Setting

Arnet Donkin Headteacher Cambridge School 61 Bryony Road White City London, W12 0SP

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Cambridge School

Following my visit to your school on 17 June 2013, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report 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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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Cambridge School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in May 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 you, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. The school improvement plan was evaluated. Brief visits were made to classrooms to look at the impact of the actions which the school has taken since the previous inspection. A range of documentation was reviewed, including information on the school’s monitoring of teaching, minutes of school improvement board meetings and pupil progress information.

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Context

Since the previous inspection an external review of governance has been completed and a new Chair of the Governing Body has been appointed. 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 0117 311 5359 Direct F 0117 315 0430 Email : christina.bannerman@tribalgroup.com

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Main findings

The school’s existing improvement plan has been revised so that it has an appropriate focus on all the areas for improvement identified in the recent inspection. The plan includes appropriate actions and indicates when initiatives are planned to start and finish. However, the plan would benefit from more interim milestones and sharper success criteria. This would help the governing body check regularly that the school’s actions are making a difference to improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning. The plan would also benefit from an overview that shows how the different initiatives relate to each other over time and more detail regarding how and when the various actions will be monitored.

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Main findings

Governors have had training. As a result, they are able to interpret the information that the school is providing about the progress of pupils. A school improvement board has been established and senior leaders, governors and representatives from the local authority check on the progress that pupils are making at regular intervals. Board members can work together to judge the progress that the school is making in implementing the planned improvements. Governors are improving communications with parents and a parents’ forum has been established to help parents be more involved with the school. This forum is led by parents.

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Main findings

Links have been made with outstanding schools so that teachers can visit to observe outstanding teaching and improve their own practice. Teachers have had training on using assessment information to inform lesson planning and to set appropriate learning targets for pupils to achieve. Additional resources have been purchased to enable a multi-sensory approach to learning to be developed further. Evidence presented by the school, following observation of lessons and scrutiny of pupils work, shows that the overall profile of teaching has improved. Work in pupils’ books shows evidence of some improvements to teachers’ marking but further improvement is needed for marking to be consistently good.

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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. The school should take further action to:

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Main findings

 develop the schools action plan so that it specifies more precisely how and when the planned improvements will be evaluated and provide more quantifiable targets against which progress can be measured.

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Main findings

Ofsted may carry out further visits and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

The local authority has continued to support the school by conducting a teaching and learning review and supporting the school in evaluating progress against the action plan. Links with outstanding schools have been brokered by the local authority. It is planned that the local authority will support the development of middle leaders.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Tri-borough Director of Children’s Services.

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