Setting

Mrs Jan Seymour Headteacher Glebe Junior School Hamlet Lane South Normanton Alfreton DE55 2JB

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Glebe Junior School

Following my visit to your school on 3 July 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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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Glebe Junior School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in March 2014. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Glebe Junior 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 inspection, meetings were held with you, senior leaders and a representative of the local authority. I met with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body. I visited classrooms and spoke with pupils informally. I spoke with parents as they arrived to drop off their children in the morning. I looked at a range of documentation including the post-Ofsted action plan, the marking policy, information on pupils’ achievement, pupils’ work and minutes of recent governing body meetings. 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

Since the inspection a new Year 6 teacher has commenced work; the deputy headteacher has resigned; and a new assistant headteacher has been appointed and will in the school in January 2015.

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Main findings

You display a high level of determination and are ambitious to continue to move the school forward. You have high expectations and are not afraid to make tough decisions to ensure that the pupils receive the best possible quality of education. The action plan is concise, takes good account of the areas for improvement, and monitoring responsibilities are clear. It is not clear how this work will be evaluated. The plan lacks measurable success criteria and milestones, against which school leaders and governors can evaluate the effectiveness of actions.

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Main findings

Senior leaders work as a cohesive team and have joint responsibility for year groups and subject areas. Since the inspection they have introduced a common format for pupil progress meetings. This has resulted in teachers focussing sharply on the actions needed to accelerate the progress of pupils in their classes. Leaders understand their role in monitoring teaching and improvements are being made as a result. The mathematics subject leader has led effective staff training on using and applying number in contexts. Pupils were observed learning about attendance and income in relation to world cup fixtures. Marking has been re-visited in staff training sessions and there is some evidence, particularly in the ‘exciting writing’ books, that teachers are starting to encourage pupils to respond during reflection time. This is not embedded in all subjects.

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Main findings

Year 6 grammar, punctuation and spelling lessons are now taught by class rather than by ability group. As a result, teachers are able to use assessment information, in this area, to inform their teaching across all subjects. Data systems are robust and current data indicate that progress is accelerating and gaps in achievement are closing across all year groups, including for the most able. Attainment for Year 6 is predicted to be just above age-related expectations. Despite improvements from last year, expected progress for Year 6 is likely to remain below national expectations.

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Main findings

Governors are determined to drive forward school improvement and are supportive of the staff. They are proactive, visit the school regularly and have a good understanding of what will improve the school. However, partly due to a lack of clarity about appropriate success criteria, their ability to evaluate independently the effectiveness of actions taken is limited.

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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 has identified this as a priority school and has provided timely and effective support. This support is highly-valued by school leaders. The advisers have led a number of training sessions that specifically target the necessary areas for improvement. The headteacher has also worked with a National Leader of Education to evaluate the quality of teaching in a secondary school.

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External support

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

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Derbyshire.

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