Setting

Ms S Rhodes Headteacher St Paul with St Luke Church of England Primary School Leopold Street Bow London E3 4LA

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England Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 12 and 13 July, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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England Primary School

The inspection was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in November 2010. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection are set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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England Primary School

Progress since being made subject to special measures –satisfactory

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England Primary School

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory

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England Primary School

Until such time as it is judged to be making consistently good progress, the school should not appoint Newly Qualified Teachers.

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England Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body, the Diocesan Board and the Director of Children’s Services for Tower Hamlets.

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England Primary School

Mark Lindfield Tribal Education 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0845 123 6001 Direct F 0845 123 6002 Direct email :matthew.parker@tribalgroup.com

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place in November 2010

- setting more challenging targets that require pupils to make at least satisfactory progress

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- improve staff deployment to enable the best teachers to make a more direct impact on learning

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- improve monitoring activity to ensure that points are identified and followed up promptly

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- improve the effectiveness of the governing body’s monitoring of the school’s work

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- meeting the requirements for community cohesion in order to support pupils’ contribution to the community and their social and cultural development.

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place in November 2010

Improve teaching so that pupils’ progress is consistently good throughout the school, especially in writing, by;

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- ensuring that all teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are sufficiently ambitious

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- ensuring that lessons engage and challenge all pupils and meet pupils’ differing needs and abilities

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- improve the quality and consistency of marking to have a better impact on pupils’ learning and showing pupils how to make improvement.

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Improve attendance so that it is average by the end of July 2011.

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Evidence

The inspector observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher, groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, representatives from the local authority and staff monitoring the school’s attendance.

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Context

At the time of this monitoring visit, three members of senior staff, the headteacher, an assistant headteacher and the literacy coordinator were absent from the school on long-term illness.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

The school’s latest test results in English and mathematics confirm that the proportion of Year 6 pupils gaining the expected Level 4 in 2011 is broadly in line with previous results for the last two years. The proportion of pupils gaining higher Level 5 results in English and mathematics has risen slightly this year from previous years. Whilst this reflects improvements in teachers’ planning and provision for more able pupils, raising overall attainment remains a key priority for the school.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

The school’s assessment data for all year groups confirms that pupils’ rates of progress are variable, but that progress overall continues to improve. Improvements in the proportion of pupils making expected or better progress are particularly apparent in Years 1 and 4 and have been sustained in Year 6. Literacy consultants have worked closely with staff to ensure a consistent approach to developing pupils’ writing skills. Lesson observations confirm the school’s assessments that the vast majority of pupils now make expected progress in developing their writing skills. A scrutiny of pupils’ work provides evidence that pupils write with increasing confidence in a range of different genres but that the standards of presentation and handwriting are inconsistent. Occasionally, weaknesses in letter formation and untidy presentation have a detrimental effect on pupils’ use of punctuation.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make better progress because they are provided with an increased range of stimulating activities. Staff have improved the learning environment to include engaging writing and reading activities indoors and outside. Children enjoy purposeful play and learning as they pretend to be visiting the vets with their pets or wild animals roaming in the forest. Particularly noticeable is the increased interaction between staff and children which provide good opportunities for children to develop their speaking and listening skills.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Progress since the last monitoring visit on the areas for improvement:  Improve teaching so that pupils’ progress is consistently good throughout the school, especially in writing – satisfactory

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The effectiveness of provision

Teaching and assessment across the school continues to develop satisfactorily. The local authority provides a high number of external consultants to work alongside specific year groups and phases. This extensive support has ensured that teaching and learning observed in this visit was never less than satisfactory with improvements in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Year 3. Teachers’ planning and classroom practice provide evidence of a growing understanding of the use of precise learning objectives, although the effective use of success criteria is not consistent. Learning objectives are used increasingly across the school to set separate and challenging tasks for more able pupils. Teaching assistants clearly communicate to pupils they support, the intended learning and explain the task. All staff more actively respond to and address pupils’ misconceptions as they arise in lessons. On occasion, some teaching assistants miss opportunities to develop pupils’

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The effectiveness of provision

independence and are over directive in their instructions and support.

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The effectiveness of provision

Teachers are more confident in using a range of teaching strategies to develop and reinforce pupils’ learning. In a good lesson, Year 3 pupils used visual prompts, talking partners and drama to develop their ideas of play scripts. As a result, they included dialogue and described stage settings confidently in their writing. Year 6 pupils used information and communication technology well to improve and edit their writing and produce attractive recipes. Marking across the school is regular and follows a consistent format understood by pupils. Marking in English and mathematics regularly refers to the stated learning objectives although does not refer consistently to success criteria or to pupils’ individual targets.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last monitoring visit on the areas for improvement:  Improve teaching so that pupils’ progress is consistently good throughout the school, especially in writing – satisfactory

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The capacity of the school to improve further without local authority support is inadequate. The absence of key senior staff has served to reduce the capacity of the school’s leadership and management to drive and secure further improvements. In their absence, the deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher have responded positively and have ensured that pupils’ behaviour is closely monitored and maintained the day to day running of the school.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The local authority continue to provide intensive support for the school’s leadership, a leading advisor is present in the school two days each week. The adviser provides strong support for senior leaders to monitor the school’s performance and to identify weaknesses. The school’s leadership continue to rely heavily on this support to address key priorities. There is limited evidence that the school has independently followed up and secured improvements.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The governing body has developed their awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and shows an increased understanding of the challenges it faces. Several individual governors are more actively involved in the life of the school, visiting classes and providing extra-curricula science activities. New members have been recruited and have received appropriate training to develop their understanding of the role of a governing body.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Shortly before the previous monitoring visit, the school set up a group of staff to monitor and raise attendance. Together the school’s learning mentor, parent support worker and administrative staff have worked closely with the education welfare officer. By adopting a wide range of strategies and successfully involving parents and carers, they have been effective in raising pupils’ rates of attendance. Although overall attendance for the academic year remains lower than nationally, attendance figures for the last two half terms have shown a significant improvement. Well organised and flexible support for individual families has helped to reduce the proportion of pupils persistently absent from school.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the areas for improvement:  Improve leadership and management – inadequate  Improve attendance so that it is average by the end of July 2011 - satisfactory

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External support

The local authority continues to provide high levels of support for the school. In addition to weekly support for the headteacher, regular support provided by four external consultants has been maintained and has helped to develop the quality of teaching and learning. The local authority have adapted action plans to include clear detail of the resources provided and enable a more effective evaluation of the impact of support provided in securing improvement.

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External support

Local authority support has been effective in helping to provide a coordinated and rigorous response to instances of persistent absence and has helped to raise pupils’ attendance. Support for staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage has been closely tailored to their individual needs. The consultant has provided an appropriate blend of advice, demonstration and encouragement to ensure that staff at all levels develop their skills and expertise. This support has been effective in securing good improvements in the provision for children in Nursery and Reception classes.

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