Setting

Mrs Emma James Headteacher Chaddesley Corbett Endowed Primary School Nethercroft Meadow Lower Chaddesley Kidderminster DY10 4QN

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Endowed Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 18 November 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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Endowed Primary 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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Endowed Primary School

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection in order to become a good school.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with you, other senior and middle leaders, a group of pupils, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body and the school’s improvement adviser to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. A scrutiny of pupils’ books was carried out. The school’s action plan was evaluated. Other documents were scrutinised including the school’s self-evaluation, other action plans, the school’s recent performance information, results of a recent parental questionnaire and the local authority’s most recent performance review. Ofsted

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Evidence

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Context

A new Year 4 teacher has been appointed from September 2015.

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Main findings

Your dogged determination to bring about rapid improvements is shared by other leaders and the governing body. In the short time that you have all been in post you are having a significant impact. In their recent questionnaire, parents were overwhelmingly positive about the improvements you have introduced.

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Main findings

Leaders set higher expectations for teachers and have ensured that assessments of pupils are now more accurate through more rigorous checking. All leaders and governors have a very accurate view of the strengths in teaching and where it still needs to improve further. The introduction of peer observations is enabling the school to share good practice and to provide support to newly appointed teaching staff.

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Main findings

Action plans focus on the right key priorities for improvement but the addition of measurable milestones would enable those evaluating the plans to see more clearly if the school is on track to achieve its objectives. Governors are very knowledgeable and are prepared to ask challenging questions. They have made a significant contribution to school’s self-evaluation. They check the school’s action plan closely whenever they meet.

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Main findings

Middle and other senior leaders are developing well in their roles and have received additional training to fulfil their responsibilities. They are involved in checking the quality of pupils’ work in books and the accuracy of teachers’ assessments. Not all middle leaders work full time in the school, however, and not all have autonomy to monitor teaching formally in lessons.

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Main findings

Outcomes in Key Stage 1 fell in 2015 so that standards in reading, writing and mathematics were below the national averages and are on a three-year falling trend. This is despite the good start pupils get off to in the early years. Leaders attribute this fall to previous weak teaching that has now been removed and previous over- generous teacher assessments.

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Main findings

Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 in the most recent tests in reading, writing and mathematics were slightly above national expectations. Given the high attainment of Year 6 pupils when they were in Year 2 this meant that too few pupils, including the most-able pupils, made enough progress – especially in reading and mathematics. Outcomes fell in reading in 2015 and the proportion of pupils making more than the expected rate of progress was exceptionally low. Outcomes improved slightly in mathematics and writing. Numbers of disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, disadvantaged pupils and those learning English as an additional language were too small to be statistically significant, although leaders monitor their progress closely.

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Main findings

School leaders say that since September, pupils in all year groups are making good progress but the new system has not been in place long enough to confirm this over time. The first set of half-termly assessments have been recorded and these will be backed up by termly tests starting from December 2015.

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Main findings

In order to increase the challenge for the most-able pupils, leaders are ensuring that teachers highlight these pupils in their planning and are accountable for their progress. Work in pupils’ books supports the impact this is having in the work that is set for them. In Year 6, a numeracy group for the most-able pupils has been established led by you, with a similar literacy group to follow. Pupils spoken to were very positive about the increasing level of challenge they receive in their mathematics lessons and they confirmed a significant reduction in incidents of low- level disruption.

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Main findings

Leaders have introduced a whole-school mathematics scheme to ensure that there are no gaps in what is taught, as this was previously an issue. Pupils are now given more problem-solving activities in their work in mathematics as well as in other subjects and have additional equipment so support their calculations. Pupils are challenged by teachers increasingly to give reasons for their answers by open ended challenges, such as ‘Show me why’ and ‘Tell me how.’

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Main findings

There has been a transformational change in the quality of marking since the last academic year. Pupils have the chance to respond more quickly to teachers’ questions and extension tasks. Leaders check pupils work regularly to make sure that teachers are marking the spelling of key words. Occasionally, teachers do not follow up on pupils’ responses, but more often than not it is now done more consistently. Bring and share sessions at staff meetings allow staff to pick up good ideas concerning marking from their colleagues. All pupils spoken to say that the good marking and feedback helped them to improve their work.

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Main findings

Presentation in books is much improved as teachers’ marking ensures that pupils keep their standards of presentation high. Pupils’ outcomes in phonics in Year 1 significantly improved in 2015 and this is having a positive impact on pupils’ writing. Opportunities for extended writing have been enhanced through cross-curricular literacy initiatives with an emphasis on high-quality presentation and on the features of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Work in pupils’ books indicates that they been given increased opportunities for extended writing. Pupils spoken to also confirmed this.

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Main findings

Teaching assistants have been trained to make sure that their interventions are effective. They are now performance-managed as well as teachers and are working with a wider range of pupil groups than previously, including the most-able learners. Leaders have recognised that pupils’ previous experience of cultural diversity has been very limited. A recent whole-school project on India is raising the awareness of pupils.

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External support

The local authority has provided effective support and challenge for you, and training for senior and middle leaders to fulfil their roles, especially in literacy. Their recent annual performance review paints an accurate picture of the school’s current strengths and weaknesses.

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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 Worcestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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