Setting

Simon Dix Hollywood Primary School Pickenham Road Hollywood Birmingham B14 4TG

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School

Following my visit to your school on Thursday 29 January 2015, 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 September 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.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher, other senior leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. The school action plan was evaluated. Other documents were looked at including: performance management information; records of lesson observations; the report following the governing body review; and governing body minutes of meetings. Senior leaders also provided a tour of the school.

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Main findings

You have taken speedy and appropriate action to bring about improvements in the two specific areas identified in the last inspection; governance and mathematics. You 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 were quick to arrange an independent review of governance and seek ways to support their roles in school. The review identified the governors’ key strengths and indicated areas for future development. The review also provided an opportunity for governors to reflect on their responsibilities and how they could improve their effectiveness.

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Main findings

Governors quickly arranged specific and relevant training to increase their knowledge of particular aspects of responsibility such as safeguarding. A governor with responsibility for safeguarding received further training and has since visited the school on a number of occasions to check that procedures are relevant, accurate, clear and up to date. You immediately updated the school’s safeguarding policy and made sure it enveloped the detail of Keeping Children Safe in Education issued by the Department of Education in July 2014. All safeguarding procedures and records were reviewed and additional checks were introduced to provide even better security. Training was provided for all staff in November 2014 on the Prevent Strategy which was launched in June 2011. Staff now have a current understanding of how the school can promote the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. The child protection policy has been updated

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Main findings

and appropriate links made with other school policies such as behaviour, the code of conduct and a social media policy. Staff and governors are well informed about the risks posed to pupils, indications of abuse and the procedures to follow where concerns arise.

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Main findings

Governors regularly visit the school to better understand its day-to-day practice, the implementation of agreed policies and the pupils’ achievements. Governors tour the classes and consider pupils’ work to gain first-hand evidence of on-going improvements. They prepare a written report capturing the strengths they witnessed and include areas for future consideration. In the meeting with HMI governors provided a knowledgeable account of the school’s own identified areas for development and what was being done. They reported they have a new level of confidence in asking ‘how’ and ‘why’ and expecting leaders to be accountable for ongoing improvement.

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Main findings

The governor responsible for pupil premium has an up-to-date understanding for the purpose of the additional funding. There are clear processes for how expenditure is determined and how its effectiveness is checked and reported. The school website provides a full account of the delegated funding, how it is spent and how the additional resource has made a difference.

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Main findings

You have revised the way you report to governors. They now receive a full, detailed report together with a high level summary or analysis. These reports are sent to governors well in advance of meetings so they have time to digest the content and prepare questions or seek more information. Governors appreciate your regular emails which keep them informed about up-to-date events. They know about their statutory responsibilities as issued by the Department of Education. They are aware of the policies that need to be reviewed and how often. You send draft policies to governors in advance so that meeting time is not taken up reading documentation. Simple measures such as these help the governors to prepare and consider their role so they are better able to contribute, question and seek detail.

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Main findings

Meetings with governors now coincide with your regular checks on pupils’ progress so that the information given to governors is relevant, precise and current. You helpfully report on the progress of groups of pupils. Governors can now explore any differences in the pace of progress and the reasons underpinning these outcomes. This regular information helps them to contribute to the nature of support particular groups need to catch up or be further challenged.

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Main findings

The subject leader for mathematics has focused strongly on the developing the teaching and learning of mathematics. All staff have received regular training to strengthen their mathematical subject knowledge. The mathematics subject leader has ensured that the existing good practice in school is shared. You have identified the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and analysed the causes for delayed progress. The training has helped all staff to develop pupils’ understanding of mathematical symbols, vocabulary and pictorial representation. You have bought additional resources to help pupils to apply and practise their mathematical skills in practical situations and by so doing making sense of mathematical concepts. Leaders and staff are developing the roles of all support staff in lessons or groups to ensure pupils receive the most suitable support as and when it is needed.

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Main findings

Leaders check lesson plans and pupils’ books to ensure that the new mathematics curriculum is implemented with suitable breadth and accuracy. You and the leadership team closely scrutinise assessment records to review the effectiveness of support or actions taken. Such information forms the foundation of ambitious but realistic targets for improvement. Records show that in October 2014, 47% of the Year 2 pupils were on track to achieve age-related expectations in mathematics by the end of the year. Records in January this year show that now 62% of Year 2 pupils are on track.

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Main findings

You collect a suitably wide range of evidence on which to form your judgements for example formal and informal lesson observations, scrutiny of pupils’ work in books and displays. Your informal lesson observations focus on particular year groups or specific subjects. All information informs individual pupil reviews as well as judgements regarding the quality of teaching.

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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

You lost no time in identifying the necessary external support to provide relevant training for governors and staff. The support is ongoing rather than stand-alone events. Staff and governors have clearly benefited from this expertise and gained confidence as well as the knowledge they needed to succeed. The executive headteacher of a local teaching school is providing a monitoring role on behalf of the local authority. She has an accurate appraisal of the school’s strengths and capacity to improve.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children’s Services for Birmingham Local Authority.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

The letter should be copied to the following:

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

 Appropriate authority - Chair of the Governing Body/Interim Executive Board  Local authority – including where the school is an academy

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