Setting

Mrs S Farrell Headteacher Abbots Farm Junior School Abbotts Way Rugby CV21 4AP

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School

Following my visit to your school on 18 July 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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School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in April 2013. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Evidence

During the visit, I met with you and other senior leaders, pupils, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body, and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. I evaluated the school action plan. We jointly visited lessons to observe teaching, check lesson planning and scrutinise pupils’ work. I examined minutes of governing body meetings.

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Main findings

Teachers worked well to continue improving the aspects of teaching identified by the inspection in April. The inspection noted the recent positive impact of governors in taking a clear and collaborative role with you in improving all aspects of the school’s provision. Your delegation of aspects of leadership to other senior staff, and your inclusion of all teachers in discussing improvement strategies has cemented a positive professional development culture. Lesson plans are accommodating the Serco Inspections Colmore Plaza 20 Colmore Circus Queensway Birmingham B4 6AT T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk range of prior attainment of pupils. Accurate, and concisely reported, pupil progress data is shared with teaching staff and governors. Pupils know how well they are doing, and what they should do for further improvement. Most of them are responding to the continually improving quality of written and verbal feedback by

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Main findings

teachers. High standards including careful attention to presentation are emphasised by teachers. Pupils want to learn well, and want to improve; they are ‘intrigued to find out what their teacher has put on their work’.

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Main findings

Senior leaders are closely involved in monitoring teaching quality, through lesson observations and work scrutiny. The staff as a whole are enjoying a fresh and imaginative approach to curriculum planning. This is generating very rich learning opportunities for pupils that they love. One key example is the ‘home learning’ work, which allows pupils to create a portfolio or model, or piece of art that researches a particular subject or theme. Pupils have risen to these challenges very well, creating imaginative responses that stretch their communication skills to the limit.

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Main findings

The records of recent governing body meetings are precise, professional and very clear summaries that focus on the school’s prime function of teaching, and on how this is impacting on pupils’ progress. Senior leaders present information in person to governors. Governors question the data and seek further detail on what is working well, and what needs improvement. As a result, standards are rising rapidly, particularly at the higher level 5 outcomes in Year 6. The school is well on track to becoming good at its next inspection

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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.

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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 provided useful help in drafting the action plan, although that would further benefit from simple base-line measures of the current ‘state’ of the various teaching provision strands, such as the proportion of lessons that are planned to fully accommodate learners’ needs. Local authority support has helped in quality assuring teacher assessments and the accuracy of the senior leadership team’s judgments on teaching quality. Further external support is not necessary.

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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 Warwickshire Local Authority and as below.

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