Tintwistle CofE (Aided) Primary School
South Close
Tintwistle
Glossop
Derbyshire
SK131LY

Phone:01457 852611
Headteacher: Mrs Jo Griffin Ma
Diocese of Chester

Visit school website 

95 pupils, Mixed

ofsted.gov.uk

© Crown copyright 2009

Introduction

This inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors. The inspectors visited seven lessons or parts of lessons, and held meetings with governors, staff and groups of pupils. They observed the school's work, and looked at documents including the school improvement plan, the school's records of pupils' progress and the monitoring of teaching, and 14 parents' questionnaires.

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at the following:

• the work of the Early Years Foundation Stage unit
• the progress pupils in Key Stage 2 are currently making in English and mathematics
• the match of work to pupils' needs, particularly those of the most able.

Information about the school

The school is much smaller than most primary schools and the majority of pupils come from the immediate locality. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. Virtually all the pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is similar to the average but varies significantly from year to year. The school has a purpose built Early Years Foundation Stage unit which it shares with Jack in the Box pre-school. This is run by a private provider and was inspected in November 2008. The school holds a number of awards including a Healthy Schools award and Activemark. Over the last few years there has been some unavoidable staff absence.

Main findings

This is a satisfactory school that has improved since the previous inspection. It makes particularly good provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and successfully encourages pupils' personal development. The school provides a very cheerful and welcoming environment where pupils are well looked after and, consequently, feel safe and secure. Pupils respond by making a good contribution to the school community, for example, through running lunchtime clubs and acting as play leaders. Their behaviour is good, particularly in lessons.

Achievement is satisfactory because attainment is average and learning and progress are satisfactory. When children join the school in the Reception class their skills are very similar to those expected for their age. They make satisfactory progress through the school and, by the time they leave in Year 6, their attainment is broadly average. A higher proportion than average reach the nationally expected Level 4 in English. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 5 is below average in writing, mathematics and science. Pupils who find learning difficult, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress because they are well supported. The support and challenge for more able pupils is sometimes less effective and their understanding is not always thoroughly checked during lessons.

Although some good teaching was seen during the inspection, teaching over time has been satisfactory and has resulted in satisfactory outcomes for pupils. The school has worked hard to ensure that pupils' academic targets are expressed in child-friendly language and to provide pupils with clear strategies to help them reach the next National Curriculum level. However, there are times when targets are not referred to in teachers' marking and the comments, particularly on the work of more able pupils, are mainly congratulatory which reduces their impact. Much has been done to develop the way children's learning is checked in the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, this information is not always used effectively to plan activities that are tailored to the needs and abilities of individual children. This holds back progress, particularly for the most able. Pupils say they have lots of fun at school. The good enrichment opportunities range from cheerleading to involvement in the well-attended Christmas pantomime. The school is thoroughly involved in its local community but staff and governors are aware that there are very few opportunities for pupils to meet others from more diverse backgrounds. This restricts pupils' understanding of different cultures and faiths and the common values they share.

As the school is small, those with management responsibilities, including the headteacher, have a heavy load and work extremely hard. The headteacher provides a clear sense of direction for the school and is able to drive forward improvements. Together with other leaders she has identified key areas of weakness such as boys' reading, and has made improvements to provision that have boosted the attainment and progress of boys in English. This illustrates that the school's capacity to improve further is satisfactory.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Increase the proportion of pupils gaining the higher Level 5 at the end of Key Stage 2 by

• ensuring that the more able pupils are set challenging work in all lessons
• regularly checking all pupils' levels of understanding when they are working independently
• making certain that marking links with target setting and clearly tells pupils how to further improve their work.

• Promote pupils' understanding and respect for other faiths and cultures by providing them with more opportunities to meet others from a wide range of backgrounds.

• Enhance pupils' progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage by ensuring that assessment information is used to plan activities that are tailored to the abilities of all individuals.

• About 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

Pupils make satisfactory progress through Key Stage 1 and, by the end of Year 2, they reach broadly average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion who reach the higher Level 3 is similar to that seen nationally. For the last three years, attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 has been broadly average. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and others who find learning challenging, are given good support. As a result, many of these pupils reach the nationally expected Level 4, particularly in English. The progress made by more able pupils is sometimes slower and, consequently, the proportion who reach Level 5 is below average. The school is rightly aware that pupils' progress through Key Stage 2 is uneven, with variations between subjects, including English and mathematics, and different year groups. Classroom observations and scrutiny of pupils' work confirmed that their basic skills are secure and result in mainly accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. Pupils are usually keen to do well in lessons but older pupils say they do not enjoy writing and this is reflected in a lack of enthusiasm and variety in their writing style.

Pupils feel safe in school and are confident that they have an adult to talk to who will help sort out their problems. Most are proud of Tintwisle and want to make a good contribution to the school community. When pupils join the school, some are not naturally well behaved. The staff help them to improve their behaviour and by the time they are in Year 6, pupils act sensibly, particularly in lessons. Pupils have a good knowledge of healthy lifestyles. They are very enthusiastic about exercise and say that they enjoy their physical education lessons and sport. However, although they know about healthy eating they do not always choose to eat the right things. Pupils are adequately prepared for the next stage of their education. Their basic skills are secure and they are confident in their use of information and communication technology (ICT). Governors are helping to improve pupils' understanding of enterprise by running special events. Recently, attendance rates have been close to the national average and few pupils are persistently absent. Christian values underpin the sound spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils. While they have a strong appreciation of Christian viewpoints and traditional British culture, their awareness of the values, beliefs and cultures of others beyond the immediate locality is limited.

These are the grades for pupils' outcomes

¹ The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low

How effective is the provision?

Relationships between teachers and pupils are warm and supportive, and contribute to the effective management of behaviour. Resources, including ICT, are used well to support learning. The school has worked hard to develop academic targets for pupils that they can understand, and give them clear strategies for reaching the next National Curriculum level. However the impact of this valuable work is reduced because these targets are not always referred to when pupils' work is marked, which does not help pupils know how well they are doing. More able pupils, in particular, are not always reminded about how they can improve their work. Learning support assistants work well to help pupils who find learning demanding, and some teachers are very alert to the quality of pupils' learning in lessons and will use the next lesson to address any misunderstandings. Work is often well matched to the needs of those who find learning difficult but the work set for able pupils is not always challenging enough. At times the understanding of able pupils who are working independently is not checked sufficiently. This slows their progress because any misunderstandings are not corrected quickly enough.

The school has successfully developed an interesting new curriculum that is well matched to pupils' needs. Good links are being made between topics and some, like that on Shackleton, are giving pupils good opportunities to practice their writing skills. Pupils enjoy developing their skills in ICT lessons and extend this by running computer clubs at lunchtimes. The good range of extra-curricular activities, including day and residential visits, makes a positive contribution to pupils' good personal development and enhances their enjoyment of school. Clubs are well attended with sport being particularly popular.

The quality of care is good and this is reflected in the way pupils feel at ease in the school. The school works hard to support potentially vulnerable pupils, including good cooperative working with other agencies. The good support received by pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities results in their good progress in personal development and basic skills. Transition arrangements are good and ensure that pupils move smoothly through the school and look forward to the next stage of their education.

These are the grades for the quality of provision

How effective are leadership and management?

Despite staff turbulence the purposeful leadership team has effectively focused the school on where it needs to improve and ensured that staff share the drive to raise standards. Efficient monitoring and the attention paid to developing success criteria, assessment procedures and child friendly targets have strengthened the quality of teaching. The school is committed to promoting equalities for all, and an example of this has been the improvements it has made for checking pupils' progress. However, the school knows it can do more to evaluate and use this information to help pupils make better progress, particularly boys with their reading, and more able pupils generally. Governors discharge their statutory responsibilities satisfactorily. Safeguarding procedures are satisfactory and the school provides satisfactory value for money. The governing body is becoming increasingly involved in the school and is supportive, but it does not always provide sufficient constructive challenge. The school has a good understanding of its local community and international links are starting to develop through pupils' contact with a school in New York. However, the school does not do enough to do provide pupils with opportunities to learn about different cultures and communities in the United Kingdom through direct contact and experiences. Relationships with parents and other partners are good. The school has asked parents for their views about how children learn and has used this information to inform teaching and the planning of the curriculum. The active Tinwistle School Association helps to support the school and extend the opportunities that are available to pupils.

These are the grades for leadership and management

Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides a protective and caring environment where young children feel safe and secure. Overall, children make satisfactory progress in their learning. Assessment information shows that last year's outcomes were below expectations but this was linked to misunderstandings about assessment procedures rather than inadequate progress. These have now been resolved. Children are confident and outgoing and the majority learn to play well together. They are able to make some choices about their learning and most concentrate well. Although a reasonable range of activities is provided, the school does not always offer continuous provision where children choose from diverse, carefully planned activities for themselves. The areas of communication, language and literacy, and problem solving, reasoning and numeracy, tend to be provided through discrete literacy and numeracy sessions for the whole class. This is not in keeping with the Early Years Foundation Stage's accepted good practice. In part, this is because the staff are anxious to provide for Year 1 who are taught within the same unit. Similarly, insufficient use is made of the good quality and easily accessible outdoor environment. Staff have an adequate knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and support children's learning soundly. On occasion, the pace in provision is slow and this, particularly, slows the progress of the more able children. There is sometimes insufficient focus on what will make the best impact on children's learning and development. For example, there are extensive regular assessments and observations of children's learning, but the information gained is not always used to plan activities that are tailored to the needs and abilities of individuals. The unit is working well in partnership with the private pre-school provider with which it shares its high quality accommodation.

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

Views of parents and carers

A small number of parents returned the questionnaire, but most of those that did were very happy with what the school offers and there were very few individual concerns. However, concerns expressed about the Early Years Foundation Stage and the information provided for parents were investigated. The inspection team found the work of the Early Years Foundation Stage unit to be satisfactory overall, but agreed that more could be done to ensure that activities are planned effectively to meet children's individual needs. The amount of information provided to parents about their children's progress is similar to that in many other schools.

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at insert name of school to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school.

In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team/inspector received 14 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 88 pupils registered at the school.

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Overall effectiveness of schools inspected between September 2007 and July 2008

9 December 2009

Dear Pupils

Inspection of Tintwistle C of E (Aided) School, Tinwistle, SK13 1LY.

It was a delight and a privilege to visit your school and share in your Christmas celebrations. We really enjoyed talking to you all and listened very carefully to what you had to say. We were very impressed by your good behaviour and the way you all had such good manners and were so helpful. It looked as though you were having lots of fun during your performance of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and it was great to see all the pictures of your cheerleading activities.

You go to a satisfactory school but it is getting better all the time. You told us that you enjoy school and feel safe. This is because your teachers look after you well. You make a good contribution to your school because you work hard in lessons, run lots of clubs and older children help the younger ones. We know you are keen to be involved in the local community, but we did notice that you do not get many opportunities to meet children from different backgrounds to your own.

You are making satisfactory progress in your lessons. By the time you leave at the end of Year 6, you reach similar standards to most other children because teaching is satisfactory. Lots of you reach the nationally expected levels at the end of Year 6 but few of you reach the higher Level 5. We have asked your school to improve this by providing more challenging work in lessons, always checking how you are getting on when you are working independently, and making sure that marking always tells you how to improve your work.

Children in the Reception class and Year 1 work in a lovely environment and their teachers work hard to plan interesting activities and check their learning. Our view is that they can make better use of these checks to plan activities that challenge children of different abilities. Managers and other staff at your school are working hard to make improvements. You can help by continuing to do your best in lessons.

Thank you again for being such good company.

I wish you well for the future.

Yours sincerely

Susan Walsh

Lead Inspector