Tatworth Primary School

Tatworth Primary School School Lane, Tatworth, Chard, Somerset TA20 2RX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected N/A This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is an academy that requires improvement. It is not good because:

 The overall quality of teaching is not consistently good enough.  Although recent data suggest that achievement is improving, pupils do not always make the progress they are capable of and do not fulfil their full potential. Some teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough.  There are some inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, especially in Key Stage 2, which affect pupils’ progress.  Subject and team leaders are not rigorous enough in how they manage their roles to ensure that high standards are achieved in all subjects and year groups.  In some lessons pupils’ attitudes to their learning are not as focused as they should be.  This is because in some lessons not all tasks are sufficiently challenging for the more able pupils and consequently too few pupils are reaching higher standards in English and mathematics.

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The academy has the following strengths:

 The Tatworth curriculum offers an extremely varied and challenging range of learning experiences which meets the needs of all the pupils, particularly in music and sports.  Pupils are extremely well prepared for their transition to senior school and although they are sad to leave Tatworth, they are excited and ready for the next stage of their education.  The majority of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage join the academy from the local pre-school. They settle extremely quickly and make good progress in all areas of learning during their first year.  Pupils are polite and courteous to visitors and genuinely enjoy coming to Tatworth.  The great majority of parents and carers are pleased with the quality of care their children receive and highly value the academy’s well- attended excellent breakfast and after-school clubs.  Governors provide a good level of support and challenge for the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out over two days with half a day’s notice.  All full-time staff were observed teaching. A total of 18 lessons and two assemblies were seen. This included three joint lesson observations with the headteacher.  The inspectors heard pupils from Years 1 and 2 read individually and observed the teaching of phonics (letter patterns and the sounds they represent).  Meetings were held with the headteacher, the Special Educational Needs’ Coordinator, a group of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and four other members of the governing body and subject leaders. A telephone conversation was held with the School Improvement Adviser.  The inspector looked at a wide range of evidence which included: the academy’s improvement plan; the academy’s data for tracking the progress and attainment of individual pupils and specific groups; performance management documentation; the academy’s checks on how well it

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Information about this inspection

is doing; curriculum and lesson plans; governing body documentation; and the work pupils were doing in their books.  Parents and carers were met at the beginning and end of the day and the 128 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) were considered. The academy’s own most recent parent survey was also scrutinised. Responses from 34 staff questionnaires were also taken into account.  During the inspection pupils’ behaviour was observed, both inside and outside the classroom, and the academy’s safeguarding procedures were scrutinised.  The academy’s breakfast and after-school clubs were observed in action during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Mark Anderson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Teresa Hill Additional Inspector

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Information about this academy

 Tatworth is a slightly smaller than average-sized primary school located near to Chard.  The vast majority of pupils at Tatworth (93%) come from White British backgrounds. The remainder of the pupils come from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds.  Pupils are taught in seven classes; one for each year group.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care, children with a parent or carer in the armed services and those known to be eligible for free school meals, is below the national average. There are currently five children in local authority care and one child with a parent or carer in the armed services on the school roll.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs and are supported through school action and also the proportion supported at school action plus or with statements

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Information about this academy

of special educational needs are broadly in line with the national average.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The majority of pupils join Tatworth from the local pre-school settings in the village.  Tatworth became a village academy in August 2011. When its predecessor school, Tatworth Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be a good school overall.  The academy is a member of the Chard Area Family of Schools (CAFOS) which consists of nine primary schools and academies and one secondary school.  The great majority of pupils join Holyrood Academy in Chard when they leave.

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What does the academy need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and level of challenge for pupils by: – ensuring that all lessons are taught at a lively pace and inspire and enthuse all pupils  raising teachers’ expectations of pupils’ progress in lessons and over time  ensuring that all lessons provide sufficient challenge for pupils of all abilities to achieve their full potential  improving the quality of the marking across all year groups to ensure pupils have regular and detailed feedback on how to improve their work.

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What does the academy need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of leadership and management throughout the school by:  raising expectations and increasing the capacity for improvement and level of accountability of all individuals in leadership roles, especially subject leaders and key stage coordinators.

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What does the academy need to do to improve further?

 Improve all pupils’ behaviour for, and attitudes to, learning by: – ensuring that tasks always make the more-able pupils think things out for themselves. – providing plenty of opportunities for pupils to use and develop their numeracy and literacy skills in meaningful contexts in a range of subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils at Tatworth achieve standards of attainment at or just above national standards at the end of Year 6. However pupils’ full academic potential is not always fully realised.  The majority of children have skills in line with those expected for their age when they join the academy. They make good progress in their first year at the academy. The early years leader and teaching assistants ensure a well-balanced curriculum providing activities which are led by adults and others chosen by the children, both in the classroom and outdoors. Improvements also take place in the children’s personal development and social skills.  Good progress continues through Year 1 and Year 2 although attainment in 2012 reflected a dip in standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However levels of attainment in all subjects in recent years have been just above national expectations.  Pupils’ overall progress from Year 1 to Year 6 is broadly average and although levels of

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

attainment are slightly above national expectations at the end of Year 6 the progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 is not followed by consistent progress in Key Stage 2 which prevents some pupils from achieving their full potential.  In the 2012 national tests at the end of Key Stage 2 most pupils achieved Level 4 or above in English and mathematics, the level expected for their age, and standards overall were broadly in line with national expectations. The attainment of pupils in mathematics was better than in English. The 2012 national test results showed that the overall attainment of girls exceeded national average standards in mathematics and English and was significantly above that of boys. However the academy’s assessment data and the inspector’s observations indicate that current standards in Key Stage 2 for all pupils are reflecting an improvement on previous years.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The number of pupils making more than expected progress in Key Stage 2 in 2012 was below the national average in all subjects except in writing, and notably lower in mathematics.  Progress from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 was in line with national averages in English and mathematics in 2012.  Pupils get regular opportunities to read during the school day and teachers and learning assistants ensure that their knowledge of phonics continues to be reinforced during lessons and support sessions.  There are no significant differences in the progress made by groups of pupils, including pupils from different ethnic groups.  In the Key Stage 2 national tests in English and mathematics the attainment of pupils eligible for the pupil premium was similar to that of other pupils in the academy. The impact of well-planned actions is leading to improvement in the achievement of disabled pupils and those with special

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

educational needs and has successfully narrowed the gap between their attainment and that of all other pupils. This improvement is an example of the academy’s successful promotion of equality of opportunity.  The academy’s systems for tracking each individual pupil’s levels of progress and achievement are accurate. The tracking data are analysed to establish any areas that are in need of strengthening and any individual pupils or groups who require additional support.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The overall quality of teaching and teachers’ levels of expectation require improvement as not all pupils are making consistently good progress over time. The school has identified areas of underperformance and will be putting in place changes to address these weaknesses.  The work pupils are asked to complete in lessons is not always well matched to pupils’ different abilities. The lack of appropriate challenge affects some pupils’ attitudes to learning and in a number of lessons observed pupils became passive learners so they did not make the progress they were capable of.  Although teachers are providing increased opportunities for pupils to use and develop their numeracy and literacy skills in subjects across the curriculum this is not consistent in all classes.  In contrast some teaching observed during the inspection was of a consistently good standard, especially in Key Stage 1 and in Year 6.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In these good lessons teachers promoted learning well and lessons were lively, clearly enjoyed and conducted at a brisk pace. Teachers’ questioning kept all pupils focused on the task in hand and involved. In such lessons pupils are very keen to both ask and answer questions. A strong example of this good practice was seen in a Year 2 lesson, when pupils were challenged to analyse two sets of instructions describing how to become a superhero and how to make flapjacks! The pupils did so with great confidence and enjoyment.  Teachers’ relationships with pupils are good. Pupils say that staff are friendly, caring and approachable. Class teachers work closely with teaching assistants to ensure that those pupils requiring extra help with their learning receive the support they need in order to make similar progress to all other pupils. The commitment and expertise of the teaching assistants are a strength of the academy. There is also a strong emphasis on teamwork and support for

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

colleagues in all phases of the academy.  Phonics teaching to pupils in Reception and Years 1 and 2 is effective and adapted to suit different ability levels so that pupils learn well. The school recorded a score above the national average in the recent Year 1 phonics screening check.  In some year groups the marking and written and verbal feedback help pupils meet their learning targets. However this is not consistently good, particularly across Key Stage 2, although in a number of classes pupils receive clear guidance as to the quality of their work and how to further improve it.  In a small number of lessons activities are not well matched to the different abilities of pupils. This results in some pupils completing tasks very quickly when they could tackle more demanding work.  The majority of parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire or spoke to the inspectors considered that their children were taught well and made good progress, although a

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

minority felt that their children were not achieving their full potential.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The aspects of behaviour and safety that require improvement are linked to the way pupils conduct themselves in the classroom. Where pupils are taught well and are fully engaged, behaviour is good: where teaching is less effective, pupils can become restless and inattentive. In good lessons pupils are independent, work quietly and make good progress, but in lessons which require improvement they sometimes lose their focus, become talkative and do not get on with the task in hand.  Pupils clearly enjoy coming to Tatworth and are also very proud of their academy. Relationships are good and there is a positive atmosphere within the academy.  The youngest children in the Early Years Foundation Stage learn what is expected in terms of good behaviour. As pupils progress through the school these expectations ensure that behaviour around the academy is good across all age groups.  Most parents and carers have a positive view of behaviour in the academy as expressed by those

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

responding to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and to the academy’s own survey. The majority of parents and carers consider that the academy is caring, approachable and will deal appropriately with any issues that arise, although a minority have expressed concerns regarding the management of behaviour.  Pupils at Tatworth are very polite and courteous to staff and visitors. They are encouraged to show respect and consideration for others. They get on well with each other across the age groups, both in lessons and in the playground, where they show a good awareness of each other and how to keep safe.  Pupils are keen to take an active role in academy life and the older pupils take on a variety of responsibilities. The range of clubs and activities has expanded in recent years and includes an exciting range of opportunities, notably in sports, drama and music. The variety of opportunities ensures there is something for everyone. For example Year 6 pupils enjoyed an extremely

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

interesting ‘Evacuation Experience’ on the first day of the inspection.  Good individual and whole-class attendance is celebrated, and together with close home-school working links have resulted in significantly improved attendance during the last academic year.  The academy places an extremely strong emphasis on fund raising for many charities and during the last academic year raised £1,660 for Somerset Sight.  Pupils say they are well cared for and feel safe at all times. They feel able to speak to adults if they have a concern or need to confide in someone. They show a clear understanding of what constitutes bullying, including physical, emotional and cyber bullying.  Behaviour policies and procedures are in place but are not always implemented consistently all through the academy. However many of the staff provide strong role models for the pupils and this contributes significantly to the mutual respect and trust within the academy.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The leadership of teaching is not yet rigorous enough. An improved performance management system has served to identify some previous and existing weaknesses but is not yet having enough impact on improving the quality of teaching of some teachers, particularly in their classroom management skills and the quality and depth of their marking.  The headteacher, senior leadership team and governors are ambitious for the academy’s further development and have a fair understanding of its strengths and areas for improvement. The academy needs to increase the level of academic ambition in order to ensure that every pupil achieves his or her full potential.  Teachers and the majority of parents and carers consider that the headteacher and governors provide effective leadership and management across all areas of the academy.  The overall positive ethos within the school is well supported by the strong teamwork and

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The leadership and management require improvement

morale of the teachers and their desire and commitment of most to improve the academy.  Data on pupils’ attainment and progress are regularly collected. The information is analysed accurately and pupil progress meetings are scheduled every term in order to identify those pupils falling behind or not making at least expected progress. The academy’s checks on how well it is doing are accurate and the school improvement plan is forward-looking and achievable.  The academy is supported and advised by the academy’s improvement partner who regularly visits Tatworth.  The academy has excellent links with the local community and farther afield and the growing strength of the academy’s reputation is reflected in the steady increase in pupil numbers.  The academy is committed to improving its facilities and resources and makes the most of all available space. The addition of the extremely well-resourced ‘Green Room’ for the breakfast

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The leadership and management require improvement

club and the after-school Stay and Play club has made a significant contribution to the pupils’ before- and after-school experience. Currently the academy does not provide the option of hot lunches for its pupils.  Safeguarding arrangements comply with statutory requirements. The academy’s leaders identify and respond to any concerns regarding child welfare.  Teachers are regularly observed in the classroom, however judgements made regarding the quality of their practice and the progress pupils make are not always stringent enough. The findings of this monitoring are linked to teachers’ pay and internal promotion within the academy. Clear links exist between teachers’ performance, appraisal and pay progression.  A strength of the academy is the manner in which all pupils are treated equally by staff and every effort is made to include all pupils in lessons. The successful integration of pupils with a

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The leadership and management require improvement

range of behavioural and educational needs pays testimony to the academy’s principles of inclusion and equality.  Provision for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is very well managed. Pupils make good progress when they are taught in small intervention groups or individually, with teaching outcomes very accurately and effectively monitored by the special educational needs coordinator.  A minority of parents and carers are unhappy with some aspects of the academy’s work, including the academy’s communication with parents and carers and behaviour management, and do not feel that their views are taken into account. However the academy held an ‘Open Forum’ for parents and carers earlier this year at which concerns were aired. The academy has responded effectively to issues that were raised.  The strong profile of music throughout the academy is reflected by all Year 4 pupils learning a

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The leadership and management require improvement

brass instrument and the outstanding performances of the orchestra at the National Finals of ‘Music for Youth’ held at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham.  The range of subjects and topics taught is extensive. The creative curriculum includes an extremely wide range of activities and educational experiences available to pupils. Examples of the breadth of opportunity have recently included visits to SS Great Britain in Bristol and the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton. The academy also employs a specialist physical education (PE) coach twice a week and six instrumental music teachers visit weekly.  The curriculum also provides many opportunities for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness and understanding, such as the visits to Wells Cathedral, Montacute House and the Year 5 residential trip to Pinkery Outdoor Education Centre.  The governance of the school:  Governors understand their academy well and are committed to its ongoing improvement and

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The leadership and management require improvement

development. They have a good understanding of its strengths and how its performance compares with that of similar academies and schools and with nationwide standards. They also have a clear grasp of the academy’s performance management system although need to gain a more detailed, in-depth knowledge of the variance in the quality of classroom practice. Governors regularly visit the academy and all members of the board are attached to different year groups and curriculum areas. The governing body has a well-organised committee structure and individual governors’ skills are used well. Governors ensure that the academy’s finances are regularly audited and well managed. They have a sound understanding of how the pupil premium funding is allocated. Governors are kept well informed by the headteacher and senior staff and attend training so that they can fulfil their roles more effectively. They make sure that the academy meets all statutory requirements, including safeguarding and

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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 137175 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 413108

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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 Academy Age range of pupils 4—11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 220 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Val Joslin Headteacher David Knight Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01460 220565 Fax number 01460 221390 Email address office@tatworth.somerset.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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