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 566868 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email: pnuttie@cfbt.com

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Miss Christine Brown Headteacher Tickton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Main Street Tickton Beverley HU17 9RZ

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Voluntary Controlled Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire

Following my visit to your school on 5 June 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report on 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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Voluntary Controlled Primary 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 February 2014. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Voluntary Controlled Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire

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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Voluntary Controlled Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire

ensure the governing body has tighter arrangements in place to check on, and evaluate, the impact of planned actions on pupil progress and the quality of teaching

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Voluntary Controlled Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire

 draw upon the expert practice of other schools to ensure the stronger teachers in the school receive the professional development they need to become outstanding practitioners.

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Evidence

During the visit, meetings were held with you and other senior leaders, two teachers, the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative of the local authority. We undertook a tour of the school to observe the teaching of literacy and numeracy and to gauge the pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning. I scrutinised a sample of literacy and numeracy books from each year group. I also evaluated the school’s plans for improvement and scrutinised documents concerning the performance management of teachers and recent checks on the quality of teaching.

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Context

There have been no changes to staffing since the inspection. However, a senior leader has accepted a new post at a different school and will leave at the end of the summer term. One other teacher will also leave the school at the end of term. A new parent governor has been recruited.

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Main findings

You and other members of staff were disappointed by the outcome of the previous inspection, but you have quickly recognised what needs to be improved and have set about the task. You have put in place plans for improvement and members of staff are responding quickly to your strong leadership. Your leadership team has increased the frequency and rigour of checks on teaching and you are providing teachers with more detailed feedback on how to improve their practice. They very much welcome this, and told me they feel they are improving their practice and becoming more confident. You have worked with your staff to draw up a set of ‘non-negotiables’, and these are helping teachers to address inconsistencies that were present at the time of the last inspection.

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Main findings

A good deal of staff training has already taken place and teachers now have a good understanding of the characteristics of good and outstanding teaching. Good support from the local authority is being provided to support weaker teaching. In order to support the professional development of other teachers, you have built links with the Molescroft Primary School teaching alliance, although training opportunities have yet to be taken up.

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Main findings

Pupils are now given targets to improve their writing and are guided to use these targets regularly during lessons. The success of this approach means you are now extending the use of targets to include mathematics. Teachers’ marking is now focused on improvement, rather than simply on praise, and teachers are ensuring pupils respond to the marking and make improvements. More opportunities for extended writing have been introduced, and teachers are more focused on ensuring pupils use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. Because of the frequent and rigorous checks senior leaders are making, these new approaches are being implemented consistently.

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Main findings

You are tracking the progress of different groups of pupils carefully and you expect standards at Key Stage 1 to be higher in 2014. Although SATs results are not yet available for Key Stage 2, your own tracking predicts standards at Key Stage 2 will also improve.

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Main findings

Members of the governing body were also disappointed with the outcome of the last inspection. They have participated in a review of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have established a school improvement committee, so that they can check more systematically on the progress the school is making. However, this committee is yet to meet, and still needs to determine how it will evaluate whether or not the school is on course to become a good school.

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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 school is receiving good support from the local authority. The Adviser linked to the school is providing effective guidance and training for leaders and governors. He is contributing effectively to the school’s self-evaluation and ensuring the school has an accurate picture of how well it is doing. Further local authority support to improve weaker teaching has been of a good quality. The school is beginning to make use of links with other schools, although the impact of this support on the quality of teaching is yet to be seen.

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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 the East Riding of Yorkshire.

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