Florendine Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Florendine Primary School Florendine Street, Amington, Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 3DD

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Outcome

Florendine Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work and play together happily. They say that they feel safe in school because staff take time to get to know them well. Pupils know how to stay safe, for example when they use the internet, because they are taught about it in school. Pupils say that bullying is rare. They know that if it does happen, adults would deal with it quickly. Pupils behave well in class and around school and everyone understands the clear behaviour code based on respect. Pupils show caring attitudes towards each other. Older pupils like to help younger ones, for example as play leaders.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers have high expectations. They plan interesting ways to help pupils to learn about the world, such as the Earth Week focus on the environment. This helps pupils to see a real purpose for their learning, so they work hard and achieve well. Teachers encourage pupils to read lots of good-quality books.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have developed a curriculum that focuses on developing pupils’ personal values. They have drawn up a list of character traits to aspire to as a person, learner and citizen. These are promoted well in lessons and around school.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders want every pupil to do well. Curriculum leaders are enthusiastic about their subjects and develop them well. They have drawn up a curriculum which helps teachers to link subjects together. Teachers plan the order in which pupils learn and practise their skills. This is so that pupils build up their knowledge and remember more. This works well in most subjects, but the way pupils build up their skills and knowledge in geography and history does not work as well as in other subjects.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders make sure that pupils have experiences that help to develop them, such as the Year 6 residential visit to Shugborough. Visitors and special events such as the ‘hello yellow’ mindfulness day also add to pupils’ enjoyment of school. Occasionally, the pupils organise special weeks themselves, for example the ‘Flogwarts’ activities. Pupils also raise 15–16 October 2019

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money for charity, take part in concerts and productions and learn about other faiths and cultures. They work well in pairs and groups and show respect to adults and each other. Pupils know the difference between right and wrong. They respond to teachers’ high expectations and behave well in class.

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The teaching of mathematics has been reviewed by leaders. They knew pupils were not achieving well enough in the past. Teachers now plan work to build up pupils’ knowledge over time. They set problems and ask pupils to explain their answers. They match tasks to different pupils’ abilities. Mathematics is now taught well. This helps all pupils to achieve well. Results in 2019 show that standards in Year 2 were above the national average in mathematics. By the end of Year 6 standards were still below average, but work I saw in current pupils’ books shows they are achieving well.

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Teachers help children to learn phonics as soon as they start school. The teaching of phonics is strong and ensures that children gain the understanding of sounds and the words they need to read fluently. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 have reading lessons every day and older pupils read regularly. Teachers read aloud at story times. This helps pupils to develop a love of reading. Adults notice when any children fall behind, and they help them to catch up quickly. In reading lessons, pupils read from books that match their knowledge. This is not always the case in some other lessons in key stage 1. Leaders need to make sure that questions and tasks in lessons other than reading also match pupils’ reading abilities.

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Children make a strong start to their learning in Reception and settle quickly into school. Adults understand how children learn and help children to feel safe and secure. Staff create interesting learning activities. These encourage children to learn about the world around them. Adults encourage children to be independent, for example when recording their work on tablet computers.

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The leader for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) looks after pupils with SEND very well. Individual plans and targets are created for them to work on. The extra help from teachers and teaching assistants ensures that these pupils know and do more in lessons and over time.

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Staff morale is high. This is shown by the very positive responses to the staff survey. Staff value the way leaders ensure that their workload is manageable, for example by changing the way teachers mark pupils’ work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The leader for safeguarding ensures that all staff have the training and up-to-date information they need to keep pupils safe. Staff know their responsibilities and how to report any concerns they have. Leaders act quickly to deal with concerns and work well with agencies that can provide help. Leaders carry out all the required checks to ensure that adults are safe to work with children. Leaders carry out thorough risk assessments to identify potential hazards in school. Every parent who responded to the online survey 15–16 October 2019

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Parent View said that their child feels safe in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils’ reading books are carefully matched to their phonic knowledge. They provide opportunities for pupils to practise their phonic knowledge before moving to the next stage of reading. However, in lessons other than reading some of the weakest readers in key stage 1 are expected to read words that are too difficult for them. Leaders should ensure that tasks and questions set for these pupils more accurately match their stage of reading.  Much of the curriculum is taught through themes that link subjects together. The themes are carefully planned to ensure that pupils enjoy learning, see its relevance to the real world and build their knowledge and skills as they move through the school. Within some themes, learning in history and geography is not always as clearly ordered as it is in other subjects, and the breadth of these subjects is not fully covered. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum is planned so that pupils build their knowledge and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

skills in history and geography sequentially. They should ensure that all the aspects of these subjects set out in the national curriculum are taught.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Florendine Primary School to be good on 20–21 January 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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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You can search for published performance information about the school.

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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. 15–16 October 2019

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chairs of governing body Jon Baker and Sandy Price

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School details

Date of previous inspection 20–21 January 2016

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Information about this school

 Florendine Primary School is smaller than the average primary school.  There are 10 classes in the school. There is one class for each year group other than Year 5, where there are two. In addition, there is a class for pupils from both Year 1 and Year 2 and another mixed-age class of Year 3 and Year 4 pupils.  The school operates before- and after-school clubs.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the leader for special needs and the subject leaders for English, mathematics and history. She also met with three members of the governing body and held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector looked closely at reading, mathematics and history. She visited lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils about pupils’ learning and looked at pupils’ work. She also reviewed pupils’ work in science and geography.  The inspector checked the school’s work to keep pupils safe. She looked at policies, procedures and the school’s central record of employment checks on adults working in 15–16 October 2019

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the school to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. She talked to pupils and parents. She spoke to staff to check their knowledge and understanding of what steps they would take if they had a concern about a pupil.  The inspector took account of 21 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 12 to the Parent View free-text service. Inspectors also considered 14 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Helen Morrison, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 15–16 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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