Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Anita Raymond Headteacher Kinlet CofE Primary School School Lane Bewdley Kinlet Worcestershire DY12 3BG

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School

Following my visit to your school on 14 October 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 December 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 last section 5 inspection in order to become a good school.

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School

The school should take further action to make sure that:

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School

 you routinely measure the impact of teachers’ actions in improving pupils’ learning and progress  teachers improve pupils’ descriptive writing skills in Year 3 and pupils’ ability to use and apply their mathematical knowledge in Year 5  all teachers have high expectations of what the most able and most-able disadvantaged pupils know and can do in lessons and other school activities  governors protect your leadership and management time.

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Evidence

During the inspection, I met with you, members of staff, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. I also held telephone discussions with the chair of the governing body and a representative from the local authority inclusion team. You showed me around the school and we visited all the classes. During the visits to classrooms, I spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at the work in their books. I scrutinised a number of documents, including the school’s post-inspection action plan, self-evaluation form and subsequent action plan, and information about pupils’ current progress, behaviour and attendance.

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Context

There have been no changes to the leadership of the school since the previous inspection. One class teacher has recently left the school and you are in the process of recruiting their replacement. The number of pupils on roll has decreased significantly.

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Main findings

Following the inspection in December 2015, you and the governing body responded quickly to the findings and began to address the areas for improvement effectively. You developed a thorough improvement plan that detailed appropriate and relevant actions for improving pupils’ outcomes. You have implemented a large majority of the actions successfully. Information provided by the school shows that the actions are having a positive effect, especially in improving pupils’ behaviour. However, your evaluation of the actions does not always focus on the impact on improving pupils’ learning and progress.

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Main findings

The previous inspection identified weaknesses in the tracking of pupils’ progress. A new tracking system is now in place and you review pupils’ progress with class teachers more frequently. You use these reviews to identify successfully those pupils who are falling behind. For example, you are able to show that in Year 3, pupils need to improve their descriptive writing skills. You also correctly identify that pupils in Year 5 need to improve their ability to solve increasingly difficult arithmetical problems. In addition, you rightly say that these pupils need to improve their mathematical fluency by having increased opportunities to use and apply their mathematical knowledge and understanding.

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Main findings

Your information shows that children in the early years and pupils in Year 1 and Year 6 continue to do well from their starting points. In addition, pupils across the school continue to do well in reading and phonics.

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Main findings

Since the previous inspection, the majority of pupils have improved their mathematical understanding. Teachers have achieved this through effective teaching and assessment and the successful introduction of resources and websites that help to develop pupils’ ability to move from easier questions to those that are more difficult and abstract.

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Main findings

Most of the pupils have improved their writing skills as they have opportunities to write at length and about subjects that interest them. This is particularly the case for boys. For example, they have chances to write for different purposes and audiences such as reports about building work or a ‘pitch’ for a company.

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Main findings

A scrutiny of pupils’ books shows that teachers’ assessment and subsequent feedback helps most pupils to improve their work and speed up their progress. However, the feedback and the activities that teachers give to the most able and most-able disadvantaged pupils do not always help this group to make the progress of which they are capable. In addition, you recognise that the most able pupils do not always have enrichment activities or challenges that extend their knowledge, skills and understanding.

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Main findings

You and your staff, parents and pupils have worked collaboratively to improve pupils’ behaviour. You have achieved this by making the standards of behaviour clear and by increasing the number and range of rewards pupils receive for meeting the school’s expectations. Information provided by the school shows that pupils’ behaviour over time has improved. However, recently the behaviour of a few pupils has caused you and the school community significant concern. These issues have now been largely resolved but the impact on your time to lead the school has been considerable. For example, you have had to cancel pre-arranged meetings in order to supervise pupils.

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Main findings

Governors make an effective contribution to school improvement. They have largely supported and challenged you in equal measure. They use your and teachers’ appraisal to set appropriate targets for improvement. They visit the school regularly and focus on the school’s areas for improvement through their link roles. They use the information they collect to ask relevant questions and to challenge your and teachers’ assertions about the school’s journey to becoming a good school. However, they have not protected your leadership and management time from unnecessary distractions.

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External support

The local authority provides effective support to the school through a school improvement adviser. For example, the adviser carries out half-termly monitoring visits and supports you in evaluating the school’s performance and in generating suitable action plans. Staff have completed training, which was arranged by the local authority, on how to assess Year 2 and Year 6. However, the local authority inclusion team was slow to respond to the issues raised by a few pupils’ behaviour and the subsequent negative impact on your leadership time. You and your staff make effective use of a range of external agencies to support pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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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 Hereford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Shropshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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