'Vibrant and welcoming' Leeds primary school with outstanding personal development enjoys fresh Ofsted visit

Whinmoor St Paul's CofE Primary School, located on Whinmoor Crescent, Leeds, has been reaffirmed as a Good school by Ofsted, following an inspection on April 1 and 2.

The school continues to build on its previous inspection in 2020, which saw it rated as Good in four of the five inspected categories - quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision.

During its 2020 inspection, Whinmoor received an Outstanding rating for its personal development, which followed a run of three consecutive Requires Improvement ratings - dating back to 2013.

The education watchdog said: “This is a vibrant, welcoming school that provides an extensive range of opportunities for pupils to broaden their experiences. Each year, pupils benefit from talking to important visitors and visiting interesting places.

“Pupils take on a wide range of responsibilities that support improvements in school. The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. The majority of pupils reach these expectations by the time they leave the school.”

Behaviour is good, while, the atmosphere is “calm and purposeful as you walk around the school,” according to inspectors. Pupils show good manners, holding doors open for others and encouraging them to ‘have a nice day’.

The school promotes a “love of reading well,” while in mathematics, pupils’ knowledge and skills build logically on what they learn each year.

Inspectors report that children are “inquisitive about learning” from the very start of school and they enjoy taking part in class discussions and listen carefully to their peers.

Focusing on areas of further improvement, they added: “Sometimes, pupils are not given work that allows them to build on what they already know and can do and deepen their understanding in mathematics. This means that some pupils do not develop the sophisticated understanding of mathematics of which they are capable.

“The governing body does not check the information it receives from senior leaders well enough. This means governors do not have the knowledge they need to challenge and support leaders effectively. The school should ensure that governance is effective.”

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The school has ensured that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are “identified early and supported well.” Staff work closely with professionals from external agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the help that they need.

Whinmoor places a “strong emphasis on the well-being of staff and pupils,” according to inspectors. Staff are proud to work at the school and feel there is a supportive team ethos.

The school has “maintained standards” since the last inspection.