Setting

Emma McGrenaghan Headteacher Lynncroft Primary and Nursery School Lynncroft Eastwood Nottingham NG16 3FZ

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School

Following my visit to your school on 1–2 July 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions which have been taken since the school’s previous monitoring inspection.

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School

The inspection was the third monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in October 2013. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached.

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School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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School

The school is making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures.

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School

The school may appoint no more than one newly qualified teacher before the next monitoring inspection.

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School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be published on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Nottinghamshire.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

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 01216 799164 Direct email :tim.ogbourn@serco.com

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place in October 2013

 Improve the quality of teaching throughout Key Stages 1 and 2, so that pupils make at least the progress expected nationally, and an increasing proportion make more progress than expected nationally, in reading, writing and mathematics by:  ensuring that teachers assess pupils’ progress accurately so that lessons build, at a more rapid pace, on what pupils know and are able to do  rigorously checking that pupils have the mathematical skills and understanding that they need for tackling the problems they are set  ensuring that teachers accurately teach pupils the sounds that letters make (phonics), and develop their wider reading skills  establishing high expectations, and making sure that pupils respond to them so that they are fully engaged in learning and are encouraged to persevere  injecting greater urgency and excitement into lessons and better organising how groups of pupils are taught  ensuring that teaching assistants are used to full effect throughout lessons

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place in October 2013

 making sure that pupils’ work is always marked in a way that highlights how it can be improved, and that pupils are given time to respond to their teachers’ comments and to improve their work  providing more frequent and interesting opportunities for pupils to write in a range of subjects  teaching pupils a fluent style of handwriting and expecting them to present their work neatly in all subjects  stimulating pupils’ interest in reading and writing by giving books, and their authors, a high profile in classrooms and corridors.

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place in October 2013

 Improve leadership and management and increase the capacity of all leaders to bring about rapid improvement by:  providing further training to develop the subject leaders’ knowledge and skills in order to improve the teaching of literacy and numeracy  making full and effective use of pupil premium funding, and rigorously checking that it is having a substantial impact on pupils’ progress  developing a programme of professional development for teaching assistants so that they can play a full part in accelerating pupils’ progress  reviewing the curriculum and ensuring that, for example, the teaching of writing and calculation are well matched to the needs of all groups of pupils  making sure that pupils’ attainment and progress are accurately assessed so that leaders can make secure judgements about where to target additional support, and allowing them to evaluate accurately the impact of teaching on

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place in October 2013

pupils’ learning and progress  updating the school website so that it meets current requirements.  Undertake an external review of governance, to include a specific focus on the school’s use of the pupil premium, in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Evidence

Her Majesty’s Inspector observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, Chair of the Governing Body and the local authority’s education improvement adviser. Parts of nine lessons were observed and many of these observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher. The school’s action plans and the local authority’s most recent reviews of progress were scrutinised. The inspector met with a group of pupils to seek their views about their work, progress, behaviour and safety. He also met with some parents and carers at the start of a school day and took account of the 14 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s most recent survey of parents’ views. The focus of this visit was on the quality of teaching and learning and the extent to which pupils’ achievement and the quality of governance are improving.

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Context

There have been no significant staff changes since the last monitoring inspection in March 2014. Three teachers will be leaving at the end of the school year, one of whom is returning to a partner primary school after being seconded to Lynncroft since January 2014. Two new teachers will join in September 2014, one of whom will be the assistant headteacher, and will also lead mathematics.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Standards are improving and edging closer to the national average by the end of Years 2 and 6. An increasing number of pupils are making or exceeding the expected rate of progress in Key Stage 2. Progress is also improving at Key Stage 1. The quality of pupils’ writing is improving but attainment in this subject remains below average. Many pupils make repeated or unnecessary spelling errors, although the form and structure of their handwriting is much more consistent now than previously. The recent provisional national assessment results for Year 2 and Year 6 show a significant rise in the proportion of pupils attaining age-related levels in reading, writing and mathematics, but too few exceed these levels because the most-able pupils are not all reaching their full potential.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Pupils make more progress in reading compared with writing and mathematics, although older pupils in Key Stage 2 do not read widely or often enough. This affects their progress in writing, as they do not experience or use a broad enough range of vocabulary. In lessons, pupils are given some good opportunities to discuss and share ideas, but teachers and support staff do not allow pupils enough time to explain what they mean in complete sentences. As a result, many pupils speak in short sentences or do not have the confidence to extend their language or explain more fully. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are making good progress and this remains a relative strength of the school. Both nursery and reception-aged children make good progress in all areas of learning, although some of the more capable children do not often read or write independently, so do not make rapid progress.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The legacy of some inadequate teaching in the past left some groups of pupils and individuals behind and with a lot of ground to catch up. For example, pupils eligible for the pupil premium, which in this school is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or who are in the care of the local authority, made slower progress than other pupils in the school. Some consistently good teaching and improved assessments are now narrowing the achievement gap for these pupils in most year groups.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Teachers have started to improve pupils’ achievement in mathematics. Pupils are now given more varied and challenging problem-solving tasks. The inconsistencies that remain in the proportion of pupils making or exceeding the expected rate of progress in mathematics reflect some relatively weaker teaching, including a lack of subject knowledge.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs benefit from some well-focused support and intervention. These pupils make reasonable progress towards reaching age-related levels in English and mathematics, especially when working with an adult individually or in a small group.

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The quality of teaching

Leaders have eliminated all inadequate teaching but there remains some that requires improvement and which is not good enough to help all pupils catch up on lost ground. An increasing amount of teaching is good but very little is of outstanding quality.

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The quality of teaching

Teachers have improved the way they plan and organise lessons. They use assessments better than previously to group pupils by ability. As a result, teachers and leaders check assessments of pupils’ progress and performance often and with more accuracy. Teachers’ planning shows that they are better able to extract information about the progress of particular groups and individuals. This is helping teachers to plan and intervene if pupils need more support or focused work. However, in some lessons, teachers do not adapt their plans to meet the needs of pupils who are capable of reaching or exceeding age-related levels. The work provided for the most-able pupils, particularly in mathematics, is not always extending or challenging them enough.

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The quality of teaching

Although teachers are improving their subject knowledge and understanding of programmes of learning in mathematics, some are still unclear about the next steps that pupils need to take. This affects the pace and productivity of learning, especially when questioning pupils during independent or group work, as some teachers and support staff are unsure about how best to move pupils’ learning on to higher levels of understanding in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching

Teachers have improved the way they mark pupils’ writing and mathematics work. Pupils now have time to correct mistakes in mathematics books. There is more useful information provided for pupils to help them check and improve their writing. The most effective teaching also ensures that pupils extend their writing with a broader range of vocabulary, but this is not yet routine enough in all classes to ensure that pupils use dictionaries and word banks to improve the quality of their writing.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils enjoy coming to school and this is reflected in much-improved attendance rates that are now in line with the national average. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are improving as more of the teaching is of good quality. These improvements also reflect the school’s effective pastoral care arrangements and the positive relationships that exist between adults and pupils.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils talk with more enthusiasm about their work during lessons, although are not always confident in their use of language to elaborate. Pupils enjoy explaining how well they understand their learning targets. In those lessons where the teaching requires improvement, pupils are not always working hard enough or are marking time when working on tasks that do not challenge them enough.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils feel safe and form friendships easily. They are polite and courteous to their classmates and to adults. Pupils are encouraged to take on personal responsibilities and contribute to their school community. They know what to do if they see or experience bullying, such as name-calling or intimidation, and say this is very rare in school and that their teachers and support staff deal with any incidents very well. Pupils are aware of the precautions they need to take when using the internet or social media.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors are monitoring the performance of pupils and staff with more rigour and purpose. This is building further capacity for sustained improvement and is increasing the amount of good teaching. Having eradicated all inadequate teaching, the staff team and governors are focusing more of their attention on sustaining improvements to the achievement of pupils across the ability range. Most of the parents spoken to by the inspector are pleased with their children’s progress and the quality of teaching. There are some parents, however, that would like more information or clarity about the changes to class structures in September as a result of the anticipated fall in the number of pupils on roll.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The headteacher is providing strong and determined leadership and is dealing with some difficult staffing issues with resilience and determination. A stronger and more skilful governing body is working closely with the local authority and a partner primary school to provide a systematic programme of support, coaching and mentoring for staff, which is proving effective.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The headteacher provides accurate assessments of the quality of teaching and helpful feedback to staff after monitoring lessons. In addition, the deputy headteacher is now well-established in her role and is providing competent support and challenge through monitoring, including regular scrutiny of teachers’ planning and pupils’ progress. The outcome of this monitoring is presented to governors so they can challenge and hold leaders and teachers to account for pupils’ progress. Following an external review of governance, the Chair of the Governing Body has ensured that governors act on the recommendations made in the review and has stepped up the regularity of governor meetings to monitor the school’s performance more robustly. A useful skills audit of governors has been carried out and there are now clear terms of reference in each of the governors’ committees to hold the school’s leaders and staff more to account for the performance of staff and pupils’

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External support

The local authority’s education improvement adviser has commissioned a good range of helpful support for teachers and leaders. The support provided by the partner primary school has been effective in improving the quality of teaching and has enabled teachers and support staff to see and share more good practice. The local authority’s support has been effective.

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