Setting

September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 1 6 October 2010

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Mrs Jane Nunez Bentinck Primary School Alfreton Road Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG7 4AA

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Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on Tuesday 5 October 2010, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. Please pass on my thanks to the staff and Chair of Governors for their time and courtesy. I would like to particularly thank the pupils for the most enjoyable time I spent talking with them.

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Primary School

Since the school’s last inspection, there have been no significant contextual changes.

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Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 30 April 2009 the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter.

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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.

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Primary School

Since the previous inspection, progress has accelerated throughout the school. Effective procedures for monitoring and evaluating progress have been instrumental in ensuring rapid and continuous improvement. Unvalidated test results for pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2010 show that attainment has improved significantly and is above average in English and mathematics. This represents a sharp rise from the previous three years, where attainment has been low compared to national averages. Lessons observed jointly with senior leaders confirm that all pupils are continuing to make good, accelerated progress.

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Primary School

Through the determination of the headteacher and both assistant headteachers, the school is clearly focused on improving learning and achievement. There is a strong focus on tracking pupils’ progress over time and targets set for pupils’ performance are appropriate and challenging. The headteacher has an accurate view of the Serco Inspections Boundary House 2 Wythall Green Way Middle Lane BIRMINGHAM West Midlands B47 6LW OFSTED T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk SERCO Direct T 0121 683 2888

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 2 quality of teaching and learning across the school and a good understanding of its strengths and areas for development. The teaching observed during this visit matched the headteacher’s evaluation and is good overall. Across the school, teachers’ planning identifies different tasks and outcomes for all groups of pupils including higher attaining pupils and those who require additional support. This is ensuring that all pupils are making better progress since the last inspection and have suitably challenging work.

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

The use of assessment information is supporting improvement through identifying underachievement in all ability groups and helping teachers to adjust lesson plans and individual targets accordingly. The school has made good progress in ensuring that pupils know the next steps in their learning through clear targets for improvement. These are helping to increase pupils’ rates of progress and provide them with a clearer understanding of what they need to do to improve further. Teachers are also engaged in developing ways in which pupils can be more involved in assessing their own work and identifying targets. Pupils were enthusiastic in lessons. Relationships and behaviour were consistently good. In all lessons, pupils worked hard, displayed positive attitudes to learning and enjoyed opportunities to work independently and make decisions.

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

The school is successfully beginning to developing a more creative, rich and challenging curriculum. There is appropriate emphasis on teaching the basic skills through a cross-curricular approach. The curriculum is suitably modified to meet the learning needs of all pupils. In particular, more able pupils are frequently provided with the additional challenge they need, or are required to work independently, so they develop their thinking and problem-solving skills. Information and communication technology resources are being used widely to develop links between subjects, including through the effective use of interactive whiteboards.

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

Reports show that the school benefits from the challenge and support received from the regular visits made by the local authority school improvement partner. The school has responded with tenacity to an intensive review conducted by the local authority in November 2009 and consequently, is able to demonstrate that it has a good capacity for further improvement.

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

The governing body is committed to helping the school secure the necessary improvements, as well as to holding the school to account for the progress pupils make.

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

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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PROTECT-INSPECTION

September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 3 Annex

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Raise standards and improve achievement in English, mathematics and science by:  improving assessment in lessons to ensure that all pupils have challenging work  developing a curriculum that meets the needs and engages the interest of all pupils.

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