Thorplands Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 20–21 March 2012 Inspection number 380358 Thorplands Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 121932 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 380358 Inspection dates 20–21 March 2012 Lead inspector Michael Sheridan HMI

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 207 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Roberts Headteacher Angela Pratt Date of previous school inspection 24 June 2009 School address Farm Field Court Thorplands Northampton NN3 8AQ Telephone number 01604 493384 Fax number 01604 671606 Email address head@thorplands.northants-ecl.gov.uk

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Registered childcare provision EY331027 Thorplands Children's Centre Full Day Care Children’s Nursery Number of children on roll in the registered childcare provision Date of last inspection of registered childcare provision N/A 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not

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exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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

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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.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Michael Sheridan Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors spent most of their time observing teaching, learning and childcare. Twenty-four lessons were observed, taught by nine teachers and five teaching assistants, across all classes in the main school. Six further sessions were observed in the nursery provision. Inspectors met with teachers, school leaders, members of the governing body, pupils and representatives from the local authority. They gathered the views of a small number of parents and carers of children who attend the nursery. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at the school improvement planning, work in pupils’ books, behaviour management plans, the school’s tracking and monitoring information and reports from the local authority. Inspectors considered the questionnaire responses from staff, pupils and 127 parents and carers.

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Information about the school

This is a smaller than –average sized primary school. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is higher than average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much higher than that found nationally. The largest ethnic group within the school is White British. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above average. The proportion of pupils who move to and from this school other than at the normal transition times is much higher than the national average.

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Information about the school

The school shares a site with a children’s centre, which is subject to separate inspection. The children’s centre accommodates a nursery that is registered and managed by the school’s governing body. This nursery provision has been inspected as part of this inspection and separate judgements for the nursery are at the end of this report. The school has additional resources to support pupils with speech and language difficulties. These pupils are taught in classes alongside the other pupils. The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which sets minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment. The school has recently been awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark and the Intermediate International Award. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 In accordance with section 13(3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement.  The school is not satisfactory because teaching is not good enough to help pupils make the progress of which they are capable.  Pupils’ achievement is inadequate. Pupils make inadequate progress as they move through the school. This is the case for pupils of all abilities, including those with speech and language difficulties. Attainment is too low in English and mathematics and has been so since the previous inspection. Last year, the majority of pupils in Year 6 did not reach the expected levels in writing and mathematics. Pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge and poor basic

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Key findings

skills. These weaknesses are not being tackled rigorously enough.  The school is very focused on the care of pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable but sometimes this is at the expense of their academic development. Too often, teachers fail to plan for the full range of pupils’ abilities and the guidance that they give to pupils is not focused enough to help them to improve their work. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough. As a result, the quality of work in pupils’ books is often poor.  The school’s view of how well it is doing is inaccurate. Leadership is inadequate because leaders fail to effectively manage the performance of teachers and the support staff. As a consequence, too many lessons are inadequate and not enough teaching is good. Despite the overwhelming evidence of underachievement in the school, the school’s view of teaching is too positive.  Behaviour and safety are satisfactory. Pupils are very well cared for and, as a

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Key findings

result, almost all have respect for the adults who work with them. Pupils enjoy school because of the range of activities available to them through the wider curriculum. A small number of pupils display challenging behaviour. Where this is the case, the school has detailed plans for the management of their Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

behaviour, which ensure that other pupils remain safe and that any serious incidents are managed appropriately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that pupils’ attainment rises to be at least in line with the national average by ensuring that:  there is a culture of high expectations among all staff  all teaching is precisely focused on meeting the academic needs of all pupils  staff have the highest possible expectations of pupils’ work so that pupils know that only their best is good enough  marking and feedback given by all teachers, and other staff, are helpful to pupils in making rapid steps to improve their work  work to support pupils’ pastoral needs does not hinder their academic achievement  highly focused support is provided for pupils who are in danger of not reaching the expected level in reading by the end of Year 2.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the impact of leaders at all levels in driving school improvement by:  making sure that all leaders and governors have the highest expectations of what can be achieved and that they are aware of, and tackle, pupils’ underperformance  developing a process of accurate, and uncompromising, monitoring and evaluation that focus on the impact of teaching over time  taking swift action to improve the quality of teaching and the curriculum based on accurate information about the performance of different groups of pupils  monitoring the impact of interventions, and curriculum innovation, in terms of the difference they make to pupils’ achievement.

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Achievement of pupils

Achievement is inadequate. Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 is low and has been low since the last inspection. Last year, the majority of pupils in Year 6 did not reach nationally expected levels in writing and mathematics. Although attainment in reading is still below average, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level for their age in reading is closer to the national average than it is in writing. Pupils left the school in 2011 with attainment about a year behind the levels found nationally. Pupils are not making sufficient progress in lessons to make up for past underachievement. Too many pupils have significant gaps in their learning and not enough is being done to help these pupils catch up. Work is often poorly presented in pupils’ books. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those with speech and language difficulties, are making similarly inadequate progress because the work set and support given are not adapted to meet their needs. Too often, these pupils are given the same work as their peers even though this is inappropriate and leads to these pupils making limited progress. The quality of support for pupils varies considerably. Pupils who speak English as an additional language make inadequate progress because they receive the same inadequate teaching, so any gaps in their learning are not eradicated quickly enough. Too few opportunities are provided for all pupils to develop their literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum.

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Achievement of pupils

Despite these weaknesses, there are some improvements in pupils’ achievements, most notably in the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result of improved teaching and provision, pupils are now leaving the Reception class near to the expected levels for their age. The quality of some teaching and the curriculum has also improved in Key Stage 1, so that some pupils make better progress here than in the past. However, some of the support for those pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable is hindering their academic development. This is because, too often, these pupils are taught in groups where the quality of teaching is not sufficiently high to develop their basic skills and, as a result, they fall further behind.

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Achievement of pupils

While attainment in reading is stronger than in writing, some pupils who fall behind with reading do not get the high quality individual support they need to catch up quickly. Reading standards at Key Stage 1 are below average, with the majority of pupils entering Key Stage 2 around a year behind where they should be. Parents and carers are very positive about the progress that their children are making in this school but inspection evidence does not confirm this. Pupils perform well socially and enjoy school but the rate of progress made in the development of basic skills, such as reading, writing and mathematics, is significantly slower than in most schools nationally.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is inadequate. Not enough is being done to eradicate significant underachievement, particularly in Key Stage 2. There are several key issues that lead to teaching being inadequate. Teachers do not plan enough for the full range of pupils’ needs and abilities. Too often, work in books shows that all pupils have been given the same task without any adaptations that take into account their different starting points. As a result, some pupils find work too easy and others make too many mistakes because they do not understand what to do. Teachers’ marking and feedback tends to be focused on praising effort and rarely gives accurate advice or guidance that allows pupils to improve their work. On the occasions where pupils are given useful guidance, teachers do not ensure that they act on this. Teachers’ expectations of presentation, spelling and handwriting are not high enough. As a consequence, pupils’ books are often messy because pupils do not

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Quality of teaching

learn to take pride in their work. Support given to pupils whose circumstances make Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

them vulnerable is not focused well enough on supporting them to develop their literacy and numeracy skills.

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Quality of teaching

Relationships between staff and pupils are a significant strength in this school. Pupils enjoy their learning and, in the best lessons pupils are enthusiastic about their work. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted appropriately through a range of activities that allow pupils to learn about the world around them and the importance of positive relationships. In the few good lessons seen during inspection, pupils were motivated and worked hard to answer their teacher’s questions. In these lessons, teachers worked at a quick pace, which maintained the pupils’ interest, while pausing to ask searching questions of individuals and groups. A striking feature of the best lessons was the teacher’s ability to link questions to work done in previous lessons so that misconceptions could be identified and tackled. The curriculum is made interesting and provides a range of activities that pupils enjoy.

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Quality of teaching

However, opportunities are missed to develop literacy and numeracy skills throughout the curriculum.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those with speech and language difficulties, are often given additional support both in class and in small groups. The quality of work done in small groups varies considerably, with too much being ineffective. Some pupils are given extra care and support through a nurture group. This provision provides a safe and friendly base for these pupils. However, there is too little understanding of, and concern for, the pupils’ academic abilities when in this unit. As a result, some miss significant amounts of normal curriculum time with little alternative help given to help them catch up in English and mathematics.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire are generally very positive about their children’s experiences at this school. While inspectors found that teaching is inadequate, they recognise that the view of parents and carers are influenced by the enthusiasm that many of their children have for their teachers and school. Most pupils enjoy school despite the weaknesses in teaching.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is satisfactory. Most pupils are well behaved and respectful in classrooms and around the school. Most pupils are eager to please and want to do well, even in lessons where teachers expect them to sit and listen for long periods or to do work that does not match their ability or needs. Pupils enjoy school and say that they feel safe. They say that when bullying happens, teachers deal with it quickly and effectively. Parents and carers endorse this view, with most saying that their children feel safe in school. Racist incidents are dealt with quickly so that they are rarely repeated. The curriculum is effective at teaching pupils about respecting others and the differences between people. There is little bullying because pupils generally make positive choices about how they behave towards each other. Systems to maintain Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

safety are robust and safeguarding procedures meet requirements.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

While a small but significant number of pupils can display challenging behaviour, these pupils have robust individual plans that teachers and support staff use to manage any incidents effectively. As a result of the school’s successful intervention, exclusions have been significantly reduced over the past two years, although they remain higher than the national average.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

While rates of absenteeism remain above average, they have reduced this year, with a significant reduction in the number of pupils who are persistently absent. Family support workers engage effectively with families and pupils to ensure that all understand the importance of regular attendance.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are inadequate and leaders have failed to make necessary improvements since the last inspection. Their evaluation of the school’s effectiveness is overly optimistic because it focuses too much on the positive atmosphere rather than on the effectiveness of teaching and on how well pupils are doing compared to other schools. Pupils’ attainment has fallen since the last inspection because teaching is not of a sufficiently high quality. The schools’ own monitoring shows that teaching is usually good and often outstanding. However, the evidence from lessons and pupils’ books, and information about rates of progress and standards of attainment, show that this view is inaccurate. Similarly, the governing body’s view of the school’s performance is very positive, despite the fact that so many pupils underachieve. Consequently, it fails to effectively hold senior staff to account for pupil outcomes and staff performance. Leaders fail to promote

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Leadership and management

equality of opportunity as too many pupils perform less well than other pupils in similar groups nationally. Expectations of what pupils are capable of are not high enough so teachers and other staff do not strive to overcome the barriers to learning that the different groups face. The school’s own assessment of pupils’ current attainment is often inaccurate, with some pupils being recorded as performing significantly better than their work in books and assessment indicates. School leaders have not picked up on these inconsistencies.

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Leadership and management

There have been some positive developments, most notably through curriculum developments in Key Stage 1 and in the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, school leaders have not done enough to ensure that significant underachievement in Key Stage 2 is tackled. A significant number of pupils have additional needs, both pastorally and academically. However, the impact of the support arranged for these pupils varies considerably. The curriculum is inadequate because, although pupils enjoy a range of interesting activities, too many opportunities are missed to use these in developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. As a consequence of these weaknesses, the school’s capacity to improve is inadequate.

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Leadership and management

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is often promoted effectively Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

so pupils feel good about themselves, build positive relationships and learn about the wider world. However, a significant number of pupils do not develop resilience when doing work and this contributes to their underachievement. Systems for ensuring pupils are safe are robust and effective. Staff and governors have received appropriate training in safeguarding and arrangements to keep pupils safe meet requirements.

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childcare provision

Thorplands Children’s Centre Full Day Care Nursery meets all registration requirements. This is a well run provision. Children thrive in a caring environment where staff are committed to maintaining their safety. They are provided with a good range of activities that promote their personal development and a curiosity about the world. Outdoor spaces are impressive, with opportunities for different groups to play in, and explore, a variety of different environments. The youngest children are very well cared for by staff, who have an excellent understanding of their individual and age-related needs. As a result, these children make outstanding gains in their development. In older groups, children are very well supported, although sometimes the development of their independence is hindered because adults do not always encourage children to think for themselves when they are learning or playing. Nevertheless, children make good progress in their early development so that they

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childcare provision

The Nursery manager has a very clear vision for the nursery and monitors the quality of provision carefully, driving improvements effectively. Staff work exceptionally well together so that each child is known as an individual and has their unique needs met. All welfare requirements are met. Governors with responsibility for monitoring the provision are new to their posts. They have a satisfactory understanding of the provision’s aims and effectiveness. However, they have not developed a detailed understanding of the full range of welfare requirements for this setting and this limits the effectiveness of their monitoring.

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childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools incl ude secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Thorplands Primary School, Northampton, NN3 8AQ

Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to inspect your school recently. This letter is to let you know about the findings of our inspection.

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Inspection of Thorplands Primary School, Northampton, NN3 8AQ

We were pleased to see and hear that you enjoy school. You get on well with your teachers. It is important that school is a safe place to be and you told us that you feel safe. We found that, while the school looks after you very well, you do not do as well as you should in English and mathematics. These subjects are particularly important and you need to do well in these from the time you start school to when you leave Year 6 and go to secondary school. We have decided that your school is going to need some extra help in getting better at teaching you these subjects. We call this ‘special measures’ and another inspector will visit your school regularly until these things have improved.

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Inspection of Thorplands Primary School, Northampton, NN3 8AQ

We have told your school that teaching needs to improve and that you should be given more help to understand the things that you struggle with. We have also found that some of you find work too easy and have said that your teachers need to give you more challenging work. We would like you all to take more pride in your work. Many of your books are untidy and we want your teachers to insist on you doing your best. Your teachers are going to give you guidance and help to make your work better. It will be important that you follow this guidance and make your work better.

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Inspection of Thorplands Primary School, Northampton, NN3 8AQ

We have also said that your headteacher and other leaders should expect you to do your very best. There are lots of improvements that need to be made and your teachers are going to be very busy. It is important that you are all in school every day and you behave well to help with this. I know most of you do this already.

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Inspection of Thorplands Primary School, Northampton, NN3 8AQ

Thank you to all of you who talked to us or gave your views in questionnaires. It was a pleasure to meet you and your views were very helpful to us in making our judgements. You have my best wishes for the future.

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Inspection of Thorplands Primary School, Northampton, NN3 8AQ

Michael Sheridan Her Majesty's Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . 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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