East Tilbury Primary School

Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, Essex RM18 8SB

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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

 The headteacher and senior leaders have good support from the governing body and have been very effective in driving improvements forward since the last inspection. As a result teaching and pupils’ achievement have greatly improved. The school is continuing to improve.  Leaders are successfully promoting a positive school ethos with a strong focus on the achievement of all groups, especially pupils who have special educational needs or disability and disadvantaged pupils.  Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values, very effectively.  Teaching assistants work closely with teachers to provide good support for learning.  Pupils’ behaviour throughout the school is good. Pupils enjoy coming to school, which is reflected in their above-average attendance.  Teaching has moved from requiring improvement to good. Teachers make good use of assessment to match tasks to pupils’ abilities. They plan

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This is a good school

interesting activities which motivate pupils. Teachers use questioning well to develop pupils’ understanding.  The school makes very good provision for pupils’ welfare, especially for those in the nurture groups who are most vulnerable. As a result, pupils build their confidence in learning and feel safe.  Pupils make good progress as they move through the school in a range of subjects, including reading, writing and mathematics.  Strong leadership of the early years has led to good improvement in teaching and the formation of strong links with parents. This promotes children’s learning and well-being effectively so that children are making good progress.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 A few weaknesses remain in teaching and not enough is outstanding.  Too few pupils are making more than expected progress across a range of subjects.  Teachers do not provide enough guidance to develop pupils’ reasoning skills in mathematics.  Subject leaders have not developed systems for measuring the progress of pupils in non-core subjects.  Subject leaders are not thorough enough when they check pupils’ books to determine the impact of teaching on the progress pupils are making.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Eliminate the few remaining weaknesses in teaching and move it to outstanding so that pupils make outstanding progress, by ensuring that teachers: – increase the proportion of pupils making more than expected progress across a range of subjects – provide more opportunities for pupils to develop their reasoning skills in mathematics to enable them to master new concepts quickly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the leadership of teachers with responsibilities for subjects by making sure they: – develop effective systems for recording pupils’ progress across all areas of the new curriculum – rigorously check the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning when examining their books.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher has made significant improvements in developing the school since the last inspection and is determined to continuously improve all aspects of its work until it becomes outstanding. Senior leaders and governors share the same ambitions in moving the school forward and are providing strong support for the headteacher. The school’s own view of itself is accurate and based on rigorous monitoring of its work, particularly the impact of teaching and assessment on pupils’ learning and outcomes. Leaders make good use of the outcomes of monitoring to establish clear priorities for improvement.  Leaders are successfully promoting a positive school ethos with a strong focus on the achievement of all groups of pupils, particularly those who have special educational needs or disability, those who are most vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils.  Senior leaders are very effective in improving teaching and raising achievement and have developed good

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

arrangements for managing the performance of staff. Senior leaders visit classrooms, examine pupils’ books and hold meetings with subject leaders to promote good teaching and learning. They have successfully developed the skills of teachers with leadership responsibilities, who are actively promoting good teaching and learning across the school. Teachers with leadership responsibilities meet weekly as a group to consider the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning based on visits to lessons and examination of pupils’ books. However, they sometimes miss key development opportunities to improve teaching and learning when they look at pupils’ books.  Leaders are providing good opportunities for staff training which are improving the quality of teaching and learning. Following the dip in the performance of Year 1 pupils in the phonics screening check in 2015, leaders provided effective training for staff. This has led to much improved teaching, with a much

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

higher proportion of pupils on course to reach the expected standard in the phonics check this year.  The inclusion leader has strengthened the provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability, for disadvantaged pupils and for the most vulnerable by providing extra support to meet their needs. As a result, the progress of these pupils throughout the school, including in the early years, is good.  Leaders have taken effective action to improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs or disability.  The early years leader is providing good leadership and has established good links with parents and the local pre-school to ensure a smooth transition of new children into the Reception Year.  The curriculum is broad, balanced and relevant to the needs of all pupils. There is a strong emphasis on developing the basic skills of literacy and numeracy and applying these across a range of subjects based

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

on half-termly themes linking the subjects together, known as units of enquiry. The curriculum is enriched through ballet and theatre workshops, half-termly visits or visitors to the school and a wide range of clubs and activities. Pupils have particularly enjoyed visits from the Royal Opera House and theatre companies. Pupils benefit from a wide range of lunchtime and after-school clubs, including sports activities, to enhance their learning.  Leaders are ensuring that the curriculum successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values. Pupils celebrate Commonwealth Day and actively participate in the multicultural week. Each class has a statement of expectations based on care for one another and for the school community. Staff successfully promote the school’s cooperative values of equity, equality, democracy, self-help, solidarity and self-responsibility. They celebrate world festivals such as Chinese

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

New Year, and pupils learn about all major religions. Older pupils take responsibility as playground buddies and Year 6 pupils regularly lead assemblies. Pupils participate in friendship week and raise funds for good causes.  Leaders have strengthened assessment systems for basic skills and introduced new systems to assess attainment across a range of subjects. Teachers use the school’s marking policy well to provide good feedback and guidance to pupils in written work. However, teachers with leadership responsibilities have not developed systems for measuring the progress pupils are making across a range of subjects in their half-termly themes.  Leaders effectively promote equal opportunities by ensuring that all pupils have the same chances to participate in everything the school offers and that all groups of pupils are making good progress. They tackle discrimination and any form of harassment well by promoting good relationships.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders are using pupil premium funding well to provide additional support and specialist teaching. This ensures that disadvantaged pupils do as well as other pupils in the school and is effectively narrowing the gap between their attainment and that of other pupils nationally.  Leaders are also using primary sports funding well to provide additional coaching in a range of sports, such as football, tag rugby and cricket. It is also used effectively to provide additional after-school sports clubs, to train staff and to provide more opportunities for pupils to compete successfully with other schools.  The chief executive officer of St Clere’s Academy Trust is providing good support and challenge for the school, through regular visits to review the school’s work and to identify further areas for improving teaching and pupils’ outcomes.  The governance of the school – Governors effectively support staff and challenge the work of the school, through regular focused

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

visits. They check that the school is complying with safeguarding requirements and ensure that all training and policies are up to date. – They have a realistic and accurate view of the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress and ensure that the arrangements for managing staff performance are effective. They reward good teaching and make sure that the school tackles any weaknesses successfully. – Governors have a good understanding of data and use the outcomes well to implement their priorities for improvement, which are appropriate. They are holding the school to account for its use of additional funding provided by the pupil premium and primary sports premium, in order to achieve value for money. – Governors successfully promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values, especially through the promotion of the school’s cooperative values.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Pupils’ safety and well-being are central to the school’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

work and the school works closely with parents and outside professionals to establish a safe culture for pupils. Rigorous procedures are in place to protect the welfare and safety of pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching has significantly improved since the last inspection, when it required improvement. Work in pupils’ books, the school’s monitoring of the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning over time and the rapid increase in pupils’ rates of progress show that teaching is now good.  Pupils say that learning is fun because teachers provide a range of interesting activities to motivate pupils. These include making a film trailer for ‘The Hobbit’, learning to read braille, learning Chinese and researching the Titanic, all of which pupils thoroughly enjoyed.  Teachers use assessments for reading, writing and mathematics well to determine their levels of attainment and to plan activities in English and mathematics which enable them to make rapid progress. Teachers usually provide good guidance and feedback to pupils. However, work in pupils’ books shows that teachers are not providing sufficient guidance to develop pupils’ mathematical reasoning skills so

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

they can master new concepts quickly.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability receive good support from teaching assistants, who work closely with outside agencies, to ensure that all pupils can access the curriculum. They identify pupils’ learning needs quickly and provide timely support to develop pupils’ independence skills. This includes regular meetings with parents to review individual targets and modify support programmes accordingly.  The teaching of basic skills is good, although it is stronger in literacy than it is in mathematics. The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) is good and teachers ensure that pupils use their phonic skills to read and write unfamiliar words. Teachers are focusing more on the development of reading comprehension skills, which is having a significant impact of raising pupils’ achievement in reading.  Teachers use questioning to deepen pupils’ thinking, as seen for example in writing lessons where pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

were asked to provide examples of persuasive vocabulary. This was more evident in pupils’ writing but less so in their mathematics work, where too little guidance was given to deepen pupils’ mathematical reasoning skills.  Teachers provide good support for the most-vulnerable pupils in the nurture groups, through the warm and caring environment with high expectations for learning and behaviour. As a result, pupils become confident and re-engage with learning quickly.  Teachers provide regular homework to consolidate pupils’ learning. Parents say teachers provide them with good information about the progress their children are making.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are happy in school and confident in learning. The school works very closely with families to ensure that pupils are safe. The pastoral care provided by the school is good and is particularly strong in the nurture groups, where the most vulnerable pupils thrive and make rapid progress.  The inclusion leader liaises closely with other agencies to successfully promote pupils’ physical and emotional well-being. Pupils with medical needs have well-conceived care plans which are reviewed every half term and play therapists support pupils well.  Pupils listen carefully to staff, follow instructions and know how to be successful learners. They take pride in their achievements and make the effort to do even better.  Teachers focus on the school’s cooperative values and British values effectively. Pupils develop care and

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Personal development and welfare

consideration for others through their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils have a good understanding of democracy and the rule of law. They show tolerance and respect towards others from different cultures and backgrounds and they know about different faiths and religious practices.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils behave well in lesson and around the school. They have good and occasionally excellent attitudes to learning, although sometimes they switch off learning.  Pupils usually respond well, but not always, to the school’s system of rewards and sanctions and try hard to climb the school’s behaviour mountain in consistently abiding by the rules to be rewarded as behaviour mountaineers.  Children in the early years behave well, which enables them to settle into their routines  The school is successfully reducing persistent absence and there is good improvement in attendance, which is above average since the last inspection.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The school is successfully raising standards. Its accurate information from the tracking of pupils’ progress, the learning seen in lessons and work in pupils’ books show that they are making rapid progress in English and mathematics.  The attainment of children on entry to the Reception classes is below that typical for their ages, especially in communication, language and literacy. In 2015, an above-average proportion reached a good level of development, showing that they made at least the expected amount of progress in each area of learning. Boys entered the school with lower starting points than girls but made equal progress. A higher proportion of children currently are expected to reach a good level of development. There are no significant differences in the progress different children are making. Children in the Reception classes are well prepared for entry into Year 1.  In 2015 there was a dip in Year 1 pupils’ performance in the phonics reading check, when it fell to below

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Outcomes for pupils are good

the national average from above it in 2014. The school quickly recognised this and provided effective training in the teaching of phonics. The school’s accurate tracking information shows that current pupils in Year 1 are on course to reach above-average standards in this year’s phonics screening check.  The school’s results at the end of Year 6 in 2015 showed a decline in standards in reading to below average and broadly average standards in writing, English grammar, punctuation and spelling and mathematics. The decline in standards in reading, in 2015, was mainly due to the amalgamation of the two schools into a single academy, with a large turnover of staff and pupils who were not prepared well enough for the comprehension tests.  The school has provided more opportunities for pupils to read every day, with a stronger emphasis on developing their comprehension skills, which has led to good progress in reading at key stage 1.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils’ work shows pupils in all year groups, including those in Year 3 who were identified as not making enough progress in writing during the last monitoring visit, are making better progress in writing. This is because there are more opportunities for extended writing across different themes.  Targeted individual support for mathematics is enabling disadvantaged pupils to make good progress.  The school has set challenging targets for all pupils and checks progress against these each half term. As a result, more support has been provided so that pupils are making rapid progress across all areas. This was also confirmed in the last monitoring visit by Ofsted.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are making good, and sometimes exceptional, progress because they receive good support for their learning.  In 2015, disadvantaged pupils did not do as well as other pupils nationally in reading or in mathematics

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Outcomes for pupils are good

However, the school’s accurate tracking information shows that half of these pupils had additional special educational needs or disability associated with medical conditions requiring hospitalisation, which resulted in prolonged periods of absence. The progress of other disadvantaged pupils compared favourably to other pupils nationally and they made good progress from their lower starting points. Gaps continue to close between the attainment of disadvantaged children in the early years and their peers. Disadvantaged children in the Reception Year are performing in line with their peers and predicted to reach a good level of development.  The school’s tracking information shows that the most-able pupils are all making at least expected progress from their higher starting points. However, the work in their books is a little more variable. They are sufficiently challenged in writing but are not making as much progress in mathematics as they could.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The most-vulnerable pupils are making good progress in the supportive environment of the nurture groups.  Pupils’ work shows that they are making good progress across a wide range of subjects, including physical education, computing, art, science, French, geography and history.  Parents strongly agree that their children are making good progress.

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Early years provision is good

 Good leadership of the early years has led to good teaching and learning. The early years leader has closely involved parents and liaised with the pre-school to ensure a smooth transition to the Reception classes. This has led to the establishment of clear routines for children to enable them to settle in quickly.  The early years leader has set ambitious targets for the current academic year, and as a result of good teaching, children are exceeding predictions for a good level of development.  The school’s provision for children’s safety and welfare is good. Staff are providing clear guidance to parents on how to support their child’s learning at home. Parents value the quality of provision and believe that their children are safe.  A good range of varied and engaging learning opportunities enables children to develop their curiosity and imagination. Children make good use of indoor and outdoor learning environments to develop skills,

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Early years provision is good

knowledge and understanding across all areas of learning. Staff make good use of well-chosen learning resources such as the construction kits and the water area to stimulate enjoyment of learning. Adults finely balance their interactions with children while allowing them space to learn from their own experiences. This enables children to make good progress. Good support and teamwork between adults enables disadvantaged children to catch up quickly.  Leaders have developed accurate assessments, which involve parents, with detailed information about attainment on entry across all areas of learning completed within two weeks from entry into the Reception Year. As a result, all children are effectively supported in their learning.  Children make good progress in their personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They learn to take turns and share, and they learn about different cultures and

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Early years provision is good

beliefs. Their behaviour is good and they enjoy learning.

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School details

Unique reference number 138065 Local authority Thurrock Inspection number 10008130

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 585 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Brian Martin Headteacher Louise Coates Telephone number 01375846181 Website easttilburyprimary.thurrock.sch.uk Email address office.etp@stcleres.coop Date of previous inspection 27–28 February 2014

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Information about this school

 East Tilbury Primary School and Nursery is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  Since the last inspection, East Tilbury Junior School has amalgamated with East Tilbury Infant School to form East Tilbury Primary School and Nursery. This resulted in a large turnover of staff. Prior to the amalgamation, both of these schools were judged to require improvement. The school received two monitoring visits by Ofsted to determine the progress it was making in meeting its areas for improvement and moving towards a good school. The school is part of St Clere’s Co-operative Academy Trust.  The early years is made up of four Reception classes catering for 91 children, all of whom attend full- time. Currently there are no children in the Nursery.  Most pupils are White British and the proportion who speak English as an additional language is well below that found in most schools.  The school has established two nurture groups for its most-vulnerable pupils.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is similar to that in most schools. The pupil premium is the additional funding provided by the government to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children looked after.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is broadly average, although the proportion of those with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is higher than in most schools.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  There have been no other significant changes since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited a range of lessons and activities, including lunchtime and after-school clubs. Most of these visits were conducted with senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work across the school and heard a few pupils read.  They examined data and the school’s tracking system, to check the progress pupils are making across the school, including children in the early years.  Inspectors considered 90 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, including 75 written comments, and held informal discussions with parents who accompanied their children to school. They also looked at the online questionnaire responses from staff.  Inspectors held meetings with six members of the governing body, the chief executive officer of St Clere’s Co-operative Academy Trust, school leaders, the school’s improvement consultant, six newly qualified teachers and two groups of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 They looked at a range of documentation including: records of governing body meetings; the school development plan; the school self-evaluation documents; safeguarding policies and procedures; and records of behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Declan McCarthy, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Joanne Coton Ofsted Inspector Sharon Wilson 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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