Setting

CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 1231231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566862 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email: rcowley@cfbt.com

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Mr Keith Robinson Headteacher Bilton Community Primary School School Lane Bilton Hull HU11 4EG

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School, East Riding of Yorkshire

Following my visit with Lee Owston, Her Majesty's Inspector, to your school on 4 February 2014, 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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School, East Riding of Yorkshire

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

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School, East Riding of Yorkshire

Senior leaders and governors are not 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, East Riding of Yorkshire

 Strengthen the success criteria and milestone targets in the school development plan to show the intended impact of actions on pupils’ learning and achievement.  Ensure that senior leaders’ checks on the quality of the school’s work take place more regularly and are finely focused to identify the difference they are making to pupils’ learning.  Establish a link to a school with outstanding practice in monitoring and evaluating the quality of their school’s work to guide and support the senior leaders in developing their own process.  Ensure that the review of governance enables governors to understand how they can challenge effectively in order to fulfil their role in driving improvement.

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Evidence

During the visit, meetings were held with you, other senior leaders, the governing body, and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. The school development plan was evaluated. A tour of the school was undertaken.

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Main findings

With support from the local authority, you have developed a plan to guide the school but this has yet to be discussed and shared with the governing body. The plan, which covers the next two terms, includes a range of actions focused on the areas for improvement. Although success criteria and milestones are included in the plan most are focused on completing tasks and make little reference to the difference they are expected to make to pupils’ learning and other outcomes. It is difficult to see how the current measures are being used to determine improvement and inform leaders of the next steps, or help governors to undertake their role in challenging and in supporting the drive for improvement. No monitoring has taken place since the inspection and there is no systematic programme of monitoring planned.

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Main findings

The schools records of lesson observation made before the inspection show very little reference to the difference teaching made to the learning for specific groups of pupils, or how areas for improvement had been acted upon. This limits the impact of lesson observation as a tool to improve classroom practice. You acknowledged in our discussion that the school has not been focused on identifying the impact of actions to date. Training to help staff, including other senior leaders, to take an active part in contributing to evaluating the school’s progress is taking place, but this is at a very early stage.

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Main findings

Governors know that they must be more involved in monitoring and have been too reliant on information provided by the headteacher. They are starting to consider ways forward, such as establishing link governors in order to find out for themselves more about the school’s work. They plan to come into school more often. The new data system is enabling governors to check the school’s performance. The latest data shows that there has been little improvement in the progress of middle ability pupils in some classes. During the monitoring inspection governors’ analysis and discussion of data showed that they are able to question and drill down to explore what it is telling them about different groups of pupils. However, they are unsure how to exercise the next step in their role, or how they might challenge the school appropriately about what they have found out. At this stage they are uncertain as to whether the external review of governance, which began last night, might

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Main findings

Ofsted will return to the school next term under section 8 of the Education Act 2005, and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection. Her Majesty’s Inspector and school leaders discussed and agreed that the school will attend an Ofsted seminar later this term.

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External support

Support from the local authority has helped the school to draft a development plan. Further support is needed to ensure the school strengthens the plan in line with the further actions identified in this monitoring letter. Training by local authority officers on techniques to assist the school in evaluating the impact of its work on pupils’ learning and progress are highly relevant to supporting the school’s improvement. The impact of this support will be reviewed at the next monitoring inspection. Discussions are taking place for further support: the use of the Riding Forward Teaching School Alliance is being considered and additional support from a local leader of education. The progress of these discussions will be reviewed at the next monitoring inspection. The Chair of Governors has made contact with the Chair of an outstanding school. The purpose and intended impact of this further support was not

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External support

available at the time of this visit. The progress of this action will be reviewed at the next monitoring inspection.

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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 East Riding of Yorkshire and as below.

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