Tipton Green Junior School

Tipton Green Junior School Manor Road, Tipton, DY4 8TR

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Inspection dates 31 October–1 November 2012

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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 in many school subjects.  Since the previous full inspection, pupils’ progress has improved and attainment of older pupils is approaching average levels.  Teaching and learning are almost always good. Some teaching is outstanding.  Teachers expect pupils to try hard in lessons and behave well and they do so. Carefully planned lessons take account of different needs. Marking is very thorough and shows pupils what to do next.  Pupils love their new school building and enjoy lessons and other activities. They feel safe because they understand ways of keeping safe and know they can talk to an adult if they have any concerns.  The headteacher and senior managers convey a clear sense of direction and staff morale is high. Their good leadership and guidance to staff have resulted in steady improvements in teaching and achievement.  The deeply involved governing body expects

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

much from the school and vigorously holds it to account.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In some lessons, learning is not linked to daily experience so pupils cannot see its practical relevance.  In some lessons, when talking to the whole class, the teacher does not ensure teaching assistants help pupils’ learning, so progress slows.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 teachers and 10 lessons, four of which were observed with the headteacher or senior staff. In addition, breakfast club, playtime, a lunchtime break, and an after school club were observed.  Meetings were held with staff, the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority, and two groups of pupils.  Inspectors heard individual pupils read aloud.  They took account of 19 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and spoke informally to parents and carers collecting their children after school.  Inspectors observed the school’s work, and scrutinised various documents including ones concerning safeguarding, the school’s data on pupils’ progress, records of behaviour and attendance, and planning and monitoring documents.

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Inspection team

Michael Farrell, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jenny Edginton Additional Inspector Trevor Neat Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Tipton Green is larger than the average junior school.  The proportion of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds has increased in recent years and is above the national average.  A higher than average proportion of pupils has English as an additional language. Many languages other than English are spoken, mainly Bengali.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is similar to that found nationally.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is higher than that found nationally.  The governing body is responsible for a breakfast club and after school clubs.  The school meets the current government floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since the previous full inspection, the school has moved into newly built premises.  A monitoring inspection in March 2011 judged the school had made good progress in making

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Information about this school

improvements since the previous full inspection and had a good capacity to sustain improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure teachers and teaching assistants use every opportunity to make learning practical and relate it to pupils’ everyday experience.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure teachers see that teaching assistants are contributing to pupils’ learning or assessment when the teacher talks to the whole class.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 represent good progress in relation to pupils’ starting points. Attainment in English and mathematics are rising and are now approaching national levels.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading, writing, communication and mathematics and apply these skills well in every subject. This, along with their positive attitudes to learning and good behaviour, prepares pupils well for the next stage of education.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils gain secure knowledge quickly in a range of subjects. Good achievement in physical education is indicated by many sporting trophies. Music includes samba, African and Indian drumming and pupils take part in an orchestra and take music grade examinations.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Younger pupils achieved well in design and technology making a tropical fruit drink and container. They were excited by the task and developed skills well. Older pupils achieved well in a lesson about story characters and settings, developing speaking and listening skills well using ‘talking partners’.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Observations of teaching and samples of pupils’ work show that good progress is made during lessons and throughout the year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils read with interest and enjoyment in lessons. Readers at the early stages try hard to sound out words and read with growing confidence. Phonics teaching (looking at the sounds letters make) is well-structured and encourages good progress and enjoyment.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Different groups including pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those having English as an additional language make good progress. Pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable, achieve well because of focused support and guidance that are carefully monitored.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make the same good progress as others, because they receive good targeted support as necessary. In lessons, teachers pitch activities at just the right level for them to make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The atmosphere in lessons encourages pupils to learn. Teaching is very predominantly good leading to good progress and achievement over time. Examples of outstanding teaching were also seen.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan lessons carefully to make sure that skills such as literacy and numeracy are developed well across a range of subjects. Reading, writing, communication and mathematics are taught effectively.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff clearly convey high expectations to pupils. Planning is thorough and ensures that activities for groups working at different levels are correctly pitched so pupils understand and improve.  Teachers use questions in lessons skilfully to search out what pupils do and do not know. They make good use of pupils’ responses to change the course of the lesson if necessary. A mixture of questions requiring shorter or longer responses ensures lessons are not slowed down.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Older pupils applied different multiplication methods well in a lesson that was clearly structured in order to guarantee that all pupils securely learned each step before moving on to the next one. Younger pupils achieved well writing about a hurricane because the well-paced lesson seized their interest.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking in books is especially thorough so pupils can see what they have done right, where they can improve and how to do so. Most pupils know their targets for learning and their levels well, especially for mathematics. Pupils enjoy assessing their own work and that of other pupils and they do this with tact and sensitivity.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers do not always make sure when they are talking to the whole class that teaching assistants are fully used, for example when assessing which pupils are responding best to the teacher’s questions. In a few lessons, the teacher does not always give practical examples of what is being learned and make the work more relevant to everyday life, for example by relating mathematical tasks to shopping or purposeful measuring.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is skilful because work is set at the right level to be challenging but ensure good progress and individuals and small groups is well supported.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In the positive atmosphere, pupils are happy and their attitudes to learning are very positive. Pupils attend lessons punctually and are keen to learn. Attendance is above average and pupils are motivated by the use of weekly attendance targets.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The majority of parents and carers who used the Parent View website were positive about their children’s behaviour. A minority considered the school did not make sure the children were well behaved. Parents who spoke to an inspector informally after school gave a very positive picture of the school. The inspection team found that behaviour in lessons and around school is generally good, and sometimes excellent.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 At break times and at lunchtime pupils have plenty of activities which they enjoy. Pupils like the activities and provision at the breakfast club and after school clubs and behave well. Pupils of all ages are polite and show sensitivity to others and have good manners.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy lessons. One pupil, typical of the others, said, ‘I like maths and in that I like numeracy.’ No disruptions to lessons were seen. Indeed pupils were absorbed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe in school. They know about different kinds of safety including using the internet. They are aware of different types of bullying such as name calling but state that there is very little. Pupils know that they can go to a member of staff if they have concerns and they will be listened to and something will be done. Parents’ and carers’ views of safety were positive.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Staff manage behaviour well using deserved praise and keeping lessons moving so they hold pupils’ attention well. Where pupils have particular difficulties with behaviour, support is effective including small group working with skilled teaching assistants.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers and the governing body convey high aspirations, reflected in the high expectations and high staff morale. Improvements in teaching and achievement since the previous full inspection demonstrate the school is able to continue to improve.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority positively supports and monitors the school for example by agreeing attendance targets that form a focus for the school’s successful strategies to improve attendance.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is realistic and accurate in the way it evaluates its own work. This enables it to quickly identify and act on areas for improvement. The school makes good use of external consultants to check that its own assessments of pupils’ standards are consistent and accurate.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers are very consistent in their approaches to planning their work because the school provides them with clear subject policies supplemented by helpful handbooks.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school promotes equal opportunities well and has ensured that there is no difference in achievement between the different groups in the school. The school encourages good relationships through its ethos and high expectations and tackles any discrimination seriously.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching is good because staff are effectively led and guided on how to improve. The leaders are meticulous in managing staff performance and staff are clear about what is expected.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parent View and informal discussions with parents gave a largely positive picture. The school’s close and supportive work with parents of children whose circumstances make them vulnerable has strongly enhanced children’s well-being.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium money goes to specific activities including small group and individual support for learning to help ensure targeted pupils make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The well-structured curriculum supports pupils’ learning helping ensure all groups enjoy stimulating activities. International aspects of the curriculum, such as music, art and topics effectively stimulate pupils’ interest in different cultures

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  provides strong challenge and support. The governing body is productively involved in school life and has contributed well to the improvements in teaching and achievement by close monitoring and conveying expectations of rapid improvement. The content of the weekly meetings between the Chair of the Governing Body and the headteacher is conveyed regularly to the governing body to keep them fully up to date. The governing body effectively holds the school to account for the way in which it spends its pupil premium money by regular checks on the difference the money is making to the progress of disadvantaged pupils.

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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 103928 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 400672

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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 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 353 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Whitehouse Headteacher Lawrence Rouse Date of previous school inspection 17 September 2009 Telephone number 0121 5579242 Fax number 0121 5202393 Email address headteacher@tiptongreen.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

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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