Tividale Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is made to feel welcome at Tividale Community Primary School. Staff take time to build warm and nurturing relationships with pupils.

The school sets high standards for what it wants pupils to achieve. This is underpinned by the 'Tividale Values' that play a key role in helping pupils to develop into well-rounded young people.

Pupils behave extremely well.

In lessons, they listen attentively to their teachers and are keen to participate in class discussions and share their ideas. During playtime, pupils enjoy playing different sports or chatting with friends and staff. Pupils feel safe and know where to go if they have any worries.

Pupils stu...dy a range of subjects as part of their curriculum. In reading and mathematics, pupils make good progress and are confident in what they know and understand. Pupils enjoy their learning in other subjects and are keen to share this with visitors.

The school provides many ways for pupils to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 enjoy attending residential trips each year to Edgmond and Ingestre Hall. Pupils can also take up roles as part of the school council or become trained as a sports leader through a local football club.

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

New leaders have an accurate view of the school. They recognise the school's many strengths and the areas that need further development. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of the school and the positive role it plays in the local community.

This is matched by staff who are highly committed to the school and are proud to work here.

The school provides pupils with a strong foundation in reading. Right from Nursery and Reception Year, children begin to learn new letters and sounds.

All staff have been trained in how to teach phonics, which ensures there is a consistent approach across all groups. Teachers check the sounds that children have been taught regularly. Where gaps start to emerge, adults intervene quickly and provide targeted and specific support.

This helps children to catch up. The school provides books to pupils that are well matched to their phase of phonics. This ensures that children learn to read with fluency and make strong progress from their starting points.

The curriculum in mathematics is organised in a way that helps pupils to build on and revisit their learning over time. Teachers check pupils' understanding regularly to pinpoint gaps in knowledge and pick up misconceptions. Teachers have strong subject knowledge in this area and use this effectively to help deliver the curriculum.

Pupils are confident in what they can remember from prior lessons and how they can apply their mathematical knowledge to new problems.

In many other areas of the curriculum, the school has logically set out what pupils will learn and when. In history, for example, leaders have carefully considered what key concepts pupils need to know and remember over time.

These are threaded through each topic so that pupils develop a rich understanding of ideas, such as the class system and civilisation. Pupils in Year 6 talked with enthusiasm about their recent topic on the Titanic and how the class system had an impact on how many people survived. However, this level of knowledge is not the case for all subjects.

In some subjects, the curriculum is not always implemented consistently well. In addition, teachers have not received support in all subjects on the most effective ways to deliver new topics. In a few subjects, therefore, pupils' knowledge is variable.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported very well. The school accurately identifies pupils' needs and works closely with parents and external agencies to provide the most effective support. The school's hubs provide targeted intervention for those with more complex needs.

Teachers in lessons adapt tasks effectively when necessary for pupils with SEND to ensure that they can access learning. Pupils with SEND are fully integrated into school life.

The school has put in place a suitable relationships and health education curriculum.

Pupils have a dedicated lesson each week to learn about key topics, including healthy relationships and staying safe online. Pupils in Year 5 recently completed a programme about cyber security. Many enjoyed presenting what they had learned to the rest of key stage 2 through an assembly.

Pupils also learn about diversity and tolerance. More recently, pupils have celebrated Black History Month by looking at key local and historical people. Through the religious education curriculum, pupils learn about different religions and celebrate a variety of different festivals throughout the school year.

Governors are committed to the school and have its best interests at heart. They recognise the school's strengths and provide effective support and challenge to leaders around the decisions they take.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some foundation subjects, teachers' delivery of the curriculum is not as strong in some subjects as it is in others. This means that pupils can experience variability in how subjects are taught, resulting in their knowledge and understanding of topics not being as secure as they should be. The school should ensure that all subjects are taught well so that pupils are secure in what they know and understand across the curriculum.

In some subjects, leaders are still helping teachers to develop strong subject and pedagogical knowledge. On occasion, teachers are not always confident in how they present new knowledge or deliver new topics. The school should provide further support to enhance teachers' subject knowledge and improve their teaching.

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