Tymberwood Academy

Inspection of a good school: Tymberwood Academy Cerne Road, Gravesend, Kent DA12 4BN

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Outcome

Tymberwood Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Tymberwood is a wonderfully vibrant and welcoming place where pupils learn and flourish. Pupils are rightly proud to belong to this harmonious community. Everyone looks out for each other. Pupils embody the school’s values of ‘equality, respect, kindness, responsibility and honesty’. Bullying is not something that pupils worry about. They feel safe and well cared for. Pupils say that should they have any worries, teachers will listen and deal with their concerns swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is highly inclusive. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported and participate fully in all aspects of school life. Pupils benefit from the wide range of interesting opportunities that are available. They enjoy clubs such as football, craft, choir, cooking and wheelchair basketball. Currently, pupils are excited that a range of trips are being reintroduced.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils work hard to rise to this challenge. Classrooms are calm and purposeful places. Pupils of all ages are absorbed in their learning. They enjoy coming to school because lessons are interesting, fun and engaging. One pupil said, ‘There is always something exciting to learn.’

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

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including children in early years, to experience a broad and balanced curriculum. They are determined to provide pupils with the skills, knowledge and experiences that will help them to thrive. Leaders ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified appropriately. Well trained staff make sure that these pupils get the tailored support they need to learn well. Where required, leaders work effectively with external professionals to make sure pupils with SEND get the help they need.

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

Learning to read is a top priority. Children start learning phonics as soon as they start in early years. Well trained staff teach phonics effectively. Staff make sure that pupils have 2 and 3 March 2022

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many opportunities to read daily and put their phonics knowledge into practice. Pupils are given books to read that are carefully matched to the sounds they learn in lessons. Staff quickly identify any pupils who are falling behind. They give these pupils extra help when needed. There is a strong emphasis on promoting a love of reading. Children in early years are immersed in interesting books that introduce them to a wide range of vocabulary. This helps children to develop their communication and language effectively. Leaders provide pupils with a diverse selection of books to read and enjoy. Pupils look forward to their weekly visits to the well-stocked libraries. They discuss and share the books that they read with their families, staff and their friends.

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Pupils achieve really well in English and mathematics. Pupils’ learning in some other subjects is not as consistently strong. Leaders are addressing this effectively. With the support of the trust, they have redesigned and introduced a rich and challenging curriculum in all subjects. The important knowledge pupils should learn, and the order in which they should learn it, is clearly set out. This includes for all areas of learning in early years. Leaders are providing the right training to develop staff expertise to deliver the new curriculum effectively.

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Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are keen to learn, concentrate well and show extremely positive attitudes towards their learning. This means that their learning is rarely disrupted. Children get off to a flying start in Nursery and Reception Year. They enjoy exploring the environment with their friends. Children carefully follow the well-established routines. They learn to take turns and cooperate with each other.

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Leaders place a high priority on pupils’ wider development. Pupils have a profound sense of their responsibility to others. Their thoughtful care towards others is reflected in the positive actions they take. For instance, pupils collect donations for the food bank and raise funds for charities. Pupils have a strong understanding of faiths and cultures that are different from their own. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils discuss and debate topics such as discrimination and individual liberty maturely. One pupil said, ‘We look different on the outside, but we are all the same on the inside.’

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Teachers and leaders value the specialist training and support provided by the trust. Staff are proud to work at the school, they feel motivated and valued. They are confident that their workload and well-being matter to leaders. Staff appreciate this.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders prioritise the welfare and safety of pupils. All appropriate checks are completed to ensure the suitability of staff. Regular training means that staff understand what to do if they are worried about a pupil. Leaders ensure that concerns are dealt with swiftly. Referrals to external agencies are made in a timely manner. Leaders are tenacious in securing the right help for any pupil at risk. 2 and 3 March 2022

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The curriculum teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Pupils also learn how to form positive and healthy relationships. They feel safe and happy here and parents confirm this.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils’ learning in some of the foundation subjects is not as consistently strong as it is in other subjects. This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects. Leaders are taking the right action to address this and should continue to deliver important training for all staff to develop their subject expertise.

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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 February 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 .

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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. 2 and 3 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211485 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 – 23 February 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is sponsored by REAch2 Academy Trust. The trust delegates some responsibilities to a local governing body.  The school has a higher-than-average number of pupils with SEND. This includes the nine pupils who are part of the specially resourced provision for pupils with a physical disability.  The school is currently using one alternative 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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, senior leaders, staff and pupils.  The inspector met with five governors, including the chair of the local governing body. The inspector also met with a representative of the REAch2 Academy Trust.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum 2 and 3 March 2022

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plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector checked the single central record of recruitment checks and talked to leaders responsible for safeguarding. The inspector also talked to a range of staff and pupils informally.  The inspector considered the responses to the confidential staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school.  The inspector took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the additional free-text responses.  The inspector met with a range of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to pupils informally during social times and in lessons.

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Inspection team

Louise Walker, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 2 and 3 March 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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