Setting

Mrs H Alcock Headteacher Buntingsdale Infant School Buntingsdale Estate Tern Hill Market Drayton Shropshire TF9 2HB

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 7 December 2011 and for the information which you provided during the inspection. Please pass on my thanks to the pupils for the welcome they gave to me and to the parents and carers who talked with me during the inspection.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

Shortly after the last inspection, a new teaching appointment was made which added stability to the staffing in Key Stage 1. However, in 2011, both of the teachers who shared the Key Stage 1 class took long-term leave of absence. These teachers were replaced by a fixed-term contract teacher and a number of supply teachers.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

As a result of the inspection on 28 April 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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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

Having considered all the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made inadequate progress in making improvements, inadequate progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement and the effectiveness of the school in improving pupils’ behaviour is inadequate.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

During the period of staffing stability, pupils’ progress in Key Stage 1 started to accelerate and attainment started to rise. The 2011 end of Key Stage 1 teacher assessments in reading and writing show that most pupils attained the levels expected for their age, and almost half exceeded them. Pupils’ attainment in mathematics also showed some improvement but remained low.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers have successfully implemented many initiatives to improve children’s literacy skills. Greater use is made of the outdoor Serco Inspections Cedar House 21 William Street Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1LH 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 area to encourage children to develop their early writing and communication skills through role-play and first-hand practical experiences. As a result, in 2011, three- quarters of children achieved the writing skills expected for children of this age, compared with less than half in 2010.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

Staff absence and ensuing staffing changes have meant that the many initiatives to improve attainment in Key Stage 1, especially in writing, have not been maintained. In both Years 1 and 2, current attainment is low in literacy and numeracy. The progress of all groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is not strong enough to narrow the attainment gap between pupils in this school and those in other schools nationally. The presentation of pupils’ work in books is poor and pupils are provided with few opportunities to write, especially about their own experiences or topics which interest them. Weaknesses in pupils’ spelling and command of syntax continue because not enough attention is paid to improving these aspects. Teachers’ marking only occasionally gives pupils guidance on how to improve their work. Since the last inspection, a new policy for target-setting has been introduced and all pupils have targets for improvement in

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

their books. However, none of the pupils asked during the inspection knew their targets or felt that they helped them with their learning.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

Staffing instability means that previous improvements in Key Stage 1, as a result of staff training and development implemented by the headteacher, have not become embedded. In many lessons the pace of learning is too slow and pupils’ knowledge and skills are not built upon systematically. In some lessons, teachers give pupils opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills by discussing with others questions posed by the teacher. However, pupils are not encouraged to reflect on their learning or demonstrate orally their understanding of new knowledge and skills.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

During the monitoring inspection, pupils behaved well on arrival at school and at play. They know that they can talk to adults in school if they have a problem and they feel confident that all adults will listen to them and do their best to help. Pupils are reminded regularly of the school’s rules on behaviour and are motivated by being ‘star of the week’ and receiving certificates in assemblies for good behaviour. All of the parents and carers spoken with during the inspection said that pupils’ behaviour was good and there was no bullying. However, some pupils were less positive. Although they said that most pupils get on well together and incidents of bullying are rare, they talked about some low-level disruption in lessons.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

While evidence from this monitoring inspection suggests that pupils’ behaviour continues to be satisfactory, as at the previous inspection, the effectiveness of the school in improving pupils’ behaviour is inadequate because of the continuing link between poor behaviour and some poor teaching. During the inspection, in lessons where the pace of learning was too slow and pupils were not engaged in meaningful and motivating activities, some pupils lost attention, became restless and interrupted the learning of others. The pattern of staffing instability means that the well- September 2010 Page 3 intentioned and appropriate actions of senior leaders have not yet resulted in improving pupils’ positive attitudes to work or developing resilience and independent learning.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

Since the last inspection, the headteacher has introduced more rigorous monitoring and evaluation processes. There is a new system for tracking pupils’ progress, and teachers are held to account more for pupils’ achievement. The headteacher undertakes more formal lesson observations and gives detailed feedback to teachers on how to improve. However, the school’s self-evaluation and improvement processes are not planned systematically enough. Consequently, despite the many initiatives introduced by the headteacher following the last inspection, their implementation, especially by the temporary staff, is not monitored regularly.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

Leadership roles are beginning to be shared among other teachers. The deputy headteacher has undertaken an audit of the strengths and areas for improvement in mathematics and has written a plan for improvement. However, the plan does not focus sharply enough on improving pupils’ learning in lessons and does not show how the outcomes for pupils are to be evaluated. The instability in staffing has hindered the development of leadership skills of other staff.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant School

The headteacher reports that she has been supported and challenged well by the local authority since the last inspection. However, mainly because of the problems caused by the instability in staffing, the impact of this support on addressing the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection has not been great enough.

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monitoring inspection of Buntingsdale Infant 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 April 2010

 Improve writing skills across the school by:  planning more systematically for their development and progression  providing better opportunities for children in Nursery and Reception to write about their experiences, for example, in the outdoor area  ensuring that the new initiatives are fully embedded and that their impact on standards and progress is monitored closely.

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place in April 2010

 Raise pupils’ standards and improve their progress by:  ensuring teachers organise lessons so that pupils can build up their knowledge and confidence systematically  providing better opportunities in lessons for pupils to reflect on what they have learnt and demonstrate their understanding orally  making better use of marking and pupils’ targets.

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place in April 2010

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by:  increasing the frequency of formal monitoring, for example, through lesson observations, identifying clearly action points and ensuring that they are followed up to enhance staff skills  developing the leadership skills of staff other than the headteacher to play a fuller part in reviewing the school’s performance.

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