Setting

Mr Andrew Bramwell Headteacher Moat Hall Primary School John's Lane Great Wyrley Walsall WS6 6BX

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Moat Hall Primary School

Following my visit with Alan Jarvis, Additional Inspector, to your school on 11–12 July 2012, 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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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Moat Hall Primary School

The inspection was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in February 2012. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is 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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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Moat Hall Primary School

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Moat Hall Primary School

Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed by the school.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Moat Hall 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 and the Director of Children’s Services for Staffordshire.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

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

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place in February 2012

 Raise achievement and accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics, and ensure that pupils’ attainment reaches the national average by July 2013, by:  establishing greater consistency in the quality of mathematics teaching  improving the teachers’ knowledge of the subject  creating more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematical skills across the curriculum.

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place in February 2012

 Rapidly improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is consistently good or better and has a positive impact on pupils’ achievement by:  ensuring that all lesson planning and teaching take account of the specific needs of all groups of pupils, especially those of higher ability  achieving consistency in the teaching and pace of learning in lessons to accelerate the progress of all pupils across the school  improving teachers’ marking across the school so that it guides pupils more effectively to understand how well they are doing and the next steps in their learning  teaching pupils the skills to evaluate the quality of their own work and that of others, so they are able to take control of their learning and assess their own progress.

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place in February 2012

 Increase the effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels by:  ensuring that rigorous and extensive monitoring of teaching leads to accurate evaluations that will have a direct impact on improving pupils’ learning and progress, particularly in mathematics  evaluating the impact of the curriculum in meeting the needs of all pupils  developing the skills and accountability of middle leaders and giving subject leaders opportunities to judge the quality of teaching and learning in lessons, so they have a clear picture of standards in their subject.

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place in February 2012

 Improve provision in the Nursery class so that it meets the learning needs of the children and accelerates their progress by:  ensuring that the activities planned to improve the children’s basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy are better matched to their age and abilities  giving children experience of all the areas of learning indoors  ensuring that there are more accurate assessments in children’s ‘Learning Journeys’ to help staff build on what the children have already learned and to plan the next steps for improvement.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, including 16 lessons; most with a senior leader. They scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, middle leaders, the Vice Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority and groups of pupils.

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Context

Since the inspection in February 2012, a number of staff have retired from the school and a number have started maternity leave. The school has been supported by a Local Leader of Education from a local school. The headteacher, Chair of the Governing Body and a local authority representative attended an Ofsted school improvement seminar in Manchester.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Children enter and leave the Nursery with skills and aptitudes below those expected for their age. They make satisfactory progress in their physical, personal, social and emotional development but progress in other areas remains weak. The progress has increased because of improvements to the environment, sharper planning to meet the needs of individual children and better deployment of adults. Good attention has been paid to ensuring that activities cover all areas of the curriculum as a result of incisive and regular support from local authority Early Years Foundation Stage consultant. This support has also ensured assessments are more accurate to identify the next stages of children’s development.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

In Reception, children make good progress in their language, literacy, number skills and knowledge and understanding of the world. The stimulating learning environment strongly promotes early literacy and numeracy skills, including daily, teacher-led phonics sessions.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The school has concentrated on raising achievement in mathematics and has received good support from the local authority. Observations of pupils’ work in lessons and in their books shows that the standards have improved and pupils now have more opportunities to investigate mathematics, although pupils do not have enough opportunities to use and apply mathematics across the curriculum. The introduction of the numeracy and calculation policies has helped improve teachers’ subject knowledge so that they are better able to identify interesting problem- solving opportunities, although some are missed. Targeted support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs has meant they have also improved their learning.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Registration time is used well to support pupils’ development of greater numerical fluency and to improve reading. Pupils’ reading has improved. Senior leaders have introduced rigorous and accurate systems to assess pupils’ work at regular intervals. Baseline assessments from previous years are not secure but the school’s tracking shows that pupils generally make improved progress across the year. In the older classes, pupils still have to make up for previous poor progress. Unvalidated results for the Key Stage 2 tests show that attainment is broadly average, as is the case in Key Stage 1 assessments. Reading results from the Year 1 screening show reading to be in line with expectation.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the areas for improvement:

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Achievement of pupils at the school

 improve provision in the Nursery class so that it meets the learning needs of the children and accelerates their progress – satisfactory

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Achievement of pupils at the school

 raise achievement and accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics – satisfactory.

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The quality of teaching

The quality of teaching and learning has improved. The majority of teaching is satisfactory or good, with no inadequate teaching observed. In all classes, relationships between pupils and staff are good.

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The quality of teaching

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teaching has improved so that now the quality of teaching within the Nursery class is closer to that in Reception. However, opportunities for children in the Nursery to speak for extended periods are missed and, at times, there is not enough oversight to check that children are fully engaged in their learning. Typically, teaching is well planned and executed, there is a good balance between teacher-led and child-initiated activities and children’s individual stage of development is taken into account in planning activities which challenge them.

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The quality of teaching

All lessons have suitable learning objectives and associated success criteria. While lessons have improved, there is still a lack of consistency and not all lessons are as engaging and challenging as the best. Assessment is used to ensure work is generally matched to the needs of the pupils. Marking has improved. Literacy books are marked well and include advice and targets on how pupils can improve their work. In some books, pupils then respond to their teacher’s comments. Marking in mathematics is less diagnostic. In humanities and science books, marking often focuses upon literacy elements and not on subject-specific issues. Teachers use ongoing assessment well to identify errors and also good examples of pupils’ work which are then used as teaching points for the whole class. Pupils have opportunities to assess each other’s work and to reflect upon their own, although this is not always focused upon the success criteria. Teaching assistants support

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The quality of teaching

pupils well; they listen to pupils and then encourage them to complete tasks for themselves and do not do the work for them.

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The quality of teaching

Lessons include opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual understanding, for example by considering emotions of characters in books. They develop moral awareness, for example by understanding the difference between borrowing and stealing when reading a section from The Borrowers. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children develop good social skills through carefully planned activities which encourage sharing and taking turns. Lessons also often consider different cultures from around the world, and displays remind pupils of the recent visit to Norway and other partner schools. Music is enjoyed by pupils, and pupils were observed enjoying giving a performance for parents and carers based on the Olympics.

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The quality of teaching

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the area for improvement:

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The quality of teaching

 rapidly improve the quality of teaching and learning – good.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour around school and during playtimes is good. Pupils are considerate and relationships are good. In lessons, when pupils are given suitable stimuli, they are very engaged and enthused in their work. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, with older pupils having age-appropriate awareness of issues regarding substance abuse. Pupils say they enjoy the clubs to which they sign a contract to attend, and that this has helped to improve behaviour further.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance has improved and is above average. The proportion of pupils who have too much time off school is low.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Senior leaders have been effective in a short time and have given the school impetus, drive and ambition. They have supported teachers to improve their teaching practice. All staff feel supported and empowered to improve. Performance management includes targets for progress and links to professional development. Leaders for literacy and numeracy monitor the work in classrooms through observations and through oversight of work in books and planning. Lessons are monitored for their quality by senior leaders who have an accurate overview of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching across the school.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The impact of actions identified on the post-Ofsted action plan is being continually evaluated. The school has concentrated on improving teaching and raising achievement and it now has plans to enhance the curriculum, including building upon good practice which it has identified. There are also clear plans to strengthen the leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage next year.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Members of the governing body are now more able to hold the school to account. They have developed a better understanding of assessment data and hence are able to identify if the school is ensuring equality of opportunity. Along with school staff, the governing body ensures that safeguarding procedures meet current requirements. Relationships between the school and parents and carers are good, with a very large proportion showing their support at the meeting to explain the implications of special measures.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the area for improvement:

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

 increase the effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels – satisfactory.

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External support

The local authority’s statement of action has been updated in response to recommendations from Ofsted and it is fit for purpose. It provides a sound framework for further improvement, including suitable support for the leadership of the school and the governing body. There are clear success criteria by which the statement can be evaluated. Staff have had the opportunity to observe good practice at the local school of the Local Leader in Education. The Early Years Foundation Stage consultant has provided a substantial amount of good support and similar quality support is provided for mathematics. The core group meetings evaluate the impact of support and also any areas which may need further help. The school values the frequent input from the local authority adviser who is working with the school.

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