Setting

Jenny Atkins Headteacher Kinderley Primary School Church Lane Tydd St Giles Wisbech PE13 5LG

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School

Following my visit to your school on 27 June 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection 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 January 2014. 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. The school should take further action to:  raise teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in Years 2, 3 and 4  ensure that teachers provide more-able pupils with work that matches their ability.

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Evidence

During the visit, I held meetings with you, 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 plan and the school’s assessment documentation. You 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 9153 Direct email : naik.sandhu@serco.com

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Context

Your appointment as the permanent headteacher took place after the inspection and you started work at the school in the summer term 2014.

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Main findings

You have quickly gained an understanding of what the school needs to do in order to improve. Your evaluations of teaching are accurate and are supported by pupils’ assessment data. You have improved the way that the school manages assessment data. As a result, you have a clear picture of how much progress individual pupils are making. In addition, you are using your new systems to monitor the impact of interventions and additional support that some pupils are receiving.

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Main findings

Pupils’ achievement is improving in most year groups. Pupils in Year 6 have made better than expected progress and standards are broadly in line with national levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils in Year 5 have also made good progress and standards in reading and mathematics are above age-related expectations, in writing they are in line with expectations. Pupils in these year groups receive high quality guidance and feedback from their teacher, from which they are able to identify precisely what they need to do next.

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Main findings

Standards in writing in Years 3 and 4 are below where they should be. The same is true for mathematics in Year 3. Attainment in Year 2 is in line with national expectations for reading, writing and mathematics. Work in these year groups shows that pupils of very different abilities frequently are given the same work to do, meaning that for some their work is too difficult, while others find it too easy. The rate of progress in these year groups is not rapid enough because teachers’ expectations of more-able pupils are too low.

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Main findings

Improvements in teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1 are reflected in significantly better outcomes. The proportion of pupils meeting expectations in the phonics screening check this year is much higher than last year. Similarly, the number of children achieving a ‘good level of development’ has risen from 0% last year, to 71% this year. Higher expectations and much better assessment have contributed significantly to these improvements.

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Main findings

Despite these improvements, you recognise that pupils are capable of achieving a good deal more, and that there is a legacy of under-achievement within the school which means that pupils must make a great deal of progress to make up for lost time. You decided to adopt the local authority improvement plan during your first term as headteacher, and you are making effective use of the support on offer from local authority advisers to support teaching. You are amending and adapting the plan and have already prioritised action for the immediate future. Governors responded quickly to the recommendations of the external review undertaken after the recent inspection. They attended training and are now making more regular visits to school. The information that you provide for the governing body is straightforward and clear and has improved their understanding of how well teaching is promoting learning.

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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 an appropriate level of support. It worked in partnership with the governing body to appoint a new headteacher, resulting in your appointment. The school has accessed support for the development of governance, mathematics, literacy and the Early Years Foundation Stage. In addition improvement planning is being supported by the local authority.

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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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