This Leeds primary school has been told it needs to improve

Victoria Primary Academy in Osmondthorpe was given a Requires Improvement rating at its most recent inspection on January 29.

It's the first time the school has been visited by Ofsted since joining the Wellspring Academy Trust in 2015. In its previous guise as Victoria Primary School, it was judged as Requires Improvement.

The proportion of pupils who come from disadvantaged backgrounds is higher than average, but the number of children who speak English as an additional language is lower.

The school was told to improve across five of the six main assessment criteria: overall effectiveness; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; outcomes for pupils and early years provision. The sixth area, effectiveness of leadership and management, was deemed Good.

The school's weaknesses

- In recent years, considerable staffing disruption and change have had a negative impact on the school’s effectiveness. At the end of year six, pupils’ standards of attainment have been low. Pupils have not been well prepared for secondary school.

- While many improvements are now underway, this has yet to result in pupils’ good progress over time. The quality of teaching across the school remains variable.

- Teachers do not use assessment information consistently well to ensure that pupils are given tasks that meet their varying needs and abilities. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low. Work lacks challenge, especially for the most able pupils.

- The teaching of phonics requires improvement. Some staff use incorrect pronunciation when teaching letter sounds to pupils.

- In lessons, some pupils do not show good attitudes to learning. Tasks fail to sustain their interest and concentration. When this happens, their behaviour wanes. This disrupts pupils’ learning and wastes valuable learning time.

- Pupils do not take enough pride in their work. Often, it is poorly presented.

- Some middle leaders are relatively new to their roles. Their skills in evaluating pupil performance and checking the effectiveness of teaching are at an early stage of development.

- Children’s learning in the early years does not get off to a good start. Teaching is not consistently good, and, therefore, children do not make good progress from their often-low starting points. They are not well prepared for the demands of the key stage one curriculum.

- Attendance is below average. Despite recent improvements, too many pupils miss school regularly, particularly disadvantaged pupils.

The school's strengths

- Strong senior leaders, along with effective support from governors and the trust, have successfully reversed the school’s decline.

- Together, they are bringing about rapid improvement in many areas. Teaching is improving and standards are rising. Pupils’ behaviour and attendance are also improved.

- Safeguarding procedures are strong and effective. Well-managed systems ensure that pupils are kept safe.

- There is a supportive and nurturing culture at the school. The social and emotional needs of pupils are very well-met.

Wellspring Academies Trust chief executive Mark Wilson said:-

"We are pleased that inspectors recognised the strength in leadership that is securing rapid improvement and rising standards.

"We are also pleased that the supportive and nurturing culture at the school has been recognised and that the social and emotional needs of our children were judged to be strong.

"The report identifies many areas where the school has not done well enough over time. We continue to build on the areas of strength with effective governance and experienced leadership.

"Victoria's report is the eleventh endorsement of the effectiveness of leadership and management of Wellspring Academies from our eleven Ofsted inspections thus far.

"This demonstrates the strength of our team that will deliver lasting improvement at Victoria and throughout our school communities."