Tividale Hall Primary School

Inspection Report Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School

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103960 Unique Reference Number Sandwell LEA 277035 Inspection number 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 Inspection dates Ian Knight RISP Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Regent Road School address Primary Type of school Tividale Community School category Oldbury, West Midlands B69 1TR 3 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01384 254865 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01384 459421 Fax number 453 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Pam Willetts Headteacher 13 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277035 21 September 2005 - 3 to 11 22 September 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School is a large community school in the West Midlands. The area it serves is socially disadvantaged. However, attainment at entry to the Nursery is average. Almost all pupils are of White British origin. There are small numbers of pupils from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean or mixed heritage, although few speak English as an additional language. The number of pupils on the special educational needs register or with a statement of special educational needs is lower than average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school that its effectiveness is satisfactory. It provides satisfactory value for money. Pupils behave well because they enjoy their education. The provision for children in the Nursery and Reception has improved recently and is now good. The children in Reception make especially good progress because the teaching is strongest in this part of the school. The school knows its strengths and weaknesses well. It used this knowledge to raise standards significantly in English in Year 6 and in mathematics in Year 2 this year. However, the results of self-evaluation are not always used to best effect and consequently planning for improvement lacks focus, and overall standards are average. The school has made satisfactory progress since its last inspection in November 2000 and has satisfactory capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Improve achievement, especially for the most capable pupils, in literacy in the infants and in mathematics and science in the juniors. •Make better use of the outcomes of self-evaluation to ensure that priorities for improvement are better focused to improve teaching and learning.

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Grade: 3

By the end of Reception standards are above those expected. The children make good progress in the Reception classes, particularly in reading and writing. This is because the teachers match the work carefully to the children’s different needs and abilities. While children in the Nursery make good progress in most aspects of their learning, their progress in acquiring the early skills of literacy is not as rapid because the planning does not clearly show what different groups are to learn. National test results in 2004 for pupils in Year 2 were broadly average but relatively few pupils gained the higher levels. Provisional results for mathematics in 2005 were much improved but very few pupils gained the highest levels in reading and writing. Standards overall were average. These pupils started in Year 1 with standards that were broadly average and this represents satisfactory achievement throughout their

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Grade: 3

time in the infants. National Curriculum test results for pupils in Year 6 in 2004 were average in mathematics and science but significantly below average in English. The school responded to this by setting strategies in place to improve matters. These proved effective in English, where provisional results in 2005 were significantly better. However this was at a cost to standards in mathematics and science. In both these subjects, the proportion of pupils gaining the highest levels was low. Standards overall in all three subjects are satisfactory in the current Year 6. These pupils’ attainment when they 2 Inspection Report: Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 entered the juniors was average. All the pupils in Year 6 have made satisfactory progress, including those who have learning difficulties and disabilities Grade: 3

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Grade: 3

The school has an effective programme for personal and social education. Many recent initiatives focus on pupils’ awareness of relationships and of getting on well, both with each other and with adults. As a result, behaviour in and around the school is good, and older pupils are proud of the contribution they make to the school community. Social development overall is good. Pupils learn about friendship, and the friendship teams and ‘friendship-stop’ help to ensure that pupils do not feel left out at playtimes. Some of the younger children, however, are not sure how this system works. Pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development is satisfactory. The staff are strengthening these areas by giving pupils a greater voice in lessons to expand their ideas and by giving them time to reflect on what they learn. Pupils and staff agree that there is a greater openness, and most pupils know the levels they are working at. However, few

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Grade: 3

know what they have to do to improve their progress in lessons. For example, Year 6 girls said that to get better, they ‘listen to teachers and do their best work’ rather than being able to give specific areas they would need to work on. Because of their greater involvement in the class activities, pupils are now developing a deeper interest in school and their attitudes to work are good. They enjoy coming to school and attendance is satisfactory. The school takes care to ensure a safe environment and is training pupils to be aware of possible risks around school, especially in physical education, science and technology. The staff encourage pupils well to adopt healthy practices like frequent exercise and balanced diet. The staff focus well on teaching the basic skills in keeping healthy, but do not reinforce enough how these skills will help the pupils in their future lives. Grade: 3

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning in the school are satisfactory overall, and good in Reception. The teachers in the Reception classes give careful attention to providing tasks that build effectively on what children have done before. As a result, they make best use of the time for learning and the children make good progress. By comparison, planning in the Nursery does not clearly identify what it is that the different groups of children are to learn. This does not ensure that children work and achieve as much as they can, and is particularly evident in literacy. 3 Inspection Report: Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 The more effective features of teaching in the infants and juniors include: good questioning that maintains pace, keeps pupils on their toes and tests learning; effective intervention as teachers check how well pupils are doing and ensure that they are

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Grade: 3

working well on task; and the honing of planning based on previous work so that tasks closely match the needs of individuals in the class. These features were seen in lessons observed in most year groups. In good lessons, the higher attaining pupils are challenged well and teachers go around the class to give guidance just when it is most needed. This was seen, for example, in a lesson for pupils in Year 4 when the task for the most capable was amended in the light of previous work. However, there are some general weaknesses in the teaching that prevent pupils from making better progress and hold back standards. In some lessons, planning does not adequately challenge the most capable pupils. This restricts the progress that they can make and reduces the pace of their learning. In some lessons, too, questioning is too general to engage all pupils at their own level. Grade: 3

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory range of experiences both in and outside lessons. These experiences cover all the National Curriculum subjects and religious education, and French is being introduced in the juniors. Issues arising from teaching several subjects together linked by a common theme have been addressed by evaluations carried out by senior managers. This has rightly centred on the need to ensure that there is the right balance both across and within subjects. Through making the teaching more focused and by monitoring planning, they have also responded to identified deficiencies, for example, in mathematics and science. These are positive steps but it is not clear at this point how well things are going; nor is it clear how the success of this will be measured to ensure that the action is working as well as it should. There are a number of sporting and creative clubs after school, attended by up to half

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Grade: 3

of the pupils, which contribute well to pupils’ learning. Pupils particularly like the residential visits they go on because they feel this helps them to grow up and they say that the learning is often fun. Grade: 3

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Grade: 3

There is a strong commitment to the pupils’ care and well-being. The school has recently extended its range of monitoring to identify pupils’ needs more closely. The information from this is used effectively to identify groups within the classroom but the matching of work sufficiently well for different groups is not yet consistent across the school. The school is responding to this by monitoring teaching with this issue as a key target. A sound programme for supporting pupils who have either learning difficulties or disabilities ensures that they make satisfactory progress and gain 4 Inspection Report: Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 confidence in their skills. A recent comprehensive review has highlighted key points to develop and the means to achieve the new targets. The staff are well versed in the school’s procedures for dealing with child protection matters and these work well.

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Grade: 3

The school is led and managed satisfactorily. The relatively new senior team has gelled well and its members have complementary skills. They know the school well and are aware of its strengths and weaknesses through regular monitoring of its work. This now includes consulting all those with an interest in the school, including the governing body, as well as collecting the views of parents through questionnaires. The majority of parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire were pleased with the school’s provision. Highly effective steps to address underachievement in English in Year 6 last year, following school self-evaluation, resulted in standards rising significantly, especially for the most capable pupils. Effective support for the staff in the Nursery and Reception classes has improved provision so that it is now good. However, whilst the school has identified a number of other areas for development,

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Grade: 3

it has not been rigorous enough in prioritising what needs to be done. The short term plans it uses include too many priorities and lack focus and coherence. Whilst each priority is sensible in itself, the school has tried to move forward on too broad a front and some areas, for example, literacy in the infants, have slipped back. Also, the school does not have a clear picture of how it wants to progress in the longer term. Grade: 3 5 Inspection Report: Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Tividale Hall Junior and Infant School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 September 2005 Dear Pupils Thank you for being so polite and helpful when we visited your school in September. It was very helpful to us to be able to look at your work and to talk with you about the school. You behave well and this helps your teachers to make sure that you can learn without being put off. We were pleased to see that lots of you enjoy your lessons. Children in Nursery and Reception are learning new things quickly and this will help them when they start in Year 1. The pupils who did their SATs in the summer did well in some subjects. Your teachers worked particularly hard in English for the juniors and in mathematics for the infants. We’ve asked your teachers to work hard to make the results even better this year. You can help them by trying your best and telling them if you find the work too easy. Your headteacher and the staff have introduced lots of ways to make the school better for you, and some of you told us how much

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

nicer the classrooms are now. We think that they might have tried to do too many new things at once, so we’ve asked them to think very hard about which are the most important things to help you to learn more. Yours sincerely Ian Knight Lead Inspector

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