Setting

Mrs Peta Mather The Headteacher Wootton Community Primary School Church Road Ryde Isle of Wight PO33 4PT

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Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 3 December 2013 I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the outcome and findings of the inspection. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions which have been taken since the school’s previous monitoring inspection.

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Primary School

The inspection was the second monitoring inspection since the school was judged to have serious weaknesses following the section 5 inspection which took place in March 2013. The monitoring inspection report is attached.

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Primary School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time: the school is making reasonable progress towards the removal of the serious weaknesses designation.

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Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be published on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body, and the Director of Children’s Services for Isle of Wight.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

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 5323 Direct email :suzy.smith@tribalgroup.com

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

place in March 2013.   Improve the quality of teaching to make it consistently good or better by:   ensuring teachers match work in lessons to pupils' individual needs and especially that it extends more-able pupils   making sure pupils understand what they are learning and are given precise examples of what is expected of them   making sure teachers talk less in lessons so pupils can more quickly get on with activities and work by themselves   ensuring teachers question pupils more skilfully to check how well they are doing in lessons and make adjustments to teaching when necessary.   Improve the progress pupils make in writing and mathematics in Key Stages 1 and 2, including pupils supported by pupil premium funding, by:  ensuring pupils have regular opportunities to apply their writing and mathematical skills in a range of subjects   giving pupils time to respond to comments in teachers’ marking so that they

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

can understand how to improve their work.   Ensure leaders and managers accelerate the pace of improvement by:  using information from checks on teaching more rigorously to improve the quality of teaching, with a greater emphasis on its impact on pupils' learning and progress  making sure that there is a detailed analysis of the impact of the pupil premium spending on pupils' progress  developing the role of middle leaders so that they have a greater impact on improving pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching.

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Evidence

The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors. Six lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher. Data on pupils’ progress were scrutinised. The inspector talked to pupils informally and looked at some writing in Year 6. Prior to the visit, the inspector talked to a representative from the local authority who is specifically linked to the school to support its improvement. The inspector considered the school’s work to improve all three main areas identified during the section 5 inspection.

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Context

Three teachers are leaving the school at the end of this term. The headteacher has made interim arrangements to cover their classes next term, until the new teachers who have been appointed take up post.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

The headteacher has focused strongly on improving teaching and learning and has set a clear direction for their continuing improvement. Weaker teaching is being tackled through support, training and, when necessary, professional challenge. The features of good teaching that the headteacher wishes to see in all lessons have been shared with staff. Amongst these are: a crystal clear focus on learning; pupils knowing what they need to do to be successful; and activities pitched at the right level for pupils’ different abilities, particularly the most able.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

Pupils’ progress has been analysed carefully to find out which pupils need to make better progress this year, to catch up and fulfil their potential. The headteacher has developed a manageable way of analysing data, including checking the progress of different groups. She has made sure, in managing teachers’ performance, that teachers’ targets are based on the progress pupils need to make. This is entirely appropriate. The deputy headteacher is having a direct impact on improving mathematics teaching, which is becoming more consistent and effective.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

Governors are continuing to provide a strong strategic lead in supporting and challenging the school’s work. They are knowledgeable about the improvements that have occurred, particularly those relating to teaching and pupils’ achievement. They ask pertinent questions about how well different groups are learning including the pupils supported by additional government funding, the pupil premium. Governors know where the stronger and weaker aspects currently lie. They show determination to tackle any remaining weaknesses in their quest to remove the school from its serious weaknesses category as early as possible.

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Strengths in the school’s approaches to securing improvement:

 In some lessons, the stronger features listed above are becoming embedded and the norm for pupils. Pupils know what the teachers are expecting of them and what they should achieve by the end of each task, or lesson.  There are now fewer occasions when pupils sit for too long listening to the teacher talk at length. This was seen on only one occasion during this monitoring visit. On the whole, pupils are much more actively involved in lessons. They take responsibility for their learning and show a good degree of independence and teamwork.  The senior leaders’ drive for improvement is having most impact in mathematics. The mathematics leaders draws on a range of evidence, such as scrutiny of pupils’ books and teachers’ plans, and discussions with pupils, to gain a rounded view of the current state of play and give feedback to staff. As a result, pupils’ attainment and progress are picking up well in mathematics.

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Strengths in the school’s approaches to securing improvement:

 In mathematics lessons, teachers and teaching assistants now use questioning well to tease out pupils’ thinking and support pupils when they are not sure. Pupils are routinely given the chance to choose harder tasks if they feel they can manage them. During the visit, many pupils were seen challenging themselves to have a go and this did not just apply to the more able pupils.  In mathematics lessons, the teaching assistants are well briefed, they know the teachers’ intentions for the lesson and this guides them to use the right approaches with pupils to help them calculate or work out problems.

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Weaknesses in the school’s approaches to securing improvement:

 Improvements in English are lagging considerably behind those in mathematics. The leadership of English has not had the same impact and pupils’ attainment is not accelerating strongly enough yet. The weaker teaching seen during the visit occurred in English lessons. Pupils’ books, in Year 6, show that not enough is being expected of pupils in writing; the teaching is not encouraging them to aspire to high standards. Pupils have individual short-term targets in the front of their books, but these are not being referred to, or used, regularly enough, so they have too little impact.  Pupils’ keenness to learn and achieve success, clearly evident in the mathematics lessons, did not come through strongly in English lessons. Pupils were not as clear about what was expected of them, why they were doing tasks and what they were leading to. In one lesson, pupils spent more time drawing than writing.

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External support

The support from the local authority has been targeted well and has had an impact on teaching and pupils’ achievement, particularly in mathematics. Training has also been provided for governors on using data, which they have found useful and put to good use.

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