Tickenham Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• strengthen the teaching of mathematics and writing so that more pupils reach the higher standard, by teachers:
  • emphasising and developing pupils’ expressive language, spelling and handwriting more effectively
  • ensuring that pupils’ mathematical skills are underpinned by their ability to fluently recall multiplication tables and number facts.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Academy leaders have offered highly effective leadership to the school and have brought about good teaching and increasingly strong outcomes for pupils. Since his appointment, the head of school has galvanised the community of staff, parents and governors to share his vision for the school to continue to improve.
• The head of school has accurately judged that teaching is good and that there are areas which need to be strengthened to reach the ambitious standards he has set. Through the network of schools in the trust there are wide-ranging and effective opportunities for professional development which will support the school in achieving these improvements.
• Middle leaders have reviewed teaching and learning in their subjects and identified where things still need to improve. They have recognised the need, for example, to build greater consistency in the teaching of handwriting, spelling and multiplication tables. This work is, however, still at an early stage. Middle leaders use all opportunities to stay up to date in their subject, including working closely with leaders from other schools in the trust.
• The curriculum is well planned and helps pupils to discover and apply their skills in the world around them. The school promotes the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. This can be seen in the positive way that pupils uphold the school’s values in their work and relationships. Pupils are reflective learners who can identify the values they are adopting in different curriculum subjects. The breadth of opportunity and the range of choices that pupils are given builds their independence and confidence.
• Parents are highly positive about the wide opportunities their children have at the school. As one parent said, reflecting the comments of others, ‘There is nothing small about this school.’ Parents particularly value the approachability of school leaders and teachers and feel their children’s progress and welfare are promoted very effectively.
• The school’s commitment to Christian values supports the work of staff in ensuring equality of opportunity. The links with British values are made through the promotion of respect and compassion. Pupils show their commitment to these aims through their roles as ‘global goals’ representatives and through the prayer team.
• Leaders make sure that additional funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is closely targeted to pupils’ needs and used effectively to help them make good progress.
• Leaders use the primary physical education (PE) and sports premium to enable pupils to take part in competitive sport with other schools in the trust. They also extend opportunities for active participation in sports and games at lunchtime and in after-school clubs. The school’s evaluation shows that all pupils benefit from this funding.

Governance of the school

• Both the local governing body and the trustees provide good support and challenge to the school. Their recent priority has been to help the school to manage changes to leadership and classroom organisation in order to achieve the best for pupils.
• Governors benefit from the detailed reports they receive from the head of school and question leaders regarding pupils’ outcomes. Their minutes show that they recognise the need to be mindful of progress as well as to celebrate recent improvements to attainment.
• Governors question leaders on the quality of teaching and in particular, make checks to ensure that performance management is accelerating the school’s progress towards fulfilling its aims. They also make sure that additional funds are used effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities achieve well.
• Individual governors have responsibility for aspects of the school’s work and regularly visit to meet with leaders to discuss initiatives in their area of responsibility. The broad range of monitoring which governors and trustees undertake enables them to check on the impact and effectiveness of the school improvement plan.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff are well trained, vigilant and know what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil’s welfare. The headteacher keeps staff up to date with regular bulletins about safeguarding issues.
• Leaders are confident to seek advice from outside agencies in order to keep a pupil safe. Record-keeping is of a high quality, well organised and efficient. The policies which support this work are effective.
• The policies and procedures which support safeguarding are generally effective and supported through the guidance of the trust. The school makes checks to ensure that all adults who work with pupils are safe to do so. An omission in these checks was rectified during the course of the inspection.
• Leaders and governors work together to consider any possible risks to pupils’ safety. The playground equipment is regularly checked and risk assessments are in place to support particular features of the school, for example including the school dog on the premises.
• Parents are very appreciative of the school’s commitment to pupils’ welfare and pupils equally say that they feel very safe in school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Pupils across the school are taught well and make good progress. Teachers challenge pupils’ thinking in all lessons and design tasks which build pupils’ knowledge and skills across a series of well-planned lessons.
• Teachers’ good subject knowledge enables them to track pupils’ progress and analyse the difficulties which pupils may experience with new learning. Teachers regularly recap on the learning and then those who may be falling behind have a chance to catch up.
• Teachers are skilled at managing mixed-age classes. They grade the activities that pupils carry out as ‘mild’, ‘hot’ and ‘sizzling’ challenges. There is no predetermined level of task and consequently, all pupils have the chance to reach the highest standard in their work. Even the younger pupils relish the chance to make choices for themselves.
• Teaching assistants work well in partnership with teachers and their work supports all pupils. They are quick to spot when pupils need help and discreetly step in to provide support and encouragement.
• Classrooms are designed to be a source of guidance to pupils in their learning and pupils check the attractive displays of facts and prompts, to help them be independent. Equally, pupils work closely together and gain from opportunities to explain their ideas to others.
• Phonics is taught well. The school’s approach to teaching spelling beyond the phonic stage has not been in place long enough to ensure that all pupils gain and apply accurate spelling in their writing. Equally, the scheme for handwriting is relatively new and so some pupils are overcoming handwriting errors which have restricted their fluency.
• Pupils are given opportunities to correct their writing and follow up on the guidance of their teachers in how to improve. However, teachers are not developing the accuracy and style of pupils’ use of language in writing sufficiently well. For example, pupils include lengthy lists of adjectives in their writing, not all of which are appropriate. This limits their ability to reach the higher standards of which many are capable.
• Pupils say that they enjoy mathematics and they relish the investigations and problem-solving tasks that they are given. Over time, there has not been a consistent approach to the teaching of multiplication tables. This has left pupils without the necessary ability to quickly recall number facts to check their accuracy. Without this knowledge the pace of their working slows.
• The school’s ‘discovery curriculum’ means that teachers build exciting opportunities for pupils across a range of subjects. Year 6 pupils talked enthusiastically about a science experiment they had designed and could explain in detail about the physical science involved in levers. Visits and special events build pupils’ understanding of and enthusiasm for history.
• Teachers plan interesting homework projects which extend pupils’ learning. They provide wide opportunities for pupils to explore the arts. For instance, pupils gain confidence in performing in the end-of-term musical shows which teachers produce.

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 given beneficial challenges and choices at all points of their learning and this practice is consistent across all staff. As a result, pupils’ ability to talk about how and why they use these opportunities to learn is exceptional.
• Every day pupils reflect on the ‘quote of the day’, giving them a chance to consider the challenges that life may bring them and how they might respond. For the younger pupils, this may be as simple as trying their best when learning is difficult. For the older pupils, they consider long-term goals and experiences. Their comments on overcoming setbacks in life showed a maturity beyond their years. As one pupil expressed, ‘I don’t like walking back up the hill, but I have to remember that the better view is from the top.’
• Pupils make sensible use of the trust the school places in them, for instance to work in the quiet reflection area if they need respite from the classroom. Increasingly, teachers trust children to make good choices about selecting the right level of task from those available in the lesson.
• Pupils relish opportunities to take responsibility and support other pupils in learning and play. They use their responsibility wisely and consequently are recognised and valued by the other pupils. The ‘diamonds’ in the playground are seen as highly effective in sorting out any minor concerns that pupils may have.
• The school makes sure that pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils attend special classes on ‘life skills’ and have regular lessons in how to stay safe online. Pupils know when to refer their concerns to an adult and are confident to do so.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. All teachers have high expectations of the level of behaviour and attention in the class and pupils expect to work in this way. They say that learning is never disrupted by other pupils’ misbehaviour and this was certainly the case during the inspection.
• Pupils accept that rules are fair and can explain that their leaf on the classroom tree is changed to red if the quality of their behaviour dips. However, they value the opportunity the next day to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and move forward.
• All pupils feel safe and say that bullying is not part of school life. If there are any disputes in the playground, they are likely to be about the rules of the games and are quickly resolved. They share the playground equipment fairly and older pupils help to keep the younger ones safe.
• The exceptional level of behaviour and pupils’ safety can be seen from the start of the school day, when a quick word of welcome from the head of school brings all pupils to their lines ready to greet the community and go in safely and quietly to school. Pupils attending breakfast club also behave very well.
• Almost all pupils attend school every day they can. However, the absence of a very small number of pupils has reduced the overall rate of school attendance for last year to broadly average. Attendance levels are rising this year and good strategies by school leaders are tackling any individual cases of unauthorised absence.
• Parents are highly positive about the ethos of the school and as one parent said, reflecting the thoughts of others, ‘I trust absolutely that my children are safe and thriving here.’

Outcomes for pupils

Good

• Pupils make good progress from the time they enter the school. The proportion of pupils who reach the expected levels of attainment for their age is high in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of each key stage. The rate of progress and level of attainment at the end of key stage 2 both rose in 2017 from that achieved in 2016. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• The levels of skill, knowledge and understanding that pupils are currently demonstrating in Years 2 and 6 indicate good progress. Rising standards for the proportion of pupils at the expected level look likely to continue. School leaders recognise, however, that there are challenges in ensuring that all pupils who have shown the capacity to work at greater depth continue to do so.
• By the end of Year 2, all pupils have reached the expected standard in the phonics screening check and most of them do so by the end of Year 1. Pupils are confident readers across the school and reading targets encourage them to read regularly and widely.
• Observations of pupils’ learning in lessons and of their work in books showed that they gain skills of problem-solving in mathematics rapidly. Pupils understand mathematical concepts which help them to reason through investigations. However, pupils’ accuracy and ability to find their own errors are limited by weakness in recalling number facts and, in particular, multiplication tables. For some of the most able pupils this means that they are not on track to reach the higher standard of which they should be capable.
• Pupils write frequently and at length and generally make good progress in their writing. There are, however, too few pupils currently working at the higher standard given their high starting points. They express their thoughts well, but do not demonstrate the precision or, in some cases, the formality of language which is expected in different forms of writing. Equally for some pupils, the quality of their handwriting and spelling falls short of that expected for their age.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make very good progress and are well supported in lessons. The small number of disadvantaged pupils in the school attain well. Their potential is recognised and in some cases they go on to achieve the high standard of which they are capable.
• The wide, stimulating curriculum enables pupils to achieve well across the range of subjects, most notably history, the arts and science. Pupils also develop strong skills of scientific enquiry.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Children make exceptional progress in the early years under the very strong guidance of the Reception class teacher, who is also the leader for early years. The leader has a deep knowledge of children’s development and plans learning experiences which enable children to gain new skills and knowledge rapidly.
• Most children start school with skills typical for their age. A small number of children have a stronger knowledge of, for example, the wider world, language and number. Almost all children go on to reach a good level of development, but equally almost all children exceed their early learning goals in several aspects of the curriculum, including reading.
• This year the Reception children are taught in a mixed-age class with Year 1 pupils. All staff work together to ensure that the Reception-age children have good opportunities to explore their learning in the stimulating indoor and outdoor classrooms. Routines are well embedded and so children make good choices from the activities set up for them and work well together to follow their interests.
• All staff teach phonic skills well. Already this year children can group phonically similar words into rhyming pairs. Staff also equip children with a range of words which are not phonically spelled and children are keen to test themselves out on the number of ‘tricky words’ they know. As a result, children quickly acquire reading skills which support their strong transition to the next stage of their education in Year 1.
• The teacher’s accurate assessment of what children need to learn next particularly supports the development of the most able children. Several children were seen using a range of well-planned opportunities to explore numbers beyond 20. They demonstrated their good understanding by finding the number’s place between other numbers.
• The teacher develops the children’s basic skills well and has a deep commitment to children developing in all aspects of the curriculum. The children’s progress in expressive arts is a strength of the class and work displayed shows that they explore freely, developing skills of painting, drawing and cutting.
• Children have enjoyed learning about the emergency services and have had a visit from the fire service with an engine. They have deepened their understanding through model-making and setting up their classroom hospital role-play area.
• Children keep themselves exceptionally safe in the Reception class. All were able to explain the significance of the red line in the outdoor area and knew that it was a line they didn’t cross without an adult. Staff give the children’s welfare needs in the Reception class high priority and ensure that all safeguarding procedures are implemented effectively.
• Staff keep parents very well informed about their children’s progress. They help parents to support the children’s learning well by practising skills at home. Parents have every confidence in the staff and as one parent commented, expressing the thoughts of others, ‘I am constantly amazed by the activities created every day for the children.’

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141362 North Somerset 10036953 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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 81 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Head of School Executive headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Clive Wiggin Tristan Merriam John Wells 01275 853919 www.tickenhamprimary.co.uk office@tickenhamprimaryschool.org.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• In January 2015 the school became an academy and joined the Clevedon Learning Trust. The executive headteacher is the chief executive officer of the trust. The school is led by a head of school. Until September 2017, the head of school role was shared with the early years leader, who is now the assistant headteacher.
• The school is smaller than average. Children join the school in the Reception class and this is now taught as a mixed Reception and Year 1 class.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is lower than average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is also lower than average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school operates a daily breakfast club.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning in all classes. Almost all observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• The inspector talked to pupils about their learning and examined work in pupils’ books. A group of pupils were asked for their views on the school and the inspector spoke to others in the playground and as they worked in their lessons. She read with pupils from Year 1, 2 and 6 and observed the school’s act of worship.
• Discussions were held with the head of school, senior and middle leaders and a group of governors. A telephone discussion was held with the chair of governors. The inspector met with the executive headteacher and other members of the trust.
• The inspector examined a wide range of documents including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan. Information on pupils’ progress and records relating to attendance and safeguarding were also reviewed.
• The inspector considered 53 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, which included 41 free-text comments. She also spoke to some parents at the start of the school day.

Inspection team

Wendy Marriott, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector