Town Field Primary School

Thorne Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 2JS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 When children start school in the early years, adults ensure they settle in quickly by providing a very caring, but purposeful, atmosphere. Support for children who are in the early stages of learning English as an additional language is highly effective.  Teaching is good. Pupils in all year groups make good progress from their individual starting points. Many pupils make more than the progress expected of them, particularly those who need support to catch up.  Children enter the school with skills lower than those typically expected. By the end of Year 6 their achievements in all subjects are in line with all pupils nationally.  Pupils are very excited about the curriculum The curriculum has supported the improvements in achievement in writing as pupils are keen to talk and write about topics such as ‘Potions’.  Behaviour and safety are good. The school is particularly successful with pupils who need clear

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

guidance and additional support with their behaviour and attitudes. Staff effectively support pupils who have transferred from other schools.  Social, moral, spiritual and cultural opportunities are outstanding. Pupils have many opportunities to reflect on issues and the work on these aspects threads through everything the school does.  School leaders and governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and achievement and help it to improve. They value training and development for themselves and for others. The systems they have in place to support the performance of staff are outstanding. These have been designed by the headteacher and are being used in other schools across the authority.  The whole school environment looks impeccable. All those in school take pride in their surroundings. Senior leaders have influenced the design of the new build and it is continually reviewed by leaders

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and governors to ensure it always meets the needs of the pupils.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher work well as a partnership. They actively support staff in the school to work together to improve all aspects of the school. They both support other schools in their improvements when requested.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Many pupils do not take enough care with presentation and handwriting and do not always have clear enough guidance on how to improve their work.  The teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar is not always reflected in pupils’ work.  The most able pupils are not always challenged as much as they could be.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 23 lessons, some of which were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. Inspectors also observed break and lunchtimes and listened to pupils reading.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, school staff, groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and two governors and a local authority adviser.  Inspectors took account of 46 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and one email. Inspectors also spoke to parents at the school.  Inspectors received 24 completed staff questionnaires.  A number of school documents were examined. These included information about pupils’ progress, school development plans, documents used by the school to measure its own performance, and records of meetings of the governing body. The work of pupils and records relating to the quality of teaching, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding were also scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Karen Foster, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Town Field Primary School is a larger than average-size primary school.  Half of the pupils are of White British Heritage. This percentage is decreasing each year. There are currently 32 different languages spoken in the school.  The number of pupils who start or leave the school during the year is 5% higher than other schools nationally.  The school has Artsmark Gold and the Bronze Anti-Bullying Award.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, and therefore supported through the pupil premium funding, is above average. (The pupil premium is additional government funding to provide extra support for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or for children in the care of the local authority.)  Children enter the school in the early years and attend school for 15 hours per week in the Nursery and

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Information about this school

full time in Reception.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school is an active strategic partner in Partners in Learning, the Doncaster Teaching School Alliance.  The headteacher is a Local Leader of Education and National Pupil Premium System Leader. The deputy headteacher is a Specialist Leader of Education. They both provide support to other schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that the overall quality is outstanding and leads to pupils making outstanding progress by:  making sure that the teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar is reflected in pupils’ work and pupils learn to build and apply their knowledge of these  providing a systematic and structured approach to improving handwriting and presentation  making sure that marking and guidance on improvements are consistently good across the school so that all pupils know what they need to do to improve their work  setting more demanding work that challenges and supports the most able pupils to make the best possible progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher work as a strong team to improve standards and achievement in the school. They ensure that they are both fully involved in improving all aspects of the school so that the school can continue to improve even when one of them is out training or developing staff in other schools.  Middle leaders are effective in supporting the senior leaders. They are involved in regular checks of the work pupils produce and put plans in place to help teachers improve their teaching of different subjects. Some middle leaders are also trained moderators and Specialist Leaders of Education.  School leaders have good systems for checking the progress pupils make. They have already identified the way they are going to record pupil progress for the new curriculum and are beginning to use this system alongside their previous one.  Leaders and governors have worked together effectively to create an ethos where staff and pupils want to

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The leadership and management are good

do well. Pupils are very excited by their learning. Staff are encouraged to develop themselves professionally and all are viewed as potential leaders by the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Teachers have strong support for improving their teaching. The headteacher has put outstanding systems in place to ensure that even the best teaching is continually improved. Leaders use these systems to identify where they, or other staff, can work alongside one another to develop all aspects of teaching and learning. Teachers understand they are accountable for the progress and achievement of the pupils.  School leaders have accurately identified the areas to improve and have well thought out plans in place to address these areas. The plans include identified measures of success and each area is monitored by a named governor.  The new curriculum is highly motivational for the pupils and staff. It has been devised from a published

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The leadership and management are good

creative scheme. The deputy headteacher was involved in the writing of the early years themes for this scheme. The curriculum makes full use of the local environment and international links. The curriculum prepares pupils exceptionally well for life in modern Britain. The school has close links with a school in China and pupils are learning to speak Mandarin. The deputy headteacher has been asked to deliver some early years training for schools in China.  The school works well in partnership with other schools and the local authority. The school also has partnerships with schools in other local authorities and internationally.  The richness of the curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to take part in musical activities, including learning instruments. They have strong arts elements in the curriculum and have produced some work of very a high standard in art and topic lessons. An artist in residence worked with all staff and

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The leadership and management are good

pupils to produce a stunning tree sculpture around the stairs.  Leadership of special educational needs is good. Leaders make sure that pupils are supported both academically and emotionally so that they are able to learn well.  Pupil premium funding is effectively used to improve the learning and well-being of those eligible for it. Leaders and teachers regularly check that this provision is the most appropriate and adapt it as necessary.  Statutory requirements relating to safeguarding and equality of opportunity are met and arrangements for both are good.  The primary school sports funding is used effectively to improve provision. Leaders have made sure that improvements are sustainable by training and developing their own staff. There is a good range of clubs for pupils to attend. Opportunities to take part in competitive sports have increased and pupils are proud to talk about the competitions they have done well in.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders ensure that pupils are taught about health education through the wider curriculum. This includes mental and physical health.  The governance of the school:  Evidence from governor meetings shows that governors provide good challenge and support to the school. They know the school well and how it is doing compared with others. They know which aspects the school needs to improve and are actively involved in checking the progress of actions aimed at raising the quality of teaching.  Governors know how the pupil premium funding has been spent. They know that this has significantly improved the achievement and progress of those entitled to it. They know that this funding has enabled these pupils to make rapid progress and that this is an area that the headteacher is particularly skilled in.  Governors have reviewed the pay and performance management policy. They are clear about the links

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The leadership and management are good

between pay and performance for all staff and hold staff to account. They have ensured that all decisions are understood and fair. They receive good-quality information about the school and the progress and achievement of all pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ attitudes in lessons, around school and at playtimes are good. Pupils say they enjoy school and that everyone gets on well. If they ask adults to help them pupils are confident that they will do so. They say that adults help them to know what is right and wrong but they understand consequences of not behaving well. Adults and pupils are all highly positive about the school.  They listen carefully to adults and to one another in lessons, even when they have something to add to discussions. Pupils work well in pairs and in groups and can take turns.  Pupils have great empathy for one another. One pupil told an inspector that he thought others usually behaved well in class but, ‘when they mess around they usually have a reason’. Pupils do not have any concerns about name-calling.  Parents say the behaviour of pupils is good. A small minority of parents expressed concerns on the online

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Behaviour

questionnaire Parent View but parents spoken to during the inspection expressed no concerns about behaviour and pupils agree with them.  Pupils enjoy the reward system and like to have their efforts rewarded. The school has extensive systems to nurture and foster pupils’ behaviour. These are delivered through its Enrichment Centre. The school has named attributes they feel are important and these are called ‘The Town Field 10’. These have been devised by the pupils. This supports its ethos; the attributes are well known by all pupils.  There are clear systems in place to prevent bullying and pupils understand all the different forms of bullying that can happen. The school has spent time in talking to pupils about this and holds an anti- bullying award. There are anti-bullying ambassadors to support others. There is also a box where pupils can put requests for help if they feel unable to approach adults directly.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are proud of their school and their achievements. Displays show quality work and reflect the caring and supportive ethos.  Pupils say they really enjoy their lessons. They also enjoy time with Commando Joe as part of their reward system. He comes into school each week dressed in a camouflage outfit. He talks to them about being healthy and gets the pupils to take part in a variety of activities. He is a good role model, asking questions such as, ‘Have you washed your hands? I’ve washed mine.’  All behaviour incidents are logged by the school and followed up. Logs show that although there were a number of recorded incidents at the beginning of this year they were concerning a small number of pupils and these incidents have decreased since September.  The range of provision for families and pupils to support behaviour is outstanding. Additional funding has been used to provide additional adults such as nurture staff and a Family Support Worker.

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Behaviour

 Nurture provision supports the self-esteem of identified pupils and helps them to learn how to control their feelings and cope well in different social situations. Feelings of empathy are discussed and explored. In one session called, ‘I can understand what it feels like to be alone.’ pupils were made to feel valued for their contributions.  Pupils look after the school well. The school environment is impeccable and this encourages pupils to treat it with respect. Adults feel the same way. Adults were seen brushing stairs after lunch times to ensure that the school always looks its best and is a safe place.  The attendance of pupils is in line with that of other schools and improving. This is because the school has made this a priority and uses a combination of rewards and support for families. Pupils are rarely late for school.  There have been some fixed-term exclusions for unacceptable behaviour. The school is very keen to work

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Behaviour

with challenging pupils to give them a fresh start and make sure that they are successful in the future. Strong support has been put in place for these pupils. There is a history of success with pupils who have found it difficult in other schools.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  There are good systems, policies and routines in place to keep pupils safe. Pupils say they feel safe both inside school and in the school grounds. Staff receive regular training in this area.  Safe use of the internet and other social networking devices is given a high priority in school and on the website.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Adults work well together and the quality of teaching is good with some features that are outstanding.  Those parents who expressed an opinion agree that their child is well taught, makes good progress and has appropriate homework. The curriculum provides good opportunities for exciting homework topics.  Teachers’ extremely thorough planning has led them to constructing a curriculum that really engages pupils. In one topic pupils made time machines. They were keen to tell the inspector all about this and went into great detail about how they had been made, including that they had been even better because the teacher had just moved house so they had some really big boxes. Pupils added that the teacher had made them check if they were allowed to take them home because some of them were very big. The topic had really made them think about what could happen if they were able to travel in time.  Pupils enjoy the challenges set for them in lessons. One pupil commented that, ‘Teachers try to make you

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The quality of teaching is good

go beyond your limits. Everyone gets a chance.’ Other pupils agreed with this.  Pupils take an active part in lessons and have had a lot of training in using talk to support writing. They learn well from one another when discussing in pairs. In one lesson in Year 6 pupils were discussing, in pairs, how to improve their work. This was done with sensitivity and improved the writing of each pupil within the pair.  Pupils enjoy reading and talk enthusiastically about books. Reading skills are improving because the school is beginning to put a greater emphasis on learning about the sounds letters make (phonics). Plans have been put together to improve this throughout the school. An audit of books has been carried out and new books purchased to further engage pupils.  The quality of writing is improving because pupils have lots of reasons to write. They can talk about their work and use this to support improvements. This was an area of focus for the school last year. The

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The quality of teaching is good

curriculum provides them with opportunities to write across a range of subjects.  Pupils enjoy mathematics. Discussion is used to extend mathematical thinking. Effective questioning by adults checks knowledge and understanding and encourages pupils to expand upon their ideas and answers. Teachers encourage the use of mathematical vocabulary effectively.  Teachers support one another by using their identified strengths and areas of expertise to develop teaching across the school. They are open and honest about where they would like support themselves and work well as a team. They want to do their best for the pupils.  The teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar is variable. Although there are some examples of effective practice this is not the case throughout the school. Handwriting and presentation are also variable. Some pupils present their work well but this is not consistent in all classes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Some marking is effective, but not in all classes. It does not always help pupils to understand how to improve their work or where they have done particularly well.  The most able pupils are not always challenged as much as they could be. This is improving and has been highlighted by the school as an area of focus but currently not enough pupils attain the higher levels throughout the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress overall and some make outstanding progress, particularly those eligible for pupil premium funding and those who speak English as an additional language. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Across the school pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils who enter the school speaking little or no English make rapid progress on entry to the school, particularly in reading and writing.  Children start the early years with skills and knowledge that are below that typically expected for their age. It is particularly low for those who start in nursery. They leave the early years with skills broadly in line with those typically expected. Children do well here because the learning environment has been carefully planned and adults are skilled in supporting the learning and developmental needs of all of them. Resources are varied and are of good quality. Relationships are a strength and children settle into

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The achievement of pupils is good

school quickly; this quickly gives children the confidence to talk about their learning.  In 2014 the proportion of pupils who reached the expected standard in the Year 1 national phonics check was below average. However, school data shows that from their low starting points, progress for many was good.  Achievement in Key Stage 1 is in line with other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. School data shows that the vast majority of pupils are making good and sometimes outstanding progress through the key stage. This is confirmed by lesson observations and moderation across the school and with other schools.  In Key Stage 2, in 2014, achievement in reading, writing and mathematics was in line with that of other pupils nationally. However, for those pupils who have been in school for the whole key stage it is slightly higher for all three subjects.  Progress for all pupils in 2014 was in line with other pupils nationally for reading and writing and just

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The achievement of pupils is good

above for mathematics from where they were at the end of Key Stage 1 to the end of Key Stage 2. Progress for pupils who had been in the school for the whole key stage was better.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make at least expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Some make good progress because of the individual support they receive.  Disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium funding make better progress than other pupils in the school due to the effective support put in place to allow them to catch up. School data shows that as they move through the school they close gaps quickly. By Year 4 there is no difference in their achievement. The 2014 results show some gaps between the achievement of these pupils and others in the school in reading, writing and mathematics but this was specific to individual pupils who had complex additional needs. Published data from 2012 and 2013 shows there is no difference between the

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The achievement of pupils is good

attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged peers both in the school and in all schools.  The most able pupils do not always achieve as well as they could do, particularly in reading, grammar, spelling and punctuation. In 2014 their performance in these skills was slightly below other schools nationally.

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The early years provision is good

 Almost all children, including those with disabilities and special educational needs, make good progress from their starting points. Many make outstanding progress, particularly in mathematics. When children enter the Reception classes they have skills and knowledge below that typically expected for their age. Those who start in Nursery typically have lower skills.  The children are excited and motivated by their activities. As inspectors entered the room the children were keen to share their learning and talk about what they were doing. In one session a child showed the inspector that he could make sequences using different shapes of pasta. He proudly showed his finished work and pointed to each piece he had glued to a sheet of paper, explaining his sequence, ‘Twist, bow, twist, bow, twist, bow, oops!’ He suddenly realised his sequence had gone wrong and went to sort it out.  The support given to children for their well-being is outstanding. Adults take great care of the children

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The early years provision is good

and build up their self-confidence exceptionally well. As a result the children are confident to speak to adults. Staff are well trained and make sure children are safe and know how to keep themselves safe.  Children get on well together and are taught what is right and wrong. They are confident enough to say when they think someone has done something they do not think is right. They take care of the equipment put out for them and very quickly learn how to put things away safely, quickly and carefully.  The learning environment has improved significantly since the previous inspection. A new purpose-built unit is now in place. The outdoor area is well resourced and provides children with exciting, creative learning opportunities. During the inspection, one group of children thoroughly enjoyed running and jumping in puddles with wellington boots on. Adults questioned them and prompted good use of

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The early years provision is good

descriptive words.  Learning journals show a good range of activities across all areas of learning and include parental observations. They reflect the good progress the children make. Adults check what children can do at the beginning of the year and again at very regular intervals.  Most children develop the skills they need ready for entering Key Stage 1. Many children make outstanding progress in number, shape and space. Children who speak little or no English when they start rapidly learn English. They are exceptionally well supported by the use of signing, additional adults who speak a number of different languages and the adults and other pupils who nurture and support them.  Leadership of the early years is good. The leader knows the children well and knows the areas to continue to develop. She has high aspirations for all children and plans work and activities that will engage them and support their personal development and learning needs.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 106731 Local authority Doncaster Inspection number 448332

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 463 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jeremy Johnson Headteacher Helen Bellinger Date of previous school inspection 21 September 2009 Telephone number 01302 368192 Fax number 01302 344098 Email address head@townfield.doncaster.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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