Setting

Mrs Margaret Henshaw The Headteacher Gatten and Lake Primary School Howard Road Shanklin Isle of Wight PO37 6HD

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School

Following my visit with Stephanie Matthews, Additional Inspector, to your school on 11 and 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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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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School

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory.

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School

Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed.

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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 the Isle of Wight.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

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

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place in February 2012

 Raise pupils’ achievement, especially in Years 3, 4 and 5, by:  improving pupils’ spelling, grammar and punctuation  improving pupils’ handwriting and presentation of work  improving pupils’ ability to read and understand word problems in mathematics and their application of skills to solve these.  Improve the quality of teaching, especially in Years 3, 4 and 5, by:  strengthening the quality of teachers’ marking so that pupils understand how they can improve their learning  strengthening pupils’ understanding of their individual targets for literacy and numeracy  making it clear what pupils are expected to achieve by the end of lessons.  Ensure that pupils are confident that behaviour is dealt with consistently and fairly by all staff.  Improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers by ensuring that leaders and the governing body monitor pupils’ performance and the quality of teaching rigorously.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body, parent and community governors, local authority representatives and groups of pupils.

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Context

The previous headteacher left the school just before the last section 5 inspection. Leadership is being provided by an experienced headteacher who has been contracted to work at the school for the foreseeable future. There have been a number of staffing changes and two teachers are leaving at the end of this term. All posts have been filled.

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Context

The governing body’s delegated powers were suspended when the school was placed in special measures. A local authority officer is currently acting as the Chair of the Governing Body.

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Context

Following reorganisation by the local authority, the school is now an all-through primary school. The current Year 6 pupils are the first such group in the school.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Pupils are increasingly achieving more. Attainment levels are rising as pupils make better progress in lessons. Pupils made at least satisfactory progress in all the lessons seen during the inspection. They made good progress in a number of lessons. Pupils’ spelling, punctuation, grammar, handwriting and presentation are improving.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The school’s first cohort of Year 6 pupils took national tests in May. Unvalidated results compare favourably with those of other schools in the authority. This is also the case for the school’s Year 2 national assessment results, which improved slightly this year.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Thorough systems are in place to track pupils’ achievement. Pupils are assessed regularly and the resulting data are analysed carefully. This analysis shows that pupils across the school, including those in Years 3, 4, and 5, are increasingly making more secure progress. It also shows that patterns of progress are variable between year groups, subjects and groups of pupils. For example, pupils in a number of year groups made better progress in English this year than they did in mathematics. The headteacher is fully aware of this variability and is working to eliminate it. Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the areas for improvement:  raise achievement, especially in Years 3, 4 and 5 – satisfactory.

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The quality of teaching

Teaching is improving, although still variable in quality. Inadequate teaching is now much less common and a significant minority of teaching is good. Teaching was satisfactory or better in all the lessons seen during the inspection. Pupils recognise this improvement and say that lessons are now more varied and interesting.

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The quality of teaching

Lesson planning has improved. English and mathematics lessons are typically well planned, although planning in other curriculum subjects is less secure. Teachers now commonly modify lesson activities for pupils of different ability. This is helping to ensure that everyone is challenged appropriately. However, pupils of different ability sometimes do exactly the same work, with some finding it too challenging and others finding it too easy. Another common feature of less-effective lessons is that they move too slowly; pupils therefore do not achieve as much as they could in the time available.

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The quality of teaching

The school has established a list of common elements for all lessons. These include teachers sharing the aims of the lesson with the class and establishing success criteria to help pupils understand what they are trying to achieve. Teachers now regularly incorporate these elements into their lessons, although their full impact on learning is yet to be realised. For example, while teachers routinely share the lesson’s aims with pupils, they often make little reference to them as the lesson progresses. Opportunities are therefore missed to help pupils to understand how much they have achieved.

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The quality of teaching

Teachers’ marking is improving. All teachers make use of ‘two stars and a wish’ when they mark pupils’ work. They pick up weaknesses in spelling, punctuation, grammar, presentation and handwriting well. Marking, however, has three general weaknesses: often it does not relate to the lesson’s aims; teachers do not always ensure that pupils respond to their suggestions; and, identified weaknesses are rarely referred to in the teachers’ subsequent marking. Pupils know and understand their targets for literacy and numeracy. Many targets are specific and precise, although a few are too general to be of much value.

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The quality of teaching

Useful work is being done to improve pupils’ handwriting and presentation. Pupils now have to prove the quality of their handwriting before they are given a ‘pen passport’ by the headteacher, enabling them to write in pen rather than pencil. Some valuable recent work has also been done to improve provision for pupils with special educational needs. Teaching assistants who work with them are now being given clearer guidance about their role in each lesson, helping them to provide more precisely-targeted support. Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the areas for improvement:  improve the quality of teaching, especially in Years 3, 4 and 5 – satisfactory.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Useful work is being undertaken to ensure that clear procedures for behaviour management are established and implemented consistently. Pupils recognise the resulting improvements. They say that pupils generally behave well, but also that there is some minor misbehaviour, particularly outside of lessons and at lunchtime. The behaviour seen during the inspection was always at least satisfactory and often good.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ attendance levels are currently below average. They dipped slightly this year, largely due to the poor attendance of a small minority of pupils. A range of strategies is in place to tackle this issue, although it is too early to evaluate their impact.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the areas for improvement:  ensure that pupils are confident that behaviour is dealt with consistently and fairly by all staff – satisfactory.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The headteacher has set high standards and expectations for the school and is ambitious for its improvement. Her focus has rightly been on eliminating inadequate teaching. Lessons are monitored carefully and teachers are provided with clear and useful advice and support to help them to improve their practice. Other aspects of the school’s work are also monitored to identify aspects in need of further development. The headteacher has a clear and realistic understanding of the school’s effectiveness and the strengths and weaknesses in teaching.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The school’s systems for processing and analysing data about pupils’ achievement are a strength. They clearly identify the progress being made by different classes. The data are also analysed to show the progress of different groups of pupils in each class. This information is used to identify potential support for pupils and to hold teachers to account for pupils’ progress. The way in which the system is used to analyse the progress of different groups of pupils across the whole school is developing.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Useful work has been done to strengthen the effectiveness of the governing body. Governors with an educational background have been recruited by the local authority and are providing additional support and training for others. The governing body is providing useful challenge to the headteacher.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the areas for improvement:  improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers by ensuring that leaders and the governing body monitor pupils’ performance and the quality of teaching rigorously – satisfactory.

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External support

The local authority’s statement of action and plan for the school were judged to fulfil requirements when they were evaluated by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors in April.

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External support

The school’s improvement is being monitored and supported by local authority officers and by inspectors from a neighbouring authority who have been commissioned to undertake this work. The resulting reports of their visits provide a useful diagnostic analysis of strengths and weaknesses in teaching. However, there is not always a sufficiently clear distinction between support for the school and monitoring of its improvement. Reports also do not focus sharply enough on the progress that the school is making against the specific areas for improvement identified in the section 5 inspection report.

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