Tiverton Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Build on recent improvements to develop the quality of teaching, learning and assessment further by:
  • teachers learning from best practice in the school and from schools where teaching is outstanding
  • leaders ensuring that all teachers and support staff routinely follow the school’s policies and expectations for effective teaching
  • sharpening assessment practices so that leaders and teachers have a more accurate understanding of the standards pupils reach over time.
• Develop subject leaders’ training, monitoring and evaluation skills to secure further improvements in teaching and learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders have successfully addressed the areas for improvement from the previous inspection report. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, have created a culture where they value and consult with pupils, members of staff and parents and carers. Parents and members of staff who responded to the survey and who spoke with inspectors are overwhelmingly positive about the school.
• Leaders aspire to ensure that pupils succeed academically, experience a range of enrichment activities, and develop into kind and responsible citizens. As a result of recent improvements, teaching and pupils’ outcomes are now good, and their personal development is outstanding.
• Senior leaders place much emphasis on providing training for leaders, teachers and support staff. Leaders have made good use of consultants to develop leaders’ effectiveness and to train all staff. They encourage staff to take part in training programmes provided by the local authority and other external providers. Leaders regularly visit lessons and give teachers and support staff developmental feedback. Leaders help teachers to improve by assisting them in planning lessons and team teaching, for example. In addition, through appraisal and review, and pupil progress meetings, leaders hold staff to account for their pupils’ outcomes. As a result, leaders are effective in improving teaching and pupils’ outcomes.
• Leaders have better targeted the way they spend the additional pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, in 2017, eligible pupils made similar or better progress across key stage 2 than other pupils, nationally, and this trend is continuing.
• The new leadership of inclusion has tightened procedures for assessing the needs of pupils who have SEN, late joiners and those for whom English is an additional language. Leaders make sure that these pupils receive well-targeted support. They enhance the skills of support staff through effective training. As a result, these groups of pupils make good progress.
• Although there has been a strong emphasis on English and mathematics, leaders plan learning to cover a range of subjects. Pupils, for instance, learn art in-depth through half-termly focused art weeks. In all year groups, pupils benefit from learning music, dance and drama from a specialist teacher.
• Leaders provide pupils with many enrichment activities to broaden their learning and enhance their personal development. Each year, a visiting science professor runs a science workshop. Pupils visit places of worship, and museums and galleries. They discuss current affairs and learn from visitors to the school who deliver assemblies and workshops. In addition, pupils benefit from the annual ‘London day’ when, each year, groups visit important landmarks, such as the Houses of Parliament and the Olympic Park. These opportunities make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• Leaders have improved their systems for collecting, analysing and presenting information on pupils’ progress and attainment. Inspectors, however, identified that, at times, assessment information did not match the evidence of pupils’ work and the standards in their books. Some assessments do not take account of the breadth of evidence available, and so are overly cautious, underestimating how well pupils have achieved. This means that leaders do not consistently have a sharp enough view of pupils’ outcomes.

Governance of the school

• Governance has improved since the previous inspection. Governors bring a range of expertise to support their work, such as from education, finance, law and human resources.
• Governors meet monthly and participate in discussions and decisions regarding all aspects of the school’s work.
• Governors check on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. They invite senior and middle leaders to make presentations and report on their work at meetings. In this way, governors challenge leaders and hold them to account for their performance.
• Each governor is assigned a specific aspect of the school’s work on which they lead. They visit the school regularly to observe learning and to talk to staff and pupils. They attend parents’ meetings so that they can gather parents’ views.
• Governors recently conducted an audit of their own effectiveness, and attend training to help them improve their skills.

Safeguarding

• Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The designated safeguarding leader makes sure that members of staff undertake safeguarding training. Staff know the school community well, and are alert to potential safeguarding risks. There are clear procedures for reporting concerns, and record keeping is robust.
• Leaders work closely with external agencies and parents to investigate concerns. They provide effective support to make sure that pupils are safe and their welfare needs are met.
• Leaders ensure that pupils learn how to keep safe in different situations. Visitors from the police, fire service and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) help pupils to understand how to avoid dangerous situations. Every term, pupils review how to stay safe online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is effective and ensures that pupils make good progress.
• Since the previous inspection, leaders have introduced new and systematic ways of teaching. These help pupils make strong progress by incrementally building on their knowledge and understanding. These strategies were particularly effective in improving pupils’ outcomes in writing and mathematics last year. The initiatives to improve the teaching of reading this year have successfully ensured that outcomes in reading have improved and are now good.
• Teachers and other adults have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and engagement. Across the school, there are well-established routines that encourage pupils to work hard and try their best.
• Typically, teachers and other adults prepare activities that interest pupils and challenge them to think and solve problems. They make sure that pupils understand why learning is important, and how it is relevant to their lives. Teachers regularly check how well pupils are learning in lessons. They give the most able more challenging work, and effectively deploy additional adults to help those pupils who find the work difficult. Teachers use questioning effectively to deepen pupils’ thinking. Teachers pick up pupils’ misconceptions and address them. In line with the school’s policy, teachers mark pupils’ books and give them useful feedback on how they can improve their work. They give pupils homework that consolidates their learning.
• There are, however, a few inconsistencies where teachers do not meet leaders’ expectations for effective and systematic teaching and learning. On occasion, teachers do not follow the school’s policies such as on feedback. These discrepancies slow learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Members of staff encourage pupils to express themselves through sharing their opinions and through other activities, such as dance and music. As a result, pupils develop self-esteem and grow in self-confidence.
• Pupils develop a sense of responsibility to society, and make a strong contribution to the community. Trained peer mentors, for example, help their peers resolve their differences in an amicable way. School councillors influence decisions and it was their idea to build a mini-gym in the playground. The eco-team encourages parents and members of the local community to join them in clearing litter in gardens and parks. The school choir performs at local events, and a large group of pupils will shortly be presenting an original musical play at the Royal Albert Hall. Pupils raise funds for a range of local, national and international charities.
• Pupils are highly aware of the different forms of bullying. They say that bullying occurs very rarely and, when it does, adults swiftly deal with it. Pupils told inspectors that they are confident to share their concerns with trusted adults in the school. Furthermore, they can anonymously place a note in the ‘worry boxes’ located in every classroom. Pupils feel safe and secure.
• Leaders help pupils stay healthy. In addition to physical exercise lessons, there are many sports-related clubs in which pupils take part. They learn about healthy eating and living from formal lessons and from workshops run by external agencies. Leaders work with experts to support pupils’ mental health and emotional well-being. The school employs a counsellor and an art therapist to support individual pupils. Leaders also work with other outside agencies to support pupils and their families whose circumstances make them vulnerable.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. They arrive punctually to lessons with the right equipment and are eager to learn. They work well independently, in pairs and in groups. They are very keen to help each other. It is rare for pupils to disrupt learning. One Year 3 pupil told an inspector, ‘we learn better if we behave well.’ This is typical of pupils’ points of view.
• Pupils are very proud of their school. They look after the environment and care about each other. They are very welcoming to visitors and happily celebrate each other’s successes, such as at the weekly rewards assembly.
• Rates of attendance are consistently above the national average and, this year, persistent absence is below the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In the 2017 Year 2 tests, the proportion of pupils reaching and exceeding the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was broadly average. This represented good progress from their starting points.
• In the 2017 Year 6 cohort, pupils reached average standards in writing and mathematics. Standards in reading, however, were below average because of the poor performance of middle-ability pupils. These results reflect very strong progress across key stage 2 in writing, and broadly average progress in mathematics and reading.
• Current pupils, across year groups and subjects, including in reading, writing and mathematics, are making good progress. This also applies to pupils of middle ability in reading. This is because leaders are sustaining and building on the 2017 improvements in writing and mathematics, and because the teaching of reading has improved this year.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language and those who join the school mid-term now make good progress. This is because new leaders have improved support for these groups.
• In the 2017 Year 6 tests, disadvantaged pupils made more progress than other pupils nationally in writing and mathematics, and similar progress in reading. This was a marked improvement on previous years. In most year groups, disadvantaged pupils make more progress than their peers.
• The most able pupils make strong progress because teachers set them work that challenges them to reach the higher standards.
• With their improving academic outcomes and excellent personal development, pupils leave the school well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Early years provision Good

• Children in early years get off to a good start to their education. Children join the Nursery with skills that are below those typical for their age. They make good progress through early years in all areas of learning. They transfer from Reception to Year 1 effectively equipped to achieve well.
• The new early years leadership is effective and building on the provision’s strengths. Leaders work closely with teachers and support staff to plan activities to meet the needs and interests of the children. They adapt their teaching in response to children’s interests and to cater for their needs. They provide well-targeted support for children who have SEN and/or disabilities and challenging activities to stretch the most able. As a result, all children make strong progress. The proportion of children leaving early years with skills that exceed expectations for their age is above average.
• Good teaching ensures that children make strong progress and enjoy coming to school. In Reception, for example, children are learning about outer space. To enhance learning, staff took children to visit the Science Museum. Children told the inspectors about what they had learned about planets, the moon and space. The teacher encouraged one group to write about their experiences. Others cut out shapes of rockets and decorated them. A couple of children dressed up as astronauts, pretending to go into space inside the class ‘spaceship’. Children were excited and curious; they applied their phonics knowledge to write their reflections, strengthened their fine motor skills and engaged in imaginative and creative play.
• There is a very strong emphasis on developing children’s reading and writing skills. Right from the start in Nursery, skilled staff teach children how to read and write. Adults engage children in dialogue throughout the day. This has a very positive impact on helping children extend their vocabulary and express themselves confidently through speaking and writing.
• Children welcome visitors. They readily approach them to tell them what they are learning. Children learn to concentrate for long periods of time, and enjoy trying things for themselves. They behave well and work constructively with each other. Children feel safe and secure because they know that adults care for them and look after them.
• The early years team works closely with parents to ensure that they participate in their child’s learning. For example, parents are welcome to join their children in the setting for extended periods and learn alongside them.
• The indoor areas are vibrant and inviting. They are well resourced, with a range of equipment that makes a strong contribution to effective learning. It caters for children’s interests and promotes their learning with imaginative resources. There is a particularly strong emphasis on encouraging plentiful opportunities for reading, writing and mathematics.
• The outdoors area, while good, is not resourced to support learning to the same high standard as the indoors, including in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders, in their self-evaluation, have identified this as a priority for improvement and have plans in place to do so.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102120 Haringey 10047412 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 380 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Ann Robinson Resham Mirza 020 8800 3779 www.tivertonprimary.co.uk admin@tiverton.haringey.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 28–29 June 2016

Information about this school

• Tiverton Primary School is larger than an average-sized primary school.
• A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium grant is well above average.
• An above-average proportion of pupils have special educational needs. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan is well above that found nationally.
• The number of pupils who join and leave the school at different times of the year is much higher than nationally.
• Since the previous inspection, there has been a high turnover of staff, especially at key stage 2. The school has appointed a number of new senior and subject leaders, some of whom took up post in September 2017. There have been some changes to the make-up of the governing body. The new chair joined the board in September 2017.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics for Year 6 pupils.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils learning in 25 parts of lessons. Senior leaders joined inspectors during some of these observations.
• Inspectors looked closely at pupils’ work to inform judgements made about pupils’ outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors listened to pupils read.
• Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and spoke informally to other pupils in lessons and during social times. Inspectors met with school leaders and other members of staff.
• Meetings were held with five governors, including the chair, and with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors examined a range of documentation, such as that relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, and minutes of governing body meetings. They also looked at records and documentation about pupils’ behaviour, attendance and exclusions, and the ways staff help to keep pupils safe.
• Inspectors considered the 25 responses to the online questionnaire for parents, which included some text responses. They took into account the 198 responses to the school’s own recent survey for parents. They had informal conversations with parents in the playground, and with a few parents who came into the school asking to speak to an inspector. Inspectors took account of the views of 49 members of staff who responded to the inspection questionnaire.

Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector Andy Turnock Lisa Farrow

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector