Tannery Drift School

Inspection of Tannery Drift School Tannery Drift, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 5DE

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 4 and 5 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Tannery Drift School are good-natured and delightful. They are friendly and treat each other kindly. Staff and pupils have developed respectful and caring relationships. This ensures that pupils feel happy and trust the staff to help with any worries or concerns they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The youngest children listen attentively, work hard and try their best to get along with each other. Older pupils have developed a strong sense of responsibility. They know how to conduct themselves and take responsibility for their actions. This creates a calm and purposeful atmosphere in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. Pupils respond to these by showing enthusiasm towards their learning and working hard. Many pupils have built a strong sense of resilience, which means they can tackle tasks that challenge them. Pupils achieve well and are prepared well for their next stage of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have additional responsibilities, which they take seriously. They understand that these duties are an integral part of the school community. The school values pupils’ interests and talents, supporting their growth and development. It also fosters a love of physical activity, music and art, teaching pupils the skills they need to succeed and feel accomplished.

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

The school has an ambitious and carefully planned curriculum that outlines the key skills and knowledge pupils need to learn from Nursery to Year 4. Teachers implement this curriculum well. They teach a broad and interesting range of knowledge. For instance, pupils explore the effects of the Great Fire of London on people. Additionally, aspects of their learning include the local area, which helps pupils understand more about the world around them.

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

Staff generally have strong subject knowledge. They teach pupils how to develop their understanding and skills over time. Staff check how well pupils remember their learning. Mostly, staff make changes to their teaching when needed. However, in a few subjects, the work that teachers set does not fully match some pupils’ understanding. Some pupils find some aspects of their work too hard, and they cannot work independently. This means they rely on adult support. Working in this way does not effectively develop pupils’ subject-specific knowledge and skills relevant to what they already know and can do.

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

Many pupils use subject-specific vocabulary well when discussing their learning. This strong emphasis on vocabulary development begins in the early years, where skilled staff facilitate this process well. As a result, children are articulate and develop essential skills, such as engaging positively with their peers.

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

The school has a strong commitment to teaching pupils to read. Teachers provide effective instruction, helping pupils recognise and read sounds and words. Those pupils 4 and 5 March 2025

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who need additional support receive effective targeted sessions that help them keep up. Pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge, giving them the extra practise they need to become fluent and confident readers.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) generally progress well through the curriculum. This is in part due to staff accurately identifying pupils’ needs. Staff plan and provide appropriate targeted support for pupils who need it. Additionally, in many subjects, staff ensure pupils with SEND develop the necessary knowledge and skills in line with their peers. They do this by modifying activities and providing well-considered demonstrations of tasks. This approach helps pupils to achieve success.

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The school’s culture emphasises high standards of behaviour, which pupils live up to exceptionally well. By Year 4, many pupils not only understand the established school routines but also follow them with consistency and enthusiasm. They build a strong sense of personal responsibility. This creates an environment where pupils show high levels of focus and concentration during lessons, which helps pupils to learn well.

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Another strength of the school is the way staff promote pupils’ character development. Pupils show maturity and flourish here. The school nurtures pupils’ future aspirations and interests. This approach helps pupils become self-confident and recognise their importance. Where pupils have a particular talent, the school finds a way to develop it. For example, it allows pupils to establish and run clubs in their area of expertise and offers a range of leadership roles to further develop pupils’ ability to work with others. Pupils learn to be well-rounded members of the school community.

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School leaders and governors are ambitious, have high expectations and share a common vision and set of values. They work together effectively to enhance pupils’ education. Governors support the school in ensuring pupils’ safety. They also carry out other important roles, such as ensuring pupils progress appropriately towards readiness for each stage of their education. Staff are positive, their workload is manageable, and leaders support them to ensure pupils behave well. Staff feel that the support provided for their well-being has a positive impact on the quality of education they provide.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, sometimes teachers do not provide well-devised activities that take into account what pupils already know and can do. As a result, some learning tasks do not effectively help some pupils to build on their existing knowledge. The school should ensure that learning activities help pupils develop individual key knowledge and skills across the full range of subjects taught. 4 and 5 March 2025

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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 special educational needs and/or disabilities (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 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). 4 and 5 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 February 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 4 and 5 March 2025

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders and staff. The lead inspector also met with representatives from the governing body, including the chair of governors. The inspectors also met with a representative from the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, physical education and history. For each deep dive, inspectors 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 inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text

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responses. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jessie Linsley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Shelley Desborough Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 March 2025

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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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