Setting

Alison Hilton-Childs Headteacher Meath Green Junior School Greenfields Road Horley RH6 8HW

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School

Following my visit to your school on 31 March 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 December 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.

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Evidence

During the visit, meetings were held with you and other senior leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. I evaluated a range of documentation including the school development plan, information relating to the monitoring of teaching and information about pupils’ progress. You took me on a tour of the school and we made brief visits to a number of classes where I spoke to pupils and looked at work in their books. 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

Subject and year leaders are involved in more rigorous monitoring of their areas and are increasingly accountable for raising standards and expectations. These leaders are making sure that good and outstanding teaching practice from across the school is being shared so that all staff can benefit from it. Leaders are checking pupils' progress more closely and this information is being used effectively to give targeted support to pupils when they need it.

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Main findings

The valuable training provided by the local authority is enabling the school to build a more consistent approach to the teaching of mathematics across the school and to design resources and activities that are tailored to the specific needs of the pupils. This is raising expectations of what pupils can achieve as you begin to teach the new mathematics curriculum.

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Main findings

A key area for improvement has been the development of pupils’ reading skills. You have provided useful training to teachers to enable them to teach reading more effectively. Pupils’ comprehension skills are improving and pupils are reading more frequently for enjoyment. You are raising the profile and importance of these reading skills in a variety of ways, for example through a workshop for parents and visits to school by a children’s author.

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Main findings

Pupils’ books show they are frequently given detailed comments on how to improve their work. Opportunities for students to respond to this feedback are less frequent and there is inconsistency about how this done.

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Main findings

You have made changes to how teachers’ plan their lessons. The role of teaching assistants in the lesson is more clearly explained. As a result, teaching assistants are more closely involved in delivering extra support to pupils and in measuring the impact of their work on the progress pupils make. Additionally, the way in which teachers are expected to plan their lessons means that activities are more closely matched to a range of pupils’ needs and an appropriate level of challenge is given to different pupils. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about the opportunities to challenge themselves with more difficult work.

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Main findings

Governors are knowledgeable about the work of the school. They have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development and use this information effectively to ask challenging questions of senior leaders. As a result of on-going training, members of the governing body have a good understanding of the current issues in education. The school’s action plan now explicitly explains what the governors’ role will be in checking what progress the school is making.

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External support

The local authority has provided valuable support over a sustained period of time and as a result it has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Since the last inspection, effective guidance has been given to the headteacher to refine and develop the school improvement plan. The local authority has also given useful training to develop the skills of subject leaders.

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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 Surrey.

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