Redland Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Hilary Lambert Headteacher Redland Primary School Brook Street Chippenham Wiltshire SN14 0JE

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 27 September 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in July 2012.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

You lead the school with a keen moral purpose and utilise the different skills of other leaders to best effect. Your view is that leadership should be collaborative and supportive. As a result, you delegate effectively key areas of the school’s work so that it continues to improve. You also believe that the headteacher should lead by example. In so doing, you carry out your work with vigour, enthusiasm and integrity. You have high expectations of yourself and expect the best from everyone around you. Other staff embody these same qualities because of your style of leadership. You value the contribution they make. Staff are encouraged to feel that they have a part to play in moving the school forward.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

You are also open and candid about what needs to improve because you know your school well. Despite the school having many strengths, you are not complacent. This was your attitude at the time of the last inspection when you acted swiftly and diligently to address the areas for improvement that emerged. Consequently, pupils in Years 3 and 4 now make more progress in mathematics. This is because of the greater emphasis placed on mastery and the development of mental calculation skills. Leaders have considered how best to deploy teachers and teaching assistants, which has resulted in the creation of ‘learning groups’. These classes have enabled pupils, particularly the most able and the most able disadvantaged, to make more rapid progress. However, you rightly acknowledge that more opportunities need to be provided for pupils to develop their mathematical reasoning and to show evidence of this in their work.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

Leadership in the school has created a culture in which pupils achieve highly, enjoy their learning and become well-rounded individuals prepared for life beyond primary school. Pupils’ enjoyment of school is supported by attendance records, which show that attendance is above average for pupils of different groups and backgrounds. Pupils say that they enjoy school because they feel well supported by staff and because teachers ‘make lessons as fun as they can be, so we enjoy them more’. They also appreciate the wide range of extra-curricular clubs on offer before, during and after school. These include breakfast club, sewing, gardening, just dance and thinking skills, to name a selection, in addition to the range of sports clubs on offer.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

The attainment and progress of pupils who leave school at the end of Year 6 have been consistently above average in all subjects over time. This is true for different groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. This is because the quality of teaching continues to improve. Subject leaders have become more adept at monitoring the quality of teaching since the last inspection. They use, with greater frequency, activities such as lesson observation and scrutiny of pupils’ work to inform their understanding. Consequently, subject leaders are better able to support and refine the practice of their colleagues. They feel greater ownership of the subjects for which they are responsible.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

In addition, the monitoring of assessment and pupils’ progress is robust and precise. This means that leaders and teachers have an accurate understanding of the progress being made by groups of pupils and individuals across their different subjects. This information, alongside other relevant pastoral information and the views of staff, is used to inform meetings about pupils’ progress. As a result, staff can tailor support and intervention to the needs of pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This work contributes to the successful achievement of disadvantaged pupils, who make similar progress to their peers in reading and mathematics. However, leaders acknowledge that these pupils need to make greater progress in writing to catch up with their peers.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

Leaders and governors have cultivated a culture and environment in which pupils are kept safe and feel safe. Staff are trained to spot signs of abuse and go about their work with a caring vigilance. As one pupil put it, ‘we have adults around us who will help us and make us feel safe’. There is a high degree of staff supervision around the school at breaktimes and pupils feel comfortable in approaching staff if they have worries. A trained counsellor is on hand to speak to pupils if they have more serious concerns during ‘time to talk’ sessions. Pupils are supportive of each other and their considerate, well-ordered behaviour reinforces leaders’ assertions that pupils know how to manage risk, behave sensibly and look after themselves. The lead inspector observed one child in the early years patting the shoulder of another child and showing concern when he looked upset because he could not do something.

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Short inspection of Redland Primary School

The school site is secure so that physical risks to pupils are minimised. One pupil who spoke to the lead inspector said, ‘we feel protected but not caged’. All the necessary checks are in place to ensure that staff are suitable to work with pupils. Staff receive appropriate training to identify different kinds of abuse and to follow the correct referral procedures. Detailed records are kept and consulted to ensure that pupils at risk, including those who have child protection plans, are kept safe. Leaders work effectively with other agencies to achieve this aim.

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Inspection findings

 Governors have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They are able to articulate clearly how leaders have addressed areas for development from the last inspection and discuss the current priorities that feature in the school development plan.  Governors work closely with school leaders so that they are familiar with the school’s context and know the questions they want to ask. They visit the school frequently to discuss priorities with subject leaders, observe teaching and learning, and receive regular reports from leaders at committee meetings. Consequently, governors are in a good position to know the issues they need to ask questions about. They offer a well- balanced level of challenge and support to school leaders.  Over time, school leaders have developed a productive working relationship with the school improvement adviser. He knows the school well and has assisted leaders in focusing their attention on key issues,

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Inspection findings

such as the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and they teach with confidence and enthusiasm. Activities are well planned and resourced, so that work is matched to the abilities of pupils. For example, teaching assistants work closely with pupils who speak English as an additional language. During French lessons, pupils with limited English may work on a one-to-one basis with teaching assistants to improve their English. This enables them to make rapid progress and catch up with their peers.  As a result of the good-quality teaching they receive, pupils exhibit positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy their learning and are keen to participate in class discussion and other classroom activities. In an observed higher-ability English lesson, the most able Year 4 and 5 pupils were fully focused on the topic of relative pronouns. This is because the teacher skilfully allied a demanding concept with an activity that hooked

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Inspection findings

the interest of pupils.  The standard of pupils’ writing is high throughout the school. Work is well presented because pupils take pride in it. Achievement has been consistently above average for most pupils when they leave at the end of Year 6. This is because leaders recognise the ongoing need to prioritise this work. As a result, further opportunities have been provided for pupils to practise writing at length in different forms and for different purposes. Work in pupils’ books shows that these pieces of extended writing are interspersed with exercises that develop technical skills, such as punctuation and spelling.  Leaders have developed monitoring systems that better track the progress of different groups of pupils in writing. These are being used to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make more progress so that they achieve similarly to their peers. This monitoring complements other measures designed to boost the progress of disadvantaged pupils. These

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Inspection findings

include ensuring that pupils are placed in classes where their needs are best met, that they receive tailored teaching assistant support and that their books are given priority when marked.  Children make good progress during their time in the early years foundation stage. Many children are not ready to start school when they join from the Nursery but the quality of teaching and support they receive means they move on quickly. As a result, the number of children achieving a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year is continuing to rise over time. Furthermore, children’s achievement in the phonics test in Year 1 is consistently above average. You acknowledge that adults need to be more effectively deployed on occasions to ensure that all children make the progress of which they are capable.  You and other leaders have cultivated a strong relationship with parents and the local community over time. Consequently, you are trusted and

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Inspection findings

respected by the wider community. This is confirmed by the Parent View survey. The vast majority of parents who responded to the survey stated that the school is well led and managed, and they would recommend the school. All respondents stated that their children are happy, safe and well-looked-after.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 further action is taken to enable disadvantaged pupils to make similar progress in writing to their peers  further opportunities are provided for pupils to develop their mathematical reasoning and to show evidence of this in their work.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wiltshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I spoke to you, pupils, representatives of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.

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Information about the inspection

You and I made visits to lessons to observe pupils’ attitudes to learning and, along with other senior leaders, we also scrutinised work in pupils’ books. In addition, I listened to pupils read.

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Information about the inspection

A range of documentary evidence was considered, which included the school’s self- evaluation, the school improvement plan, attendance and pupil progress information, and records concerning child protection.

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Information about the inspection

On inspection, we tested various lines of enquiry. We considered the effectiveness of leaders’ actions to improve children’s achievement in the early years, as well as writing across the school, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. We also focused upon how well leaders had addressed the areas for improvement from the last inspection. Finally, we considered the effectiveness of safeguarding and actions to reduce absence for pupils.

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