Moons Moat First School

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

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Mrs Sara Fisher Headteacher Moons Moat First School Cleeve Close Church Hill Redditch Worcestershire B98 9HR

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

Following my visit to the school on 14 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 the school was judged to be good in February 2013.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Supported by very able senior leaders, you provide clear direction and have high aspirations for staff and pupils alike. The staff are committed to the school and are a thoughtful, reflective team. The school website states that the school aims to be a happy, caring well-disciplined community. The welcoming ethos and the care and support identified throughout the school bring this to life.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

At the previous inspection, you were tasked with improving pupils’ achievement in mathematics and providing opportunities for staff training to further improve mathematics teaching. You have tackled this with energy and determination. Improvement is clearly evident.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

Teachers and teaching assistants have learned from those with expertise in mathematics within the school, from effective practice across the learning partnership alliance and from national, accredited programmes. You have been diligent in checking that these actions are improving the day-to-day quality of teaching and learning in mathematics. Your attention to detail and deep knowledge of teaching and learning ensure that the quality of teaching continues to improve across the school.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

Pupils have many opportunities to master the mathematics that they are learning. Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils are increasingly challenged to use mathematical skills to solve ‘real-life’ problems in subjects such as science. Attractive displays of pupils’ work in classrooms and corridors are a further testimony to this. Pupils say that they enjoy mathematics because ‘it makes us think hard about the best ways to work out problems’. At the end of Year 2 in 2016, a higher-than-average proportion of pupils reached standards of greater depth in mathematics.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

However, you are not complacent. You have identified that some children who left Reception with standards below those expected did not go on to attain the expected standards by the end of Year 2. You have acted swiftly and effectively to continue to address this. The school’s improvement plans include priorities, actions and timescales to improve the performance of these pupils. You are meticulous in checking the effectiveness of improvement plans and will adapt them accordingly if they are not working well.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

Similarly, you have identified a need to improve pupils’ achievement in writing. Rigorous improvement plans and well-considered actions to address this are in place. The attractive displays around the school demonstrate pupils’ motivation and enthusiasm for writing. Work in pupils’ books shows improvements in the standard of handwriting and presentation. However, you are aware that teachers are not providing pupils with enough opportunities to practise their writing skills when composing their own pieces.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. The records show that adults in school are swift to respond to concerns.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

The governor with responsibility for safeguarding is well informed. She frequently meets with you and talks to pupils and staff to check that safeguarding practices are working effectively. Pupils talk with good understanding about how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. They are well aware of how to avoid risks. Through their own action, staff make sure that pupils understand the school’s values of care and respect for others.

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Short inspection of Moons Moat First School

Staff receive regular and appropriate training in safeguarding. All staff, including lunchtime supervisors, know what to do and who to go to if they have any concerns at all. ‘The child’s safety and well-being come first. Whatever else is happening, we all take responsibility for the child’s safety’ was a comment which was typical of the responses from staff when asked about safeguarding practices in school. Parents overwhelmingly agree that their children are well cared for and feel safe in school.

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Inspection findings

 At the end of Year 2 in 2016, a high proportion of those pupils who left Reception having achieved or exceeded the standards expected at the end of early years went on to attain standards of greater depth in their reading, writing and mathematics.  You recognised that pupils who were working below the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Reception did not reach the new expected standards by the end of Year 2 in 2016. You have refined the school’s assessment systems so that teachers and leaders can focus closely on those pupils who are behind in their learning. These pupils have individual learning plans. You have reorganised the way that you conduct pupils’ progress meetings to keep a close eye on how well these pupils are catching up. These actions have been effective.  Your records and work in pupils’ books show that an increasing number of pupils are on track to meet the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics

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Inspection findings

by the end of Year 2 in 2017.  Leaders provide frequent and precise feedback to teachers about how to improve the impact of their teaching. Staff respect and value the guidance and advice that they are given. They are clear about the new and raised expectations at the end of Year 2 and about how they are responsible and held to account for pupils’ achievement.  You have an accurate understanding of the school’s performance. You are meticulous in your analysis of the information gathered from monitoring activities and from external checks and tests. You use this information effectively to drive continual improvement.  You and other leaders ensure that governors are very well informed about the school’s performance. Your reports to governors are thorough and accurate, as are the reports from subject leaders. Governors are committed to the school. However, they rely too heavily on leaders for their understanding of information

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Inspection findings

about pupils’ performance. This limits the degree of challenge and support that governors are able to offer to leaders.  You have organised training for all staff to support the teaching of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Staff work with each other, and with colleagues in your partnership schools, to discuss and moderate their assessments of pupils’ writing. This continues to be a high priority for the school.  You and the subject leader for English recognise that pupils are not practising their writing skills often enough. They have too few opportunities to compose their own pieces of writing, to write at greater depth and to push themselves to write more lengthy pieces. The subject leader has drawn up good plans to counteract this and drive improvements in writing, but changes are too recent to evaluate.  Children in the early years are happy and confident in their learning. Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents contribute regularly to children’s ‘WOW’

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Inspection findings

certificates. This ensures that there is continuity of learning between early years and home. Children have good opportunities to play and learn outdoors and this contributes to their physical development and well-being. Teachers from Reception and Year 1 work closely together. This sets children up very well for the next steps in their learning.

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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 in all classes have more opportunities to write at greater depth so that they practise their skills in grammar and punctuation  governors receive effective training and support to improve their understanding of information about pupils’ achievement so that they can check that leaders’ actions are helping all groups of pupils to make better progress.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and the deputy headteacher. I held discussions with subject leaders for mathematics and English. I also met with the chair of the governing body and one other governor and with the school’s improvement partner. You joined me on brief visits to classes. We looked at examples of pupils’ work and we talked to pupils about their learning. I spoke informally with pupils at different points during the school day. I reviewed a range of documentation including the school’s own self-evaluation of its performance, the school development plan and documents relating to keeping pupils safe. We discussed the most recent information about pupils’ achievement. I took account of 12 responses by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, two letters from parents and the school’s own series of parent consultations, available on the school website. I considered six responses from members of staff to the online

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Information about the inspection

inspection questionnaire. I spoke to parents at the beginning and end of the school day. I also looked at information on the school’s website.

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