Moor First School

Moor First School School Lane, Biddulph Moor, Stoke-on-Trent, ST8 7HR

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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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This is a good school

 Pupils make good progress throughout the school. Their attainment is above that expected by the time they leave at the end of Year 4.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are provided with a good start enabling them to make good progress in all aspects of their learning.  Teaching is consistently good and there is some that is outstanding. Teachers and other adults work particularly well together, ensuring that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make very good progress.  Pupils behave well in and out of the classroom. Good levels of care makes pupils feel safe and secure because they have high levels of trust in adults.  The headteacher sets high expectations for staff and pupils and she is well supported by all staff. As a result there have been significant improvements since the previous inspection in teaching and pupils’ achievement.  The governing body knows the school well and

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This is a good school

works hard to support the teachers and to make sure that any weaknesses are tackled.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding. Teaching is not yet consistent in ensuring more able pupils make the progress of which they are capable, particularly in mathematics.  The progress and standards in mathematics are not as good as those in reading and writing.  Occasionally the pace of learning slows because teachers spend too long at the start of lessons, going over work already learned or explaining the tasks to come.  There are missed opportunities to allow pupils to find more things out for themselves.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to use their mathematical skills in different subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons, of which two were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition the inspector listened to pupils read.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, a representative of the local authority, the Chair of the Governing body and senior and middle leaders.  The inspector took account of the 26 responses to the online (Parent View) questionnaire.  The inspector looked at many documents, including: the school’s own information on pupils’ current and recent progress; planning of work in different subjects; evidence of leaders’ checking on teaching and learning quality; and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding of pupils.

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Inspection team

Steve Nelson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average size primary school.  The very large majority of pupils are White British.  The proportions of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including pupils who are supported at school action, school action plus and with a statement of special educational needs, are below average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding available to the school to assist particular pupils) is well below average.  Some classes are taught in mixed-age groups.  The school does not use any alternative provision (lessons that take place regularly away from school).

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to outstanding, in order to accelerate pupils’ progress and raise attainment to the highest levels by:  ensuring work is consistently challenging for the more-able pupils and that it fully stretches them, particularly in mathematics  increasing the pace in lessons so that pupils spend the majority of the time on tasks and activities  providing more opportunities for pupils to use mathematical skills in other subjects  providing more opportunities for pupils to work independently to solve problems and find things out for themselves.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well throughout the school. Children’s skills and abilities when they start school are usually below those expected for their age and they make good progress across all areas of learning. They enter Year 1 as confident learners.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are provided with a wide range interesting activities to improve their knowledge of the world around them. Several children talked enthusiastically and knowledgeably about the different birds they had seen in the school ‘bird watch’ activity, recording the number and type of birds feeding in the school garden.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ good progress continues throughout Key Stage 1 so that, by the end of Year 2, their attainment is above and sometimes well above that seen nationally. By the time they leave in Year 4, most pupils are working above their age in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in mathematics is above average but it is not as good as achievement in reading and writing. In some mathematics lessons observed during the inspection, the work given to the more able pupils was too easy. This slows progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress, as a result of the excellent identification of their learning needs and the very effective support of adults in the classroom. This ensures that good relations are fostered and pupils are given an equal opportunity to learn.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The few pupils supported by the additional funds (pupil premium) make good progress. This is because their needs are clearly identified and support plans are designed carefully to close any gaps between their attainment and that of other pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading. There is a strong focus on developing communication skills in the Early Years Foundation Stage and reading is encouraged throughout the school. Pupils' standard of reading is good and even those pupils who struggle with reading now use the skills they have been taught to sound out to make unfamiliar words.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have good knowledge about what they teach, encourage pupils to work together and make lessons interesting so that pupils learn quickly. A good example was seen in a mixed Year 2/Year 3 class where groups of pupils worked very well together to solve mathematical problems. The teacher’s good use of technology motivated pupils to work quickly to show the teacher what they could achieve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers are skilful in using questioning to engage all pupils and in using ‘talking partners’ that develops pupils’ thinking skills effectively. For example in a mixed Year 3/Year 4 phonics (linking sounds with letters) lesson pupils made good progress in sorting out compound words from non- compound words. They were encouraged to discuss in pairs how to make up a sentence using the compound words.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils in mixed-aged classes work well in groups and are fully involved in their learning, because teachers make sure that the work set is at the right level to ensure that pupils achieve success.  Teachers usually set work that helps all pupils to make good progress. However, the more able pupils are not always given work, particularly in mathematics, that really pushes them to do their best. In a few lessons the pace is too slow and teachers spend too long going over work already learned, or explaining the task ahead. This cuts short the time for pupils to be getting on with the work, and finding things out for themselves.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The use of additional funds (pupil premium) for eligible pupils and the extra money for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs has been used to support the development of pupils’ basic skills. Support staff have been trained well, so that they are able to lead the learning of these pupils in reading and writing very effectively.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils know their learning targets for each of their subjects and teachers give them regular verbal feedback about how well they are doing. Teachers involve pupils in assessing their own learning, for example by asking them to show how well they think they have done. This sharing of responsibility for learning underpins pupils’ improved progress since the previous inspection.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers give pupils clear feedback about their learning in lessons. Marking in books is consistent so that pupils have a good grasp of how well they are doing, and what they need to do to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in and out of the classroom. Their good relationships and caring attitudes make the school a happy and safe place to learn.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In lessons pupils show positive attitudes to their learning. They concentrate hard, are determined to achieve well and are proud of the work that they produce.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe. They are taught to recognise different kinds of bullying such as cyber-bullying and how to deal with it. Pupils report that bullying, including name-calling, is rare and when it does happen they are confident that it will be dealt with quickly. Levels of staff supervision are high and staff make sure that pupils are safe on the playground and have plenty of games and resources for play.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Older pupils enjoy their responsibilities for helping the school run smoothly and take seriously their role as playtime pals looking after younger children who look lonely or upset at playtimes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are punctual. Attendance is above average with little persistent absence.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s determination and skilful management has been successful in raising pupils’ achievement since the last inspection. All staff share her ambitious vision to make teaching and learning outstanding for the pupils. Subject leaders have taken on greater responsibility for checking and improving pupils’ learning and progress. They now monitor learning well so that they pick up on, and share, good practice across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school collects information about pupils’ attainment and progress regularly and uses this information to help pupils make progress. For example, pupils at risk of falling behind are quickly identified and given extra support to help them keep up with their peers.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher makes good use of information from the checks on teaching and learning to develop teacher’s skills and improve learning. Targets set for teachers are closely linked to pupils’ achievement and their pay levels are determined by how successful they are in helping pupils to achieve well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school provides a wide range of subjects together with various educational visits and other school activities like dancing and gardening that add greater enjoyment to pupils’ learning. However, pupils do not have enough opportunities to practice their number skills across a range of different subjects.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through good links with the local community and celebrations of other faiths and cultures. Pupils’ have particularly good moral and social awareness through their generous fund raising events for ‘Water Aid’ and providing Christmas gifts for the Salvation Army.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school makes sure that all pupils have the same good opportunities so that they achieve equally well and no one is discriminated against.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided highly effective support in helping the school improve the quality of teaching so that pupils make at least good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governors know the school well and provide good support and challenge. They have a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, because they are well trained and are closely involved in checking how well the school is doing compared to similar schools. Governors have a clear picture of the quality of teaching and use this knowledge to set targets for improvement and monitor the performance of the headteacher and staff. They manage the school finances well and have a good understanding how the pupil premium funding is helping pupils to achieve better. Governors ensure the school fulfils its statutory responsibilities for safeguarding.

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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 124061 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 406209

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School details

Type of school First School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–9 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 110 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kate Jones Headteacher Susan Mayes Date of previous school inspection 28 September 2010 Telephone number 01782 512350 Fax number 01782 512350 Email address headteacher@moor.staffs.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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