Tenacres First School

Inspection of a good school: Tenacres First School Quibury Close, Winyates East, Redditch, Worcestershire B98 0PB

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Inspection dates: 30 November and 1 December 2021

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Outcome

Tenacres First School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s aim is to create a happy, nurturing, secure and supportive learning environment. It does that very well. Pupils enjoy going to school. They feel safe at school because staff look after them well. They get on well with each other and with the adults in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and teachers want pupils to leave school well prepared for the next stage of their education. Pupils are keen to learn because teachers make lessons interesting and enjoyable. Children follow a structured curriculum from the start of Reception. When they leave at the end of Year 4, pupils have acquired secure knowledge in a broad range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The atmosphere of the school is pleasant and orderly. Pupils behave well at break and lunchtime. They enjoy getting stickers and prizes from the headteacher when they do an excellent piece of work or behave very well. Pupils and parents say that bullying is not a problem. The school makes parents feel welcome. Parents say that staff and leaders are friendly and approachable.

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

The curriculum provides a good start to children’s formal education. Children get a good foundation in literacy and numeracy in Reception. They also follow a structured programme of personal, social and emotional development. Pupils study all the national curriculum subjects in Years 1 to 4. Teachers make sure that all pupils have made the progress they need to move on from each year to the next.

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

Teachers plan lessons that allow pupils to build up their knowledge step by step for each subject. For example, in computing, teachers ask pupils what they learned in previous lessons before asking them to do a task on a computer. In mathematics, pupils have practical problems to solve before they move on to more abstract concepts. Teachers plan activities that keep pupils interested. Pupils work well together. They are keen to learn 30 November and 1 December 2021

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and do not disrupt lessons. Work in pupils’ books shows that they are remembering and using their learning. However, the standard of handwriting and presentation is variable, which can affect learning.

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Teachers check pupils’ work during lessons to make sure that they have understood the key points that have been taught. Teachers gather and record evidence of how pupils are doing in each subject. Leaders use this information effectively to keep an eye on pupils’ progress in English, mathematics and science. In some other subjects, assessment information is organised in a way that makes it more difficult to analyse and so it is used less well.

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Teachers are keen to develop pupils’ skills and interest in reading. Teachers read to children every day. Classrooms have reading corners with books related to the topics pupils study. Children have formal phonics lessons from the start of Reception. Children who find learning to read difficult get help to keep up with the rest of the class. All staff involved in teaching reading know how to support pupils who fall behind to catch up quickly. Most pupils read well for their age by the end of Year 1. The few who still have difficulties in Year 2 get effective support to be fluent enough to start Year 3 with appropriate reading skills.

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Pupils learn far more than just the content of academic subjects. They can attend after- school clubs to take part in drama, art, or cooking. The school gained ‘eco-school’ status and promotes healthy living and teaching pupils how to grow vegetables in the school garden. Pupils learn about different faiths. They learn about democracy and vote on key aspects of the school life.

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Leaders want all the pupils to learn well and to enjoy all the activities the school offers. The school’s special educational needs coordinator works well with teachers to make sure that this happens. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have support materials adapted to their needs in lessons. Learning assistants help pupils with SEND when they need support to access some activities.

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Leaders and staff enjoy a positive relationship. They work well together for the benefit of pupils. Leaders are approachable and supportive. They make sure that staff workload is manageable. Governors support the school well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive regular training and are clear about their responsibilities to keep pupils safe. All can identify and report pupils who may be at risk. Leaders know how to secure the support of external agencies when needed. They work well with families to resolve problems.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and some governors have completed the required training in safe recruitment and management of concerns about staff. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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Staff teach pupils to be aware of risks and to manage these in their everyday life. They also teach them to avoid risky and inappropriate behaviour when using the internet or social media.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment information is organised in different ways in different subjects. In some subjects, leaders’ monitoring of pupils’ progress is time consuming and does not provide as much information about how well pupils are doing. Leaders should ensure that assessment information is consistently organised well and used effectively in all subjects.  When pupils were taught remotely, because of the disruption caused by COVID-19, the standard of handwriting declined. Consequently, the presentation of work is variable and often less neat than could be expected. This can have a negative impact on pupils’ learning. Leaders need to continue to focus on the improvement of handwriting across all year groups.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2011.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 30 November and 1 December 2021

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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. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10199750 Type of school First

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 May 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The chair and vice chair of the governing body were appointed in September 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspector met with the headteacher, who is also the designated safeguarding lead (DSL), the deputy headteacher, and the special educational needs coordinator. The inspector also spoke with the chair of the governing body, the vice chair of the governing body, and three governors.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, computing, and mathematics. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector checked safeguarding arrangements and school records. The inspector discussed safeguarding policies and case studies with the DSL. He talked to teachers

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and other staff about the safeguarding training they had received and how they put this training into practice.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtimes and talked to parents at the start and end of the school day.  The inspector considered responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online inspection questionnaire, including written responses. He also considered responses from staff to their online inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Patrick Amieli, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 30 November and 1 December 2021

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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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