Setting

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

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Nicki Mobley Headteacher All Saints Church of England Primary School 79 School Green Road Freshwater Isle of Wight PO40 9AX

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England Primary School, Freshwater

Following my visit to your school on 11 July 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the monitoring 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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England Primary School, Freshwater

The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and has taken place because the school has received three successive judgements of requires improvement at its previous section 5 inspections.

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England Primary School, Freshwater

Senior leaders and governors are not taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the last section 5 inspection in order for the school to become good.

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England Primary School, Freshwater

The school should take further action to:

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England Primary School, Freshwater

 continue to develop leaders’ skills in monitoring and evaluating the impact of their actions so that the school improves rapidly to good  ensure that leaders’ oversight of teaching, learning and assessment is focused on the rapid progress that pupils need to make  make sure that all teachers are challenging pupils who have fallen behind to catch up quickly.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher, chair of governors, a representative of the local authority and two subject leaders (one of whom was also the special educational needs coordinator) to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. The school’s post-Ofsted action plan and rapid improvement plans were evaluated. I visited lessons with the headteacher and spoke to pupils about their work. I also looked carefully at the written work of pupils in Year 2 and Year 3. I also met with three pupils from Year 5 and 6 to talk about the school and their progress in writing. I considered a range of school documents, including the outcomes of monitoring activities and records of governing body meetings.

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Context

All Saints is a smaller-than-average primary school. It has been judged to be requires improvement in the three most recent inspections. Since the latest inspection, two new teachers have been appointed. One of these new teachers is also the subject leader for mathematics. An existing governor became the new chair of governors in September 2017.

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Main findings

Although the school has made progress since the last inspection, actions taken have not been rapid enough to ensure that the school is on track to become good. The school’s written plans to tackle the areas requiring improvement cover all the issues that need to get better. However, leaders and governors do not have high enough expectations about the pace of change. This means that the quality of teaching in the school is improving too slowly. As a result, pupils’ learning and progress is not improving quickly enough.

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Main findings

Leaders have an overgenerous view of the school’s current performance. This means that they are not sharply focused on the areas that need most attention. The most recent inspection identified that leaders need to make sure that they evaluate the impact of their work, so that the school improves rapidly. This is not happening. Leaders have strengthened some aspects of their monitoring. For example, subject leaders are beginning to understand how well their subject is taught across the school. However, leaders are not making good use of what they find. Consequently, leaders do not have a clear understanding of the current strengths and weaknesses in the school, or where recovery is too slow.

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Main findings

The governing body has improved the way that it oversees the work of the school. Governors now carry out a wider range of activities that inform them about the day- to-day experiences of pupils. Their supervision of the school’s work to keep pupils safe is good. However, the governing body is not making sure that the school’s self- evaluation is accurate. This means that governors are not able to hold leaders to account for the rate of progress towards becoming a good school. Many pupils in the school have gaps in what they know and can do. This is because teaching over time has been weak. Teaching is not sharply focused on ensuring that pupils make rapid progress from their starting points. The most able pupils do not always get the challenging activities that they need to do well. Teachers’ attention to accuracy in pupils’ writing is inconsistent. For example, the expectations on the presentation, spelling and punctuation of some of the oldest pupils is too low This

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Main findings

means that some pupils do not make as much progress in writing as they could.

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Main findings

The oversight of teaching by leaders is not focused on the rapid progress that pupils need to make. Consequently, leaders are not making sure that teaching is leading to good progress for all pupils.

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Main findings

The progress that pupils make in key stage 1 has significantly improved. This year, by the end of Year 2, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level in reading is in line with the most recent national average. Although the proportion of pupils who achieve the expected level in mathematics and writing remains below the national averages, it is considerably better than in 2017, when no pupils achieved the expected level in these two subjects.

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Main findings

New staff have been appointed to the school with good subject knowledge in phonics and mathematics. Their improved practice is evident across the school, with most pupils in Year 1 now achieving the required level in phonics. The teaching of phonics and spelling has been further strengthened by the effective use of additional help for the pupils who need it. As a result, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making better progress from their starting points.

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External support

The school is receiving effective support from the local authority. The regular reports from local authority officers provide leaders and governors with valuable information about the school’s progress. For example, a recent review raised concerns about aspects of the school’s improvement. The local authority is continuing to provide the school with support in English and mathematics.

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

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