Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mr P Hudson Headteacher Duddon St Peter’s Church of England Primary School Duddon Tarporley CW6 0EL

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Early Years Foundation Stage to primary schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 15 March 2012, and the earlier visit of Pat Kime HMI, to look at your work in transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1.

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Early Years Foundation Stage to primary schools

The visits provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

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Early Years Foundation Stage to primary schools

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: responses from parents and carers in Year 1 to a questionnaire; interviews with Year 1 parents, carers and pupils; discussions with senior leaders and teachers in Reception and Year 1; scrutiny of relevant documents; and observation of four lessons.

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Early Years Foundation Stage to primary schools

Overall, the transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1 is good.

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Key findings

 Although most children start Nursery with skills expected for their age, they make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage unit and generally start Year 1 with skills that are above average. The current Year 1 cohort started school with skills that were well below age-related expectations. On entry into Year 1, their recognition of sounds and writing skills were particularly low. These pupils have made good progress and most are working within expected levels for this age group.  Excellent progress has been made by a small group of pupils who have been given additional support, particularly with the development of their literacy skills. Careful monitoring, regular intervention activities delivered through specific group work, and individual support have enabled these pupils to improve their reading and skills.  Staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1 work very closely together and this ensures a smooth transition. Teaching in the first term in

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Key findings

Year 1 is closely aligned to the style used in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This ensures that the pupils are happy, confident and feel secure. There is a gradual change to more formal, discrete teaching sessions but a strong emphasis on practical activity remains a distinctive feature of the provision.  The quality of teaching in Year 1 is good. Lessons move along at a fast pace and pupils are motivated and engaged by the lively delivery. Good use is made of the teaching assistant to support group activities and provide individual guidance. However, although lessons are presented well, the lesson planning does not show in detail the activities and outcomes intended for individuals and groups. Although books are marked regularly, pupils do not know what the comments say and can be confused with the assessment notes which are written alongside them. All pupils have targets for English and mathematics, but are not able to

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Key findings

explain what they are trying to improve in their learning.  A consistent approach to teaching phonics ensures that pupils build their early reading and writing skills systematically. This is successfully achieved by organising the phonic teaching sessions into ability groups across the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2. This ensures that all pupils move along at a suitable pace which matches their development and their individual needs.  The reading, writing and mathematics assessments which are carried out towards the end of each term systematically identify individual progress. This information is used well to target pupils who need additional support. It also provides secure evidence of the positive impact that intervention strategies have made on individual pupils. Nevertheless, formal assessments are not carried out in Nursery until shortly before the children move into Reception. This means that the school does not have an

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Key findings

accurate picture of attainment on entry into the school.  The positive attitudes of the children in Reception to their teachers, to each other and to their learning activities are well maintained as they move into Year 1. Their good behaviour contributes to their enthusiastic engagement during most lessons. Nevertheless, there are no formal systems in place to record the pupils’ personal, social and emotional development which means that their progress cannot be evaluated.  Parents and carers are very positive about the transition from the Reception class into Year 1. They say that they, and their children, have been well supported so the change has been smooth and without interruption to learning.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 devising a marking system which is distinctive from assessment notes and ensure that pupils understand their targets for improvement  ensuring that lesson planning is systematically recorded with learning intentions clearly highlighted and the planned provision for individual pupils recorded with clarity  improving systems which:  assess children’s attainment on entry into the Nursery  monitor the pupils’ personal, social and emotional development as they move through the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop transition at your school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

As explained previously, a copy of this letter will be published on the Ofsted website. It may be used to inform decisions about any future inspection. A copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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