Setting

Mr A Ridout Headteacher Tower View Primary School Vancouver Drive Winshill Burton-on-Trent DE15 0EZ

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Tower View Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 20–21 November 2012, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Tower View Primary School

The inspection was the third monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in November 2011. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Tower View Primary School

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Tower View Primary School

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Tower View Primary School

No more than one newly qualified teacher may be appointed to teach in any year group.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Tower View Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Staffordshire.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

Serco Inspections Cedar House 21 William Street Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1LH T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0121 683 3263 Direct email :lewis.mackie1@serco.com

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place in November 2011

 Improve the quality of teaching and ensure that all groups make at least satisfactory progress by: – analysing the progress made by different groups and ensuring teachers use the results to match tasks accurately to pupils’ abilities and interests – providing additional support for groups where necessary, especially those known to be eligible for free school meals – drawing up curriculum plans for all subjects and year groups so that teachers are able to plan work that builds progressively on previous learning – providing teachers and teaching assistants with training appropriate to their needs.

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place in November 2011

 Improve the school’s leadership and management by:  establishing a stable senior leadership team with the skills necessary to drive the school forward  implementing rigorous and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation procedures  using the results of such procedures to identify key areas for improvement and implementing suitable plans to address them  taking steps to raise staff morale and improve the confidence of parents and carers in the school  securing a governing body equipped with the skills necessary to fulfil its responsibilities and meet all statutory requirements with respect to the curriculum, information for parents and carers, and equality of opportunity.

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visit which took place in March 2012

 Improve pupils’ behavior and attitudes to learning.

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Evidence

The inspector visited nine lessons, two of which were jointly observed with the headteacher, looked carefully at documents, checked teachers’ planning and marking of pupils’ work, analysed performance data, met with the executive headteacher, the headteacher and staff, and the Chair of the Governing Body, and discussed the school’s progress during a phone call with a representative from the local authority.

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Context

A new headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed and have taken over the day-to-day running of the school from the executive headteacher. Four new class teachers have been appointed, two of whom have leadership responsibilities for the oversight of Key Stages 1 and 2. Five new governors have joined the governing body and a new Vice Chair of the Governing Body has been elected.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The 2012 national tests results were disappointing. They were exceptionally low at Key Stages 1 and 2 in comparison to national averages. The school’s performance fell below the government’s minimum expected standard for the first time. However, these outcomes are more or less exactly what the school had predicted they would be beforehand. This confirms that teachers now accurately assess pupils’ work and that senior leaders have a realistic view of the progress pupils are making.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The 2012 Year 6 test results showed that the progress pupils had made from when they were in Year 2 was inadequate. This was due to the generally poor teaching this group experienced during their time in Key Stage 2. Additional support provided by the school did boost their progress during their final year, but it was not enough and they still ended up around a year behind where they should have been in English and mathematics. The most serious underachievement reflected in the 2012 tests was among the least able pupils, most of whom were boys.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The school is pulling out all the stops to try and boost achievement in all years, and particularly for current Year 6 pupils who will sit the national tests next. The governing body has allocated sufficient funding to allow two small Year 6 classes of 15 and 16 pupils to be created, each with a dedicated teaching assistant. Other adults will provide additional support to individual pupils to help them improve quickly in the areas they are weakest in. Regular formal assessments allow the school to track the progress of pupils. This shows that over the last term or so, pupils currently in Year 6 progressed at a faster rate than is seen nationally but they are still about a year behind where they should be for their age. This faster rate of progress needs to be sustained if the current Year 6 pupils are to get close to the national average in the tests they will take in May 2013. Pupils in other year groups are also behind where they should be for their

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Achievement of pupils at the school

age. Tracking data shows they are catching up well in reading but less so in writing and mathematics. Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are making similar progress to all other pupils.

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The quality of teaching

The better progress indicated by the school’s tracking system was confirmed by the progress pupils in different classes were seen to be making in lessons during the inspection. In no lessons was progress inadequate, and in more than half of the lessons it was good. Teachers are developing their skills in using the good-quality assessment information available to them to set different tasks for groups of pupils depending upon their ability. In a Year 1 lesson, for example, the teacher and the teaching assistant split the class between them and gave fast-paced tuition on halving and quartering geometrical shapes at levels appropriate to the pupils. They were so effective at this that it was difficult for an outsider to tell which was the teacher and which the teaching assistant. It is not as good as this in all lessons though. In another class, work of varying difficulty was provided for different ability

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The quality of teaching

groups but the task given to the most able pupils was too hard for them to complete, which limited their achievement. The school recognises that helping teachers to plan work at the right level for all groups in the class remains a priority.

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The quality of teaching

In other classes, teaching assistants were not always used so effectively. The headteacher has checked carefully all teaching assistants’ skills, and has identified that some do not have the specific subject knowledge they need to be able to help pupils who have fallen behind to catch up. This is because teaching assistants have not had enough training and support in the past. Consequently, the least able pupils are not catching up as quickly as the middle-ability and most able pupils are.

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The quality of teaching

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the area for improvement:  improve the quality of teaching and ensure that all groups make at least satisfactory progress – satisfactory.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour was good in all lessons visited, and around the school and on the playground. Pupils have good attitudes to learning now, listening attentively when asked to and working well independently and in small groups. Since the last visit there have been no pupils excluded and there have been very few lunchtime detentions. The school has worked hard to improve behaviour and can be proud of the success it has had in this area for improvement.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Similarly, attendance is up. Each pupil’s attendance is relentlessly tracked and analysed. Parents receive regular letters praising or warning them about attendance. A prominent display board and prizes are used to reward best class attendance on a weekly basis and 100% attendance of individual pupils termly. Attendance has improved from below average at the time of the last visit to broadly average now.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the area for improvement:  improve pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning – good.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The school’s leadership is now stable and the hand-over of the day-to-day running of the school from the executive headteacher has been smooth. The new headteacher is an experienced headteacher. He knows what needs to be done and is quickly getting on with doing it.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Senior leaders thoroughly check the work of all teachers and the standard of work in their pupils’ books. The findings are presented to the governing body and used to inform the school’s plans. During the inspection the headteacher’s judgements on the quality of teaching seen closely matched those of the inspector. The school judges the quality of teaching to range from good to satisfactory with no inadequate practice. This was consistent with the teaching observed during this visit.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Governance has been strengthened by the election of new Chairs of the finance and premises sub-committees and new governors joining, including a new Vice Chair. The governing body has had ‘stronger governance’ training which included specific training on interpreting the school’s performance data. As a result, governors are asking more probing and challenging questions and this has ensured that the school has the necessary processes and procedures to enable it to improve quickly. Governors have a good grasp of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and are closely involved in planning its next steps.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The governing body has worked with the headteacher to set precise targets for the expected performance of teachers. Staff have been consulted and the governing body has approved the policy. Until now, teachers have received pay rises regardless of their performance. In future, pay rises will be dependent on teachers meeting the new standards set by the school, which include their pupils making faster progress. The governing body has been similarly rigorous in making its arrangements for managing the headteacher’s performance. The executive headteacher has been recruited to advise governors in evaluating the quality and impact of his leadership. New plans for the way subjects are taught were developed during the spring term 2012 and brought in during the summer term. The plans focus on providing tasks appropriate to the starting points of all pupils and emphasise the development of literacy skills in subjects other than English. Past deficiencies in science and

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

information and communication technology have been rectified.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Attendance has improved, behaviour is much better and teaching is consistently better than it was a year ago. A proper structure for teaching subjects is now in place and the expectations of staff have been made clear. All these factors mean the school has a better capacity to improve, and they are beginning to have an impact on pupils’ achievement.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the area for improvement:  improve the school’s leadership and management – satisfactory.

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External support

The support provided by the local authority is reducing as the school builds its own capacity to continue to improve. The executive headteacher has adopted an ‘arm’s length’ approach and now uses her regular visits to discuss the school’s next steps and to monitor the reliability of teachers’ assessments. A mathematics consultant has trained staff in good practice in mental arithmetic and how to assess it. Another consultant has had a good impact on improving teaching and learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The local authority improvement manager reviews the progress the school is making each term.

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