Setting

Mrs Lucy Ford Headteacher Mill Rythe Infant School Havant Road Hayling Island Hampshire PO11 0PA

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School

Following my visit to your school on 24 June 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 March 2015. 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:

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School

 make better use of national benchmark data to evaluate improvements in pupils’ achievement more accurately  ensure leaders’ feedback to teachers focuses on how improvements to teaching are raising pupils’ achievement  increase the proportion of pupils working at or above age related expectation in phonics (the sounds letters make) in Key Stage 1.

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Evidence

During the visit, I held meetings with you, other leaders and three governors including the Chair of the Governing Body. I conducted a telephone conversation Tribal Kings Orchard, One Queen Street, Bristol BS2 0HQ T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01173115246 Direct F 01173150430 Direct email :Sara.Whalley@Tribalgroup.com with a representative of the local authority. I made short visits to every class with you and looked at a sample of pupils’ work with English and mathematics subject leaders. I scrutinised a range of documentation, including information about current pupils’ achievement, leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching and records of governing body activity.

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Context

One teacher left the school in April and another teacher will be leaving the school at the end of the summer term. The school is currently advertising these posts.

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Main findings

You have led improvements well. You have set clear expectations about the actions that need to be taken and when. All staff know their roles and responsibilities clearly and consequently the whole school community are working effectively together to bring about the necessary improvements.

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Main findings

Teaching is improving because all leaders are now driving change. Teachers are now more accountable for the achievement of the pupils they teach because leaders set teachers clear targets. Tightly-focused training is supporting swift improvements in teachers’ planning and lessons. Pupils are noticing these changes, particularly the higher level of challenge in mathematics, and are responding well by producing work of a higher quality and consistency. Teachers’ marking has improved so that pupils know clearly what they have done well. Pupils respond more regularly to teachers’ marking, correcting and refining their work with increasing accuracy.

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Main findings

Middle leaders are more effective in planning for and checking improvements. Consequently, their effectiveness has improved. Governors are now regularly evaluating improvements. They provide good levels of challenge in the questions they ask leaders and their visits focus appropriately on key priorities. You and the assistant headteacher monitor teachers’ performance thoroughly and teachers receive regular feedback about how to improve their work. However, feedback to teachers does not always focus firmly on how improvements to teaching are making a difference to pupils’ achievement.

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Main findings

In the last two terms since the inspection, pupils have made better progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils build key skills more rapidly and are beginning to apply them across a wider range of work. However, Year 1 pupils’ achievement in phonics (the sounds letters make) is not improving as quickly and this is limiting the progress these pupils make in writing. Leaders now rightly track pupils’ progress more frequently and challenge teachers when improvements are not rapid enough. When judging improvements in achievement, the most recent national data is not always used. This is not helping leaders, including governors, accurately benchmark improvements to pupils’ achievement. Ofsted may carry out further monitoring inspections 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 provided appropriate and timely support. Middle leaders are benefitting from specialist expertise to sharpen their planning and deliver effective training for staff. The local authority visits the school regularly to check the school’s progress and to make sure improvements are being made quickly enough.

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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 Hampshire.

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