Trumpington Meadows Primary School

Trumpington Meadows Primary School Kestrel Drive, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 9AY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that has serious weaknesses.  Pupils’ progress across the school is inconsistent. Many, particularly more able pupils and some of middle ability in Years 3 to 6, make inadequate progress in writing.  Aspects of the teaching of essential reading skills are weak. As a result, lower ability pupils in particular struggle too much in learning to use the sounds that letters make to read accurately and confidently.  There is little good teaching. Too much requires improvement or is inadequate. Although pupils want to learn, teaching does not engage and motivate them sufficiently. Expectations of pupils are often not high enough.  Teaching, especially in English, does not build on what pupils already know, understand and can do. There is insufficient support in lessons, or through marking, to ensure that pupils take the next steps in their learning quickly.  Behaviour and safety require improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

because some younger pupils lose focus when activities do not motivate them. Most other pupils are better self-disciplined.  Leaders do not analyse deeply the effect that teaching in different subjects and classes has on pupils’ progress. While successful actions are being taken to improve teaching, there is still some way to go.  Governors do not know enough about the school’s effectiveness. They have better information on what works well and not enough information on what is ineffective.

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The school has the following strengths

 Focused teaching for individuals and small groups, additional to class lessons, has resulted in some pupils making rapid gains in their learning.  Behaviour is improving strongly as a result of the actions of leaders.  Additional funding for physical education and sport is used very well.  Good support is provided to families and ensures that pupils settle well. As a result, pupils feel safe and like being at school. They, and their parents and carers, say that the adults in school are approachable and kind.  The partnership with parents and carers to help them to support their children’s learning at home is developing securely.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons. Five of these observations were carried out jointly with a member of the senior leadership team.  Pupils’ books were scrutinised and records of pupils’ progress were checked.  The inspector listened to a sample of pupils read and discussed their experiences of reading with them.  A meeting was held with Year 6 pupils and other informal discussions with pupils took place.  Meetings were held with governors, the executive headteacher, the assistant headteachers and other teachers with significant areas of responsibility.  A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 11 responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire for parents, and the 12 responses to the staff questionnaire. The inspector met informally with parents at the start of the school day.  A range of documentation was examined, including school policies, the school’s own evaluations

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Information about this inspection

of its effectiveness and information on pupils’ progress.

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Inspection team

Alison Grainger, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this school

 Trumpington Meadows Primary School is part of the Trumpington Federation of schools. It opened on the site of Fawcett Primary School, with which it is federated, in September 2012. Trumpington Meadows School shares a leadership team with Fawcett Primary School.  The school relocated to its new building on the Trumpington Meadows development in September 2013. The new housing development that the school was opened to serve is still being built. As a result, large parts of the school building are not yet in use.  The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school but growing. The number of pupils has increased considerably this school year, from 15 to the current 96. The school now has pupils in all year groups and is organised into five classes. Most of the children in the school last year were in the Reception Year. The movement of pupils in and out of the school during this school year has been high. Not all pupils who attended last year, and who are still of primary

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Information about this school

school age, have remained in the school.  Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational need is broadly average. This includes pupils with learning difficulties and several pupils who have significant behavioural difficulties.  The proportion of pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium is slightly above average. (Pupil premium is additional funding for pupils in the care of the local authority and pupils who are known to have been eligible for free school meals within the last six years.)  The governing body provides childcare in the form of a breakfast club and after-school club.  A nursery class opened on the school’s site in January 2014. This provision will be inspected

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Information about this school

separately.  As this is a new school, there are as yet no National Curriculum test results to compare with other schools or with floor standards.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching in order to raise pupils’ achievement, particularly in writing and in the development of essential reading skills, by:  raising teachers’ expectations of the progress all pupils can make, and the standards more able pupils, in particular, are capable of reaching  ensuring that teachers take account of what pupils already know, understand and can do so that past learning is built on well, and pupils do not lose interest because of activities that are too hard or too easy  ensuring that teachers frequently check on the pace of pupils’ learning, especially in English in Years 3 to 6, so that they can move the pupils on more quickly or give them more support as appropriate  providing more opportunities for pupils to develop their skill in writing at length for different purposes, especially in Years 3 to 6  making sure that basic skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar are given good attention in

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

Years 3 to 6  ensuring that teaching develops essential reading skills effectively  providing feedback to pupils, orally and through marking, so that they know clearly what they have done well and what they need to do better.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leadership and the pace of improvement by:  using a range of information to rigorously analyse the extent to which teaching in different subjects and classes supports learning for all pupils  using this analysis to take swift action to rectify weaknesses that limit learning across the school, and for groups of pupils, including the more able  ensuring that all teachers with significant responsibilities drive improvements in their areas.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance, including the school’s use of the pupil premium, should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils’ progress in writing is not good enough in Years 3 to 6. Many pupils, particularly the most able, and some of middle ability, are working below their capabilities. Pupils make too little progress in writing at length for different purposes.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar are not developed well enough because teachers do not give adequate attention to these aspects in Years 3 to 6. A significant number of pupils do not use basic punctuation consistently. Others spell simple words incorrectly even when these are words they use often.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 While more able pupils in Years 1 and 2 read fluently, confidently and with understanding, there are others who struggle to use the sounds that letters make. This means that they find it hard to read words that they do not immediately recognise, even when these are simple words. This is because of weaknesses in the teaching of early reading skills. As a result, pupils’ enjoyment of reading is reduced.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Some of the pupils in Years 1 and 2, previously working at low levels, have made strong strides in reading as a result of well-focused intensive support on a one-to-one basis.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The lowest attaining pupils in Year 2 have benefitted from extra support in working with number. These pupils have moved forward well as a result of intensive sessions provided by a specially trained teaching assistant.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 In general, pupils’ progress is better in mathematics than in English. This is because their development of basic skills is more secure in mathematics. Even so, pupils of all abilities are not consistently challenged in mathematics lessons. This results in a lack of steadily good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Children who started in Reception last year, and remained in the school throughout the year, made steady, although not good, progress. In most cases, those who began school with development a little below that typical for their age did not make up the necessary ground to reach the goals expected. This year, there are examples of children with low starting points catching up as a result of the targeted use of a teaching assistant.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The achievement of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs requires improvement. These pupils do well when they are given extra support. They also make reasonable gains in lessons in which activities provide the right level of difficulty for them. There are times when their learning is limited because the content of lessons is too difficult or they are not given the feedback they need to improve their skills.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 No significant variation is evident in the rates of progress made by pupils with English as an additional language or those from different backgrounds compared with other pupils in the same classes.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals make progress at a similar rate to others in their classes. Intensive interventions contribute to the learning of pupils eligible for pupil premium support who join the school with low attainment. There are too few pupils to make valid comparison of the standard of work of pupils eligible for pupil premium support compared with others, without the risk of identifying them individually.  Pupils participate well in physical education and sport. They develop skills at a good pace as a result of effective coaching provided by a specialist teacher. They gain competence in working in pairs and teams that contributes much to their personal, as well as physical, well-being. Pupils understand the importance of exercise in staying healthy.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teaching is not good enough. The teaching of writing is inadequate across Years 3 to 6 and there are significant shortcomings in the teaching of essential reading skills in Reception to Year 2. There is no class in which the quality of teaching is consistently good.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 In writing in Years 3 to 6, expectations are often too similar for all pupils regardless of their starting points and the standards that they are capable of reaching. This lack of attention to the learning needs of different ability groups results in a low level of challenge for more able pupils. There are also times when the middle ability pupils are not pushed on and their learning is slow.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Lower ability pupils, and those with special educational needs, often fare better than others in English lessons in Years 3 to 6. The content of lessons and the level at which they are expected to work are more appropriate.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 In English lessons in Years 3 to 6, teachers do not do enough to check on pupils’ learning. Occasionally, pupils sit silently and do little because they do not know what is expected of them. As a result of pupils being given too long for some activities, or repeating what they already know and can do, too little learning takes place in the time available.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 While there has been improvement in the marking of written work for pupils in Years 3 and 4 recently, marking still does not tell pupils clearly what they have done well and what they need to do to improve. This slows the pace of pupils’ improvement of their work. In Year 5 and Year 6, many pupils’ written work has not been marked recently. When work has been marked, the comments provided are not necessarily the right or most important ones to move learning forward. These weaknesses hold back learning.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Pupils’ learning is not good enough in Reception to Year 2 in classes focused on reading through linking letters with the sounds they make. Many pupils do not take part adequately in these lessons because the activities are either too easy or too difficult. While one-to-one teaching at other times moves learning on well in these year groups, the pace of learning is reduced, especially for the lower ability pupils in these sessions.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 In mathematics, teaching is more successful in moving learning forward. Better account is taken of the range of pupils’ starting points. The teaching of basic skills is accurate and there is effective attention to the different aspects of mathematics. Even so, pupils do not always concentrate well and learn at a good pace because some activities are too easy. In one lesson for pupils in Years 1 and 2, too much time was spent on cutting and sticking. The result was that there was much chatter that was not related to the lesson.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Improvements are evident as a result of a new approach to marking in mathematics being tried out in Years 1 and 2. This marking helps pupils to understand what they need to work on next and ensures that they do what is necessary. There is also effective checking on learning during mathematics lessons in these classes so that aspects of understanding that need improvement are now being identified and dealt with more quickly than in the past.  While aspects of teaching require improvement in Reception, children learn well when activities are purposeful. A mathematical activity to create repeating patterns, for example, captured children’s interest well. Children’s learning is less effective when activities are not focused on promoting any specific learning.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 There is variation in how well teaching assistants contribute to pupils’ learning. They make a strong contribution and speed up pupils’ progress when deployed for targeted support for individuals and small groups. There are other occasions, in class lessons, when they are not deployed effectively and so do not contribute to learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils sometimes do not maintain good involvement in lessons when activities are either too easy or too difficult for them. This is especially so for some younger pupils who are not always sufficiently engaged by activities, which slows their progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The conduct of most pupils in lessons and around the school is good. This positive conduct is a direct result of the school’s good work to support pupils when they arrive and to make expectations of behaviour clear. Pupils, including the most vulnerable, speak positively about how well the school has helped them to settle and to make friends. Pupils who have been bullied in other schools see this school as a haven and have grown in confidence.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils who attend the before- and after-school care really value this provision. They behave sensibly and calmly, so having a positive beginning and end to the school day. Pupils of different ages play together well. Those who wish to engage in a quiet activity are able to do so without being disturbed by others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Marked improvements have taken place for pupils identified as having behavioural difficulties. In one class in which behaviour previously caused many concerns, lessons now proceed calmly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Most pupils wear their school uniform with pride and say that they would recommend the school to others. They appreciate the care for them provided by adults. Pupils are sure that they have an adult to whom they can turn should they have any worries or concerns.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils know that bullying is wrong and are sure that the school would deal effectively with it should it occur. Older pupils say that while there is an absence of bullying, there are variations in relationships among pupils across the classes. They point out that there is one class in which pupils have not ‘gelled’ as well as in others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe requires improvement. While pupils are safe at school, there are details in the documentation for safeguarding pupils that require improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 While leaders are improving teaching, there is more to be done in particular to increase the rates of pupils’ progress in writing and early reading skills. The start made, and the success of actions so far, demonstrates capacity for further improvement. Teachers and teaching assistants unaninimously value the support they are given to develop their work. Staff are committed to improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 When observing lessons, senior leaders make accurate judgments on the effectiveness of teaching. They know what good learning looks like, and successfully identify the aspects of teaching that promote good learning and those that do not. This has helped to improve teaching quality. However, leaders are not drawing fully on all of the evidence of learning day-by-day in pupils’ books, when analysing the effectiveness of teaching in different subjects and classes. This prevents action from being even more focused and the pace of improvement from being quicker.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The introduction of focused and intensive support for low attaining pupils has been effective and demonstrates good deployment of staff. This initiative is helping pupils who entered the school with low attainment to catch up quickly. It is also increasing the progress of pupils with special educational needs.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The effectiveness of teachers with key areas of responsibility is variable. The teacher leading on special educational needs, for example, is highly effective in working with senior leaders and teachers to identify the pupils most in need of intensive support. The mathematics subject leader, who is new to this area of responsibility, has benefitted from senior leaders working alongside her to develop skills in observation. The English subject leader’s checks on teaching and learning, including an investigation of the quality of marking, have not been effective.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The funding for physical education and sport is being used wisely. It is enhancing the opportunities available to pupils to work and play together both in lessons and in activities outside lessons. Effective evaluation has been undertaken to ensure the success of this aspect of the school’s work. Parents and pupils have contributed to this evaluation.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school is moving forward well in building links with parents, carers and the wider community. By setting up a nursery class and providing a course in mathematics for parents and carers the school is benefitting its pupils.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has provided support through a school improvement adviser. The school has also been able to request other support to develop areas of its provision.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors know that teaching and behaviour are improving and how leaders are achieving this. They have good insight into the effectiveness of the intensive support for pupils who entered the school working at low levels. They also have reasonable awareness of the use of the pupil premium funding and the contribution of this to pupils’ achievement. However, as a result of the newness of the school and limited data available to them, they do not have a good understanding of the effectiveness of teaching across the school.  Governors understand the systems for performance management and ensure that the headteacher’s performance management is conducted properly with external advice. As nearly all teachers joined the school this school year, governors are not in a position to provide evidence of the use of the budget to reward good teachers and tackle weaknesses in teaching.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Governors contributed significantly to the establishment of the new school and the introduction of the nursery class.

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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 136802 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 425155 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 Foundation Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 96 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andrew Baxter Headteacher Judith Osler Date of previous school inspection N/A Telephone number 01223 840299 Fax number 01223 840299 Email address office@trumpingtonmeadows.cam.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 and 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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