Setting

families

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 29 and 30 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.

p.1

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 in the most vulnerable circumstances, or those who have a particular special educational need and/or disability, and the arrangements to ensure the continuity of provision when children move in and out of your school.

p.1

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.

p.1

families

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: meetings with you and other staff, parents and pupils; discussions with the school’s special needs coordinator and assessment coordinator; and a review of school’s documentation and pupils’ achievement.

p.1

families

The school’s contribution to the quality of provision and partnerships for children who are in families of service personnel is good. Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

families

Ms J Bundy Headteacher South Wonston Primary School Downs Road South Wonston Winchester SO21 3EH

p.1

Key features

 Service parents are very positive about the school. They feel that the school was especially helpful when they were looking for a place for their child when they were new to the area.  Your staff are committed to the inclusion of service pupils and make every effort to ensure they are quickly and smoothly integrated into the school community when they arrive. The pupils say they receive a warm welcome and the ‘buddy’ system is effective in helping them to find friends and get used to the school. Parents say they feel welcome in school and have every confidence that any concerns will be quickly dealt with.  Relationships with service families are good. Parents are very appreciative of the care taken of their children. They are clear that the school is very understanding of the particular issues faced by service pupils and deal with them well. These good relationships are particularly important as

p.2

Key features

most service pupils are brought to school by bus as there is no safe way to walk to school by road. This means there is no regular day-to-day informal contact between service parents and teachers.  Service parents are willing to be involved in the life of the school and take up roles as parent governors. There are two parent governors from service families and the governing body is intending to ask a governor to take specific responsibility for oversight on issues related to service children.  Pupils speak very highly of the support they receive from the school especially when they are about to move due to their parents’ posting or when a parent is soon to be absent for a long time. While they were confident about going to a new school and home, they found the uncertainty, that sometimes accompanies a proposed move, upsetting.  The movement of service pupils in and out of the school is managed well

p.2

Key features

and staff make every effort to follow up records of pupils who arrive with little or no background from their previous schools. They are diligent in trying to gain as much information as possible to help the pupils settle in quickly. When pupils leave the school, staff make similar efforts to pass information onto their next school.  Safeguarding procedures have been strengthened recently and ensure that children from service families are kept safe and enjoy school. This is supported by good partnerships with other local agencies, especially those provided by the local authority. Support can be accessed rapidly as required to help meet the needs of pupils affected by a range of factors including the uncertainty caused to service pupils by delayed postings. Further support is offered through cluster links with local schools that provide a family support worker who can be called upon to give valued support to all families including those in the services.

p.2

Key features

 Service children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are dealt with well by the school. Where pupils bring statements of special educational needs with them, these are honoured by the school and levels of previous provision maintained. Statements are reviewed regularly to ensure provision is appropriate to need. Currently, 16 % of service pupils are on the special educational needs register but none of them have statements. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are also very happy with the way the school deals with their child and makes sure their needs are met.  The school places good emphasis on supporting all pupils’ emotional and personal development through the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme supported by Hampshire local authority. The school ELSA is active in supporting all pupils with emotional needs. Service pupils have benefited from the long-term support this programme provides.

p.2

Key features

 You are starting to make more effective use of the information collected on pupils’ performance. This is now analysed with a specific focus on the performance of service pupils and can show how they are performing compared to other pupils. This information will be shared with class teachers to allow them to focus more closely on individual needs.  The achievement of service pupils is at least satisfactory and in some years it is good. At the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, attainment is mostly in line with national averages. Your accurate tracking data show that most of these pupils make satisfactory progress in their learning which is in line with that of their peers. Attendance is good across the school and service families try hard not to take their children out of school during term time.  The curriculum is organised on a two-year rolling programme. When service children join a new class in the school the teachers make every

p.3

Key features

effort to use pupils’ previous knowledge to add depth to the lessons as pupils enjoy it when the curriculum links to their own experiences.

p.3

Key features

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

p.3

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, a copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

p.3