Two Moors Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Raise pupils’ achievement further in reading, writing and mathematics by ensuring that leaders, including subject leaders:
  • measure precisely how well the most able pupils are achieving so as to understand
  • more clearly what further support and challenge these pupils need intervene more swiftly in order to maximise the progress of the most able pupils so that they consistently reach the highest levels of achievement.
• Further improve communication with parents and carers by:
  • ensuring that following a concern raised with the school, parents or carers are kept, as far as possible, fully informed of actions taken and the outcomes of these actions.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since her arrival three years ago, the headteacher has shown a steely determination to create a good school. Governors have supported this ambitious drive well. Governors described to inspectors the ‘complete culture change’ that they have seen in the school. The impact of this relentless drive has been that the quality of teaching has improved in all year groups since the last inspection and, as a result, pupils’ outcomes are rapidly improving.
• The headteacher has grown a strong leadership team around her to support the continued development of teaching, learning and assessment. These new leaders are determined and ambitious. They have set about learning from the strong professional development offered to them and are already leading their areas of responsibility well.
• Leaders have developed a robust improvement plan that clearly outlines the focus for improvement each term. Governors use the plan effectively to check that intended outcomes have been achieved.
• Teachers and teaching assistants receive good-quality feedback from leaders on the next steps for improvement. These professional conversations, along with a programme of professional development, have contributed to the improvements to the quality of teaching across the school. Performance management is effective as teachers are firmly held to account for improving their practice and pupils’ outcomes.
• Parents appreciate the extended and detailed discussions teachers have with them about their children’s needs during parent consultation meetings. Nearly all parents attend these meetings.
• Leaders make good use of additional funding to ensure that pupils receive any extra support they need. For example, an assessment of whole-school fitness levels informed their implementation of sports activities, such as a street dance club, to interest pupils in Year 5. A wide range of sports clubs ensures that all pupils have additional opportunities to get, and stay, fit.
• The use of other additional funding is carefully planned by leaders to ensure disadvantaged pupils get the help they need to make good progress in their learning. Work in books shows that disadvantaged pupils respond well to this support and their work is at least the quality you would expect for their age, and often better.
• Leaders have had a focus on improving pupils’ basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics since the last inspection. Pupils’ books show that pupils increasingly have the number skills in mathematics as well as the spelling, punctuation and grammar skills in writing, expected for their ages. Leaders are aware, however, that the most able pupils’ progress needs to be checked more precisely so that any adjustments to teaching needed for these pupils can be made quickly. Work on this has already started.
• The curriculum is well organised and pupils are interested in the learning opportunities provided at school and within the community. Pupils talk enthusiastically about science. For example, during a lesson investigating light and shadows in Year 3, pupils told inspectors, ‘we like investigations and getting messy’.
• There is a strong emphasis on preparing pupils for their future careers and on their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. In a lesson learning about keeping healthy, Year 6 pupils provided insightful responses about how peer pressure can affect choices. Year 5 pupils took part in ‘The Great Fiver Challenge’ using enterprise skills and teamwork to generate a profit. Pupils developed their skills of accounting, planning and budgeting.
• Pupils deepen their understanding of British values both through the rich range of learning activities in school and during values-based assemblies. Because of the strong emphasis on values, pupils typically treat adults in school and each other with respect and tolerance.
• The school has received ongoing support from the local authority including regular visits from an improvement adviser and training for subject leaders from a national leader for education. The local authority has also provided regular reviews to evaluate the impact of the support offered and to ensure that the school remained on target to become a good school. Leaders, including governors, value this support and challenge.

Governance of the school

• Governors are ambitious for the school and for all pupils who attend it. They have worked well since the last inspection to ensure they have the skills needed to check and question leaders about aspects of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Governors take careful account of reviews of the school’s performance. Recommendations from advisers are carefully and precisely followed up with leaders. This has supported the move to being a good school.
• Governors visit school often and, as a result, know the school well. The work to include pupils’ views when planning improvements to the school is impressive. For example, governors asked the school council to talk to pupils about the school values.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The culture of safeguarding is strong. Pupils feel safe and well looked after. They know who to talk to if they have problems. Leaders ensure that staff receive appropriate training and are reminded frequently of how to spot signs of concern. The systems for reporting concerns are robust and the leader for safeguarding works effectively with a range of agencies to ensure rapid action is taken to support pupils and their families when needed.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now consistently good across the school. Leaders have supported this improvement by ensuring that teachers have the professional development and the learning resources they need.The culture of reading is strong; pupils told us that they ‘are expected to read every day’. Pupils successfully learn early reading skills, such as using phonics to read words, and teachers help pupils to explore and enjoy a range of books. The well-resourced library supports pupils’ wider reading interests.
• Throughout the school, there is high-quality discussion between teachers and pupils about reading. Teachers challenge pupils to think deeper and harder about the words they read. Pupils want to read on, to know more. They enjoy their learning.
• The curriculum supports the links between reading and writing and pupils have many opportunities to write for real purposes. Their books show that a wealth of genres is covered and there are many examples of pupils applying their writing skills across a range of subjects. Most pupils show a real pride in their work and try very hard to present their books neatly.
• During mathematics lessons pupils develop, and can show their understanding of, concepts through their use of practical resources, including pictures and real objects. They can also explain their thinking to each other as well as to their teachers. Pupils are often challenged to apply what they have learned to solve problems; this helps to deepen their mathematical thinking further. Regular skills checks seen in books show a rapidly improving understanding of number across the school.
• Pupils appreciate the interesting range of curriculum activities which help them to develop and apply their skills from learning in reading, writing and mathematics. In Year 2, for example, as part of learning about growth and healthy eating, pupils investigate their heartbeats during physical education lessons.
• Leaders have introduced a rigorous approach to checking that the assessments teachers make about pupils’ progress during the year are accurate. Teachers attend a cycle of meetings with other schools in the area to make sure that the assessment levels match those of other schools. The local authority has also been involved in checking assessments in the early years, in Year 2 and for writing in Year 6. The reports from these moderation activities show that teachers are increasingly accurate in the assessments they make. In Year 2, some assessments made last year for the most able pupils were over-cautious.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

• Pupils show positive attitudes around the school. They appreciate the extra help that the school provides if they need it. Pupils know that there is an expectation to try their best.
• Physical well-being is supported effectively through a wide range of activities in and out of school. The sports coaching at lunchtimes and initiatives such as pupils regularly running ‘the golden mile’, along with regular swimming lessons in the on-site swimming pool, help pupils develop their physical fitness.
• As a result of the strong personal, health and social education provision, pupils have a strong sense of what is right and wrong. Pupils can talk about different aspects of safety, including how to stay safe online.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Expectations are high throughout the school. Pupils who need extra help to manage their behaviour are supported effectively by additional teaching that helps them to enjoy their learning and make good choices.
• Behaviour and attitudes around the school are positive and respectful. Pupils show that they can take responsibility for their own behaviour and they are learning to do this well.
• Attendance is broadly in line with the national average. A small number of pupils who do not attend regularly receive good support to help them improve their attendance. Several pupils who have had very poor attendance now come to school every day.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Outcomes for pupils are now good. The drive to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment over the past three years is now ensuring that pupils across the school make much stronger progress. The focus to secure strong basic skills and to make up ground that has been lost in the past is making a difference to pupils’ outcomes. In Year 6, current assessments and work in books show that far more pupils than in previous years are on track to achieve higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics. This includes some groups who have not achieved well in the past including the most able pupils, disadvantaged pupils, girls in mathematics and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Outcomes by the end of the Reception Year were at national levels in 2016 after a dip in 2015. Current assessments show that children currently in Reception are on track to secure even better outcomes at the end of this year. The outcomes for phonics in 2016 for Year 1 and Year 2 were above the national average.
• By the end of Year 2 in 2016, overall pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics were at, or above, national levels. Some of the most able pupils did not achieve higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Although pupils currently in school are now making at least expected and often better than expected progress, the outcomes in Year 6 in 2016 for reading, writing and mathematics were just below the national average and progress for some groups of pupils was not as good as that of other pupils nationally. Pupils also did not achieve as well as pupils nationally in the grammar, punctuation and spelling test.
• Scrutiny of current pupils’ work, across the school, shows that most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are now catching up and making good progress across a range of subjects including English and mathematics.

Early years provision Good

• At the start of Reception, most children’s level of development is below that typical for their age. Some attend the Nursery classes in the school and these children make good progress from their broadly low starting points.
• In 2016, the number of children at the end of the Reception Year reaching at least expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics was in line with the national average. Outcomes were lower in 2015 due to some significant changes in staff during the year.
• Leaders use funding effectively to support all pupils to make good progress. Additional adults carefully support children who have special needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged. As a result, pupils are included in all activities and given equal chances to make good progress.

• Children make good progress in social and communication skills during their time in the early years classes. Teachers and assistants know when to intervene during times when children are engaging in play so that learning is maximised. For example, when a child reported, ‘There’s a fire in the doll’s house!’ the teacher responded, ‘What are we going to do?’ This stimulated problem-solving ideas and discussion. Adults ensure that pupils develop their personal independence skills right from the start of their time in Reception. For example, during snack time, children pour their own drinks and wash their own cups.
• Children develop their early reading skills well throughout the Nursery and Reception classes. Children enjoy phonics sessions and want to be involved. For example, in a Reception class, children were proud to sit in a ‘golden chair’ to take part in the lesson. Because of the strong teaching and learning, children want to apply their phonics skills, and throughout the day they successfully seek out opportunities to read and write.
• Children enjoy learning about mathematics, as there are relevant learning activities both inside and outside to extend their thinking. For example, children enjoy using the ‘mud kitchen’ outside to explore the amounts that different containers can hold and during imaginative play they use money in shopping activities.
• Due to the positive support from adults and the interesting learning experiences on offer both inside and outside, children go about their learning activities happily. They show positive attitudes to behaviour both in managing their own behaviour and in supporting each other.
• Parents are very happy with the provision in the early years and reported to the inspection team that the induction process, approachable staff and ongoing communication help them to support their children to have a successful start to Nursery and then to Reception. Inspectors agree with this view.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 113341 Devon 10024928 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 Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 411 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Paul Hunt Caroline Buckley 01884 253 006

http://www.twomoors.devon.sch.uk mailto: admin@twomoors.devon.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 14–15 January 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Two Moors Primary School is larger than the average school.
• The majority of pupils are White British.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.
• Children attend the Nursery on a part-time or full-time basis. Pupils in the early years (Reception classes) attend full time.
• Before- and after-school clubs are in operation in the school each day, but they are managed independently from the school and are not included in this inspection.
• There is a children’s centre on-site, which is managed independently and is not included as part of this inspection.
• The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans or statements of special educational needs is above the national average.
• The local authority has been supporting the school and has brokered support from a national leader of education and an improvement adviser.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in all classes, sometimes jointly with senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher and other leaders, three members of the governing body and representatives from the local authority. The lead inspector also spoke to the national leader of education who has been supporting the school. A discussion also took place with the headteacher of the nearby secondary school.
• A range of documentation was scrutinised during the inspection. This included the development plan, the school’s self-evaluation of its performance, the single central record and information related to pupils’ progress.
• Inspectors talked to pupils and looked at their books. They also heard some pupils read. The 96 responses to the online pupil survey were taken into account.
• Discussions with parents were held throughout the inspection and the 52 responses to the online survey, Parent View, were taken into account.
• A meeting was held with newly qualified teachers at the school. The 27 completed staff questionnaires were also taken into consideration.

Inspection team

Tonwen Empson, lead inspector Faye Bertham Lizzy Meadows

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector