Dingle Community Primary School

Dingle Community Primary School Madeley Road, Kingswinford, DY6 8PF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Pupils make good progress and achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because teaching is consistently good across the school. Teachers have good expectations of their pupils, set suitable work, and ensure that pupils know how to improve their learning.  Relationships between teachers and pupils are exceptional, promoting consistently enthusiastic and thoughtful attitudes to learning by pupils.  Pupils behave well in classes and around the school. Staff ensure that they are well cared for and safe.  The school is led effectively by an experienced and dedicated headteacher who is constantly involved in the everyday activities of pupils throughout the school.  She is supported by a senior management team consisting of staff with good leadership and teaching skills.  The governing body is strongly involved in promoting successful improvement in the school and is particularly well led by a ‘hands-

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although nearly all teaching is good, there is little outstanding teaching.  Teachers regularly ask questions to test pupils’ knowledge and understanding, but insufficiently do so to deepen or extend their thinking and speaking skills.  The assessment of pupils’ learning, whilst extensive and regular, varies in quality between teachers.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons or part lessons taught by nine teachers. Three lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher and deputy headteacher, members of the management team, the Chair of the Governing Body and an officer of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work. They examined safeguarding arrangements and other documents including: school development plans and self-evaluation; behaviour and health and safety logs; school policies; and a range of pupils’ work.  Inspectors took account of 26 responses to the online Parent View survey, as well as recent parent responses to a school survey.  Inspectors also examined questionnaire responses from 14 members of staff.

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Inspection team

Rodney Braithwaite, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Derek Aitken Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Dingle Community Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British, the remainder coming from a small range of other ethnic heritages.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is average. The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported through pupil premium, which is additional government funding for looked after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children of service families, is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school manages a pre-school provision, the ‘Dingle Ducks’, on the same site, which is subject to separate inspection. Children from this pre-school regularly join with the Reception

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Information about this school

class for activities.  The governing body provides alternative provision in the form of a daily breakfast club and a daily after-school club.  The school is presently supporting and working closely with another local school. The Chair of the Governing Body is also involved in giving support to another school in the authority.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching in the school so that more teaching is outstanding by: – improving the quality of teachers’ questioning so that pupils think more deeply and become more confident speakers – ensuring that all teachers are consistent in their assessment of pupils’ learning and progress – identifying more specific improvement points to help teachers develop their practice.  Accelerate the progress of pupils in English and mathematics so that it is sustained over time by ensuring that teachers maintain consistently high expectations, enabling all pupils to meet their rigorous targets.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Many children enter the school with skills and understanding below those expected for their age, although this varies from year to year. Most pupils achieve well and leave the school at the end of Year 6 with average standards in English and mathematics, and an increasing number are reaching better than average levels. Recently more pupils than in the past have entered the school at times other than the usual and this has caused some fluctuations in attainment.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children settle well and make good progress in the Reception class, especially in their language and social development. This was very evident when children were seen discussing ‘rudeness’ with their teacher, and showed care and the ability to make choices about behaviour.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in Reception and Years 1 and 2 are much improved in their recognition of the link between letters and sounds (phonics). They are benefiting from a wide range of varied and stimulating learning activities, resulting in most of them reaching the national average or better in English.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in Years 1 and 2 are also reaching higher levels than in the past in mathematics. In Year 2, for example, pupils were observed taking part in a wide range of activities which helped them to become secure in learning multiplication tables.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment and progress in Years 3 to 6 has varied in recent years. However, there is now convincing evidence of good progress being made in all year groups in both English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Reading standards have risen consistently. There is a regular partnership between staff and parents which ensures pupils are frequently heard reading by adults. The school provides a good range of interesting and challenging books which are well matched to the individual needs and interests of the pupils. Researching books and using information on the internet is having a positive effect on pupils’ learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has been particularly successful in improving the reading and mathematics of boys, who previously had achieved less than girls. Many boys, for example, were seen reading for pleasure and research, and they joined keenly in mental mathematics activities.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All groups of pupils achieve well. This includes the rising number of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs. Progress is also good for the small number of pupils from different ethnic heritages, and pupils who enter the school at times other than usual.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding make good progress and in several year groups their attainment is close to that of other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good throughout the school but is not yet outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Creative and sensitive teaching in the Reception class provides good opportunities for learning at the right level for each child. They quickly develop self-confidence because of the support they receive from adults.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Much teaching in the main school is characterised by a good level of challenge and high expectations for all groups of pupils. Relationships between teachers and pupils are excellent and undoubtedly help learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ plan consistently well to provide for pupils at different levels of attainment. This is especially effective in ensuring that extension work for more-able pupils is available as soon as they have shown they are ready to move on. This was seen, for example, in a mathematics lesson with a set of Year 5 and 6 pupils who were considering the orientation and translation of different shapes on grids.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers also make every effort to promote creative and exciting learning by using links between different subjects. Pupils in Year 3 were seen developing literacy and science skills in an imaginative lesson about robots visiting planets. Similarly pupils in Year 5 were encouraged in their studies of Australian aborigines to write about a mythical animal called a ‘Bunyip’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All teachers use questioning frequently to explore what pupils know or to gauge their understanding. However, not enough questioning encourages the development of pupils’ speaking and thinking skills by eliciting lengthier explanations and broader use of vocabulary. Questions are sometimes not directed enough at specific pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The marking of pupils’ work offers helpful and constructive advice as to how pupils can improve, and pupils have a good understanding of their learning targets from verbal reminders and those printed in all their books. However, there is some inconsistency in teachers’ judgements on pupils’ progress, with some pupils making better progress than their teachers had acknowledged.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants make a notably good contribution to learning, and work effectively in partnership with teachers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good throughout the school. Pupils know how to behave safely, as was seen in exceptional conditions during the inspection when the school and its grounds were covered by snow and ice.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A particular strength of pupils’ behaviour is their excellent attitudes to learning. They show enjoyment and enthusiasm and cooperate well with each other in learning and in play.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children in the Reception class soon get used to daily routines, mix happily together, and set a good example to their regular visitors from the ‘Dingle Ducks’ pre-school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils acknowledge that ‘one or two in every class can be silly’ but say that everyone behaves well at school. Pupils understand the school rules, and especially like the rewards they get through ‘two stars and a wish’. Their good behaviour is a strong contributory factor to their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.  They have few concerns about bullying other than occasional ‘name calling or friends leaving you out of things’, as one pupil said. Bad behaviour such as fighting is ‘very rare’ and there have been few exclusions in the last two years. Pupils have a good understanding of the dangers of cyber-bullying because of the information they regularly get from teachers and leaders.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school has effective links with external professionals when specialised services are needed, for example to support disabled pupils or those with specific learning problems, and pupils and families in difficult circumstances.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is similar to that nationally and pupils are punctual for school and lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents and staff are very positive about the behaviour of pupils throughout the school, and have full confidence in the school’s provision for safety and security.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is well led by senior leaders who have high aspirations for school improvement as well as and good teaching and management skills. The school is calmly and effectively led by the headteacher. Her determination to improve all aspects of the school is shared by the whole staff, whose questionnaire responses indicate high morale in the school and a very powerful team spirit.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s self-evaluation and plans for future development are rigorous and accurate and regularly reviewed. This has led to many improvements, including a rising trend in achievement over the last two years after a previous downturn in performance. Leaders realise though, that further acceleration in raising and sustaining achievement is necessary in order to become an outstanding school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The monitoring of teaching and learning by senior and subject leaders has been effective in promoting consistency, particularly in aspects such as lesson planning. However, it has not led to enough teaching becoming outstanding because guidance to teachers on further improvement is not sufficiently sharp and specific.

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The leadership and management are good

 Improvement has included the introduction of specific priorities in relation to the training needs of staff, and linking personal targets to their performance management and ultimately their pay.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has a good quality curriculum, which is enhanced by the effective use of information and communication technology. The school has developed an exciting range of stimulating and creative activities which supports the good behaviour of pupils and promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education well. Thought provoking assemblies such as those observed about ‘noticing’ and ‘smiling’ are typical of this.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school promotes equal opportunities well, and has effectively eliminated almost all underachievement by pupils. School leaders ensure that there is no discrimination through gender, disability, special educational needs or ethnic heritage, which reinforces the inclusivity of the school. Effective measures have been taken to ensure that pupils who start school other than at normal times rapidly make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding is used to good effect and has resulted in good achievement for this group of pupils. The fund is used for one-to-one support, extra teaching and interventions, and mentoring and counselling, according to the particular needs of the targeted pupils.  The local authority has no concerns about the school so has been involved infrequently in providing support, usually in response to requests from the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 There are good relationships with parents, nearly all of whom express strong approval of the leadership and management of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance of the school is good, being consistently supportive and also challenging to school leaders. The governing body is exceptionally well led by the Chair who works very closely with senior leaders and is constantly but unobtrusively in and about the school. Other governors are regular visitors to the school, so the governing body maintains a detailed knowledge of school performance and improvement priorities. The governing body is vigilant in relating the headteacher’s pay to the targets they set her annually. Governors have clear policy guidelines in using the headteacher’s advice on the quality of teaching before deciding their pay, based upon their performance targets. Governors ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet regulatory requirements and are effective, and that all school policies are reviewed on a regular basis. They know how school funds are allocated, including the pupil premium.

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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 103829 Local authority Dudley Inspection number 402926

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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 All-through School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 170 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Keith Corns Headteacher Joy Wheeler Date of previous school inspection 5 February 2008 Telephone number 01384 818305 Fax number 01384 818306 Email address info@dingle.dudley.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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