Pitmaston Primary School

Pitmaston Primary School Malvern Road, Worcester, WR2 4ZF

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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 Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a good school. because

 Most pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.  Good teaching is successfully raising standards. Staff have high expectations of pupils and generally plan tasks which are interesting, engaging and challenging.  Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils feel safe and enjoy school.  Leadership and management are good. Robust systems are in place to check on the effectiveness of teaching and decisive action has been taken to address weaker teaching and raise standards.  Governance is effective. The governing body is fully involved in evaluating the school‘s performance.  The inspiring vision and drive of the headteacher has ensured that the school has good capacity to go on improving.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 A small minority of teaching requires improvement. Teachers do not consistently provide tasks that meet the needs or match the different abilities of all pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 31 lessons taught by 22 teachers. 10 were joint observations with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, the Governing Body and staff with leadership and management responsibilities.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ work.  A discussion took place with a representative of the local authority to assess the support and advice provided for the school.  There were 109 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) by the end of the inspection. Inspectors took account of these and also sought the views of parents and carers as they arrived at school with their children.  Inspectors analysed the responses from 34 staff questionnaires.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on recent and current progress, planning for improvement, monitoring

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Information about this inspection

documentation, and records of checks on teaching and pupils’ progress.  Records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding were scrutinised.

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Inspection team

David Evans, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Roisin Chambers Additional Inspector Damian Booth Additional Inspector Lesley Voaden Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a much larger than average-sized primary school and almost all pupils are of White British heritage. A very small number are from a minority ethnic background.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below average. The proportion of pupils with a statement of educational needs and supported at school action plus is above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for school meals or who are in local authority care, is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is a school-led Nursery class which is managed by the Governing Body.

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Information about this school

 There have been significant staff changes since the last inspection.  The school has gained a number of awards, including the school’s Effective Partnership Award with the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester; the ECO School ‘Gold’ (green flag) award and accreditation as a ‘Numbers Count’ school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Eliminate any remaining weaker teaching and raise the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by ensuring;  the outstanding practice already evident in the school becomes widespread and that all teachers develop skills as good as their most able colleagues  all teachers consistently match learning to individual pupils’ ability in order to accelerate their rates of progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Children’s attainment on entry to the school is at the expected level for their age. They go on to make good progress and increasingly attain above average standards in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes. They settle in quickly and enjoy learning. Activities such as planting seeds, growing flowers or sequencing pictures from a story are supported by the teachers and other adults effectively and promote children’s learning and skills well. Activities in both indoor and outdoor learning areas are well-organised. As a result, most children make good progress in all areas of learning with many attaining the skills expected by the time they enter Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The teaching of early reading skills is a strength across the Early Years Foundation Stage as children are taught letters and their sounds (phonics) effectively each day. Phonics is taught well to the end of Year 6 and this is having a positive impact on pupils’ reading skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ good progress continues in Key Stages 1 and 2 because of effective teaching and pupils’ keenness to learn and do well. They tackle their activities with enthusiasm and have good concentration. They have very positive attitudes, persevere when faced with difficulty and collaborate well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils write imaginatively, using a variety of styles, such as poetry and narrative writing, to express their ideas. Pupils say that they read often and talk enthusiastically about a wide range of books and authors. They produce stimulating pieces of research in their well-presented learning logs.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils have secure mathematical skills and swift mental recall. In one Year 6 lesson, for example, pupils successfully used very precise mathematical language and demonstrated a good understanding of probability.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good, and at times outstanding, progress because of the well-targeted extra support and good teaching they receive. Their needs are identified at a very early stage and a variety of intervention programmes are put in place to ensure that they are met.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There is no significant difference between the achievement and learning of different groups. Those known to be eligible for the pupil premium make the same good progress as other pupils because the funding is targeted effectively on raising achievement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The funding received by the school is put to good use: it provides additional time with adults in lessons, one-to-one reading support and help for pupils with social and emotional difficulties. This has been particularly successful in improving their reading and writing skills since the last inspection, and the gap in performance of this group and their peers in both English and mathematics is closing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils make good progress because the quality of teaching has improved greatly. Decisive action to root out weak and ineffective teaching by the headteacher has ensured that teaching and learning in most classes are good. However, a very small minority of teaching requires improvement because teachers do not always plan effectively enough to meet the needs of all the different ability groups in the class.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ expectations of how pupils should present their work are good in most classes. A strength of the teaching in many lessons is the way activities are used to enthuse pupils and enhance their enjoyment of work. This contributes well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In one Year 6 class, for example, pupils explored different interests and pastimes and this excited and motivated them to achieve a high standard in their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The support provided by conscientious and dedicated teaching assistants is effective and their contributions are greatly valued by teachers and pupils alike.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Assessment is accurate and used well by most teachers to plan relevant tasks for pupils of different abilities. This is not a consistent strength across the school, however. Marking is very thorough and detailed; comments show clearly how pupils can improve their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Homework is set regularly and there are challenging activities to promote pupils’ independent learning skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff model professional standards in all of their work and show respect and courtesy for pupils and each other. There are good relationships throughout the school and this contributes positively to pupils’ learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The outstanding teaching in the school is inspirational and highly motivational. Though there is not enough of it, when it does occur, teachers harness pupils’ exceptional enthusiasm and commitment very successfully, with the result that learning in these lessons is excellent. For example, in one lesson pupils used high quality formal language patterns to construct non- chronological reports.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding in lessons and around the school. Pupils are proud of their school, very well-mannered and invariably polite. They say they feel safe and enjoy coming to school. All are considerate and thoughtful towards one another. A notable feature is the way pupils care for each other, for example older pupils helping the younger ones at break and lunchtimes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils report that bullying is rare and that any instances are tackled very effectively by staff. Older pupils are well informed about contemporary issues such as cyber-bullying and the dangers that might be encountered online.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils in need of a little extra help are very well cared for and the school makes good use of the support of other agencies as appropriate. Support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is very effective.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Staff questionnaires confirm that behaviour is typically good. It is exceptionally well-managed and any cases of inappropriate behaviour are dealt with very effectively. Pupils are confident that staff will look after them if they have any concerns. Parents who completed questionnaires for Parent View agree that the school makes sure pupils are well-behaved.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance has improved significantly as a result of the school’s vigorous actions to promote its importance and is now above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s ambitious vision for further improvement is shared by all leaders and the governing body. All leaders lead by example, consistently communicating high expectations to staff.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders base their actions on rigorous self-evaluation, which gives a clear picture of the school’s strengths and areas for development. As a result, there has been good improvement since the previous inspection and the leadership team is very well-placed to take the school forward.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of teaching, including the professional development and management of teachers’ performance, has successfully improved the quality of teaching and raised pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 The rigorous analysis of pupils’ attainment and progress and the introduction of regular meetings with senior leaders and middle managers to discuss the progress of individual pupils’ and groups’ progress have enabled teachers to identify quickly where additional help is needed.

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The leadership and management are good

 The promotion of equality of opportunity and the tackling of discrimination is good. The school has rigorous systems for checking the performance and progress of different groups of pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides light-touch support for this school. Effective support and advice by the local authority has resulted in more consistently good teaching and pupils again making good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding regulations and duties are met and reviewed regularly by leaders and governors.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is inspiring and well organised. The school’s values are strongly promoted through assemblies, lessons, a variety of extra-curricular activities and visits to places of educational interest. There are very successful links with other countries. This broad range of activities promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governance of the school is good. Governors have played an important part in the improvement of Pitmaston school. They have been effective in supporting leaders but also in asking important questions about the likely impact of plans for future developments. They hold leaders to account and ensure that the management of teachers’ performance is rigorous and links salary progression to teachers’ impact on achievement. Governors are regularly updated on the quality of teaching and the training needs of staff. They are regular visitors to the school and they look at school assessment data and use them to make comparisons against similar schools locally and nationally. Governors make sure that money, including the pupil premium funding, is used effectively to benefit pupils and to ensure that they make good progress.

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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 116769 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 401621

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 601 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Diana Drew Headteacher Tim Ireson Date of previous school inspection 21 October 2009 Telephone number 01905 423710 Fax number 01905 429407 Email address office@pitmaston.worcs.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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