Setting

CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 1231231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566855 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email: gail.hill@cfbt.com

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Mrs Wendy Elliot Headteacher Newport Primary School Main Road Newport Brough HU15 2PP

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Education act 2005 to Newport Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire

Following my visit to your school on 26 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 Newport Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in February 2013. 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, the governing body, and a representative of the local authority. The school improvement plan was evaluated. A tour of the school was undertaken to check the Early Years Foundation Stage outdoor provision.

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Context

There have been no significant changes since the recent inspection, which judged the school to require improvement.

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Main findings

School plans have been updated and actions are focused on all of the areas for improvement from the recent inspection. Actions to quicken the pace of learning and to increase productivity, particularly in writing through better planning of lessons are in place. However, the impact that actions are intended to have on pupils’ learning and achievement is not always sharply enough defined to enable governors to hold leaders firmly to account.

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Main findings

Partnerships now exist with a number of good and outstanding schools and the headteacher is beginning to use this professional peer group to challenge and develop teaching. As a result of focused visits to these schools staff are beginning to share new ideas such as different ways to start lessons and to deploy teaching assistants in order to support pupils’ learning.

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Main findings

The headteacher’s review of mathematics has led to increased the expectations of pupils in all year groups. This is beginning to lead to new approaches to teaching pupils the skills of calculation. More frequent checks of pupils’ progress, the quality of planning, teaching and pupils’ work are taking place. Informative booklets have been shared with parents to help them support their children’s learning. This is helping to strengthen home and school dialogue about learning and the higher expectations of pupils’ performance in mathematics. Other subject leaders have yet to get to grips with the detail of their role and higher expectations of monitoring.

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Main findings

Leaders are starting to investigate how best to use the outdoor space for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, with some changes already made. Further advice has been commissioned from specialist consultants.

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Main findings

Governors are starting to research and reflect on the expectations of good governance and examine their own practice and procedures ahead of an external review that is due to begin in the next few weeks. The Chair of Governors has already identified several areas for development in relation to questioning, challenge and holding staff to account. Governors have a better understanding of assessment data as a result of training about a new electronic system that the headteacher has introduced to analyse the performance of different groups of pupils. However, governors also recognise that using the analyses to better inform teaching and to identify where learning requires additional support is a key area of work that quickly needs to develop further if the higher expectations in mathematics are to be fully realised.

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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

 ensure that the impact of actions on pupils’ learning and achievement is sharply defined in the school improvement plan to enable governors to undertake their monitoring role

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Main findings

 speed up the pace of reform to leaders’ monitoring of pupils’ learning and performance in subjects in addition to mathematics and English. HMI and the school discussed and agreed that the school will attend an Ofsted seminar later this term.

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Main findings

Ofsted will continue to monitor the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

Local authority advice in supporting the headteacher to develop the school improvement plan and in helping the school to identify partners with excellent practice has been a key factor in the school starting to move forward. Plans detailing further training and support this term from Early Years, literacy and numeracy consultants have been agreed but have yet to take place.

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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 East Riding of Yorkshire and as below.

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