Queen Margaret Primary School

Queen Margaret Primary School and Children’s Centre York Road, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 5HU

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Standards in English and mathematics have been below national figures for the past two years. Recent initiatives to improve teaching have not had sufficient time to ensure that pupils make consistently good progress.  The previous system for assessing pupils’ achievement was too generous. Until this past year, leaders did not have an accurate view of how well pupils are doing.  When monitoring teaching, senior and subject leaders do not take enough account of the impact teaching has on pupils’ progress. This restricts leaders’ ability to identify and resolve any weaknesses in teaching.  Teachers do not use assessment information consistently well to ensure that pupils move on in their learning. The most able pupils are not consistently challenged enough in their work and could achieve more, especially in mathematics.  Teachers do not develop pupils’ comprehension skills systematically so that they are able to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

read and understand challenging texts and achieve high standards.  Pupils do not demonstrate routinely good skills in sentence construction and grammar. Their written work is let down by errors in common spellings. The school has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Effective leadership and teaching in the early years enable children to achieve well.  Governors support leaders and challenge them to make improvements. Leaders ensure that the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is helping to improve their progress.  Support for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is well led and managed, resulting in good progress for these pupils.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is effective. Parents and carers are very positive about the school and would recommend it.  Pupils behave well. They are friendly, polite and well mannered.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that all leaders: – judge the school’s performance rigorously and accurately – evaluate precisely the impact of teaching on pupils’ achievement, to identify and resolve any weaknesses promptly.  Improve teaching so that all groups of pupils make consistently good progress by ensuring that teachers: – use assessment information astutely to inform teaching which challenges all pupils, especially the most able in mathematics – teach comprehension skills systematically to develop pupils’ greater understanding of challenging texts – embed the basic skills of sentence construction, grammar and spelling thoroughly, so that pupils become accomplished writers.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders have not secured effective enough teaching to ensure that all groups of pupils make consistently good progress.  Since the previous inspection, there have been considerable changes in staffing, and a decline in standards of pupils’ achievement. Following the appointment of the current headteacher and the establishment of a new leadership team, the pace of improvement has increased.  Previously, the assessment of pupils’ achievement was too generous and did not give leaders an accurate view of the school’s performance. The revised assessment system enables leaders to identify exactly where learning needs to improve and helps them judge the impact of their work more accurately.  When checking the quality of teaching, senior and subject leaders do not measure its impact precisely in terms of pupils’ achievement. Consequently, their feedback to teachers after reviewing pupils’ work does not identify sharply enough where teaching

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

needs to improve.  The headteacher has the complete confidence of staff. All are committed to making the necessary improvements to increase their effectiveness, as verified by the highly positive responses to the staff questionnaire.  New teaching approaches to meet the higher demands of the national curriculum are improving progress rates. Leaders provide staff with a wide range of training opportunities to help develop their practice and speed up the pace of improvement.  The leadership of special education needs is effective and the leader uses additional funding to provide carefully targeted teaching. This has led to better rates of progress for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.  Leaders demonstrate a clear commitment to promoting equality and overcoming any discrimination. They support disadvantaged pupils, who comprise almost half of the school’s roll, well both academically and in their personal development. The

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

appointment of the ‘nurture practitioner’ has been a positive step in helping these pupils to be fully included in all aspects of school life.  The curriculum is designed to stimulate pupils’ interests and increasingly motivates them to try hard and to be successful in their work. This, together with educational visits, after-school clubs and enrichment activities such as ‘mini marines’, has a positive impact on broadening pupils’ horizons and developing their personal skills.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and personal skills strongly. Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of the school’s values, which reflect fundamental British values. For example, in assembly, pupils lead the school in prayers showing empathy and kindness in their thoughts. This prepares them well to be responsible citizens of the future.  Leaders use the sport premium to good effect. Pupils’ participation rates are high

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

across a variety of competitions and sports clubs, such as street dance and ‘free running’. Staff work alongside the specialist teacher to increase their skills in order to sustain these developments.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work. They appreciate the approachability of the headteacher and her staff. They have responded positively to the increased opportunities to become involved in their children’s learning.  Support from the local authority advisers and external consultants has helped leaders to introduce strategies to improve teaching and secure accuracy of assessment.

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Governance of the school

 Governors are well organised in their work. They have undertaken relevant training provided by the local authority to help them evaluate how well pupils are achieving compared with national figures. They ask senior leaders challenging questions about why achievement is not better and hold them to account well for the quality of teaching. However, previously, governors did not have an accurate view of pupils’ progress because the assessment information leaders presented to them was over generous. This has now been rectified. Governors keep themselves well informed about all aspects of the school’s work with frequent monitoring visits and discussions with subject leaders.  Governors manage the school’s finances well. They know how the school uses additional funds to support disadvantaged pupils and develop physical education and sport in school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders, including governors, place a high priority on pupils’ safety and well-being. They manage safeguarding procedures well and review them regularly. Recruitment and vetting procedures for appointing staff are thorough and follow statutory guidance. Leaders make regular checks to ensure that staff understand and follow policies and procedures. They are diligent in making sure that staff training is up to date, including about recognising the dangers of extremism and radicalisation. This work ensures that staff are confident in reporting any concerns about pupils. Risk assessments are comprehensive and updated annually.  Leaders know the families of pupils who attend the school extremely well. They are vigilant about pupils’ welfare, especially those whose circumstances make them vulnerable. They have built up effective professional relationships with other agencies

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Safeguarding

to ensure that families get the support they need. They make good use of specialist help and advice, for example in reducing any unnecessary absence from school. Parents recognise the lengths to which the headteacher and staff go to make this a welcoming and inclusive school where their children are safe and happy.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teachers do not use assessment information well enough when planning learning for all groups of pupils. They make regular assessments of pupils’ achievements and discuss with leaders how progress can improve. However, they do not always use this knowledge sufficiently well to ensure that all pupils’ learning moves on quickly in lessons.  Although newly introduced approaches have improved teaching this year, teachers do not use these new strategies to challenge pupils effectively. On occasions, in mathematics, the most able pupils do not reach the challenging tasks quickly enough. For example, pupils who had already demonstrated they understood how to construct a pictogram were stopped from working on the next challenge and made to draw another similar chart. Such actions limit pupils’ progress as they do not extend their understanding further.  Teachers help pupils develop ideas of what to write about and how to add interest to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

their work with imaginative vocabulary choices. However, they do not teach the basic writing skills of sentence construction, grammar and spelling systematically enough throughout the school. This prevents pupils from becoming accomplished writers.  Reading is promoted well. A renewed emphasis on phonics teaching ensures that pupils build up confidence and fluency in reading. Special events help parents to understand how reading is taught and to practise reading purposefully at home. These approaches have been successful in supporting disadvantaged pupils with progress in reading. However, teachers do not teach comprehension skills systematically enough across the school to develop pupils’ understanding at a deeper level.  Teachers and teaching assistants work together effectively to enable pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to be successful in their learning. The ‘scoop’ sessions provide valuable support for any pupils in need of extra teaching or additional practice,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

enabling them to catch up quickly.  Disadvantaged pupils benefit from carefully tailored support that ensures that their emotional needs and, increasingly, their academic needs are met.  Teachers enjoy working at this school. They are keen to improve their practice and readily engage in training activities. Recent training in teaching calculation in mathematics is having a clear impact on pupils’ number skills.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Leaders have introduced a consistent approach to promoting the school’s core values. These help pupils to become positive learners and considerate members of the school community. Older pupils carry out their roles, such as those of prefects, very responsibly.  Pupils confirm that they feel safe in school. Parents who completed the online questionnaire, wrote comments or spoke to the inspectors agree that their children are well looked after.  Pupils are clear about what constitutes bullying and the forms this can take, such as online bullying. They report that there is very little bullying and it is always dealt with well.  Online safety has a high priority and staff teach pupils how to keep themselves safe when on the computer. They know not to give out personal information and to report any online bullying should it occur.

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Personal development and welfare

 The relationships between staff and pupils are warm and effective. These contribute greatly to pupils’ enjoyment of school. They say there is always someone to help with any problems or if ‘you’re stuck with your work’. Staff are trained well and are effective in helping pupils talk through and resolve any friendship problems.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Typically, they are welcoming, courteous and keen to talk about their learning to visitors.  In classrooms, pupils settle to work quickly, concentrate hard and persevere with their tasks. They are increasingly productive in lessons. These positive attitudes contribute to the faster progress being made this year.  Pupils are cooperative with staff and conduct themselves well in and around school. They are clear about systems for acknowledging good behaviour, such as house points and ‘values vouchers’. School records show that the very few incidents of poor behaviour are managed well.  Occasionally, a few pupils are inattentive in lessons when teaching is less effective, which slows down their learning. Most pupils enjoy coming to school, which is reflected in their regular attendance and punctuality.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils do not consistently make the progress of which they are capable. Over the past two years, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard has been below the national figures at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2. This has not prepared them well for the next stage in their education.  Current standards of work show that more pupils are on track to achieve the expected standard for their age, particularly by the end of key stage 2. However, few achieve beyond this.  Some unevenness in achievement between year groups remains, and progress is not yet fast enough for the most able pupils. They are not always extended to the full in their work to make the progress of which they are capable.  Achievement in mathematics shows improvement this year, and pupils demonstrate competency in calculation skills. The ‘ready, steady, maths’ initiative helps to promote pupils’ rapid recall of number bonds and multiplication tables effectively. However, the

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

most able pupils are not always stretched in their thinking, because they spend too long on tasks that do not challenge them to the full.  Pupils use adventurous word choices when writing and produce work of increasing complexity. Nevertheless, they do not demonstrate consistently the necessary skills of grammar and sentence construction to become good writers. Too many common spelling errors let down their work.  Pupils are acquiring better skills in phonics than previously. A greater number of Year 1 pupils are on track to achieve the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check this year. This helps them to become fluent readers.  Older pupils read confidently and with obvious enjoyment. Staff encourage them to read from the new range of challenging books. However, their comprehension skills are not always developed well enough for them to understand harder texts. Nonetheless, a greater number of pupils than previously are on track to reach the expected standard

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

by the end of key stage 2 this year.  Staff provide pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities with well-targeted support that is matched carefully to their individual needs. Teachers check their progress closely and quickly make any necessary changes to enable them to make good progress from their starting points.  Disadvantaged pupils, including those who are most able, achieve as well as others in school with similar starting points. Extra help to improve attitudes to learning and build self-confidence is speeding up academic progress.

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Early years provision Good

 Children settle into the Reception class quickly and happily because their transition into school is managed well. Staff soon establish routines and expectations. Children quickly become self-assured and ready to learn, demonstrating good behaviour.  Parents are appreciative of the way staff ‘make a real effort’ to get to know their children as individuals and they value the daily contact with leaders. They are increasingly involved in supporting their children’s learning through workshops and regular ‘learning together’ sessions.  From starting points that are below those typically seen for their age, children make good progress. They catch up quickly, particularly in their personal skills and their speaking and listening skills. As they leave Reception, the number of children who have achieved a good level of development, meaning that they are well prepared for Year 1, is in line with national figures.

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Early years provision Good

 The early years leader has created a cohesive staff team. She ensures that staff are well trained, for example in developing language skills. She monitors their work closely, making the necessary improvements to maximise the impact of teaching on children’s achievement. Staff pay good attention to safeguarding and children’s welfare.  Teaching is effective, because staff design learning activities carefully to promote good progress for all groups of children. There is ready access to an attractive range of resources, both indoors and out. Children particularly love ‘welly Wednesday’ when they spend the day outdoors learning in the ‘forest school’.  Learning journeys track children’s progress closely across the year. Children who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children are supported well according to their needs.  Careful assessment of progress enables staff to adjust teaching to provide suitable

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Early years provision Good

challenge for the most able children. For example, during a mathematics activity, children worked successfully on number bonds to 10, and were then further challenged to work up to 20. This ensured that they were fully stretched in their thinking.  Phonics skills are taught routinely and provide the foundation for effective development of early reading and writing skills. Occasionally, a lack of focus in the activities that children chose for themselves hampers some from learning as well as they could.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address admin@queenmargaret.gloucs.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection January  February 2013

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. Pupils are organised in seven classes, all of which are single- age. The school operates a daily breakfast club.  The school met the government’s current floor standards in 2017. These set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is much higher than the national average.  The school no longer manages the Children’s Centre and this did not form part of the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning across the school. Most observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. In addition, they made visits to classrooms, the dining hall and the playground, as well as attending two assemblies.  Meetings were held with pupils, governors and school leaders. The lead inspector also spoke with an adviser from the local authority, who supports the school.  Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the school day and took account of the 15 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. They also took account of the 21 responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire and the 34 responses to the pupils’ questionnaire.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including the school’s improvement plans. They examined information on current pupils’ progress, minutes of the governing body meetings, safeguarding procedures and the

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Information about this inspection

plans for the use of the sport premium.  Inspectors listened to pupils read, talked with them in classrooms and evaluated samples of their work.

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Inspection team

Sandra Woodman, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Maddy Kent Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

Parent View You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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