Aston Tower Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils achieve well because teaching is consistently good.

Some teaching is outstanding. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Their outstanding behaviour and extremely positive attitudes helps them to learn well and make good progress in lessons.

Teachers' marking gives excellent support to pupils so that they are very clear about how well they are doing and how to improve. The headteacher's excellent leadership has built a whole-staff team that is focused on raising achievement and improving teaching. There has been outstanding improvement to pupils' achievement in writing because leaders check their p...rogress very well and the subject is taught better with more interesting work for pupils to do.

The governing body keeps a close eye on the school's work to make sure that the school runs smoothly for teachers to be free to teach and pupils able to learn. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Work is sometimes too easy or too hard for pupils and they are not given enough real-life problems to solve in mathematics. Adults in the Nursery and the Reception classes do not do enough to help children to talk about what they are doing when playing.

The outside area for children in the Reception classes does not offer them a wide enough choice of what to do covering all areas of learning.

Information about this school

Aston Tower Primary School is larger than average. Pupils come from a number of minority ethnic backgrounds with Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black African pupils being the largest groups.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is over twice the national average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action, and those supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, is above average. Children start in the Nursery in the September following their third birthday and move to one of two Reception classes in the September after they become four.

The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expected standard for pupils' attainment and progress. There is a breakfast club at the school managed by the governing body. This was part of this inspection and is included in this report.