Tutshill Church of England Primary School

School report Tutshill Church of England Primary School Coleford Road, Tutshill, Chepstow, NP16 7BJ

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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 Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and the deputy headteacher carefully check the quality of teaching. They provide good guidance to help improve it.  Teaching is typically good. Teachers plan lessons well and give good advice in marking to help pupils improve their work.  The early years provision is outstanding, with children making outstanding progress in their learning.  Pupils make good progress overall across Key Stages 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.  Since the last inspection, attainment has stayed well above the national average at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and that there is little bullying.  Relationships are good, with pupils generally behaving well in lessons and around the school.  The governing body is effective in questioning senior leaders about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not outstanding because teachers’ questioning does not always extend pupils’ thinking.  Activities in lessons are sometimes not changed to match how well pupils understand what they are learning. The most able are not always challenged enough. Occasionally this leads to some pupils not concentrating fully on their learning.  The rate at which some more-able pupils learn in reading slows across Key Stage 1.  Subject leaders do not regularly check on the quality of teaching to provide guidance to teachers on how to improve their lessons.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors looked at learning in 13 lessons and observed eight teachers. The lead inspector and headteacher visited three lessons together.  Inspectors studied school documents, including action plans, assessments showing pupils’ progress, the school’s own records of judgements about the quality of teaching, minutes of governors’ meetings, and policies and procedures to help keep pupils safe.  Samples of pupils’ work were examined and a number of pupils were heard reading.  Meetings were held with senior teachers, subject leaders, members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority, and a group of pupils.  Inspectors analysed the responses from 59 parents who completed the Parent View survey on the Ofsted website.  The responses from 16 Ofsted questionnaires completed by staff were examined.

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Inspection team

James Henry, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Tutshill is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are White British.  Approximately one in 15 pupils are disadvantaged pupils and known to be eligible for additional funding through the pupil premium. This extra funding is for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children in local authority care. This is well below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is well below the national average.  Children are taught in the Reception class on a full-time basis.  The headteacher was appointed in March 2014 and the deputy headteacher was appointed in April 2014.  The school has before-and after-school child care provision that is not managed by the governing body and is not part of this inspection.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to outstanding by ensuring that:  teachers’ questioning consistently extends pupils’ thinking, and activities in lessons are adapted in response to how well pupils understand what they are learning  the most-able pupils are fully challenged in lessons  teachers always plan activities that interest and motivate pupils so they do not lose their concentration in lessons  subject leaders regularly check on how well pupils are learning in classes and advise teachers how to improve their lessons.  Increase the rate at which the most-able pupils learn in reading in Key Stage 1 by ensuring that pupils:  have more opportunities to read a range of texts with accuracy and fluency  use their good vocabulary skills consistently to talk about what they are reading and express their opinions about it  use their reading skills to find out about different subjects.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a shared vision and a strong drive to improve the school that is fully supported by staff and the governing body. This is bringing about improvements, especially in the quality of teaching.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher regularly check on pupils’ learning in lessons. They give good guidance to teachers on how to improve further.  Senior leaders manage the performance of staff effectively. They track the progress of pupils and hold teachers to account for the progress of the pupils they teach. This is supported by good professional development for staff.  Subject leaders do not regularly check on how well pupils are learning in classes or provide advice to teachers on how to improve their lessons.  Additional funding is used to employ extra staff to support disadvantaged pupils with their reading, writing and mathematics. This is effectively helping these pupils narrow the gap with all pupils nationally.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils are taught a wide range of subjects that are often linked together to make learning more meaningful. For example, art is linked with religious education to help pupils understand about different artists. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are supported well so that they have full access to the curriculum. This is an example of how the school ensures that all groups of pupils have equality of opportunity and none is discriminated against.  Pupils have access to a variety of school activities, such as listening to visiting speakers from different backgrounds and opportunities to celebrate festivals such as Diwali. For example, the school has weeks based on themes such as ‘Black History’. These activities support pupils’ personal development and enable them to acquire tolerance and understanding of others to prepare them for life in modern Britain.  Visits from the local police help pupils understand about the importance of obeying the law. Pupils have

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The leadership and management are good

opportunities to elect their own school council and playground ‘buddies’. This helps to ensure pupils learn to respect the views of others and understand how democratic decisions are made.  Links with local businesses and visiting speakers who have chosen different careers give older pupils ideas about what they may like to do in future.  The school promotes good relationships through its strong links with the local church community. Pupils visit the church to join in services and other activities such as singing carols at Christmas. In the wider community, pupils are involved in supporting local and national charities and schools in Africa.  Safeguarding procedures meet legal requirements and are effective in helping to keep pupils safe. All staff are checked before being allowed to work in school. Training in child protection procedures for all staff helps them recognise and support pupils who may be at risk.

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The leadership and management are good

 The additional sports funding is used effectively. It pays for sports coaches to work alongside staff to strengthen their expertise in teaching physical education. Additional funding is used to join a local sports partnership and provide transport for pupils to play in different competitions. The school has yet to measure fully the difference this is making to the health and well-being of pupils.  The local authority provides support when asked. For example, the authority has provided extra funding that has improved the progress of the most-able pupils in Key Stage 2. Officers have arranged for the new headteacher to have contact with an experienced headteacher who acts as a mentor.  The governance of the school:  The governing body provides a good balance between supporting and challenging senior leaders about the performance of the school. Governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching through

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The leadership and management are good

reports from the headteacher and regularly visiting classrooms. They confidently use information about pupils’ achievement to question senior leaders about teaching and the progress of different groups of pupils. Governors carefully track the use of additional funding and check that it is making a difference to the progress of disadvantaged pupils. There are good systems to manage the performance of staff, including the headteacher. This includes procedures to deal with any underperformance as well as rewarding good teaching and leadership. The governing body regularly reviews safeguarding procedures to help ensure pupils are kept safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Most parents who filled in the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire thought that the school makes sure pupils behave well.  Pupils who spoke to inspectors think that behaviour is typically good around the school, in the playground and in lessons. When pupils need to be corrected, they generally respond well.  Relationships are good, with pupils normally being polite and friendly to each other and staff.  Pupils say they enjoy school, feel safe and are keen to learn. They consistently finish their work and keep their books neat. Attendance is above the national average.  When pupils are not interested or motivated in lessons they can lose concentration, and this leads to some minor interruptions to their learning.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Talks from the local police help pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, especially when out playing or using the internet.  Pupils say that there is a little bullying occasionally but that staff deal with individual instances effectively.  The large majority of responses to the Parent View questionnaire showed that parents thought the school deals effectively with bullying.  All the parents who completed Parent View thought that their children are safe at school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Assessments, pupils’ work and observations of their learning in lessons show that teaching is good.  Teachers set clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour in lessons and insist that pupils concentrate and complete their work.  Pupils’ work is marked well. Teachers use a consistent approach to give pupils regular advice to help them improve their work. Pupils appreciate this and are given regular opportunities to practise the advice given and improve their work.  Teachers consistently use assessments about pupils’ progress to plan tasks to meet the abilities of different groups. As a result, pupils with different abilities generally make good progress overall in reading, writing and mathematics. The most-able pupils are sometimes taught in smaller groups to provide further challenge. This helps the most-able achieve higher levels, particularly in mathematics and writing, but less so in reading.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There are occasions in lessons when activities lack challenge for the most-able, especially in reading across Key Stage 1.  Assessments are used to identify and help pupils who may need extra support, including less-able pupils and those with special educational needs. Teaching assistants often work with these groups of pupils. This helps them to make good progress in their learning and to be fully involved in lessons.  Most parents who completed the Parent View thought that their children are taught well.  Teachers from different classes work well together to help pupils move to the next year group and continue their learning.  Teachers’ questioning does not always fully extend pupils’ thinking, especially for the most-able. For example, some questions need only one-word answers from pupils rather than longer responses that would broaden their understanding.  Activities in lessons are sometimes not changed in response to how well pupils understand what they are

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is good

 Attainment is significantly above the national average overall at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, especially in writing in Key Stage 1 and mathematics in Key Stage 2.  There is an effective system to help pupils develop their early reading skills. The large majority of pupils reach the required standard by the end of Year 1. By the end of Key Stage 1 almost all pupils reach the required standard in the phonics screening check.  School assessments, pupils’ work and observations in lessons show pupils generally make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics across Key Stages 1 and 2. In a Key Stage 2 mathematics lesson, pupils were learning about different methods of adding and subtracting numbers. Through good questioning and intervention by the teacher, pupils worked well together and made good progress in developing their mathematical language to explain their thinking.  Individual pupils with disabilities or special educational needs are supported well in their learning,

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is good

particularly by teaching assistants, who help them to understand and respond to teachers’ questioning in lessons. Teachers plan activities to match their abilities and school assessments show they make good progress, especially in writing.  The most-able pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and leave the school in Year 6 achieving the higher levels in the national tests, especially in mathematics and writing.  The progress of a few of the most-able pupils slows across Key Stage 1 in reading. This is partly due to the most-able not reading a sufficient range of books to find out about different subjects. Teachers do not consistently ensure pupils use their vocabulary skills to explain and express their opinions about the books they read.  There are very few pupils supported by additional funding and this means that data should be viewed with caution. Results from national tests show that the school is closing the gap between disadvantaged pupils,

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is good

and other pupils nationally. The gap is not closing as effectively when compared with other pupils in school. In 2014, compared with other pupils nationally, disadvantaged pupils left the school in Year 6 with attainment broadly in line with the average in mathematics, about a term ahead in writing but over two terms behind in reading. When compared with other pupils in the school, disadvantaged pupils left broadly in line in writing, about one term behind in mathematics and over two terms behind in reading.

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is outstanding

 The early years provision is the most effective area of the school because leadership and management and the quality of teaching are outstanding. As a result, children make outstanding progress in their learning.  The early years leadership is highly effective and provides examples of outstanding teaching. The leader in this area uses her skills to check on the quality of teaching and to give accurate guidance to support staff in improving their teaching.  Teaching in the early years is never less than good and often outstanding, with very effective questioning to help children develop their early language skills.  Planning is very thorough and based on consistent and accurate assessments of individual children’s progress.  Assessments show that children enter the early years with the skills and abilities typical for their age but slightly below the levels expected in communication, language and literacy skills.

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is outstanding

 Different groups of children make outstanding progress in their learning. They enter Year 1 with a level of overall development at least in line with the expectations for their age and more often exceeding them.  Children who have disabilities or special educational needs are very well supported by all the staff and make outstanding progress from their starting points.  The involvement of parents in their children’s education is outstanding. For example, children’s work is consistently shared with their parents and they greatly appreciate these opportunities.  Safeguarding meets requirements. Children feel very safe and develop a high level of self-confidence in the exciting and vibrant indoor and outdoor areas.  Children share, cooperate and behave very well. Relationships are very strong, with staff managing the behaviour of children very effectively, especially those who have emotional or behavioural 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 115655 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 449160

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 211 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Simon Gair Headteacher Jenny Lane Date of previous school inspection 19 January 2011 Telephone number 01291 622593 Fax number 01291 625964 Email address admin@tutshillcofe.gloucs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory 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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