Tattershall Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 8–9 February 2012 Inspection number 385015 Tattershall Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 120493 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 385015 Inspection dates 8–9 February 2012 Lead inspector Jane Melbourne HMI

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 which gives Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (HMCI) the authority to cause any school to be inspected. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 113 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Wendy Mason Headteacher Heather Sandy Date of previous school inspection 9 December 2010 School address Clinton Park Tattershall LN4 4QZ Telephone number 01526 342045 Fax number 01526 342045 Email address enquiries@tattershallprimary.lincs.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days notice. The inspector observed five teachers and visited 11 lessons and eight sessions of phonics (sounds that letters make). She held meetings with three members of the governing body, the headteacher, staff, a group of 10 parents and groups of pupils. The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at the school’s self-evaluation and plans for raising attainment, assessment information, lesson plans, pupils’ work, school safety procedures and information logs, and responses to questionnaires from 31 parents and carers. The inspector also took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).

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Information about the school

This smaller than average sized primary school was identified as requiring special measures in December 2010. The substantive headteacher left the school and an acting headteacher was appointed. Her post was made permanent from January 2012 and the staff and senior management teams are now stable. A new senior teacher and two class teachers have been appointed since the last inspection. Since that time, there has also been significant restructuring of the governing body. The school had received two monitoring visits prior to this visit.

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Information about the school

The school serves a diverse catchment area, including pupils drawn from the nearby Royal Air Force community. Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritage and in the early stages of learning English are below those found nationally. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average. Around a third of the pupils are currently identified as disabled or with special educational needs, which is an above average proportion. Pupil mobility is high, with a high proportion of pupils joining and leaving the school partway through their primary education. The school meets the government’s floor standards for pupils making expected progress. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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Key findings

 This is a good school. The school has made rapid progress against the areas for improvement identified in the inspection which took place in December 2010.

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Key findings

 As a result of strengthened provision and monitoring, all pupils, including groups considered to be the most vulnerable, are making accelerated progress. Attainment is low in reading but, due to highly successful focussed teaching and effective interventions, it is improving at a faster rate than in other schools. The gaps in performance of different groups in the school are closing.

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Key findings

 Teaching has improved considerably since the last inspection. The teaching in most lessons is good or better. Reading, writing and mathematics are all taught particularly well.

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Key findings

 Pupils are very well behaved around the school; there is a calm and respectful atmosphere. Their responsible attitude in lessons and keenness to succeed is a major factor in improved learning taking place.

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Key findings

 Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is of high quality. The learning environment, outdoor provision and staff’s strong expectations contribute to children’s significant progress in all areas of learning.

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Key findings

 School leaders and the governing body demonstrate a good capacity for sustaining school improvement. There are rigorous procedures in place to check the work of the school, including the progress and safety of pupils.

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Key findings

 The pastoral care for pupils is a very strong feature of the school. Staff care deeply about every pupil and do their best to ensure they are settled and ready to learn. Close links with families and professional partners are evident. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 Rigorous procedures for monitoring pupils’ attendance have significantly improved attendance for some pupils. Published attendance figures do not fully reflect the school’s success in this area due to the high mobility of pupils. Although attendance is still slightly below what is expected nationally, it has improved significantly and is getting closer to the national average.

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Key findings

 The quality of the curriculum has improved this academic year. Staff have checked the range of opportunities for pupils to apply their basis skills across all curriculum areas, although these are still not sufficient in all classes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment to be at least in line with the national average by the end of the summer term 2013, by sharing the best teaching practice across the school and, in particular, ensuring that:  the quality of activities consistently maximises pupils’ learning and progress  there are further opportunities for pupils to read, write and use their mathematical knowledge across all areas of the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Consolidate the work on reducing avoidable absence to bring attendance rates at least in line with the national average by:  developing further schemes to encourage and reward regular attendance  demonstrating to parents and carers the importance of regular attendance by publicising examples where pupils with good attendance achieve well and make better progress.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ attainment is still below average. The very large majority of pupils have made up much of the ground from their inadequate progress in previous years. The school’s tracking data shows that the current Year 6 pupils are on course to reach the levels expected for their age in reading, although they still have some ground to make up in writing and mathematics. However, their progress in reading, writing and mathematics is now faster than seen nationally. Those groups of pupils who are potentially vulnerable are progressing at similar rates to other pupils. The same is true for disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, pupils learning English as an additional language, and the pupils who join the school partway through Key Stages 1 and 2. Pupils are now better prepared for the next phase of their education.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils typically join the school with skills and capabilities below or well below those expected for their ages. Around half of last year’s Reception children completed the year with skills and knowledge which were broadly in line with what is nationally Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

expected, although the achievement of the other half of children in key areas of personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy and problem solving, reasoning and numeracy was too low. This cohort is now catching up and making accelerated progress in Year 1 in line with other pupils in the school. This year’s Reception children are making rapid improvement in all areas of learning and most are on track to reach age-related expectations by the end of the Reception Year. Staff keep a close eye on the small number of children who are not making the expected progress and plan for their individual needs accordingly.

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Achievement of pupils

Last year, pupils in Key Stage 1 attained below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics in their end-of-year tests. Their progress in reading nonetheless reflected a sharp improvement. Improved teaching in English and mathematics is now securing better progress in all areas of learning and pupils are currently on track to achieve age-related expectations. Parents and carers believe that their children are achieving better than they were and are now progressing well. The inspector agrees.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good overall and has continued to improve. The majority of teaching is outstanding. This is acknowledged by parents, carers and pupils. Significantly improved behaviour and attitudes to learning have enabled staff to teach more effectively. Accurate assessment is now embedded across the school. Staff are using information to ensure they meet every pupil’s needs and the wider needs of all groups of pupils. Analysis of the performance of different groups is strong and used effectively to influence teaching and the curriculum. Any gaps that remain in pupils’ learning are being filled by carefully considering the type of support needed by each pupil. Rigorous management of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs ensures they are also effectively supported. Staffing ratios are favourable, which allows for small group or one-to-one teaching to be provided as necessary, for example for struggling mathematicians.

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Quality of teaching

Staff make consistent reference to the learning intentions at the beginning of and throughout lessons. They regularly check on pupils’ progress during lessons, and pupils check their own and each other’s progress against their individual targets. The marking of pupils’ work is thorough and helpful to pupils’ understanding of how they can improve. All staff have high expectations and work is adapted well to suit pupils across a range of abilities. Bespoke reading and writing sessions make a strong contribution to pupils’ understanding of letters and the sounds they make, word building and writing conventions. Year 5 and 6 pupils were seen to have a good grasp of writing persuasively and Year 3 and 4 pupils understand the necessity to use more expressive language to make their writing more interesting. As a result, pupils are writing more accurately and with improved presentation. The large majority of pupils produce a good volume of written work; those that do not are

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Quality of teaching

encouraged to do so and understand what is expected of them.

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Quality of teaching

The pace of lessons is brisk, leaving little opportunity for pupils’ attention to wander Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

off task. Indeed, pupils confirm that lessons are much more fun than they used to be and that they enjoy the activities better. Mostly, no time for learning is wasted. Just occasionally, however, in some classes, an activity may just not have been quite thoroughly thought through for its learning potential or with all of the required practical resources.

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Quality of teaching

The school values the pupils’ ideas and matches the curriculum to their needs and interests. A detailed curriculum audit ensures there is appropriate progression across all year groups in each subject and through the integrated parts of the curriculum, often taught through topic work. Planning for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has had a positive impact on their personal development and behaviour. Their cultural development has taken a little longer to emerge but is now being well planned for. Following a request from the pupils, the school now makes arrangements to enliven learning by taking pupils on more visits and bringing in more visitors. The ‘Wow’ afternoon saw parents, carers and their children, including pre-school children, enjoying learning about healthy foods. Appropriate and regular homework is well supported by pupils’ families and this contributes effectively to

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Quality of teaching

The high quality provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures that Reception children learn and progress to their potential. They are well stimulated by appropriately chosen activities in both indoor and outdoor learning environments. Skilled questioning by an enthusiastic staff team and thorough explanations ensure that all children increase their knowledge and understanding of the world about them from first-hand experiences, as was seen during the inspection as the children investigated properties of snow.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour is good. In many lessons, it is outstanding. Pupils told the inspector that they thought behaviour had improved because they understood the consequences of misbehaviour and what was expected of them. They observed that staff now had a more consistent approach to dealing with the very rare instances of undesirable behaviour. They believed that there were hardly ever any incidences of bullying. Fixed-term exclusions have reduced. The improved enjoyment in lessons and pupils being better stimulated have ensured that there is no longer any low-level disruption in the classrooms. Parents informed the inspector that they also agreed that behaviour was now good.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils respect each other and the adults working with them. They thrive on the responsibilities they are given, for example in helping to appoint the new headteacher. Even the youngest children are mutually supportive. As a Reception child spoke to another: ‘If you need any help, just let me know!’ Pupils told the inspector that they feel very safe in school and parents and carers confirmed this. The inspector agrees that the school is a very safe place to be. The school goes the extra mile in ensuring that all of its pupils, including the most vulnerable, are adequately protected. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are increasingly punctual because they now want to come to school. The school works extremely hard to monitor and improve attendance, with which it has had some measureable success. It makes effective use of the parent support adviser and external agencies to work with pupils whose attendance is less than satisfactory. Although attendance rates have greatly improved from previously very low levels, they still lag a little behind the national average because not all parents and carers fully appreciate the close link between their child’s attendance and achievement. Schemes to promote full attendance have won the commitment of most but not all families.

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Leadership and management

Under the leadership of the new headteacher, a stable and committed team have demonstrated ambition for the school and a capacity to improve further. Bringing in and sharing expertise in literacy and mathematics, and giving staff clear roles and responsibilities to fulfil, have improved ways of working based on teamwork and mutual support. Staff now work more closely across their different key stages in considering transition through and out of the school. Work is underpinned by accurate self-evaluation and a realistic improvement plan, based on effective monitoring. Procedures for checking the work of the school and for tracking pupils’ progress have strengthened. The impact of these more rigorous procedures on provision and outcomes for pupils is a greater consistency across the school in the quality of teaching and pupils’ accelerated progress.

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Leadership and management

The governing body has a full understanding of school development and challenges the school effectively. It has suitable systems to ensure it meets its statutory responsibilities to safeguard pupils, promote equal opportunities and tackle any discrimination.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is satisfactory but improving. It is sufficiently broad and balanced. Consideration has been given to how best to motivate pupils and ensure that there is sufficient coverage of all subjects. Recent developments in improving the range of opportunities for pupils to apply their basic skills across the curriculum are not consistent across the whole school and have not had time to have their full impact on raising standards. There is an improving range of extra-curricular opportunities to enhance pupils’ time in lessons, and the take-up of these is good. The school has fully considered pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as part of its core and wider provision. Learning about the wider world is at an embryonic stage, but pupils take a growing interest in learning, for example, about countries where water is scarce and how they can help.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Tattershall Primary School, Lincoln, LN4 4QZ

Thank you for the welcome you gave to me during my last visit. I agree with you, your parents and carers, that your school is much improved and the excellent news is that it no longer needs special measures.

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Inspection of Tattershall Primary School, Lincoln, LN4 4QZ

As you know, I have been visiting Tattershall over the last three terms to assess the progress the school has been making. The whole of the team leading your school, including the headteacher and the governing body, have all worked exceptionally hard to turn your school around and to take exceptionally good care of you. It is so heartening to see what has been accomplished in such a short period of time.

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Inspection of Tattershall Primary School, Lincoln, LN4 4QZ

Teachers have been committed to delivering better quality lessons and to helping you achieve well. Most of your lessons are now good and you are interested in what you are learning and in doing your best. The Reception Year children get a really good deal. The provision for them is a very high standard. Those of you currently in Year 6 are on track to achieve the levels expected nationally for the first time in many years. Judging by what I saw in the lessons during my recent visit and by what you told me, you are all enjoying your lessons more and are on course to reach your targets. I am delighted to see your improved behaviour in lessons and around the school. What an exciting ‘Wow’ afternoon you had. It is fantastic that more of your families are now supporting your schooling.

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Inspection of Tattershall Primary School, Lincoln, LN4 4QZ

I want your school to keep improving, so I have asked it to continue to work on:  raising your attainment to be at least in line with pupils in other schools by making sure all of the lessons are as good as they possibly can be and that you practise your reading, writing and using your mathematical knowledge across all areas of the curriculum  raising the levels of attendance for the small number of you who still miss too much school by offering more rewards for good attendance and helping your parents and carers to understand the link between good attendance and good achievement.

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Inspection of Tattershall Primary School, Lincoln, LN4 4QZ

You can help by continuing to work hard, behaving well and encouraging all of your friends to come to school every day.

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Inspection of Tattershall Primary School, Lincoln, LN4 4QZ

Jane Melbourne Her Majesty's Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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