Three Peaks Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Three Peaks Primary Academy Fossdale Road, Wilnecote, Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 4HN

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Outcome

Three Peaks Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, families and the local community are top priority at Three Peaks Primary Academy. Leaders have created a warm and caring ethos across school. Pupils feel happy, safe and welcomed every day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying is rare. Unkind behaviour is dealt with quickly. Pupils share their worries in a classroom ‘worry box’. Pupils are confident that concerns are sorted straight away.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders know their families and community well. Pupils raise money for local charities and help those requiring support. Leaders research the needs of their local area. For example, leaders have raised money to instal a defibrillator outside of the school gates. As a result, pupils learn the importance of kindness and being a good citizen.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of responsibilities. Some older pupils are trained as ‘play leaders’. They create games and activities for younger pupils to experience. Pupils grow their own vegetables. They learn about where food comes from. They donate the food to others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are taught a highly ambitious curriculum. Activities are well resourced. For example, in art and computing, they have a wide range of quality materials and programmes. However, subject specific vocabulary is not taught consistently. Pupils have gaps in their knowledge in some subjects a result.

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

Leaders are continuously improving and reviewing the curriculum. They use research to support new curriculum developments. This includes revised ways of teaching. Changes in some subjects have only been recently implemented and have yet to benefit pupils’ learning over time. All subjects are clearly sequenced and highly ambitious for all pupils. Leaders have identified the key knowledge they want their pupils to learn from the early years to Year 6. 2 and 3 February 2023

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Reading is high priority at Three Peaks Primary. Children in Nursery are introduced to sounds and they join in with stories. In phonics, pupils work in small groups. Most staff teach phonics accurately. Activities are well matched to pupils’ ability. Leaders use assessment regularly and with precision. As a result, pupils’ gaps in reading are identified and addressed quickly. Books are well matched to the ability of pupils. However, some pupils lack fluency. Leaders are addressing this. Leaders have carefully selected a wide variety of books they want pupils to read, starting from the early years. This includes a diverse range of authors and cultures. Pupils know a broad range of authors and books as a result.

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Teachers deliver new learning with enthusiasm. They present information clearly in most subjects. Misconceptions are addressed quickly most of the time. Pupils know the key knowledge in subjects they are currently learning. For example, in art, pupils are currently learning about techniques in printing. They describe the process of ‘layering’ and ‘superimposing’. However, pupils’ prior knowledge is less secure. Leaders are acting quickly to address this. They have introduced daily sessions to help recall and connect prior learning. Teachers do not teach subject-specific vocabulary explicitly enough in some subjects, pupils have gaps in their disciplinary knowledge as a result.

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Leaders work hard to raise the aspirations of pupils. They are introduced to a wide range of career paths. This includes talks from meteorologists, visits from authors and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

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Pupils understand how everyone is different. They show empathy for those who need their help. For example, they know why ramps will help people in wheelchairs enjoy their garden. Leaders are beginning to introduce a wider range of after school extra-curricular activities.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. Younger pupils learn how to share and take turns. Relationships between pupils and adults are respectful, caring and positive. However, some low-level behaviours in the early years are not addressed quickly enough. This sometimes slows the pace of learning.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same ambitious curriculum as others in their class. Staff break down learning objectives to support pupils with SEND. These pupils remember more of the curriculum as a result. There are systems in place to help identify pupils with SEND. However, some learning needs are not met well enough. This means some pupils with SEND do not have all their wide-ranging needs met.

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The trust provides effective support, such as helping staff to implement changes to the curriculum. School and trust leaders engage well with staff. Subject leaders have clear guidance on the expectations of their role. They are well supported by school and trust leaders. Most staff, but not all, feel that workload is considered by leaders and governors. 2 and 3 February 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are highly vigilant to the safety of pupils in and out of school. For example, pupils share what social media platforms they have access to. Leaders identify the risks and potential dangers of these. This includes the potential influence of popular social media figures. The curriculum is regularly adapted to teach pupils these risks. Leaders know where pupils socialise within the community. Local businesses are invited and trained by leaders to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding

All staff receive regular training. Concerns are recorded and actioned quickly. Leaders work closely with external agencies to help families. Checks on newly recruited staff are rigorous.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subjects in the curriculum are in the earlier stages of implementation. As a result, pupils’ knowledge is not secure in these subjects. They struggle to remember what they have learned previously. Leaders should continue to evaluate the implementation of the new curriculum to quickly identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The teaching of specialist vocabulary is not sufficiently explicit in some subjects. This limits the progress pupils make in developing their disciplinary knowledge. Leaders should support teachers to consistently use subject-specific vocabulary across all subjects.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not consistently support specific needs of pupils with SEND. Pupils’ individual support plans do not identify consistently how teachers should support specific needs for pupils with SEND. Leaders should provide training for staff, so that they are able to identify pupils’ needs and plan the right support.

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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 an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately. 2 and 3 February 2023

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in 27–28 September 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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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 February 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10256968 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 to 28 September 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders use two alternative providers. One is a registered provider and another is an unregistered provider.  Three Peaks Primary Academy is part of Creative Education Trust (CET).  A new Chair of Governors and a new assistant headteacher have been appointed since the last inspection.

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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 this into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. She met with four representatives from CET.  The inspector held meetings with a range of leaders to discuss safeguarding, early years and provision for pupils with SEND.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, art and design and computing. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited 2 and 3 February 2023

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a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector spoke to groups of pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school.  Safeguarding documents were reviewed, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children. The inspectors examined how staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures effectively across the school.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and the free-text responses received during the inspection.  The inspector reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  The inspector looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation, academy improvement priorities, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records and minutes of meetings held by the Academy

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Council and Academy Improvement Board.  A telephone call took place with the head of an alternative provider.

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Inspection team

Anna Vrahimi, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 2 and 3 February 2023

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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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