Fagley Primary flying high with outstanding Ofsted success

Staff and pupils at Fagley Primary School are celebrating being rated as outstanding in all areas by Ofsted.

In a glowing report the Bradford school was given the top inspection rating for the effectiveness of its leadership and management; the quality of its teaching and learning; pupils’ results; the personal development, behaviour and welfare of the children and for its early year years provision.

The report has been welcomed by the whole school community.

Head teacher Chris Parfitt said: “The report reflects the school ‘just as it is’ with sound statements reflecting the dedication and commitment of school staff and governors who are absolutely marvellous in their exceptional practice to enable every child to succeed and do their very best at school, at home and in the community, now and in the future”.

A group of Year 6 children read the report with a school governor and made the following comments:

“The report is fantastic – full of lovely comments about our school. The headteacher Mrs Parfitt, is a determined headteacher and she won’t stop until all children have achieved their standards. In her vision all pupils are stars in their own way”.

Inspectors said the headteacher’s vision that every pupil will make outstanding progress and aspire to be the best has helped to secure rapid improvements in the teaching and learning at Fagley Primary School.

The progress pupils make in reading, writing and maths by the end of their time in primary school is significantly above the national average.

Ofsted highlighted the exceptional curriculum which they say engages pupils very effectively. As a result, pupils at Fagley Primary thoroughly enjoy their education. The report also praises senior leaders for their work and governors who are said to be passionate in both their support for the school and their challenge of its leaders.
Inspectors say new staff are well supported in their roles and the quality of teaching is continuously improving.

Pupils and their families are cared for exceptionally well. Parents speak highly of the school and the support they receive from staff.

Ofsted said there are excellent relationships throughout school and behaviour is impeccable. Pupils are praised for respecting each other’s differences and work and play together harmoniously.

Judith Kirk, Bradford Council’s deputy director for education employment and skills said: “This Ofsted report is extremely positive about all aspects of school life at Fagley Primary School. Inspectors not only rate the education the school provides as outstanding but are also full of praise for the support and input of governors and parents and of the work and attitude of the pupils themselves. Everyone connected to the school deserves great credit.”

Head teacher Chris Parfitt said: “The report reflects the school ‘just as it is’ with sound statements reflecting the dedication and commitment of school staff and governors who are absolutely marvellous in their exceptional practice to enable every child to succeed and do their very best at school, at home and in the community, now and in the future”.

Bowling Park Primary celebrates Ofsted success

Staff and pupils at Bowling Park Primary School are delighted to receive their second good Ofsted result following an inspection in March this year.

The result reflects the continued and sustained improvements that the school have undergone in the last few years.

In 2008, two schools, one based at Usher Street, and one based at New Cross Street were merged to create the new Bowling Park Primary.

Before this, both schools were struggling to achieve and Usher Street Primary had been in special measures for a number of years.

Since the merger, and the appointment of their new principal, Stuart Herrington, the school has come on in leaps and bounds.

This most recent inspection highlights how far the school has travelled to become a caring, hard-working and fun place to learn.

The Ofsted team noted that the school’s principal, leadership team and governors are “unwavering in their determination to ensure that every child is nurtured, cared for and inspired to learn”.

Inspectors were particularly impressed with children’s knowledge and ambitions for later life, adding: “Together, you have all been successful in enabling pupils to overcome barriers to learning. You have raised their aspirations and improved their life chances”.

The school was also pleased with the response from parents, who have always been very supportive. One parent described Bowling Park as, “a caring, stimulating environment”. They went on to say: “The team consistently challenge my children to progress and achieve their potential.”

In their inspection in 2008, Bowling Park Primary were advised to develop maths and the quality of teaching. In their most recent inspection Ofsted notes that “significant improvements” have been made.

Principal Stuart Herrington said: “Everyone at Bowling Park Primary is delighted with this report which we feel captures the strengths of our school. The school, staff, children and families are now looking forward to a very bright future, filled with lots more exciting learning and continued improvements.”

@BowlingParkPS

Inspectors praise Bradford District’s ‘very effective’ joint working arrangements for keeping its children safe

Inspectors have praised organisations across the Bradford District, including Bradford Council, the police, probation and health services for the way in which they work together to protect children living with domestic abuse.

The independent inspection, published on the GOV.UK website, made a special note of the fact that all of the agencies in Bradford have high aspirations for Bradford children and that leaders and managers are delivering ‘very effective’ services and ‘getting the basics right’.

Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, the Leader of Bradford Council, said: “The recognition in this report from four national inspectorates, including Ofsted, that Bradford has high aspirations for its children is very positive news for our district and something for which we should all be very proud. We will build on this work but we must remain vigilant when it comes to protecting Bradford’s children.”

Inspectors looked at how organisations work together to respond to abuse and neglect across the Bradford District. It included a special focus on how organisations respond to children living with domestic abuse.

The report found that:

• Across partners there is commitment to continual improvement to offer a wide range of high quality services to meet the diverse needs of children and families.
• Both the lead member and the Chief Executive of Bradford Council are very well informed about the diverse needs of children in Bradford and the quality of services to children in need of help and protection.
• Children and parents who experience domestic abuse have access to a wide range of services to meet differing needs.
• Leadership within children’s social care is effective and senior managers are creating a healthy environment in Bradford for effective social work to flourish.
• The Strategic Director of Children’s Services is focused on ‘getting the basics right’ in social work practice but also in innovating and using external sources of funding and expertise to drive new developments and approaches to providing effective support to children and young people.
• There are very effective multi-agency arrangements within the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).
• Social workers are well supported to enable them to work effectively with families. Caseloads are manageable and workers receive regular supervision.

Michael Jameson, Bradford Council’s strategic director of children’s services, said: “This was a very thorough examination of part of our district’s safeguarding service which recognises the innovative work we are developing for children and parents. We know there is still much more to do, but this report shows that we are ‘getting the basics right’ and going in the right direction.”

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said: “The inspectors recognise the challenges that our different agencies face and the robust measures we are putting in place to tackle them. We can never be complacent about safeguarding, but this thorough inspection recognises the good work we are doing.”

Damien Miller, West Yorkshire Police’s superintendent for safeguarding partnerships, said: “We welcome the inspection report and are pleased that our partnership work to protect children living with domestic abuse has been recognised positively. We are pleased that the inspection has seen the hard work, which is resulting in our timely and effective responses to tackle domestic abuse, as well as our prompt and effective information sharing.”

Nancy O’Neill, director of collaboration for the district’s clinical commissioning groups, said: “We are pleased that the report recognises the many examples where effective partnership work in Bradford has resulted in timely and good quality support to local children and their families, ultimately reducing the risk of harm.  We look forward to developing the partnership, using the findings of the inspection to further improve our support to children and young people living with domestic violence.”

The detailed joint inspection was carried out by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, HMI Constabulary and HMI Probation between 27 February and 3 March 2017 with the final report published on 21 April 2017.

 

Dixons Kings Academy named as Enterprise Challenge Winners

A team of young entrepreneurs from Dixons Kings Academy has won the regional final of an enterprise contest.

The pupils won the Yorkshire Final of the 2017 Enterprise Challenge competition for the second year in a row.

It is run by Mosaic, The Prince of Wales’ mentoring charity, and part of The Prince’s Trust.

Team ‘ElektroFit’ beat competition from other school teams across West Yorkshire with their idea for a sustainable business that promotes student fitness, and converting that energy into electricity.

The competing teams pitched their ideas in a Dragons’ Den-style event to a prestigious panel of judges including Martin Richardson, Director of Operations at Leeds Building Society.

ElektroFit will now progress to the Grand Final in London on May 17 where they will compete against winning schools from the North West, South East, London, West Midlands and Scotland for the chance to become national champions.

The winning team will win a prize of £2,500 for their school and a further £500 to invest in developing their business idea and making it a commercial reality.

Twitter: @DixonsKings

Pupils shine in preparation for BBC Music Day

Pupils are getting together to write songs with the help of musician, Roger Davies as they prepare to perform at BBC Music Day in June.

The pupils in year 5 and 6 from Keelham Primary School, Dixons Music Primary School, Marshfield Primary School and Feversham Primary Academy will sing four songs together at the event in City Park.

Roger Davies – a guitarist, vocalist and harmonica player – is hosting singing and song writing workshops with the children ahead of BBC Music Day.

In preparation for the event, Mr. Davies will visit each school and host rehearsals to enable the pupils to practise for the event.

It has been confirmed that one of the songs will be written with the help of the youngsters and will be called ‘Bradford City Serenade’.

Other songs which will be performed are:  Bradford Born ’N’ Raised, as well as On Ilkla Moor Baht ’At and Lou Reed’s Perfect Day.

BBC Music Day takes place in City Park on Friday, 9 June.

Roger Davies working with pupils at Keelham Primary School

 

 

 

Bingley Grammar School pupils bring art to new paediatric wards

Creative pupils from Bingley Grammar School have recently had their creative designs brought to life to brighten the stay of young hospital patients.

The pupils have worked on mood boards and features for the new paediatric wards and adolescent lounge for Bradford Royal Infirmary’s new wing.

The idea behind the artwork was to help make the young patients feel at home when at the hospital.

The project was open to all year groups and has taken part in a number of workshops creating themes, colour schemes and coming up with innovative ideas which includes a “selfie” wall where patients can post pictures and notes for other young patients to see.

Winners revealed at the Bradford School Awards

Hundreds of teachers, support staff and representatives of the district’s schools attended the Telegraph & Argus School Awards Ceremony to celebrate the stars of Bradford education and the good work being done in Bradford’s schools.

The Leadership Award went to the late Gareth Dawkins, who passed away last year. Mr Dawkins had worked as principal of Bradford Academy since 2007 and previously led Challenge College in the city. The award was presented to his two sons and Bradford Academy’s current principal Tehmina Hashmi who paid tribute to him.

 The Secondary Teacher of the Year was awarded to Zaheer Jaffary, a PE teacher at Carlton Bolling College.  Zaheer was nominated for his work with its girls’ cricket team in the school. Since he set up the team three years ago, it has achieved numerous awards, as well as breaking cultural stereotypes.

The Primary Teacher of the Year was awarded to Elizabeta Butkovic, of St John’s CE Primary in Bierley.  Mrs Butkovic fled her home during the Balkan crisis in the 1980s, ending up in Bradford. A teacher in her home country, she dreamed of once again teaching, and learned English, gaining qualifications and securing a job at St John’s 18 years ago.

Elizabeta Butkovic, who fled Balkan crisis in the 1980s, wins Primary school teacher award

The Community Involvement Award, which recognises the work schools do to create stronger links with the wider community was awarded to  The Syrian Action Team, pupils and staff at Dixons City Academy who organised events for refugees living in Bradford.

The School Improvement Award went to Farnham Primary School, an inner city school where many pupils start not being able to speak English, after being ranked as “outstanding” by Ofsted inspectors last year.

The Achievement Award went to Horton Park Primary School, which has become one of the best performing primary schools in the district for the progress its pupils make.

Horton Park Primary wins achievement award at #bfdschoolawards

The Newcomer of the Year Award went to Naomi Simpson, who works at Hazelbeck Special School in Bingley and is in her first year of teaching.

The Support Staff Member of the Year was awarded to Lynne Dobson, who has been teaching the children of Peel Park Primary School art for years.

The Voluntary Contribution Award went to Lesley Matthews, a Beanstalk reading volunteer at Atlas Primary School.  Lesley said she hoped to encourage other people to become volunteers.

The Business in Schools Category was awarded to The Business Friends of Haworth Primary School, a project that sees the school working with local businesses to give children real world business experience at an early age.

The Science and Technology Award went to Joe Ryan and Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College for the work being done to boost Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths at the school

Finally, the Governor of the Year Award went to Jackie Walters, who has been on the governing body at Newby Primary School for over 25 years.

#bfdschoolawards

New wheelchair swing will help to spread a smile

The Nell Bank Outdoor Education Centre in Ilkley has received a donation of £6,000 to buy and install a new wheelchair swing for disabled children and adults who visit the centre.

The donation was made by Coun Joanne Dodds, former Lord Mayor of Bradford as part of her ‘Spread a Smile’ charity work. The cheque was received by Dan Goodey, head of centre at Nell Bank and Nicola Norris from the Specialist Inclusion Project.

Dan Goodey said “We are delighted to be given this money for a wheelchair swing. Nell Bank is committed to enabling disabled people take part in outdoor activities alongside their able bodied peers so a new wheelchair swing will be a great addition to our adventure playground. Donations like this make a huge difference to the centre and help us to keep adding new activities for our visitors so every trip can become even more exciting than the last.”

Coun Joanne Dodds said “We are pleased to be able to support Nell Bank again with a donation for the new wheelchair swing. Nell Bank is a fabulous resource for Bradford children and I am glad that we can bring a new piece of equipment to the centre which will benefit children and adults who use wheelchairs.”

Nicola Norris said: “the specialist Inclusion Project works in Partnership with Nell Bank to provide activities and short breaks for disabled children. A wheelchair swing is something children and families have been asking for for a long time, they will be so excited now that the centre is going to be getting one.”

Coun Imran Khan, Portfolio Holder for education, employment and skills, said: “Outdoor education provides a fantastic experience for young people. It’s great that the Council and the Nell Bank Trust can work in partnership to provide more facilities for the District’s young people thanks to this generous funding.”

Nell Bank provides day and residential activity programmes for all ages and abilities as well as weekend breaks for families with disabled children.

Pupils raise money for life-saving Defibrillator

Pupils at Thackley Primary School hosted ‘Save a Heart Day’ on Valentine’s Day in order to raise money for a life-saving Defibrillator.  The school hopes to raise enough money to buy a defibrillator to be kept outside the school grounds and available to the public 24 hours a day, meaning residents and anyone at school can get the help they need in an emergency.

The school took part in the ‘Save a Heart Day’ with a series of fundraising activities which included all the children coming to school wearing red or pink, a fantastic Valentine’s bun sale and a raffle for a teddy bear and Valentine’s hamper!

The school has also received generous donations from the local community & businesses of which they are very thankful, Jigsaw Out of School and Holiday Playscheme, The White Bear Public House, and parent Tracey Hall who made & sold heart shaped cakes.

Kate Bainbridge who is a KS2 teacher at Thackley Primary School and leading on the fundraising said:

“Thackley Primary School hopes to raise enough money to buy a life-saving defibrillator for the school and wider community.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the UK’s biggest killer, killing 100,000 every year, and 15 young people every week.  Having a defibrillator at the school for us and the local community increases a person’s chances of survival to between 70 and 90 per cent.”

Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said:

“Congratulations to the staff, pupils and parents at Thackley Primary School on raising funds to go towards this life-saving equipment.  We hope they reach their goal to fund the defibrillator.

Hopefully this will not need to be used but it is reassuring for the school and the community that the defibrillator is available if required”.

To make a donation, please contact:  Mrs. Annette Patterson, Head of School T 01274 414437.

Follow Thackley Primary School on Twitter: @ThackleyPrimary

Two Bradford nursery schools celebrate being outstanding for 10 years

Staff at two nursery schools in Bradford are celebrating being given a top grade by Ofsted for the fourth inspection in a row – meaning they have been rated as outstanding for ten years.

Lilycroft Nursery School and Midland Road Nursery School have both been judged to be outstanding in new reports praising the quality of early years education they provide.

For both nursery schools it is the fourth consecutive time they have achieved this – having first been rated as outstanding back in 2007 in their first inspections after this top grade was created by Ofsted.

Ofsted inspectors praise Midland Road  for using its funding innovatively “through dance and outdoor play and teachers have woven the areas of learning skilfully into these session”.

The school employs a dance specialist and a  forest school specialist to deliver these sessions and was able to demonstrate the significant impact on children’s learning and progress.

Parents say the nursery school is “brilliant” and staff are “excellent at treating children as individuals, developing their interest and helping them to make progress.”

Headteacher Sharon Hogan said: “I was delighted that the inspector recognised that the staff team is a strength of the school. We have a great mixture of experienced and younger colleagues who together ensure that Midland Road not only continues to be outstanding after so many years but has also been able to grow and expand the work that it does.”

Lilycroft Nursery School is also given glowing praise in its new report published today. Inspectors say the school provides high quality teaching and provision for three and four-year-olds.

The report says Lilycroft staff have created “a safe, warm and exciting place for children to be. Parents say how excited their children are about coming to school.”

It adds: “Teachers plan effectively to offer open-ended activities which allow children to take their learning as far as they are able, and children have the confidence to do this.”

It also praises the school for working hard to involve parents in their child’s reading and supporting them to do this effectively. Inspectors say parents have valued this support and comment on how well their children are progressing, particularly with language development.

The two inspection reports mean that more than half of the nursery schools in the Bradford district are judged to be outstanding with the others all judged to be good.

Two other Bradford nursery schools have been rated as outstanding by Ofsted. Canterbury Nursery and Centre for Children and Families, was given this rating earlier this year and St Edmunds’s Nursery School and Children’s Centre was rated as outstanding at its inspection last year – for the third time in a row.

Anne-Marie Merifield, who is executive head at both Lilycroft and  St Edmund’s said: “Our successful Ofsted reports show the impact nursery schools can have. For us it shows the importance of having qualified teachers working with children to give them a good grounding so that they are able to make the most of school when  they start their formal education.”

Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said: “These reports are a credit to everyone involved at Lilycroft and Midland Road Nursery Schools.  It is great to see that all of the nursery schools in the Bradford district are rated as good or outstanding giving us a great foundation to build upon.”