Setting

Mrs J Cunningham Headteacher Redhill Primary School Redhill Road Birmingham B25 8HQ

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Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 5 July 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Please pass on my thanks to your staff especially as it was the last week of your term; the Chair of the Governing Body who gave up her time at such short notice to come in to talk to me; and to Year 6 for allowing me to watch some of their final leavers’ assembly.

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Primary School

Since the inspection in March 2010, very few pupils have arrived or left the school. The school population is now more stable. Only one member of staff has left the school and two have been appointed. During the week of the inspection, the school was due to close early for the 2011 summer break so that major work essential to improve the school buildings could be completed before the children return to school in September. As part of this monitoring inspection, the procedures for safeguarding children were checked and found to meet requirements.

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Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 11-12 March 2010, 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:

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Primary School

satisfactory progress in making improvements and

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Primary School

satisfactory progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Primary School

Pupils start the school with attainment well below the national average and make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1, especially in Serco Inspections Cedar House 21 William Street Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1LH Ofsted T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Serco Direct T 0121 683 3888 Email tim.ogbourn@serco.com September 2010 Page 2 their speaking and listening skills and in learning to read. In 2010, by the time they had reached Year 2, their attainment in the national tests had improved to just below the national average. Higher standards, similar to the national average are attained in reading. The teacher assessments for the recent 2011 tests show that Key Stage 1 results have maintained this position. The rapid rate of progress in learning to read and speak English is a considerable achievement. However, as at the last inspection, the weakest performing area in Key Stage 1 remains

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Primary School

mathematics. Pupil progress slows down in Key Stage 2 and by the time pupils leave in Year 6 their attainment across the core subjects is below the national average. No clear improvement trend is apparent. Since the last inspection, the senior staff have made mathematics a key priority for development and have appointed a designated teacher of mathematics with individual Year 5 and Year 6 pupils identified as falling behind. They have also successfully won a bid and subsequently become involved in the Every Child Counts mathematics initiative. Here, impressive one-to-one teaching and thorough monitoring of individual pupil progress is able to demonstrate impact on improving attainment for those identified for support. Those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make particularly good progress. The teaching of basic mathematics skills encouraging pupils to learn their times tables, has also

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Primary School

become a regular feature of mathematics lessons. Despite these efforts to improve attainment in mathematics, progress does not currently match that of English. This is because the range of initiatives has not had time to impact fully on whole school attainment, and the legacy of underachievement remains with the older pupils. School pupil progress data indicates that Key Stage 2 attainment is improving.

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Primary School

Attendance has improved since the last inspection. The school’s strategies have worked well. Current attendance figures at 95.7% are nearly 2% up on the same period last year. The school has used the education welfare officer well to target families with poor attendance and this strategy is having an impact. Rewards and treats for good attendance, coupled with a strict stance with parents and carers who request holidays in term time, have ensured that parents and carers are increasingly aware of the importance of good attendance. The whole school community is involved in improving attendance and punctuality. The governing body also offers a certificate for good attendance.

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Primary School

The headteacher and senior staff have made a concerted effort to improve the quality of satisfactory teaching. Their own monitoring of teaching shows an overall similar picture of teaching quality to the last inspection, although there is a slight shift towards more teachers improving satisfactory teaching. There has been a focus on ensuring that teachers understand the essential features of good or better lessons and that the needs of all pupils are planned for. The school judges that there are now 83% of teachers who teach good or outstanding lessons. However, this high percentage is not reflected in the current pupil progress in KS2 and especially the underachievement of approaching half the pupils in mathematics. Four KS2 lessons were observed as part of this monitoring visit jointly with the headteacher. In the best mathematics lessons, teachers engage pupils more frequently in meaningful learning experiences where they are able to apply their mathematical

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Primary School

September 2010 Page 3 skills, such as their knowledge of times tables. The teacher carefully plans work to challenge pupils of different abilities; uses support staff well to work with groups of pupils; marks work regularly and offers good advice for how to improve the next piece of work. In the less successful lessons, pupils do not use mathematics skills enough, more able pupils are not sufficiently challenged and the teacher does not question or check regularly throughout the lesson if the pupils have understood the work.

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Primary School

There has been some limited support from the local authority and other external support agencies, especially to raise attainment in mathematics. However, the education social worker has provided good targeted support for indentified families with poor attendance.

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Primary 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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place in March 2010

 Raise attainment in mathematics by ensuring that:

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place in March 2010

- rigorous monitoring and evaluative procedures help to positively target areas for improvement in the subject - all teachers provide a strong and effective emphasis on the teaching of basic numeracy skills for all pupils, including those with special educational needs, and to practise these though the wider curriculum - leaders and managers monitor the impact of initiatives in mathematics

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place in March 2010

 Improve the quality of satisfactory teaching by ensuring that:

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- Lessons move at a sufficiently brisk pace and pupils do not sit and listen to their teachers for too long - Questioning is used effectively to probe pupil’s understanding and extend their learning - The most capable pupils are always sufficiently challenged

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place in March 2010

 Improve the attendance rate by working more effectively with parents of pupils for whom this is an issue.

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