Middleton St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Accelerate pupils’ progress in order to raise attainment in reading, writing and mathematics, especially for boys and disadvantaged pupils, by:
  • ensuring the consistent and accurate teaching of letter formation and handwriting, in line with the school’s policy
  • developing, more systematically, pupils’ vocabulary and, through this, improve their comprehension skills
  • ensuring a consistent approach to the teaching of mathematics so that pupils are given more opportunities to use and apply their skills to problem-solving and reasoning
  • ensuring that the school’s policy for teaching reading is implemented more consistently.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning across the school by ensuring that:
  • teachers have consistently high expectations of the quality and quantity of work they expect pupils to complete
  • tasks are matched more carefully to the pupils’ different needs and abilities, particularly for the most able
  • the pace of learning is appropriate and learning time is not lost
  • pupils respond to the teacher’s written comments and feedback, in line with the school’s policy.
• Improve pupils’ learning behaviour and attitudes to learning by:
  • developing pupils’ pride in their work so that completion rates and presentation improve
  • develop pupils’ resilience so that they do not give up when work is challenging
  • reducing low-level misbehaviour.
• Improve children’s progress in the early years, particularly boys, so that more are better prepared for Year 1 learning by:
  • ensuring that opportunities for reading and writing are promoted more effectively, particularly for boys
  • using assessment information incisively to ensure an accurate picture of what children can do in order to plan for their next steps in learning.
• Improve the middle leaders’ skills so they are able to better plan, implement and check on the impact of improvements and initiatives.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Too much variation in the quality of teaching, coupled with significant staff change over the last two years, has led to variable pupil progress and pupils not reaching the standards they are capable of, particularly some boys and disadvantaged pupils.
• The headteacher and deputy headteacher, along with governors, have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Although a number of well-considered initiatives have been put in place, it is too early to see the impact of some of these.
• Although middle leaders are keen to fulfil their roles, and are committed to doing their best for the pupils, their skills at planning, implementing and checking that improvements have an impact on pupils’ learning are underdeveloped in some important areas.
• A success of leadership has been in improving attendance rates, following a dip in 2016, so that attendance is average and persistent absence has reduced.
• Although requiring improvement, there have been some recent improvements to the leadership of teaching. For example, a coaching approach, introduced over the last year, has helped to bring about much-needed improvements to the quality of teaching. Leaders know where further work and development are needed.
• The primary school physical education (PE) and sport funding is used well. Pupils understand the value of regular physical activity as a part of a healthy lifestyle.
• Leaders carefully plan and monitor the use and impact of the pupil premium strategy, and have correctly identified the need to evaluate more critically the effect of their work. The effectiveness of last year’s work in this area was evaluated appropriately. Although there were some successes, the impact of the funding was uneven on pupils’ progress.
• In many respects, the leadership of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is effective, but the impact on pupils’ learning and progress is uneven. A range of support for individual pupils and small groups contributes to some sound provision for pupils. For example, adults working with individual pupils are patient and often provide helpful support, which helps these pupils to remain on task and make gains in their learning.
• The broad and balanced curriculum ensures that pupils are taught about a range of world faiths. Pupils are able to talk about why it is important to know about different religions. The promotion of fundamental British values is effective. For example, some older pupils explained how visiting a local mosque had helped them to be more understanding of different peoples’ beliefs. Discussions with pupils demonstrate that their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong.

Governance of the school

• The appointment of a national leader of governance to the governing body has helped to improve governance. Governors are developing a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. A range of detailed information about the progress and attainment of pupils is shared with governors. They know the school well, so know where improvement is needed.
• Governors engaged well with the diocese and the local authority when recruiting a new headteacher.
• Governors’ understanding of their role in challenging and supporting leaders is beginning to develop well. They have a clear overview of what actions are being taken to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The safeguarding team is trained to an appropriate level and staff know who to pass any concerns to, if there are any issues. Suitable records are kept electronically and, where needed, referrals are made to other agencies.
• Employment checks are carried out appropriately on new staff before they join the school. These checks are recorded as required in a single central record.
• The school site is safe and secure. Risk assessments are in place for the site and for some of the individual pupils who attend the school. Appropriate risk assessments are carried out for educational visits.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Although there is a core of effective teaching there is too much variability across the school. As a consequence, pupils’ learning and progress are uneven.
• Teachers do not always use assessment information effectively to set tasks at the right level to challenge pupils of all abilities, particularly the most able pupils. Consequently, pupils do not make as much progress as they could. Sometimes, teachers set tasks that do not provide enough challenge or give pupils the opportunity to apply new skills and ideas.
• Not all teachers insist that work is completed to a good standard. Although a core of effective teachers have high expectations and communicate these very clearly, this is not always the case. Too often the quality and quantity of work are wanting. Too many pupils make careless errors, such as incorrectly spelling common words. These errors are at times not picked up by staff, even when the school’s approach is to insist that such words are always spelt correctly.
• Incomplete work is evident in many pupils’ exercise books. Both pupils and their teachers identify that a significant number of pupils give up when the work is challenging or when pupils have to work for a sustained period of time.
• The pace of learning sometimes slows when pupils have to wait for others to catch up. Sometimes, learning time is lost when pupils are moving from one activity to the next, or when getting ready for breaks or lunchtime.
• The teaching of letter formation and handwriting, in line with the school’s agreed policy, is inconsistent. As a consequence, pupils do not always form letters correctly and this contributes to poorly presented pieces of work.
• The teaching of early reading is improving. The recent introduction of a school-wide scheme means that pupils benefit from a well-structured approach to teaching pupils about letters and the sounds they represent. Teachers and other adults use their phonics subject knowledge well. Although there are green shoots, this new initiative has not had enough time to have an impact on pupils’ skills across the school.
• When reading new texts, pupils use their phonic skills well to work out unknown words. However, a particular challenge for the school relates to pupils’ limited understanding of vocabulary. This adversely affects their comprehension of texts.
• In mathematics, teachers have begun to plan more opportunities for pupils to work with apparatus and equipment to help pupils’ computation skills. However, across the school, the opportunities for pupils to apply their skills to problem-solving and reasoning are inconsistent.
• In line with the school’s policy, teachers’ marking and written feedback in books are regular. Teachers often identify where work could be better or where corrections are needed. However, the impact of this is inconsistent and too many pupils do not benefit from this feedback. ,

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• A sizeable proportion of pupils do not have positive attitudes to learning and this impacts on their learning and progress. Not all pupils show pride in their work and achievements. As a consequence, sometimes work is not well presented or is unfinished. In a small number of cases, pupils give up when the work is challenging, or when they have to work for a sustained period of time.
• Pupils have a secure understanding of what constitutes bullying. Although some pupils say that bullying occurs, they are confident adults will sort the problem out. A small number of pupils say that problems with bullying are not always sorted out quickly enough.
• Pupils have a good understanding of the key elements of a healthy lifestyle and say they enjoy PE. They are aware of the importance of eating fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced diet.
• Pupils are aware of the importance of online safety.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Although classrooms are generally orderly places, there is some low-level disruption when the quality of teaching is weaker. This adversely affects pupils’ learning and progress. When the work is not at just the right level for some pupils, they quickly come off task and do not complete their work.
• Pupils confirm that behaviour has improved over the last year. For example, they confirm that there are fewer incidents of poor behaviour disturbing classroom learning. The work of the learning mentors is effective at helping pupils whose needs mean that they find learning difficult.
• Around the school, pupils behave sensibly and play well together at breaktimes and lunchtimes.
• Following a dip in attendance rates and a rise in the proportions of persistently absent pupils, leaders have taken effective steps to follow up all absences. As a consequence, attendance has improved to be average and persistent absence has reduced.

Outcomes for pupils

• Variability in the quality of teaching and learning means that pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is uneven. Too few pupils make the progress they should from their different starting points. The school’s assessment information and work in pupils’ exercise books show that where teaching is weaker pupils make less progress.

Requires improvement

• The proportions of pupils succeeding in the Year 1 phonic check have increased, reflecting some improvements in the teaching of early reading, but remain below average and boys do not do as well as girls.
• Pupils do not make enough progress throughout the school because the quality of teaching is not always good. Over time, this has had a negative impact on pupils’ progress and attainment. Over the last two years, results of the key stage 2 national tests show that pupils have not made enough progress, particularly in mathematics. The school’s assessment information and work in books show that where teaching is effective pupils make better progress.
• Disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to their classmates. Where the quality of teaching is better, disadvantaged pupils make better progress. However, their progress is not as good as other pupils nationally.
• The progress made by pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is equally as variable as other pupils at the school. There are clear examples of pupils who are supported well and who are beginning to make clear gains in their basic skills. However, equally there are some pupils who are not making as much progress as they could.
• Pupils make gains in a range of subjects. Some of these gains are related to pupils’ interests and enthusiasm for the new topics being studied. Older pupils, for example, were able to talk with confidence about their work in science, history, geography and religious education. They were able to name a range of world religions and outline similarities and differences between different beliefs.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The recently appointed early years leader has an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses across the setting. With the team, he has begun to make improvements. For example, the outdoor areas have been developed well.
• When children join the foundation stage, their skills and knowledge are below what would be typical for their age. The proportions of pupils reaching a good level of development has been below average for the last three years. The proportions of boys who reach the early learning goal in reading and writing is below average.
• Leaders have paid significant attention to the promotion of reading and writing by extending opportunities for writing and mark making outdoors. The impact, however, is not yet leading to the secure development of early reading and writing skills, particularly for some boys. Consequently, pupils are not well prepared for their move into Year 1.
• Staff accurately assess children using ongoing observations of children during both structured and free choice activities. The extent to which these are used to plan children’s next steps are underdeveloped.
• All welfare requirements are met and staff are caring. Routines are clear and children settle well so they are happy and safe. A good range of quality resources and planned experiences, across both settings, support the development of children’s skills, knowledge and personal development.
• A wide range of good quality resources, especially in the outdoor area, enable children to be curious about their learning and remain on task, often for sustained periods of time. The environment is rich in language, which is used to develop children’s speaking and listening skills. Adults support children’s learning, often modelling how to play games and share resources.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 108002 Leeds 10052882 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 453 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Jan Linsley Naomi Wood 01132 717206 www.middletonstmarys.co.uk enquiries@stf.middletonstmarys.co.uk Date of previous inspection 2–3 February 2016

Information about this school

• Middleton St Mary’s is larger than most primary schools. This voluntary controlled Church of England primary school’s last section 48 inspection was carried out in July 2016.
• The majority of pupils are White British, with a few coming from a small range of minority ethnic groups. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is much higher than average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average and the proportion who have an education, health and care plan is below average.
• Since the last inspection, most of the teaching staff and leaders are new to the school, including the headteacher, who was previously the executive headteacher. Around half of the governors have been appointed since the last inspection, including a new chair of governors.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in all classes. Some of this learning was observed jointly with senior leaders.
• Discussions took place with school staff, members of the governing body, representatives of the local authority and a representative of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds.
• The inspectors met with three groups of pupils and talked informally with pupils at lunchtime and breaktimes.
• The inspectors also listened to Year 1 and Year 3 pupils reading. They observed the school’s acts of worship and breaktimes.
• The inspectors took into account the 30 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including 30 free-text comments. Inspectors spoke to parents at the beginning and end of the day.
• The 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, planning and monitoring documentation, the work in pupils’ books, records relating to attendance and behaviour, and the school’s information on pupils’ recent progress and attainment in English, mathematics and a range of other subjects.
• The school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised. The inspectors reviewed the school’s website to confirm whether it met the requirements on the publication of specified information.

Inspection team

Amraz Ali, lead inspector Andrew Soutar Gill Wild

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector