Setting

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

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Mrs Anna Brown Headteacher Castleford Townville Infants' School Poplar Avenue Townville Castleford West Yorkshire WF10 3QJ

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Townville Infants' School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 5 May 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussion and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Please give my particular thanks to the members of the governing body and to the pupils for the help they gave during the inspection.

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Townville Infants' School

Since the last inspection two Newly Qualified Teachers have joined the staff of the school.

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Townville Infants' School

As a result of the inspection on 8 and 9 March 2010, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter. 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.

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Townville Infants' School

Pupils’ achievement and attainment are rising and pupils in Key Stage 1 are making better progress, both in lessons and over time. Their work and the school’s tracking data show this in mathematics in particular. This improvement arises from higher expectations, especially of the more-able pupils. Children enter the Nursery class with skills below those expected for their age. However, the quality of provision, noted at the last inspection, and their progress in the Nursery and Reception classes have been maintained. Increasingly accurate assessment at Key Stage 1 is helping teachers build on these foundations when planning lessons. Pupils are gaining a stronger understanding of mathematics, resulting from more practical work and increased opportunities to practise their skills independently, both indoors and outside. Pupils’ progress in literacy is also improving, especially in Year 2 where more pupils are able to write fluently and at length. Many pupils engage in more animated and

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Townville Infants' School

imaginative dialogue, for example, as they work outside to search for plants or to build a castle, with moat, drawbridge and dragon. However, opportunities to record these discussions and findings in writing remain limited for some pupils. Pupils show greater January 2011

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Townville Infants' School

Page2 independence, are eager to take on more responsibility and are able to concentrate for a growing length of time.

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Townville Infants' School

Improvements in pupils’ learning and progress arise from greater consistency in the quality of teaching and assessment. Planning reflects the wide range of needs in the class more closely and, in the more-effective lessons, pupils are clearer about what is expected of them. Teachers’ sharper use of assessment also provides a better indication of where further practice is needed. Most teachers are giving pupils more challenging work, for example, on number patterns, money or place value. This is accelerating the progress of the more-able pupils. Teaching assistants are better deployed in extending pupils’ learning by giving increasingly focused support to individuals or by leading an activity with a small group. Occasionally, checks on learning at the end of the lesson remain rushed. As a result, opportunities are missed for pupils to explain what they have learned and for the teacher to check this.

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Townville Infants' School

The school has given pupils more experiences of different cultures and religions. This has been achieved through visitors to school and by visits, for example to a mosque, and is increasing pupils’ understanding of other communities.

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Townville Infants' School

Monitoring and evaluation are increasingly systematic and rigorous and based on a wider range of evidence. Closer checks are made on lesson planning and teachers are now evaluating the effectiveness of their lessons. This is helping them to adjust activities to secure a better match of work to the pupils’ needs and is accelerating learning and progress. Senior leaders have a sharper view of the effectiveness of teaching and learning through joint observations with the School Improvement Adviser and with headteachers of other schools. This has helped them identify where support is needed to increase the consistency of teaching further. The teachers new to the school since the last inspection have brought fresh ideas which are helping to enliven learning and to raise expectations of what the pupils can achieve. The more-focused actions of leaders, based on increasingly accurate evaluation of the school’s work, along with the effective support of the local authority School

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Townville Infants' School

Improvement Adviser, are enabling the school to demonstrate a stronger capacity for sustained improvement.

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Townville Infants' 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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Townville Infants' School

Liz Godman Additional inspector January 2011

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March 2010

 Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning and improve the progress of pupils, especially the more able by:  introducing a school policy to guide teaching and learning and to help ensure that the school's expectations are understood, implemented and met in all classes  ensure that all teachers regularly specify what a good piece of work should look like so that pupils have a clear understanding of how to improve their work  provide carefully tailored additional programmes and additional challenge to support the learning of more-able pupils.  Provide pupils with first-hand experience of other cultures in the United Kingdom.

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