Trumpington Meadows Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Raise achievement in mathematics by ensuring that pupils are confident to solve mathematical problems and can explain their reasoning.
• Improve the depth of the curriculum by ensuring that pupils have sufficient opportunities to practise and apply the key skills and knowledge they gain in English and mathematics in all subjects.
• Improve communication with parents by ensuring that every parent knows and understands what their children are learning about in class and how well they are making progress in their learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The executive headteacher took up her post in April 2017. She took immediate action, supported by the governors, to restructure the school’s leadership team. Consequently, assistant headteachers fully understand their leadership responsibilities and lead their specific areas confidently and highly effectively across both schools in the federation. All the issues from the previous inspection have been addressed.
• Teamwork is an exceptionally strong feature of this school. The executive headteacher is highly skilled at ensuring that all staff feel a valued part of the team. She has ensured that staff have an agreed approach, and have very high expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour. The extraordinarily rapid turnaround in pupils’ behaviour, outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning is a direct result of the impact of this shared vision and unity of purpose.
• There was a high response to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff. All responses were exceptionally positive about how it feels to work in the school, and recognise the outstanding leadership of the executive headteacher and assistant headteachers. For example, comments included, ‘This school has improved significantly recently. You are walking into a different school,’ and, ‘Children are taking much more pride in their work and every child feels valued.’
• The executive headteacher has implemented a rigorous performance management system, which ensures that teachers are properly held to account for the progress pupils make. Teachers, including those new to teaching, see this as a positive system because they feel supported by senior leaders through professional development that improves their practice. For example, one teacher said, ‘It’s genuinely a different school. It’s amazing to see the improvement. I feel so supported.’
• There is a very strong and effective inclusion team that provides excellent support for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. Pupils’ needs are carefully and accurately identified and good provision made to meet those needs. The inclusion team makes sure that teachers and teaching assistants are trained to give pupils the right level of support in the classroom.
• The curriculum is currently under review. The existing curriculum is broad and balanced and is made even more interesting with a wide range of visits and visitors. For example, Year 3 pupils are currently learning about the Anglo-Saxons and a visit to the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village is planned for this half term. There is good coverage of all national curriculum subjects, but there are not sufficient opportunities for pupils to apply the knowledge and skills they gain in English and mathematics in every subject, for example using notetaking skills or writing at length in history.
• There are many exciting and interesting after-school clubs for pupils to take part in, including a wide range of well-attended sports clubs such as those for football, tennis, gymnastics, archery and dodge ball. Pupils also enjoy attending yoga and Spanish clubs.
• Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain. Democracy and British values are at the heart of the school’s three core rights. For example, their fellow pupils vote pupils onto the school council. There are also important jobs for older pupils, such as head boy, head girl and house captains. Pupils take these roles very seriously and recognise the level of responsibility involved. As one pupil said, ‘They have to set an example to the rest of the school.’
• Parents have mixed views of the school. For example, only half of the 49 parents who replied to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, would recommend the school to another parent. However, all the parents whom inspectors met during the inspection were highly positive about the school and especially about how much behaviour has improved. One parent said, ‘My son loves to go to school. He skips into the school excited for the day and comes out of school with a beaming smile on his face. I feel a very fortunate parent to have my child at this school.’ The executive headteacher and senior leaders recognise that communication with parents is not consistent across all classes and that this is an area for improvement.
• The local authority has given good support to the school to enable rapid improvement, particularly in mathematics and early years. For example, the mathematics adviser has worked with teachers in the classroom as well as supporting their professional development in staff meetings.

Governance of the school

• Governance is good. Most of the governors were appointed before the school was built. They know the school well and are highly committed to ensuring that the school is at the heart of the local community.
• Governors rightly recognised that the school needed to improve rapidly and made sure that they appointed leaders, including the executive headteacher, to bring about the necessary improvements. Governors have a wide range of experience, including in education and business, and consequently they give effective challenge to senior leaders.
• Governors have given a great deal of support to the school prior to the appointment of the executive headteacher. As a result, they occasionally become too concerned with day-to-day matters, rather than focusing on the strategic direction of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• All statutory systems are in place and meet requirements. Staff have received up-to-date training in safeguarding.
• There is an exceptionally strong culture of safety in the school due to the excellent recording system introduced by the executive headteacher and very effectively implemented by all staff.
• The online recording system covers all safeguarding concerns, and every member of staff has been trained in the system and finds it easy to use. For example, as soon as staff have a concern about a child or a child raises a concern, this is entered into the child’s record. An immediate email is sent to the designated safeguarding leads, who take the concern forward and give appropriate support to the staff member and the pupil.
• Designated safeguarding leads work very effectively with external agencies to ensure that all pupils are safe. The new recording system provides a detailed account which external professionals find particularly helpful in making decisions about how best to support families.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations for what pupils can achieve in every lesson. They give clear explanations of what pupils will be learning and explain precisely what they expect, especially when introducing new topics. A feature of the introduction of new topics is checking what pupils know already so that new learning builds on this foundation.
• Work in lessons is usually set at three levels of difficulty and pupils can choose which level at which to work. This enables pupils to gain confidence by starting with something they can do before moving on to a more challenging task. Teachers always check that pupils are choosing appropriately and not taking the easy option, thus ensuring that they deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding.
• Both teachers and teaching assistants are skilled at asking questions that enable pupils to think for themselves. Pupils are encouraged to use resources and try to work things out for themselves before asking for help.
• The teaching of reading is strong across the school. The executive headteacher has introduced a systematic, synthetic scheme and due to effective training, teachers are confident in teaching phonics. Pupils use their phonic knowledge well when reading new words.
• The teaching of mathematics is improving thanks to effective training from the local authority and good support from assistant headteachers. Teachers are including more problem-solving activities in lessons and encouraging pupils to explain why they are using particular equipment or methods and how they have reached their answer. This is at an early stage of development.
• The executive headteacher has put in place an assessment system that enables teachers to closely and easily track pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Consequently, pupils who are not making rapid enough progress from their starting points are quickly identified and additional teaching is put in place to close gaps in their learning. This system also supports the rapid identification of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are very positive about their school. One pupil said, ‘I don’t want to leave this school ever! The teachers help you and teach you lots.’ Pupils say that there used to be bullying and, ‘occasionally people get angry but teachers deal with this’. Most pupils say that they feel exceptionally safe at school and they can concentrate and get on with their work because ‘no one bothers you in class’. All those who spoke to inspectors said they are confident to talk to ‘any adult’ if they have a problem.
• Pupils take tremendous pride in their work and consequently handwriting and presentation in books have improved dramatically since September. Pupils concentrate well in lessons because they want to please their teachers and they value learning.
• Pupils work and play together very happily. For example, recently a new child started at the school and was looked after very conscientiously, during break, by two of their classmates.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• The school’s three core rights – ‘to learn without unfair distraction; to be safe physically and emotionally; and to be treated with respect’ – are fully understood by pupils and consistently applied by all staff. Consistent implementation of the core rights and the behaviour policy has successfully driven forward significant improvement in pupils’ behaviour. For example, there has been a dramatic drop in part-time exclusions from 13 in the summer term 2017, to none this term.
• Pupils behave well in class, around the school and at breaktimes. In class, pupils listen attentively to their teachers, concentrate and work hard on tasks. At breaktimes, they play happily together and are well supervised by staff who know them well. For example, all mid-day supervisors also work as teaching assistants in the classroom.
• Attendance has been low for the past two years. The inclusion team and executive headteacher are doing everything possible to raise attendance and it has improved this school year. The main cause of low attendance is hard-to-shift persistent absence. The school is working closely with the new education welfare officer to address this issue.
• In the rare instances of poor behaviour in class or on the playground, the online recording system provides a clear and concise record of the incident. When necessary, the executive headteacher shares these records with pupils so they can consider how to improve their behaviour. Parents are also informed and encouraged to work with the school to improve their child’s behaviour.
• A significant minority of parents raised concerns on Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, and through free-text messages, about pupils’ behaviour and bullying. Inspectors found no evidence to support these concerns. The concerns reflect a legacy of poor perceptions of the school prior to the introduction of the new and highly effective behaviour management policy.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Achievement has improved significantly since the last set of national data in 2017. The school’s assessment information for current pupils shows that pupils’ attainment is rising rapidly in reading and writing in every year group. Attainment in mathematics is slower to rise as teachers have only recently received training to improve their subject knowledge and therefore their teaching of mathematics.
• Current pupils’ progress is accelerating in reading and writing due to more effective teaching. For example, the introduction of the systematic, synthetic phonics programme has given pupils the phonic knowledge and confidence to sound out words they have not come across before. The programme also includes a systematic approach to teaching spelling, which is having a positive impact on the quality of pupils’ writing.
• Progress in mathematics is currently slower in some classes. However, both attainment and progress are accelerated in Year 2 and Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics due to the additional targeted teaching support from assistant headteachers. This support is rapidly closing the gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding due to less effective teaching in the past. For some pupils, learning has been held back due to the large number of changes of school they have experienced.
• Progress is less consistent for pupils eligible for pupil premium funding. The executive headteacher carried out a detailed audit of the use of pupil premium funding when she started at the school. The outcome of this audit was to redirect funding to raising achievement. Pupil premium funding is currently used exceptionally well to fund additional support for eligible pupils. Consequently, gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils are rapidly closing in reading, writing and mathematics. For example, in Year 6, pupils eligible for pupil premium are making better progress than other pupils.
• The growing number of pupils at the school who speak English as an additional language make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because leaders ensure that they have the best resources and support to learn English as quickly as possible.

Early years provision Good

• Children start in Nursery and Reception with a range of knowledge, skills and understanding. For example, some have had no pre-school experience, while others have attended pre-school regularly. The early years team carries out detailed and accurate assessments of each child in all the areas of learning with their parents. This information is used effectively to inform curriculum planning, including direct teaching activities. Children make good progress in all the areas of learning due to teachers’ careful planning for their learning and development. By the time they complete their Reception Year, children are well prepared to start learning in Year 1.
• Learning journals illustrate learning well. The new online assessment system allows teachers and teaching assistants to use photographs and video clips to illustrate children’s activities. However, the early years leader is aware that these are not sufficiently sharply focused on capturing key moments of learning.
• In Reception, every child has a guided writing book which illustrates the good progress children make in learning to write letters and simple sentences. There is not a similar approach to recording guided learning in mathematics. Consequently, teachers are constantly photocopying work recorded on whiteboards and it is hard to track children’s progress in understanding numbers and simple calculations. The early years leader is in the process of introducing a mathematics book for children to record their calculations.
• Children are exceptionally safe in Nursery and Reception because they are confident to talk to their key worker or their teacher if they have any concerns.
• The curriculum in early years is varied and interesting. Teachers select themes based on children’s interests. Learning activities inside and outside the classroom are linked to the theme. Every week children have a ‘mystery’ visitor, a volunteer parent, who talks about their job or their interests.
• Behaviour in the Nursery and Reception is outstanding. Staff have high and consistent expectations for behaviour and children are very enthusiastic about learning. They concentrate hard and work well together and with their teachers.
• There is outstanding leadership of early years. The leader gives highly effective support and guidance to teachers and teaching assistants. She has identified areas for improvement. For example, she is helping teaching assistants to develop their questioning skills so they can enable children to explain their learning.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 136802 Cambridgeshire 10036259 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 254 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Executive Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Andrew Baxter Oriana Dalton 01223 840299 www.trumpingtonfederation.co.uk office@trumpingtonmeadows.cambs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 14–15 October 2015

Information about this school

• Since the last inspection, six new staff members have been appointed: three teachers, two assistant headteachers and an executive headteacher.
• The school meets the current government floor standards, which set minimum requirements for attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• A large proportion of pupils in each year group did not attend the Nursery or Reception classes.
• The school is growing rapidly due to the expansion of the local area. New pupils are joining the school throughout the school year.
• A growing proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. There are 31 different languages spoken in the school.
• The school is not in an area of high deprivation, but many of the disadvantaged pupils have SEN and/or disabilities or are from vulnerable families.
• A large proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are identified as requiring school support. An increasing number are being assessed for an education, health and care plan.
• The school is part of a hard federation with Fawcett Primary School. There is one governing body and one executive headteacher. Assistant headteachers have leadership responsibilities across both schools. Teachers are contracted to work in both schools.

Information about this inspection

• Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, assistant headteachers, groups of pupils, parents, teachers, support staff, governors and a member of the local authority.
• Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work in English and mathematics, written work in foundation subjects in key stages 1 and 2, learning journals in Nursery and Reception, and guided writing books in Reception.
• A wide range of documentation was examined, including safeguarding procedures, attendance records, the school’s own assessment information, the most recent self-evaluation and the current school development plan.
• Inspectors observed teaching in all classes. Most visits to classrooms were made jointly with the assistant headteachers or the executive headteacher.
• The lead inspector scrutinised 49 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, 48 text messages from parents and 23 responses to the staff questionnaire. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.

Inspection team

Julie Winyard, lead inspector Susannah Edom-Baker Liz Kissane

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector