Tatsfield Primary School

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

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Mr Kevin Bellinger Headteacher Tatsfield Primary School 3 Ship Hill Tatsfield Kent TN16 2AH

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Short inspection of Tatsfield Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 2 February 2017, 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 March 2012.

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Short inspection of Tatsfield Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You lead the school well and aspire for Tatsfield to become outstanding. Discussions with parents at the start of the day revealed their faith in your leadership and their gratitude for the dedicated work of the wider staff, including non-teaching support staff. My formal talk to a group of pupils confirmed their deep pride in the school. Their understanding of the school’s six key values of respect, kindness, community, challenge, resilience and enjoyment was impressive. Their detailed explanations of what each value meant to them personally, even more so.

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Short inspection of Tatsfield Primary School

My classroom visits confirmed that pupils enjoy learning. They respond well to teachers’ questions, relishing extra challenge, and are confident to share their own opinions when asked. Year 6 pupils were keen to explain their initial thoughts about the murder of Duncan, as part of their study of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. During an art lesson, pupils in Year 2 talked happily to me about their knowledge of dinosaurs, using straws to replicate fossilised bones, questioning each other about how bones might be joined together after millions of years in the ground. I was also privileged to witness a moment of ‘magic’ in a mathematics lesson when a pupil suddenly ‘got it’. Better still was that the teacher exploited the opportunity this created to take the learning forward for other members of the class.

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Short inspection of Tatsfield Primary School

At the time of the last inspection, inspectors highlighted the many strengths of the school, including pupils’ good attitudes to learning and teaching that inspired and motivated pupils. They also identified the need for leaders to raise achievement in writing, and for pupil progress information to be presented more efficiently. Leaders have dealt with these matters successfully. Systems to track pupil progress are sound. The school’s latest provisional key stage 2 national test and assessment results show that pupils, including those from vulnerable groups, are making at least good progress in writing compared to other schools nationally. My visits to classrooms also confirmed this to be the case.

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Short inspection of Tatsfield Primary School

Since the last inspection, school leaders have continued the important process of self-evaluation in order to identify the key priorities to improve the school. You were able to explain clearly the school’s many strengths, as well as the areas that need to be developed. These include your current priority of developing the outside learning environment. You also agreed with me that while boys make very good progress in key stage 2, more could be done to accelerate their progress in the Reception Year and in key stage 1. This is particularly the case for boys who start school with language skills lower than might be expected for their age, who need to make more accelerated progress in order to catch up with their peers.

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Short inspection of Tatsfield Primary School

Arrangements to safeguard children are fit for purpose. Policies, procedures and systems are robust and day-to-day routines are sound. Pre-employment checks to ensure the suitability of staff are fully in place. Staff and governors have attended appropriate training. The school site is well maintained. Procedures at the start and finish of the school day are sensible and help reduce the risk to children posed by vehicles.

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Short inspection of Tatsfield Primary School

The school’s culture to protect children and ensure their safety is well developed. Staff, including non-teaching support staff, were able to explain fully why they feel children are safe at school. All parents who spoke to me during the inspection feel their children are safe at school. Pupils told me they feel the school is a safe place to be. They are knowledgeable about the potential dangers of using the internet and social media. They feel safe from bullying and told me that ‘real bullying’ happens very rarely, if at all.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds do well. Leaders track their progress effectively and ensure that extra support is put in place when required. This includes pastoral support, as well as initiatives that promote their well-being. Attendance rates of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds compare very favourably with other pupils nationally. Outcomes at the end of Year 6 are very good. The school’s latest provisional test and assessment results show that disadvantaged pupils make strong progress and that their achievements compare well with other pupils nationally by the end of key stage 2.  During the inspection, I found the school’s phonics provision to be sound, despite the latest provisional results of Year 1 phonics screening showing the school to attain slightly lower than other schools nationally. However, by the end of Year 2, most pupils catch up and reach the expected standard.  Despite variability in attainment at higher levels between different cohorts over

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Inspection findings

time, currently, most-able pupils are achieving well. Progress scores in the latest provisional key stage 2 national test and assessment results compare favourably to most other schools nationally, and significantly so in reading and mathematics. Classroom visits, including scrutiny of pupils’ work, showed that most-able pupils are being challenged well and make good progress. This includes subjects other than English and mathematics. The school’s provision for the arts is particularly strong.  Currently, outcomes for boys are not as good as those for girls in the early years and by the end of key stage 1. This is particularly the case for boys who start school with communication and language skills that are less well developed than might be expected. School leaders should make this a particular focus for improvement.

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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

 boys, in particular those with low attainment on entry, make more accelerated progress, so that their outcomes more closely match those of girls by the end of key stage 1  the school’s extensive grounds are further developed to exploit fully their potential as a rich learning environment.

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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 Surrey. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, you accompanied me on visits to every class and year group. I assessed pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning in classrooms and around the school. I held separate meetings with you, the chair of governors accompanied by two other governors, and a group of pupils. I talked to a representative of the local authority on the telephone. I met parents at the start of the school day and took into account 80 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and accompanying free-text responses. I also considered staff and pupil questionnaires. I scrutinised a wide range of documentation, including pupil progress information, the school’s self-evaluation and development planning, policies, minutes of governing body meetings and records of visits by the local authority.

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