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Institutional Inspections and Frameworks Division 4 th Floor Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Direct Tel 020 7421 6594 Direct Fax 020 7421 6855

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Mr I R Williamson Headteacher Rawthorpe Junior School Rawthorpe Lane Dalton Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD5 9NT

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Implementation of Rawthope Junior School's Action Plan

Following the visit of Mr J S Hardwick HMI and Ms P Kime HMI to your school on 15 and 16 June 2005, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to confirm the inspection findings which are recorded in the attached note.

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Implementation of Rawthope Junior School's Action Plan

The visit was the third monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures. The focus of the inspection was to assess: the pupils' standards of attainment and their progress; the quality of education provided; the leadership and management of the school; the pupils' attitudes and behaviour; and the progress that has been made in implementing the action plan.

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Implementation of Rawthope Junior School's Action Plan

The school has made reasonable progress since the last monitoring inspection and reasonable progress overall since being subject to special measures.

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Implementation of Rawthope Junior School's Action Plan

I am copying this letter and the note of the inspection findings to the Secretary of State, the chair of governors and the Director of Lifelong Learning for Kirklees. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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Implementation of Rawthope Junior School's Action Plan

Andrew Reid Head of Institutional Inspections and Frameworks Division

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

Findings of the third monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

During the visit 21 parts of lessons, two assemblies and work in the inclusion suite were inspected. The pupils’ conduct was observed around the school, at lunchtime and in the playground. Discussions were held with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, the co-ordinator for literacy, the learning mentor and representatives from the LEA. A range of documentation was examined. Using this evidence, HMI made the following observations to the headteacher, the chair of governors and representatives from the LEA.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The school’s own assessments indicate that, at best, around half the pupils in any one year group are reaching the levels expected for their age in English and mathematics. Predictions suggest that the targets set for scores in the recently taken national tests at Year 6 are likely to be missed.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

This represents a challenging picture. The evidence in lessons was that standards are steadily improving though they remain, on balance, below those expected for the pupils’ ages, especially in writing. The Year 6 pupils, for instance, structured writing on inventions well, but their work contained many simple errors, such as a failure to use capital letters for the scientists’ names. The pupils reached higher standards usually in aspects of work that were a focus for a particular lesson, such as map-reading in Year 6 and performing poetry in Year 5.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The quality of learning remains slightly poorer than the quality of teaching. The pupils’ progress in lessons was more secure than previously, though still not consistent enough for them to achieve their potential by the time they are in Year 6.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The quality of teaching was very good in four lessons, good in seven, satisfactory in five and unsatisfactory in five. This represents further improvement since March in the proportion of good or better teaching, though the proportion of unsatisfactory teaching remains the same. Overall, the gains point to the hard work of the teachers in responding to training and the guidance following observations of their practice.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The basic attributes of effective teaching have been sustained. These included: good planning, preparation and organisation; clear learning objectives that were shared with the pupils; skilled support from additional adults; and work set at levels according to the pupils’ needs. In addition, weaknesses noted previously over involving sufficient pupils in whole-class work and tolerating wasteful chatter have largely been overcome.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The better teaching was marked out by a brisk pace, lively presentations, strict routines, and tasks that engaged the pupils’ interest. The unsatisfactory teaching stemmed from: allowing pupils’ interjections to disrupt the flow of a lesson; setting undemanding work; and a failure to draw out the key learning points from the activities.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

Good efforts are being made to raise the pupils’ interest in learning. During the monitoring inspection, for example, a focus on science involved pupils in a range of practical tasks such as building bridges, and the Year 3 pupils spent a day dressed as Vikings under the direction of a specialist on the subject.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

In lessons, the pupils’ behaviour and attitudes were satisfactory, sometimes good and occasionally very good. This again represents an improvement. Most pupils were interested in their work and readily did as they were asked, settling quickly to tasks and following the regime set by this teacher. There were a few instances where pupils spoke out of turn or had to be moved because they were a nuisance to their neighbours.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The pupils’ behaviour in assembly and around the school was satisfactory overall. The close supervision they require detracted from the quality of assemblies and meant that senior staff needed to spend significant amounts of time patrolling corridors and the playground. Nonetheless, there have been steps forward in the way that pupils shared the games equipment, undertook mentoring work as ‘befrienders’ and have adopted roles on the school council.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The pupils who have particular behavioural difficulties present the school with significant problems. Some of the incidents recorded in the log of behaviour are of serious concern and the need to exclude pupils continues. However, the school is establishing well-judged procedures for dealing with these pupils and recording when and what incidents of misconduct occur. The school is aware, for instance, that the inclusion room, where pupils are withdrawn, needs to set the right balance between support and punishment; the temptation to make it a welcoming haven is being resisted.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The headteacher has again sustained his firm and committed leadership and management, setting a good example for others to follow. The assistant headteacher now takes appropriate responsibility for improving behaviour, and senior co-ordinators are providing a strong lead in their subjects, as well as good role models in their teaching. Despite some need to reduce the budget, staffing is relatively stable and there are well-laid plans for next year that involve some restructuring of responsibilities. There is also a well-considered intention to move to termly action plans but with the agenda set by the school’s areas for improvement. The established programme for monitoring has continued, including tests, assessments and observations of teaching.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL'S ACTION PLAN

The LEA has again provided the school with a considerable amount of carefully recorded support that has been well-matched to the school’s needs, in particular over teaching, behaviour, assessment and special educational needs. The work of the contact officer is much valued by the headteacher; together they intend to spend some time over the summer taking stock of the school’s position.

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1: improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning

The thorough programme for monitoring and feedback has been sustained, with observations of lessons and scrutinies of work undertaken by senior staff on the basis of a predetermined specific focus. There has been further well-directed support and training, for example from consultants, complemented by school-based teamwork. Test results and assessments are being well used to track the progress of individuals, groups of pupils and each class, and the results are acted upon, for instance through identifying the pupils who need additional help. The quality of teaching and learning is reported on above: progress is reasonable.

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in raising achievement

The leadership team has been strengthened by the secondment of an assistant headteacher to lead work on improving the pupils’ behaviour. The leaders for the core subjects have further extended their roles, for instance by managing monitoring weeks and the moderation of teachers’ judgments on the pupils’ standards. The senior team and the governors are maintaining oversight of the school’s performance and the impact of initiatives aimed at improvement. Progress remains good.

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3: improve the pupils’ behaviour, attendance and punctuality

Improving the pupils’ behaviour continues to be a high priority for the school, as reflected in the involvement of senior staff. An audit of behaviour has been conducted, as part of a national project; policy and practice are being reviewed as a consequence. The need to use exclusion as a sanction remains high, but the school is establishing rooms for pupils who need to be removed from their normal classes to prevent confrontational situations from escalating. There is also valuable co-operation with the nearby infant and secondary schools, aimed at devising a common approach to managing behaviour.

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3: improve the pupils’ behaviour, attendance and punctuality

There has been a slight upturn in attendance this term when compared with spring, but both figures are below that for the autumn term. The school is taking appropriate action to increase attendance but the results are disappointing. Attendance has been below 93 per cent so far in 2005.

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3: improve the pupils’ behaviour, attendance and punctuality

Progress on behaviour is reasonable; progress on attendance is limited.

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4: strengthen the school’s partnership with parents

The measures taken to build confidence in the school have continued; for example, newsletters, the parent-teacher association and invitations to assemblies and other events. The number of parents attending a consultation evening was high, and the school’s perception is one of increasingly positive comments from parents about what is being provided for their children. The actions taken represent further reasonable progress.

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