Temple Meadow Primary School

Temple Meadow Primary School Wrights Lane, Cradley Heath, B64 6RH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 The amount of good and better teaching is not high enough for all pupils to do well.  The pace of learning in mathematics and reading lessons is not fast enough to ensure that pupils always make good progress.  The gap between the performance of pupils with special educational needs and other pupils is not closing.  Teachers do not take enough account of pupils with special educational needs when planning lessons and deploying teaching assistants.  Some pupils from a Pakistani or Bangladeshi background have poor attendance.  Pupils do not consistently use good manners in their contact with each other or adults.

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The school has the following strengths

 Strong leadership from the headteacher and her deputy are bringing about important and sustained improvements.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage because teachers are skilled at knowing exactly when to prompt and support them.  Pupils have good attitudes to learning and feel safe in school.  Pupils make good progress in writing because they are inspired by the new topics and have many opportunities to write in different subjects.  The school’s leaders have used additional funding well to boost the performance of pupils eligible for the pupil premium.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 29 lessons. In addition, the inspection team made a number of other short visits to lessons, listened to pupils reading and analysed the work in their books.  Meetings were held with pupils, members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and staff, including senior and middle leaders.  Inspectors met with parents and carers. There were five responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors also considered the views expressed by parents and carers through the school’s own surveys.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, exclusions and attendance, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

David Driscoll, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Janet Bird Additional Inspector Sarah Foulkes Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than most primary schools.  A high proportion of pupils are supported through school action.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium is high.  An above average proportion of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds. The largest groups represented are from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school joined an education trust in July 2012. This is a group of local schools who work together with the aim of improving all schools in the trust.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By July 2013, enable all pupils make good or better progress in mathematics and reading by ensuring that teachers move them on to more demanding tasks as soon as they are ready.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Close the gap in achievement between pupils with special educational needs and other pupils by July 2013 by ensuring that:  they are given suitably challenging work  lesson plans specify what they are to learn and the strategies used to support them  they are taught both by teachers and teaching assistants  teachers receive suitable training in how to support pupils with special educational needs and teaching assistants in how to support other pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the attendance of pupils from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds to the national average by July 2013 by analysing the attendance of groups of pupils in more detail and acting on the results more quickly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all staff consistently remind pupils to use good manners at all times.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement is improving as the school helps pupils to catch up after a time when they made too little progress. Children’s progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage has improved from satisfactory to good and pupils’ attainment in Years 2 and 6 has risen from a low level to broadly average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children join the Nursery with skills and experiences that are below the level expected for their age. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and start Year 1 with attainment that is broadly average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress in reading and mathematics is improving quickly in Years 1 to 6, although it is not yet good. Pupils do not make good progress because they are not always moved on to new tasks quickly enough in lessons. This applies to pupils of all abilities, and particularly those with special educational needs. Pupils in Year 1 sometimes struggle to learn new letters and sounds because they cannot always hear the teacher when taught in a classroom shared with another class.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress has improved more quickly in writing than in other subjects and is good. Teachers inspire pupils to write by using exciting topics, such as describing Yuri Gagarin’s first space flight. They were shown a video of his take-off and had to imagine what they could see, hear and smell. They immediately started to write vivid accounts, searching for new adjectives to describe his experience.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils who are eligible for support through the pupil premium are making faster progress than their peers. The school uses this additional funding to support home visits for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage to accurately assess what additional support they will need, so it can be put in place as soon as they start school. They now get off to a good start and do not fall behind. In other years, the funding is spent on providing one-to-one or small group support that is well targeted at addressing those specific areas where a pupil struggles to keep up.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils with special educational needs do not make good enough progress to close the gap in attainment between them and their peers. The work they are given is sometimes too easy, so they do not learn anything new, or too hard so they become confused.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most pupils from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds make similar progress to other groups of pupils. However, those with a high level of absenteeism fall behind in their work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although the quality of teaching is improving, there is not enough good quality teaching for pupils to make consistently good progress. The quality of teaching is similar across the year groups.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not always move pupils on quickly enough in mathematics and reading lessons. They do not always notice when pupils have finished a task and are ready for a new one, or ask more-able pupils to wait while others catch up rather than giving them more challenging work to begin with.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not always take enough account of pupils with special educational needs when planning lessons. They frequently leave the teaching of such pupils to teaching assistants, so that the pupils do not benefit from the teachers’ expertise. Lesson plans do not always make clear what is expected of such pupils and what ways are to be used to help them learn.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage because teachers assess their learning in lessons carefully and prompt them to think and respond at key points. They notice, for example, when they can encourage children to start writing letters when playing in the sand.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the best teaching, lessons are lively and interesting. In mathematics, more practical tasks, such as measuring sunflowers in Year 2 and working out which has grown the most, are capturing pupils’ interest and helping them apply their numeracy skills. While teachers often explain concepts well so that pupils grasp new ideas quickly, they sometimes hold pupils back by not giving them challenging enough work to do when they are working on their own or in groups.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils make good progress in their writing. Teachers are adept at introducing new vocabulary that pupils can use in their writing, and ensure that pupils have many opportunities to write in different contexts and styles.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers generally manage behaviour well. Most pupils respond immediately to instructions and are keen to please.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils have generally positive attitudes to learning and enjoy school. They are proud of their work and the school, and are keen to show it off to visitors. Pupils usually concentrate well in lessons, but their attention wanders when the pace of learning is slow. They do not disrupt learning for others when this happens, but rather daydream quietly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Overall, pupils’ attendance has improved from a low level to below average. The attendance of those pupils supported through the pupil premium has improved significantly but is still below average. A small number of pupils from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds do not attend as frequently as other pupils; their attendance is low and this badly affects their progress in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Behaviour has improved significantly since the school was last inspected. The behaviour policy is now implemented consistently by all staff and pupils know and respect the school rules. This has been an important factor in helping to reduce the number of pupils excluded from school. This has fallen dramatically from an average of two per week two years ago to one every three weeks last year. There have been no exclusions this school year up to the time of the inspection.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils show suitable respect for others and most cooperate well in lessons. They know what good manners are, but do not always use them. For example, they do not always use ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ or hold doors open without prompting. Teachers and other staff do not always remind pupils to do so.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The school takes a very strong line in tackling racist behaviour and any other forms of discrimination. Actions to eliminate it are effective and perpetrators do not re-offend.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils feel safe in school. Bullying is rare and dealt with swiftly and effectively. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, such as when using the internet, and when out and about in the community.

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The leadership and management are good

 Strong leadership from the headteacher and her deputy, well-supported by middle managers, is driving the school forward. Weak teaching has been tackled successfully. Consequently, there have been significant improvements in achievement, behaviour and attendance.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents and carers now hold positive views about the school. This is markedly different to the time of the previous inspection when there were high levels of dissatisfaction.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s leaders analyse data on pupils’ achievements well to identify where weaknesses exist. They use the results effectively to target checks on teaching in order to determine the reasons for any underachievement and promote equality between groups. Differences in the performance of groups such as girls and boys those eligible for free school meals and others have been all but eliminated. The gap between pupils with special educational needs and others is not widening and the school is putting plans into action to address this weakness.

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The leadership and management are good

 The analysis of pupils’ attendance is not so effective. The attendance of individuals is monitored well, but that of different groups is not checked so emerging trends of poor attendance are not identified early enough.

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The leadership and management are good

 The results of monitoring are used effectively to manage teachers’ performance and to match training to their needs in most cases. However, some teachers are not confident in setting appropriately challenging work for pupils with special educational needs and teaching assistants lack training in supporting other pupils. This weakness has already been identified by the school’s senior leaders and is the first priority for development in the school’s action plan. Training is already taking place.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school leaders make good use of the partnership with other schools in order to share expertise. This has proved successful in helping to train the school’s senior and middle leaders. The school is currently working with a partner school to improve the provision for pupils with special educational needs, for example.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides good quality support. It has provided a good degree of challenge and helped the school to focus on the most important areas of its performance, where there have been significant improvements

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The leadership and management are good

 The new ‘irresistible learning’ curriculum is a key factor in driving up achievement. It ensures that pupils find learning relevant and enjoyable. It provides good opportunities for pupils to develop awe and wonder about the world around them, such as using giant African snails to test food sources. Pupils’ understanding of right and wrong is reinforced well, and they demonstrate interest in, and respect for, the views of others. Opportunities to learn about other cultures and develop good manners are not so prevalent.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  is good because the governing body has a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses  has provided good support for the headteacher in tackling weak teaching  has provided good financial management in reversing previous overspending  ensures that the pupil premium is used effectively and the school is well resourced, especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage  makes sure that the school meets its statutory responsibilities for safeguarding children.

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 103957 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 400676

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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 Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 358 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Pettifer Headteacher Cathy Walsh Date of previous school inspection 25 June 2010 Telephone number 01384 569021 Fax number 01384 569051 Email address info@meadow.sandwell.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, please

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School details

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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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