Temple Mill Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Temple Mill Primary School Cliffe Road, Strood, Rochester, Kent ME2 3NL

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Outcome

Temple Mill Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The principal of this school is Lisa Lewis. This school is part of The Howard Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Owen McColgan, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Dan McDonald.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are rightly proud of their nurturing and inclusive school. They love coming to school and enjoy learning. The school is determined that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), will achieve their very best. This is embedded in the school motto of ‘Give your best, expect success’, which is demonstrated very well in every aspect of school life. As a result, pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff know the pupils very well and there are strong and trusting relationships. Consequently, pupils feel safe, happy, well supported and cared for. Pupils are friendly and polite. They are kind and look out for each other. They behave very well in lessons and around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils relish the many opportunities to take on leadership roles, such as being members of the school council, head pupils, house captains and librarians. They make an active and positive contribution to the school community and learn what it means to be responsible, respectful citizens in the wider community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to stay safe, including online, and how to keep themselves healthy. They appreciate the clubs and extra opportunities the school offers and the trips and visitors that help bring learning to life.

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

The school’s curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND and other disadvantaged pupils. The school has reviewed the curriculum carefully and 23 and 24 April 2024

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pupils achieve well. The school identifies the needs of pupils accurately. Appropriate adaptations and skilled support ensure that all pupils, including those with SEND, have opportunities to learn and access the full curriculum.

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Teachers explain ideas clearly and model new learning accurately for pupils. They check pupils’ understanding in order to inform their subsequent teaching and make adjustments to meet pupils’ needs. Recent work on the curriculum is having a positive impact. Opportunities for pupils to discuss and share their thinking are built into lessons. Pupils frequently revisit prior learning through ‘Memory Moments’, and as a result, remember what they have been taught. The school is rightly aware that expectations in some subjects should be even higher and more consistent, for example in the presentation of pupils’ work and the depth of pupils’ knowledge and understanding.

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There is a clear sequence for learning important knowledge, skills and vocabulary from Nursery to Year 6. By the end of Reception, children are ready to continue learning in Year 1. There is a successful focus on children’s speech, language and communication development. The environment inside and outside supports the development of early reading, writing and number skills as well as inspiring children’s curiosity, independence and imagination. Parents appreciate this, with one commenting, ‘He is able to be outside in the mud kitchen, planting and finding dinosaur bones (stones).’

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Reading has high priority in the school. Children in the early years enjoy learning a range of rhymes and songs as well as learning to love books and stories. They learn phonics skills through a structured and well-delivered programme, which begins as soon as they start in Nursery. Children quickly learn the sounds that letters make and enjoy learning them. They read books that match the sounds they know. Pupils who are falling behind are given additional help to catch up quickly. Pupils are introduced to a wide range of increasingly challenging quality texts and most develop as confident readers.

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Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. Lessons are purposeful and there is a calm, ordered and supportive ethos throughout the school. Pupils’ good attendance and behaviour helps them to learn well. The school has worked with real determination to successfully improve attendance and punctuality over time. Parents are very positive about the school and the supportive partnerships that are forged.

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The school is inclusive and all pupils can learn without interruption. Pupils understand, respect and appreciate difference within the community and the wider world. They develop independence, resilience and life-long learning skills. For example, ‘Talking Point’ assemblies help pupils to listen and appreciate the opinions of others even if they do not agree with them. The school is unwavering in its work to ensure that pupils’ well-being is paramount and that they develop personal skills which stand them in good stead for later life.

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The staff are a strong team who are proud and happy to work at the school. They appreciate the consideration of their workload and well-being. Trust leaders and governors know the school well. They work closely with the school to continue to make improvements, providing effective support and challenge. 23 and 24 April 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Revisions and refinements to the curriculum have not yet embedded fully in some subjects. Expectations are not consistently high. Consequently, sometimes the depth of pupils’ knowledge and understanding and, for some pupils, the quality of the presentation of their work are not as good as they could be. The school should continue to embed its ambitious curriculum to ensure that all pupils consistently achieve as well as they can.

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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.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2018.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with SEND; pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school 23 and 24 April 2024

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meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 23 and 24 April 2024

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School details

Website www.templemillprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 October 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Howard Academy Trust.  There have been a number of changes in leadership since the previous inspection.  The principal was appointed to the substantive post in 2022, having previously led the school from 2020 as the interim executive headteacher.  The assistant principal was appointed in 2019 and is also the inclusions leader.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of the school’s education provision.

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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 the school and has taken that into account in this evaluation of the school. 23 and 24 April 2024

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 The inspector met with the principal, the assistant principal, who is also the inclusions lead and other senior leaders. The inspector met with subject leaders and many staff.  The inspector met with trustees, including the CEO and the assistant director of education. She also met with members of the local academy board.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector looked at curriculum information for a range of other subjects. The inspector reviewed a range of documents, including the school’s own evaluation of its effectiveness, priorities for improvement, trust and external reviews. She also looked at information relating to behaviour, attendance and SEND.

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 The views of staff and pupils were gathered through both formal and informal discussions.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Margaret Coussins, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 April 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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