Twyning School

115547 Unique Reference Number Gloucestershire LEA 279624 Inspection number 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 Inspection dates Graeme Bassett AI Reporting inspector

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

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Twyning Green School address Primary Type of school Twyning Community School category Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 6DF 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01684 293577 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01684 850905 Fax number 115 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Richard Vaughan Headteacher 14 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279624 16 May 2006 - 4 to 11 16 May 2006 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average size school. Most children are White British and none speak English as an additional language. The economic circumstances of the local area are above average. An average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities. The headteacher was appointed in April 2006. The school was awarded a Healthy School award in 2004.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Twyning School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The overall effectiveness of the school is good and this matches the school’s own view. The pupils make good progress and reach above average standards throughout the school. The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are good and children achieve well. The good standards achieved by Year 6 pupils have been maintained over several years and the trend in the school’s performance has been consistently good since the last inspection. Teaching is good overall and sometimes excellent, though the teachers’ records of what each pupil achieves lack sufficient rigour. Pupils’ personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good with some outstanding aspects. The curriculum is good and additional activities enrich the pupils’ learning well. However, secure links across subjects have not yet been established to strengthen the curriculum further or to

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Grade: 2

broaden pupils’ writing skills and interests. The pupils are cared for, guided and supported well. Leadership and management of the school are good. During the recent period of change of headteacher, the governing body gave the school a very clear direction and its leadership and management has been outstanding. The headteacher is building effectively on the school’s strengths by making accurate evaluations about standards and achievement and by setting priorities effectively. Subject leaders are steadily developing an understanding of their responsibilities but their monitoring and evaluation skills are not robust enough. The school has successfully addressed the issues raised at the last inspection and has good capacity to make the necessary improvements in the future. It gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• establish simpler assessment records that are used more frequently to help teachers plan what pupils are taught next • improve the monitoring and evaluation skills of subject leaders so that they can set more challenging goals for subjects • plan links across subjects to broaden the pupils’ writing skills and interests.

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Grade: 2

Standards are above average and achievement is good throughout the school. These high standards have been maintained over several years. Most of the children enter the Foundation Stage with above average attainment. In a secure environment, they quickly settle to routines and make good progress. By the time they enter Year 1, most have reached the expected learning goals for their age, and many exceed them. Pupils continue to progress well as they move up through the school. By the end of Year 2, standards are significantly above average in reading and a significantly above average proportion of pupils reach the higher level in mathematics and science. 2 Inspection Report: Twyning School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 Reflecting the good quality of teaching, by the end of Year 6, pupils’ standards meet the challenging targets and are above average in English and significantly above average in mathematics and science. Pupils with learning difficulties and the

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Grade: 2

lower-attaining pupils make good progress because of the helpful support they get in class and in small groups.

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Grade: 2

The pupils’ personal development and well-being are good, and they make good progress in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Links across subjects, especially involving the arts, would increase opportunities for pupils’ enjoyment and improve their cultural development further. Their understanding of the importance to adopt healthy lifestyles is outstanding and their contribution to the school and the wider community is excellent. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are keen to learn. Their positive attitudes thrive in the purposeful atmosphere in the school, and friendships extend well across the different age groups. Pupils respect each other and share in each other’s successes. They behave well, work hard and move around the school with purpose and consideration. Attendance and punctuality are good. Pupils’ spiritual development has improved since the last inspection and is fostered well

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Grade: 2

through the curriculum. Older pupils enjoy taking responsibility for the younger pupils and often help to supervise their play. Pupils’ preparation for their future economic well-being is pursued well through fundraising events, such as for communities in Honduras and Africa, and also through the actions of the school council, which made an effective contribution to the selection of the new headteacher.

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Grade: 2

Pupils learn effectively because of the good, and sometimes excellent, quality of the teaching. The needs of each pupil, including those with learning difficulties, are met effectively. Teachers have a good influence on fostering pupils’ personal development and their good subject knowledge is used well to set challenging tasks for the full ability range within their classes. Pupils are managed well and often younger pupils are taught alongside older ones to extend their skills and understanding to a higher level. Good and sensitive support is given to pupils with learning difficulties. Teachers’ clear-cut questioning skills encourage all pupils to explain their thinking and to reinforce understanding. Interactive whiteboards are used well to motivate the pupils, who are keen to use this technology to demonstrate answers to others. This also increases their confidence. The day-to-day recording of what each pupil achieves is not robust enough

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Grade: 2

and consequently teachers tend to carry too much information in their heads. This is not reliable enough to ensure that future plans focus precisely on what each pupil, or group of pupils, needs to learn next. Although the teachers’ marking of work is good and contains helpful written comments on how pupils can improve, the pupils 3 Inspection Report: Twyning School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 themselves are not involved sufficiently in assessing what they know and, as a result, do not always know clearly how well they are doing.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. Following national guidelines, it provides a good match of work, over a two-year cycle, to build upon the previous learning of pupils in mixed aged classes. It is enhanced well through a wide range of additional activities, such as workshops and clubs, and by contributions from visitors, including visiting teachers from the secondary school. It is also enriched by well-planned educational visits, including a residential trip for pupils in Years 5 and 6. Planned links across subjects to strengthen the curriculum even more and to improve the pupils’ standards and interest in writing have not yet been established. Pupils with learning difficulties are supported effectively and their targets are suitably changed as necessary in response to their successes. Information and communication technology has been improved since the last inspection and teachers plan structured opportunities to develop pupils’

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Grade: 2

skills which they can use in other subjects. A strong emphasis is given to pupils’ personal development, especially through physical education.

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Grade: 2

Conscientious commitment by the staff ensures that care, guidance and support are good. The provision for pupils’ personal development is good and they are given excellent guidance about the importance of developing healthy lifestyles and staying safe. Staff have very good knowledge of pupils’ social and emotional needs, and communicate well their high expectations for pupils’ personal and academic development. The support for pupils with learning difficulties is good. Risk assessments are carefully attended to and child protection procedures are rigorous. There are good links with parents, carers and support agencies which help to ensure that relevant information is shared effectively. Parents are very positive in their support for the school and express their appreciation of the warm welcome given to them by the headteacher. They feel involved in their child’s education and each term teachers share

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Grade: 2

the comprehensive notes which they prepare about each pupil’s achievements.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The newly-appointed headteacher leads and manages the school well. He has established a good understanding of how the school has worked in the past and is steadily building upon this. In the short time he has been in post, he has made accurate evaluations about the standards pupils achieve and has clearly identified areas for development, resulting in an accurate and succinct school self-evaluation. The subject leaders are slowly developing their responsibilities but their monitoring and evaluation procedures are not rigorous enough to provide accurate 4 Inspection Report: Twyning School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 information in order to set higher goals. The leadership and management of the provision for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are good. Improvements since the last inspection have been good, especially in information and communication technology. The new headteacher has the full support of the governing body, which

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Grade: 2

carries out its statutory responsibilities excellently. It has outstanding organisational skills and thorough knowledge of the school. Strong relationships exist with the local community and also with the secondary school. The school building has been substantially improved since the last inspection and further extensions are planned to improve facilities for the Foundation Stage. The school provides good value for money and the capacity for improvement is good. 5 Inspection Report: Twyning School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 .

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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: Twyning School, 16 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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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 2 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 2 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 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 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 2 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 1 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

Thank you very much for making us so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to many of you and looking at your work. We found your school to be a happy friendly place and were pleased with these things: you enjoy coming to school and you are keen to learn the teaching in the school is good and this helps you to make good progress your teachers care and support you well and you know who to talk to if you have a problem you have an excellent understanding that you need to stay healthy and you give outstanding help to others especially in Honduras and Africa your headteacher and governors lead your school well. We have asked the headteacher and governors to: ensure that your teachers check up and record how well you are doing more frequently so that they can use this information to plan your next task help your teachers to make better checks that subjects are being planned well so that you can

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

work as hard as you can make links across subjects so that your work is even more interesting and so that you can develop your writing skills through different interests. Thank you once again for helping us on our visit. We did enjoy visiting you.

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