Setting

Mrs Shelah Surgey Headteacher Tithe Farm Primary School Tithe Farm Road Houghton Regis Dunstable LU5 5JB

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School

Following my visit to your school on 5 February 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 November 2014. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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School

Senior leaders and governors are not taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the last section 5 inspection and plans are not sharply focused on rapidly bringing about improvement. The school should take immediate action to:

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School

 ensure that effective systems are in place to check on the quality of teaching in all subjects and its impact on pupils’ learning  ensure that all adults are deployed effectively to support children’s learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage  ensure that governors are regularly provided with up-to-date information about pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Evidence

During the inspection, I held meeting with you, the deputy headteacher, the mathematics co-ordinator, three members of the governing body and a 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 9158 Direct email : rachel.dayan@serco.com representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. I also evaluated the school’s plans for improvement and other related documentation. I visited all classrooms to observe teaching and learning, looked at the work in pupils’ books from across the school and spoke to some Year 6 pupils about their work.

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Context

Since the previous inspection, three teachers have left the school. A new deputy headteacher has been appointed and a teacher has returned to school following a maternity leave.

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Main findings

Senior leaders, including governors, were disappointed with the outcome of the previous inspection but recognise that improvements are required if the school is to achieve a judgement of good at its next inspection. Although plans have been developed, to address the weaknesses that were identified, these have not yet resulted in the required improvements. For example, a system for checking the work in pupils’ books has been introduced but it lacks precision and does not help school leaders to identify strengths or weaknesses in teaching and learning. Some of the work seen in pupils’ books during this inspection was of good quality, with teachers providing helpful advice to pupils’ about how to make further improvements. However, in other instances pupils’ work was of poor quality and little or no guidance was being provided by the teacher. Other weaknesses that were identified at the previous inspection, such as the use of teaching assistants in the Early Years

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Main findings

Foundation Stage, have not been addressed. Consequently, barriers to improvement remain and the progress pupils are making in their learning continues to be restricted.

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Main findings

The school now tracks pupils’ progress regularly and school leaders meet with teachers to review pupil progress each term. However, data relating to progress is not routinely shared with the governing body. Nor are governors fully aware of the targets that have been set for improvement. This means that governors are not well placed to ask challenging questions of senior leaders about the quality of teaching and the impact on learning.

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Main findings

A review of governance was carried out in May 2015 and new governors have recently been appointed, bringing a greater level of expertise to the governing body. Governors recognise that their systems for checking the school’s work and holding school leaders to account require further improvement. However, they are committed to ensuring that the necessary improvements are made and are currently working with a national leader of governance to improve their effectiveness.

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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 a good understanding of the school’s strengths and the weaknesses that are currently affecting the school’s work. It has provided a higher level of support and challenge to school leaders recently but this has not yet had the desired impact. Training and in-school support has also been provided for teachers and links with a local school have given staff from Tithe Farm the opportunity to work collaboratively with colleagues in order to improve teaching and learning. Again, it is too early to see the impact of this work.

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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 Central Bedfordshire.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

cc. Chair of the Governing Body cc. Local authority

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