Tweeddale Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that the most able pupils are given work that challenges them and extends their thinking.
• Ensure that lower-ability pupils, including those with SEND, use a wide range of strategies to understand the meaning of what they are reading.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and managers from the school and the trust have very high aspirations for all their pupils. This determination underpins the improvements made since the school opened as part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust.
• Leaders, governors and trustees have a very clear view of the school’s strengths and what remains to be improved. They use this knowledge to formulate plans and prioritise their actions.
• The school and the trust work well together for the benefit of the pupils. For example, recent work on attendance has proved successful. Moreover, the trust was able to provide support for leadership of SEND when capacity in that area was diminished due to staffing issues.
• Leaders at all levels are aware of the part they play in improving the school further. For example, middle leaders understand fully the responsibility they have both to pupils and to their colleagues for securing the best outcomes possible. Subject leaders know they must ensure that their subject is well planned and taught. This led to identifying that geography did not have as strong a profile as other subjects. Leaders addressed this in a range of ways, including by asking pupils to find news stories with a geographical slant to share with their class.
• There are excellent opportunities for professional development across the trust and with the central trust team. There is a good balance between developing staff and holding them to account. Staff understand that there is a direct link between the development of their skills and pupils’ achievement improving. Leaders have worked really hard to develop a positive culture among staff so that they act on feedback to improve their practice.
• Teachers at the early stages of their careers report that they are very well supported in their roles.
• Relationships across the school, between adults and pupils and among pupils, are very positive. Staff model how to treat each other with respect. For example, they do not whisper or talk in assembly because, as they have told the pupils, this would be disrespectful.
• Leaders at all levels have thought carefully about the right approaches to enable them to provide a broad and balanced curriculum which meets their pupils’ needs. For example, they chose a scheme of work to provide the basis for science teaching but adapted the vocabulary to make it fully accessible to the pupils. Pupils’ understanding of the arts is developed through weekly music lessons, learning a range of artistic techniques and studying and emulating the work of famous artists. Trips, for example to the Globe Theatre, the Natural History Museum or the Imperial War Museum, provide memorable moments for pupils.
• Leaders use the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium very well. For example, they have thought carefully about how to encourage less-active pupils to take part in extra-curricular sporting activities. This has led to the establishment of such clubs as ‘Nerf club’ and ‘dodge ball club’.
• Leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively. Targeted interventions and pastoral support ensure that disadvantaged pupils make good progress from their starting points.
• The school caters for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development really well. The curriculum allows for different religions and cultural perspectives to be celebrated. Pupils make moral decisions, for example over which charities to fundraise for. This also helps them develop empathy through understanding the plight of others.
• Pupils understand fundamental British values. They say that observing these values helps them. For example, they can see that being tolerant helps people with different views and lifestyles get along. They appreciate diversity.

Governance of the school

• Both the board of trustees and the local governing body are effective because:
  • each is clear about its remit and role; for example, the local governing body focuses in on the details whereas trustees look at a broader set of indicators
  • both have a strong understanding of the school’s context, its strengths and the priorities for improvement
  • both are committed to improving outcomes for the pupils the school serves
  • they ensure that the pupil premium is spent effectively so that outcomes for that group improve
  • they hold school leaders to account but also provide vital support to enable improvements to take hold securely
  • they place great importance on attendance and punctuality and ensure that school leaders have the resources they need to tackle this effectively
  • they have a shared purpose and vision for the school
  • they discharge their safeguarding duties effectively.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. All training is updated regularly and the school’s work reflects the most recent guidelines.
• Leaders introduced an online system which has made the process of reporting and collating concerns about pupils’ welfare very efficient. Staff are confident in how to report serious concerns. Moreover, they have a clear understanding that what may seem trivial on its own could be part of a bigger picture and so also needs to be recorded. The system makes it easy for leaders to check on the progress of any individual case. This enables leaders to be very thorough in following up referrals where needed.
• Staff, visitors, volunteers and governors are carefully vetted for their appropriateness to work with children. The outcomes of this vetting process are clearly recorded.
• Procedures for meeting pupils’ medical needs are really effective. A high proportion of staff have had first-aid training. Medications and equipment are stored safely and are made available whenever necessary, including on trips, and out into the area where the school gathers during a fire drill.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching takes full account of the limited language skills of children joining the school, and the high proportion of pupils who have speech and language difficulties. There is a strong focus on developing vocabulary and the structures of standard English. Adults are skilful at seizing every opportunity they can to ensure that pupils hear correct language use. Teachers expect pupils to use the correct terminology from the earliest years. Inspectors heard children in Reception and pupils in Year 1 using words such as ‘digraph’ and ‘trigraph’ in their phonics lessons. Further on up the school, pupils were using ‘attracting’ and ‘repelling’ during a science activity on magnets.
• Conduct in lessons is good. Systems in place reinforce this. For example, pupils stand up when they want to answer a question, which they say ‘gives them a boost’.
• Support and interventions for pupils with SEND are effective and teachers plan tasks that meet their needs well. Consequently, these pupils make strong progress.
• Disadvantaged pupils are given opportunities to practise key skills until they are confident in them. This ensures that they consolidate their learning really well.
• Teachers plan relevant tasks and activities that spark pupils’ interest and lead to strong levels of engagement. However, these tasks do not always present the challenge necessary to extend the most able pupils’ thinking.
• During the inspection, it was evident that pupils are keen to learn new things. Pupils in Year 1 showed high levels of interest in exploring materials. Pupils in Year 4 asked their teacher a lot of challenging questions about the digestive system during an introductory lesson on the topic. Pupils in Year 6 were very keen to find out more about Charles Darwin. Teachers’ good subject knowledge meant that they were able to satisfy pupils’ curiosity and extend their learning.
• Teachers plan well. Pupils say that they know whether they are learning ‘to do something, a skill, or about something, knowledge’. Effective links are made between subjects. For example, merging history and literature, pupils learning about the Tudors studied Shakespeare’s life and works. They were then able to write biographies that were factually and historically accurate.
• The teaching of PE is highly effective. Leaders have used the sport premium to give staff high-quality professional development in this area. This means that staff have the skills and confidence to support pupils’ physical development well. Outside agencies supplement this provision. In the case of swimming, this has led to a far higher proportion leaving the school able to swim 25 metres or more than is the case nationally.
• Alongside regular homework in mathematics and English, pupils are asked to complete activities from a selection linked to their topic. Pupils who spoke to inspectors were very proud of their contributions, for example a lift-the-flap display on Charles Darwin. These projects allow pupils and their families to be creative. This engages parents in their children’s learning while consolidating pupils’ understanding of their topic.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders have focused on building pupils’ attitudes to learning and their confidence in themselves as learners. Consequently, these are well developed, particularly in the older learners.
• Pupils respect each other’s views and take an interest in each other’s work. For example, in one lesson observed by inspectors, pupils paused what they were doing to watch a puppet show put on by their classmates.
• Pastoral care for vulnerable pupils is a strength, reflecting leaders’ understanding of the context of their school. There is a dedicated team of staff who work closely with pupils and their families to improve outcomes for them.
• There is good provision for pupils’ social and emotional well-being. For example, pupils can explain the techniques that they use to help them to be calm.
• Leaders identified that a number of pupils have considerable emotional needs. There is a range of provision that meets their needs exceptionally well. This clearly supports their emotional development but also results in them being able to make at least the same academic progress as their peers.
• Pupils feel safe at school and their parents echo this. Pupils are very clear how to stay safe. Even younger pupils know about road safety and the fire and lock-down drills. They are reassured by the fact that visitors have to wear lanyards to identify themselves. Pupils understand this helps to keep the school safe.
• Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe online. They know not to accept requests for contact from people they don’t know; and they say they would always show adults any sites they don’t trust.
• Pupils have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves healthy. The school’s approach to active learning, such as standing up to answer questions, supports this understanding. During a meeting with inspectors, pupils stressed the importance of eating carbohydrates for energy. Pupils’ physical well-being is well promoted. The regular breaks for physical activity, and the abundance of sports clubs, reinforce the importance of keeping fit.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They conduct themselves well around the school and in lessons. The playground is calm, pupils queue for lunch in an orderly way and are sensible when moving around the building.
• Pupils respond to instructions well. This happens consistently in classes because routines are well established. Pupils can also apply this to other situations. For example, in the assembly that inspectors attended, pupils only had to be told once to listen and repeat the lines of a new song. Pupils behave equally well for all teachers.
• There are good strategies in place to support pupils with particular behavioural difficulties to manage their behaviour well. Consequently, the school’s rate of exclusions is lower than the national average.
• Pupils understand what constitutes bullying and the different forms it can take. They say that bullying is not a common occurrence at their school. They add that, when it does happen, there are trusted adults pupils can go to who will resolve the issues. They recognise that, in the playground, ‘there are lots of staff on duty and they will deal with it’.
• Leaders, including governors and trustees, have focused strongly on attendance and punctuality because they are aware these needed improving. They take a range of opportunities to remind parents of the importance of good attendance, such as the school newsletter. There is a dedicated member of staff who works closely with parents to support them to get their children to school regularly and on time. A range of incentives celebrate good attendance, which pupils really appreciate. This has resulted in strong improvements in attendance and punctuality and a significant reduction of persistent absence overall and for key groups.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The teaching of phonics is effective. This has led to a year-on-year rise in the proportion of Year 1 pupils reaching the expected standard in the phonics screening check.
• In 2018, at the end of Year 6, pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics were in line with national figures.
• Disadvantaged pupils make better progress across key stage 2 than other pupils nationally in reading and mathematics. Progress in writing is in line with all pupils nationally.
• The work in their books shows that pupils with SEND often make strong progress. For example, books show progress from making marks that are not recognisable as words at the beginning of the year, to short stories with words such as ‘petrified’ used correctly in a recent piece. In older year groups, the gaps in attainment between pupils with SEND and their peers are closing.
• Although staff increasingly take into account pupils’ starting points when planning work, the most able pupils do not receive consistently high levels of challenge.
• The older pupils who spoke to inspectors about their reading had very clear preferences and could talk about the type of books they like and why. They have well-developed reading skills so they understand texts clearly and answer comprehension questions with confidence. However, lower-ability pupils, including those with SEND, do not use a wide enough range of strategies when reading, which sometimes limits their understanding.

Early years provision Good

• Children get off to a good start in the early years. They settle very quickly because routines are clear and expectations are easy to follow. Good-quality teaching ensures that children make strong progress from their starting points, which are often very low, especially in language and communication skills.
• Adults are skilled at encouraging children’s language development at every opportunity. Children’s speech when they join the Nursery is often very limited, one or two words, some of which are barely intelligible. Due to the strong relationships that exist between adults and children, adults are able to rephrase children’s speech into well-constructed sentences in a sensitive way. This means children are regularly exposed to good language models. The teachers’ assessments show that this approach has a strong impact on children’s progress in speaking.
• Children are confident at choosing what they want to play with. They play purposefully and engage in activities for extended periods of time because the curriculum that leaders plan for them meets their needs well.
• Outside, children particularly enjoy using the large equipment such as the climbing frame, scooters and hoppers. Consequently, they make excellent progress in the physical skills of climbing, jumping and navigating open spaces with due regard for their safety and that of others.
• Three-year-olds to five-year-olds work and play together well across the early years. Younger children have slightly older role models, and older children are aware that there are some very young classmates who may need help. This approach has a positive impact on children’s social development.
• The early years team works together well, which enables them to share good practice and ensure a consistent approach to provision. Leaders, including those from the trust, have provided a comprehensive range of training for staff at all levels. This has supported improvements to teaching, which, in turn, are improving outcomes for children.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 143411 Sutton 10058952 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 Academy sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 435 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mike Cooper Theresa Jerrom 020 8644 5665 www.tweeddaleprimary.sutton.sch.uk office@tweeddaleprimary.sutton.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• This is a larger than average-sized primary school. It opened as part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust in September 2016. Responsibility for the school rests with the trustees, who delegate most functions to the local governing body.
• While over half of pupils are from a White British background, the school community is very diverse, made up as it is of 15 of the 17 ethnic groups represented on the census.
• Over one-third of pupils speak English as an additional language. This is higher than the national figure. A number of these pupils are at the very early stages of learning English.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND identified as SEN support is higher than the national figure; the proportion with education, health and care plans is average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited each class at least once to observe teaching and learning. All of these visits were conducted jointly with senior members of the school team.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read, met with them formally to hear their views, spoke to them informally in lessons and in the playground and took account of the 146 responses to the online pupil survey.
• The inspection team scrutinised a wide range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding, the school’s self-evaluation and development planning, attendance figures, records of behaviour incidents and exclusions information, documents relating to governance and information about pupils’ academic performance.
• Inspectors spoke to parents at the beginning and end of the school day and took account of the 15 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, as well as the comments left on the free-text facility.
• Inspectors met with school leaders, staff, the chair of trustees and the chair of the local governing body as well as attending an assembly.

Inspection team

Jeanie Jovanova, lead inspector Ellie Whilby Martina Martin

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector