Toner Avenue Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that leaders, including governors:
  • review how they spend additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils so that it is more effective in diminishing the differences in progress between disadvantaged pupils and others nationally
  • refine plans designed to improve the school’s effectiveness so that they are precise and focused on improving pupils’ outcomes
  • establish strategies that enable them to monitor, analyse and evaluate patterns of pupils’ behaviour so that they can provide support or intervention to pupils who need it to improve their behaviour and attitudes to learning
  • share the main strengths and weaknesses of the school more widely so that governors can routinely challenge leaders and evaluate the effectiveness of leaders’ actions
  • ensure that all staff consistently apply the school’s marking and assessment policy.
• Improve the consistency and quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that all pupils, including boys, disadvantaged pupils and the most able, make at least good progress and attain the standards of which they are capable, by ensuring that teachers use pupils’ prior assessment information accurately to plan work that meets pupils’ needs.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by improving pupils’ attendance and reducing persistent absence, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders’ actions have not eradicated inconsistencies in the quality of teaching or pupils’ outcomes. Pupils’ progress across key stage 2 has declined. Disadvantaged pupils and the most able pupils continue to underachieve. However, the new headteacher, ably supported by his deputy headteacher, is beginning to improve some aspects of the school’s provision.
• Leaders’ plans to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the school are comprehensive but lack precision. While senior leaders have a thorough understanding of the school’s main strengths and weaknesses, the lack of focus in the school development plan reduces the effect of leaders’ actions as they try to do too many things at once. Staff are unclear of the main school priorities or the role they play in helping to achieve them.
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of how current pupils are progressing academically. Leaders meet with teachers regularly to discuss pupils’ learning and progress, and they challenge any underperformance. Not all teachers use this assessment information to hone their teaching, especially for disadvantaged pupils and the most able.
• Staff morale is high. Nearly all staff who responded to Ofsted’s inspection questionnaire said that leaders have created a climate in which teachers are trusted to take risks and innovate in ways that are right for the pupils. The vast majority of parents and carers who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, said that the school is well led and managed.
• The local authority continues to provide support for the headteacher, teachers and members of the governing body, including the new chair of governors. Staff from a local outstanding teaching school are working closely with some staff from Toner Avenue to help develop teachers’ skills and understanding of what constitutes effective teaching and learning. This, in addition to the leadership support, is now beginning to improve the quality of education that pupils receive.
• Leaders have had some success in addressing the areas for improvement highlighted in the previous inspection report. For example, they have supported teachers to ensure that assessment is accurately based on what pupils know, understand and can do.
• The new leader of English understands her role well. On appointment, she quickly got to grips with the pressing issues. She provides teachers with clear direction and support in the classroom, particularly in relation to new literacy strategies. Pupils now take part in ‘guided reading’ and ‘no-nonsense’ spelling tests, both of which are contributing to improvements in pupils’ reading and writing this academic year.
• Following a detailed review of the curriculum, leaders recently introduced a new project-based curriculum. Pupils now study key questions such as ‘what makes me special?’ or ‘are we there yet?’ Although in its infancy, pupils are beginning to practise and apply their knowledge of literacy and numeracy in a wider range of subjects.

Governance of the school

• Some governors are new to the school or have changed roles recently, including the chair and vice-chair of governors. Some governors have not yet developed strategic leadership skills that relate specifically to a school setting, nor have they familiarised themselves with the main strengths and weaknesses of the school. Governors do not always challenge leaders with sufficient rigour or set ambitious targets relating to the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes.
• Governors have not ensured that the government’s additional funding for disadvantaged pupils contributes to improving rates of progress for this group of pupils. Some members of the governing body incorrectly believe that the additional funding is having a positive impact on the disadvantaged pupils in school.
• Governors, with the support of the local authority, were conscientious in their search for a new headteacher. Since his appointment in September 2016, governors have ensured that they are available to him and often ‘pop in’ to offer an opinion or help with a task. Governors also conduct more formal monitoring and evaluation activities. Some governors link with different leaders in school. This ensures that staff have a regular point of contact and that governors can report to or update the governing body in general, and in relation to the impact of leaders’ actions.
• Members of the governing body are truly committed to their role. They have a genuine desire to be effective and do what is right for pupils from their community and beyond. Governors actively seek opportunities to develop their own leadership skills and learn from others.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff are appropriately trained to identify risks or signs of abuse.
• Pupils say that they feel safe and parents agree. Pupils told inspectors that they feel comfortable sharing a concern with any adult in the school.
• Leaders ensure that the site is safe. They mitigate against potential risks arising from the age of the current building or construction of the new school. Pupils are sensible and alert to any hazards. They can accurately describe emerging risks in school and at home. They can confidently describe how to keep themselves safe.
• Leaders make appropriate checks to ensure that staff are safe to work with children.
• School systems to record safeguarding concerns are fit for purpose. Scrutiny of case files and documentation demonstrates that the designated safeguarding leader and special educational needs coordinators respond to issues in a timely manner. Staff know the pupils and their families very well. They speak with parents and carers regularly. Staff engage well with external agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils receive swift and appropriate support.
• Leaders ensure that risk assessments are detailed, especially in relation to moving or handling individual pupils who require specific support or intervention.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inconsistent but improving.
• Some teachers do not plan teaching and learning opportunities to meet the needs of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and the most able. This is despite leaders providing teachers with detailed assessment information and/or clarity regarding pupils’ additional needs. This leads to some groups of pupils making slower progress because the activities that they are asked to complete are too difficult or too easy.
• Conversely, some teachers use pupils’ prior assessment information well to plan meaningful activities that utilise teaching assistants well. Generally, teaching assistants are well informed and have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the pupils that they are assigned to support. Occasionally, and in their quest to do the very best for all pupils, teachers and teaching assistants sometimes give pupils too much support. This leads to the more perceptive pupils ‘taking their foot off the pedal’ and allowing staff to do their work for them.
• Senior and subject leaders have not ensured that the school’s marking and assessment policy is adhered to consistently. The variable application of the policy by teachers leads to some pupils continuing to make the same errors in their work over time.
• The intention of the new curriculum is to promote literacy and numeracy development across a wide range of subjects. Some teachers have successfully managed to implement and achieve this aim swiftly. Leaders acknowledge that it will take more time and further staff training to ensure that this aim is implemented by all teachers so that all pupils develop literacy and numeracy skills across all subjects, in addition to just English and mathematics.
• The teaching of reading is improving. More pupils are reading at a level appropriate to their age. During the daily reading activities, teachers listen attentively to pupils read. They probe pupils’ comprehension by asking sensitive and carefully crafted questions. Pupils say that they welcome the quiet time to read. A lack of resources currently hampers teachers’ attempts to direct pupils to read books that are appropriate to their age or stage.
• Many teachers use questioning effectively in lessons. They move with ease from one style of questioning to the next. Teachers sometimes encourage and reward pupils who play an active role in each lesson by distributing house points or cushions to sit on during circle time. Inspectors observed teachers using subject-specific vocabulary during questioning and insisting that pupils do the same. Pupils are now more confident to use a ‘tricky’ word in their writing.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders have developed an inclusive and caring ethos. Parents and carers say that communication is much improved. They welcome recent opportunities to visit the school, hear about their children’s learning and ask questions of leaders. The closer partnerships between home and school ensure that staff have a detailed understanding of some of the barriers to learning that pupils sometimes experience.
• One staff member is trained to support pupils’ emotional needs. Pupils can speak in private with this person if they need to. During these meetings, they counsel or offer support to pupils for a wide range of issues, such as anxiety or making and maintaining friendships. Specially trained advisers from the local authority support pupils on a weekly basis to help develop pupils’ emotional resilience, including preparing them for the transition to secondary school.
• Pupils value the opportunity to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness. Pupils use their initiative and encourage leaders to support local charities and appeals. Over time, pupils have supported local food banks and shoebox appeals. They regularly participate in less common sporting activities before and after school, such as judo, fencing, golf, volleyball and tennis. An active group of pupils called the ‘konstruction kids’ liaise with the construction team currently on site. They provide updates to parents and pupils on the progress of the new school building. This deepens their understanding relating to the features of effective team work, cooperation and community partnerships. Pupils are proud to belong to the active student council. They are taught how to lead, offer opinions and reach a consensus. Pupils are currently working together to investigate different school uniforms and to design a new school badge.
• Pupils are taught how to stay safe through a range of activities, assemblies and external speakers. Staff teach pupils to recognise signs of bullying and what to do if they are bullied. Older key stage 2 pupils are assigned to be a ‘buddy’ to younger key stage 1 pupils during playtime. The older buddies receive training and advice from teachers in relation to how they can help pupils to get along together during playtime.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Rates of attendance over time and at present are below average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from school is above average and increasing. Disadvantaged pupils are far more likely to be absent than their peers. This is inhibiting some pupils’ learning as they are not present to access the curriculum as often as they should be.
• Leaders do not routinely monitor, analyse or evaluate pupils’ behaviour. Leaders are unclear of emerging patterns of behaviour or groups of pupils who may need additional support to improve their attitudes to learning. However, the vast majority of staff say that leaders support them well in managing pupils’ behaviour and that pupils’ behaviour is much improved.
• Teachers’ skills and ability to manage pupils’ less positive behaviour vary. There is no consistent approach or strategy to deal with the very small minority of pupils who present challenging behaviour.
• During the inspection, pupils were polite and willing to engage in discussion with visitors and other adults. Pupils said ‘good morning’ and held doors open for each other and their teachers. Most pupils are eager to learn and want to impress.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Between 2016 and 2018, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics across key stage 2 declined. Provisional 2018 outcomes indicate that pupils made progress in reading that was well below that of other pupils nationally.
• Over time, disadvantaged pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has been below average. The school’s own information highlights that disadvantaged pupils continue to attain less well and make slower progress than other pupils.
• Inconsistent teaching and pupils’ above-average rates of absence are contributing to current pupils making variable progress in key stages 1 and 2.
• Leaders acknowledge that improving pupils’ literacy, particularly their reading and spelling, is a pressing issue. An increased emphasis on the importance of reading and training for staff is beginning to improve outcomes in this area. Although a significant proportion of pupils continue to work at levels below the expected standard, the school’s own information demonstrates that the proportion of pupils who reach the expected standard or above in reading across the school has surpassed the proportions in writing and mathematics for the first time.
• Pupils’ results in the reading, writing and mathematics assessments at the end of key stage 1 have been above or broadly average historically. Pupils’ attainment in 2018 highlights a declining trend in their writing. However, the proportion of pupils who attained the expected standard at greater depth in writing increased.
• Pupils in Year 1 build on the good start made in the Reception Year. The proportion of pupils who passed the phonics screening check in 2018 increased on 2017 outcomes and was above the national average.
• The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is coherent and well thought-through. Leaders in this area have successfully managed to plan bespoke learning opportunities for pupils, which is empowering them to be able to access the curriculum more effectively. Pupils with SEND are developing socially and emotionally, and this supports them to make stronger progress in their learning and development than previously.

Early years provision Good

• The leader of early years is enthusiastic about her work. She has developed an inclusive, effective provision where children blossom. This is underpinned by a caring and lively learning environment which enables children to settle quickly into routines, gain confidence and thrive when exposed to the rich curriculum that the school provides. Because of this, children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.
• Staff swiftly and accurately assess each child’s stage of development when they join Reception. Staff are astute in their observations and able to use a range of resources to stimulate children’s responses to prompts or questions. Staff have a good understanding of each child’s stage of development. Nevertheless, inspection evidence and leaders’ own evaluations demonstrate that staff are less confident in utilising the outdoor provision to support or direct children’s learning.
• A large majority of children enter Nursery or Reception Year with levels of development that are below those typical for their age. Due to highly effective teaching, most children leave Reception having reached a good level of development. However, boys’ development remains below that of girls.
• All statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements are met in the early years. Staff are appropriately trained and have a thorough understanding of the importance of their role in helping to ensure children are well cared for and kept safe.
• Children work well in small groups. They are attentive when staff ask them to listen during carpet time. During the inspection, children were enthusiastically preparing for Halloween. The teacher successfully managed to stimulate their curiosity by pretending to be a witch and mixing potions in her cauldron. Following this, children could be seen imitating the witch by working with their peers to make their own cauldrons and concoctions.
• Leaders acknowledge that below average rates of attendance in school are not unique to key stages 1 and 2. Leaders are working closely with parents and carers to promote the benefits of children’s regular attendance and set good habits for the future.
• Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, say that they could not be happier with the quality of provision in the early years. They particularly like reading the online learning journals that teachers create which highlight children’s activities and development over the year. Parents say that this helps them to reinforce their child’s ongoing learning at home.

School details

Unique reference number 108704 Local authority South Tyneside Inspection number 10052888 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 336 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Malcolm Bone Headteacher Michael Arthur Telephone number 0191 420 2588 Website www.toneravenue.uk Email address head@toneravenue.s-tyneside.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8–9 March 2016

Information about this school

• The school is slightly larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The school provides part-time nursery provision.
• The vast majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and receive support from the pupil premium funding is much larger than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.
• A new headteacher took up post in September 2016.
• A new chair of governors took up post in March 2018.
• Since the previous inspection, South Tyneside local authority and an outstanding local teaching school have supported the school.
• The school is due to move into a new building before September 2019.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited a wide range of lessons across the school. Many of the observations in lessons were carried out jointly with senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with senior and subject leaders, teachers, members of the governing body and the local authority school improvement partner.
• Inspectors held informal and formal discussions with many pupils and observed interactions during playtimes and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors listened to a group of Year 1 and Year 5 pupils read.
• Inspectors observed the work of the school and scrutinised a wide range of evidence, including the school’s self-evaluation, analysis of performance information, action plans and evaluations, attendance records, safeguarding files, recruitment checks and some pupils’ work.
• Inspectors took into account the 35 responses from parents and carers who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. Twenty-two members of staff and five pupils completed Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys. All of these responses were taken into consideration.

Inspection team

Lee Elliott, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector John Young Senior Her Majesty’s Inspector Dawn Foster Ofsted Inspector