Setting

Mrs Despo Stevens Headteacher Bond Primary School Bond Road Mitcham Surrey CR4 3HG

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Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 27 January 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Could you also thank the Chair of the Governing Body, the local authority School Improvement Partner and pupils that I spoke to during the inspection.

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Primary School

A new Chair of the Governing Body was appointed in November 2009.

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Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 7–8 October 2009, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter.

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Primary School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made

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Primary School

good progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement

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Primary School

In 2010, the school did not enter pupils in Year 6 for the end-of-key-stage tests. The school’s own data indicate that there has been a significant rise in the proportion of pupils who attained Level 4 or above in both core subjects. Pupils’ Tribal 1-4 Portland Square BRISTOL BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0845 123 6001 Direct F 0117 315 0430 Email :rebecca.jackson@tribalgroup.com Page 2 attainment in mathematics is now at the national average. Their attainment in writing has improved, although it still falls behind reading and mathematics. Pupils were reported to have made improved levels of progress, especially in mathematics. The school’s data for 2011 indicate that most year groups are achieving their expected levels of progress. This year, there are more pupils in Year 6 predicted to achieve high levels. There is close monitoring of Year 5 who are not yet achieving as

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Primary School

well as they should. In lessons, pupils are keen to learn and are demonstrating good independent skills of learning. Some lessons allow them to be challenged in their learning and the group work enables them to discuss the topics covered in lessons well. Pupils are given good opportunities to assess their own learning and progress, and to undertake the targets set by teachers in their work.

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Primary School

Pupils say they enjoy their learning and teachers are giving them a lot of support in their subjects, especially writing. They behave well in lessons and around the school. Year 6 pupils welcome the additional responsibility of mentoring younger children. Attendance is showing improvement and is now broadly average.

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Primary School

The planning of lessons enables teachers to identify the diverse needs of pupils, especially those who have entered the school speaking English as an additional language. However, pupil performance data are not always used well to plan appropriate activities in lessons, especially for the less-able pupils. Teachers identified well the progress more-able pupils were making and moved them on in their learning. The good pace of most lessons seen enables them to achieve challenging tasks and learn well. Effective explanations, use of probing questions and measured support by teachers are enabling pupils to make good progress in writing in some lessons. There are effective systems for assessing pupils’ progress. The level of teachers’ marking is generally good, with teachers providing effective comments that identify the required targets for pupils to improve their work.

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Primary School

The sharper focus on literacy in the curriculum is having a good impact. Many strong initiatives have been introduced to provide good opportunities for pupils in all years to develop their writing skills. Pupils can choose their best pieces of work which are then proudly displayed in every class. The introduction of more ‘real life’ experiences has enabled them to visit places and write about them, such as the local fire station and pizza restaurants. Good writing initiatives have been implemented such as ‘Talk for Writing’. Pupils say that the English curriculum is now more exciting, enabling them to write more creatively, increase their opportunity to write and use more complex sentences.

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Primary School

Much work has been undertaken to reduce the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent, including regular parental meetings. Attendance is rising slowly and has improved from being low to broadly average in the current year. The insightful use of data by school leaders has resulted in good timely support and targeted interventions measures being implemented. Page 3 The cohesive leadership team is working well to develop a culture of rapid improvement; this has resulted in the rise of attainment in Year 6 and improved levels of progress of many students. Action plans accurately identify the key priorities and the school is making good progress in addressing them. There are effective systems in place to support weaker teaching which is having a positive impact on the quality of lessons. The proportion of good or outstanding teaching is rising. However, leaders recognise that a sharper focus on pupils’ learning when

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Primary School

undertaking lesson observations is required to enable them to gain an accurate picture of the quality of lessons. There is good support from the school’s City Challenge partners to improve teachers’ assessment of students’ work. The effective recording system for pupil performance is giving leaders an accurate, timely assessment of how well each year group, and groups of students, are achieving. This system is used well. The members of the governing body have undertaken appropriate training and have stepped up their challenge to the work of school leaders. The quality of provision, especially teaching and assessment, and pupils’ achievement are monitored well. Effective monitoring is enabling pertinent questions to be asked of the school’s performance by the local authority’s School Improvement Partner.

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Primary School

I hope that you have found the inspection helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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place on 7–8 October 2009

 Raise standards and improve progress in writing by: - increasing pupils’ vocabulary and providing them with a wider range of activities to write about - developing their understanding of sentence structures - increasing the opportunities to write at length.

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place on 7–8 October 2009

 Improve attendance to bring it into line with national averages.

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place on 7–8 October 2009

 Increase the proportion of good teaching in the school through regular and systematic monitoring to ensure that there is sufficient challenge for all pupils, especially the more able.

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