Setting

Susan Todd Acting Headteacher Bucklesham Primary School Main Road Bucklesham Ipswich IP10 0AX

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School

Following my visit to your school on 15 January 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the findings. 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 September 2013. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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School

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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School

 refine the school improvement plan so that it includes quantifiable measures of success and clearer milestones

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School

 identify who is responsible for each aspect within the plan and who will evaluate the impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

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Evidence

During the visit I held meetings with you and the Chair of the Governing Body to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. I also spoke on the telephone to a representative of the local authority. The school improvement plan was evaluated, 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 Direct T : 0121 679 9158 Direct email : rachel.dayan@serco.com along with other associated documentation. We visited each classroom to observe teaching and learning. Pupils’ workbooks from across the school were also scrutinised.

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Context

There have been no significant changes to the school since the previous inspection. It is relevant to note, however, that you took up the post of acting headteacher in September 2013, just prior to the inspection.

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Main findings

You showed a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have acted promptly to address the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection. Since the inspection there has been a clear focus on the quality of teaching and learning. Clear guidance has been provided to teachers to strengthen planning for effective learning and this is leading to improvements in the quality of teaching.

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Main findings

Evidence of improvement is also apparent in the quality of pupils’ work in both English and mathematics. Close partnerships with other local schools are also helping to build the skills of teachers and ensure that teacher assessments of pupils’ work are accurate. Not all teaching is yet good, however, and you have increased the rigour of your monitoring in order to identify more clearly what teachers need to do to improve.

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Main findings

You are monitoring pupil progress more rigorously. Targets are set for individual pupils and year groups. You hold regular meetings with teachers to review the progress of each individual pupil. This process is helping to ensure that appropriate help is provided for all pupils. In some instances these discussions have led to additional targeted support. In other cases more challenging targets for improvement have been set.

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Main findings

The school’s action plan covers all of the points for improvement identified in the inspection but it lacks detail, particularly in relation to how success will be measured. Similarly, the plan does not always make clear who will be responsible for reviewing progress.

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Main findings

Governors are now involved more closely in the day-to-day life of the school. They are more aware of how the school is performing and make regular visits to school in order to gather evidence about teaching and learning. Governors record their observations and share their findings with the governing body so they have an insight into how well the pupils are learning.

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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 worked closely with the school since the previous inspection and has confidence in the ability of school leaders and governors. It believes that the school has the capacity to make the improvements necessary for it to become a good school.

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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 Suffolk.

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