Uplands Community Primary School

Uplands Community Primary School Thompson Road, Uplands, Stroud, GL5 1TE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Pupils make rapid and sustained progress due to the outstanding teaching. Their progress in all subjects has been consistently well above the national average for the last four years.  Disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs make progress which is at least as good as the other pupils.  Marking is exemplary. The pupils act on the advice given by the teachers, focusing on their targets to improve their work. Consequently, pupils’ achievement since the last inspection has greatly improved  The school’s leadership clearly shows a strong capacity to improve the school’s performance. This is based on accurate assessment of the school’s strengths and areas that need development. They have used links with other schools to accelerate the improvements.  The outstanding quality of teaching is due to the headteacher’s ability to accurately observe lessons and tell teachers how to improve.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Safety is very good, and the pupils take an active part in checking it and reporting to governors.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary, in their classrooms and around the school. They say they feel safe at all times.  The governing body fulfils its role extremely well. They are very knowledgeable about the pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. Governors are not afraid to ask challenging questions about the school’s effectiveness.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons and four part-lessons. All lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher. The inspection included observations of playtime and lunchtime.  The inspector looked at pupils’ work and heard some pupils read.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and three other members, and other members of staff with specific responsibilities. A telephone conversation was held with a representative from the local authority.  At the beginning of the school day, the inspector also talked to some parents and carers.  The inspector took account of the 24 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 10 responses to the staff questionnaire.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s data on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, and records relating to pupils’ behaviour, attendance, safeguarding and the performance management of teachers.

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Inspection team

John Taylor, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a much smaller than average sized primary school.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in one class; other pupils are taught in mixed-age classes, except for Years 5 and 6, which are taught in separate classes.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding for looked after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children from service families, is very low.  There have been several changes to the teaching staff during the last two years.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is a privately run pre-school on the school site, which has links with the school but is not managed by the governing body, and will be inspected separately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the achievement of pupils in Key Stage 1 by:  ensuring a higher proportion of teaching, including the teaching of letters and sounds (phonics), is outstanding.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children’s skills on entry to the Reception class are slightly below those expected of their age. They make rapid progress due to the outstanding teaching. Pupils go on to achieve well throughout the school, and when they leave they have reached levels well above the national average. This high standard of achievement has been maintained over a number of years.  The progress pupils make in reading is good because of the focus the school has on teaching letters and sounds in a methodical way. As a result, pupils reached above the expected standard in the phonics (letters and sounds) screening check at the end of Year 1.  In Key Stage 2, pupils consistently make rapid progress in writing and mathematics. This is because of the skilful way in which teachers focus pupils on their literacy targets when writing in other subjects.  At the end of Key Stage 1, girls’ attainment is higher than the boys’. However, in Key Stage 2,

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

the boys catch up, so by the end of Year 6 their levels of attainment are broadly similar.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar or better progress than their peers. This is due to the highly effective, small group teaching, in which the pupils’ progress is frequently reviewed to ensure no one is left behind in their learning.  The school has a strong commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and the staff work hard to ensure all groups do as well as they can. There are currently no pupils who benefit from pupil premium funding in Year 6. Lower down the school, inspection evidence and the school’s records show that the good work the school is doing is quickly closing the learning gap between these pupils and their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics. The school’s system for regularly checking on pupils’ progress is used very effectively to identify and provide support

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

quickly for any who may fall behind. The impact of this support is assessed frequently and, as a result of this, pupils make rapid progress.  Parents are rightly extremely appreciative of the rapid progress their children make while at the school.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Pupils acquire new skills and knowledge quickly and the work is set at the right level of challenge.  Pupils have a very good understanding of their learning because teachers keep a close check through probing questions. If necessary, they then adapt the lesson to make sure the pupils have the appropriate level of work and make rapid progress.  Marking is outstanding. It is frequent and clearly tells pupils what they need to do to improve. When looking at their work, the inspector saw clear evidence that pupils act on the advice given by their teacher. This is helping them make rapid progress.  Teaching assistants are well trained. They make an excellent contribution to the quality of the teaching and the pupils’ achievement.  The school’s imaginative and exciting curriculum is used very well by the teachers to make the lessons interesting. The wide variety of activities engages the pupils and encourages them to be

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

resilient learners. As a result, the pupils make excellent progress in their learning.  There are many opportunities for pupils to develop literacy skills through extended writing in a wide range of subjects. The inspector observed this in science and history lessons, where the pupils were referring to their targets while writing about the subject. These opportunities have helped the pupils to make excellent progress in writing.  The outstanding teaching in the Reception class is based upon excellent planning, very good support from the teaching assistant and accurate checks on the children’s learning. They have a wide range of activities, some of which are led by adults who ensure the children have frequent opportunities to develop their language skills.  Pupils are aware of their current standard of work; they know their targets and how to improve their work.  All the parents who completed the parental survey, Parent View, strongly agreed that their

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is very good. The pupils, staff and parents all say they feel the school is a safe place and behaviour is well managed. Pupils contribute to their safety by doing a health and safety check every term and reporting it to the governors.  Behaviour is outstanding. It is very well monitored and managed, with pupils taking responsibility for their own conduct. Pupils are clear about what constitutes bullying. Extremely rare incidents of bullying are effectively tackled by the school.  Attendance continues to be high, with no persistent absences, due to the effective preventative action taken by the school. There have been no exclusions in the last four years.  In the Reception class, the carefully managed learning areas are safe for the children to work and play in. The children behave very well and are used to good patterns of behaviour. They quickly follow instructions, show resilience when working, and help each other. They are

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

confident when talking to adults.  Around the school, pupils are very considerate of each other and respectful to adults. The Year 6 pupils ‘buddy up’ with Reception children at lunch to help them play.  Pupils have an exemplary attitude to learning in lessons and they are very ready to help each other learn. They work together extremely well in pairs and in groups and move purposefully between activities. Teachers encourage them to listen to each other and this has a very positive impact on their attitudes and progress.  All staff and parents who completed the questionnaires said that behaviour was good.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Very accurate self-evaluation is the basis for the excellent school development plan which drives the improvements in the school. It has very clear priorities, effective actions and easily measurable outcomes. The governors, senior leaders, middle leaders and staff are closely involved in making sure it is carried out and that close checks are made on its success.  Strong capacity to improve is shown by the rapid improvements since the last inspection and the maintenance of the high standards over more recent years. The headteacher has maintained an outstanding quality of teaching, during a time of staff change, by continually developing and improving the skills of the newly appointed teachers, so they rapidly and consistently teach good or outstanding lessons.  The headteacher uses a group of parents to seek advice and help guide the improvements in the school. This has resulted in the parents finding the school very receptive to their ideas and being

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The leadership and management are outstanding

extremely supportive of the school’s leadership.  The strong partnership with three other local primary schools has been very effectively used to strengthen and deepen the school’s senior and middle leadership and improve the quality of teaching. The local authority has used the school and headteacher to support other schools. Links with other schools have provided further opportunities to develop pupils’ experiences of a variety of other cultures and lifestyles.  The headteacher checks the quality of teaching extremely accurately and gives clear and very useful feedback when telling teachers how to improve. He has created a calm atmosphere where the pupils are very eager to learn.  There is a strong system for managing teachers’ performance. Setting targets for teachers to improve their work has been clearly linked to pupils’ learning. There is very clear evidence that underperformance has been tackled. There is an appropriate link between teachers’ performance

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The leadership and management are outstanding

and their salaries.  The local authority has monitored the school’s performance in recent years and has provided appropriate support to staff and governors. The school has bought in additional support where it has seen fit.  The school’s broad curriculum is strong. It is based on different themes on a two-yearly cycle and is in a period of change. The themes allow the teachers to plan work which interests the pupils and matches their needs. Opportunities to use literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum are very well exploited.  The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage, shared between a member of staff and the headteacher, is outstanding. The children’s rapid progress is a result of this leadership which has ensured accurate checks on learning, early intervention where needed and thorough planning, all of which have been effectively used to support the high quality teaching.  The primary school sport funding is used well to hire specialist sports coaches and provide

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The leadership and management are outstanding

equipment and opportunities for more pupils to participate in competitive games. This has clearly increased the number of pupils taking part in sports activities and increased the health and well-being of the pupils.  The governance of the school:  Governance is very strong. Governors have a very good knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas needed for development. Governors have an accurate knowledge of the quality of teaching and how underperformance has been tackled. They visit the school to ensure they maintain an accurate picture. They are involved in writing and monitoring the school development plan, are aware of the assessment information and challenge the headteacher to drive improvements. They receive regular reports on the progress made on the school development plan. They are aware of how the pupil premium money is spent, and are closely monitoring its impact. They know that teachers’ performance is linked to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

pay. They rigorously and frequently check the school’s finances. They have ensured safeguarding meets statutory requirements. They attend training provided by the local authority when needed.

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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 115543 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 431469

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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 107 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mary Inder Headteacher Richard Lucas Date of previous school inspection 4 February 2009 Telephone number 01453 762409 Fax number 01453 762438 Email address admin@uplands.gloucs.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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