Setting

Mrs Houldey The Executive Headteacher Compton Church of England Primary School School Road Compton Newbury Berkshire RG20 6QU

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Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 12 and 13 October 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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Primary School

The visit was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures in December 2009. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Primary School

Progress since being subject to special measures  good.

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Primary School

Newly qualified teachers may be appointed.

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Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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Primary School

I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the chair of governors and the Director of Children’s Services for West Berkshire and the Director of Education, Diocese of Oxford.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

Tribal Education 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 1231231 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01527 579342 Direct F 01527 579342 peter.limm@ofsted.gov.uk Page 2

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the executive headteacher, the senior leadership team, a group of pupils, the chair of governors, a representative from the local authority and the School Improvement Partner. Six lessons were observed and the work of pupils was analysed.

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Context

Since my first visit in May 2010, the local authority and the school have arranged a partnership with The Downs School, the nearby secondary school, to bolster the leadership and management capacity of Compton School. From 1 September 2010, and for two years in the first instance, you have become the new executive headteacher providing part-time strategic leadership supported by a full-time associate headteacher, seconded from The Downs School. The previous executive headteacher continues to provide leadership support in a temporary consultancy capacity. As part of this arrangement, the assistant headteacher has been allocated leadership and management responsibilities on a full-time basis with no specific class teaching responsibilities. The senior team has been further bolstered by the appointment of a numeracy coordinator. There have been three new teachers since May, for Years 1, 4/5 and 6. One teacher left the school in August 2010.

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

The results for 2010 were a marked improvement on the declining trend identified in previous years. After a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage, attainment for all groups of pupils is now broadly average and progress has been good. This is particularly the case where there has been further well-targeted support across the school to improve reading and mathematics and where there has been more attention paid to improving pupils’ learning. Inspection of school data and observation of lessons confirmed this. Pupils said that they have noticed a big improvement in a number of aspects since the new arrangements have been in place. They were particularly pleased with the more rigorous approach to managing behaviour. They were keen to talk about their work and to indicate how teachers track their progress more tightly. Page 3

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

The behaviour of pupils is good in lessons and around the school. Attendance is high. The school meets all the necessary safeguarding requirements, including those for child protection. The inspection did not focus closely on other outcomes, but there was evidence that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development remains good. Pupils clearly adopt safe practices and healthy lifestyles.

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The effectiveness of provision

With considerable help and support from the local authority, the previous executive headteacher, and the new leadership team, the school has made good progress in addressing the four points for improvement identified by the last inspection relating to improving the quality of teaching. Good progress has been made at making sure that learning is carefully sequenced through measurable steps so that the progress of individual pupils can be checked easily throughout the lesson. Good progress has been made by teachers in using data to inform lesson planning that embrace all groups of pupils. Lesson plans are detailed and indicate clearly how different activities are designed to match the differing needs of pupils. However, inconsistencies remain in how information on pupils’ progress is used by teachers to create tasks that are appropriately challenging for the more able pupils. Teachers have made good progress in involving pupils more in assessing how well they are

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The effectiveness of provision

doing. The school curriculum and the effectiveness of care, guidance and support remain satisfactory, although there are good plans to improve curriculum provision.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:

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The effectiveness of provision

 ensure that all teaching is at least good – good.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The leadership and management capacity of the school has been strengthened very well by the new leadership partnership arrangements with The Downs School. The governing body has contributed to this improvement process well. The work of the local authority consultants had a big impact on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Planning for raising attainment and improving achievement has been strengthened and progress is reviewed very regularly by the governors and local authority. Further good support continues to be provided by the School Improvement Partner who holds the school to account robustly. As a consequence, the four points for improvement identified by the last inspection relating to introducing more rigorous and effective monitoring and evaluation, have been addressed most effectively. There has been good progress in developing a more consistent whole-school approach to recording data. There is good monitoring of the

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

accuracy of the data and teachers have a better understanding of what this information tells them about pupil progress. There has been continued improvement Page 4 in the way school leaders review and evaluate pupils’ progress and the quality of provision. There is more regular review of the effectiveness of strategies which have been put in place to address underachievement and other areas for development within the school. The capacity of the school’s leadership and management to drive and sustain improvement has thus improved markedly since the previous visit, when it remained fragile.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

 introduce more rigorous and effective monitoring and evaluation – good.

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External support

The school continues to work very well with the local authority to improve outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning. Local authority consultants continue to help the school to address remaining underachievement, especially in the core subjects. The school’s performance is kept regularly under review.

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