Setting

Julia Longman Headteacher Fingringhoe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Church Road Fingringhoe Colchester CO5 7BN

p.1

of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 7 May 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.

p.1

of England Voluntary Aided Primary 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.

p.1

of England Voluntary Aided Primary 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:

p.1

of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

 refine the school improvement plan so that it includes targets for the proportion of pupils who will make better than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics in each year group to help leaders and governors to measure the success of teaching over time

p.1

of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

 ensure that middle leaders understand your expectations of their role in the school’s monitoring and evaluation cycle.

p.1

Evidence

During the visit, meetings were held with you and the deputy headteacher, the vice- chair and Chair of the Governing Body and representatives from the local authority 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 9146 Direct email : clare.benson@serco.com and the diocese. I also spoke with subject leaders and looked at pupils’ work in English and mathematics from across the school, along with information about pupils’ progress. I evaluated the school’s action plan and accompanied you on a brief visit to all classes.

p.1

Context

Since the previous inspection one teacher has left the school and a deputy headteacher has been appointed. She will take up her post in September 2014.

p.2

Main findings

During this visit you demonstrated a good understanding of what needs to be done in order for the school to be judged as good at the next inspection. You have taken effective action to address underperformance and improve the quality of teaching and learning across the school.

p.2

Main findings

You have developed a comprehensive plan to address the issues identified at the previous inspection. The plan identifies an appropriate range of actions that the school needs to take in order to become good. However, in places, it lacks clear, precise and measurable success criteria. This makes it difficult to establish whether the actions that are being taken are having the desired impact. For example, the use of assessment data does not feature strongly enough, particularly in relation to the performance of higher achieving pupils. This is a significant issue for the school and targets need to be set which will allow school leaders, including governors, to check on the school’s progress in this key area.

p.2

Main findings

Good systems are in place to monitor the quality of teaching and learning. You make regular checks, through lesson observations and work scrutiny. Middle leaders are also involved in monitoring and evaluation, although their work would have greater impact if it was carried out in a more systematic way.

p.2

Main findings

Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and know how to hold the school to account for the academic performance of its pupils. This is because the headteacher provides accurate and informative information about the school’s performance. Governors help to keep parents informed of developments at the school by providing a short summary report following each meeting of the full Governing Body.

p.2

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.

p.2

External support

The local authority has provided good support to the school since the previous inspection. It has supported the school in restructuring senior and middle leadership roles and has helped the headteacher to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the school’s strengths and the areas that require improvement.

p.2

External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children’s Services for Essex and the Director of Education for Chelmsford Diocese.

p.3