Tendring Primary School

Tendring Primary School Inspection report

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114738 Unique Reference Number ESSEX LA Local Authority 311687 Inspection number 19 March 2008 Inspection date Ian Jones Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 139 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Anne Rigby Chair Mrs Anne Clarke Headteacher 29 September 2003 Date of previous school inspection School Road School address Tendring Clacton-on-Sea Essex CO16 0BP 01255 830307 Telephone number 01255 831297 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 19 March 2008 Inspection date 311687 Inspection number .

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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 an Additional Inspector, who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ How effectively the school supports more able pupils, particularly in writing, to achieve their potential. ■ Pupils' involvement and understanding of assessment to support learning.

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Introduction

■ The impact of the school's leadership in improving aspects of its work.

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from the observations of lessons, discussions with staff, pupils and governors; parents' questionnaires, examining pupils' work, school assessment data and documentation including the school's self-evaluation. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This village school is smaller than the average primary school. Very few pupils are eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils who need additional support with their learning is below average. When children enter the Foundation Stage their attainment varies from year to year but is broadly in line with national expectations. The school is popular and attracts pupils living outside the village. The school has gained the Healthy Schools and Active Mark awards.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Tendring Primary School, 19 March 2008

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Grade: 1

The school provides a very caring and nurturing environment for its pupils. Parents are very appreciative of the school. 'Tendring is a fantastic school where the children are happy, friendly and keen to learn' commented one parent, echoing the views of many. Governors, pupils and their parents are right to be proud of their school because it is excellent. Care, guidance and support are exemplary. Pupils are particularly well cared for, and their personal development and well-being are outstanding. Arrangements for their care and protection are appropriately in place, and pupils report that they feel extremely safe and secure. They look after each other very well and demonstrate a high level of understanding of how to stay healthy. The school listens carefully to its pupils and values their ideas and suggestions. 'Playground buddies' help those pupils who need a friend. The school council has been involved

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Grade: 1

in improving the school and has plans to develop the playground further. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and say that 'learning is great fun, especially when we work together.' Pupils enjoy everything that the school has to offer, reflected in their consistently good attendance. They quickly become eager and confident learners, cooperating exceptionally well with each other during lessons and at playtimes. Their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is outstanding. Behaviour is excellent. By the time they leave the school at Year 6, pupils reach exceptionally high standards overall and particularly in mathematics and science. Standards in English are above average and improving, and accurate target setting for pupils is helping to challenge the more able pupils to make even better progress. The high standards achieved and mature attitudes to learning ensure that pupils are very well prepared for secondary education and the world beyond.

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Grade: 1

Achievement is excellent because the school makes outstanding provision for pupils' learning. The quality of teaching from all staff is consistently high and is strongly supported by an extremely carefully planned curriculum that includes a very wide range of additional learning opportunities. Staff are not complacent however, and have identified aspects to enhance the school's effectiveness, for example, through extending the curriculum to improve the development of pupils' skills. An increasing range of after-school activities is offered to pupils, covering a wide range of sporting and other pursuits. These are greatly enjoyed by pupils and appreciated by parents. French is taught across Key Stage 2 and the curriculum is enriched through residential visits and themed events that successfully motivate pupils to learn. These initiatives help broaden the curriculum further and contribute well to pupils' cultural development. For example, the

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Grade: 1

recent 'Africa Week' offered pupils opportunities to develop skills including art and design. On another occasion, an art exhibition was enjoyed by pupils and enabled parents and others to see the good work achieved by the pupils. These events raised awareness and enhanced pupils' sense of community and citizenship. Leadership and management are outstanding. The headteacher has a very clear vision and strong commitment to raising standards and improving provision. By working closely with staff and governors, she is increasing the school's effectiveness further. Staff are particularly committed and welcome the opportunities to help take the school forward. Governors are knowledgeable and are becoming increasingly effective in their role. They now offer an effective balance of support and challenge to the headteacher. Parents are very positive in their views of the school and express their confidence and trust in the headteacher and staff. As part of

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Grade: 1

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Tendring Primary School, 19 March 2008 its highly thorough self-evaluation, provision is analysed and appropriate developments are prioritised. The school improvement plan is clear, comprehensive and focuses on precisely the right things. Because the school is very self-critical it tends to be too modest in its grading of aspects of school life because it feels rightly that there is always something to improve or refine. The newly formed senior management team is beginning to develop leadership further. There has been good improvement since the previous inspection and all the issues identified at that time have been addressed. The school has made significant strides in the last year. Exemplary leadership, a shared and cohesive drive to improve give the school an excellent capacity to improve. The school uses an increasing amount of data to analyse pupils' performance. In the past, this

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Grade: 1

has not always been used effectively by teachers to set challenging targets for every pupil. This has now been addressed. Systems are in place to map the progress of individual pupils and to provide additional support at an early stage when needed. Therefore, pupils of all abilities, including the gifted and talented and those who find learning more difficult, are very effectively supported. Consequently, the overwhelming majority of pupils make swift progress and do their very best. Precise targets are set for English and mathematics and pupils are clear as to how they support their progress. Work is marked appropriately, although it does not always give enough information to pupils as to how to develop further.

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Grade: 1

The Foundation Stage is exceptionally effective because children are provided with a very firm foundation for their future learning. They make very rapid progress and are well supported across the curriculum, so they enter Year 1 with standards that are above those expected of their age. Teaching is excellent. Children enjoy the wide range of challenging tasks because they are interesting and well suited to their abilities. Relationships are excellent and there are close links with parents. This enables children to settle in very quickly and to become increasingly confident and independent. They thrive in a very purposeful, happy and challenging atmosphere. Children are eager to learn and build securely on previous skills because the curriculum is extremely well planned and stimulating. The Foundation Stage is very well managed and teachers keep very careful check of children's progress.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve marking so that pupils have a clearer understanding of how to improve their work. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Tendring Primary School, 19 March 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Tendring Primary School, 19 March 2008

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Tendring Primary School, 19 March 2008

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Tendring Primary School, 19 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 March 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Tendring Primary School, Clacton on Sea, CO16 0BP Thank you for making me so welcome, talking to me and helping me during the school's inspection. It was really enjoyable coming to meet you and finding out all about your school. You will be pleased to know that the school is doing an outstanding job - well done! There are some of the important things I learned about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You work hard in lessons and your achievement as you move through the school is excellent. This helps you to reach high standards. ■ Your personal development is outstanding. You clearly enjoy your time in school and I was very impressed by your excellent behaviour. ■ You have really good work planned for you and your teachers work hard to make lessons and other activities as exciting and interesting as possible. ■ You told me that your teachers and teaching assistants are doing a great job and learning is lots of fun - I agree with you. You are lucky to have such talented people working with you. ■ Your headteacher does a tremendous job of helping everyone work together to make the school as outstanding as it is. Although your school is excellent, it can be even better. I have asked your teachers to give you more support when marking your work to help you make even better progress. Thank you again for being so helpful and friendly when I came to see you.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Ian Jones Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Tendring Primary School, 19 March 2008

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