Setting

Mrs Kelly Scott Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School The Oaks Ashill Thetford Norfolk IP25 7AP

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Education act 2005 to Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Norfolk

Following my visit to your school on 9 May 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 Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Norfolk

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection on 24 January 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 literacy leader, the school’s adviser from the local authority, the Chair of the Governing Body with two other governors, and two groups of pupils. The post-Ofsted action plan was evaluated and records of monitoring were looked at. Brief visits were made to each of the four classes with the headteacher to look at pupils’ work.

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Context

Two teachers are new to the school since the inspection. Two other teachers will leave the school at the end of this term. 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 01216 799154 Direct email :aidan.dunne@serco.com

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Main findings

The urgency and methodical way that actions have been taken since the inspection provide a very clear purpose for rapid school improvement. There is a very strong determination among staff and governors to provide a good standard of education for pupils as soon as possible. Senior leaders focus their work on the most important things and make appropriate use of support when needed.

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Main findings

The post-Ofsted action plan addresses the points raised during the inspection well, with targets, timescales, responsibilities and a range of activities to check whether actions take place. The plan provides a clear focus for staff, school leaders and governors and the actions are monitored well. The plan does not include targets that will check if pupils’ progress is good in areas other than those raised in the inspection. In addition, the targets for pupils who get extra help do not distinguish between those who need to catch-up because of past underachievement and those with disabilities and special educational needs.

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Main findings

The way that actions are recorded and followed up provides momentum to improve the outcomes for pupils. This applies to the monitoring of the action plan by senior leaders and governors, as well as to the marking of pupils’ work by teachers. Senior leaders and governors monitor the plan with appropriate frequency and rigour. Careful recording of what they find ensures that issues are raised and followed up. Teachers’ marking shows an increasingly good dialogue between pupils and adults, with many examples of pupils work improving as a result. This includes brief, immediate catch-up time to help pupils practise something that they have found difficult in a lesson. Pupils say that they like this and they are confident to say when they don’t understand something because they know that they will get the help to sort it out quickly. They can show in their books where this has helped them to improve their work on subsequent occasions. Pupils are very clear about what they

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Main findings

are learning and how they can check if they have done their best work.

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Main findings

Recent changes in the way that staff plan and record the extra support for pupils is helping to check on the quality of the sessions. It also helps to make sure that these activities fit in with pupils’ work at other times and will provide information on the difference that these activities make on pupils’ progress.

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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. Following the visit to the school, HMI recommend that further action is taken to:

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Main findings

 amend the action plan to include targets pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics  have separate targets for pupils who need to catch-up because of underachievement and for pupils with disabilities and special educational need  consider external check on the school’s performance.

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PROTECT-INSPECTION

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

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External support

The local authority adviser provides the right level of challenge and support with the confidence that senior staff and governors have the knowledge and skills to do the work themselves. Teachers work with colleagues from the local group of schools to check on their judgements about the levels of pupils’ work. Over the next academic year, it would be useful to work with others who can provide an external view of leaders’ and governors’ overall judgements about the quality of their work.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children’s Services for Norfolk local authority, and the Diosese of Norwich.

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