Two Moors Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Two Moors Primary School Cowleymoor Road, Tiverton, Devon EX16 6HH

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 January 2022

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Outcome

Two Moors Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to school. Leaders have instilled a culture of high expectations. Pupils rise to these expectations well. They work hard in lessons and are proud of their learning. Leaders, including governors, act with integrity. They insist that Two Moors is an inclusive school, with no barriers to success.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm and has a purposeful atmosphere. Pupils play happily together during social times. Poor behaviour is rare. All the pupils who completed Ofsted’s survey would recommend the school to a friend. Pupils feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Older pupils say that, in the past, there were incidents of bullying. However, pupils are confident that this is no longer the case. Pupils say that staff do not tolerate bullying. They trust that staff will help them deal with any worries they may have. Pupils and families benefit from effective pastoral support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the various clubs and extra-curricular activities on offer. They have many opportunities to enhance their experiences during their time at Two Moors. Pupils talk enthusiastically about how recent trips and visitors help them to understand what they are learning. They say that these experiences bring ‘learning alive’.

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

Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are at the heart of all decision-making. Expert support in and outside of lessons ensures that these pupils progress well through the curriculum.

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

Across the school, pupils do well in mathematics. Recently, leaders have changed their approach to early mathematics. As soon as children join the Nursery class, staff get to work on children’s knowledge of number. This sharp focus ensures that children develop their confidence well in mathematics. Children who do not grasp any content are well supported to catch up. 11 and 12 January 2022

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The phonics programme is taught well. Staff deliver high-quality phonics sessions as soon as children are ready. There are effective systems in place to help any pupil who falls behind to catch up quickly. Pupils who speak English as an additional language, who need extra help, receive well-planned, effective support. Books match the sounds that pupils know. All members of the school community share a love of reading. Once pupils have cracked the phonics code, they continue to develop their reading knowledge well. As a result, pupils become confident readers by the time they leave Year 6.

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Pupils enjoy the curriculum. They particularly enjoy personal, social and health education. Older pupils speak with confidence that it is ‘okay to be different’. They have a strong understanding of what makes a healthy relationship. Visitors help pupils to learn about resilience and different career prospects. Pupils have many opportunities to take on leadership roles, such as becoming a sports leader or a mental health ambassador. They relish these opportunities.

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Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. The curriculum sets out the key knowledge that pupils should know from the early years to Year 6. In the early years, staff instil their high expectations quickly. This ensures that children get off to a strong start and are well prepared for Year 1. Teachers across the school have strong subject knowledge. However, some parts of the curriculum are not as well sequenced as they could be. This is because the order of some key content develops misconceptions for some older pupils. Leaders are in the process of refining their curriculum thinking further. This work has been slowed by the pandemic.

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Across the curriculum, teachers check often to find out what knowledge pupils have secured. However, in a few subjects, teaching is not adjusted astutely. This means that a small number of pupils unnecessarily repeat work that they already know.

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Leaders, including governors, have taken effective action to engage with parents and carers. Parental confidence in the school is high. One parent’s comment that captures many was: ‘My child loves going to school and is very well supported, cared for and nurtured by the fantastic staff.’ Most of the parents who completed the survey, Ofsted Parent View, would recommend the school.

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All staff are happy at the school. They are adamant that leaders have their well-being at the forefront of their decision-making. Teachers who are early in their careers feel well supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Leaders have well-established systems in place to keep pupils safe. These include appropriate recruitment checks and up-to-date training. This training has ensured that staff are vigilant for signs that pupils may be at risk. 11 and 12 January 2022

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Pupils have a strong understanding of how to stay safe in different situations, including when using the internet. Pupils and families get the support they need. This is because leaders work well with other agencies. Leaders ensure that the support is timely and appropriate.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some parts of the curriculum need to be strengthened further. In places, curriculum thinking does not consider well enough the order of knowledge that pupils need to know and remember. This leads to some pupils not fully understanding some subject content as well as they could. Leaders must ensure that they further develop the curriculum so that all pupils know more and remember more.  In some subjects, the assessment information is not always used well enough. This leads to some pupils not learning the curriculum as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that all teachers use this information effectively to adapt the curriculum so that all pupils reach their full potential.

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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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2017.

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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 . 11 and 12 January 2022

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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. 11 and 12 January 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.twomoors.devon.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10 and 11 January 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one registered and one unregistered alternative provider.  There is a Nursery for children aged three and four.

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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 held meetings with the headteacher, the assistant headteachers, the curriculum leaders, the special educational needs coordinator and teaching staff. He also had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector met with three governors, including the chair and vice-chair of the governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at 11 and 12 January 2022

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curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning, looked at samples of pupils’ work and listened to pupils read.  The inspector examined a range of documentation provided by the school, including leaders’ self-evaluation and improvement plans.  The inspector scrutinised safeguarding records, checked staff’s safeguarding knowledge, spoke with pupils and met with the designated safeguarding lead.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. He also took into consideration the responses to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Matt Middlemore, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 January 2022

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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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