Tillington Manor Primary School

Tillington Manor Primary School Young Avenue, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 1PW

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 Leaders at all levels are determined and have high expectations for the pupils and staff. Together, they have secured rapid school improvement in both the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils since the previous inspection.  From their different starting points pupils make consistently good progress across the school, achieve well and are well prepared for the next stage in their education.  In the early years, children make good progress in each area of learning. This is because teachers know the children very well and plan engaging activities that capture their imagination.  Teaching is now good across the school. Teachers and other staff make learning exciting and relevant, which engages pupils and helps them to learn.  The school ensures that pupils’ safety is a priority. Pupils behave well, enjoy school life and have positive attitudes to learning.  The curriculum is well designed and teachers plan

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This is a good school

activities that interest and excite pupils. It supports the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.  Teachers teach phonics skills (letters and the sounds that they make) effectively. As a result, pupils enter Year 2 having reached the expected level of skills in phonics.  Governors provide good support in moving the school forward. They combine their different knowledge and skills together well to challenge senior leaders where necessary.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 At times, pupils are not given enough opportunities to develop their comprehension skills during reading sessions.  Teachers’ feedback to pupils does not always give guidance on how to improve their work.  There are occasions when lessons do not always challenge pupils to move their learning on quickly enough.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching, and outcomes for pupils, so that both become outstanding by: – providing greater challenge for all pupils through questioning and opportunities to deepen their thinking and understanding – providing pupils with opportunities to respond in detail to questions when exploring texts in reading sessions – ensuring that all staff provide pupils with feedback that gives them clear guidance on how they can improve their work.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher, together with the governing body, have a strong and ambitious vision for the school. They are resilient and provide good leadership and management at all levels. Leaders are having a positive impact and have ensured good improvements in all aspects of the school’s work since the previous inspection. The school’s self-evaluation is accurate and identifies what needs to be done to improve the school further. This demonstrates a strong capacity to continue to improve.  The headteacher is well supported by other leaders in the school. The deputy headteacher and middle leaders have shown strong commitment to improving teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility. Monitoring of teaching is thorough, and information gained from this is used well to set targets for improvement. There are now clear links in place between the effectiveness of teaching and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

teachers’ pay progression. All staff are extremely positive about the changes that have taken place since the last inspection.  Leaders at all levels have benefited from the good support and training provided by the local authority. They are now highly effective in ensuring that the school is well led and managed. This has resulted in improvements in managers recognising their accountability for pupil progress. As a result, all groups of pupils now make good progress from their starting points. This demonstrates the school’s commitment to ensure equality of opportunity for all pupils.  School leaders have evaluated the spending of the pupil premium funding and ensured that this funding is used effectively so that disadvantaged pupils achieve as well as others in school. This has been successful, and any gaps between the achievement of this group of pupils, their peers in school and other pupils nationally have closed.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Good use is made of the extra funding available to promote and extend the range and quality of sporting activities taking place before and during the school day. Sports coaches visit the school regularly to lead activities to develop pupils’ skills in an increasing range of activities such as yoga, cheerleading and street dance. Pupils are very appreciative of the wide range of extra-curricular clubs and a greater proportion of pupils are now taking part in these opportunities.  Leaders ensure that the curriculum is broad and balanced and meets the national curriculum requirements. It is appropriately focused on helping pupils develop the key skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Topics and assemblies successfully promote British values by addressing areas such as democracy, the rule of law and racial equality. Staff and pupils work together to stop all forms of discriminatory behaviour and prejudice.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The school’s values of ‘always try your best, respect each other, have tolerance and understanding, know why we have rules and responsibilities!’ are reflected in the pupils’ good attitudes to learning and help promote pupils’ spiritual, moral social and cultural development.  The governance of the school – Training has helped governors to develop their skills in analysing information on pupils’ attainment and progress. They make regular visits to the school and join leaders in meetings and classroom visits to check how well pupils are learning. They use this information to compare the performance of the school with that of other schools, both locally and nationally. – They have a clear picture of where teaching is stronger or weaker and how it is being improved. They check that systems to manage staff performance are implemented and that teachers’ pay rewards good teaching. – Governors know how the primary sports funding and pupil premium funding is used and ensure that it

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

is targeted effectively. They have a good understanding of the impact this funding has had.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school is diligent in keeping pupils safe. Staff are trained appropriately and regularly. Staff follow the school’s processes and procedures robustly.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Since the previous inspection the quality of teaching and learning has improved and is now good.  The teaching of reading has improved across the school and is now good in all year groups. Pupils learn to read well through various reading activities in groups and individually. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to respond, with sufficient depth, to questions when exploring texts during lessons. As a result, some pupils are prevented from further improving their reading skills.  Their good reading skills help them to write well too, and the language and vocabulary from books they have studied is evident in their own writing.  In mathematics lessons teachers encourage pupils to use both mathematical resources and written strategies to help work out their calculations. This enables pupils to apply a range of skills when solving number problems. This was evident in a lesson seen where pupils were using these skills to help them

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

find missing numbers in a number sentence. Pupils confidently used the equipment provided to work out and check their answers. They happily took part in discussions about their work, which enhanced the progress that they made.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and create a positive learning environment. They use good questioning skills to identify misconceptions in pupils’ learning.  Teachers use assessment information well to plan sequences of lessons and provide pupils with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills across all subjects. However, in some lessons, pupils are insufficiently challenged and the work they are given fails to deepen their understanding. Pupils from all ability groups are expected to complete similar work rather than being challenged to extend their learning once they have understood the key skills being covered in the lesson.  Teachers and other adults manage pupils’ behaviour well. Pupils enjoy their lessons and the variety of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

exciting activities planned by the teachers.  Teachers always mark pupils’ work. However, not all give clear guidance to pupils on how they can improve their work.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  In lessons pupils work hard to become successful learners, are polite, considerate, respect each other’s views and develop good personal and social skills.  They enjoy having the opportunities to take on additional responsibilities through the work of the school council, where they engage in decision making to benefit others.  There are many different activities within the curriculum that develop pupils’ personal and social development, health and well-being. Pupils learn about choices that ensure a healthy lifestyle and are supported to build their confidence and self-esteem.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe when using the internet and are clear about the dangers they may face outside school. The school provides them with many opportunities to learn about how to keep themselves safe through assemblies and curriculum opportunities such as

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Personal development and welfare

‘Bikeability’.  Pupils can talk about different types of bullying and know that bullying can take different forms. They know how to report any occurrences of bullying or racism. They are confident that school staff would deal with any such incidents quickly. Pupils talk about how they show respect and tolerance and are aware of what types of language are inappropriate and derogatory.  All parents who responded to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire, Parent View, reported that they feel their child is safe and happy in school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils move around the school sensibly, are enthusiastic, listen to instructions given by adults and have positive attitudes to lessons and their learning.  Staff manage pupils’ behaviour well. Pupils have a clear understanding of the rewards and sanctions used by the school to promote positive behaviour. They talk positively about behaviour improving over time and this is also reflected in the school’s behaviour records.  The majority of parents who responded to Parent View felt that pupils were well behaved in school.  The system for tracking attendance is thorough and the school works hard with families to make sure that pupils attend school on time and regularly. As a result, pupils’ attendance rates are the same as other schools nationally.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Achievement for pupils at the end of Year 6 in 2015 improved in mathematics and writing and pupils attained standards expected for their age.  Leaders have responded well to disappointing results in the reading test at the end of Year 6 in 2015, when progress was well below that expected. By increasing the focus on the teaching of reading skills more often in literacy lessons they have rapidly improved the rates of progress across all year groups. All groups of pupils now make good progress in reading.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and, as a result, standards at the end of Year 2 are improving and are now above average.  Currently the work produced by pupils in their books, school assessment information and evidence gathered during the inspection indicates that all pupils in all year groups make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Disadvantaged pupils are now making good progress from their starting points and any gaps in

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Outcomes for pupils are good

attainment with other pupils in school and other pupils nationally are narrowing. Support for these pupils is well targeted and helps disadvantaged pupils to improve their skills quickly.  Leaders carefully and precisely track the interventions for pupils who have special educational needs and ensure that the support these pupils receive meets their needs well. As a result, these pupils now make good progress from their starting points.  The teaching of phonics is a strength of the school. All staff have received appropriate training and there is now a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics across early years and Key Stage 1. As a result, phonics results have improved over the past three years. In 2015 the number of pupils who achieved the expected level in the Year 1 phonics check was in line with that expected of Year 1 pupils nationally. Current school information shows that this picture of improvement is set to continue.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The school has worked hard to create a reading culture across the school. They have introduced termly reading challenges, which pupils enjoy. Pupils talk confidently about their favourite authors and those who find reading more difficult, use their phonic skills confidently to break down words to help themselves read.  Teachers plan work effectively to ensure that the most-able pupils make the same rates of progress as other groups of pupils across all areas of the curriculum.

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Early years provision is good

 The majority of children enter the early years with skills that are typical for their age in all areas of learning except in mathematics where they enter with skills below those typical. Teachers are aware of this low entry point and there is a strong focus on providing additional mathematical experiences for the children. The environment and adult support is used well to promote the use of mathematical language and skills. As a result, pupils make at least good progress in this area.  As a result of good teaching, from their individual starting points, children make good progress across all areas of learning. In 2015, the proportion of children that had achieved a good level of development by the end of Reception was above average. When children leave Reception they are well prepared for Year 1.  The teaching of phonics is a strength across the early years and children confidently use their phonic

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Early years provision is good

knowledge to make attempts at spelling words during phonic sessions.  Leadership of the early years is good. The early years leader has set up highly effective systems to assess and record children’s achievements. All adults are involved and staff work closely with parents to gather their views when collecting information about the progress the children are making. This information is used exceptionally well to carefully plan the next steps in each child’s learning journey.  The early years leader correctly identified and tackled an attainment gap that existed in reading and writing between the boys and girls. The curriculum has been adapted to meet the needs of boys and additional resources purchased. Boys are now more engaged in their curriculum and as a result their attainment is rising and gaps have closed.  Disadvantaged children achieve at the same rates as other children in the early years as a result of the

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Early years provision is good

effective use of additional funding to support their needs.  Children behave and cooperate well with each other. They have positive attitudes to learning and there are well-established routines that help children settle quickly.  The environment is resourced well and pupils engage in an exciting and stimulating variety of role-play areas which support the development of their independence and communication skills.  Appropriate policies and procedures are in place to ensure that safeguarding is effective and children are happy and well cared for.

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School details

Unique reference number 124196 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 10002487

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School details

This inspection 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 291 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jonathan Price Headteacher Ian Goodwin Telephone number 01785 356880 Website www.tillingtonmanor.staffs.sch.uk Email address office@tillingtonmanor.staffs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 December 2013

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. The school has a Nursery which offers part- time places.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who need special educational needs support is above average. There are no pupils who have special educational needs or disability or who have an education, health and care plan.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and supported by the pupil premium is above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those pupils who are looked after by the local authority.  There is before- and after-school provision which operates on the school site but is not run by the governing body and is therefore inspected separately, and was not included in this inspection.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 20 lessons or part lessons and were accompanied by the headteacher and deputy headteacher in several of these.  The inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and listened to pupils read. They observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, lunchtime, around the school and in lessons.  An inspector met with a group of governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body. A meeting was also held with a school improvement representative from the local authority.  The inspectors took account of 32 staff questionnaires. There were 32 responses to Parent View and a letter from a parent, which inspectors considered.  The inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including: assessment and records of pupils’ progress; the school’s checks and records relating to safeguarding; child protection and attendance; the school’s view of its own performance; school improvement plans; leaders’ checks on the quality of

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Information about this inspection

teaching and records relating to pupils’ behaviour.

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Inspection team

Kerry Rochester, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Benjamin Taylor Ofsted Inspector Janet Tibbits Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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