Queenswood Primary School and Nursery

Queenswood Primary School and Nursery Yates Way, Ketley Bank, Telford, TF2 0AZ

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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.  Good teaching helps all pupils, regardless of their ability or background, to make good progress in English and mathematics.  This means that from low starting points, all groups of pupils are rapidly catching up with nationally expected standards.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because of the extra help they receive in lessons.  Pupils feel safe in school. Behaviour is good and attendance is above average.  Led by a dedicated headteacher, with good support from the governing body, the staff work well as a team to improve the school.  Teaching is good and continuing to improve. Leaders regularly watch teachers in action, then give them precise guidance and training to improve their skills.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always give pupils enough chance to work on their basic skills, particularly their relatively weak writing, when learning in different subjects.  More-able pupils are not always challenged to make the best progress they can, because the work teachers set for them is occasionally too easy.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons or parts of lessons and one assembly.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, staff, governors and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector talked with pupils, listened to them read and observed them at play.  The school’s safeguarding policies, improvement plans, governing body meeting notes and records of pupils’ behaviour were reviewed. In addition, the inspector looked at the work pupils were doing in their books, and at records of their progress.  The inspector took account of the 10 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and replies from 21 staff questionnaires. The views of parents and carers were sought at the start of the school day as they brought their children to school.

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Inspection team

Sarah Warboys, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Queenswood Primary School and Nursery is smaller than the average primary school.  A well-above-average proportion of the pupils are supported by the pupil premium, which provides additional funding to the school. The funding is based on the number of pupils at the school who are in local authority care, from forces families or known to be eligible for free school meals.  The percentage of pupils supported by school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or a statement of special educational needs is well above average.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching and achievement to outstanding by making sure that all teachers:  set demanding work for more-able pupils in all lessons  build on the successful approach to using pupils’ speaking and listening skills as a way of organising their ideas before writing  provide regular opportunities for pupils to practise their reading, writing and mathematical skills when they are learning in different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skill levels well below those expected for their age, especially in personal, social and emotional development and in communication and language. They settle quickly, learn to play together well and make good progress in the Nursery and Reception, but standards are still below average when they move into Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards in reading, writing and mathematics for the Year 2 and Year 6 pupils who took the national tests in English and in mathematics in 2012 were below average. However, pupils’ attainment in both key stages is strongly improving. The attainment gap between pupils in the school and national averages are closing rapidly. The work in pupils’ books indicates that their skills in reading and mathematics are now much closer to the levels expected for their age, although their attainment in writing has not yet caught up to the same extent.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most pupils make good progress. An increasing proportion are making more than nationally expected progress during their time at the school. The more-able pupils do well overall, but teaching does not always make sure that they make as much progress as possible in lessons.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. This is primarily because staff make sure that the activities in lessons build carefully on pupils’ prior learning and are broken down into manageable, achievable steps. Additional programmes are effective in supporting small groups of pupils because they are adapted well to suit their individual learning needs.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Additional funding has been used successfully to provide a breakfast club, a sports leader, extra resources and more help in lessons for those who are supported by the pupil premium. As a result, they make good progress and attend school regularly. The attainment gap between these pupils and the equivalent group nationally is closing significantly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching ensures that all pupils, including those who need extra help, make good progress and achieve well. Adults in the Early Years Foundation Stage are good at interacting with children while they play, and this helps them to develop language skills well. For example, they helped children to learn and use new words such as ‘taller’, ‘shorter’, ‘bigger’ and ‘smaller’ accurately in comparing their height with construction models.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A particular strength of teaching is the way adults use searching questions to check pupils’ understanding, explore relationships and encourage them to think for themselves. Teachers give pupils rich opportunities to share their ideas with a partner. Such shared working enables pupils to practise their speaking and listening skills so that they can more confidently write.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In most lessons, teachers convey high expectations of learning and behaviour. They plan varied and interesting tasks in which pupils are fully involved. On the whole, teachers use assessment information well to plan lesson activities that closely match pupils’ ability levels and interests. Occasionally, the work set for more-able pupils does not challenge them enough and as a result, they do not make as much progress as they could.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading is good and improving. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, and pupils in Years 1 to 4, are regularly and systematically taught the links between letters and the sounds they make. In Years 5 and 6, pupils are taught more complex reading skills in regular reading sessions. The consistent approach to the teaching of reading and adults’ use of technical vocabulary throughout the school help pupils to make good progress each year.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are supported well by staff who ensure that the work they do addresses specific gaps in their knowledge and skills. Good-quality resources are successful in motivating and engaging pupils’ interest in learning. For example, pupils in Years 1 and 2 learned to recognise ‘o’clock’ and ‘half-past’ on clock faces as they excitedly played a game of ‘matching pairs’ in the new Key Stage 1 outdoor area.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking includes good written feedback so that pupils know what they have done well and how they can improve their work. Pupils are given time to respond to the advice given. Teachers give pupils very precise learning targets, so they are very clear about what should be included in their work to reach the next level.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Typically, pupils are polite, respectful and behave well as they move around school. Adults manage and promote good behaviour in a consistently positive way, and pupils respond well to their guidance. Pupils appreciate earning ‘smile pieces’ for good behaviour, and say this works very well as an incentive.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Almost all pupils show positive attitudes to learning in lessons. They willingly engage in class discussions and show good concentration when working together in small groups and on their own.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They are clear about how to ask for help when necessary. Parents and carers who completed the online questionnaire and those who spoke with the inspector agreed that their children are safe and well cared for at the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A very small minority of parents and carers said that incidents of bullying were not dealt with effectively enough. Discussions and records show that incidents of physical bullying and name- calling have significantly reduced over the past three years, and such events are now rare as a result of an anti-bullying charter in which a ‘tell’ culture is encouraged. Pupils are well aware of the different forms bullying can take, including name-calling and internet-based bullying.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s efforts to work closely with families to improve pupils’ attendance, supported by consistently applied policies and procedures, have been particularly successful. A breakfast club has provided good support to groups of pupils who need extra help to ensure they arrive on time for lessons. Consequently attendance, which was low at the time of the previous inspection, is now consistently above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 Led by a determined and committed headteacher, the school has made good progress on the areas for development identified at the previous inspection. The headteacher has ensured that all staff are clear about the key priorities. Staff morale is high.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and other leaders regularly watch teachers teach and discuss with them how their skills could be improved. A staff training programme is directly matched to the school’s main priorities. Staff who take on extra responsibility are appropriately rewarded by moving through set pay scales. Consequently, teaching is improving and pupils are making good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s leaders pay good attention to ensuring equality of opportunity, and take decisive measures to tackle discrimination. Leaders, teachers and other adults hold regular ‘planning for progress’ meetings, to make certain that pupils in danger of falling behind get the help they need to catch up. The community ‘Bungalow’ supports pupils and families by providing after- school activities in addition to practical courses for parents and carers and links to other support agencies.

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The leadership and management are good

 The way subjects are taught has been rearranged into ‘topics’ to make them more interesting for the pupils. Each topic begins with a special event and is enriched by trips and visits, which promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. In an assembly observed, pupils’ spiritual development was deepened as they reflected on Remembrance Day. Regular use of English and mathematical skills in different subjects is not yet planned so well, and this is a missed opportunity to address the weakness in pupils’ writing skills in particular.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority now provides appropriately ‘light touch’ support for this good school. It has been particularly successful in helping to develop leadership skills, including those of the governors.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has improved significantly since the previous inspection. Governors have recruited people who have the skills and expertise that they need. They have reorganised their committee structure to increase efficiency. Each has distinct roles and governors regularly attend carefully-chosen training to help them carry out their roles. Governors are more visible in the school community and work closely with leaders at all levels. They regularly check the effectiveness of school leaders and seek the views of staff, pupils, parents and carers. They report their findings to the full governing body so that they can make informed decisions about the school’s work and how to make the best use of the school’s finances, including the pupil premium, in pupils’ best interests. Governors know the school’s strengths and areas for development well, including how well pupils perform compared to others in similar schools

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The leadership and management are good

nationally. They work in partnership with the headteacher and other leaders to ensure that teaching and pupils’ achievement continues to improve, with appropriate financial incentives for staff. Governors ensure that national safeguarding requirements are met.

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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 123415 Local authority Telford and Wrekin Inspection number 402159

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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 131 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gary Finn Headteacher Rebecca Butler Date of previous school inspection 22 October 2009 Telephone number 01952 386961 Fax number 01952 386960 Email address h2128@telford.gov.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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