Barkerend Primary Leadership Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school The inspirational principal is relentless in her pursuit of excellence. Her passion for every pupil to have the very best care and education shines through and is at the core of all decisions made. Star Academies Trust and governors provide exceptional support to, and oversight of, the school.

Their wide-ranging expertise provides precise and effective guidance to staff, leading to a high quality of education. Staff appreciate the excellent professional development they receive. Middle leadership is a strength of the school.

Leaders have a very strong oversight of their subject areas and know about their priorities with great accu...racy. Pupils make exceptional progress in reading and mathematics. High-quality teaching enables pupils to develop the skills and knowledge they need to read challenging texts and solve complex problems.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), disadvantaged pupils and those for whom English is an additional language, make strong, and often rapid, progress in a range of subjects. The rich and varied curriculum is exceptionally well planned to develop pupils' passion for learning. It leads to outstanding academic outcomes and ensures that pupils are extremely well prepared for secondary school.

Respectful and positive relationships between pupils and adults are a visible strength throughout the school. Pupils both value and live up to teachers' very high expectations for learning and behaviour. The school's values of service, teamwork, ambition and respect (STAR), underpin the ethos of the school.

The promotion of pupils' spiritual, moral, social, cultural and emotional development and welfare is exceptional. Attendance is consistently above the national average and almost all pupils have high attendance. Pupils feel safe and the school has a vigilant safeguarding culture.

Strong leadership of the early years provision and highly effective teaching ensure that children make excellent progress from their very low starting points. Teachers are highly skilled in supporting pupils to make very strong progress. However, sometimes, teachers do not move pupils on in their work as soon as they are ready.

Information about this school

Barkerend Primary Leadership Academy joined the Star Academies Trust in April 2018 following the demise of the Wakefield City Academies Trust. The school had been a member of this trust since June 2016. This is the school's first inspection since becoming a member of a multi-academy trust.

The predecessor school was inspected in February 2014, when it was judged to require improvement. The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. The number of pupils on roll increased in 2016 when it became a three-form entry school, teaching pupils from Nursery to Year 6.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is higher than the national average, as is the proportion of pupils with SEND. A smaller than the national average proportion of these pupils have an education, health and care plan. Almost all pupils are from minority ethnic groups and a high proportion speak English as an additional language.

A high proportion of pupils enter or leave the school at times other than those expected. There are two newly qualified teachers who have recently joined the school. The school operates a breakfast club.