Fynamore Primary School

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

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Mr Thomas Brewer Headteacher Fynamore Primary School School Road Calne Wiltshire SN11 9UG

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Short inspection of Fynamore Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 20 February 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in June 2014.

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Short inspection of Fynamore Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment in September 2014, you have continued to build and develop improvements for pupils. You lead an inclusive school, well-supported by your chair of governors. You have dealt with many staffing issues beyond your control and made sure that pupils’ learning stays at the heart of the school. Pupils behave well and understand the expectations that you have asserted. Pupils experience a range of activities that prepare them well for their next stage in education. For example, one parent was keen to share the enthusiastic way that you embraced the learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics offered by a local university.

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Short inspection of Fynamore Primary School

You have improved the checking of the performance of teachers. Teachers are set aspirational targets and these are measured regularly. You have cultivated a good team spirit among colleagues. The deputy headteacher has sharpened assessments of pupils’ work. This helps progress to be measured more accurately. The assessment information is easier for colleagues to use and governors to challenge. Both these actions support pupils’ progress.

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Short inspection of Fynamore Primary School

The school is popular locally and in the wider catchment area. Local occupations, such as military personnel, have an impact on the stability of the school population. You have greater numbers of in-year transfers than the majority of schools nationally. Pupils integrate well and your procedures for supporting them into school routines are effective. However, there is sometimes a delay in matching pupils’ needs to their ability levels. This is particularly true for the most able pupils. Too often, there is a lack of challenge within the work for them. It was an area of concern in the last inspection and traces of weakness in teaching the most able remain. One reason for this is the high turnover of staff recently. You are aware of this and have improved processes for checking pupils’ work. Individual teachers receive feedback on improving their teaching. There are green shoots of improvement but this is an area that you need to pursue diligently and quickly.

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Short inspection of Fynamore Primary School

You have an acute awareness of health and safety and have taken many steps to create a safer site for pupils. You are meticulous in your approach to safeguarding which ensures that pupils’ needs are met well. The safeguarding governor has a wealth of experience in the field and provides secure external validation of your actions.

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Short inspection of Fynamore Primary School

You have created a culture where risks are considered and managed well constantly within the school. The school’s policies to ensure that pupils are well protected are in place. All staff, including governors, undertake training in child protection. The checks undertaken on staff, visitors and recruitment are stringent. Staff know how to keep pupils safe from abuse, sexual exploitation and from the influence of radical or extreme views.

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Inspection findings

 Outcomes in mathematics have been poor for the past two years. Pupils were not given enough opportunities to apply their mathematical understanding to reasoning and problem-solving. You have a good leader of mathematics who understands the strengths and weaknesses of current practice. You employed an external specialist to review the teaching of mathematics. The visit provided the leader of mathematics with a clear course of actions to take. Many have been undertaken already which are helping teachers’ confidence in this area to improve. You know that there is more to do to ensure that pupils’ outcomes reach higher levels.  Next, we looked at reading. You have remodelled the library innovatively. The space is well-resourced and inviting. Pupils are keen to spend time there and this has been one aspect of improving reading. You make sure pupils read every day and their fluency has improved as a result. There is effective questioning of

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Inspection findings

reading undertaken. Pupils are able to articulate and respond well when looking at a variety of texts. There is a tangible and infectious love of books within the school. This is a key ingredient on which to build the understanding of more sophisticated inferences.  In Reception, now, there is a greater focus on literacy and numeracy; this has been increasing year on year. Equally, there is a greater focus on the work of the teaching assistants in this regard. As a result, more children had a good level of development at the end of Reception and results in 2017 were above national averages. Few children exceeded the good level of development so this is still an area on which to work that reflects the school target for challenging the most able. Children are doing well at phonics in Reception and Year 1 and so are well prepared for their reading and writing. Those who had to retake the phonics screening check in Year 2 had particular issues which the special educational

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Inspection findings

needs (SEN) coordinator knows about and manages well. She supports them effectively with highly skilled teaching assistants.  Finally, we looked at the progress of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. You have spent the pupil premium funding wisely, overseen by careful scrutiny of the governing body. Disadvantaged pupils are making progress that is as good as their peers in school and, sometimes, better. The school has analysed the barriers to their learning and made sure that disadvantaged pupils are ready to learn on arrival in school. Caring for the emotional well-being of disadvantaged pupils is a strength of the school.  The SEN coordinator has ensured that the register for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is secure. Teachers are, now, aware of the particular needs of these pupils according to their ability levels. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities in the school is slightly higher than the national average.

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Inspection findings

The SEN coordinator has made explicit use of teaching assistants’ expertise and has invested in further training for them. This has ensured that class support and interventions in literacy and numeracy can be undertaken swiftly and confidently by the teaching assistants.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 pupils are able to develop their mathematical skills in reasoning and problem- solving  the most able pupils in every year group, including those who are disadvantaged, are provided with learning that is sufficiently challenging and deepens their thinking so that they gain the higher standards in their end of key stage tests.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wiltshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, the deputy headteacher, leaders for mathematics, the chair and two governors, staff and pupils. I had a telephone conversation with a challenge and support partner from the local authority. I visited lessons in all year groups in the school, focusing on mathematics and literacy. I looked at the quality of work in pupils’ exercise books. I considered documentary evidence relating to the impact of the school’s work, including safeguarding. I took into account 65 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, and 38 comments written by parents plus the 24 responses from staff and 36 responses from pupils to the Ofsted online survey.

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