Tredworth Infant School

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

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Mrs Roberta Camble Headteacher Tredworth Infant School Victory Road Tredworth Gloucester Gloucestershire GL1 4QF

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Short inspection of Tredworth Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 2 March 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 your predecessor school was judged to be good in March 2012.

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Short inspection of Tredworth Infant School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection and demonstrates a strong commitment and determination to see pupils thrive. You build the school around core values to promote mutual respect and care. One pupil, whose view was typical, told me, ‘This is the best school in the whole wide world!’ As well as being focused on pupils’ well-being, you instil high expectations of the pupils academically. Following disappointing results in 2016 key stage 1 tests, you immediately set about finding out what went wrong and are taking effective action to ensure this will not be repeated.

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Short inspection of Tredworth Infant School

Most children start in the early years, usually in the Reception Year, with a high proportion of children who enter school well below the level of development expected for their age. This can create an initial barrier for these children, especially in their ability to interact and communicate, as well as in essential reading, writing and number skills. However, you and other leaders are skilled at recognising this and are ensuring that the majority of children are well supported to start catching up. You have also modified approaches to the teaching of reading and writing in key stage 1 and delivered extensive training so that teachers now fully understand the expectations and standards of the new national curriculum. As a result, teachers have high expectations of the pupils which are reflected in the progress they are making.

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Short inspection of Tredworth Infant School

Since the last inspection, the school converted to become an academy in April 2014. Governors have also extended the early years unit to include provision for two-year- olds. This means that you are now working with a few children and their parents from the earliest opportunity to give them a good start. You have also taken effective action to improve the quality of teaching elsewhere in the school so that, over time, pupils typically leave at least in line (or above) their counterparts in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Subsequent actions are being effective in responding to the ‘dip’ in outcomes seen in the 2016 national tests.

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Short inspection of Tredworth Infant School

Despite ongoing improvements to pupils’ attendance, this remains a priority from the previous inspection. Furthermore, it is essential to continue developing the work that has been started with teachers to raise standards at the end of key stage 1 to ensure that this gets back to being a position of strength, in particular by improving pupils’ reading comprehension skills and their handwriting skills.

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Short inspection of Tredworth Infant School

You and other leaders are proactive and relentless in your approach to keeping children safe. You have effective processes that ensure all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are of a high quality. However, the real strengths are in those ways that staff show vigilance and awareness to protect children. There are clear examples where staff have registered concerns that have been immediately followed-up by the designated safeguarding leader or pastoral worker. Consequently, these have led to rapid and appropriate referrals to social services and the police for investigation.

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Short inspection of Tredworth Infant School

You and the school’s pastoral worker have established a wide network of support for children and their families. You work closely with a variety of external colleagues to keep children safe and well supported. This includes providing invaluable support for children where there are domestic issues, for example in relation to housing, domestic abuse or any who have parents in prison. In addition, you provide effective support to ensure that children looked after by the local authority are able to settle quickly. Governors also show a strong commitment to safeguarding and check this as part of the school’s ongoing work. A local authority audit and governors’ visits show that safeguarding is a priority and that effective actions are taken in continually reviewing and updating systems and training to keep children safe.

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Inspection findings

 My first line of enquiry focused on how effectively you and other leaders are tackling issues raised through the low outcomes seen in the previous key stage 1 national tests. I looked, in particular, at the urgency to improve teaching and ensure that pupils are making rapid progress from their previous starting points. I undertook a range of ‘sampling’ activities with you which involved analysing work in pupils’ books, working directly with pupils, observing them and checking teachers’ notes and assessment records. This showed that pupils are being accurately targeted. Teaching is flexibly arranged and adjusted to meet pupils’ needs, and additional daily interventions have been introduced which respond almost instantly to any misconceptions held by the pupils. As a result, pupils who need to are catching up quickly and others who were previously on track are progressing strongly towards national expectations. This includes disadvantaged

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Inspection findings

pupils and those who can reach the higher standards. You have ensured that teachers are trained and fully understand the expectations of the revised national curriculum. Consequently, staff have a better understanding of what pupils should be able to do and know by the time they leave the school. This is effectively raising aspirations and expectations of pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. However, you are fully aware that this needs to be embedded further, especially in securing higher quality writing by improving pupils’ handwriting and in ensuring that pupils can improve their reading comprehension skills.  My second line of enquiry focused on the quality and effectiveness of teaching in the early years. This is because in consecutive years, the outcomes for children leaving the Reception Year are below the national average. In particular, you agreed that we should look at the progress of disadvantaged boys and their

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Inspection findings

preparedness for key stage 1. Children often enter the Reception Year well below the level of development expected for their age. However, teachers use assessment information well to quickly identify those who are behind and take effective action to help them start to catch up. Teaching is structured so that the children can work and learn in ways that closely match their needs. Teachers use assessment effectively to organise the environment, resources and activities to precisely meet the children’s needs. As a result, children are making rapid progress, including disadvantaged boys, to catch up. For example, during the inspection, I conducted extensive inspection activities which showed that boys who started school without any prior knowledge of letters and sounds could now make a firm attempt at writing their own names, knew initial letter sounds (and how to represent these) and could also link some letters together to start word

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Inspection findings

building. In other areas, they could add numbers and count reliably up to 20. However, despite the good progress of the children, the school is not likely to meet the national average for a ‘good level of development’ in 2017. This is due to the significant difference on entry. You are right, therefore, that continuing to work in diminishing this difference is a key priority for the school.  My third key line of enquiry concentrated on the impact of leadership on improving pupils’ attendance, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. You and other leaders, including the governing body, recognise the significance of attendance in keeping children safe and giving them the very best opportunity to achieve well in school. You have introduced a series of positive rewards and privileges for high attendance, including for individuals and by class. You have also been

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Inspection findings

conscientious and diligent in tackling this directly with parents, including issuing warning letters and taking formal action when necessary. Overall, these actions are having a positive impact and are improving absence figures for all pupils, including: girls, boys, disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. In addition, the number of pupils who are persistently absent has declined by about a quarter. However, the overall absence figure is still high, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and you are right to ensure that this area remains a high priority for the school.  The final line of enquiry focused on how well the school promotes a culture for safeguarding the children, which is accounted for previously in this letter.

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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

 pupils’ handwriting and reading comprehension skills continue to improve by the end of key stage 1  disadvantaged boys meet national expectations by the end of the Reception Year, especially in writing  attendance continues to improve, especially for disadvantaged pupils.

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

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Information about the inspection

I met with you to agree the timetable and inspection activities for the day. I also worked extensively with you, the deputy and key stage 1 phase leader across the whole day. I met with the deputy/early years foundation stage leader to evaluate the impact of strategies to improve outcomes in the early years foundation stage. I scrutinised safeguarding records and discussed a wide range of matters related to safeguarding, including staff recruitment and vetting procedures and recent safeguarding audits. Together, we completed extensive ‘sampling’ in the early years foundation stage and for Year 2 in writing and mathematics. This involved scrutinising a wide range of books and talking at length with different pupils, as well as checking the accuracy of the school’s assessment information. I also met with two representatives of the governing body and reviewed school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation summary, samples of governors’ visits and

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Information about the inspection

minutes and a headteacher’s report to the governing body. I also heard Year 2 pupils read. As part of the inspection, I also considered the responses made by parents to Parent View, including 10 responses online and a further three received via text. There were also 33 responses to the staff survey which were considered as part of the inspection.

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