Tadley Community Primary School

Tadley Community Primary School The Green, Tadley, RG26 2PB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Require improvement 3 Leadership and management Require improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Too few pupils – especially, but not only, boys – make better-than-expected progress by the end of Year 6, especially in writing.  There has not been enough consistently good teaching over time to enable pupils to achieve well in reading and writing.  Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. Some lessons do not contain tasks that challenge all ability groups, especially those who are more able.  Marking is inconsistent and pupils are not always given enough guidance on how to improve their work.  Pupils’ writing skills are not developed well enough and the best teaching is not shared widely enough within the school.  A small group of pupils, mainly boys, do not always behave well, especially in lessons where they are not motivated or stimulated by the teaching.  Checks by leaders and managers on the quality of teaching and learning are not rigorous enough and the school’s judgements of the

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

quality of teaching do not take enough account of teaching over time.  The school’s systems for checking pupils’ progress are not robust or sophisticated enough to produce high-quality information on the performance of groups of pupils for leaders and managers, including governors.  The school development plan does not give clear information on the relative priority of improvements needed or by when they should be completed.

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The school has the following strengths

 The quality of teaching in Years 5 and 6 is consistently good.  Achievement in mathematics is good.  The achievement of pupils entitled to support through the pupil premium is improving rapidly.  The arrangements for ensuring the safety of pupils are good.  The quality of support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities has improved and the achievement of this group is rising rapidly.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors carried out a range of lesson observation activities, including visits to small groups, learning walks through lessons in the same year group, and more extended observations of particular lessons. They observed 14 teachers, one visiting specialist and a number of teaching assistants leading small-group activities in the course of 35 visits to lessons or parts of lessons. Some of these were in partnership with the joint acting headteachers. They also observed pupils before and after school, during playtimes and lunchtimes, listened to some pupils read and observed an assembly.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff in all categories, and a discussion was held with the school’s local learning partner.  Inspectors observed the school’s work, looked at the school’s self-evaluation and the strategic plan for raising achievement, and evaluated samples of pupils’ work alongside senior staff.

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Information about this inspection

 Other documents looked at included: curriculum planning; documents relating to attendance, safeguarding and child protection; records of pupils’ attainment and progress; records of behaviour; information relating to the monitoring of teaching; and minutes of the governing body.  Inspectors took account of the 62 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Some parents and carers were spoken to at the start and end of the school day.  Inspection questionnaires received from 23 staff were analysed.

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Inspection team

Stephen Lake, Lead inspector Additional inspector Heather Barraclough Additional inspector Liz Thomas Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is much larger than most primary schools. The vast majority of pupils are White British, with a well-below-average proportion of pupils from other ethnic groups. The proportion believed to speak English as an additional language is also well below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is broadly average.  A well-below-average proportion of pupils are supported at school action plus or have statements of special educational needs.  A well-below-average percentage of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium (funding to support children in local authority care, children of service families and those known to be eligible for free school meals).  The school meets the government’s floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school is currently led by the two deputies acting as joint headteachers following the

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Information about this school

departure of the substantive headteacher at the end of December 2013.  Three members of staff are new to the school since September 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, especially in Years 1 to 4, so achievement in English matches the achievement in mathematics by:  raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in lessons  using information on what pupils already know and can do more effectively to set tasks that challenge all pupils  making sure that all books are marked frequently, giving clear information on how pupils can improve their work and providing enough time for corrections to be done  sharing the best practice seen in Years 5 and 6 more widely across the school  ensuring a more consistent approach to the way parents are supported in helping their children read.  Improve behaviour by:  ensuring that the new behaviour policy is implemented rigorously and consistently by all staff  monitoring the use of the playgrounds more consistently to ensure that boys do not dominate the main play spaces and that boisterous behaviour is discouraged.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and impact of leadership and management by:  improving the systems for checking pupils’ progress to ensure that they provide high- quality information which is shared with governors  ensuring that the school development plan identifies the relative importance of areas for development and indicates target dates for completion more clearly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the governing body should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement over time requires improvement because attainment at the end of Year 6 has declined from its previously high levels and is now broadly average. Attainment in writing has fallen more sharply than in reading. Attainment in reading has also fallen to average and is now below that in mathematics.  Too few pupils make better-than-expected progress from the end of Year 2 to the end of Year 6. Achievement in writing has been below average for several years and is on track to remain so this year, especially for boys. This is largely because for several years pupils did not make enough progress in Years 3 and 4. Although this has improved, the legacy of underachievement is still holding down achievement at the end of Year 6.  Achievement is rising as a result of recent improvements in the quality of teaching, but this is still not fast enough in reading and especially writing. Although the number of pupils on track to

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

make expected progress is higher than in previous years, the overall percentage of pupils on target to make better-than-expected progress in writing remains low.  Achievement in mathematics is above average and pupils make good progress over time from Year 2 to Year 6. This is being sustained.  Children start school with skill levels above those normally found at that age. They make expected progress and enter Year 1 above expectations for their age.  Over time, pupils attain average standards at the end of Year 2 in reading and writing. They achieve well in mathematics to attain above-average standards which hold up their overall attainment. Some improvement in standards is taking place in Years 1 and 2. However, boys and those who are more able are not achieving as well in reading, and particularly in writing, as they do in mathematics.  Attainment in reading over time is average. The most recent check on pupils’ phonics skills (how

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

well pupils link letters and sounds) was above average but reading skills at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 have declined to average levels over the past few years. The most recent school assessments of reading show all pupils attaining better than in previous years.  Over time, the achievement of pupils with disabilities and special educational needs has been below that of other pupils. Significant improvements in the way these pupils are supported have been put in place in the last year. Experienced teaching assistants are working with these pupils in small groups and on a one-to-one basis on tasks closely linked to those set for other pupils. As a result, these pupils are now making almost twice as much progress as other pupils and the gap between their attainment and that of other pupils is closing.  In the most recent national assessments the attainment of the small group of pupils entitled to

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

support under the pupil premium was over 18 months behind that of other pupils in both English and mathematics. This was affected by several pupils who joined the school with low attainment during Year 6. Recent well-targeted interventions funded through the pupil premium grant are enabling these pupils to make quicker progress in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, the gap between their attainment and that of other pupils has closed over the last year across the school.  The very small group of pupils who are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language make good progress as a result of good support on a one-to-one or small-group basis.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching over time has not been strong enough to ensure good progress in English, especially in writing. Recent checks on the quality of teaching and learning showed that over time teaching has been weaker in Years 1 to 4. Very recent support from the local authority has also identified that some of the school’s monitoring has not been rigorous enough to identify all areas where improvement was needed. However, this is changing and the current senior leaders are beginning to check the quality of teaching more thoroughly.  Although some good teaching was observed with every year group, the quality of teaching over time is less consistently strong in Years 1 and 4. In many year groups, teachers have lower expectations of what pupils can achieve in a given time and allow pupils to chat socially rather than settling to their tasks. Recent appointments have strengthened the teaching team and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

together with recent training are improving the quality of teaching.  The support given to pupils in classrooms is not always good enough because some teachers do not ensure that teaching assistants in whole-class situations guide pupils rather than doing the work for them or giving them the answers.  A significant number of the planned tasks are too easy for some and too hard for others. This affects the progress of the most able pupils slightly more than others. Pupils with disabilities or special educational needs, and those funded under the pupil premium are not so affected because they receive good-quality additional support from teachers and specialist teaching assistants which accelerates their learning.  The quality of marking varies between classes. In a few classes, too many books are not marked frequently and lack comments to help pupils improve their work. In other classes, pupils do not

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

have enough time to make corrections to their work.  Teachers make good provision for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. For example, in a well-taught Year 3 lesson on ‘The Fight’ by the artist Lowry, pupils not only improved their literacy skills but also developed empathy and understanding of the moral values of each character in the scene portrayed. Activities such as this are helping to improve writing, but they are not consistent throughout the school.  The vast majority of those parents who responded to the online survey ‘Parent View’ agreed that their children are taught well. Inspection evidence shows that this is not the case in every class.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Where the teaching fails to motivate them, some pupils, mainly boys, talk socially, interrupt the teachers and play with equipment rather than listening to the teacher or completing the tasks set. This slows learning and reduces progress.  A small but significant group of boys tend to be boisterous on the playground. Older boys sometimes dominate the play spaces with games such as football so that others, especially girls, remain at the edges of the playgrounds or choose to remain indoors.  Behaviour in and around the school is good. Pupils are polite, friendly and courteous, holding doors open for each other and adults. The school is very tidy and the site manager says that litter is extremely rare. Pupils show pride in their work and books are clean and well presented.  Pupils understand the new behaviour policy of rewards and sanctions. They say that this is

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

having a very obvious effect and behaviour is improving rapidly.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Recent changes to improve the security of the site are recognised by parents and pupils.  Pupils say that they feel safe and know how to stay safe. They have a good understanding of all the different types of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying and cyber-bullying. They say that bullying is very rare in the school and if any does occur they trust adults to deal with it.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because the pace at which attainment is rising is not rapid enough, the quality of checks on teaching and learning are not rigorous and effective, and the school development plan is not detailed enough.  The governors and senior leaders identified the need to improve achievement, especially in writing, and requested additional support from the local authority. This includes training for teachers in how to improve achievement in writing, which although quite recent, is already showing an impact. The local authority is providing good support in the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning. As a result, subject leaders are now more confident in checking on the quality of teaching and learning. However, this is still not rigorous enough at all levels.  The improvements in pupils’ achievement in the last year are a result of the ambition to improve

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The leadership and management require improvement

the school that is shared by staff and governors. The temporary arrangements pending the appointment of a substantive headteacher are effective and the improvements that have already occurred in achievement in Years 3 and 4, in attendance and behaviour, demonstrate that the school has the capacity to improve further.  Although the school has a broadly accurate view of its strengths and weaknesses, the relative weaknesses in checking the impact of teaching over time mean that the school judgements are over generous. The information gained from monitoring is used effectively in the school development plan to identify areas for improvement, but these are not clearly enough prioritised or given clear enough target dates for completion.  School systems for analysing the data from checks on pupils’ progress are not robust enough to give quick and easy access to accurate information. Senior staff use the information to check on

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The leadership and management require improvement

the progress of vulnerable groups but it is not used well enough by subject leaders and governors to check on the quality of teaching and learning over time. Senior leaders and governors check on equality of opportunity and discrimination and have identified the historic lower achievement of those with disabilities or special educational needs. This has enabled support to be put in place that has already improved the achievement of this group.  The broad curriculum supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Changes to the way writing is taught have made the English curriculum more effective. Visits to local places of interest such as Pamber Wood are also used well to stimulate writing.  The needs of those pupils whose circumstances make them at risk of not succeeding are met well through effective links with a range of local authority agencies and with parents and carers.

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The leadership and management require improvement

Safeguarding meets requirements and the training of all staff and governors in this area is up to date.  Good systems are in place to engage parents and carers in supporting their children’s learning, especially when children are starting school, but the opportunities and systems for parents to support pupils’ reading at home vary from class to class.  The funding to support the development of school sport is being used to ensure more physical activity for pupils to enable a healthier lifestyle. To sustain this impact, professional development for teachers is also taking place under this funding.  The governance of the school:  The governing body monitors the budget well. The additional funding available through the pupil premium provides good support to those pupils targeted by this funding. The governing body is well aware of how checks on the quality of teaching are to reward good teaching or

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The leadership and management require improvement

identify areas for professional development. They are less clear about how this is linked to overall school performance as the information collected is not always explained in a way that all governors can easily understand. Governors undertake relevant training, including that for new governors. This is improving their effectiveness and the minutes of their meetings show the chair is ensuring that governors now regularly question the acting headteachers about why school performance is as it is.

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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 115952 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 441017

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 393 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jeff Skeels Acting headteachers Rhoda Elvin and Kylie Thomson Date of previous school inspection 12–13 June 2007 Telephone number 0118 981 3805 Fax number 0118 981 4103 Email address k.lavender@tadley.hants.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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