Setting

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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Mr M J Bainbridge Titchfield Primary School Southampton Road Titchfield Fareham PO14 4AU

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families

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff, pupils and parents 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 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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families

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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families

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: discussions with you and your staff, the chair of governors, parents and pupils. In addition, I examined a range of school documentation, including information about pupils’ attendance, attainment and progress.

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families

The school’s contribution to the quality of provision and partnerships for children who are in families of service personnel is outstanding.

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Key features

 Yours is an inclusive school that focuses clearly on the requirements of individual pupils, adapting provision well to meet the needs of all pupils and their families. Your aspiration to be ‘at the heart of an inclusive community’ finds expression in the good partnerships developed and in your ongoing drive to personalise further the curriculum and the support that pupils receive.  Relationships with service families are excellent. Parents and pupils say that you and your staff understand their needs, show compassion when necessary but make them feel welcome by treating them equally. They say that communication between the school and home is strong and they feel confident when discussing concerns with you about issues that might affect the progress and well-being of their children. You, in turn, appreciate their support and commitment when working with the school to improve outcomes for pupils. Parents from service families are fully

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Key features

involved in the life of the school, be it in the role of a governor, as part of the parent-teacher association or coaching pupils in a range of sports.  Pupils who are in service families achieve well. At the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, attainment is usually in line with, or above, national averages. Your accurate monitoring data show that most of these pupils make good, and sometimes outstanding progress which is in line with and often better than their peers. Attendance of pupils from service families is consistently above average and often high. Personal development is also strong and children from service families are frequently involved in sports teams and contribute to the community through, for example, organising a relay marathon to raise money for Haiti.  Safeguarding procedures are good and staff are trained well. You work successfully with children from service families to ensure that they are

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Key features

kept safe and enjoy school. As a result, pupils say that they are happy and feel looked after, especially at times when they may be feeling sad because a parent is away.  Pupils enjoy it when the curriculum links to their experience or draws on the skills of their parents. They and their parents appreciate that classes are named after different ships. Pupils also value it when their parents come in to talk about their work in the services and they particularly enjoyed learning about camouflage during a science week. You rightly acknowledge that this area of your work can be developed even further.  Few pupils transfer in and out of the school at unusual times. Indeed, most children from service families remain in the school throughout their primary education. Both you and their parents feel that this stability plays an important role in helping children to do well and provides them with a consistent experience. Nevertheless, induction and transfer arrangements

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Key features

are well considered and are responsive to the particular needs of pupils and their families. You involve children and their parents in the process and make good use of pupils’ records, although you note that sometimes these are slow to arrive from other schools. When children leave, sometimes suddenly, systems are put in place to help them stay in touch with friends and you are sensitive to the needs of those classmates who remain.  Currently, no children from service families have special educational needs and/or disabilities and this has been the case for some time. However, the school has good sytems in place to support children with particular requirements and screening and assessments are tailored carefully to meet needs in a proportionate manner.  Your school draws effectively on a range of support professionals as part of its provision for all children, including the behaviour support team and

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Key features

the educational psychology service. As part of its cluster arrangements, the school benefits from a parent support adviser who works with a range of families. Your Special Educational Needs Coordinator is well informed and knows that specific support agencies that work with service children and their families are available should they be needed.  Outcomes for service families’ children are monitored within the context of the school's procedures for tracking all pupils. This information is used well to shape improvement plans, to inform the curriculum, and to promote consistency and coherence in teaching.  The governing body routinely monitors the progress of pupils, including vulnerable groups, and samples parental views to evaluate the impact of the school’s extended services.  You are proud of your service families and children as you are of other members of your school community. Astutely, you and the governing body

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Key features

recognise that it would be valuable to consider ways of celebrating the diversity of the school even more.

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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. Except in the case of academies, copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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