News

How are we doing?

At this time of year, schools start to receive lots of reports and summaries to do with how well their pupils have done in Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  The reports come from all sorts of bodies: Ofsted, for example, but also Fischer Family Trust and the local authority.  At Moortown Primary, our assessment data is thoroughly and continuously analysed, so we keep ahead of the game.  However, it’s always useful to have a fresh perspective on how we’re doing.

On Monday, we have a visit from our local authority school improvement adviser, who will work with the school’s leadership team and a governor on our assessment data.  Here are some of the strengths (from a list of 29) which she has identified in preparation for the meeting:

• Year 1 phonics test scores are above the national average and above last year’s result for our school.
• At the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2), a higher proportion of pupils than nationally are at (or above) national expectations (a Level 2B) in Reading, Writing and Maths; the proportion of pupils working at Level 3 (higher than national expectations) is also higher in all three subjects.  2012 saw a significant improvement in attainment at Key Stage 1, especially the numbers reaching Level 3 in Reading and those reaching a high Level 2A in Writing and Maths.
• Levels at which children work are translated to point scores (for example, Level 2b is 15 or 16 points).  The average point score at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, across all pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 in Reading, Writing and Maths, is above national average.
• At Key Stage 1, there has been a three year upward trend in the amount of pupils reaching Level 2b+, Level 3 and average point scores in Reading, Writing and Maths.
• In Key Stage 2, attainment in all subjects at both Level 4 (the nationally expected level at the end of Year 6) and Level 5 is above national averages.  The amount of children who reached Level 4 or higher and the amount who reached Level 5 or higher in all three subjects combined (Reading, Writing and Maths) is above national figures.
• The gap between children who have English as their first language and those who have English as an additional language (EAL) is narrowing at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
• During Key Stage 2, the amount of children who make two levels of progress (eg moving from Level 2 to Level 4 or Level 3 to Level 5) in Reading, Writing and Maths is above national averages.
• Attendance has been above national average for the last three years.

She goes on to list 13 more strengths relating to our performance and how Ofsted view it.  For example, attainment and average point scores at Key Stage 2 has been significantly higher than nationally in Reading, Writing and Maths (all three combined) for the last four years, significantly higher in Maths for three out of the last four years, and significantly higher in Reading and Writing for two out of the last three years.  Progress measures are similarly strong.

All schools need to keep striving to get better and better and it’s always possible to find some areas of development or issue we need to think about.  Our local authority school improvement advisor listed six points (my comments are in italics):

In Early Years (Reception), the number of pupils reaching what is referred to as a ‘Good Level of Development’ is above national average but has been declining for the last three years.  It’s slightly unfair to compare 2012 data with earlier, because the government has changed the benchmarks for how to assess children in Early Years.  Nearly all schools had a decline in numbers for this measure.  It’s good that the data is consistently above the national figures – and the data is in-line with or higher than the ten most similar schools in Leeds.

Girls outperform boys in the Year 1 phonics test.  …As they do nationally.  Just as much as girls, boys need to have stories read to them and even more encouragement to read lots (factual books and comics are popular choices for many boys).  Please keep supporting your child at home with phonics games to help them practise letters and sounds – ask us for help, and refer to all the different guides we’ve produced, including one for phonics, too.

There are performance gaps between children with free school meals and those who are not entitled to free school meals, and the gap between some ethnic groups is significant and is widening.  This is true and is a concern.  A closer analysis of the pupils who fall into these groups show that there is a clear link with attendance and learning.  We have six children who are classed as persistent absentees and their poor attendance last year affects the data for specific groups in school.

Writing at Level 4 or more is lower than previous two years.  Last year’s class made lots of progress, despite remarkably high turnover of pupils.  Some children who joined in Year 6 did not reach the levels we want.  We predict the current Year 6 class should attain highly as a class.

There has been a decline in Level 5 in all subjects over the past three years.  Level 5 is higher than the nationally expected level (a Level 4).  There has not really been a decline – see the response to the following point for the reason as to this apparent ‘decline’.  Further, we expect there to be a significant rise this year.  (Incidentally, in the last three years, there has been a steady rise in Level 6 attainment in Maths – an even higher level.)

There has been a decline in combined Reading, Writing and Maths at Level 4 or more over the past three years.  This is not really a decline: the data is consistently high across five years, and the ‘decline’ reflects a very strong cohort of children creating a very impressive peak a few years ago, with all children reaching Level 4 or more in all the subjects.  The proportion attaining the expected level or higher remains far greater than other Leeds schools and those nationally.  We monitor and support children closely, ensuring children make as much progress as they can – data shows progress is very high.

Boys under-perform girls at Key Stage 2.  It’s not yet clear on what basis this comment is made; on some measures this is so, on others, it is the contrary.  For example, more boys reach Level 6 than girls, and more boys make higher than expected progress in Key Stage 2.

Rest assured we will continue to build on the strengths and do all we can to address these concerns.  Your continued support at home – especially making sure your children read lots and know their times tables – will help.  If you’d like to speak with me more about our performance data, please do arrange a meeting.

Be a part of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup

Fourteen teams are contesting the 2013 Rugby League World Cup through to the Final on 30th November at Old Trafford Stadium. The RL World Cup is coming to Leeds and Headingley Carnegie Stadium has the honour of hosting two international games, giving the city a perfect opportunity to be part of this unique event.

On Friday 8th November, New Zealand will play Papua New Guinea and on Friday 15th November the 1st Quarter Final match will be resolved.

Tickets are available from £15 for Adults and £7.50 for concessions and can be purchased online or through the 24 hour ticket hotline – 0844 847 2013. The RFL have announced a “Special Leeds Double Offer” for these games, buy a ticket for the NZ v Papua New Guinea game and get your Quarter Final ticket for half price.

Tasty and fun things to do for a healthy Autumn

A free children’s cookbook filled with healthy recipes has been developed by student health workers and members of the Watch It weight management programme for children in Leeds.

Along with recipes to get the whole family cooking together there are many ideas for activities around the city.

Watch It cookbook 2013 can be found in the publications section of the Watch It programme home page.

With a specific lunch section there are plenty of ideas for packed lunches!

Finnish visitors

As you know, we had visitors from Finland last week as part of an on-going project to look at each other’s schools and reflect on outstanding practice.  In their words, here are some of the key features that impressed the visitors from their time at Moortown Primary:

• warm and friendly school where all children are known by name
• consistent and positive approach to behaviour
• enthusiastic teachers
• lots of talk for learning
• a headteacher who is looking to improve practice all of the time and who gets actively involved in lessons and learning
• teachers (and the headteacher) working with groups of children and sitting on the same level as them eg on the carpet
• significant social and emotional awareness
• children know what is expected from them
• standard of maths is high from an early age
• good “learning” noise

A general comment that was made by the visitors was the fact that all five of the Leeds schools have bright displays reflecting learning.  The Finnish teachers commented that if a Finnish child were to come to a Leeds school, they might feel like they were visiting the circus – but they also described their own classrooms as being more like a hospital ward!  They questioned whether so much on display was distracting for the pupils.  We asked our children in assembly; the response from the children was that they liked the displays and that they used them for prompts.  When asked whether they were distracting they said they weren’t because it was what they were used to.

Mrs Weekes and Miss Rushbrooke will be visiting Finland in March 2014 and will be reflecting on any practice that could be successful here.

Love talking!

Parents sometimes ask us why we set Talk Time homework occasionally.

It’s important to help your child with speaking and listening because:

• Your child’s ability to speak and listen well will be a good foundation for their future learning
• If they are good speakers and listeners they will do better at reading and writing
• If they can communicate well with others, it will help them to make friends more easily
• They will become more independent and be able to learn about the world
• Your child will learn to express their feelings and not become frustrated so easily

At school younger children will learn to:

• Think about what they say and choose the right words
• Speak fluently and confidently
• Listen to instructions from the teacher
• Listen to their classmates before speaking and take turns

As they get older they will:

• Join in group discussions and make useful points
• Present to an audience, expressing their opinions clearly
• Take part in decision-making and debate
• Learn how language varies in different situations

How can you help?

Put listening to your child first:

• Show your child how to be a good listener by listening to them and others
• Be patient: don’t interrupt or finish their sentences for them
• Give your child your attention: don’t check your mobile phone at the same time as they are talking to you, for example
• Show you’re listening: ask questions about what they say, ask their opinions
• Listen to your child reading aloud regularly

Be a clear speaker:

• Speak confidently, using the right words and set an example by talking in full sentences
• If English is not your first language, the most important thing is that you speak your own language confidently and well
• Use clear, simple directions for tasks and behaviours
• When your child follows direction, show you notice: praise them for listening to you

Get involved every day:

• Discuss their day with them when you see them after school
• Try to have a family meal together as often as possible
• Encourage your child to talk about their views and interests with others
• Ask them about their homework and get involved with it
• Switch off television and laptops well before bedtime: chat or read a bedtime story together instead

Have fun speaking and listening together:

• Play family games together, like I Spy, Charades, Chinese Whispers and Articulate
• Nursery rhymes, songs, jokes and puppets are an important way of helping younger children learn language
• Re-tell familiar stories and have fun making up your own
• With older children, read books and poetry aloud together
• Discuss and debate issues in the news

…and look at these websites for a few more ideas:

• www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/songs
• www.ican.org.uk
• www.literacytrust.org.uk
• www.britishcouncil.org
• www.talkingpoint.org.uk

Love reading!

It’s fairly clear that when parents ask how they can best support their child at home, the simple but most effective response is to encourage positive attitudes towards reading.

There have been quite a few reports and news stories recently about the importance of reading.  One of the most surprising, perhaps, is the news that keen readers do better at maths.  The study suggests that reading for pleasure is more important to a child’s development than how educated their parents were, leading to a 14.4% advantage in vocabulary, a 9.9% advantage in maths and an 8.6% advantage in spelling.

Other studies back this up: reading plays a key role in children’s development.

Young people who enjoy reading very much are nearly five times as likely to read above the expected level for their age compared with young people who do not enjoy reading at all.

Research also shows that reading for pleasure has a positive impact on children’s attainment in reading assessments. Children who read for pleasure have enhanced levels of text comprehension, an increased knowledge of grammar and show improvement in their writing. They also have more positive attitudes towards reading than their peers.

The advantages of reading for pleasure go beyond academic achievement. Other benefits include an increased breadth of vocabulary, pleasure in reading in later life, a better understanding of other cultures, better general knowledge and even a greater insight into human nature.

Research by the National Literacy Trust indicated a number of concerns about children’s reading habits. The researcher found that only three young people in 10 were reading daily in their own time and that the number of children and young people who enjoyed reading ‘very much’ or ‘quite a lot’ had barely changed since 2005 (50% in 2011 and 51% in 2005). The researchers went on to suggest that many children and young people enjoyed reading but that it was ‘pushed out’ in favour of other activities.

In fact: developing a love of reading can be more important for a child’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic background.

Misleading headlines on attendance

If you’ve seen the headlines in the Yorkshire Evening Press today (04.10.13), please don’t be misled.  First, it’s important to know that nothing has changed since previous communications on the subject, despite this front page news story suggesting otherwise.

Here’s my response to a few of the misleading points:

• ‘You can take holidays in school time’ – This headline reads like parents / carers have got the green light to go on holiday in term-time – this is not true and has never (in my time in education) been true.  Parents / carers might have chosen to do so in the past (we can’t physically stop families at passport control!), but schools and local authorities have never happily authorised this.  Some schools in the area have not authorised holidays for many, many years.  Moortown Primary has been playing catch-up with these schools because our attendance figures have been lower than other schools – they’re better now, and that’s down to stronger policies and your cooperation.  Thank you.
• ‘Parents faced with fines for taking children on holiday in school term time have been thrown a lifeline…’ – I wonder who has thrown this ‘lifeline’.  Nothing new has happened to warrant this story: there is no backing down on policy, there is no relaxing of rules.  One of our parents this afternoon commented on the use of the term ‘lifeline’ to me: ‘it’s hardly a matter of life and death’.
• ‘The Department for Education…said that local authorities could interpret the rules as they saw fit’ – That’s certainly true, but the DfE rules are clear: headteachers should not authorise unnecessary term-time absence.  This is backed up by Ofsted, who routinely use attendance figures in their inspections of schools.  Moortown policy matches Leeds policy.  Leeds policy is not in any way in conflict with national policy.  Here’s an extract from School Attendance: statutory guidance and departmental advice (Department of Education, 2013):

Can a parent take their child on holiday during term time?  Head teachers should only authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances… Leave is unlikely, however, to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday as a norm.

Can a school fine a parent for taking their child on holiday during term time?  Yes. Parents have a legal duty to make sure that their child aged 5-16, if registered at a school, attends that school regularly. If taking an unauthorised term time holiday is grounds for issuing a penalty notice according to the local authority’s code, and if the leave of absence for holiday was not authorised by the school, either the school or the local authority may issue a penalty notice.

The Deputy Director of Learning, skills & universal services for Leeds City Council comments on the article:

The headlines are extremely misleading and encourage people to believe at first sight that not only is Leeds giving permission for heads to authorise parents to take their children out of school for holidays in term time, but also that the Local Authority are in direct conflict with the DfE. Neither of these are true. We are making plain to the YEP through formal channels our concerns about their reporting of this issue. Moreover the DfE are aware of the article and the misrepresentation.

The main body of the article is largely a reasonable discussion of the issues around the new legislation and clearly states that ‘the DfE has said today that the decision by Leeds City Council is not illegal and is in keeping with the legislation’.

To reiterate the Leeds stance: in line with new government legislation headteachers are no longer allowed to authorise any requests for holidays in term time. Only leave requested in exceptional circumstances can be authorised.

Thank you for your support and cooperation around improving our attendance in recent years, and for your continued cooperation to make sure your child’s attendance, and therefore his / her learning, continues to improve.

Taking it to the kids

Following the official launch of the Leeds United Foundation Taking it to the kids scheme, we look forward to welcoming the coaches to work with Year 1 and 2 in the Summer term, as part of their curriculum PE.  The scheme, open to schools across Leeds, provides access to football coaching, promotes healthy living and aims to strengthen links between the club and communities.

Annual survey feedback

In an earlier news item, we told you about your responses to the survey of parents / carers just before the summer holiday.  We happily told you of the very positive feedback (eg 100% agreed with the statement My child feels safe at school and 99% agreed that My child learns a lot in lessons) and we hope we’ve responded with actions on statements that had a slightly lower response (eg the workshops we’ve planned for this term will help you to support your child at home, and don’t forget that simple advice and tips in tweets and newsletters to read lots at home, to visit specific websites, to learn tables are so, so important).

As well as a short list of statements with which to agree or disagree, we invited you to write a few comments down; below is a summary of what the comments say and our responses to these.

General comments

Praise and compliments were the most common comment – thank you.  Here are a few:

• Moortown School continues to nurture and encourage my child in all aspects of his life.  We are all very happy with the school and all the fantastic staff.
• One of the great strengths is the sense of community in school, amongst the children, teachers and parents.
• I think one of the strengths of the school are all the different things that are done to keep the children engaged with their learning eg topics, theme days, creative homework.
• Reception staff have been amazing this year with my daughter and her reading.  With Mrs Burke’s encouragement and perseverance, she has finally got a better understanding.

It’s especially good to read positive feedback from those who have moved to Moortown Primary from another school:

• I am very happy with Moortown – it’s a fantastic school.  My son is very happy and has settled in well.
• My son has had a lot of help since he started at Moortown and he is doing well – teachers are so good.

Of course, we’re not perfect.  Four out of the 70 responses expressed some concern or dissatisfaction (this figure doesn’t include comments about after-school clubs):

Concern about changes such as new teachers, new structure to the day – Some of the changes have been planned, some unplanned; some have been welcome, some more challenging, but rest assured, we have maintained our focus: children’s happiness and learning is always our top priority.  This respondent asked us to be as sensitive as possible to change as their child moved to Year 3 – I think we have, and hope you agree.  Many parents have told me how delighted they are with Mr Wilks and how happy their child is.  Please, if you’ve any continuing concerns, do speak with Mrs Weekes or me.

Unmarked homework – Teachers always look forward to seeing how creative children can be. If you notice the work has not been marked, please don’t worry. Teachers dedicate a slot in their weekly timetable to review homework.  This might be to for TalkTime – time for a class debate or feedback on what has been discussed at home (and hopefully for children to practise using phrases such as ‘My first point is…’ and ‘Furthermore, …’).  Alternatively, it might be to look at the efforts and creativity of the Creative homework – the work might be viewed by the whole class using a visualiser which allows the work to be projected to the whole class and a discussion of ‘stars and steps’ will happen. Peer assessment is also effective – children are very able to share what’s good and what needs improving!  During peer assessment, teachers will talk to specific children, giving them direct feedback about their homework.  These sorts of verbal feedback strategies are often more effective than a written comment because it’s more instant and it makes sure the child understands (and their work is praised publicly!).  We’ve asked children in the School Council about this – they haven’t raised any problems with this practice, and have told us they like to look at each other’s work.

Speech therapy – One parent was unhappy that their child no longer received additional speech therapy.  I understand this will be concerning or frustrating.  Additional, externally-provided support such as this is overseen by Mrs Weekes, our Inclusion Manager (who’s often equally concerned or frustrated).  Mrs Weekes does a great job, recognised in our most recent Ofsted inspection for having significantly improved Special Educational Needs management.  Sadly, there is limited capacity to provide additional support for SEN issues, and decisions regarding who is entitled to support is ultimately made by someone else.  Please, do speak with Mrs Weekes about this matter if you have any questions as to how your son can be supported.

And finally… One parent / carer has listed seven complaints including:

• “The photoboard of staff never appeared.”  This was a suggestion in the 2012 survey, and we acted on this – a display of staff was put up in one of the few public spaces in school, just outside the main reception; I’m sorry you missed it – an updated one will be on show again soon.
• “It would be nice if school trips were more adventurous or further afield.”  I agree!  However, naturally this means that the cost of such trips increases to a point at which many parents can’t afford to contribute.  We always try for a balance and variety.  Last year, trips included a visit to a safari park, a museum in York and a chance to go behind the scenes at a restaurant.  Even local trips, such as one to a nearby museum, Leeds market and Roundhay Park, play an important part in children’s learning and appreciation of their topic work.
• “Texts from ParentMail regarding snow don’t come through till 9.40am – a bit tardy.” Again, I agree.  On these occasions, we always raise the problem with ParentMail – the cause is usually the high demand for the service on particular occasions, such as snowy days.  As a solution, please get our tweets by text rather than solely rely on ParentMail (send follow moortownprimary to 86444) – parents who use this free service nearly always tell us they receive messages about school closures first, well before the school day.
• …And you mention some other issues regarding dates, communications and milk payments which I’d be very keen to discuss with you – please do contact school so we can address or explore the very specific issues you raise.

After-school clubs

We didn’t specifically ask for feedback about after-school clubs, but – after praise and compliments – this was by far the most common comment amongst the surveys.  Again, the vast majority of comments were positive or simply suggestions for future clubs – thank you.

A few years ago, we offered almost no after-school clubs at all.  In recent years, they have become, for most pupils, a popular and positive way to join in even more with school life.  Sadly, we really can’t please all of the people all of the time with this – here are some of the challenges we face:

• We have to balance putting forward a varied menu of activities, but if we offer too many, there’s a risk that the take-up rate for each club won’t be high enough (the more clubs we offer, the lower the take-up rate and participation is spread across more clubs).
• We have to balance cost.  There used to be funds available to subsidise clubs but not now, and the charges for the clubs barely cover the costs – indeed, we often rely on the goodwill of staff or volunteers.  Look out for some sports clubs coming up which will be free (we plan to use specific PE funding from the Department for Education to pay for some clubs over the next few terms).  Also, we offer a free club each term to those pupils who are entitled to free school meals – so make sure you register for this, even if your child continues to have a packed lunch.)
• We have to meet the needs and preferences of children and parents, so whilst one respondent commented that ‘it would have been nice to have different options in the summer term’, another complained that there was ‘no continuation eg classes for a whole year’.  We’re considering a compromise of these two preferences, where we offer the same sort of club (like a sports club) on the same day of the week for the year, although we’ve yet to make a final decision on whether this will be possible.

Particular thanks to the couple of parents who offered help with a club or who recommended a particular company who lead children’s activities elsewhere.  All the suggestions and the other comments have been passed to Mrs O’Malley who creates the menu of activities.

Thoughts on your child’s learning

Of the many comments, all but one were extremely enthusiastic and positive.  Typical comments refer to great progress and enthusiastic learning.  Comments include:

• My daughter started at Moortown Primary last September and has come a long way since then.  She has improved in every lesson and is much more confident.
• I’m particularly pleased with the support given to help my daughter persevere when the task at first seems too difficult.
• Warm and hard-working Y5 teachers bring out the best in their students.
• The topics have really engaged my child, who’s also really enthusiastic about Hobby Half Days!
• My child particularly enjoyed the Science Day and the lessons about ‘not sharing personal information with strangers’

I’ve spoken at length with the parent who expressed some concern, and teachers in school are aware of the issues raised.  Thank you for talking to us in person about this, and please do let keep communicating with us this year about any continuing problems (or successes!).

Thoughts on the teaching of your child

All the comments were positive.

• Mr Owen is a very easy person to approach and is always willing to help and explain.
• Very good communications with both children’s class teachers; very interesting, creative homework; changing books regularly to maintain interest is good.
• There has been good feedback from the teacher.
• Always approachable – great TA as well as the teachers.
• Mrs Burke has been excellent this year.
• Obviously lots of hard work and imagination put into teaching in Reception.
• My son thinks Mr Wilks is a brilliant teacher; the learning has been quite practical and hands-on eg building a go-kart.
• We have valued the advice given to us by the teacher.

One parent commented that (s)he would prefer less open-ended homework.  In response to this, we are going to monitor the type of homework given, and the subject, to make sure we have a balance across the year – thank you for this prompt.

Overall, although agreement with the statements ‘I know how well my child is doing at school’ and ‘Adults in school explain to me how to support my child at home’ was a little lower than with other statements (87% and 91% respectively), it’s reassuring to read so many comments about how helpful and approachable staff are – don’t be afraid to ask for help or to find out more about your child’s learning.

Your children’s views about school

Whilst we take your views seriously, we believe our children have valid and useful opinions and we often respond to them via suggestion boxes in the classrooms, where suggestions then go to the School Council for consideration.  This year, we encouraged you to sit with your child and chat about four prompts: views about learning, about teaching, about feeling safe in school, and about the school in general.  We very much enjoyed reading the comments, and I’m happy to say they were all positive.  I hope you welcomed the prompt to have a discussion with your child about school: research suggests that talking and learning and reflecting about learning can have a positive effect on children’s progress, too!  Here are a few final comments, this time from children:

• It’s not a dark and gloomy school.  It’s bright and colourful and makes you want to stay.
• I like the same routines that we do in learning, as I know what to do and how to do it.
• I feel really safe.  I have never ever been bullied.  I have never experienced anything negative.
• The teacher is funny and makes learning fun, but can be understanding too.
• I feel safe because I know the other people in school and I know bullying is not allowed.
• It’s a good school and a fun place.

Finally, as always, if you have any questions or comments – please do speak with your child’s class teacher or me.

Get set for a new park run

A new free weekly 2km run at Roundhay Park has been set up after a £1500 grant was provided by local councillors.  The Roundhay Junior Park Run will take place every Sunday morning and is open to children aged between four and fourteen.  Parkrun is a worldwide organisation which sets up and manages free weekly timed runs in parkland surroundings.  Fancy a go yourself…?  There is also a weekly 5km run every Saturday at 9am.