Tiptoe Primary School keeps 'good' status following Ofsted inspection

TIPTOE Primary School has been praised by Ofsted for developing pupils’ resilience and creating “enthusiastic and confident learners”.

Having retained its ‘good’ rating following an inspection, the school said it was delighted that its “family ethos” had been recognised.

Pupils felt “happy, safe and cared for”, said the report, and all played an active role in the school community.

“They talk enthusiastically about the school’s ‘learning powers’,” said the inspectors. “Behaviour is safe and orderly, and pupils know and respect routines.

“Parents and teachers report that there is little or no bullying, and pupils say that if it does happen teachers deal with it quickly.”

To improve, leaders needed to adapt the personal development curriculum to ensure pupils had opportunities to explore a range of faiths and cultures beyond their local community.

“Pupils do not know enough about a broad range of faiths and cultures,” said the report. “This means they are not as well prepared as they could be for life in modern Britain.”

Reacting to the result, head teacher Helen Smith told the A&T: “The inspector was very impressed with our children and our family ethos.

“Everyone knows each other and looks after each other, and our staff have successfully created a positive attitude among children towards learning.

“We provide our children with an excellent foundation which enables them to leave Tiptoe as well rounded individuals ready for their next step.”

The curriculum was said by the report to be “carefully planned and logically sequenced”, with reading a high priority and maths “skilfully taught”.

“Most pupils learn to be speedy and accurate readers,” the report went on. “Leaders have ensured teachers read high-quality texts to all children daily, and the school uses trained volunteers to hear pupils read.”

Pupils are resilient, it continued, and understand the importance of practice to help them improve.

Those with special educational needs were “well supported” and progress “in line” with their peers.

“Pupils play an active role in the school community,” the report stated. “Older children enjoy holding responsibilities such as being ‘reading buddies’ to younger pupils and making decisions as part of the school council.

“Each class supports a charity, and the school supports the local food bank.”

The inspector pointed out that while children had a good understanding of how to stay physically active, they were “less clear” about how to remain mentally healthy.Safeguarding procedures were said to be “clear and robust”, and leaders were “relentless” in making referrals to external agencies to ensure pupils receive the help they need.