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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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Mrs L Wilson Acting Headteacher Flamborough CE Primary School Carter Lane Flamborough Bridlington YO15 1LW

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Implementation of Flamborough CE Primary School's Action Plan

Following the visit of Mr J H Evans, Additional Inspector and Ms S Morrissey HMI to your school on 18 May 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 Flamborough CE Primary School's Action Plan

The visit was the fourth 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 Flamborough CE Primary 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 Flamborough CE Primary 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, the Director of Lifelong Learning for the East Riding of Yorkshire and the Diocesan Director of Education for York. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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Implementation of Flamborough CE Primary School's Action Plan

Andrew Reid Head of Institutional Inspections and Frameworks Division

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

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During the visit ten parts of lessons and two registration sessions were inspected. Meetings were held with the headteacher, the chair of governors, senior staff and a representative from the LEA. Informal discussions were held with other members of staff and with pupils and samples of work were examined. A range of documents was scrutinised. Using this evidence, HMI made the following observations to the headteacher, the chair of the governing body, and representatives from the LEA and the diocese.

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Since the last monitoring inspection, the school has experienced further turbulence in staffing. During the inspection, only one of the five classes was taught by a permanent member of staff, a further two by teachers on temporary contracts and the remaining two by short-term supply teachers. The substantive headteacher has resigned and a permanent, part-time teacher has also left the school. The acting headteacher, who has led the school since April 2004, is returning to her own school in September 2005. The governing body has begun a selection process to appoint a new headteacher. Despite the additional challenges presented by staffing issues, the school has maintained a steady pattern of progress under the guidance of the acting headteacher and the governors and with support from the LEA. Nevertheless, the appointment of a headteacher, clear arrangements for managing the school and achieving greater stability in staffing are high priorities, if

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the current rate of progress is to be maintained.

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Although a significant proportion of the pupils do not reach the standards expected for their ages, underachievement is steadily being eroded, particularly in the Foundation Stage, Key Stage1 and Years 5 and 6. Teachers at Key Stage 2 are dealing with a continuing legacy of low standards that result from unsatisfactory progress in the past. In Year 6, the effective use of targets has increased the pupils' awareness of the need to improve their work and booster classes have helped to maximise their rate of progress. The teaching here and in Year 5 is pitched more accurately than has been the case in the past and expectations have been raised. These improvements are having a significant influence on the pupils' acquisition of key skills in English, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT). Standards in Years 3 and 4 are much lower than they should be. The school recognises the need to extend the improvements made in Years 5 and 6

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to these younger pupils. At Key Stage 1, standards are typically in line with national expectations although, in Year 2, there are a significant number of pupils who, despite making good progress consistent with their capabilities, are below the expected levels of attainment.

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Progress in most lessons was satisfactory. In Years 5 and 6, it was good. In lessons in these classes, the work was thoughtfully differentiated and pupils of different abilities made good progress towards their targets. Tasks were designed to capture the pupils' interest and had a clear sense of purpose, which produced a good level of motivation among the pupils. Where progress was unsatisfactory, the tasks were not sufficiently adjusted to the needs of different groups of pupils and time was used inefficiently.

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During the inspection, the pupils' behaviour was good in lessons and at all other times throughout the school day. Although a very small number of pupils are still struggling to come to terms with the demands made of them to work hard, attitudes to schooling are generally good. The pupils are confident participants in oral work and settle down quickly to written tasks.

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Although the overall quality of teaching in lessons has deteriorated since the last inspection, the lessons taught by the permanent teachers and those who have longstanding temporary contracts showed improvement since the last visit. Planning continues to be accurate and evaluations of the success of lessons have begun to be used to adjust plans for subsequent lessons. Expectations have been raised and further opportunities provided for the pupils to work independently. Strong teamwork between teachers and teaching assistants was a feature of many lessons; low attaining pupils and those who have special educational needs benefited well from the support and close attention given to them. Teachers’ questions were used subtly in concluding plenary sessions to assess the progress of different groups of pupils and to explain the next stages of work to be covered. Where short-term supply staff provided the teaching, the pace was slow and the

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work not securely based on prior attainment.

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The acting headteacher has led the school well and, despite the challenges presented by several changes in personnel on the staff, has pursued the implementation of the action plan unswervingly. A well-judged balance between support and challenge for teachers and clarity about what needs to be done to improve the quality of education have resulted in fundamental improvements to the teaching and better behaviour among the pupils. The self-evaluation written for this inspection provided some perceptive insights into what has been achieved. The action plan has been sensibly updated to take account past achievements and to map out the next stages of improvement. The acting headteacher has rationalised the school’s provision for pupils who have special educational needs. The provision meets the requirements of the Code of Practice. The involvement of parents in the implementation of individual education plans has been established

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and targets are shared with the pupils concerned. Plans are in hand to extend the involvement of pupils in reviews of their progress.

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Although senior teachers have a growing understanding of their roles in managing the school, the management structure has yet to be clarified. Uncertainty about staffing issues continues to threaten the full recovery of the school. The governing body and the LEA currently face the challenge of establishing a greater degree of permanency among the teaching staff and allocating management responsibilities. The LEA has continued to support the school well, particularly to provide training for teachers from personnel with relevant subject expertise. Monitoring has added helpfully to the overall picture of the school’s progress.

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1: raise the pupils’ achievement and, through this, standards

The actions taken to raise the pupils’ achievement are beginning to have a positive impact, particularly at Key Stage 1 and in Years 5 and 6. Targets are used more consistently with the pupils in lessons and the pupils have a better understanding of their importance.

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2: improve the quality and focus of leadership and management

The quality of leadership and management is evaluated elsewhere in this letter.

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3: ensure that the governors hold the school to account

This area for improvement was not inspected during this visit.

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4: improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment

The support and advice from the LEA are having a positive effect. Teachers have a much better understanding of the mechanics of assessment and its use in lessons has increased substantially. Further training is planned to build on improvements, especially to augment the use of assessment for learning.

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aspects for the National Curriculum

The school has worked hard to improve the quality of the curriculum and establish priorities for development. Teachers have begun to match the curriculum more accurately to the needs of individual pupils. The school has had particular success with the development of ICT and as a result of improvements to the curriculum and resources, standards of attainment have risen rapidly. The school’s curriculum now meets statutory requirements.

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