Talbot Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Talbot Primary School Talbot Drive, Wallisdown, Poole, Dorset BH12 5ED

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 January 2022

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Outcome

Talbot Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of standards and behaviour. Pupils rise to these: they work diligently and conscientiously from Reception to Year 6. Pupils enjoy school so attend regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe. For staff, pupils’ welfare is of paramount importance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a hub within the community. It has strong links with local arts charities, Bournemouth University, a football club and a symphony orchestra. These activities stopped for a while, due to the national restrictions, but are slowly returning. Staff take every opportunity to broaden pupils’ understanding with clubs and activities. Previously, there were over 26 clubs. During lockdown, pupils attended a cookery club, where they produced a meal each week and shared the experience with family members. Over 150 interested pupils work on attractive and practical beds in the garden. All of this enhances pupils’ personal development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sits in extensive grounds, which provide space for pupils’ sporting activities, forest school and community events, such as the annual bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night.

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

The headteacher is a strong, strategic leader. She has nurtured a team around her which provides capacity and commitment to the school vision ‘where children thrive and achieve’. The multi-academy trust has supported the necessary changes to get to this point. Governors challenge leaders effectively. Consequently, this is a school where every member of staff feels valued. Everyone evaluates what they are doing, and why, to ensure that the school continues to develop and improve.

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

Leaders have a clear intent for the curriculum, which staff understand. Most subjects have a well-planned and sequenced curriculum, although some do not extend to the Reception 11 and 12 January 2022

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Year. Subject leaders provide clear guidance to teachers. This helps teachers to deepen their understanding of each curriculum subject. Teachers carefully consider the best way to deliver learning. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, respond well. Following recent training, teachers are making suitable adjustments for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND find the resources and support they have received helpful. Sometimes, teachers are not explicit enough about the links between what pupils have learned before and what is to come.

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There is a significant minority of pupils who enter school without the ability to speak clearly. Equally, there is an increasing proportion of pupils joining the school from around the world who speak English as an additional language. As a result, whether in Reception or other year groups, some pupils do not pronounce words phonetically and teachers do not correct them as a matter of course. Pronunciation deteriorates as a result. Pupils in need of the most help receive expert support. Leaders intend to train more staff so they can reach more pupils, but the pandemic has caused some delays.

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Leaders have assessed the gaps in pupils’ learning, following periods where many pupils have had to learn at home, and these remain a focus. There is particular attention given to older pupils’ fluency in mathematics. Reading has regressed for many older pupils so there have been changes in the reading curriculum for this group, too. Consequently, pupils in key stage 2 are enjoying reading more and are keen to try new texts, whether fiction or non-fiction. Leaders have re-energised the teaching of phonics and ensure that staff adopt a consistent approach. A few members of staff have not yet received the same training so are less able to support pupils effectively. However, pupils, even the weaker readers, understand how to read and are becoming increasingly fluent.

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When children arrive in Reception, they settle into routines quickly. They show consideration to each other and share and take turns appropriately. These attitudes continue throughout school. Pupils are polite and courteous to each other. Staff model respectful communication. This has a positive impact on the day-to-day life of the school. A minority of parents raised concerns in the Ofsted survey, Parent View, about bullying. These were not borne out in the pupil and staff surveys, nor in conversations with pupils. The evidence in behaviour logs shows that there are times when pupils fall out with friends, but these are single events and are rectified quickly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that school recruitment checks are done effectively.

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Safeguarding

Many pupils within the school are highly vulnerable. Safeguarding leaders work promptly and efficiently with a range of agencies to make sure these pupils are safe and protected from harm.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive regular training and up-to-date messages about the most recent concerns, such as county lines and peer-on-peer abuse. Leaders work closely with the police when 11 and 12 January 2022

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necessary. Pupils receive assemblies from the police to remind them about online safety and other ways to stay safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some of the phonics teaching is not responsive enough. This results in a few pupils not keeping up. Teachers and teaching assistants should address any misconceptions or lack of articulation rapidly so that no pupil falls behind.  Curriculum planning is developing but the links between important concepts are not yet clear enough to pupils. Equally, Reception children need to be included in plans so that the curriculum begins when children enter school. Leaders should give further consideration to the specific points they want pupils to know, and in what order.

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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 predecessor school, Talbot Primary School, to be good in June 2014.

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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

Local authority Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Talbot Primary School became a member of Hamwic Academy Trust in 2017.  The school uses one unregistered provider.

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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 leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and staff, the trust’s standards officer and the chair of governors.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning, listened to pupils read and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector looked at recruitment practices and checks. In addition, the inspector spoke with the designated safeguarding lead. The inspector spoke with staff about their training in safeguarding, and spoke to pupils. 11 and 12 January 2022

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 The inspector spoke with the special educational needs coordinator and different groups of pupils to discuss personal development.  The inspector took account of responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including free-text responses, and to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Kathy Maddocks, 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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