Setting

Mrs Jane Siddons Hemington Primary School Main Street Hemington Derby DE74 2RB

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Education act 2005 to Hemington Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 16 November 2012, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report on the findings of my visit. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Education act 2005 to Hemington Primary School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in September 2012. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Evidence

During the visit, meetings were held with the headteacher, and with representatives of the Governing Body. A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority. The inspector also met with a group of pupils, who showed him around the school. The school improvement plan was evaluated. The inspector scrutinised information about pupils’ progress, work in pupils’ exercise books and folders, information about the school’s systems to manage the performance of staff, and information about leaders’ checking of the quality of teaching.

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Context

There have been no significant contextual changes at the school since the last inspection. 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 Direct T 0121 683 3289 Direct email :elizabeth.rashvand@serco.com

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Main findings

The school has responded positively to the findings of the last inspection report and staff and representatives of the governing body are united in demonstrating a strong determination to improve the school. The school’s improvement plan has been revised and is now sharply focused on improving pupils’ progress, particularly in writing and mathematics.

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Main findings

Leaders’ arrangements to check and improve the quality of teaching across the school are much sharper than at the time of the last inspection. When leaders observe teaching, they now focus more closely on the impact teachers make on pupils’ learning, rather than simply on what they are doing. This enables leaders to identify more effectively how teachers can improve their practice. Leaders have an accurate overview of the progress made by different groups of pupils and individuals in this small school.

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Main findings

The governing body are developing the necessary skills to provide school leaders with a good level of challenge. For example, three representatives of the governing body have recently attended training to sharpen their understanding of the school’s systems to track pupils’ progress in learning. Governors are also ensuring that they visit the school more frequently, to improve their understanding of the progress the school is making. This means that the governing body are beginning to make more of an impact on the school’s effectiveness. An external review of governance has not yet been arranged.

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Main findings

Senior leaders and governors have begun to take effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. Following the visit to the school, HMI recommend that further action is taken to:

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Main findings

 further improve the impact the school improvement plan makes upon accelerating the school’s progress, by ensuring that it is clearly states when each action will be checked by the governing body, or senior leaders  improve the impact that leaders’ observations of teaching make on the quality of teaching, by ensuring that all of the areas identified for improvement for each teacher, are carefully checked in their next observation  arrange an external review of school governance, in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved  develop the governing body’s understanding of the school’s systems to manage the performance of staff other than the headteacher  ensure that the specific roles and responsibilities of subject leaders are made clear to staff, to ensure consistency of good leadership between subjects.

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Main findings

Ofsted will continue to monitor the school until its next section 5 inspection. The HMI will visit during the Spring term of 2013 to support school leaders in evaluating teaching through joint lesson observations.

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External support

Since the last inspection the local authority has provided support to the school to improve the quality of the school’s action plans, which has been particularly useful. Support has also been provided to the governing body to improve their understanding of how best to hold leaders to account.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Leicestershire and as below.

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