Setting

CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 1231231 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566934 Direct F 01695 729320 gtunnicliffe@cfbt.com www.cfbt-inspections.com

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Mrs J Hamilton Headteacher Reignhead Primary School Platts Drive Beighton Sheffield South Yorkshire S20 1FD

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 18 January 2011. Please extend my thanks to the governing body and local authority representatives for the discussions we had, and a special thank you to the pupils I met. As a result of the inspection on 18 May 2010, 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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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school is making good progress in addressing the issues for improvement and in raising the pupils' achievement.

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

A major factor in the progress that has been made is the stability of staffing. All posts are now filled by permanent members of staff and there has been very little staff absence. The responsibilities of teaching assistants have been restructured, with each now having a specific curriculum role. The school has received good support from the local authority. Leaders have found the action plan useful and have particularly appreciated the work of the lead headteacher and subject consultants. Recognising how far the school has moved, the local authority is gradually withdrawing its support.

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

Pupils’ achievements have improved considerably. There has been a turnaround in the 2010 national test results. The percentage of pupils attaining the expected Level 4 in both English and mathematics increased from 58% in 2009 to 84% in 2010. Similarly, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher Level 5 has improved significantly. Pupils’ achievements in mathematics are better as a result of staff training, using the morning registration time for focussed mathematical tasks, and the weekly ‘problem solving’ activity tables in each classroom. These are used particularly well to gain pupils’ interest, to reinforce learning and to extend the thinking of pupils who learn more quickly. As a result, the gap in pupils’ attainment between mathematics and English is narrowing. Pupils in all year groups are now making greater progress than would be expected in all subjects. While boys are still not January 2011

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

Page2 attaining as well as girls, their progress has increased considerably. The focus on writing for boys is paying dividends, particularly in sentence structure and the use of imaginative vocabulary. Most pupils have a very positive attitude to school and behave impeccably. However, a handful of older boys, who experienced a succession of supply teachers earlier in their school career, sometimes lose concentration and do not always produce their best work.

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

The quality of teaching is now much more consistent and this is reflected in pupils’ learning. Teachers plan their lessons to a common format. They are clear about what pupils will learn in each lesson and aim to provide activities that are matched to pupils’ abilities and interests. While this is mostly successful, on occasion, tasks provided for pupils with the greatest special educational needs and/or difficulties are sometimes too complicated. Pupils’ rate of progress has increased because they are clear about the steps that will bring about success. They are familiar with their targets, proudly explaining how they record their achievements on the ‘jigsaws’ at the back of their exercise books. Teachers use interactive teaching boards particularly well to interest pupils and to explain complex learning. At various points in the lesson, teachers draw pupils together to check on learning, but end-of-

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

lesson checks are variable. While pupils talk about the activities they have undertaken, they are not always clear about the knowledge and skills acquired, or encouraged to say what they found difficult. There are no school wide weaknesses in teaching; through coaching and observations individual teachers know what will improve the quality of their teaching and pupils’ learning.

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead Primary School

School improvement has moved on at a pace because senior leaders are no longer working in isolation but as an effective team. Following the last inspection, leaders reviewed all their practices with a focus on pupils’ attainment. As a result, the assessment and recording of pupils’ achievements is far more rigorous and procedures to hold teachers to account are far more robust. This is especially successful in the half-termly pupils' progress meetings and regular educational ‘health check’ meetings with individual teachers. The checking of pupils’ achievements, together with the focussed monitoring of classroom practice, has ensured gaps in learning are quickly identified and remedied. The timetable has been reviewed and additional staffing has enabled pupils in Year 6 to be set according to ability for English and mathematics. This has speeded their progress.

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Notice to improve: monitoring inspection of Reignhead 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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18 May 2010

 Raise pupils’ achievement at Key Stage 2, particularly for boys and girls in mathematics and boys in English.  Improve the effectiveness of teaching so that learning and progress in lessons are consistently good or better.  Further improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers in driving improvement and identifying further areas for development.

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