Tillington Manor Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 24–25 May 2012 Inspection number 380830 Tillington Manor Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 124196 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 380830 Inspection dates 24–25 May 2012 Lead inspector Derek Aitken

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 334 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Thomas Headteacher Ian Goodwin Date of previous school inspection 9 February 2009 School address Young Avenue Stafford ST16 1PW Telephone number 01785 356880 Fax number 01785 356880 Email address office@tillingtonmanor.staffs.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. Inspectors visited 20 lessons taught by 14 teachers. They scrutinised pupils’ written work in a range of subjects. They listened to individual pupils reading. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff. Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at a range of documents, including policies and procedures relating to the safeguarding of pupils, self-evaluation records and assessment information. The inspectors analysed responses to questionnaires from 57 parents and carers, 99 pupils and 16 staff.

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Information about the school

Tillington Manor is larger than most primary schools. A very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is slightly above average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported by school action plus or a statement of special educational needs is below average. The school provides for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage through two part-time Nursery classes and two Reception classes. The headteacher took up post in September 2010. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. The school has Healthy Schools status.

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Information about the school

Childcare provision (Tilly Tots) operates on the school site. This is managed by a private provider and is subject to a separate inspection. 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

 This is a satisfactory school. It is not yet good, because, despite recent improvements in the quality of provision, some aspects of teaching and leadership and management are not yet of sufficiently high quality to ensure pupils’ good achievement. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ attainment in Year 6 dipped in 2010, when pupils’ achievement was inadequate. It has now risen again to previous levels and is improving further. Pupils leave Year 6 with broadly average attainment and achieve satisfactorily, although there are some minor inconsistencies in rates of progress in Key Stage 2 due to prior underachievement of a few groups and individual pupils.

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Key findings

 Teaching, while improving steadily, is satisfactory. Several lessons observed had good elements: teachers’ planning was well structured, and open-ended questioning made pupils think hard and explain their ideas. Teachers sometimes do not allow pupils enough time to answer in depth and work does not consistently challenge more-able pupils. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities or time to respond to teachers’ good marking to improve their work, and for extended creative writing.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour has improved considerably over the last two years and this is contributing to their rising rates of progress. Nearly all pupils behave well and have positive attitudes. Parents and carers are right to think the school is a safe place.

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Key findings

 Teaching is well led by senior leaders and is being systematically improved. Performance is managed only satisfactorily, because it is based on whole-school targets for pupils’ progress which are adequate rather than challenging. New middle leaders have yet to focus sharply on whole-school data on pupils’ performance to develop a more strategic view of their subjects to enable them 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

to identify priorities for future development. Monitoring of the progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs has improved, but interventions are not yet evaluated systematically at short intervals to measure their impact and so further inform provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is good or better by ensuring that teachers:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 adapt questioning techniques to enable pupils to answer in depth and share ideas more effectively  provide work which consistently stretches more-able pupils  give pupils opportunities and time to respond to marking.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the curriculum so that pupils are able to develop and extend their creative writing skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 setting more challenging targets so that rates of progress are good or better and using this information to manage staff performance effectively  focusing the attention of middle leaders on whole-school data on pupils’ performance to identify patterns and trends to establish priorities for developing their subjects  evaluating systematically and more regularly the impact of interventions for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.

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Achievement of pupils

Parents and carers believe that pupils make good progress. While some individual pupils achieve well and rates of progress are improving, pupils’ overall rates of progress in lessons and over time is satisfactory.

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Achievement of pupils

Children’s attainment on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage is usually below national expectations. They make sound progress, especially in their personal and social development. A recent focus on improving children’s reading, writing and calculation skills is starting to enable more children to make faster progress in these areas of learning and reduce gaps. Children start Year 1 with levels of skills and knowledge broadly comparable to their national peers. In Key Stage 1, the proportion of pupils attaining the nationally expected Level 2 has improved to average, but few pupils attain the higher Level 3. 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

In Key Stage 2, progress is satisfactory but improving in its consistency. The dip in attainment in 2010 has been reversed and in 2011, pupils’ attainment returned to the average levels. Pupils apply their writing skills effectively across the curriculum in a good range of genres but have fewer opportunities for creative, extended writing.

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Achievement of pupils

In some year groups girls’ attainment is higher than boys’ but rates of progress are generally comparable and gaps have narrowed considerably in Key Stage 2, especially in writing. There are no significant variations in pupils’ performance with regard to ethnicity or eligibility for free school meals. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve satisfactorily, but their progress is more consistent in Key Stage 1 and in Year 3 where needs have been identified more swiftly, than in Years 4 and 5. On a few occasions, they make good progress. For example, in a Year 3 lesson these pupils were able to question themselves and explain their decisions for ordering self-penned sentences into a coherent story.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ reading skills in Year 2 are average. Lower- and middle-attaining pupils read simple language accurately and understand how to segment and blend words. Most can refer to pictures or read the whole sentence to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. By the end of Year 6 pupils have developed their reading skills steadily to attain broadly average standards. Most pupils demonstrate competent skimming and scanning techniques to identify key points in texts and explain meanings.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils and their parents and carers believe that teaching is good, but inspectors found that teaching is not yet of sufficiently high quality to enable all pupils to achieve their full potential. Nursery and Reception children make sound progress because staff explain new learning clearly and question children carefully to check their understanding. Occasionally, although activities are purposeful, some opportunities are missed to extend children’s learning.

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Quality of teaching

In all lessons teachers expect pupils to have very positive attitudes. This promotes a calm climate for learning and secures pupils’ moral and social development. Teachers monitor pupils’ progress carefully and mostly use this information effectively to plan work. This is linked to a recently introduced system of setting pupils’ personal targets and is proving successful in helping pupils to become independent as was seen in several lessons where pupils regularly referred to the targets to check and amend their work unaided. Occasionally teachers make expert use of questioning and well- balanced challenging work helps pupils clarify their understanding and learn quickly. For example, in a good Key Stage 1 lesson, pupils clearly explained different strategies for adding, including partitioning, using number squares and lines confidently to arrive at accurate answers. Reading skills are taught effectively, as

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Quality of teaching

was demonstrated in a Year 6 lesson where pupils analysed an information brochure linked to a previous school visit. On a few occasions, work is not adapted sufficiently to stretch more-able pupils and explore their understanding, which slows their progress. Teachers frequently pose searching questions to probe pupils’ thinking but sometimes are too eager to cut answers short before pupils have had the 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

opportunity to consider their responses fully, share their ideas across the class and thereby acquire greater self-confidence.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching assistants work well with teachers to involve less-able pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs in class work and this is effective in motivating them to contribute orally and achieve successfully. This was demonstrated in a Key Stage 2 mathematics lesson where these pupils, after some ‘trial and error,’ solved a complex number pattern exercise. Teachers provide pupils with constructive written feedback through marking linked to their personal targets. They have not yet established a ‘dialogue’ with pupils in this regard by developing opportunities for pupils to respond to feedback.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ positive attitudes, enjoyment of learning and improved behaviour prepare them well for learning and support their secure sense of well-being. Good relationships are nurtured in the Early Years Foundation Stage where staff effectively cultivate children’s social skills and enthusiasm for learning. From an early age, a very large majority of pupils behave sensibly and show consideration for each other. Pupils demonstrate good behaviour for learning, although this occasionally shades into passivity when teachers’ questioning techniques do not engage them fully. Pupils mainly concentrate and persevere well, are sufficiently confident to work without seeking the teacher’s help and take a keen pleasure in supporting each other in their work.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Most parents and carers who answered the questionnaire said that behaviour was good and they were almost unanimous in saying that their children felt safe. Pupils also say that they feel safe in school and are supported well by their peers and adults. They report that behaviour is usually good, and say the school is a friendly place where pupils mix well together. This was demonstrated, for example during playtimes, when boys and girls played and chatted happily together. Pupils have some useful opportunities to contribute to the wider school community, for example through the respected school council, whose ideas contributed to improved toilet provision. Inspectors found that behaviour over time had markedly improved and noted that the school had not found it necessary to exclude any pupils this year. Pupils are aware of different forms of bullying, including through the misuse of social networking sites. Inspectors found that bullying in school was restricted to isolated

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

occurrences of name-calling and that one very recent incidence of cyber-bullying had been resolved firmly and swiftly by the staff to the satisfaction of all parties.

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Leadership and management

School self-evaluation, conducted by senior leaders, is detailed and accurate in its diagnosis of strengths and areas for development. The school has appropriate, well- chosen structures in place to monitor key aspects of provision and devise initiatives to raise achievement. Leaders are rightly focused on improving pupils’ learning and records of lesson observations demonstrate that priorities for improving the practice 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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Leadership and management

of individual staff have been systematically and regularly followed up. New strategies, such as the use of pupils’ personal targets, have already had a considerable impact on improving the structure of staff’s lesson planning. Professional development has been used successfully to achieve greater consistency in the quality of teaching, for example by sharpening staff’s understanding and application of assessment techniques. School development planning is comprehensive and systematic and provides staff with clear direction. These factors, combined with pupils’ improved behaviour, demonstrate the school’s capacity for further improvement.

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Leadership and management

Leaders provide a broad and balanced curriculum that is satisfactorily adapted to promote pupils’ achievement. Pupils’ performance is closely tracked and successful interventions, for example individually targeted support in Year 3, have been implemented to address weaknesses in the language skills of some pupils. Improved arrangements have been introduced for supporting disabled pupils and those with special educational needs but strategies have not yet been sharply evaluated to further inform provision. Key middle leaders, most of whom are new in post, monitor the progress of individual pupils carefully but have yet to acquire a whole-school perspective to enable them to identify precisely priority areas for their subjects. The management of staff performance is not sufficiently challenging enough to bring about better than satisfactory progress as whole-school targets are based on satisfactory outcomes. The school promotes equal opportunities in learning

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Leadership and management

satisfactorily and ensures there are no significant variations in the achievement of different groups. Relationships in school are very positive; there is no discrimination. The curriculum fosters pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development satisfactorily. Moral and social development is promoted well and pupils enjoy musical and artistic activities. Members of the governing body support and challenge leaders satisfactorily. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet current requirements.

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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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Inspection of Tillington Manor Primary School, Stafford, ST16 1PW

I would like to thank you for your help when the inspection team visited your school and for sharing your views with us, including through the questionnaire some of you completed. Yours is a satisfactory school which means it has some good features but also some areas to improve.

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Inspection of Tillington Manor Primary School, Stafford, ST16 1PW

 Pupils throughout the school make satisfactory progress in their learning. By the end of Year 6 your levels of attainment are broadly average.  You told us you feel safe and support each other if anyone needs help and that you are looked after well by the staff.  You also said behaviour had improved and that your personal targets were helping you to focus better and show you how you can improve your work.  Teaching is led well in school and this is helping to raise your attainment.

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Inspection of Tillington Manor Primary School, Stafford, ST16 1PW

We have asked the staff to do the following things to help you make faster progress.

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Inspection of Tillington Manor Primary School, Stafford, ST16 1PW

 Use questioning skills more effectively to enable you to answer in more detail and share ideas across the class; give you more chances and time to respond to teachers’ marking; set work which stretches those pupils who learn more quickly; give you more chances for extended creative writing.  Raise your expectations of what you can achieve by setting you more challenging targets; check carefully the effectiveness of actions they take to support disabled pupils and those with special educational needs; make sure that middle leaders look closely at records of your progress across the school before deciding what they do next to improve your learning.

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Inspection of Tillington Manor Primary School, Stafford, ST16 1PW

You can help by keeping up your good behaviour and continuing to work hard.

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Inspection of Tillington Manor Primary School, Stafford, ST16 1PW

Derek Aitken 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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