Tilney St Lawrence Community Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 28–29 May 2012 Inspection number 380123 Tilney St Lawrence Community Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 120884 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 380123 Inspection dates 28–29 May 2012 Lead inspector Tricia Pritchard

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 81 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Baldwin Headteacher Richard Chamberlain (Executive Headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 26 February 2009 School address School Road Tilney St Lawrence King's Lynn PE34 4QZ Telephone number 01945 880405 Fax number 01945 881031 Email address office@tilney-st-lawrence.norfolk.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 nine parts of lessons taught by four teachers, listened to pupils read, looked at a sample of pupils’ work from each year group, scrutinised school documentation, including action plans, safeguarding information and data about pupils’ progress. Meetings were held with the headteacher, assistant headteacher, Early Years Foundation Stage teacher, Chair of the Governing Body and groups of pupils. The inspector looked at questionnaires from 32 parents and carers, nine staff and 47 pupils.

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Information about the school

Tilney St Lawrence Community Primary School is much smaller than most primary schools and is a member of the Three Schools Federation, working in partnership with Walpole Highway and Terrington St John Community Primary Schools. The federation is led by an executive headteacher who was appointed in September 2010 and the school has an assistant headteacher. There is a joint governing body for the three schools.

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Information about the school

Pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in a single age-group class and pupils in Years 1 to 6 are taught in three mixed-age classes. The number of pupils in each year group varies from year to year. Nearly all pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action plus and the proportion with a statement of special educational needs are above the national average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average. The school has received an Artsmark gold award, the Basic Skills Quality Mark and an Activemark for physical education. There is a breakfast club on site. The school did not meet the government’s minimum expectations for attainment and progress (floor standards) in 2011.

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. It is not yet good because pupils’ achievement is not consistently high enough, there is insufficient good teaching and some aspects of the management of teaching and learning are underdeveloped. Schools whose overall effectiveness is satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 Although attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 has been well below the national average for the last five years, most pupils make satisfactory progress in relation to their low starting points on entry. With the exception of 2011, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 is usually in line with the national average. Attainment in reading is currently at least average for pupils at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

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Key findings

 Key strengths of teaching are the planning of well-structured lessons which proceed at a good pace, opportunities for pupils to discuss their learning with one another and planning for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Teaching is less effective when pupils are set the same tasks regardless of ability, staff use mathematical terminology incorrectly, pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to consolidate their writing skills across the curriculum and where staff miss opportunities to extend pupils’ thinking through well targeted questioning. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children’s progress is slowed down by insufficient opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills and to use the outdoor environment for imaginative play.

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Key findings

 The behaviour and safety of pupils are good. Pupils demonstrate good attitudes to learning and are good at listening to the views of others. Relationships are based upon mutual respect. Pupils feel safe at school.

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Key findings

 Leaders assess accurately the school’s strengths and weaknesses but the role of subject leaders in the monitoring of teaching and learning across the curriculum is not well defined and there are not enough opportunities for staff to share good practice within the federation.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In order to accelerate pupils’ progress and raise standards in writing and mathematics, improve the quality of teaching by:  communicating high expectations of all pupils and setting tasks which are well matched to their individual needs  ensuring that all teachers use mathematical vocabulary accurately in lessons  providing more opportunities for pupils to write for different purposes and audiences in subjects other than English  ensuring that teachers ask appropriately challenging questions which extend pupils’ thinking and enable them to assess pupils’ understanding of the learning objectives of the lesson.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate children’s progress in developing their language skills in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  ensuring that children are given good opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills  making better use of the outdoor learning environment to promote outdoor play.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the management of teaching and learning by:  developing the role of subject leaders in monitoring the quality of teaching and learning  developing mechanisms within the federation for staff to share existing good practice and to debate how to move teaching from satisfactory to good and better.

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Achievement of pupils

Children start school with skills that are well below expectations for their age. In particular, their communication, language and literacy skills are not well developed. Until recently, they have made consistently slow progress in the Reception class in all areas of learning and their attainment at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage has been well below average. This year, however, there is an improvement. Over half the children currently in the Reception class are on target to meet average attainment by the end of the year. They are gaining confidence in linking letters and sounds to help them read, although their progress in speaking and listening is restricted by their too limited vocabulary.

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Achievement of pupils

At the end of Year 2, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has been well below the national average for the past five years. Nevertheless, in relation to their starting points, pupils make satisfactory progress. Over the last two years, there has been a rising trend in attainment in reading and writing, and attainment in reading is average this year. In lessons, pupils use their knowledge of linking letters and sounds to read unfamiliar words and they read with understanding. Their writing, however, is not as good. Some pupils find it difficult to express their ideas independently and use a restricted vocabulary. In mathematics lessons, pupils do not always fully understand the mathematical terms being taught.

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Achievement of pupils

In Key Stage 2, pupils make at least satisfactory progress and sometimes good progress. Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics is usually broadly in line with the national average, with the exception of 2011 when it was well below. The school’s data and evidence from the inspection indicates that the current Year 6 pupils are on track to reach average attainment. Attainment in reading is average. Pupils read fluently and with expression. They are skilful at predicting what happens next. In mathematics, pupils demonstrate an ability to apply their prior knowledge to problem solving situations.

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Achievement of pupils

In Key Stage 1, girls usually do better than boys in reading, writing and mathematics but, in Key Stage 2, there is no significant difference between their attainment. In 2011, Year 6 boys made significantly better progress in all subjects than the national average. Throughout the school, disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs make at least satisfactory progress and achieve levels in English and mathematics which are near to the national average for pupils with similar needs. Parents and carers are happy with the progress their children make. However, it is clear from observing pupils’ learning in class and looking at their work that pupils are currently making satisfactory rather than good progress.

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Quality of teaching

Most parents and carers believe that their child is taught well and that their child’s needs are well met. The inspection confirms the school’s self-evaluation that teaching is satisfactory.

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Quality of teaching

Lessons are well structured and pupils say that they enjoy their lessons. Teachers organise their resources well and are confident using information and communication technology to support their teaching. In Key Stages 1 and 2, they promote pupils’ social development successfully by encouraging them to discuss their learning with each other. However, in the Early Years Foundation Stage, opportunities are missed to improve pupils’ speaking and listening skills.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers make clear their expectations but these expectations are not always high enough to ensure that all pupils make maximum progress. For example, teachers sometimes move on too quickly before they have checked that pupils fully understand the learning objective or before they have extended pupils’ thinking sufficiently through well-targeted questioning. Pupils are sometimes confused by teachers’ incorrect use of mathematical vocabulary. Although some pupils say that they do not know how well they are doing at school, the marking of their work is at least satisfactory and provides pupils with helpful comments on how to improve. The marking of pupils’ writing in the Year 4/5/6 class is especially good.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers’ phonics subject knowledge is secure and reading is taught well throughout the school. Opportunities for pupils to consolidate their writing skills in subjects other than in English, however, are variable and this is a contributory factor to pupils performing less well in writing than in reading. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 are given the best opportunities when they are required to write independently and at length in geography, history and science instead of completing short answer worksheets.

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Quality of teaching

With the exception of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, pupils of all abilities are often set the same tasks and this slows down their progress. In Key Stage 1, pupils’ progress in mathematics is restricted by the use of too many worksheets which lack challenge.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching assistants are well deployed to support groups of pupils, particularly disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Teachers use pupil tracking data effectively to target pupils at risk of underachieving and to plan the work of support groups.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Just over a third of parents and carers and a quarter of pupils who completed the inspection questionnaire said that their child’s lessons were disrupted by bad behaviour. However, when talking to pupils, they told a different story. No bad behaviour was observed during the inspection in lessons or in the playground. School documentation shows that any incidents of poor behaviour are dealt with effectively Pupils are very clear about procedures if they misbehave. Relationships between staff and pupils are built upon mutual trust. Pupils respect one another. In lessons, they enjoy working with a talking partner and are good at listening to each other’s views. Teachers create a calm learning environment. Pupils demonstrate good attitudes to learning, particularly when required to work independently or as a member of a group. Attendance is in line with the national average and pupils are punctual.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Instances of bullying and exclusions are rare. Older pupils understand the dangers of cyber bullying. Pupils say that they feel safe at school and parents and carers agree that their child feels safe.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Tilney St Lawrence Community School is a happy school where pupils learn in a well-ordered environment in attractive surroundings. The federation model of an executive headteacher and a single governing body across three schools provides a good infrastructure for collaborative working and for identifying where good practice exists. However, its full potential is not being realised in relation to sharing good practice.

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Leadership and management

Self-evaluation is accurate. The leadership has a good understanding of where strengths and weaknesses lie and is open and honest about areas for improvement. Action planning is focused upon raising attainment. Staffing levels are good and resources are being targeted at promoting school improvement. Leaders have undertaken a thorough analysis of data on pupils’ performance and have introduced good procedures to help teachers track and record pupils’ progress at regular intervals. As a result, teachers are now better informed about the progress their pupils make and they are successfully identifying those pupils whose progress needs to be accelerated. The school is satisfactorily placed to improve. During the inspection, leaders gave well-focused feedback to staff on the strengths and areas for development of the teaching they observed. However, the routine monitoring of teaching and learning has not been rigorous enough to ensure that all

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Leadership and management

weaknesses are picked up. Currently, there are insufficient opportunities for staff to engage in professional debate on how to move teaching from satisfactory to good or better. Promoting equality is satisfactory rather than good because of the inequalities in teaching and learning. The school’s approach to tackling discrimination is good.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is suitably broad and balanced and is enriched by a variety of after- school clubs, including gardening, cricket and ukulele. There is plenty of choice for pupils across the whole age range. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including their awareness of global issues and sustainability, is promoted through a wide range of activities both within the school and within the federation. The federation arranges sporting, cultural, theatrical and poetry events and has recently held a Hindu day.

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Leadership and management

Safeguarding procedures meet requirements. Behaviour and special educational needs are well managed. Those who attend the breakfast club are looked after well and enjoy their time together. Communication with parents and carers is good.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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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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PE34 4QZ

Thank you for welcoming me when I came to your school recently. I enjoyed meeting you and talking to you about your work. You obviously enjoy your lessons and have lots of opportunities to discuss your learning with talking partners. I was pleased to see how well that worked. It was good, too, to see you playing so happily in the playground where you have lots of equipment and can enjoy the lovely grounds. Your behaviour is good.

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PE34 4QZ

Your school provides you with a satisfactory education. You make reasonable progress in all subjects and I was especially pleased to hear some of you read so fluently and with expression. Before I left, I spoke to your headteacher and assistant headteacher about a few aspects that would help you to make better progress, particularly in writing and mathematics. These included ensuring that you have plenty of opportunities to complete a lengthy piece of writing in subjects such as history, geography and science. Sometimes, I noticed that you were a little confused about some of the mathematical terms in lessons and so I have suggested to your teachers that they make sure that you do understand. Always ask your teachers if ever you are unsure. I have also suggested that they set tasks and ask questions which make you think hard about your learning. For those of you in the Early Years Foundation Stage, I hope you will have lots of opportunities to talk to your teacher

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PE34 4QZ

and other adults, and for activities, such as pretending you are pirates, both inside the classroom and in the outdoor area. I was sorry to leave before I knew what you were doing next in your pirate project.

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PE34 4QZ

Your headteacher is responsible for three primary schools and I know that you enjoy joining pupils in other schools for activities such as cricket matches and special theme days. I have also suggested that your teachers and teaching assistants should have as good opportunities as you to meet each other and to share ideas about their teaching.

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PE34 4QZ

Tricia Pritchard Lead 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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