News

Playing field - council statement

Below is a statement from Leeds City Council regarding the playing field at the rear of our school:

Moortown Primary has got limited outdoor space, currently consisting of a small ‘hard’ outdoor play area. Because of this, the school has made use of an adjacent playing field which was owned by the former Yorkshire Bank. The bank has sold this land to a private developer who has subsequently submitted an outline planning application for part of its redevelopment for up to 29 houses. By working with the developer Leeds City Council has been able to secure 2/3rds of the land to be used as Public Open Greenspace, effectively a public park.

The laying out of the open space, its use and the handing over of the land to the City Council are all part of the planning approval and legal agreement but the details of how the site will be laid out and used will be the subject of discussions with the local community, the school and members of the Council. These conversations will include determining the best way to provide public open space for community use as well as safe, designated space for use during school hours.

(This statement was received on 26 March, but required amendment to avoid confusion; the delay in publishing is as a result of this.)

Playing field - update 2

Last week, Janice Rush, our Chair of Governors, and I attended a meeting about the playing field at the rear of school.  Also present at the meeting were representatives from Children’s Services and Planning departments, plus Councillors Sharon Hamilton and Alex Sobel.  Cllr Judith Blake, Labour councillor for Middleton Park ward, Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council, Executive Member for Children’s Services, also attended for the first part of the meeting.

It was agreed to explore some possible solutions and meet again in two weeks’ time on 11 April 2014.  The content of these can’t at this moment be made public.

The meeting was positive and constructive.  Since the meeting, Cllr Sobel continues to work towards a solution which it is hoped will satisfy the needs of all stakeholders – this is encouraging.  Another development is that Cllr Blake will visit Moortown Primary next week, on Tuesday morning from 08.30.

Thank you to councillors and other representatives for responding and engaging in the challenge to meet the needs and rights of our pupils: to learn, to play, to grow, to compete, to engage and ultimately to lead a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Playing field - update

Since you received a letter (see below) from Mrs Rush, our Chair of Governors, we have had many questions asking how you can express your views.  If you wish to contact someone to make your views known then our local councillors are:

• Rebecca Charlwood (rebecca.charlwood@leeds.gov.uk)
• Alex Sobel (alex.sobel@leeds.gov.uk)
• Sharon Hamilton (sharon.hamilton@leeds.gov.uk)

You should also contact Leeds City Council Children’s Services – you can email your views from this link.

Alternatively you can wait until the planning application is submitted (expected end of March) and follow the instructions on that to make an objection.

Cllr Sobel has asked via a tweet to note that a meeting with Children’s Services, councillors and representatives from the school has now been arranged.  I’m happy to update you on this matter.  The meeting is provisionally arranged for Tuesday 01 April.

As some of you may be aware the former Yorkshire Bank field behind the school has recently been sold to a developer who has outline planning consent to build a small number of houses on the site.

Throughout the consultation and design process, the governing body of Moortown Primary School has worked with Moortown Community Group, Lime Tree Community Trust, our local ward councillors and the developers. We were led to believe at all stages that some provision for the school would be made in any planning application submitted.

Last autumn, outline planning consent was granted and the above groups all came together to give input to the Stakeholder Workshop held in November 2013. Again, we were led to believe that a portion of the land would be used for housing and the remaining land (around eight acres) would be given to Leeds City Council with some of it becoming a public park and some it being for the school.

Mr Roundtree and I have also met with various members of Leeds City Council Children’s Services (including the Director of Children’s Services, the Chief Officer for Strategy Commissioning and Performance, the Head of Service for Strategic Development and Investment, and the Lead Member for Education) since September 2012 to try to make sure that they are involved in this planning decision and to try to secure some land for the school.

Unfortunately all our hard work and campaigning seems to have been ignored.

At a meeting in February 2014, organised by Moortown Community Group, the developers told us that the plans they were going to submit contained no provision for the school. This decision had been reached working with our local ward councillors, the Parks and Countryside department and the Planning departments of Leeds City Council.

On finding this out, we have tried to arrange further meetings with Children’s Services, the Parks and Countryside department, the planning department and our local ward councillors to:

• find out why the school has been overlooked and will not be allocated any dedicated space
• see if we can change this before plans are submitted at the end of March

A meeting was initially arranged but Mr Roundtree and I were then asked not to attend (at the request of our local councillors) and I have now discovered that our local councillors then cancelled the meeting.

The park is planned to be an informal grassland area. As such, it is unlikely that our school will be able to make use of it for activities such as sports day or organised sports as we do now.

The governing body feel that the current proposals will be detrimental to our pupils. We ask you to join us in raising objections to the plans when they are submitted on the grounds that the school has lost access to private green space and our sports provision will be adversely impacted.

We are not asking for all the land. We fully support the provision of a public park. However, there is enough land available for the school to have some dedicated space and for there to be a park for the whole community to enjoy.

Playing field

Some thoughts about the field at the rear of our school from our Chair of Governors:

As some of you may be aware the former Yorkshire Bank field behind the school has recently been sold to a developer who has outline planning consent to build a small number of houses on the site.

Throughout the consultation and design process, the governing body of Moortown Primary School has worked with Moortown Community Group, Lime Tree Community Trust, our local ward councillors and the developers. We were led to believe at all stages that some provision for the school would be made in any planning application submitted.

Last autumn, outline planning consent was granted and the above groups all came together to give input to the Stakeholder Workshop held in November 2013. Again, we were led to believe that a portion of the land would be used for housing and the remaining land (around eight acres) would be given to Leeds City Council with some of it becoming a public park and some it being for the school.

Mr Roundtree and I have also met with various members of Leeds City Council Children’s Services (including the Director of Children’s Services, the Chief Officer for Strategy Commissioning and Performance, the Head of Service for Strategic Development and Investment, and the Lead Member for Education) since September 2012 to try to make sure that they are involved in this planning decision and to try to secure some land for the school.

Unfortunately all our hard work and campaigning seems to have been ignored.

At a meeting in February 2014, organised by Moortown Community Group, the developers told us that the plans they were going to submit contained no provision for the school. This decision had been reached working with our local ward councillors, the Parks and Countryside department and the Planning departments of Leeds City Council.

On finding this out, we have tried to arrange further meetings with Children’s Services, the Parks and Countryside department, the planning department and our local ward councillors to:

• find out why the school has been overlooked and will not be allocated any dedicated space
• see if we can change this before plans are submitted at the end of March

A meeting was initially arranged but Mr Roundtree and I were then asked not to attend (at the request of our local councillors) and I have now discovered that our local councillors then cancelled the meeting.

The park is planned to be an informal grassland area. As such, it is unlikely that our school will be able to make use of it for activities such as sports day or organised sports as we do now.

The governing body feel that the current proposals will be detrimental to our pupils. We ask you to join us in raising objections to the plans when they are submitted on the grounds that the school has lost access to private green space and our sports provision will be adversely impacted.

We are not asking for all the land. We fully support the provision of a public park. However, there is enough land available for the school to have some dedicated space and for there to be a park for the whole community to enjoy.

Half-way through the school year…

With three half-terms already over, we’re now over half-way through the school year.

In the last year or so, much has changed in the education system nationally… The government has changed content of the National Curriculum, for example, which means that from September 2014, schools (except academies and free-schools) must follow a new curriculum. New attendance guidelines were introduced at the start of this year, as was performance-related pay for teachers. There are changes to assessment in Early Years and in the end of Key Stage 2 SAT tests. These are just four of many changes which take a great deal of time and effort to ‘iron out’ in order for governors to agree a school policy.

Locally, the landscape of education is also changing. There continues to be a significant demand on school places – in this area, that demand is high. Talk of school expansions in the Roundhay – Moortown area is commonplace. Pertinent to Moortown Primary, the field at the rear of the school has been sold to developers for housing and some land for community use. Mrs Rush, our Chair of Governors, has worked hard to try to secure land for us for a dedicated field for sports. Sadly, the needs of our children do not appear to be high on planners’ list of priorities – very frustrating in what is supposed to be a child-friendly city.

On a more positive note, the changes within our school have been great. Our three new teachers are doing a fantastic job. Thank you to all parents who take the trouble to comment favourably about Miss Rushbrooke, Miss Valentine and Miss Curry. The continued improvements to Reception have paid off, with local authority consultants judging teaching and learning to be outstanding. Again, thank you if you have provided us with feedback, in this case in the mid-year Reception survey. We’ll be acting on some of your suggestions, too. Another obvious change is the refurbishment of the ICT suite into the much more flexible ‘Space’ – and once again, thank you, this time for your support of PTA who have helped to fund all the kitchen equipment.

I’m confident the rest of this school year will be just as good.

Growing up in Leeds

Our School Council (2014-15) have been thinking about what it’s like to grow up in Leeds.  Their comments might feature in an article in the Yorkshire Evening Press around the Child-Friendly Leeds campaign.  In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview of what’s been said…

“First, let’s talk about me: Hi, my name is Linda. I am 8 years old and I am in Year 4 in an outstanding primary school in Leeds called Moortown Primary. I was born in the LGI where I first saw my Mum and Dad.

Now let’s talk about my family. I have two brothers, one at Allerton High School and the other one in my school. I have got awesome parents. My Mum is called Patricia and my Dad is called Habib. My Mum is French and my Dad is Algerian.

I am going to tell you the story of how I grew up in Leeds. I grew up with a lovely family, great friends and epic teachers. Also, the great place I grew up in was surrounded by great caring people. Furthermore, I believe that Leeds is an awesome city to be in and to have fun in.

Now let’s talk about the environment. I really enjoy all the activities in Leeds for the kids, such as libraries, cinemas, outdoor and indoor fun, parks and museums, restaurants and many more. I really enjoy the fact that children and young people can travel around the city and make safe journeys. As well as that, Leeds is a multicultural city therefore, I have been able to fit in well to the lovely community. With my French and Algerian origin and my Muslim background, I feel at home in Leeds.

The best thing about growing up in Leeds is having everyone by your side and feeling safe and secure.”

Linda, Year 4

Below is a wish-list of five things to change about Leeds to make it more child-friendly, according to our School Council:

1. Racism: One thing we would like to change is racism because everyone is equal and they deserve their own rights!
2. Bullying: We would like to make sure help is available to anyone who suffers the effects of bullying. Without help, people may get scared when people around them physically or emotionally bully them.
3. Safety on-line: More awareness for children of the dangers they may face on-line to make using the internet safer.
4. Litter: Have you ever been to the park where there is loads of dog poo? Awful, isn’t it! We want a cleaner Leeds for us to play safely.
5. Graffiti: Although some graffiti can be artistic, we feel there is too much graffiti which makes Leeds look messy.

What would our school councillors change about Leeds?

“I would want to help the poor people become richer, and I would want to see more police on the streets because people throw rubbish on the floor. Sometimes I see dog poo on the floor and it makes me sad. I think that dogs should have a playground.”

Stanley, Year 2

“If I was chosen to be a leader for the day, I would like people who do jobs such as firemen, nurses and doctors to be paid more money. Also, I would want to see more police out and about on the streets because there is a lot of crime.”

Dominic, Year 3

“If I was boss for one day, I would give food for all the poor children so that no one is starving and make sure that poor families don’t have to pay any money for things they can’t afford. I would make lots of houses so poor people can live there and get their food delivered free.”

Naran, Year 3

…And what do our councillors think of Moortown Primary?

“Over the last year, quite a lot has happened in our school. Firstly, we had our old ICT suite transformed into a fabulous kitchen / computer room. Pupils were involved in deciding what equipment to have through our School Council and a lot of thought and design went into this project. Money was spent on thirty brand new laptops and a charging trolley. We named our new room ‘The Space’. It is brilliant for cookery lessons because we didn’t have a proper room to work in before, and it is great for IT lessons, too. Now we can enjoy far more fun cookery sessions in a safe environment. It has been a great addition to our school.

Also, we had an Enterprise week where we had to think of a business idea and promote it. Here are some of the ideas we came up with: face painting, Lego models, house robots, Fruity Tooty drinks. People from a local business came into school to listen to our ideas (almost like ‘Dragon’s Den’) and voted on the best one. This was great because we had to work out costs and who to sell our product to.”

Ayesha, Year 6

Our SEAL theme this half-term is...

‘Good to be me’.

This theme focuses specifically on feelings. It explores feelings in the context of the child as an individual, developing self-awareness and helping the child to realise that it really is ‘Good to be me’.

The theme is about understanding our feelings as well as considering our strengths and weaknesses as learners. It aims to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in three key social and emotional aspects of learning: self-awareness, managing feelings and empathy. The theme focuses on:

• understanding feelings, and why and how they lead us to behave the way we do – excited, proud, surprised, hopeful, disappointed, worried and anxious;
• self-awareness – feeling good about myself, taking risks;
• managing my feelings – relaxing, coping with anxiety;
• standing up for myself – assertiveness, standing up for my views

We think this theme is one of the most important and useful SEAL themes of the year, with outcomes that can contribute to positive health and well-being in years to come.  For example, somebody who is assertive and able to stand up for themselves is far less likely to run into problems at high school (think of the pressure people might face with regard issues such as smoking and e-safety).

Developing leadership skills

Recently four Year 5 children took part in Bronze Ambassador sports leaders training at Roundhay School.  After the training, feedback was really positive.

‘I really enjoyed the day and it was a great opportunity to learn how to become a leader… I am going to try to become more confident and get people at school to join in with more sport and other activities.’

These children are now part of a wider group who, alongside Mr Catherall, will be leading sports activity sessions twice a week at lunchtime.  They will be joined by students from Leeds Metropolitan University who will also be delivering physical activity sessions at lunchtime.

Our local sports partnership with Roundhay School has recently been set up and is one of the ways we are investing our PE and sport government funding.

Chick Cam

Here’s a time lapse video which we set up when the chicks in Year 3 and Year 4 hatched. The video is a series of photographs (one taken every minute) and captures the chicks from their arrival as eggs to hatching.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtasRA8Q5Lw

Outstanding

Last week (12.02.14), we invited two people to visit school to review the social, moral, spiritual and cultural provision (SMSC) at Moortown Primary. All schools in England must show how well their pupils develop in SMSC – it’s a key component in any Ofsted inspection of a school.

• Social: Use social skills in different contexts; work well with others; resolve conflicts; understand how communities work.
• Moral: Recognise right and wrong; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.
• Spiritual: Explore beliefs and experience; respect values; discover oneself and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.
• Cultural: Appreciate cultural influences; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.

It’s always a good idea to invite others into school to evaluate what we’re doing – a fresh pair of eyes can confirm our own thoughts, provide alternative ideas, make useful suggestions and generally keep us on our toes!  In this case, the advisors come from Leeds Healthy Schools team.  The visit included interviews with school leaders, pupils, staff, parents and governors and a tour of the school that included observations of teaching and learning and an examination of displays and information;

They confirmed that our work around SMSC is outstanding – excellent news!  Here’s the conclusion of the inspection report:

Evidence from the review indicates that the potential for success in SMSC at Moortown is linked to:

• purposeful and dynamic leadership to ensure that SMSC is embedded and having an impact
• reviewing progress and impact to ensure that agreed procedures are consistently applied
• specific attention afforded to preserving and further developing the school’s ethos and environment through excellent communication
• high morale from focused CPD and induction, role clarity, staff welfare and consideration of getting the best out of all staff
• encouraging a culture of teamwork and positive relationships
• opportunities for pupil consultation and feedback
• equality and fairness for all through an environment of trust and confidence
• a relentless focus on pupils’ learning
• treating everyone with respect.

And, for those of you interested to read the full report findings:

The school’s leadership team are clearly making a significant difference and Moortown benefits from the expertise and commitment of a headteacher who is a Local Leader of Education and a Chair of Governors who is a National Leader of Governance. Leadership has successfully created an admirable learning culture that is exemplified through the frequent mentions of ‘trust’, ‘confidence’ and ‘openness’ from all those who were interviewed. One school council member said that ‘There is one really important word and that is trust’. Leaders are equally aware of the importance of SMSC in the current context. SMSC is therefore a feature within both the school’s self-evaluation framework and a key strand in planning.

The key driver to SMSC development is a very effective curriculum that is demonstrably relevant, broad, balanced and differentiated. The curriculum is also deliberately flexible so that an extensive range of enrichment activities can be used to embed and successfully integrate SMSC with the core learning strands. Activities include themed weeks such as Community Week and areas such as drama to encourage empathy and understanding.

There are clear indications of a rigorous, consistent and open approach to self-evaluation. There is an unrelentingly strong focus on learning – hence the outstanding pupil outcomes. Staff who were interviewed are familiar with expectations regarding SMSC and through the school curriculum are successfully articulating the impact of activities that have been undertaken by the school.

The school’s SEAL programme is also having a significant impact on SMSC development and all pupils, staff, parents and governors who were interviewed testified to the relevance and importance of the SEAL work in school.

Governors joined parents for an interview and confidently demonstrated their awareness of the rationale for the school’s policies and procedures, all of which are successfully underpinned by an ethos and environment of which the stakeholders are justifiably proud. ‘We are all working together… the school has a family ethos’ (parent comment).

Pupils were abundantly clear about what was expected of them and were able to confidently discuss aspects of SMSC and their relevance and importance. One pupil, unprompted, said, ‘We are aware of diversity, culture and religion’.

The school has successfully addressed the challenges of an old building and lack of space by an imaginative approach to the use of available space. The external environment, for example, has maps, designated play areas and even an outdoor gym. Pupils have been given an opportunity to influence decision-making in this area. ‘It’s a lovely school to be in – there’s a nice environment’ (pupil comment).

The school website does not specifically mention SMSC but is informative, highly interactive and engaging and on the evidence of this review accurately reflects the reality of life at Moortown. The ‘Join In’ section in particular reflects the deliberately inclusive nature of the school’s practice and an encouraging willingness to consult and respond to feedback from stakeholders. There is also a strong sense of responsibility for placing the school at the heart of its local community, reflected in the determination to be a ‘family school’. All stakeholders valued the quality of communication available to them, from the excellent and varied use of technology through to letters home and personal conversations. The school recognises that its stakeholders access information in a variety of ways and has responded accordingly.

Evidence from the audit indicates that the school’s Mission Statement, carefully exemplified in a visual statement designed by the pupils,accurately reflects the guiding principles and values that underpin the school’s ethos and environment. SMSC is firmly embedded within these principles. There were a number of examples of a positive ethos working successfully to support SMSC. For example, the quality of relationships and pupil perceptions of fairness and equality were obvious strengths. Pupils were respectful of each other and could describe how they would support a pupil in crisis or behaving badly. They clearly expect to be supported and to support each other. A parent said that ‘Here they will all come out as rounded human beings in society’. This is evident through the way that mutual respect has been inculcated between adults and children.

Pupils have been engaged in a number of fund-raising activities including selecting their own charities to support and leading initiatives to raise money. Pupils’ work is carefully and purposefully displayed and excellent SMSC examples can be witnessed throughout the school. These include hall displays reflecting work on ‘How you are feeling?’ with sections on excitement, pride, calm and jealousy as well as the ‘7 R’s of Learning’.

Interviews with staff confirmed their pride and enjoyment in working at Moortown, their commitment to pupils and their willingness to go beyond expectations to enhance pupil experiences. This is demonstrated through the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities that are offered to pupils.

Cultural diversity is celebrated extensively by the school and the website indicates that ‘The multi-cultural dimension of our school’s community is another strength: we celebrate our many diverse backgrounds’. Parents and pupils spoke confidently about how diversity is valued and how they are able to contribute to developing common understanding about religious and cultural matters.

Universal praise was also afforded RE lessons, which were described as ‘exciting and interesting’ by one pupil. A parent mentioned that homework can also encompass a spiritual dimension. There is also an Urdu / Punjabi speaking Teaching Assistant to ensure support for identified pupils and parents where appropriate.

Pupils had a strong sense of respect and shared values and could describe what these mean to them, including the difference between right and wrong. All pupils who were interviewed felt that pupils helped each other and that staff cared about them as individuals.

The school is justifiably proud of its inclusive ethos and its role in the community. Policies published on the website, including Equalities, Positive Relationships (including behaviour) and Safeguarding, proved to be entirely relevant and pertinent during discussions with pupils, staffand other stakeholders. Behaviour is excellent and not perceived to be a problem. Parents spoke enthusiastically about anti-bullying measures that ensure the very few cases are handled quickly and sensitively. Pupils know how to support each other ‘Give them a compliment’… ’Talk to them in a nice way’ (pupil comments). The whole school behaviour system is a consistent approach that has clearly had an impact and helped the children to feel reassured that everyone is treated equally.

The school council is democratically elected and spoke passionately about the school. Some of the best things about being at Moortown that pupils stated were the willingness of staff to help, the range of exciting learning opportunities and the way the school listened to pupils. Pupils had a direct influence on school resources, the selection of charities, introduction of a dodgeball club and the provision of football and basketball nets. The SEAL box also allows pupils to write anonymous or identified comments about worries, news, school council suggestions or certificate nominations. This is much appreciated by the pupils. Feedback from the school council showed that pupils enjoy coming to Moortown and appreciate what is offered to them. All pupils who were spoken to said that they feel safe at all times in school. It was commonly felt that all pupils had someone to talk to if they had a problem, be it a pupil ‘buddy’ or a trusted adult. There has also been a remarkably successful approach to e-safety exemplified through pupils’ confident feedback on this area.

Health and well-being is a key focus area and there is abundant evidence of pupils recognising and responding positively to the desire for a healthy lifestyle. This includes everything from a healthy tuck shop to the popular PE and dance lessons and even a pupil looking around the house for solvents after a drug education lesson. The emphasis on ‘managed choice’ is an entirely sensible one in this area. There was a strong sense of loyalty from all staff participants who were passionate, enthusiastic and proud to be a member of the school community. The tour of the school and subsequent interviews clearly demonstrated high levels of respect amongst pupils and between staff and pupils. Pupils were courteous at all times in and around school. Staff and pupils confirmed that new pupils are welcomed and supported.

There is a very clear focus on learning and raising educational standards within the school. Pupils understand what types of behaviour should be rewarded and recognised that high achievement and good attitudes to learning are inextricably linked. They also appreciate the efforts of their teachers: ‘Learning is always fun because our teacher is really good’… ’It’s not that you need to learn, it’s because you want to’ (pupil comments). Rewards are manifest and varied and include positive feedback, some excellent certificates and postcards home (the last two enthusiastically presented by an appreciative parent). There are high levels of IT literacy with pupils speaking confidently about their use of new technology, including iPads.

Staff morale is high because of the inclusive, team based approach and because leaders ensure staff welfare is taken seriously. This is much appreciated by the staff who were interviewed. Careful recruitment, selection and induction procedures were deemed to be essential components of ensuring new staff can quickly make a contribution and enjoy the benefits of working at Moortown. All staff access targeted CPD which is valued by both teaching and support staff. There is a culture of sharing good practice, with staff clearly supportive of each other in school. Staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities and mentioned the need to ‘model our behaviour’ for pupils. We were reminded by staff that ‘Respect everyone and everything’ is a school rule. They also said that ‘There is no-one I couldn’t ask for help in this school’…’Support is definitely there’.

Finally, it was suggested that we might consider the following areas for development:

• Engaging in the Investors in Pupils programme which ‘fits perfectly with the prevailing child-centred ethos at Moortown’
• Further develop the School Council through eg children chairing meetings, allocation of a school council budget etc.

We will consider the Investors in Pupils award, and will definitely invest more in the School Council – the idea of a budget is an excellent one!

The report ends with the following thanks:

We would like to thank the school for its very positive and professional approach to the review. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a committed, responsible and knowledgeable group of staff, pupils, parents and governors. We wish the school continued success in the future.