing has been successful. There is a clear consistency in the way teachers use these new techniques and rates of progress have increased as a result.
• Phase leaders, many of whom are new to post as the school grows, are developing well. They are bringing a sense of urgency to making improvements. They are increasingly contributing to improving teaching and raising standards in their areas of responsibility. They make accurate assessments of pupils’ learning. Their work within the local alliance of schools makes sure that assessments of pupils’ learning are agreed with other schools and areas reliable as possible.
• Parents are overwhelmingly happy with the education that their children receive. Parents felt that their children are safe, happy and well looked after. Parents welcome the visibility of staff at the start and end of the school day. They are very clear about the importance of pupils arriving at school on time. One parent told an inspector that the school was improving ‘in leaps and bounds’. Another commented, ‘onwards and upwards’. Many parents spoke positively about the progress that their children make and the support provided for them.
• Pupil premium funding is spent thoughtfully and ensures that disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively. Pupils supported by this funding have opportunities to take part in all that the school has to offer. They are well supported by skilled staff who address the gaps in their knowledge and skills in English. Senior leaders and staff have a good awareness of the barriers to learning and the challenges that this group of pupils faces. As a result, the progress of disadvantaged pupils is better than that of non-disadvantaged pupils in the school.
• The physical education (PE) and sport funding is used effectively to support pupils’ participation and enjoyment in sport. The wide range of after-school sports clubs such as dance, boxercise, skipping and basketball are popular. Many pupils take part in sporting events and competitions with local schools and at a nearby stadium. Opportunities to participate in physical activities at lunchtime have contributed to pupils’ good behaviour and provided opportunities for older pupils to share sportsmanship qualities.
• The school has highly effective systems in place to identify and assess pupils with SEND. Their needs are addressed in a variety of ways, including high-quality teaching, extra support in class and specialist interventions from school staff. Additional funding to support pupils with SEND is managed well.
• Although pupils’ attendance is below the national average, leaders have implemented a wide range of strategies to combat this. The importance of good attendance is promoted well with pupils and parents. Links with the community are supporting positive relationships between home and school. These links are successfully improving attitudes to attendance, particularly during religious festivals. Additionally, leaders do not shy away from taking firm action, such as issuing penalty notices, if required. Consequently, pupils’ attendance has more recently improved. Leaders are committed to securing and sustaining the improvements made so far.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted strongly. Pupils are taught the difference between right and wrong and know how to conduct themselves appropriately. Relationships across the school are respectful, particularly with regard to pupils’ backgrounds or religious beliefs. Pupils follow instructions and understand the importance of school rules. Pupils who struggle to manage their own behaviour receive immediate support and benefit from individual plans created for them. As a result, the behaviour of these pupils improves over time.

Governance of the school

• Governors are committed to ensuring that the school is inclusive and at the heart of the community. They have carefully considered the opportunity to expand the school and have evaluated the impact that growth would have. Governors have secured stability in staffing, increased the capacity of leaders and ensured that there are high expectations for pupils. Governors have been instrumental in creating a culture which is about removing barriers to learning by quickly addressing need, particularly when learning English as an additional language.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders take their responsibilities for the protection and care of pupils very seriously. They ensure that there is a strong culture of keeping pupils safe. Leaders have put clear systems in place for safeguarding pupils. Regular training and updates about safeguarding support staff in being alert to possible signs of concern that pupils may present. Staff report concerns promptly to the designated safeguarding leaders who swiftly take effective action.
• Staff are very knowledgeable about the community they serve. This helps them to be aware of any potential risks and provide appropriate support for vulnerable families. The school works effectively and tenaciously with external agencies to provide suitable care for pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers are skilled and have good subject knowledge. Because of the very effective and sensitive systems that leaders have put in place, staff know their pupils and their learning needs well. They use this knowledge effectively to focus their teaching on what pupils need to succeed. Because of this, pupils overall make at least good progress. However, although teaching is generally strong, there are occasions when staff expectations are not consistently high. This can result in a slowing in the pace and a reduction in the depth of learning. This is particularly the case for most-able pupils.
• Pupils want to learn. They take real pleasure in learning and rise to the challenge of staff’s generally high expectations. They have pride in their work and presentation is generally good, particularly in key stage 2.
• Relationships among pupils and between adults and pupils are open, enthusiastic and kindly. The atmosphere in the school’s attractive classrooms, where learning materials are readily at hand, is calm yet lively. Pupils respond promptly and in detail to staff requests and questions. Pupils work well together.
• Pupils, who spend some of their time learning in The Bridge, the school’s on-site short intervention provision, make very strong progress. This is because of the quality of teaching. Staff expectations are high and relationships are strong and trusting. The work is accurately focused to meet pupils’ needs and enables them to make rapid progress in their classes. Pupils take real delight in their learning and are rightly proud to talk about their success.
• Staff use questioning well to draw out detailed responses from pupils. Inspectors saw many examples of teachers and teaching assistants using insistent, yet kindly, questioning to link the current topic to previous learning. As a result, the questioning deepens and develops pupils’ understanding. For example, in a Year 5 learning challenge art session, the teacher deftly supported a pupil with focused questioning. He reflected in class discussion on a Brazilian artist’s use of primary colours and symmetry. Pupils were enthralled.
• Staff are alert to the needs of their pupils. They monitor the effect of their teaching, carefully during lessons. Because of this, they promptly praise good work and address misconceptions. In a Year 3 mathematics lesson, for example, it was clear that a sizable group of pupils had not quite grasped some aspects of estimation. The teacher addressed the whole class with a sharp explanation and a pupil-led example of good practice. As a result, the learning moved on rapidly.
• There is strong set of effective and school-wide approaches to learning and assessment. These approaches encourage pupils to develop their independence and resilience as learners. For example, pupils have time during their lessons to respond to focused, colour-coded comments from their teachers in their books. Teachers’ comments are succinct and help pupils know exactly what they need to do next to improve.
• Teaching assistants are well deployed. They have a positive impact on learning and on pupils’ well-being. They support pupils effectively and help remove barriers to their learning. They do this by keeping them on track and focused on the task in hand. The majority of teaching assistants show high levels of skill, particularly in the use of questions.
• The teaching of science, across the school, is good. Pupils’ science books, especially in key stage 2, show clear evidence of pupils’ writing and presenting data in an appropriately scientific manner, using specialist vocabulary and diagrams.
• The whole-school approach of using speech in the improvement of reading and writing is having a very positive effect on pupils’ skills and confidence as writers and readers. Pupils enjoy making links between what they read and the ways the writers use language to create effects. For example, in a Year 2 class, a group of pupils working with a teaching assistant were very keen to explore how the word ‘raging’ created effects in a description of the Great Fire of London that they had been reading.
• The teaching of reading is effective. Inspectors saw examples of skilled teaching of phonics. Pupils respond well to the detailed, multi-sensory approach, high expectations, skilled actions and questioning of both teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils’ learning and confidence developed at a quick pace in the phonics sessions that inspectors saw during the inspection. The books that younger readers read at home and at school are carefully matched to their phonic knowledge to help ensure that they grow in skill and confidence. Teachers in early years and key stage 1 are skilled as teachers of reading. However, not all teaching assistants are trained to the same high level.
• Staff provide good support for pupils whose reading is not yet fluent or who speak English as an additional language. Because of the skill and vigilance of staff, pupils who may be falling behind are quickly identified and their needs met with additional, carefully targeted support. The impact of these sessions is rigorously monitored by staff to ensure that pupils are getting the precise support they need. Leaders recognise the need for further opportunities to engage parents in supporting their children to learn.
• Mathematics is generally well taught. Inspectors saw staff using carefully structured work and focused questions to test out pupils’ knowledge and skills and deepen their understanding. Pupils responded with enthusiasm, working together and in teams to solve problems. The diet of mathematics is varied with an appropriate emphasis on problem-solving that uses and tests out pupils’ number and logic skills. The work in pupils’ mathematics books shows strong progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are confident and self-assured. They understand about equality and demonstrate respect for cultural diversity and religious backgrounds which are different from their own.
• When pupils join the school, they are quickly assessed to identify any potential barriers to their learning. When support for pupils’ social and emotional development is required, staff are quick to respond. This helps pupils to be more successful in their academic studies.
• Leaders have been proactive in making sure that pupils have a secure understanding of what constitutes bullying and how to respond, should it occur. Consequently, pupils say that bullying is rare. Pupils say that the adults in school take great care of them and make them feel safe.
• The Bridge provides valuable support for vulnerable pupils and those who are new to English. Here, pupils are provided with highly focused support, often on a one-to-one or small-group basis. Staff work with families and support teachers in how to best assist the pupils when they are integrated back in class with their new friends.
• Older pupils question and explore how British values, such as the rule of law, affect people both in school and beyond. Younger pupils discuss and consider issues such as respect. One said, ‘You can’t tell someone’s religion by the colour of their skin – you have to ask them.’ Pupils demonstrate their skills of debate and demonstrate tolerance when contemplating the views of others.
• A range of visitors, including the fire service and charitable organisations, complement the curriculum for safety and make sure that pupils hear regular messages about how to be safe and manage risks. Pupils can confidently describe how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. They talk about the importance of personal privacy and understand the risks when using live internet chat.
• Pupils are encouraged to participate in a wide range of opportunities and experiences which are on offer such as after-school clubs. Roles in school, such as leading lunchtime activities with younger friends, give older pupils a sense of responsibility. The school council makes a valuable contribution to pupils’ understanding of being involved in decision-making. Through the IntoUniversity programme, pupils work with graduates to support their learning in school. The scheme confirms the school’s commitment to develop pupils’ high aspirations of the next stages of their education.
• A welcoming breakfast club, open to all pupils, is well attended. It provides pupils with a prompt start to the day and offers a healthy breakfast. This means that pupils are ready to learn well when school begins.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Leaders have worked hard to set high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. The strategies, which have been quickly implemented by leaders in the remodelled building, have been consistently and rigorously applied by all staff. This means that pupils have a clear understanding of the choices they make and the consequences that follow. They value the DREAMS rewards system and respond well to the incentives. Consequently, there is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in school. Pupils move around school sensibly, showing respect for each other. They say ‘good morning’ to visitors and politely hold doors open.
• In the few instances when a pupil makes the wrong behaviour choice, a discussion about the rule which has been broken, and the impact on others, is enough to address almost all situations. Staff are trained regularly in applying the school’s behaviour policy. Leaders check pupils’ behaviour routinely and intervene early to ensure that all are well supported. Leaders’ preventative and responsive approach prevents poor behaviour from escalating. There have been no fixed-term exclusions in the current school year.
• Pupils behave well in lessons. On the infrequent occasions where low-level disruption begins, it is attended to immediately and subtly. Consequently, it does not have a negative impact on the learning of others.
• Attendance, while below the national average, is improving. The improvement shows the impact of leaders’ diligent work with families in raising their awareness of the importance of good attendance. During religious festivals, the school works in close partnership with local religious leaders to support pupils’ good attendance at school. Through this strong link, leaders demonstrate their understanding of, and absolute commitment to, joint working that puts the welfare of children and young people at its heart.
• Persistent absence is higher than that found nationally. However, this absence is adversely affected by the high number of pupils who leave for an extended period of time and later return to school. A few pupils who remain on the school’s roll all year are persistently absent. This is because leaders work closely with each identified family and this usually results in the pupil no longer being persistently absent.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Decisive leadership and good teaching have led to significant improvements in pupils’ outcomes. This is particularly the case in English and mathematics.
• Despite significant mobility among the school population, attainment has improved. Although recent attainment in national tests remains below average, current rates of progress are much stronger and attainment is improving quickly.
• Pupils are making strong progress, very often from particularly low starting points. The school’s own assessment information shows that the longer pupils stay at Hunslet Moor, the more they develop their knowledge, skills and understanding and achieve well.
• A significant number of pupils who join the school have little or no English. This is a barrier to their reaching the standards typically expected of their age. However, pupils and families who arrive at the school during the year are fully and effectively supported. Their needs and strengths are carefully assessed and well-focused provision put in place. Many of these pupils attend The Bridge. Skilled staff teach basic skills and support pupils to develop their confidence so that they can access the school’s wide curriculum. Because of highly effective teaching linked to their specific needs, pupils very quickly develop their language skills and make rapid progress.
• Across the school, pupils with SEND make similar progress to that of their peers. Disadvantaged pupils also make good progress. This is because the school is effective in providing a highly personalised programme of learning for these pupils.
• The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check, while below the average, has improved since the last inspection. It is now closer to the national average, especially for pupils who have attended continuously since their time in the school’s Nursery.
• The school’s curriculum is effective because it ensures that links are made with pupils’ learning across a range of subjects. Pupils have regular opportunities to reinforce their reading and writing skills in a range of purposeful contexts. This supports them in making good progress. For example, in science writing books, especially in key stage 2, there are many examples of pupils writing scientifically: assessing evidence; drawing conclusions and presenting their findings in a clear scientific manner. This work not only shows their developing skills as scientific writers, it also shows their developing facility with mathematics in science.
• Pupils’ work across the curriculum is of a good standard across the school. Pupils take pride in producing well-presented work which demonstrates their subject-specific skills through a wide range of interesting and engaging tasks. This work in other subjects, also contributes strongly to their improving attainment in English and mathematics.
• Reading is a developing strength across the school. It is well and thoughtfully led. The recently introduced, whole-school approach has resulted in reading having a high profile. The school’s curriculum now gives pupils many more opportunities to develop their skills as readers, across a range of subjects. Pupils spoke with inspectors enthusiastically about reading and books. Staff encourage not only a love of reading in pupils, but also a focus on developing young readers’ skills in identifying the ways that writers use language to create effects.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership of the early years is effective. Leaders have high expectations of the team of staff working in the provision and they are accurate in their evaluations of their effectiveness. They accurately identify clear next steps to ensure continued improvement.
• Systems and routines to identify the differing needs of children are well established. As a result, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of Reception, while still below the national average, has improved over time. Current children make strong progress from their low, and often very low, starting points. Disadvantaged children make strong progress because leaders ensure that the pupil premium is targeted effectively and keeps differences between groups of children to a minimum.
• Staff have high expectations and move children’s learning forward rapidly. For example, when questioning, staff do not always accept children’s first response, instead, they delve deeper and ask them to explain why. Children rise to this challenge because they are enthused and excited to learn.
• Staff in early years ensure that children have opportunities to explore and enjoy spoken language. Staff support this very well in their interactions with children. Children are engaged and challenged by staff who pose questions such as ‘How many bubbles can you count?’ and ‘Can you sound out this tricky word?’
• Teachers’ good subject knowledge, along with the effective use of resources and first-hand experiences, support children’s phonics development. In the current year, a greater proportion of children have made strong progress in phonics. Inspectors saw children thoroughly enjoying phonics. They could barely contain their excitement as the teacher tapped on the magic suitcase to find out what today’s sound was to be. The resulting learning was fun and fast-moving, with all children fully engaged as a result of staff’s skills and high expectations.
• Across the early years, children are exceptionally well cared for. Routines and expectations are well established so that children listen carefully to adult instructions. Leaders have made sure that children’s welfare requirements are met. All staff are vigilant with regard to safeguarding the children in their care.
• Teachers plan provision well in response to children’s needs, interests and address any gaps in their learning. The Nursery and Reception environments were significantly upgraded at the start of the current school year. Indoor and outdoor areas provide a wide range of opportunities for children to use and apply their newly acquired skills. For example, children taking part in a physical activity outside, blowing bubbles, were also consolidating their mathematics learning by counting the bubbles they saw. Leaders recognise more needs to be done to develop these environments by enhancing the richness of language and phonics prompts.
• Parents are welcomed into school. A stay-and-play event in the Nursery was well attended. Parents are very satisfied with the way the school ensures that their children settle and thrive in early years. They said that they felt involved in their children’s learning. They said that staff are approachable and keen to help. Teaching assistants play a vital role in encouraging some reluctant parents to visit school. As local community members, their encouragement is both trusted and respected. Parents are particularly grateful for text message reminders to invite them to events such as celebration assemblies.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 107951 Leeds 10047606 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 Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 409 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Emma Marshall Hannah Darley 01132 717257 www.hunsletmoor.co.uk headteacher@hunsletmoor.leeds.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 June 2014

Information about this school

• Hunslet Moor is a much larger than the average-sized primary school. The school has recently undergone a complex expansion programme, which has seen 68 additional pupils join the school in the current year. A new wing of the school was built in 2017/18 and the existing buildings were refurbished in 2018.
• More pupils than average are from minority ethnic groups and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average. The school has 14 out of the 17 possible ethnic groups represented in its population.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for additional funding through the pupil premium is much higher than average and in the highest 20% of schools nationally.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is now lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans is also below the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed a range of teaching and learning across each phase of the school, including the early years provision. A number of these visits were undertaken jointly with senior leaders. During observations, inspectors sampled pupils’ books and talked to pupils to evaluate their understanding of their current topic and their experience of school.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteachers, the early years leaders, the special educational needs coordinator and phase leaders. Inspectors also met with groups of pupils from key stage 1 and key stage 2, a group of governors, including the chair, and talked by telephone to a representative of the local authority.
• Discussions took place with parents at the start of the school day and with a group of parents who attended the stay-and-play event in the Nursery.
• Inspectors scrutinised a sample of pupils’ books from key stages 1 and 2 which covered the breadth of the school’s curriculum.
• Inspectors listened to groups of pupils from Years 2 and 6 read and talked to them about their books and experiences of learning to read.
• Inspectors had lunch with pupils, observed playtime and lunchtimes and noted their conduct around the school.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, policies, assessment information, curriculum planning and records of checks on the quality of teaching. Inspectors also looked at records of attendance, behaviour and safeguarding information.
• Inspectors took account of the views of 19 staff who completed the staff survey and the 36 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. There were too few responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, to draw any meaningful conclusions.

Inspection team

Jonathan Chicken, lead inspector Mark Evans Alison Ashworth

Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector