Setting

Mrs J Kennington Headteacher Bradwell Village School Walgrave Drive Bradwell Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire MK13 9AZ

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Bradwell Village School

Following my visit, to your school on 17 and 18 November 2010, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Bradwell Village School

The inspection was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in February 2010. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Bradwell Village School

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Bradwell Village School

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Bradwell Village School

Newly Qualified Teachers may be appointed subject to the following qualifications: appropriate induction and support plans are in place and approved by Ofsted.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Bradwell Village School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the chair of the governing body and the Director of Children’s Services for Milton Keynes.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

Tribal Education 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 0845 123 6002 Direct email : sarah.cartlidge@tribalgroup.com

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place in February 2010

 Improve the quality of teaching in order to raise pupils’ achievement, particularly in Years 3 and 4, by  raising expectations of the standards all pupils are capable of attaining  ensuring that teaching is based on an accurate assessment of each pupil’s performance and is closely matched to their learning needs  providing all pupils with clear feedback on what they are doing well and what they need to do to improve their performance.  Ensure that the curriculum is covered in sufficient depth to challenge all pupils in all years at the right level and to give stimulating and purposeful opportunities for writing.  Ensure that leaders and managers tackle weaknesses and drive improvement by  holding all leaders and class teachers firmly to account for pupils’ learning and progress  rigorously evaluating the impact of provision, particularly teaching and the curriculum, on pupils’ progress and taking swift action for improvement

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place in February 2010

 developing governors’ involvement in constructively challenging senior leaders.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with pupils, the headteacher, senior leaders and other members of staff, the chair of the governing body, the parent champion and the school improvement partner.

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Context

The school has undergone a large change in the teaching staff since February 2010 and a number of new staff took up their posts in September 2010. A new chair of governors took up her role in October 2010.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Pupils enjoy lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. Their achievement is improving and is becoming more consistent across the school. Assessment is more accurate and the systems set up are now becoming more useful to leaders in monitoring the performance of the school, but it is still early days. Pupils generally work hard, listen well in lessons and have very positive relationships with all of the adults working with them. Pupils talk eagerly about their learning and are more aware of the next steps they need to take to move forward. Unvalidated national tests results for 2010 show that the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above in English was above that found nationally but the percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 was below the national average. Pupils’ attainment at Level 4 or above and for Level 5 and above in mathematics was slightly higher than the national average. Pupils’ progress has improved in all year groups and is more consistent across the

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

school. Senior leaders are clear about the need to increase progress further, particularly for pupils who did not make sufficient progress earlier in the school. Teachers’ assessments are now more accurate and are more in line with what was observed during lessons. The improvement in assessment practice is ensuring that leaders have an increasingly accurate picture about performance in the school.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

When work set is appropriately challenging, pupils are eager to learn and relish the opportunities that the work brings. Progress is then at least good. There are signs that the progress is now accelerating as teachers improve their understanding of all pupils and become more adventurous with the curriculum. Pupils are not yet sufficiently stretched and are capable of even greater progress.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the areas for improvement:

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

 raise pupils’ achievement, particularly in Years 3 and 4 – satisfactory.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Pupils talk very positively about the school, the wide range of clubs they take part in and the hard work that they appreciate from the staff. The behaviour of pupils in lessons and around the school is generally good. Pupils readily engage in the opportunities during lessons and only stray off task when the pace of learning is not fast enough.

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The effectiveness of provision

The teaching team has grown in confidence since the last visit. When working with small groups of pupils, teachers and teaching assistants secure higher levels of progress and are clear about the learning that has occurred. Teachers still spend too much time talking to the whole class, which has a low impact on pupils’ progress. Where teachers set up exciting, hands-on, active and interesting ways of learning, pupils respond very well and thinking is developed rapidly. During one Year 3 lesson, pupils explored pneumatics and were able to question and develop their own thinking with good prompts from the teacher and teaching assistants. Pupils understood why the learning was relevant to them. Classrooms are purposeful and displays generally support and celebrate learning. The presentation of pupils’ work is not always clear enough and does not allow pupils to use their work as a source of reference. Pupils’ targets are clearer than they have been but they need to ensure

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The effectiveness of provision

that they stretch pupils and allow them to work with even greater pace.

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The effectiveness of provision

The curriculum is developing well as teaching improves and teachers are more analytical about the needs of pupils. The school is making good use of the wildlife area. Year 3 pupils spent time soaking up the atmosphere on a cold and damp morning, recording observations and discussing the feelings and use of senses to develop more exciting writing that was related to their actual experience in the area.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last monitoring inspection in the areas for improvement:

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The effectiveness of provision

 Improve the quality of teaching in order to raise pupils’ achievement, particularly in Years 3 and 4, by  raising expectations of the standards all pupils are capable of attaining  ensuring that teaching is based on an accurate assessment of each pupil’s performance and is closely matched to their learning needs  providing all pupils with clear feedback on what they are doing well and what they need to do to improve their performance – satisfactory.

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The effectiveness of provision

 Ensure that the curriculum is covered in sufficient depth to challenge all pupils in all years at the right level and to give stimulating and purposeful opportunities for writing – satisfactory.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

There is now a much clearer ambition shown by the school staff. There is a sense of teamwork in the school, with a common goal of school improvement. Leaders have ensured that all teachers have observed colleagues across the school and all have taken part in a learning walk around the school with the headteacher. This has given a greater insight into the whole-school picture of learning. There has been a clear focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning and this is being successful. The senior leaders are aware of the strengths and areas of priority in the teaching team. Teachers are more accountable for pupils’ progress. The senior team are aware that progress needs to be greater.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The new chair of the governing body is very clear about the task ahead and the need for rapid development, particularly in governance. She has started to question practice in the school and analyse the advice given so that a greater clarity can be established for the governing body. Some training has taken place and further training is planned for the governing body to sharpen their focus. A clear strategic plan and mode of operation is needed in order that the governing body can maximise its impact on pupil outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last monitoring inspection in the areas for improvement:

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

 Ensure that leaders and managers tackle weaknesses and drive improvement by  holding all leaders and class teachers firmly to account for pupils’ learning and progress  rigorously evaluating the impact of provision, particularly teaching and the curriculum, on pupils’ progress and taking swift action for improvement  developing governors’ involvement in constructively challenging senior leaders – satisfactory.

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External support

The school has been supported by a consultant for numeracy that has been very effective and an additional consultant has now started work with a literacy focus. The local authority school improvement partner has a clear understanding of the school and its needs. It is not always sufficiently clear how some of the local authority’s support and monitoring is contributing to the school’s development and what the impact might be on pupils’ outcomes. The school needs to be able to choose and use the support and resources in order to establish that the capacity is in the school. Some of the advice from the local authority has not been clear. The data requirements for the local authority and over analysis of data that is known to be unreliable have not been helpful in establishing the current position or developing systems further.

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Priorities for further improvement

No further priorities are required as the original areas for development are key to sustained and rapid development of the school

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