Tunstead Primary School

TUNSTEAD PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 27 th November – 1 st December 2000

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TUNSTEAD PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Tunstead Primary School-2 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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TUNSTEAD PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Tunstead Primary School-3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Market Street Tunstead Norwich Norfolk Postcode: NR12 8AH

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr. M. Pewton

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 11.11.96 Tunstead Primary School-4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Roderick Passant No 2728 Registered inspector Rosalind Hall No 9502 Lay inspector Beverley Hunnable No 30890 Team inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

PO Box 47 County Hall Chelmsford Essex CM9 1DT

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Tunstead Primary School-5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 12

Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 12

Teaching is of a consistently high quality in infant and junior classes.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 12

The headteacher has a very good understanding of the needs of the school and provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the school are very good.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 12

The behaviour and attitudes that pupils have to learning are very good.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 12

Above all, there is excellent teamwork by the staff and a shared commitment to ensuring that the pupils in their care are given the best opportunities to flourish.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED 16

The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English have been above the national average for the last two years.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED 16

The provision for the under-fives, which is curtailed by the cramped teaching space.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Tunstead County Primary School serves the village of Tunstead but the majority of pupils come from further afield. The school is smaller than average. There are 89 pupils on roll. The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. Almost all pupils are UK heritage. The percentage of pupils identified as having special educational needs is above the national average but the percentage of pupils with statements is broadly average. Attainment on entry reflects the full range of ability but is broadly average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Tunstead County Primary is a very good school that has the confidence of the local community. Overall, pupils attain well above the national average by the age of eleven. The quality of teaching is good and as a consequence of this consistent, high quality teaching pupils make good progress and achieve well. Leadership and management by the headteacher and all staff are very good. There is a very strong sense of teamwork and corporate commitment to ensuring that the school does its best for the pupils. The school provides good value for money. In some aspects, such as the commitment of adults working in the school and the overall very good care shown for the pupils, the school provides very good value.

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What the school does well

• Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards • Teaching is of a consistently high quality in infant and junior classes. • The headteacher has a very good understanding of the needs of the school and provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the school are very good. • The behaviour and attitudes that pupils have to learning are very good. • Above all, there is excellent teamwork by the staff and a shared commitment to ensuring that the pupils in their care are given the best opportunities to flourish.

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What could be improved

• The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English have been above the national average for the last two years. • The provision for the under-fives, which is curtailed by the cramped teaching space. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in 1996. Since then there has been good improvement. Standards have risen. The quality of teaching has shown improvement. The school is now making very good use of assessment data to monitor and track each pupil’s progress. Members of staff are used very effectively to teach using their particular interests and strengths. There has been a change of headteacher. The transition was described by a parent as being ‘seamless’. The current headteacher has recognised quickly the strengths of the school and developed aspects of management. Subject co-ordinators manage their subjects very well. Parents continue to be very supportive of the school. Tunstead Primary School-7

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

English D B B D well above average above average A B mathematics B A A A average below average C D science C A A A well below average E

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STANDARDS

The results of the National Curriculum tests need to be considered with care in this school because the size of the year group at the age of seven and eleven are often very small and thus the performance of an individual pupil can make a very significant difference. The grades shown above are based on the average National Curriculum points achieved by pupils at the school. This provides an overview of pupils’ results that take into account the performance of all pupils.

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STANDARDS

In the National Curriculum test for seven-year-olds, standards have shown improvement since 1997. This is particularly the case in mathematics. In 1997 performance in mathematics was below the national average and in 2000 it is in the highest five per cent of schools nationally. In reading standards are well above average and in writing standards are above average in the 2000 tests. When the results are averaged over three years then pupils at Tunstead are performing above average in these aspects by the age of seven.

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STANDARDS

Standards for eleven-year-olds have shown year on year improvement since 1998 at a rate which is broadly in line with the national trend. Standards are consistently above the national average in mathematics and science. In English, standards are above the national average but these older pupils did not achieve the higher levels in the 2000 tests as they did in science and mathematics. The writing of older pupils, although in line with expectations, currently lacks the high quality seen in other curriculum areas and it is an aspect the school has identified for further development.

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STANDARDS

The school sets itself targets for the percentage of eleven-year-old pupils achieving the expected level based on knowledge of the pupils. In the 2000 tests, the school exceeded the targets in English and mathematics.

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STANDARDS

Demanding standards are set across subjects in the school. There is a rigour and academic challenge in the work, in particular in their history, geography, and information and communication technology work as well as in mathematics and science and much of the English work. Pupils achieve well and make good progress. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress against their targets. Tunstead Primary School-8

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils have very good attitudes to their work. They are interested and involved, and show pride in their work.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Overall, behaviour in and out of classrooms is very good. There are pupils who can present some challenging behaviour but it is managed and monitored well.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships The quality of relationships between pupils and adults and between pupils throughout the school is very good. All pupils are known well as individuals. Pupils are supportive of each other.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance The attendance rate at the school for the 1999/2000 academic year was above the national average. The rate of unauthorised absence, in the same year, was broadly in line with the national average.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall Satisfactory Good Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Excellent teaching was seen in six per cent, very good in 41 per cent, good teaching in 35 per cent and satisfactory teaching in 18 per cent of the lessons seen. A key factor is that this high quality teaching is a consistent feature and is reflected in pupils’ work, their good progress and high achievement. Overall, numeracy and literacy are currently taught very well. Teachers plan in great detail to cater for the different ages and abilities of pupils and have high, demanding yet appropriate expectations. Relationships are very good. Classrooms are managed well and teachers create a very purposeful, often rigorous atmosphere but one in which pupils are engaged, interested and enjoy learning. Teachers have very good subject knowledge and this allows them to make effective use of questioning to check what pupils understand, to challenge their thinking and to make connections with other subjects.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Teachers work hard to provide a broad and interesting curriculum. Considerable effort has been invested in ensuring that in mixed age classes pupils do not repeat themes. The curriculum for the children under five is hampered by the cramped conditions and the lack of an outdoor space that can be used throughout the year is a further limitation.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs There is good provision for pupils with special educational needs. Pupils having difficulties are identified quickly.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ development personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Overall, the provision is good. Pupils’ sense of self-esteem is fostered consistently through effective use of praise. The work on Remembrance Day, for example, is an indication of the good spiritual provision within the curriculum. Moral and social provision is very good. Other subjects provide a good range of cultural experiences. The school takes advantage of visits to, for example, the local Arts Centre. There was little work seen preparing pupils for a culturally diverse society.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school cares for its pupils very well. Pupils are known well by all members of staff. There are very good procedures for monitoring behaviour and tracking pupils progress. The use of assessment data is very good.

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Aspect Comment

Parents at the meeting held the school in high regard and were very positive about it. Tunstead Primary School-10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage-ment by the headteacher and other key staff The current headteacher has only recently taken up the post. He is sensitive to the very strong ethos of teamwork which exists at the school but at the same time has monitored the work of the school effectively and has established appropriate priorities. He provides purposeful leadership. Subject co-ordinators manage and lead their subjects very well. Overall, management and leadership across the school are very good. The commitment to the school by all adults and thus its capacity for further improvement is excellent.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body are very committed to the school. Adjusting to a change of a new headteacher and the process of appointing one has led to a mature, sharper perception of their role of governance. Relationships with the current headteacher are very good. Governors have a good knowledge of the workings of the school and have taken governor training. They are preparing for the implications of performance management. The budget is monitored carefully.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school evaluates its performance very well. The headteacher has monitored teaching and set targets. Very good use is made of comparative assessment information. Subject co-ordinators also make very good use of analysis of National Curriculum tests to determine aspects for development.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Specific grants are used well. Resources are used well. Effective accessible storage is a problem. The library as a space is used well but not necessarily in its function as a library.

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Aspect Comment

The school is careful to ensure that it obtains the best value for money when making any expenditure. The quality of accommodation hampers the learning of children in the Foundation Stage.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their child likes school. • Their child is making good progress in school • The teaching is good. • The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. • The range of activities outside lessons. • Their child gets the right amount of work to do at home.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team fully support these and the other very positive views the parents have of the school. There are after school activities such as football, recorder club and the ‘green club.’ Given the size of the school and the number of staff the school is dependent on parents helping to extend the range of activities. Homework is set regularly. A parent at the meeting said that when she felt there was too much she just had a quick word with the teacher. Tunstead Primary School-11 What the results of the questionnaire do not communicate but came across very strongly at the meeting was the fact that parents held the teachers in high regard and talked about their work with warmth and appreciation.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

What angered parents was the quality of accommodation. The irony of children getting dressed in wet-weather clothing to go to the indoor toilets was fully expressed. Tunstead Primary School-12

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

1. In the National Curriculum 2000 tests for seven-year-olds pupils in the school achieved standards in reading, which were well above average. In the 1999 tests, standards were in the top five per cent of schools nationally. Standards in writing were above average in 2000 and well above average the previous year. In mathematics, pupils achieved very high standards, in the top five per cent of schools nationally in the 2000 tests and well above average the previous year.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

2. Standards for eleven-year-olds in National Curriculum tests have shown year on year improvement since 1998 at a rate, which is broadly in line with the national trend. Standards are well above the national average in mathematics and science in the last two years. In English, standards are above the national average but these older pupils did not achieve the higher levels in the 2000 tests as they did in science and mathematics. The writing of older pupils, although in line with expectations, currently lacks the high quality seen in other curriculum areas and it is an aspect the school has identified for further development. When the results of mathematics, science, and English are considered together, then boys and girls exceeded the national average for their particular gender group over the past two years. In school, over the same period, boys have performed slightly better statistically than girls in

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

mathematics and science, whereas girls have done better at English.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

3. Across the school, pupils make good progress. Teachers have high expectations and expect pupils to achieve well. There is a rigour and academic challenge in the work. For example, in one science lesson older pupils were conducting an experiment to compare the effectiveness of various sound insulating materials as part of their work examining how sound travels. Pupils’ skills in working independently and collaboratively as they set up the experiment were supported very effectively. Groups, in turn, worked with a parent-scientist using the oscilloscope, incorporating the various sound signatures into their work, whilst others used sound sensors and the computer to log their results. By the end of the lesson, individual pupils gave a presentation of their group’s work in a fluent confident manner, clearly giving reasons for their prediction of the best insulator. Throughout the lesson, the teacher made effective use of technical vocabulary, using terms such as ‘amplitude’

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

and ensuring that pupils clearly appreciated the difference between ‘volume’ and ‘pitch’. When looking at the results pupils were encouraged to ‘look at the trend’.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

4. The rigour, present in this lesson is seen across the school in other subjects so that pupils achieve high standards in their work, particularly in history, geography, and information and communication technology work as well as in mathematics and science and much of the English work. Assessment strategies are used well to monitor pupils’ progress and to identify, at an early stage, pupils who require additional support. As a result, pupils with special educational needs make good progress against their targets. Tunstead Primary School-13 Teaching is of a consistently high quality in infant and junior classes.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

5. All teachers are very committed to the pupils and want them to achieve well. They have high expectations, and plan with great care and detail to ensure that all pupils in their classes are challenged appropriately. The work is carefully thought through and matched to the pupils’ abilities so that they make good progress. Parents at the parents meeting spoke with great warmth and appreciation for the work of the teachers in the school.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

6. All teachers have good subject knowledge and are therefore able to present their work with enthusiasm and energy, motivating and engaging pupils’ interest and often making the lessons exciting. The school introduces an element of teacher specialisation with older pupils and this works well. All teachers are skilled at creating at an atmosphere in lessons which supports learning and where pupils are confident learners. In a mathematics lesson, for example, a pupil was able to ask of the teacher ‘Have I done this right?’ The teacher was clearly viewed by the pupil as a partner in the learning process. In a science lesson, pupils referred to a parent- scientist by her first name with no sense of familiarity or taking advantage of using the first name. They clearly viewed her as a person who had specific skills to share.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

7. Teachers have positive attitudes towards pupils making mistakes, they use them effectively to take the learning forward. Across the school praise is used well. Teachers are constantly and consistently working at and reinforcing pupils’ sense of self-esteem and confidence. Relationships throughout the school between adults and pupils are very good. There are individual pupils who can present challenging behaviour. When this sometimes occurs, it is managed in a positive and sensitive manner. The advantages of a small school where everyone is known are used well. It also means that the pupils trust the teachers and respond to them.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

8. Pupils are not only known well but they are also valued. All teachers listen carefully to what pupils say, in the manner of their listening clearly communicating to the individual pupil and to the class that what is being said is important and is making an important contribution to the lesson. Because of their good subject knowledge they are often able to use what the pupil has contributed to extend their learning or by questioning, make the pupil think more carefully about what she or he is saying. Across the school, teachers are skilled at questioning. They question effectively what the pupils remember from the previous lesson and then to extend their thinking; ‘Are batteries the only source of power?’ ‘What is the disadvantage of wind power?’ They also make connections with other work so that the ingredients of cake belonging to a character in story, ‘Kipper’s cake’, are compared and linked to science

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

work and the time of the ‘party’ in the story is linked to their mathematics work on time. In a very good lesson with very young children the teacher lit the ‘listening candle’, creating a very special atmosphere and then used carefully targeted questions to examine the Christmas story; ‘Why was she frightened when she saw the angel?’ ‘What does ‘took pity’ mean?’ ‘What are tidings of great joy?’

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

9. Teamwork across the school with teachers and learning support assistants and other adults is good. In an English lesson, for example, the learning support assistant worked with a small group on vocabulary, challenging pupils to explain, for example, ‘billowing’ and ‘writhing’. In another class the learning support assistant reiterated the teacher’s question in a different way to the group she was working with. Good questioning by the learning support assistants with the very young children reinforces their mathematical vocabulary. The atmosphere in lessons is a pleasant one. Humour is also a feature ‘Would you like to share what you have written to the class and the RAF?’ as a jet thundered over the school at a low level. Tunstead Primary School-14 10. The cramped quality of the accommodation for the children under five working alongside Year 1 restricts the overall quality of teaching. Very detailed and careful

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

planning ensures that, overall, children experience the full range of the curriculum for children of this age but nevertheless the range of materials and resources which can be put out at any one time means that children are not always able to experience one activity and move on to another, making independent guided choices and the classroom lacks the richness of experience that the teacher would want to provide.

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Pupils achieve well, make good progress and attain high standards

11. Overall, the most important feature is that the good quality teaching and often very good teaching seen during the inspection is a consistent feature of school life. Teachers work very hard, with great commitment, planning in great detail and preparing their classrooms so that resources are at hand. They are well organised. Time is used well and the pace of lessons is good. They keep the pupils on task and ‘gee’ them along without nagging; ‘You have two minutes to do this then I want you to…’ Pupils respond, enjoy learning, and want to do well and improve. Teachers have high expectations. They demand high standards and ‘press’ pupils to achieve them. As a consequence, pupils make good progress and achieve well.

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

12. Each teacher has responsibility for a subject and acts as a co-ordinator for that subject. They monitor how the subject is taught across the school, provide support and ensure that there is a scheme of work which supports teachers in their planning. Subject co-ordinators’ understanding of their role and their leadership in their subjects is very good and detailed work has been carried out, for example, in using assessment information to monitor pupils’ progress in a particular subject or to identify aspects of the subject which require further development.

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

13. The governing body is also very committed to the school. They were responsible for the appointment of the headteacher and this process has given them a sharper understanding of their role of governance. Suddenly, through the appointment process, there is a different relationship than existed with the former headteacher, primarily because they made the decision on who should be headteacher. They take their roles seriously and a number have undertaken specific governor training. Overall, they have a good understanding of the workings of the school and its strengths. They are now prepared to act as the school’s critical friend, to monitor and when necessary challenge. There is a very good working relationship with the headteacher.

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

14. The current headteacher has only recently taken up his post. The transition from one headteacher to another seems to have gone very smoothly in the eyes of the community. He recognises that the significant strength of the school lies in the high quality of staff, and their commitment and teamwork and this is reflected in an open consultative style. Nevertheless, through monitoring the quality of the teaching and the work of the school he has effectively identified aspects for further development which builds on the success of the school. He provides purposeful leadership. He is clear about what he wants to consider and address. He is however also clear that in a small school the management of change has to be carefully planned and time managed well if members of staff are not going to be swamped and he therefore prioritises effectively. He makes good use of comparative data, such as National

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

Curriculum test results, to compare and evaluate the performance of the school. Tunstead Primary School-15 The behaviour and attitudes that pupils have to learning are very good.

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

15. Behaviour across the school and in lessons is very good. There are individual pupils who can be challenging but teachers are skilled at managing these pupils’ behaviour in a positive manner. The very good relationships which exist across the school between adults and pupils ensure that the atmosphere in the school is warm and welcoming.

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

16. Pupils across the school have good, often very good, attitudes to learning. They take pride in their work. Older pupils in their mathematics work, for example, present their work with care, using a rule automatically. They showed a maturity in their use of a calculator, working things out roughly in their head to get an approximation and then checking the answer with the calculator. Display work on the survey of a local river suggested, by the quality of the work, the enthusiasm and interest that they approached the various activities such as measuring the speed of the river’s current or measuring the river’s depth. Pupils are keen to respond to teachers’ questions and they work with pace and enthusiasm and generally showing very good concentration. When some individuals begin to lose their concentration, as in a younger class looking at clocks and time, the teacher and classroom assistant

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

managed and encouraged the pupils concerned very effectively.

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

17. Older pupils are confident to express their ideas when they make contributions to the class discussion on friendship in a personal and social education lesson or when talking to the class about their trips to other countries. Skilled questioning by the teacher allows pupils to make connections. ‘Is it quieter with people in the classroom?’ What sort of materials would sound bounce off? Pupils make the connection with the quality of sound in the church, and then to discussing the use of tuning devices in the roof of the Albert Hall. Young children are very attentive and listen to the teacher or assistant well.

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provides purposeful leadership. Overall, management and leadership across the

18. Pupils very positive attitudes to learning are fostered and developed by the teachers’ skills in establishing a very purposeful atmosphere in classrooms. Teachers also plan and present work which is not only interesting but is often presented in an enthusiastic or very committed manner which is in itself motivating and engages pupils’ interest and involvement.

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Above all, there is excellent teamwork by the staff and a shared commitment to

ensuring that the pupils in their care are given the best opportunities to flourish .

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Above all, there is excellent teamwork by the staff and a shared commitment to

19. There are two very strong impressions that you gain as a visitor to the school after you have had the opportunity to meet with and talk to members of staff. The first is the quality of teamwork and support for each other which exists and also the sense of commitment that all adults seem to share towards the pupils. Adults working in whatever capacity give every impression of enjoying working with the pupils, watching them grow, develop and thrive in the school. They want the best for the pupils and work very hard to achieve it. The level of commitment underlies much of the report, it is reflected in the detail and depth of the teacher’s planning and their enjoyment as they share with each other teacher’s stories about their class and ‘what Susan or Tom did next’. All adults enjoy the pupils and are very committed to doing well for them and to go that bit further professionally and personally as a

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

have been above the national average for the last two years.

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

20. The written work of the current older pupils in English does not show the same depth and quality seen in other subjects particularly mathematics and science. Pupils are encouraged to write for a range of purposes and they do so, usually accurately:

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

‘Mix cream and butter first. Then add orange and lemon. Now put in egg yolks, beating thoroughly at each addition. Fold in flour. Add orange juice;’ or ‘ Silver has sailed away now. I sort of miss him. And to make it awkward the treasure he took was not mine at all. He had kept me company.’

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

21. In the National Curriculum tests for eleven-year-olds last year, all pupils reached the expected level and these comments must be viewed within that context. However, whilst just under half the group achieved the higher level in mathematics and nearly two thirds in science, only a fifth of the group did so in English. The previous year the results were closer with about a quarter of the group achieving higher levels in English and about a third in mathematics and half in science.

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

22. The school’s literacy co-ordinator identified the development of the older pupils’ writing skills as a particular target. It is interesting too, that the classroom for these pupils does have a very strong mathematics and science feel about it, in the displays, for example, but lacks a corresponding literary atmosphere.

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

The provision for the under-fives which is curtailed by the cramped teaching space .

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

23. The space for Year 1 and the under-fives is very cramped. Whilst the provision is carefully considered with the teacher planning in great detail to ensure that pupils under five have experience of the broad range of curriculum experiences, nevertheless, the quality of the accommodation restricts the learning experiences of the children. Particularly it restricts the broad range of experiences that the children can experience unless they are specifically supplied to meet specific objectives. The teacher has built up a range of interesting resources which cannot be put out to allow children to chose from a range of activities. It is particularly an issue when the age range of the children includes a significant number of children born in the summer and who are therefore very young. The lack of an accessible, dedicated play area which can be used throughout the year is a further restriction.

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The quality of writing of the older pupils; albeit that the overall standards in English

24. Lack of indoor toilet accommodation for the very young children also causes problems. Teacher and assistant time is wasted accompanying or monitoring children going to the toilet and indeed in poor weather helping children to dress in outdoor clothes so that they can make their way to the school’s only toilet facilities in the main building. Tunstead Primary School-17

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

25. Building on the significant strengths of the school the headteacher, governing body and staff should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Reducing the cramped conditions for the children in the Foundation Stage by: § Reviewing the whole-school implications for separating the Foundation Stage from Key Stage 1 § Providing an ‘outdoor classroom’ which is dedicated to the under-fives and is accessible and easy to monitor and can be used throughout the year to enhance the creative, physical and aspects of knowledge and understanding within the Foundation curriculum § Providing an indoor toilet adjacent to the classroom for the under-fives to minimise the time that staff and children waste. and § Given the physical facilities develop the curriculum for the children under-five to give the appropriate emphasis to the range of purposeful play experiences which is currently not possible.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Establish a richer literary culture in the school particularly for older pupils by: § Raising the profile of reading with older pupils; § Ensuring greater use of the library; § Invest in the range and quality of the fiction stock; § Develop the literary strategies used elsewhere in the school with older pupils; § Focus on the quality of pupils writing by developing effective drafting and modelling and other appropriate strategies suggested by the subject co- ordinator and specialist local education authority advice. Tunstead Primary School-18

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 10

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

6 41 35 18 0 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 89

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 6 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 28

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 3

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 0

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Attendance

National comparative data 5. 2 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Tunstead Primary School-19

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 6 6 12

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 4 5 6 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 6 6 6

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 83 (88) 92 (88) 100 (88) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 85 (83) 90 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 4 5 6 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 6 6 6

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 83 (88) 92 (88) 100 (88) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 8 3 11

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 8 8 8 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 3 2 3

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 100 (79) 91 (79) 100 (84) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 8 7 8 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 3 2 3

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 100 (89) 82 (89) 100 (95) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 80 (75) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Tunstead Primary School-20

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage Black – Caribbean heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage Black – African heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group Other minority ethnic groups This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 4.7 Financial year 1999/2000

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 18.9

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR– Y6 Total expenditure 178181

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 4 Expenditure per pupil 2025

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 62 Balance brought forward from previous year 5230

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 9920

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 0

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 0

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 0

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 0 FTE means full-time equivalent. Tunstead Primary School-21

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 67 27 3 3 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 42 58 0 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 30 58 9 3 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 55 36 9 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 76 21 3 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 52 45 3 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 64 27 3 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 64 27 3 0 6

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 76 21 3 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 33 42 18 3 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

26. The inspection team fully support these and the other very positive views the parents have of the school. There are after school activities such as football, recorder club and the ‘green club.’ Given the size of the school and the number of staff the school is dependent on parents helping to extend the range of activities. Homework is set regularly. A parent at the meeting said that when she felt there was too much she just had a quick word with the teacher.

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Other issues raised by parents

27. Some parents were angry about the overall quality of the accommodation. The quality of the accommodation restricts the teaching and curriculum for children under five. Tunstead Primary School-22

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