Setting

Jane Green Headteacher Waterbeach Community Primary School High Street Waterbeach Cambridge CB25 9JU

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Community Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 8 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.

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Community Primary School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in 3 December 2013. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Community Primary School

Senior leaders and governors responsible are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. The school should take further action to:  improve the accuracy of teachers’ assessment across the school  raise teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve.

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Evidence

During the visit, I held meetings with you, other senior leaders, four members of the Governing Body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. I also evaluated the school action plans, and the school’s monitoring and assessment documentation. Both you and a senior leader accompanied me during visits to several classes in the school, where we observed teaching and looked at pupils’ work. 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

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Main findings

Your action plan identifies the right areas for improvement. You have wasted little time in re-setting your expectations for the quality of teaching and, as a result, teaching is improving in almost all classrooms. Your drive to improve the quality of teachers’ marking means that the majority of pupils are now receiving useful guidance from teachers about how to improve their work. Many pupils are responding to their teachers’ comments, demonstrating that they understand the advice given to them. In contrast to this, a small amount of marking is still not identifying basic errors in pupils’ work such as capital letters in the middle of a sentence. Unsurprisingly, these pupils continue to make these mistakes, hindering their ability to progress at a faster pace.

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Main findings

Teachers are providing pupils with interesting work and they are keen to learn. They are catering for the needs of pupils with different abilities better in mathematics than in English, where too many pupils do the same thing regardless of how much they already know and can do. Weaknesses in assessment mean that pupils who are very able are not making enough progress because teachers are do not assess them accurately enough. This is evident in all parts of the school, including the Early Years Foundation Stage where pupils are held back from realising their potential by assessment procedures that are insufficiently precise. For example, one child was observed working at a level well above that expected for her age but this is not reflected in her assessments. In the reception classes, pupils are challenged well when they are being taught directly but some of their independent work lacks focus and teachers and teaching assistants do not check that they are purposefully

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Main findings

Behaviour in lessons is calm and well managed. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive and the recent investment in playground equipment has been popular and improved behaviour during lunch and play-times.

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Main findings

An external review of governance provided a clear set of actions for improvement, which the governing body are currently implementing. Their understanding of data is improving and they are holding school leaders to account more effectively. The governing body has restructured its committees to monitor the improvement areas arising from the inspection more rigorously.

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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 is providing a good level of support, and is contributing to the progress that the school is making. A primary adviser has made eight visits to the school since the inspection and has secured the services of three consultants to support the school’s development. The local authority have confidence in your strategic leadership and while they remain active partners in improving teaching and providing training they are no longer involved in the improvement planning.

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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 Cambridgeshire.

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