Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

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

p.1

Mrs S Livesey Headteacher Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School The Gravel Mere Brow Tarleton Preston Lancashire PR4 6JX

p.1

Short inspection of Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 13 December 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 December 2013.

p.1

Short inspection of Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You continue to meet the individual needs of pupils very well. Many responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents outline how you have helped pupils to overcome barriers to their learning. This helps pupils to settle into your school and to achieve well. You have a clear understanding of what you are doing well and what could be better. Governors share this understanding. This shared view has allowed you to write an improvement plan which is focused on your key priorities. Governors and staff share your ambition that all pupils will succeed and enjoy their time at your school. This is captured well in your motto, ‘Let your light shine.’

p.1

Short inspection of Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

A key strength of your school is its welcoming and inclusive ethos. Pupils enjoy coming to school, rarely miss a day and show exemplary behaviour. Parents hold the school in high regard. Every parent who expressed a view would recommend the school to others. Staff know pupils very well. They use this knowledge to provide effective support for pupils and their families. You have refined your system for checking on the progress pupils make. This allows staff to know what pupils are doing well and where they have gaps in their learning. Regular teaching sessions provide time for your teachers to address any misconceptions that pupils have. This enables pupils to make good progress from their starting points. At your previous inspection, the inspector reported a lack of consistency in teachers’ feedback to pupils. You have revised your approach and all teachers follow this. We considered the impact of teachers’ feedback on pupils’ learning and agreed that this

p.1

Short inspection of Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

is positive. The previous inspector also noted that reading was not promoted widely enough in the school. This is certainly not the case now. Pupils often use the school library. Pupils have regular opportunities to read for pleasure each week. You also reward those who read regularly at home.

p.2

Short inspection of Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

We discussed a few areas where further work is needed. In mathematics, you are aware that pupils do not have enough opportunities to solve problems and to develop their reasoning skills. We also agreed that the most able pupils could be challenged more in lessons. Finally, we agreed that pupils could have more opportunities to write at length to further develop their stamina in writing.

p.2

Short inspection of Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

Leaders have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records are detailed and show that leaders are quick to follow up on any concerns. There is a culture of safety around the school. This is strengthened by the caring relationships between staff and pupils. Staff are aware of their responsibilities in protecting pupils from harm. Leaders ensure that staff and governors are kept up to date with training on the latest government legislation. The safeguarding governor meets regularly with the headteacher to discuss safeguarding issues and to ensure that policies are up to date.

p.2

Short inspection of Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School

Leaders ensure that staff complete all of the required checks before adults are allowed to work with pupils. A governor monitors the record of checks on staff on a termly basis. Pupils say that they feel safe and are kept safe in the school. This view is shared by every parent I spoke to and those who responded to Parent View.

p.2

Inspection findings

 You have effective systems to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. You monitor the attendance of all pupils very closely, particularly those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. You reward pupils for regular attendance and also hold parents to account where a pupil’s attendance falls short of your high expectations. As a result of your effective work in this important area, pupils’ attendance was above the national average in 2016 and no pupils’ progress suffered as a result of persistent absence.  Pupils make good progress in writing from their starting points. This is clear in your own assessment information and the progress we observed in pupils’ books in all classes. We observed progress over time in relation to pupils’ understanding and use of punctuation, more adventurous vocabulary and in their organisation of writing. There is a consistent approach to the teaching of the

p.2

Inspection findings

subject which follows a logical build up to pupils completing an extended piece of writing. Our sampling of work in pupils’ books other than English shows that pupils have regular opportunities to write across the curriculum. We did agree, however, that pupils would benefit from having more opportunities to write at length to build up their writing stamina.  We discussed whether pupils make at least good progress in reading. This is because the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in reading at the end of key stage 2 was below the national average in 2017. Accelerating pupils’ progress in reading is one of your key improvement priorities this year. We therefore observed the teaching of reading. We saw how teachers focus on teaching the key reading skills, such as developing pupils’ comprehension. Teachers analyse pupils’ reading assessments to identify the key reading skills which need strengthening and plan daily lessons that focus on pupils’

p.2

Inspection findings

development of these key skills. This helps them to make good progress in reading over time. Your assessment information shows that in most classes, pupils’ progress in reading is good. This confirms the good progress we observed in the reading lessons we visited.  Pupils make good progress across the curriculum in key stage 2. Our observation of learning in lessons, work in pupils’ books and your assessment information confirm this to be the case. Teaching is characterised by very positive relationships between staff and pupils. Teachers use effective questioning to discover what pupils know and then to move their learning forwards. The standard of work in pupils’ books in a wide range of subjects confirms that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in key stage 2 is good overall. We did, however, discuss two steps for further improvement. Tasks provided for your most-able pupils do not always challenge them enough. In addition, your

p.3

Inspection findings

plan to give pupils more opportunities to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills in mathematics is at an early stage of development.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.3

Next steps for the school

 pupils have more opportunities to write at length to develop their writing stamina  tasks provided for the most able pupils present consistent challenge to allow them to make stronger progress  pupils have more opportunities to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills in mathematics. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Blackburn, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Lancashire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3

Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and five members of the governing body, including the vice-chair of the governing body. I met with a school adviser from the local authority. I had a discussion with the English subject leader, who is also the Year 5/6 teacher. I spoke with four parents and considered the responses from 20 parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I visited all classrooms with you to observe and speak with pupils about their learning. We also scrutinised pupils’ books from a range of subjects in the classes visited.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I considered a wide range of documentation and information relating to your self- evaluation, school improvement planning, attendance, governance, assessment and safeguarding.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I completed a review of the school’s website.

p.4