Tannery Drift School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Tannery Drift School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Tannery Drift School is a learning community full of joy. Pupils enjoy coming to school and take pride in all they do. Adults have high expectations of what pupils can do.

Leaders make sure that pupils are at the heart of all curriculum decisions. As a result, everyone feels valued and cared for. Pupils behave well.

There is an ethos of consideration and respect in the school. This makes the school a calm but exciting place to learn. Pupils show care and responsibility for others.

Pupils say that they are 'good friends with each other'. Playtimes are active and happy.
...r/>Pupils benefit from a range of extra expertise that leaders bring into the school.

Artists, musicians, coaches, governors and staff from other schools help to enhance learning. This inspiration from a range of people results in pupils' enthusiasm for trying new things and increased confidence in discussing their learning.

Parents and carers are supportive of the school and praise the openness of leaders.

Parents also value the exciting curriculum and the time that staff take to get to know children. 'I could not ask for a better school for my child' is one of the very many positive comments that parents made.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

School leaders, governors and staff share a strong vision.

They promote positive relationships and mutual respect. They ensure that pupils' wider development is a priority. Pupils have a range of opportunities to learn about and practise healthy lifestyles.

The enrichment curriculum supports pupils in working together with others. This includes taking part in the daily mile and community art projects. Pupils develop positive attitudes to learning.

Since the previous inspection, leaders have strengthened the leadership structure. They are developing further the knowledge and skills of subject leaders. All areas of the curriculum are well led and the aims of the curriculum are clear.

Leaders have developed effective systems for managing staff workload and staff feel that their well-being is considered by leaders in decision-making.

The pupil premium leader and the special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) leader work well together to ensure that pupils are supported. Teachers are held to account for progress through robust systems of regular meetings with the SEND leader and headteacher.

As a result, pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged achieve well.

Pupils read well and often. Reading is the cornerstone of the curriculum.

Teachers and pupils talk about stories enthusiastically. The school has developed enticing reading corners in all classrooms. Staff and pupils highly value the library.

Phonics is taught effectively. Most pupils have learned to read by the end of key stage 1. The small number of pupils who need extra support in key stage 2 have books which are well matched to their phonics skills.

Children in the early years foundation stage learn the basic skills of reading and mathematics as soon as they start at Tannery Drift. Teachers prioritise the importance of listening skills. As a result, very young children listen to extended stories well.

This is because teachers know the curriculum and are skilled at engaging children with props and their 'story voices'. Because of this well-planned and well-sequenced curriculum, children are prepared and ready to learn to read.

Leaders have begun to apply the same level of rigour and sequencing to other curriculum subjects.

In these subjects, it is clear that pupils are beginning to build on their learning over time.

In art, pupils have gained a range of skills and knowledge in painting, printing, sculpture and drawing. This results in good-quality work.

In lessons, pupils work well together and reflect and review what they have achieved. They are also encouraged to use others' ideas to improve their work.

In history lessons, pupils can identify how the modern world has been changed by developments made thousands of years ago.

Younger pupils talk about significant people from history and why they are so important. They remember main facts from the current sequences of teaching and develop vocabulary related to the past.

Staff use each other's skills and knowledge to develop their own subject knowledge and expertise.

Leaders made it a priority to ensure that gaps in understanding in subjects such as history are filled. They have reorganised the curriculum so that this can happen. In some curriculum areas, this is in the early stages of development and there are gaps in pupils' understanding, for example when pupils need knowledge of geography in history lessons but are unsure of the names of different continents and countries.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The very positive relationships in the school ensure that pupils behave well and are safe. Parents say that their children feel safe and 'bullying is practically unheard of'.

Leaders carry out the required employment checks on all adults who work with children at the school.

Adults know pupils and their families well and work effectively with other agencies. Records of concerns show actions are taken to address issues quickly.

Staff are very clear about how to report concerns. Governors check safeguarding processes routinely and support leaders in taking additional steps to improve systems.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

In some curriculum subjects, pupils' understanding is not as secure as it is in others.

This makes it harder for them to link new learning to what has come before. Leaders need to ensure that teachers check that pupils are secure in their knowledge, skills and understanding before new content is introduced.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 7 February 2011.