Tankersley St Peter's CofE (Aided) Primary School

Tankersley St Peter's CofE (Aided) Primary School Westwood New Road, Tankersley, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S75 3DA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Achievement is good. This is because the vast majority of pupils make good progress from a range of different starting points. Standards reached in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6 are often above those expected nationally.  Children often join the Nursery class with knowledge and skills a little below those expected for their age. Because of the good range of engaging activities offered, children make good progress towards developing early reading, writing and mathematics skills.  The quality of teaching is nearly always good, with examples of outstanding practice. This results in active, enjoyable learning which enables pupils to make good progress, as evidenced by the good quality of work seen in their books.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They show good attitudes to learning in the classroom which contribute to their good achievement. Behaviour outside the classroom is also good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

because the vast majority of pupils show courteous and considerate attitudes to each other, staff and visitors.  Pupils say they enjoy coming to school and feel safe and cared for because, ‘Everyone looks after each other here.’  The headteacher and senior leaders have worked closely with the governing body to sustain and build on the school’s good performance and raise both the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement across the school since the previous inspection.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The most able children in the Reception class make less progress in learning mathematics and developing their understanding of the world than others because activities do not always meet their needs.  The attendance of a small group of pupils from harder-to-reach families is lower than it should be. School leaders have yet to engage with the parents of these pupils sufficiently effectively and attendance for this group remains low.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 19 lessons and parts of lessons taught by teachers and support staff. A joint lesson observation was undertaken with the headteacher. The inspection team also listened to pupils from Year 1 read and examined, with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, the quality of work in the books of pupils from across the school.  Inspectors held meetings and had discussions with pupils, the headteacher, middle leaders, members of the school staff and three members of the governing body. They also met with a member of the local authority.  Inspectors took into account the views of 40 parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  Inspectors studied health and safety documentation, teachers’ planning, documents relating to the procedures to check the performance of staff, pupils’ attendance data and the school’s system for checking pupils’ progress.

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Inspection team

Marian Thomas, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Rajinder Harrison Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The vast majority of pupils who attend come from families of White British heritage, with a very small number from other ethnic groups.  A slightly lower than average proportion of pupils are eligible for support through the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in the care of the local authority and those from service families.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported through school action is lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is close to the national average.  Last year the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since the previous inspection, the school has undergone a period of change with the

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Information about this school

appointment of three different headteachers. The current headteacher has been in post for just over a year.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the provision for learning in mathematics and knowledge and understanding of the world in the Reception class in the Early Years Foundation Stage unit, to ensure the most able children are offered sufficiently challenging activities to enable them to make maximum progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by improving relationships with the small group of harder to reach families in order to increase the attendance of their children.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Last year, pupils in Year 6 reached standards expected nationally in reading and mathematics and exceeded nationally expected standards in writing. School data show that current Year 6 pupils are making similar good progress in English and mathematics and are on course to make even greater gains than last year from a range of starting points. This represents good achievement overall.  School data show that all groups of pupils are making consistently good progress in English and mathematics across each year group.  The most able pupils in Year 6 are currently making good or better progress in mathematics and English and a small group are currently receiving extra support and tuition with the expectation that they will reach Levels 5 and 6 in this year’s national tests.  ‘Reading is much better fun than playing on the computer,’ commented one young pupil. ‘I love reading before I go to sleep at night,’ commented another, demonstrating pupils’ love of

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The achievement of pupils is good

reading across the school, which is promoted well by pupils’ free access to the well-stocked library.  Children often join the Reception class with reading, writing and numeracy development below that typically expected for their age. The majority make good progress during their time in the Early Years Foundation Stage and leave with skills and knowledge that are closer to the average expected for their age. However, progress for the most able children is less good in the Reception class where activities set do not always offer them sufficient challenge. This slows the progress they make in developing early mathematical skills and an understanding of the world around them.  Last year, standards in reading at the end of Key Stage 1 were in line with the national average. Current school data show pupils are set to make similar gains next year. Lesson observations, a scrutiny of pupils’ work and listening to pupils read during the inspection

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The achievement of pupils is good

confirmed this.  School leaders are justifiably pleased with the achievement of Year 1 pupils whose scores were above the national average in the phonics screening check which tests pupils’ ability to link letters to sounds. This is because of the recently introduced, good quality and clearly focused phonics teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1.  The progress of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals dipped last year. However, school data show that they are currently making good and better progress and there are few or no gaps between the attainment of this group and others in the school in English and in mathematics. This is due to the more effective use of pupil premium funding the school now uses to provide extra support to boost pupils’ achievement through one-to-one and small group sessions.  Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, the most able and those from other

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The achievement of pupils is good

ethnic backgrounds make equally good progress to their peers and achieve well in English and mathematics because staff provide well-targeted extra help and guidance that meets their needs effectively. This shows the school’s good promotion of equality of opportunity for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good overall. Evidence in pupils’ books and the school’s records supports the school’s view that the quality of teaching is good over time.  Pupils say teachers are good at making learning enjoyable. The words of one young pupil sum up the views of others, ‘I love maths lessons because I love solving problems and getting to the right answer.’  Teachers use information effectively about how well pupils are doing to plan future lessons. As a result, work set accurately meets the needs of pupils, including the most able, and enables all groups to make good progress. This could clearly be seen in English when pupils were learning how to use a variety of different punctuation when using descriptive phrases in their work. Using text from The Pied Piper of Hamelin, pupils of all abilities identified opportunities for the creative use of a variety of different punctuation. Their excitement at succeeding in the task

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The quality of teaching is good

was infectious, fuelled by the teacher’s outstanding use of praise, which encouraged all groups to make excellent progress.  Parents feel the Nursery class gives their children a good start, as evidenced by responses to the school’s recent survey and a letter written to the inspection team praising the provision. Although planned provision is generally good in the Early Years Foundation Stage unit, activities designed to promote children’s mathematical skills and knowledge and understanding of the world in the Reception class do not always offer sufficient challenge for the most able children and, as a result, progress for this group is sometimes slower than it should be.  Teachers and support assistants work closely together to ensure extra sessions planned for pupils who need extra help with their learning make the same good progress as others in the school.  Pupils are proud of their achievements. ‘The best thing that happened to me was when my

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The quality of teaching is good

teacher told me I’d reached Level 5 in English,’ a Year 6 pupil excitedly explained to the inspection team. Teachers recognise this and display pupils’ work in classrooms and corridors. They mark pupils’ work diligently and effectively and involve pupils themselves in setting targets for improvement. As a result, pupils take pride in their work and bring about improvement by frequent ‘polishing’ of work in books to ensure it is of the highest standard.  Lessons in religious education, personal and social education, and art and design promote pupils’ good levels of spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Learning is rarely interrupted by incidents of difficult behaviour. Pupils show caring and friendly attitudes to each other, staff and visitors, and enjoy taking responsibility for a variety of tasks around school. For example, Key Stage 2 pupils support younger pupils’ learning by listening to them read.  The vast majority of pupils are keen and eager to learn and show positive attitudes to their work. Occasionally, when teaching does not capture pupils’ full attention, behaviour dips.  Parents who completed the online questionnaire, Parent View, held the view that behaviour in school is good and that their children are safe and happy.  School records show that no pupils have been permanently excluded over the last three years. Incidents of difficult behaviour have reduced because of the effective way in which the behaviour policy is consistently applied across the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is broadly in line with the national average for similar schools. However, the attendance of a very small group of pupils from hard to reach families is slow to improve despite the range of different strategies that school currently has in place. School leaders recognise there is more work to do in order to engage more effectively the parents of these pupils through, for example, providing more home visits and through the work of a parent- support worker.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils who spoke to inspectors were very clear about the different forms bullying can take. They feel incidents happen infrequently because staff ensure pupils are made aware of how to keep safe and where to turn should an incident happen inside or outside school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The quality of leadership and management is good. Following a period of turbulence in the school leadership, the current headteacher has brought about much change quickly and effectively. Her very clear and focused vision is shared by both staff and governors and has resulted in the good standards identified in the previous inspection being maintained and built upon.  Senior leaders have clearly developed strong relationships with the vast majority of parents, as evidenced by the highly positive returns on the online parent questionnaire (Parent View). However, the school’s relationship with a small number of parents who are harder to reach is not as good. As a result, the attendance of pupils from these families is lower than it should be and is slow to improve. School leaders are aware of this, but as yet have not put in place sufficiently robust systems to engage and support these parents effectively to improve the

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The leadership and management are good

attendance of their children.  The school has a clear plan for further improvement, which focuses on achieving excellence. It accurately identifies those areas of the school’s work which are in need of improvement and sets effective targets to reach these goals.  The quality of teaching has continued to improve, as evidenced by the rising standards in the end of Year 2 assessments and the good levels reached by pupils in the Year 1 phonics check, as well as the good quality of work observed in pupils’ books.  Middle leaders carry out rigorous checks on the quality of teaching in their subjects. This has contributed directly to improvement in pupils’ achievement.  The headteacher ensures performance targets for staff link directly to pupils’ achievement and targets within the school’s improvement plan. Checks on the performance of staff are undertaken regularly and this information has been used to make decisions on teachers’ pay.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s curriculum is effectively organised and links between subjects are clear. Planned changes to the curriculum are already in place ahead of the national deadline. Enrichment activities are many and varied and offer pupils a good range of opportunities and experiences away from the classroom. A visit to the mobile planetarium, on site at the time of the inspection, was described by one child as, ‘Awesome’.  The innovative employment of two apprentices as part of the plan for the development of sport across the school using the primary school sport funding has increased pupils’ participation in a wide range of sports. Pupils’ recent success in a local inter-school cross country running competition gives further evidence of the impact of the work to improve the quality of physical education teaching across the school and the health and well-being of pupils.  In line with the local authority’s system for supporting new headteachers, the school has

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The leadership and management are good

received a medium level of support and guidance. The good quality of this input has helped the headteacher to implement change at a very fast pace, which has brought about improvement across the school.  The governance of the school:  The governors bring a good range of skills and experience to the governing body. They regularly update and improve their skills and knowledge through further training. As a result, governors have developed a clear understanding of pupils’ achievement, for example, by analysing national comparative data and offering senior leaders good support and challenge in improving standards. In partnership with senior leaders, governors have developed an effective system for checking the performance of all staff that rewards good teaching and addresses underperformance. They manage pupil premium funding prudently and this careful management has enabled them to support eligible pupils well. Safeguarding procedures 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 106637 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 440744

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 232 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Walker Headteacher Jayne Proctor-Blain Date of previous school inspection 4 July 2011 Telephone number 01226 742357 Fax number 01226 740438 Email address j.proctorblain@barnsley.org 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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