Tiverton School

School report Tiverton School Rowington Close, Coundon, Coventry, CV6 1PS Inspection dates 27–28 September 2012

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This inspection: Good 2

Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The majority of pupils make good progress and learn well because staff have a good understanding of their needs and plan well for what they must learn next.  There is a very positive climate for learning which means that all pupils are fully involved in lessons despite the wide range of disabilities and special educational needs.  Teaching is good and there are some examples of outstanding teaching.  Pupils behave well, both in lessons and around school.  Teachers manage any occasional difficult behaviour effectively.  Pupils feel safe and secure, and are exceptionally well supported by school staff, especially for their physical and medical needs.  Pupils are provided with a wide range of experiences and the school effectively promotes their use of sign, writing and spoken language.  There is an exceptional drive for improvement by all leaders, including the governing body.  The headteacher’s determination to improve

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

all aspects of the school has resulted in good improvement since the last inspection, especially in the ways pupils are taught.  The school works very effectively with parents and external agencies such as those from social care. Parents have considerable confidence in the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not yet enough outstanding teaching to enable more pupils to make exceptional progress.  Teaching does not always enable pupils to know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve.  The school does not always evaluate pupils’ performance against the progress of pupils nationally.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in every class and joint lesson observations were carried out with senior leaders.  Ten lessons, or part lessons, were observed.  Ranges of documents were scrutinised, including pupil progress data since the last inspection, curriculum planning and monitoring documents, and the school’s self-evaluation and school improvement plan.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, a group of pupils, subject leaders and a representative from the local authority.  The views of parents were sought during a parents’ coffee morning planned on the second day of the inspection. There were no responses to Parent View, although the school’s own survey of parental satisfaction was examined.  The inspector received the views of staff through 18 responses to the inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Kathleen Yates Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Tiverton School is a small maintained special school.  Thirty-seven pupils have a statement of special educational needs, and one pupil attends school on an assessment place.  Most pupils have severe learning difficulties, and a small proportion have profound and multiple learning difficulties.  Most pupils have additional barriers to learning that effect their mobility, hearing, vision or communication.  The school has an Early Years Foundation Stage, where there are currently 10 children.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and for whom the school receives additional income (the pupil premium) is average.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average, although their communication skills, in English or their home language, are at a very early stage of development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the proportion of outstanding teaching by ensuring that pupils understand their own learning targets, know how well they have done in lessons and what they need to do to improve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Sharpen the drive to raise achievement by making greater use of guidance about the progress of pupils nationally to set increasingly challenging targets and to evaluate pupils’ progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ attainment on entry to the school is low due to their learning difficulties.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress has improved over the past three years, for all groups of pupils, and is now good. This includes pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The proportions of pupils making and exceeding the expected amount of progress are better than those nationally for pupils with similar starting points. More pupils now make the levels of progress expected and increasing numbers are making faster progress. This includes pupils who have profound and multiple learning difficulties and pupils supported through the pupil premium.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Due to outstanding teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children make exceptional progress, especially in communication and number.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in their mathematical skills and speaking and listening skills across all subjects. They make good progress in communication. This is because of staff expertise in using a wide range of strategies, including signing, pictures, symbols and objects of reference to enable pupils to communicate.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Intensive therapy and multi-sensory approaches to learning have a positive impact on the learning and progress of pupils who have profound and multiple learning difficulties.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in their social, emotional, behavioural and physical development. The school’s speech and language therapist and external agencies work exceptionally well with all staff; as a result of working in partnership, together they promote pupils’ development effectively.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Parents and carers are very positive about the good progress their children are making. During the inspection, they commented positively on the exceptional support that is given in enabling them to help with their children’s communication skills at home.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. The school works effectively to ensure that each pupil has a smooth transition to their next school at the end of Year 6.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved since the last inspection. It is now more consistently good across the school with a small proportion that is outstanding. This has resulted in pupils’ good learning and progress in most subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in a few lessons observed was exceptional. In these lessons, teachers ensured that pupils knew what they were meant to learn and what they needed to do to improve. This helped to promote faster rates of progress for pupils. This was especially evident in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations and plan meticulously to meet pupils’ individual needs across all subjects. Pupils’ progress in lessons is reviewed consistently by the class teams, enabling next steps to be planned for each individual.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Excellent teamwork in all classes facilitates and enhances good teaching. All staff are very clear about what they are supporting pupils to do and to make progress in. However, pupils are not always sufficiently involved in understanding their own learning targets. They are not yet consistently included in reviewing their own progress and in understanding what they need to do to improve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The creative use of sensory resources ensures that all pupils, especially those with profound and multiple learning difficulties, are fully engaged and enjoy their learning. In a literacy lesson, resources closely matched to the needs of individuals enabled all groups of learners to fully participate and make exceptional progress in both communication and learning letter sounds.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All staff successfully create a positive climate for learning in their classrooms and pupils are keen to learn. Teachers encourage and support all pupils to fully participate in all lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most pupils for whom English is an additional language achieve as well as all other group of pupils. This is because their needs are well planned for and because of the quality of support offered by teaching assistants. They are well informed about what their pupils have to learn and about which approaches will help them to learn well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Personalised homework is used effectively to support pupils’ learning at home. This is achieved through a range of communications with parents, including the daily home-school diary.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour in lessons and around school is good. Pupils enjoy their learning and because teaching is effective, most pupils are fully engaged. They cooperate well with each other and all adults.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour management is effective. Pupils who sometimes exhibit behavioural difficulties are very well supported through their individual behaviour plans. Staff are well trained to use clear precise procedures, calmly and consistently. Consequently, pupils feel safe, respond very positively and disruption is minimal.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s records show that behaviour over time is good and there have been no exclusions since the last inspection.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils at their own level understand how to keep themselves safe and about different types of bullying. They are well supported through a range of appropriate curriculum activities such as ‘stranger danger’ about how to stay safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents, carers and staff are all positive about behaviour in the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is below average, as a high proportion of pupils have complex medical needs and are often absent because of chronic illness. However, staff do all they can to support pupils who are absent and manage their physical needs when in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There is a consistent approach by the senior team and family support worker in monitoring and reviewing pupils’ attendance. This helps to ensure appropriate support from the school and other agencies is implemented to improve individual pupil’s attendance.

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The leadership and management are good

 The exceptional leadership of the headteacher has had a strong impact on improvements in the school. There has been a clear drive since the last inspection to improve the quality of teaching which has improved pupils’ learning and ensured that they have made good progress from their starting points.

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The leadership and management are good

 All staff work tirelessly to improve standards across all subject areas. The role of the subject leaders in monitoring and reviewing their areas of responsibility has improved since the last inspection. The subject leaders have developed a creative curriculum matched to the needs of all groups of learners. They now monitor and review the planning of their areas of responsibility. This has ensured appropriate coverage of subjects through a creative, thematic approach, and the delivery of personalised targets for each pupil.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior team monitors the progress of each pupil on a termly basis. This has enabled leaders to support teachers on interventions to help pupils who are not on track to achieve their targets. Subject leaders are now better aware of these processes and the levels at which pupils are working. The school has well-targeted actions in place to ensure that subject leaders take ownership of termly tracking and monitoring of individual pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior team evaluates pupils’ overall progress annually and identifies key areas for development. As yet, the school does not make effective use of data about the progress of pupils nationally to support the increased setting of challenging targets and to evaluate progress against national outcomes.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium funding is used wisely and effectively on enrichment opportunities and additional staff. The effect of these interventions is carefully monitored and reviewed.

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The leadership and management are good

 Partnership with other agencies is exceptional in supporting pupils’ social and medical needs.

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The leadership and management are good

 Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted throughout the curriculum and is a strong feature.

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The leadership and management are good

 The parent support worker is very effective in reaching and engaging all parents and carers. Parents are very positive about the school. One parent ‘could not speak highly enough about the school and the help and support that had been given’ to them.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority supports this good school appropriately.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  has improved significantly since the last inspection  ensures that the school meets safeguarding requirements  effectively monitors the impact of teaching on learning and progress for different groups of pupils  very effectively monitors the successes of the school and challenges senior leaders to continue to move forward.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 103763 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 400653

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Special Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 38 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alan Edwards Headteacher Carolyn Claridge Date of previous school inspection 1 December 2009 Telephone number 0247 6594954 Fax number 0247 6591575 Email address headteacher@tiverton.coventry.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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,

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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