Contact: John Clarke, Deputy Director of Children's Services, Tel 01962 846459 [email protected] or

Richard Mitchell, Strategic School Improvement Manager, Tel 023 92 441471 [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 HMI along with two additional inspectors visited the school on 1 and 2 March
2006. The team's judgement was that although some progress had been made in the school, this had been very recent and mainly since the appointment of the seconded headteacher in January 2006. The overall progress since being subject to special measures in September 2005 was inadequate. The team did not add any further issues. A copy of the report written by HMI is attached.

1.2 This report to the panel supports Aim 1 of the Corporate Strategy (maximizing life opportunities) and the achievement of the 5 outcomes of the Children Act 2004. The quality of schools is clearly closely related to the educational achievement of pupils, and those achievements fundamentally affect each person's life chances. The purpose of this report is to inform Elected Members of the work being done to effect improvement in the college.

2 Background

2.1 Tony Markham is headteacher of the school, which has 10.4% of its population entitled to free school meals. The number on roll is 425. The percentage of pupils identified as having special educational needs (SEN) and receiving additional support in the form of School Action or School Action Plus is 21.2%.

3 Findings

3.1 Pupil progress throughout the school remained inconsistent, with variable
expectations. It was recognised that there were high expectations in Year 6 along with a good level of challenge, but that expectations were too low further down the school. The school was beginning to make better use of data although there was a lack of consistency in approach which reduced the impact of the strategy.

3.2 It was acknowledged that the school had successfully sustained its good level of provision for pupils' personal development and well-being. The report was complimentary about the Young Governors and pupils' understanding of the need to eat healthily.

3.3 Of the fifteen lessons observed, eight were judged to be good, four were satisfactory and three were judged to be inadequate. There was an acknowledgement of the provision to staff of guidance about how to improve the quality of their planning by the mathematics and English co-ordinators. Where there remain weaknesses in provision, this guidance had not yet impacted sufficiently on teachers' ability to make effective use of time during lessons. The overall quality of planning had improved and there were pockets of good practice in the school. Some lessons were not taking sufficient account of pupils' prior aptitudes and skills.

3.4 All year groups now have a mathematics lesson each day. Curriculum developments have not yet had sufficient impact on raising achievement through a focus on teaching and learning. There was some progress in improving the quality of assessment in the school.

3.5 The progress in leadership and management was judged to have been linked to the arrival of the seconded headteacher who was effectively helping the staff work as a team. Monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning was taking place and this was helping the staff reaffirm their strengths and identify areas for development. The seconded headteacher had produced a brief, but useful, strategic overview with helpful timescales. The school needed to develop further systems to evaluate correctly its own effectiveness. The quality of governance had improved and governors were more aware of their legal responsibilities and were providing the school with an improved level of challenge.

4 LA Statement of Action

4.1 The LA's statement of action was satisfactory, including appropriate areas in need of improvement and clear time scales which identified those responsible for ensuring that actions took place and success criteria were measurable. Further emphasis needed to be placed on measuring progress pupils make year on year and in the course of a year. Effective external support was being provided by the LA, strengthened by the work of the school improvement manager. The work of the LA consultants and advisers was helping English and mathematics co-ordinators develop a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The LA's target date for removal of special measures by September 2007 was realistic.

4.2 The school's seconded headteacher and the LA have made sure that all staff are aware of the HMI's findings and have woven into the actions necessary for improvement a greater sense of urgency and clarity. The LA is disappointed that the earlier work, prior to the arrival of the seconded headteacher, by the school and supported by a local HT was not acknowledged as contributing to pupil progress. The substantive headteacher resigned at the end of May 2006. The governing body is well advanced in seeking a permanent headteacher from January 2007.

4.3 The overall quality of leadership and management is clearly establishing a proper sense of direction and the school has established a `roads to recovery' plan. Targets are increasingly becoming more easily measurable and are being checked to enhance pupil progress. The quality of teaching is improving, staff now better understand their strengths and, crucially, their areas for development. Assessment information is being used both coherently and consistently across the school to enhance the progress of pupils. Short and medium term planning are now more capable of helping all teachers to deliver and evaluate their lessons.

4.4 The strategy group meets half-termly and monitors progress and adjusts supports. New areas of support will be brought into play over the next few months as the improvement agenda alters. The School Improvement Manager (SIM) meets fortnightly with the seconded headteacher to scrutinise progress and drive forward necessary change, so as to secure the improvements in pupil progress. The attached inspector (AI) regularly reports to the school and governors on progress against the four key Ofsted issues for improvement, and clearly states future actions that need to be taken alongside a recognition of the positive changes that are taking place.

5 Future Actions

5.1 Current foci for actions include:

· Providing a clearer link between assessment information and how this informs lesson planning, and learning and teaching

· Ensuring that appropriate planning addresses the needs of all pupils in every mathematics lesson

· Coaching and monitoring teachers to overcome weaknesses identified in the latest monitoring report.

· Evaluating the current staff deployment across the school with regard to raising the overall quality of teaching.

5.2 The school is determined to achieve a satisfactory report at the next monitoring
visit.

6 Legal implications

6.1 None

7 Financial implications

7.1 None

8 Personnel implications

8.1 None

9 Impact assessment

9.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact have been identified.

10 Crime Prevention issues

10.1 None

11 Views of the Local County Councillor

11.1 The local County Councillor has been informed of the outcome of this inspection but views were not sought in the drafting of this report.

Recommendation

1 That this report be noted.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act

None