Ravensfield Primary School

School report Ravensfield Primary School

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Clarendon Street, Dukinfield, Cheshire, SK16 4JG

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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

 The early years provision is good. Children enter the Nursery class with skills below those typically found. They make good progress in the early years and most achieve a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year.  Pupils continue to make good progress and attain average standards by the end of Year 6. This represents good progress from their starting points.  Teaching is good. Lessons are well organised so that little time is wasted. Teachers and teaching assistants work together effectively and support is carefully tailored to meet the different needs of pupils.  Pupils enjoy their time at school very much and behave well. They feel safe and know the steps to take in different situations.  The school is well led and managed. Governors bring a good range of expertise to the school and offer both challenge and support to school leaders. Both leaders and governors have high expectations

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and strive to ensure that pupils are helped to achieve well.  Both the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement are improving because leaders rigorously monitor them and take effective action if either require any improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The most able pupils are not consistently challenged so they do not all attain the higher levels they are capable of.  Not all pupils have a good enough understanding about what they need to do next to improve their learning.  Pupils’ attainment in writing, although average, is the weakest area of performance. There are inconsistencies in pupils’ handwriting and presentation within and between classes.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 13 parts of lessons and visited classrooms. A joint observation was carried out with a senior leader.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, senior leaders and teachers with responsibility for leading and managing subjects and key stages. A meeting was held with a group of governors and a representative from the local authority.  The 23 responses to the Ofsted on-line questionnaire (Parent View) were taken into consideration during the inspection. Parents’ responses to a questionnaire sent by the school before the inspection were also considered. In addition, an inspector spoke with parents on the second day of the inspection. Forty-seven questionnaires submitted by staff were taken into consideration.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s data showing pupils’ progress, documents relating to the school’s own view of its performance, the school

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Information about this inspection

improvement plan, records relating to attendance and documents relating to safeguarding. Inspectors also looked at pupils’ work.

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Inspection team

Pritiben Patel, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than the average sized primary school.  The large majority of pupils are White British. Other pupils are from other White backgrounds and a small proportion is from other heritages.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for support through the pupil premium funding, is well above average. The pupil premium is additional funding to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school has a Nursery class where children attend on a part-time basis. Reception children attend full- time.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which is the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The out of school club, which is managed by the governing body, is open from 7.30am to 8.40am and

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Information about this school

3.15pm to 6.00pm each day of the school week. Provision is available during school holidays daily from 8.00am to 5.30pm.  A small number of pupils attend the Behaviour, Learning and Support Service (BLISS) in Tameside for short periods.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching further by ensuring that:  the most able pupils are provided with sufficient challenge in lessons to enable them to reach the higher levels they are capable of  all pupils have a good understanding about what to do next to improve their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ attainment in writing throughout the school by ensuring that:  pupils are given more opportunity to use and apply their literacy skills in different subjects  there is a consistent approach to teaching handwriting and the way in which pupils should present their work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The vast majority of parents are very proud that their children attend Ravensfield and comments such as, ‘I am proud of Ravensfield and for all it stands for, nurturing, guiding and educating my children ready for their next phase in life at high school’, are common.  The headteacher and the able deputy headteacher work together very well and provide strong leadership. All staff work very effectively as a team, sharing experience and supporting one another to ensure good outcomes for all pupils.  The school motto, ‘Soaring High’, is exemplified well by both leaders and staff through the high expectations and aspirations they have for all pupils. All pupils are included and discrimination is tackled rigorously. Good relations within the school and the wider community are fostered well.  Leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance is both honest and accurate. It identifies all that the school does well but also those aspects that require improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders assess pupils’ achievement effectively on a half-termly basis in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils’ progress meetings are held with teachers to ensure that any pupil falling behind in his or her learning is identified and supported.  Pupil premium funding is used well to ensure that disadvantaged pupils progress at least as well as their peers. Funding is used to provide individual and small group support in reading, writing and mathematics. This focused support is helping these pupils to make good progress. As a result, leaders are promoting equality of opportunity well, because there is no underperformance in the achievement of any significant group.  The quality of teaching is rigorously monitored. Senior leaders formally observe teachers on a half-termly basis and provide constructive written feedback. Teachers are helped to improve their practice via training, coaching and working in small teams. Teachers’ targets are linked to pupils’ progress and pay is

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The leadership and management are good

held back if targets are not met. In addition, senior leaders check pupils’ books, classrooms and displays on a weekly basis.  Subject leaders know their areas of responsibility well. They observe lessons, lead training for staff and check teachers’ planning and pupils’ books. In addition, these middle leaders know what is working effectively as well as areas that require improvement.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents have much confidence in senior leaders and teaching staff. They are kept well informed via an informative school website as well as regular newsletters. Workshops are held for parents for example, in mathematics and reading.  The school works well with a group of other primary schools on aspects of its work such as assessment of pupils’ writing and the new national curriculum.  The additional funding for physical education (PE) and sport is used effectively to enhance pupils’ personal

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The leadership and management are good

development as well as their fitness and well-being. There is a good range of sports available, for example, netball, basketball and football. The ‘Change for Life Club’, is an effective vehicle to help older pupils to support the younger ones to adopt healthy lifestyles.  The local authority views the school as requiring ‘light touch’ support because its representatives rightly have confidence in the effectiveness of senior leaders.  Pupils are taught British values well. They are taught the importance of following rules and learn about different religions and respect for others’ different values and customs and religions in religious education lessons. School council members are democratically elected to help pupils to understand the importance of rights, responsibilities and choice.  Safeguarding meets requirements. All staff working with pupils are rigorously checked and the premises are secure.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is adapted to meet the needs and interests of pupils well. A range of visits outside school, as well as visitors into school, help pupils with their learning. For example, visitors dressed as Vikings, as well as speakers from different faiths, help to make learning meaningful. Enterprise Projects where pupils explain their business ideas to adults outside school helps them to learn about the importance of finance. Leaders acknowledge that a contributory factor for pupils’ achievement in writing being less strong than in reading and mathematics is the limited opportunity for them to practise and apply their writing skills in subjects other than English.  The governance of the school:  Governors bring a wide range of expertise to the governance of the school, such as in education and finance. They have high expectations and want the very best for all pupils. Governors attend pupils’

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The leadership and management are good

progress meetings, listen to pupils read and participate in wider school life, for example, assemblies. They have a good understanding of achievement data, including the achievement of those pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium funding. Their detailed analysis means they know how well the school performs compared to other schools nationally. Governors ensure the out of school club is managed effectively.  Governors contribute to the target setting for senior leaders, as well as the performance management of teaching staff. They know about the quality of teaching and how teachers are supported if their practice requires improvement, for instance, through further training or mentoring. Governors know that good teaching is rewarded and understand the link between teachers’ performance and pupils’ achievement.  Governors provide effective challenge and support to leaders in relation to pupils’ achievement. They

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The leadership and management are good

have well-placed confidence in the school’s leaders to provide a, ‘caring, friendly, calm environment with high expectations’ for all pupils. Governors have a good understanding of the school’s priorities for improvement. The governing body manages the school’s finances well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are helpful and polite and are eager to speak with visitors. They have good attitudes to their learning and want to do well. They conduct themselves well in and around the school. Pupils play happily with one another at break and lunchtimes.  This is a happy school because leaders and staff put much emphasis on pupils’ emotional well-being, as well as on their learning. For example, a ‘Feelings’ Register’ is taken each morning where pupils give staff a number to indicate whether or not they need to speak with an adult about a concern. Pupils value this opportunity.  Pupils know the difference between right and wrong and learn to respect the whole school community, as staff very effectively model care and compassion. Pupils are very proud of the wide range of the responsibilities they have in school. For example, they act as playground buddies, house captains and

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Behaviour

library monitors, and as members of the school council, which has contributed ideas about how to save energy in the school. These make a considerable contribution to the students’ strong spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils have great pride in their school and their teachers. Senior leaders and staff work successfully to ensure that all achievements are valued and celebrated. Pupils very much enjoy having their work displayed and shared with others around school. They talk excitedly about the, ‘You’ve been spotted’ slips which are given to them for good behaviour and learning. Pupils like to see their names on the ‘Magic Mirror’, which recognises all aspects of their positive contribution.  There are a small number of pupils who require additional support with their behaviour. These pupils receive good support. For example, the ‘Chill Out Zone’ is a space where pupils can reflect and think about

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Behaviour

the right choices. Staff who provide additional support are highly respected by pupils for their work. The BLISS is used effectively as a short-term measure to support those pupils with emotional and behavioural issues.  There have been no permanent exclusions and a small number of fixed-term exclusions are due to pupils requiring additional support.  Attendance is average. It continues to improve because of the priority it is given by leaders.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils feel safe in school and in the out of school club. Their parents say that their children are safe at school.  Pupils know how to keep safe in a range of situations. For example, they understand the importance of fire drills in school. They have a good understanding of road safety because both teachers and outside visitors have spoken about this issue with them. Police officers have spoken with pupils about the dangers of legal highs and they know about stranger danger from an external provider educating pupils about safety.  Pupils have a good understanding about what constitutes bullying and say that this is not an issue for them. Pupils from different backgrounds get on well and told inspectors that racism is not a concern for them. They are confident that there is no homophobic bullying in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Parents say that their children are taught well and inspectors agree. Pupils are helped to make good progress in their learning.  Pupils are very clear about what they need to achieve and complete in lessons because teachers explain very clearly what it is they expect of them.  Pupils are not afraid to take risks in their learning and ‘have a go’ because strong supportive relationships between staff and pupils are consistently evident.  Pupils are developing a good understanding of mathematics and reasoning because teachers ask appropriate questions. For example, in Key Stage 2, pupils were given problems to solve and asked why they had chosen particular methods to get the correct answer. This contributed well to pupils’ understanding of efficient methods of working.  Pupils enjoy their lessons and out of school activities because teachers make learning fun. For example, in a Key Stage 2 numeracy lesson pupils rounded numbers, each time they were correct they could move to

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The quality of teaching is good

the next step on a maze. Pupils were eager to get to the end of the maze and this motivated them to work at a good rate.  Decisive action has been taken to improve standards in reading since the dip in attainment in 2014 at Key Stage 2. For example, reading has a high priority in the school. Every class has a dedicated reading area and pupils have the opportunity to read every day and staff have had additional training to support pupils in their reading. Consequently, attainment in reading has improved rapidly this year.  Most groups of pupils make good progress in their learning because tasks are carefully tailored to meet different levels of ability. Teachers and their highly- skilled assistants work very well together and each tailors the support carefully to the group of pupils with whom they are working.  Pupils very much enjoy sharing their work with one another and with visitors, via their tablet computers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Homework is set on a weekly basis to consolidate or extend pupils’ learning.  The most able pupils make good progress when they are given work which fully tests them. However, there are inconsistencies in the progress this group of pupils make because the work is not always challenging enough.  Although marking has been a focus for the school and improvements have been made, it is still the case that not all pupils are clear about what they need to do next to improve their work.  Pupils’ books show inconsistencies in presentation. For example, in the same class pupils who are capable of using cursive handwriting do not whilst other pupils do. This is not always addressed by teachers.

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is good

 Parents say that their children achieve well in school and inspection evidence corroborates this. The proportions of pupils who make expected and more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics are higher than average.  National assessment information for Year 2, in 2014, shows that standards were average, indicating good progress from pupils’ starting points. The school’s information about achievement shows that this positive picture has continued in 2015.  Standards at the end of Year 6 in 2014 dipped in all areas and were below average, particularly in reading. There were reasons behind this dip. One in five pupils were not at the school at the start of Year 3. In addition, just under one-third of pupils were disabled or had special educational needs. However, from their starting points all pupils made good progress.  Attainment in reading was the weakest area of attainment in 2014 at Key Stage 2. Initiatives put in place

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is good

by the school have borne fruit and have had a positive impact. The school’s assessment information and other inspection evidence show standards have risen significantly in 2015 at the end of Year 6 and are now at least in line with expectations for age.  Overall pupils make good progress from their starting points, including those from White British, other White backgrounds and the small numbers of pupils from different heritages. This is because progress is checked on a half-termly basis and those pupils who are not making the progress expected of them are identified and supported. As a result, equality is promoted effectively. Nevertheless, there are occasions where the most able pupils do not make the best possible progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well. They receive good support in the classroom, as well as additional support outside the classroom in reading, writing and mathematics to

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is good

ensure these pupils catch-up in their learning. These pupils work effectively on the individual programmes designed for them, to help them to meet the challenging targets they are set.  Disadvantaged pupils achieve well. However, the school’s current assessment information shows that these pupils are one term behind in their attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6 in comparison to other pupils in the school. In 2014, in comparison to other pupils nationally, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment was just under a term behind in writing and mathematics, but there was a larger gap in reading. Validated national assessment information for 2014 shows that there was no significant difference in the progress made by disadvantaged pupils in school and other pupils nationally in mathematics and writing. In reading, disadvantaged pupils lagged behind slightly in the progress they made in comparison to other pupils nationally. Staff monitor the performance of all groups of pupils in

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is good

great detail and gaps in achievement over time are closing.  Some of the most able pupils do not attain the higher levels they are capable of because they are not consistently challenged in all lessons.  Standards in writing, although broadly those expected for age, are lower than the standards achieved in reading and mathematics. Pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to apply their literacy skills in different subjects.  The out of school club makes a good contribution to pupils’ achievements and personal development through a wide range of activities which are fun and interesting.

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Early years provision is good

 Children enter the Nursery class with below typical skills for their age. They make good progress and the proportion achieving a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year is broadly average.  Teaching is good. All adults work together as a strong team. Adults question children well and make learning fun for them. For example, in the outdoor area children threw balls into numbered baskets. They then read the number from each basket and constructed a number sentence. Children identified numbers and added them together in a fun way. Staff use their ongoing assessments of children’s achievement well to effectively plan the next steps in learning.  Children behave well, are safe and are very happy in the early years. They are eager to share their learning with adults because children are made to feel valued by all staff. For example, two children took one of the inspectors ‘to Italy’ in a wooden boat. The ‘Wow Wall’ acknowledges and celebrates children’s

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Early years provision is good

independent work in a highly positive way.  Learning journeys record the good range of work and experiences in which children are involved and which cover all aspects of the early years curriculum. The indoor classroom is stimulating and interesting. There is a strong focus on developing children’s reading, writing and mathematical skills and this is reflected in the wide range of activities available for them.  The curriculum has been improved since the last inspection and areas identified for improvement have been addressed. For example, there are greater opportunities for mark making outdoors and activities are more interesting, for example, children gain much enjoyment from playing in the’ travel agency’ and ‘builders office’.  The early years is well led and managed by an enthusiastic leader who understands very well how children learn. Parents are kept well informed about their children’s progress and are encouraged to share their

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Early years provision is good

child’s learning and experiences at home with the school. Parents are truly seen as partners in learning.

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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 134845 Local authority Tameside Inspection number 461733

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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 447 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Stephen Noble Headteacher Beverley Allford Date of previous school inspection 12 January 2012 Telephone number 0161 344 2905 Fax number 0844 292 7655 Email address head@ravensfield.tameside.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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