Setting

Wilma Hyde Headteacher Pot Kiln Primary School Butt Road Great Cornard Sudbury CO10 0DS

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Education act 2005 to Pot Kiln Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 23 April 2013, 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 Pot Kiln Primary School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection on 21 November 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 deputy headteacher, the Chair and members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. I evaluated the school’s action plan and I reviewed school records of the quality of teaching, information on pupil progress and minutes from meetings of the governing body and records of their visits to the school. I also made a short visit to a presentation to parents of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage on phonics (the linking of letters and sounds).

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Context

There have been no significant changes since the previous inspection.

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Main findings

Since the inspection the quality of teaching has continued to improve. The accuracy of your assessment of teaching has been agreed by the local authority and by Her Serco Inspections 20 Colmore Circus Queensway Birmingham B4 6AT T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0121 679 9161 Direct email :ann.morris@serco.com Majesty’s Inspector who monitored the school through special measures. Your assessment shows that the majority of lessons are now good and this is an improvement since the inspection. As a result, pupils are making better progress and standards are rising from a very low base. Your school is therefore well placed to improve further, but a potential threat to this improvement is that there are to be several staff changes at the start of next term. Your improvement plan follows the format that helped your school to be removed from special measures ahead of

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Main findings

schedule. The termly planning could be usefully supplemented by a longer term strategic plan showing how your school will become good. You have rightly identified, as a top priority, helping parents to help their children’s progress, for example by providing training for them on phonics.

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Main findings

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. In meetings governors pose more challenging questions, but they remain unclear regarding how to make effective use of their visits to the school. Following the visit to the school, I recommend that further action is taken to:

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Main findings

 ensure that the pace of improvement is accelerated through new appointments to leadership and teaching posts  make better use of governors’ visits and plan further training for the governing body as a matter of urgency  create a longer term strategic plan for the school which maintains a sharp focus on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress

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Main findings

I will continue to monitor your school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

The local authority’s (LA) support has been reduced in response to the school’s increased capacity to improve. The LA is supporting the school through the ‘achievement for all’ project promoting the attainment of pupils with special educational needs or disabilities. Training has been provided for governors and the LA has intervened to strengthen the governing body through additional appointments. The LA has agreed to monitor and support the Governing Body.

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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 Suffolk.

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