Stanningley Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Stanningley Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 27 November 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings.

The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2014. This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection.

Since your appointment as headteacher just over a year ago, you have worked tenaciously and assiduously to eradicate underperformance and resolve weaknesses in some school systems and processes. Working alongside the skilled and ...experienced deputy headteacher, together you have set about necessary school improvement with an infectious energy and drive. Your strong leadership has developed a sense of unity among the wider school community.

Restoring confidence, developing buoyant staff morale and establishing an ethic of teamwork have been significant successes. Leaders, governors, teachers and teaching assistants are clearly ambitious to secure ongoing improvements for the benefit of all pupils. There is a tangible sense of purpose, energy and uncompromising ambition to see all pupils flourish, both academically and in their all-round development.

Leaders have a clear overview of the strengths and the small inconsistencies that remain in teaching. As a result, a rigorous and comprehensive calendar of improvement actions and monitoring activities is in place. This assigns the implementation of actions and their evaluation in every week of the school year.

It involves governors and all staff. Staff are empowered through the devolved responsibility you have given them, but also know that they are accountable for driving further improvements in their subject area. Curriculum leaders are becoming skilled in mapping out the knowledge and skills required for pupils in every year group.

They have been supported very well and are now effectively managing their subject areas. Effective whole-school systems allow leaders to audit the quality of provision and devise appropriate action plans. Current improvement actions and initiatives to improve the quality of teaching and learning further, including in mathematics, need to be further embedded and consolidated in order to see their full effect on pupils' progress and attainment.

This includes ensuring that all teachers share equally high expectations of what all pupils can achieve in all subjects, but especially the most able pupils. In addition, some aspects of provision in the early years do not provide enough stretch and challenge to deepen children's learning. You have ensured that the areas for improvement raised in the previous inspection report have largely been addressed successfully.

Since your appointment, leaders have worked hard to develop a new approach to develop high-quality teaching in mathematics. Teachers now plan and provide a rich diet of activities to embed and consolidate pupils' number and calculation skills, built upon an increasingly sound knowledge of number facts by heart. Pupils have regular opportunities to develop their skills in mathematical reasoning and problem-solving.

A structured approach to the teaching of grammar, punctuation and spelling is allowing pupils to use these skills well in extended writing activities. Pupils speak clearly about reflecting on feedback from teachers, and how they use purple pens to edit and correct work. Safeguarding is effective.

You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Policies, procedures and records are now of good quality and up to date. They are effectively maintained by the finance and office manager.

Following your appointment, you immediately commissioned a vital and comprehensive external audit of safeguarding practices. Audit findings were immediately acted upon and a number of key improvements implemented. A recent audit has recognised significant strengths in safeguarding practice, holding up the school as a model of good practice.

You and the chair of the governing body undertake regular checks on all statutory documentation. The adults trained as designated safeguarding leaders fulfil their role with great responsibility and attention to detail. The school's use of a comprehensive online system to record concerns ensures that every piece of information, no matter how small, is considered carefully and not lost.

The culture of keeping pupils safe and putting them at the heart of the inclusive, friendly school community is evident. Pupils categorically state that no bullying happens at school at any time. They have a sound understanding of the different forms of bullying and the reasons it could happen.

Pupils' behaviour is good. They have regular teaching on staying safe out of school and e-safety. As a result, pupils are knowledgeable in these areas.

They have full trust in their teachers and teaching assistants who look after them and report feeling safe all of the time. In the responses to the inspection questionnaire, not one parent suggested that their child was unsafe at school. Virtually every respondent would recommend the school to another parent.

Comments from parents such as, 'The school provides a strong support system for children and parents', or, 'I feel the child's needs are very much met', are apt. Inspection findings ? There is a tangible thread running through all aspects of school that ensures that pupils are valued, safe and that their all-round development is nurtured. This is valued highly by governors.

The important work of the family support worker contributes significantly to pupils' well-being and good rates of attendance. She provides a wide range of activities to help support children and their families. She is a vital cog in the school's work to promote pupils' positive attitudes to learning and to school.

She runs a number of activities in the very well-used community room in school. These include family cooking, family fun activities and courses for trainee teaching assistants. ? Since your appointment, you have ensured that the self-evaluation of school performance has been frank, honest and has not shied away from some difficult issues.

Your assessment of the effect of teaching on pupils' learning has been astute and perceptive, based on a systematic and detailed programme of monitoring. Areas to improve are clearly identified in the school improvement plan. Evidence from the inspection indicates that actions are beginning to secure improved standards of teaching.

There is more to do in establishing consistently high expectations from all staff of what pupils can achieve. This is especially the case for the most able pupils. Currently, too few pupils are working at a greater depth in their learning.

• You have overseen important improvements in the systematic teaching of phonics in school, resulting in a rise in the proportion meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. There is further work to be completed to ensure that this proportion rises further to match and even exceed the proportion found nationally. ? There have been significant improvements to the indoor early years learning environment.

Children play and learn happily together, showing maturity to follow their own interests. Staff in the early years are caring, know their children well and are skilled at providing activities that nurture their development. Further work is necessary in order to ensure that all activities provide opportunities for children to be challenged and stretched in their understanding and learning.

Adults do not always have high enough expectations of what children can achieve. The proportion of children leaving Reception who are exceeding in the early learning goals has historically been below that found nationally. ? You have been successful in developing the skills of subject leaders and establishing structures and systems to allow them to assume key responsibilities for curriculum delivery.

Leaders report feeling valued and supported, each maintaining a detailed file that includes evidence from auditing the quality of provision, examples of pupils' work, action plans, monitoring programmes and key information from professional development opportunities. They are clear that they are accountable to senior leaders and governors, and produce an end-of-year report to summarise strengths and next steps in their subject. ? In response to disappointing assessment information in mathematics, the leader of mathematics has implemented a new approach to teaching in this subject across school.

She has used her time well to lead staff training and update and renew resources to support mathematics teaching. She has devised and implemented a system to embed pupils' knowledge of number facts for instant recall: 'learn by heart'. There is clear evidence in school assessment information that pupils are now making good progress in their learning and that standards are improving.

This is backed up by work seen in pupils' books in every year group. Opportunities for pupils to undertake challenging reasoning and problem-solving activities are plentiful; their basic skills in calculation are being consolidated, embedded and revisited at different times across the school year. Pupils now achieve well in mathematics.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? adults share consistently high expectations of what pupils can achieve, especially the most able pupils ? current initiatives to develop further the quality and consistency of teaching and learning, including in mathematics, are embedded so that all pupils attain the standards of which they are capable ? all aspects of provision in the early years provide appropriate challenge for children, especially the most able children. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Leeds. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Phil Scott Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you and the deputy headteacher. I held meetings with the English, mathematics, science, history and geography leaders. I held a meeting with three governors, including the chair of the governing body.

I met with the school's finance and office manager, the family support worker and the school's associate school improvement adviser. Alongside you, I visited lessons in each key stage and reviewed a sample of pupils' workbooks. I spoke to pupils about their work and their views of the school.

I considered a range of documents relating to safeguarding. I examined the school improvement plan and the school's evaluation of its own performance. I scrutinised records of the evaluation of teaching and learning, and of current pupils' progress and attainment.

I analysed the published data of statutory assessments for 2016, 2017 and provisional data for 2018. I reviewed the 31 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View and responses to the staff questionnaire. In addition, I scrutinised the school's website.