Setting

Mr R Stuart-Sheppard Headteacher Brundall Primary School Brundall Norwich NR13 5JX

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Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 5 October 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Please thank the Chair of the Governing Body and middle leaders who found time to meet with me.

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Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 26 May 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 inadequate progress in making improvements and inadequate progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement. The inspection has raised very serious concerns. These will be considered by the appropriate Regional Director, Inspection Delivery, who will decide when the school will next be inspected.

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Primary School

Since the last inspection, a new deputy headteacher and a class teacher have been appointed. A newly qualified teacher has been appointed on a temporary basis. Two existing members of staff have taken full responsibility for leading numeracy and for developing the curriculum. These staffing changes and the continued leadership of the headteacher are adding further momentum to the school’s actions to address the issues raised in the previous inspection, but the rate of improvement is too slow. A delay in implementing revised improvement plans means that the school is not well placed to become a good school by the time of the next inspection. Despite some improvement this year, standards remain below average, the school’s own monitoring shows that the proportion of good teaching is still low and a remodelled curriculum has only been operating since September 2011.

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Primary School

In mathematics, clear subject leadership and effective support from the local authority have led to revised improvement planning and a wider range of regular 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 September 2010 Page 2 assessments made by teachers to gauge pupils’ progress. Standards in mathematics in Key Stage 1 are broadly average. In Key Stage 2, pupils’ attainment in mathematics declined in 2010. However, in 2011, a higher percentage of Year 6 pupils met the age-related national expectations and a higher proportion attained the higher Level 5. Notably, a decline in standards in English this year meant that only 64% of pupils attained the expected levels in English and mathematics which is below local and national averages. Value-added measures in mathematics have

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Primary School

shown significantly lower than expected progress in recent years, but this year’s data shows that pupils in Year 6 made better progress, albeit from below average starting points.

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Primary School

Assessment of pupils’ progress is becoming more systematic. This is providing senior and middle leaders, and the governing body, with a clearer overall picture of how well individual pupils are achieving, but this is not shared with pupils so that they know how well they are doing or what they need to do to improve their work.

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Primary School

Observations of mathematics lessons carried out jointly between school leaders and HMI confirmed that pupils make satisfactory progress. When teachers use interactive whiteboards to capture pupils’ interest and give them opportunities to apply their knowledge and understanding in practical tasks outdoors, pupils’ progress accelerates. They enjoy learning together in pairs and small groups, but some teachers talk for too long which limits opportunities for pupils to work independently. At times, all pupils do the same tasks regardless of their age or ability which restricts the progress of those capable of much more challenging work. Regular day-to-day assessments of pupils are becoming embedded. These include questioning to check pupils’ understanding, encouraging pupils to talk together before answering, and using ‘traffic-lights’ to indicate how well they feel they are doing. Personal targets to help them improve are not regularly referred to and do not feature in pupils’ books.

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Primary School

Teachers’ marking remains inconsistent. Some teachers provide pupils with the next steps to take to improve pupils’ work but, in other classes, marking is cursory. It praises pupils for their efforts but rarely seeks improvements to the presentation of their work, which is generally untidy.

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Primary School

The school has explored a number of ways of developing its curriculum across both key stages to add further challenge and inspiration for learners. The current ‘learning journey’ model has been introduced this term and has not had time to show what impact it is having on improving pupils’ learning and achievement. Although this thematic approach to the curriculum has been adopted, discrete mathematics lessons do not help pupils apply numeracy in other subjects.

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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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Primary School

Yours sincerely September 2010 Page 3 John Mitcheson

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place in May 2010

 Raise pupils’ standards in mathematics in Key Stages 1 and 2 by:

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place in May 2010

 completing, by the end of the Summer Term 2010, the analysis and re- evaluation of the subject, and develop an action plan for improvement  developing the use of assessment information to help improve planning for the subject and pupils’ learning  ensuring senior and middle leaders monitor pupils’ progress closely and report regularly to the governing body on the impact of their strategies.

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place in May 2010

 Increase the proportion of good teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 by:

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place in May 2010

 ensuring a more consistent approach to the use of assessment and the planning of work that matches pupils’ abilities and learning needs  using questioning to check on pupils’ understanding throughout each lesson so as to identify, and resolve, any gaps or misconceptions  using questioning to challenge all pupils to think more deeply about their learning and ensure they understand what to improve  ensuring a more consistent approach to marking so that written comments enable pupils to understand their next steps in learning  establishing fully, by the end of the next academic year, the use of new criteria for assessing pupils’ progress.

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place in May 2010

 Complete, during the next academic year, the school’s programme to remodel its curriculum in order to challenge and inspire pupils further, and make their learning more relevant.

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