Setting

Mr Nathanael Robinson Headteacher Farcet CofE (C) Primary School St Mary’s Street Farcet Peterborough PE7 3AR

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School

Following my visit to your school on 14 April 2016, 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 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 in order to become a good school.

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School

The school should take further action to ensure that:

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School

 the checks that school leaders make on the quality of teaching and learning focus more closely on the progress that pupils are making over time  more effective support is provided for disadvantaged pupils so that they make better progress and attain higher standards.

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Context

Since the previous inspection, one teacher has left the school. This post is currently being filled by a temporary teacher. Both the chair and vice-chair of the governing body took up their roles in September 2015. Ofsted

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Context

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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Evidence

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, the deputy headteacher, a representative of the local authority and the chair and vice-chair of the governing body, to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. I visited classrooms with you to observe teaching and learning. I also looked at work in pupils’ books and evaluated the school’s action plan and other associated documentation.

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Main findings

You have acted swiftly to address the issues that were identified as in need of improvement at the previous inspection. You have written a plan which identifies how you intend to address each area that was judged to require improvement. The plan is detailed and sets out the actions that school leaders need to take in order to improve teaching and raise pupils’ achievement. It also includes criteria for checking the impact that the planned actions are making. This is helping school leaders, including governors, to monitor progress.

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Main findings

You have developed more effective systems to help you to track the progress that pupils are making. Teachers make regular assessments of pupils’ attainment and record progress carefully. This process is helping you to identify those pupils who are currently attaining levels below where they should be. You have identified that too many of those currently underachieving are disadvantaged pupils, and you recognise the need to ensure that additional funding is used more effectively to support these pupils.

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Main findings

You have established more robust systems for reviewing the work of teachers. You have made clear your expectations regarding how teachers plan and mark pupils’ work, and make regular checks to ensure that teachers are complying with agreed policies and procedures. You now meet more regularly with teachers to review their work, and these procedures have helped you to ensure that there is greater consistency in planning and marking across the school. In order to build on these improvements, you now need to ensure that the checks that you make focus on the impact of teaching on the progress that pupils are making over time.

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Main findings

The governing body is committed to ensuring that the school improves rapidly. Following the previous inspection, governors immediately arranged for the local authority to carry out a review of governance. Governors responded swiftly to the recommendations that were made, and this process has helped them to become more effective in holding school leaders to account. Members of the governing body are now regularly involved in monitoring the work of the school. Over the course of this school year, most governors have been involved in reviewing an aspect of the school’s work. They share information effectively and have developed a comprehensive understanding of the school’s strengths and the areas that are in need of further improvement.

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External support

The local authority has provided good support to the school since the previous inspection. An adviser has worked closely with senior leaders on improvement planning, and support has been provided for the new subject leader for mathematics. A local leader in education, from Elton Primary School, is also working with the school to improve assessment procedures.

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External support

The local authority is also providing effective support for the governing body, which has changed considerably over the past 12 months. Two ‘advisory governors’ are currently working with the governing body, reviewing the effectiveness of meetings and helping governors to provide effective support and challenge for school leaders.

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External support

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

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Ely and the director of children’s services for Cambridgeshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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