Setting

Ms S Widgery The Headteacher East Oxford Primary School Union Street Oxford OX4 1JP

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monitoring inspection of East Oxford Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 27 March 2012 and for the information which you provided during the inspection. Please thank the Chair of the Governing Body, the local authority improvement officer and the staff and pupils who gave their time to speak to me.

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monitoring inspection of East Oxford Primary School

Since the last inspection there have been a few staff changes. In July 2011, four teachers left the school, two of whom were part time. Three full-time teachers were appointed to take up post in September 2011. The deputy headteacher was absent on maternity leave from January 2011 until July 2011. The Early Years Foundation Stage has been re-structured. There are now two Reception classes and two classes for Nursery children. One class accommodates Nursery children in the mornings and another provides for Nursery children during the afternoon sessions. There have been a number of changes to the governing body with many newly-elected members. Since the previous inspection there have been three different Chairs of the Governing Body. The present Chair of the Governing Body was elected in September 2011. Pupil numbers are increasing; there are now 319 pupils on roll.

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monitoring inspection of East Oxford Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 8 and 9 November 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 East Oxford Primary School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made satisfactory progress in making improvements and the effectiveness of the school in improving pupils’ behaviour is good.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Attainment was judged to be low at the previous inspection. Indeed, the attainment of pupils has been low for a number of years and the unvalidated results in 2011 Tribal 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 0117 315 0430 Direct email : rebecca.jackson@tribalgroup.com Page 2 showed that the attainment of Year 6 pupils dipped further. However, since September 2011 the school has taken decisive action to improve pupils’ progress. For the current Year 6 pupils, the school is implementing one-to-one support for all pupils to accelerate their progress. Attainment has started to rise and data from current Year 6 pupils show that the school is on track to meet the government floor targets. Year 2 pupils are also making better progress and more are expected to reach nationally expected levels of attainment.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The school is using the data it gathers on pupils’ attainment and progress more effectively to identify those in need of additional support. Pupil progress meetings with teachers and senior leaders are now held more frequently. Teachers are using the school’s tracking information to plan lessons to more effectively meet the needs of groups of pupils. However, senior leaders recognise that there is more to be done to provide greater challenge for all groups, including the more able, to accelerate progress and to enable all pupils to reach levels of attainment that are in line with pupils nationally in all year groups.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Improved attendance rates are having a positive impact on pupils’ attainment and progress. Attendance has improved since September 2011 and is now closer to the national average. However, some pupils’ late arrival at school, after the start of the school day, is having a negative impact on the learning for pupils during the first lesson.

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The quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is improving as a result of targeted work to develop teachers’ skills. Teachers are now making clear to pupils the purpose of learning in lessons and there is a consistent approach to increasing pupils’ understanding of how the pupils can be successful in lessons. Steps to success are shared and pupils are able to check on their own progress towards achieving the learning objective. Nevertheless, the school recognises there is more to be done to ensure that all teaching is good or better.

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The quality of teaching

During the monitoring inspection the whole school was engaged in a Mathematics Wizard Day. All pupils were actively involved in investigative mathematical activities throughout the day. Pupils were enthusiastic, working well together in groups to solve problems and find solutions to issues raised. In the Years 5/6 classes, groups of pupils were fully engaged in finding ways to build the tallest tower using matchsticks, straws and tape. All pupils were absorbed in the task, using their prior knowledge of three-dimensional shapes to construct towers, with varying degrees of success. During these lessons, the most effective teachers targeted questions to individuals and groups to develop their understanding and support their learning.

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The quality of teaching

Pupils are positive about their learning in lessons. They particularly enjoy the Big Write which provides regular opportunities for them to use the skills they have learnt in lessons to complete an extended piece of writing. This is improving pupils’ Page 3 attitudes to writing. Nevertheless, writing remains a relative weakness across the school.

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The quality of teaching

Support to improve teachers’ marking has brought about recent improvements. In the best examples of marking, pupils are provided with detailed steps on how to improve their work and they respond to the guidance well. However, it remains too inconsistent. This also reflects the views of some pupils who said marking does not always help them to know what to do to improve their work. This is particularly the case in mathematics. Teachers do not convey consistently high expectations of presentation and organisation of pupils’ work, to enable pupils to always maintain a suitable standard of presentation.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

In the previous inspection pupils’ behaviour and the extent to which pupils feel safe were both judged to be good. Pupils’ level of behaviour has been maintained over time and the school has successfully implemented strategies to improve attendance. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from school has also been reduced. Pupils are keen to come to school, which reflects their enjoyment of learning and school life. They have a well-developed understanding of making good choices and have a responsible attitude to managing their own behaviour. In the lessons observed, and around the school, pupils behave well, are polite, courteous and respectful. They have good attitudes to learning. Relationships between pupils and adults are good. Pupils say they feel safe and learn about how to keep themselves safe when using new technologies. They say incidents of bullying are rare.

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

Senior leaders are playing a greater role in leading improvements and monitoring progress. Effective use is made of a range of monitoring activities to triangulate information on pupils’ attainment and progress. For example, middle and senior managers’ systematic monitoring of teachers’ planning, teaching, and pupils’ work and progress is starting to address the legacy of underachievement. Teaching is evaluated to identify further areas for improvement and coaching is beginning to have a positive impact on the quality of teaching. Teachers have a greater understanding of the expected levels of attainment for all pupils. The regular pupil progress meetings are beginning to raise teachers’ expectations of more-able pupils. As a result, a greater proportion of pupils are expected to reach the higher levels of attainment in Year 6.

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

The changes to the governing body and the resignation of the governor with responsibility for safeguarding have meant that safeguarding procedures have not been carefully monitored to ensure that systems and procedures meet current requirements. Some aspects of the single central record required amendments during the monitoring inspection. Page 4 The local authority provides good support to increase the effectiveness of senior and middle leaders. Structured consultancy support for mathematics and English has been effective in increasing the consistency and quality of resources and their use for learning in lessons. The partnership with a local leader of education has recently been established to work with senior leaders to share good practice and provide additional support. Consequently, through these approaches, the school is building a better capacity for further improvements.

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The quality of leadership and management of the 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 November 2010

 Accelerate progress and lift attainment at the end of Year 6 by: - ensuring that teachers make the purpose of lessons clear to pupils - raise the consistencies of teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly the more-able - improve the quality of marking to ensure that teachers focus their comments on how pupils can improve their work.  By January 2012, lift attendance levels to get them as close as possible to broadly average.

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