Setting

families

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 13 and 14 September 2010 to look at the school’s contribution to the quality of provision and partnerships for children and who are in families of service personnel.

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families

As outlined in my initial letter, as well as looking at key areas of partnerships, including the quality of the partnerships between schools and agencies and between schools and parents, I looked at how effective the partnerships are in improving children’s personal well-being and learning. I also considered the nature of the support given to these children, including those children in the most vulnerable circumstances, or those who have a particular special educational need or disability, and the arrangements to ensure the continuity of provision during children’s move in and out of your school.

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The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

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The evidence used to inform the judgements included: meetings with staff, pupils and parents; discussions with you; a meeting with the chair of governors; a review of the school’s documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation form and tracking data; and a meeting with the Senior Community Development Worker from Imphal Barracks. Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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families

Mr R Griffiths St Oswald’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Heslington Lane Fulford York YO10 4LX The school’s contribution to the quality of provision and partnerships for children who are in families of service personnel is good.

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Key features

 You and the whole staff team are fully committed to inclusion and are very welcoming to all families, including those in the Armed Forces. This helps new pupils to settle quickly. Parents report that all staff are friendly and approachable and they have every confidence in the school.  The movement of pupils, in and out of the school, is managed well. The school follows up any records for pupils that arrive with little or no information from their previous schools to plan for pupils’ individual learning needs.  Information, including examples of pupils’ work and a summary report where appropriate, is collated for pupils leaving the school. When pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities leave the school, information relating to their needs and the support being offered is collated separately to be sent to the receiving school.  Good systems are in place to monitor pupils’ progress and set aspirational,

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yet realistic, targets for all individual pupils. Class teachers are directly accountable for the progress pupils are making and meet you regularly to evaluate this. Attainment is improving overall. You have also begun to monitor the progress of service pupils as a distinct group within the school, although this is in the early stages of development.  The school’s partnership with parents is strong. Parents report that the open-door policy enables them to confidently approach any staff member to raise concerns or share information about their child. Parents feel listened to and are reassured that concerns will be acted upon. In particular, they are very appreciative of the school’s understanding and willingness to consider absence requests on an individual case basis which enables pupils to meet a parent returning from overseas deployment.  The Special Educational Needs Coordinator deals effectively with any

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Key features

pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and involves the local authority in assessing needs and identifying appropriate support. Provision mapping is thorough and effective; parents are kept well informed about their children’s progress and contribute to pupils’ ongoing assessment. The Dyslexia Centre is having a significant impact on improving outcomes for a small number of pupils and is highly valued by parents.  Parents of service pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities say that once their children’s needs have been properly assessed, the school is good at delivering the additional support needed. Assessment is carried out effectively within the school and local authority and parents appreciate the support offered. However, delays in assessment can be compounded by frequent moves, which make assessment a stressful and frustrating time for families. In a small number of cases, this has had a

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Key features

profound impact on pupils’ progress for too long.  Some parents feel they have little assistance and are disadvantaged when trying to secure a school place in a new area. Examples cited include: having to have a confirmed address before they can apply; finding choice limited, particularly when moving during the school year; and not always being able to visit a school beforehand. However, they found that once they had made contact with the school, the school were very supportive and helpful in making the transition as easy as possible.  Service pupils settle well in the school. Good arrangements are in place for them to initially have a school ‘buddy’ to help them understand the routines of the school day and find their way around. However, some pupils find the work much easier than at their previous school, while others find it much harder. They dislike having to sometimes repeat work they have covered elsewhere, but see this as almost inevitable.

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Key features

 The school has identified some barriers to service pupils’ learning and progress. It recognises the difficulties faced by pupils who have already covered parts of the curriculum and involves pupils in sharing their knowledge and previous learning with the class when overlap occurs. As the school is currently working towards a skill-based curriculum, it envisages that this will be less of a barrier in future.

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Key features

I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop the work with children and their parents who are in families of service personnel.

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Key features

As I explained previously, a copy of this letter will be published on the Ofsted website. It may be used to inform decisions about any future inspection. A copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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