Setting

Ms Samantha Woodcock The Headteacher Iver Village Infant School West Square Iver Buckinghamshire SL0 9NW

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Village Infant School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 1 February 2011, for the time you gave to our telephone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Please also pass on my thanks to the pupils and the governors who spent time talking with me.

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Village Infant School

Since the last inspection the school has been through a period of considerable change. Two new teachers have been appointed and leadership responsibilities have been clarified and redistributed. In addition, there is a new library and covered outdoor learning area for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Village Infant School

As a result of the inspection on 3−4 December 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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Village Infant School

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

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Village Infant School

satisfactory progress in making improvements

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Village Infant School

good progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement. 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 Following the last inspection, attainment in writing fell and was significantly below average by the end of Year 2. The reasons for this were largely linked to the complex needs of pupils, turbulence in staffing, inadequate systems for monitoring pupils’ progress and continuing pockets of inadequate teaching.

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Village Infant School

As a consequence, you took effective and rigorous action to rebuild the capacity to drive and sustain improvement. Good and determined leadership enabled effective changes to be made to the way the school is managed. Actions to overcome weakness in teaching and outcomes have been concerted and effective. The staff and governors now share fully your vision for improvement. Subject leaders’ roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are now very clear and are enabling teachers to be held accountable for the progress made by the pupils in their classes. New systems for assessing pupils’ progress are rigorous and used well to address any underachievement.

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Village Infant School

These changes are embedding well and the impact can be seen in the accelerating rates of progress for all groups of pupils. For example, attainment in the current Year 2 has risen strongly compared with the previous two years. School data show that pupils are well on track to achieve and exceed their challenging target in reading, writing and mathematics this year. This represents good progress for these pupils since the beginning of the year and confirms that the school has now built good capacity for sustaining and driving improvements.

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Village Infant School

Further evidence to support the school’s good capacity can be seen in the progress made by other groups across the school. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are, for example, making good progress from their lower than expected starting points. Current indications are that the number of children reaching age- related expectations will rise again this year. Although proud of their recent achievements staff are not complacent. They are aware that more remains to be done and are determined to raise attainment further.

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Village Infant School

The teaching observed confirms the school’s view that teaching and learning are improving well, so that the proportion of good or better teaching is rising although some inconsistencies remain. As a consequence, pupils are making accelerated progress to make up lost ground, especially in writing. Tasks are now much more closely matched to the needs of differing groups and individuals. Teachers are sharing learning intentions with pupils so they understand what they must do and achieve by the end of each session. Pupils are encouraged to talk about their work with each other and successfully collaborate in learning. This is making an important contribution towards developing their skills as independent learners. Pupils agreed that they are given lots of interesting opportunities to write in different subjects. Boys, in particular, are much more enthusiastic about writing stories and recording their ideas and observations. Some of the oldest children said their teacher was

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Village Infant School

particularly good at helping them improve their work and always marked their books. Page 3 Local authority advisors, external consultants and governors have provided good support for school improvement. There is now a shared vision for improvement and an ambition to succeed. Governors have high levels of insight and are well organised and thorough in their work. They hold the headteacher fully accountable for the school’s performance. Attainment and achievement are rising rapidly because the school is setting challenging targets and achieving them, although more remains to be done. The school is well placed to continue to improve.

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Village Infant 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 in December 2009

 Increase achievement in writing, especially through the development of greater opportunities for pupils to write in different ways in other subjects.

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place in December 2009

 Make learning more responsive to pupils’ enthusiasms and preferred practical approach by: – matching work more closely to their ability – giving them greater opportunities to talk to each other about their learning and progress – developing activities that require them to show greater independence and collaboration in learning.

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place in December 2009

 Give senior and subject leaders more opportunities to check and evaluate school performance, using pupils’ progress and attainment as the key indicators of success.

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