Setting

Mrs Ravi Paul Headteacher Thorpe Lea Primary School Huntingfield Way Thorpe Lea Egham Surrey TW20 8DY

p.1

Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 4 February 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Please extend my thanks to staff and pupils for taking the time to speak to me.

p.1

Primary School

Since the time of the previous section 5 inspection, a new headteacher and a new deputy headteacher have joined the school.

p.1

Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 25−26 November 2009, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter.

p.1

Primary School

Having considered all the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made good progress in making improvements and good progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

p.1

Primary School

The senior leadership team, as well as the governing body, has been rightly focused on raising attainment. This has resulted in good improvements in the progress pupils make in reading, writing and mathematics throughout the school. New leaders have quickly established close working partnerships and staff morale is high. All staff have responded enthusiastically to changes introduced by senior leaders.

p.1

Primary School

Pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics has improved and is now good. There are some remaining gaps between the achievement of boys and girls but these are rapidly closing owing to the initiatives the school is putting into place. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve well because of 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 the effective specialist support they receive. Pupils’ current work shows that most are making good progress in both English and mathematics because teachers have higher expectations of what they can achieve. The rate of progress pupils make throughout the school is consistently good because the quality of teaching has been strengthened.

p.1

Primary School

Of the six lessons that were observed, the majority were good or better. In most lessons, teachers make good use of assessment information to plan lessons that are well matched to the needs of all pupils. Lessons have clear learning intentions that are shared with pupils and are referred to throughout so that pupils know what they are expected to learn. Teachers make lessons interesting for pupils by carefully selecting resources and activities that capture their imagination and encourage them to do well. Good use is made of questions to help extend pupils’ learning and to check on how well they are progressing. Teachers provide good challenge for more able pupils as well as ensuring that those pupils of lower ability progress as well as their peers.

p.2

Primary School

Scrutiny of pupils’ books shows that teachers mark their work thoroughly and constructively. They show pupils what they have learned and what they need to do to further improve their work. All pupils have targets and they know what they need to do to reach higher levels. Most pupils know how well they are doing and say that targets help them to understand what their next steps in learning are. School leaders have implemented new methods to assess pupils’ work and this has improved teachers’ skills in making accurate judgements regarding pupils’ attainment and progress.

p.2

Primary School

The new leadership team has thoroughly evaluated the school’s strengths and weaknesses to create a school development plan which identifies actions for improvement. These are specifically aimed at raising attainment and achievement for all pupils by improving the quality of teaching and the use of assessment to inform planning. School leaders have worked in partnership with the local authority to support the implementation of the actions and this has led to rapid progress. They have introduced robust systems to record and track pupils’ progress and each teacher is accountable for the progress pupils make. The development plan is systematically monitored by senior leaders and governors to ensure that it is on track to meet its targets.

p.2

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.

p.2

place in November 2009

 Ensure that the planned actions for school improvement are made more specific and show how their success is to be monitored and evaluated.

p.3

place in November 2009

 Improve the progress pupils make in reading, writing and mathematics by: − developing teachers’ skills in assessment − using assessment to match work accurately to pupils’ different levels of ability and styles of learning − showing pupils how to improve their learning through the more effective use of targets and marking.

p.3