Setting

Mrs Jane Laurie The Headteacher Norwood Primary School Chamberlayne Road Eastleigh SO50 5JL

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 28 June 2007, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. Please also convey my thanks to the pupils to whom I spoke to as their views were interesting and have been taken into account.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website. Please inform the Regional Inspection Service Provider of any factual inaccuracies within 24 hours of the receipt of this letter.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

As a result of the inspection in November 2006, the school was asked to improve in the following areas:  Raise standards, particularly in writing and mathematics, by improving the use of assessment information to plan work that challenges all pupils.  Ensure that full provision is made for information and communications technology (ICT).  Improve marking and set individual learning targets for pupils to help them to improve their work.  Ensure that the school fully evaluates its performance in order to plan effective action for improvement.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school is making satisfactory progress in addressing the issues for improvement and in raising pupils’ achievements. A continuing strength of the school is the pupils themselves. They are friendly and well behaved and have good attitudes to learning.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

Pupils’ attainment in writing and mathematics is much improved this year and standards are likely to be higher. At the age of seven more pupils are working at levels which give them a more secure platform to achieve well in Key Stage 2. Older pupils have made good progress this year as a result of good teaching and learning Prospects Learning Services Ltd 132-138 High Street Bromley Kent BR1 1EZ T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 020 8313 7760 Direct F 020 8464 3393 and many more are working at the expected levels for their age in mathematics and writing. The Intensifying Support Programme (ISP) is helping the school to make better use of its tracking information to set challenging targets for improvement and to intervene at an earlier stage when underachievement is identified. Teachers are much more involved in this process but it is not yet firmly embedded. Consequently, some year groups have progressed at a faster rate than others. For example, the

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

current Year 5 has a disproportionate number of pupils with learning difficulties. Some of these pupils have made slow progress from Year2.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

Provision for ICT is much improved. The new equipment in the ICT suite is fully operational and networked with the classrooms, which allows pupils to pick up their work in either location. Teachers’ confidence and competence in the use of ICT is developing through the intensive support of two advanced skills teachers. Most teachers are making better use of ICT to enhance pupils’ learning, particularly in literacy. However, planning for its use to support learning in all subjects is at an early stage of development. Pupils say that they are making much more use of ICT than was previously the case and the ICT leader is confident that all components of the curriculum are now being taught. However, there are clearly some gaps in the experience of the older pupils in particular.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

Following the November inspection the school revised its marking policy. As a result, marking has improved considerably and pupils confirm that it is helping them to improve their work. There are also good examples of reflective self assessment through the ‘prove it’ strategy, for example. However, there is evidence of some inconsistencies between classes. The development of curriculum targets through ISP is helping to raise expectations and improve achievement, but there is some inconsistency in the use of targets at the individual level. Some pupils are vague about their targets and are not clear about how they help them to improve.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

In April 2007 the school was federated with The Crescent Primary School, under the leadership of an executive headteacher. The new headteacher has established a clear vision for the school and high expectations of all. Self-evaluation has been improved and provides a realistic and accurate picture of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This is now supported by a rigorous self-evaluation cycle which examines all aspects of the school’s performance. Although it was not possible to talk to the largely new governing body, it appears that they are fully involved in this process. This evaluation and issues from the inspection are currently being used to plan for school improvement. The leadership team is to be remodelled from September which should provide greater capacity for the team to contribute to the raising of standards and improvement of teaching and learning.

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Ofsted Monitoring of Schools with Notice to Improve

Whilst the impact of the local authority’s support of the school was not clear in the preceding year, they have supported the school intensively from September 2006. The school has appreciated this support and it has been effective in securing improvements. In particular, ISP has helped to raise standards and expectations. The LA also moved decisively to promote the federation of the two schools to harness and disseminate good practice. I hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school.

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