Twerton Infant School

Twerton Infant School Poolemead Road, Twerton, Bath, BA2 1QR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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

 Children make an excellent start to their education in the Nursery and Reception classes.  Pupils continue to make good progress in Year 1 and 2, and by the time they leave they achieve significantly better than others nationally in writing and mathematics.  Disadvantaged pupils achieve even better than other pupils of their age nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. They achieve better than their classmates.  Pupils are safe at school. Adults care for them well. There are strong relationships at all levels in the school.  The school continually promotes equality of opportunity and prevents discrimination by making sure that every pupil achieves as well as they possibly can.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils are keen to get on with their work in lessons and play well together at break and lunchtime.  Teaching is good and there is careful checking of pupils’ work so that pupils are continually making

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

good progress in lessons.  Leaders and managers, including the governing body, have made sure that the school has improved since the previous inspection and have good procedures for accurately checking the work of the school.  Governors have significantly improved in the last two years so that they can hold the school to account well.  There is a continual drive for improvement across the whole school community. As the school song says, ‘We want to be the best school in Bath.’ As a result, pupils have high aspirations of what they can achieve when they are older.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Sometimes work is not adjusted quickly enough for the most able pupils in mathematics.  There are insufficient opportunities for the most able pupils to develop their full understanding of what they are reading.  Responsibilities for continuing to make improvements are not yet fully shared amongst all staff.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 15 lessons; six of these were jointly observed with the headteacher or other senior leaders. In addition, short visits were made to classrooms and an inspector listened to pupils in Years 1 and 2 read. The team reviewed samples of pupils’ work in books to check their progress.  Meetings were held with the interim headteacher, middle leaders, a group of pupils, the Vice Chair of the Governing Body and five other members. There were informal discussions with parents. The inspector held a telephone conversation with the Chair of the Governing Body and met with a member of the local authority and the local leader of education (LLE) who is currently supporting the school.  The inspector took account of the 21 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and a recent questionnaire conducted by the school. The results of the 23 responses to the staff questionnaire were

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Information about this inspection

also considered.  The inspector looked at school documents, including information relating to checks on pupils’ progress, plans for school improvement, records of the monitoring of teaching and learning, records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, the minutes of the governing body and safeguarding documents.

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Inspection team

Janet Dinsmore, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Full report

 Twerton Infants is a smaller-than-average-sized school.  Since the previous inspection, the previous headteacher retired and the deputy headteacher has become the interim headteacher. Another senior leader has been appointed as the interim deputy headteacher.  The early years provision is full time in the Reception class and part time in the Nursery class.  There is provision on the school site for two-year-olds, ‘Twerton Infant School two year olds’, which is subject to a separate inspection.  Most pupils are of a White British heritage.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for pupil premium (additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or in the care of the local authority) is much higher than average, over half of the school.  There is currently support from a local leader of education (LLE), the headteacher from St John’s Church of England Primary School, Keynsham.

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Full report

 The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above average.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the achievement of the most able pupils by making sure that teaching:  in mathematics always reshapes tasks more rapidly, particularly to solve more complex problems  of reading promotes understanding and explanation skills at a higher level.  Improve leadership and management by making sure that responsibilities are shared with all staff to continue to drive the improvements in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is a clear ambition to continually improve the school. This is led well by the interim headteacher and senior leadership team, and shared by the whole school community. All the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection and subsequent monitoring visits have been addressed, demonstrating the capacity for continuous improvement.  The excellent use of pupil premium funding has made sure that disadvantaged pupils are achieving well by having teaching assistants that are effectively trained to support the wide range of need. Support is provided in every lesson that builds rapidly on the work from the day before. Individual and small group work in reading and mathematics are also provided for pupils if any slight slowing of progress is identified.  Self-evaluation is accurate and makes sure that development plans are clearly focused on what needs to be done to continue to improve teaching and pupils’ achievement. As the previous middle leadership has

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The leadership and management are good

now become the senior leaders, other staff, such as subject leaders, have not yet had sufficient time to fully demonstrate their abilities to bring about further improvements, for example in developing the curriculum further.  Inadequate teaching has been eradicated and performance of teachers is managed well and checked regularly, so that any slight underperformance can be improved quickly. Senior leaders give accurate feedback to teachers about strengths and points for developing teaching further.  Sport funding is spent to provide additional coaching and activities that widen pupils’ experience effectively. These include taking pupils to specialised facilities and providing high quality dance and football coaching.  The school has received support from the local authority since the previous inspection. This has given leaders and governors an accurate external view of the school as it has improved. The interim

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The leadership and management are good

headteacher has received initial support for his role from a national leader of education. This and other partnership working are now bringing benefits to this school and the other schools it works with.  Statutory safeguarding requirements are met. The school is fully involved with social care in supporting pupils and their families who are most in need, so that the pupils are protected and continue to make progress in school.  The range of subjects prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. They understand about democracy from the work of the pupil ‘community action team’, are tolerant and understand each other’s differences.  Parents say that their children do really well at the school. They say that the school helps them to understand how their children are learning phonics and gives them good information about the progress they are making. Parents feel welcome in the school, there is a twice-weekly toddler group, for example,

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The leadership and management are good

and the school has strong relationships with the wider community.  The school works particularly well with families who are in the most need using the local authority parent support advisers well for this in addition to their own staff.  The governance of the school:  There have been extensive changes to the governing body since the previous inspection. The governors have been ably led by a Chair who is a national leader of governance. They have revised their processes and procedures, made sure they are trained well and have a good range of skills to fully hold the school to account. They have made sure that the performance of the headteacher is managed well and quickly made sure that the deputy was appointed interim headteacher. They are making decisions about the future of the school so that it is stable and secure and can continue to provide a good education for the pupils. Governors receive detailed and accurate reports from the interim headteacher about the

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The leadership and management are good

performance of the school which show exactly how well it is improving. Governors ensure that teachers are held to account tor pupils’ progress and that they are appropriately rewarded for this and their contribution to the school. They know how well this school is dong compared with other schools and, as a result, know that additional funding is being used well to eradicate the gap in achievement for disadvantaged pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. There is almost no disruption to learning in lessons because pupils respond quickly to instructions.  Pupils are polite and courteous and are fully aware of what might be unfair treatment. They play well together, including everyone in their games. Their social and moral development is good.  There are high quality relationships at all levels in the school and these high expectations mean that incidents of poor behaviour are rare and bullying is almost non-existent. Pupils fully understand the consequences of poor behaviour and support their friends well if they have a ‘star chart’ to help them improve their behaviour.  There are notable examples of excellent improvements in behaviour and attendance for the very few pupils who have moved from other schools or had a poor record in the past. The proportion of those who are persistently absent has improved because of close working with the local authority and parents. Pupils

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Behaviour

who have more difficulty managing their behaviour because of their social and emotional needs or communication difficulties are exceptionally well supported.  The Rainbow Club makes sure that some of the disadvantaged pupils most in need are ready to learn in lessons. It provides a calm start to the day, a snack and an opportunity for staff to check on individual pupils and return them to their classes at registration time.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Risk is assessed carefully and effectively for all trips and the site is safe and secure.  Pupils’ attendance has improved and is now average.  Pupils know that they are safe at school and quickly tell an adult if they have any concerns about themselves or any other child. Parents know that their children are safe at school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan work so that all groups of pupils can make good progress in each lesson. They check pupils’ work accurately, giving pupils precise guidance through marking and talking to them about their work. Pupils have good opportunities to check their work and correct any mistakes.  Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and pupils enjoy the challenge that this provides for them. They continually check pupil understanding with skilful questioning, so that tasks can be modified. Occasionally, this is not rapid enough for higher ability pupils in mathematics.  Writing skills are particularly well taught and skills are built consistently as pupils move through the school.  Pupils’ knowledge of letter and sounds (phonics) is taught very well in the school. It is well planned and makes sure that pupils regularly apply their skills to reading and writing.  Teaching makes sure that any group of pupils who has not yet understood, gets the help needed quickly

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The quality of teaching is good

the next day so good progress is maintained.  The teaching of mathematics provides good opportunities for pupils to learn about numbers and basic calculation. It does not always yet provide for the most able pupils to use a range of skills to solve more complex problems.  Teaching assistants contribute strongly to how well pupils learn in lessons. They follow the direction of the teacher to make sure all pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, know exactly what to do and correct misunderstanding.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in Year 1 make good progress with reading and use their knowledge of letters and sounds well so that they can spell more complex words and fully understand this. By the time they reach Year 2, some are beginning to read longer books. Pupils are keen to read more books and receive certificates to show this.  Pupils make good progress in mathematics. They can apply their knowledge in Year 2, for example, to work out missing numbers in calculations, and in Year 1 to recognise patterns in calculation so that they can complete tasks more rapidly.  Pupils say that they enjoy writing. They can make up interesting sentences in the Reception class, and by the time they reach Year 2 they write at length to describe the events of a day in a diary entry, for example. There was a much higher than average proportion achieving at the higher Level 3 at the end of Year 2 in 2014.  Disadvantaged pupils achieve exceptionally well at this school. They are attaining at higher levels than

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils nationally in writing and mathematics and better than their peers at this school in reading, writing and mathematics.  The most able pupils make good progress at the school and an average proportion attains the higher Level 3 in writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1. This confirms the good progress pupils have made from starting at the school. However, in reading, they are not always given sufficient opportunities to fully develop their understanding of what they have read and explain it.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. They receive good support to meet for their individual needs, making sure that they can benefit fully from the good education that is provided for them.  Pupils make good progress in communication skills. They can explain what they are doing in lessons, how much they enjoy learning at school and what they want to do when they are older.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children arrive in the Nursery with skills that are significantly below those that are typical for their age. Children make particularly good progress in developing social and communication skills because staff are skilled at promoting these through all the activities.  The majority of children move from the school’s Nursery into the Reception classes, while some children join the Reception classes from other local early years settings. Each cohort varies, but at least two thirds have skills below that typical for their age, and some are well below what would be expected, especially in reading and writing skills.  Children make excellent progress, with a majority being very well prepared to continue their education in Year 1, and this proportion is continuing to increase. They learn their letters and sounds well and can use them for reading and writing, carefully sounding out words as they write, for example, and spelling

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The early years provision is outstanding

accurately. The most able are writing sentences well and beginning to use more complex spelling patterns accurately.  Children make excellent progress in communication skills; they can explain clearly what they are doing in activities and show an excellent understanding of how to work together.  Teaching makes sure that each child receives exactly what they need to make rapid progress. All staff are trained well, and careful questioning and stimulating activities mean that children are really interested in what they are doing. For example, a hunt for pictures enabled children to use counting, recognising letters and numbers, writing them and making the sounds as well. This meant that staff could find out exactly what they could do, continually making sure that children make the next steps in their learning.  Children are so interested in what they are doing that their behaviour is excellent. There are high

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The early years provision is outstanding

expectations from adults and strong relationships which create a harmonious community. Those who come from families with the greatest needs are exceptionally well cared for, so that they feel secure and make rapid gains in their abilities to play well together, share and communicate.  There is excellent leadership and management and very strong team work amongst all the staff across the Nursery and Reception classes. Leaders make sure assessments are accurate and that activities are continually and precisely planned for the next steps in all children’s learning. Leaders check the work of all staff so that children are safe.  This excellent start enables the teachers in Years 1 and 2 to build on a firm foundation of essential skills. The highly successful leadership of this part of the school is now being shared with the rest of the school through the interim deputy headteacher and Nursery manager who is also the special educational 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 109007 Local authority Bath and North East Somerset Inspection number 462516

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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 Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 3−7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 186 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Claire Emery Interim Headteacher George Samios Date of previous school inspection 1−2 May 2013 Telephone number 01225 423526 Fax number 01225 314745 Email address twerton_inf@bathnes.gov.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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