Tredington Community Primary School

Inspection of Tredington Community Primary School Tredington, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 7BU

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding 1–2 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders’ ambition for pupils is not high enough, so pupils do not learn enough. Pupils study the full range of subjects, but teachers do not consider deeply what pupils need to learn and when. This means pupils do not gain as much knowledge as they should. This includes learning about, and appreciating, different religions and other cultures.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teaching does not grip pupils’ attention. As a result, pupils are not well-motivated and do not concentrate as well as they might.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders’ expectations of lunchtime behaviour are too low. There is a lack of staff interaction and support for pupils’ play.

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘Explorers club’ provides some extra-curricular activities for pupils. However, there is scope for more choice. Pupils compete in sport alongside other local schools, and pupils like this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they like it at Tredington School and feel safe. Staff and pupils have positive relationships with each other. Pupils say that when bullying happens, adults sort it out. This is the case. Staff take the right action to keep pupils safe.

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better?

The quality of education is inadequate. New leaders know that there are weaknesses in the curriculum that pupils receive. They are just starting to put plans in place to remedy them. The current headteacher and staff are beginning to respond quickly to the extensive external support that has been put in place. However, this work is too recent to have any impact.

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better?

There is not a joined-up approach to the planning and delivery of pupils’ education. For example, the teaching of phonics is poor. As a result, pupils do not gain the knowledge and skills to read, write and spell appropriately for their age. This limits pupils’ learning and does not prepare them for their next year, or stage of education.

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better?

Adults listen to pupils read regularly. However, pupils’ reading books are not matched to the sounds pupils already know or are being taught. This does not help pupils who need to catch up. As a result, pupils lose confidence in using phonics to read and spell unknown words. Too often, pupils guess words by looking at pictures rather than using their phonics knowledge. This causes problems for pupils in key stage 2 as they approach more challenging vocabulary in other subjects.

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better?

The curriculum is not effective across classes, so pupils’ learning in reading, 1–2 October 2019

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writing, mathematics and science remains weak. Teachers do not check what pupils know and can do. They don’t check pupils’ understanding during lessons or use the results of such checks to change their teaching. Learning in mathematics is better organised this term but pupils still have considerable gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

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Children in Reception do less well than others nationally. Leaders have not checked the early years curriculum well enough. Since the start of term, staff have responded quickly to the guidance provided by the local authority. The classroom is vibrant and well organised. Children enjoy acting out stories, making and creating, role play and early number work. Children are settling in well to ‘big school’ routines.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils do not benefit from a good education. The leader for SEND does not help teachers to adapt work for these pupils well enough. Some pupils are over supported by other adults. This makes them less keen to learn on their own and deepen their knowledge. Leaders do not know how well these pupils are getting on. Too few disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND have their needs met.

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The planned personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) does not support pupils to be confident, determined and independent in their learning. Neither does the planned curriculum provide pupils with a rich knowledge of religion and other cultures.

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Day-to-day leadership systems need to improve. The headteacher is making sure reading, writing and mathematics are a priority for better teaching. However, staff have not received training in how to teach these subjects effectively. Some teachers are trialling new approaches to teaching writing, and there are small signs of improvement evident in the last three weeks.

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Leaders and governors have implemented improvements too slowly. The local authority commissioned a review of governance. They are beginning to work through the recommendations. Governors have started learning more about their roles and responsibilities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Checks on the recruitment of staff are fit for purpose. Leaders have ensured that the safeguarding policies are up-to-date and understood. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil’s well-being. They know to make early referrals to the safeguarding leads to minimise pupils’ risk of harm. However, some record-keeping systems are not as well organised as they should be. The designated safeguarding leader works in partnership with other agencies to ensure that pupils are safe. Pupils show a strong understanding of keeping safe in lots of ways, including when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders, including governors, are over-reliant on external support. They do not demonstrate the capacity to secure the necessary improvements. The leadership capacity should be strengthened to address urgently the endemic weaknesses in the quality of education.  National curriculum requirements for reading, writing and mathematics are not delivered adequately. The headteacher should ensure that teachers receive the right training and support so that the sequences of work they deliver are suitably ambitious and meet pupils’ needs well in core subjects, including science.  Governors do not hold leaders to account for the quality of education and the use of resources effectively. They do not check the impact of additional funding for pupils with SEND or the pupil premium. Governors need to become more skilled so that they understand and fulfil their roles properly and have a demonstrable impact in order to bring about rapid improvement.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The headteacher and teachers should ensure that pupils’ widespread underachievement in reading, writing and mathematics is eliminated. The headteacher should ensure that teachers’ use of assessment improves. Teachers need to check pupils’ understanding and deal with misconceptions when they arise. Teachers should use the information they have about what pupils know and understand to plan their onward teaching so that pupils catch up quickly.  The teaching of reading in key stage 2 is poor. A rigorous and systematic approach to the school’s reading curriculum needs to be put in place. Pupils’ communication and vocabulary development needs to be improved so that pupils read well and can access the wider curriculum sufficiently well.  There is not a sharp enough focus, or a consistent approach, to teaching systematic synthetic phonics. Staff need comprehensive training to ensure that their subject knowledge is good. Leaders should ensure that pupils acquire, use

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

and apply their phonics knowledge to read and spell words proficiently.  Leaders’ actions do not ensure that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, have their learning needs met. Leaders must increase their understanding of how well pupils are doing with their academic learning and personal development and use this to enable them to achieve well.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and social times is not good enough. All staff need to use and apply the school discipline policies in the classroom and at social times. Teachers should ensure that pupils’ work motivates and interests them so that they stick at their learning with low-level disruption in lessons minimised.  Pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum gives pupils sufficient understanding and appreciation of religion and different cultures.  Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) should not be appointed.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 1–2 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111629 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24–25 September 2013

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Information about this school

 At its last inspection, the school was graded outstanding. The overall effectiveness of the school has declined considerably since this time.  The headteacher took up her role in September 2019, three weeks prior to the inspection.  There are six classes. Years 5 and 6 learn in a mixed-age class.  There is a preschool on-site. This is registered as an early years provider and was not part of the inspection.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is higher than national figures.  The school is receiving extensive external support from the local authority. The local authority has brokered additional support from the Norton School to support teachers with mathematics. There is early years and leadership support in place.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act. In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief 1–2 October 2019

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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 in the school.

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders, including those responsible for SEND, English, mathematics, science and phonics and early years. Inspectors met with class teachers and talked to staff during the inspection to gather their views.  An inspector held conversations with two representatives from the local authority. An inspector met with four members of the governing body.  Inspectors visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work, and spoke to them about their experience of school. Inspectors talked to, and observed, pupils at social times.  The inspection concentrated on reading, mathematics and science. Inspectors talked to pupils and staff about other areas of the curriculum, including history, geography, PSHE and religious education.  The school’s records of safeguarding checks and referrals to the local authority were reviewed. We spoke to staff about how they keep pupils safe. We asked

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pupils how they keep themselves safe and what they do if they have concerns.  One inspector talked to parents during the inspection. 55 responses from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent view, were reviewed, along with 22 free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Julie Carrington, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jen Edwards Ofsted Inspector 1–2 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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