Setting

Mrs S Kaminski-Gaze The Headteacher All Saints C of E Primary School and Nursery, Nuneaton Knebley Crescent Nuneaton Warwickshire CV10 7AT

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PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY, NUNEATON

Following my visit with Sally Hall and Isobel Randall, Additional Inspectors, to your school on 16 and 17 October 2007, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to confirm the inspection findings.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY, NUNEATON

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures in April 2007. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY, NUNEATON

Progress since being subject to special measures – inadequate.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY, NUNEATON

Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY, NUNEATON

This letter and monitoring inspection report 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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PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY, NUNEATON

I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the chair of governors, the Director of Education for the Diocese of Coventry and the Director for Children, Young People and Families for Warwickshire.

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Additional Inspector

Tribal Group 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0845 123 6001 F 0845 123 6002 T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, nominated staff, two governors including the chair, two representatives from the local authority (LA) and groups of pupils.

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Context

There has been considerable staff turnover since the last inspection. The school has a new deputy headteacher and new leadership team. During the visit, two classes were being covered by temporary and supply teachers because of staff absence.

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Achievement and standards

Pupils’ achievement remains inadequate. The legacy of slow progress in the past means that standards are not as high as they should be. Pupils’ progress is currently not rapid enough to make up the lost ground.

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Achievement and standards

Although there was some improvement in standards in 2006, at Key Stage 1, standards have remained too low throughout the school for too long. In the 2007 Key Stage 1 assessments, standards fell when compared with the previous year and were exceptionally low in reading, writing and mathematics. Results in the most recent Key Stage 2 national tests also show exceptionally low standards in English, mathematics and science. In lessons, the standard of pupils’ work in literacy and numeracy is well below age related expectations. Children continue to get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage, but this is not built upon effectively through the rest of the school. More capable pupils in particular often do not produce the standard or quality of work of which they are capable. A number of these pupils commented that they found their work ‘too easy’.

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Achievement and standards

The school has introduced steps to implement better systems for tracking pupils’ progress. Teachers are beginning to have a clearer understanding of where pupils are at and the progress they ought to make. The information is being used to target pupils who require additional support, although it is too early to judge the effectiveness of these interventions. Lesson observations show some improvement since the recent introduction of more focused group targets and better assessment procedures. However, assessments and the moderation of assessments are not yet sufficiently robust to contribute effectively to rectifying past underachievement.

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Achievement and standards

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in April 2007:  improve progress and the standards attained by pupils throughout Years 1 to 6 – inadequate.

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Personal development and well-being

Since the last inspection, the school has been working more closely with parents and pupils to promote regular attendance and celebrate improvements in attendance and punctuality. The number of times pupils are late for school has halved. However, the rate of attendance for the current term shows no improvement since the last inspection.

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Personal development and well-being

Pupils’ personal development and well-being continue to be satisfactory as does their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In many lessons pupils’ concentration levels are poor and pupils often drift off task. Pupils are most attentive when teachers plan short, stimulating tasks and give clear explanations of what they expect pupils to achieve. Many pupils have low self esteem and do not take enough pride in their work. Most pupils respond well to the system of rewards and sanctions for behaviour and say that they are treated fairly. Pupils make a satisfactory contribution to the school community and members of the school council are keen to make improvements to school life. Most are polite and respectful. Pupils say that reported incidents of bullying are dealt with effectively but, as at the time of the last inspection, the high level of exclusions continues to be a cause for concern.

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Personal development and well-being

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in April 2007:  work closely with parents to improve pupils’ attendance – inadequate.

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Quality of provision

Good teaching in the Nursery and Reception classes provides children with a good start. Weaknesses in teaching, identified in the rest of the school during the last inspection, have not been addressed quickly enough to have an impact on pupils’ learning. Teachers now use a common format for planning lessons. This gives a better match of teaching to ability than before and the best examples show that plans are amended in the light of recent progress. However, some teachers merely note what has happened without taking action. Although the resulting match of work to pupils’ abilities is a little better pitched than previously, too often it still does not provide sufficient challenge, particularly to more capable pupils. The impact of teaching assistants is satisfactory overall, varying according to the extent to which teachers give them guidance.

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Quality of provision

Teachers now inform pupils about the purpose of a lesson, but not always in terms that they understand. In the more successful lessons, teachers use stimulating materials, with clear instructions and sharp questions requiring pupils to think for themselves. There are still instances of undemanding pace with uninteresting resources or lack of clarity in explanations which results in pupils not being fully engaged in lessons. When these weaknesses are evident, learning becomes disrupted by off task poor behaviour. Inconsistent practice across the school results in teaching and learning that remain inadequate overall. The curriculum in the Nursery and Reception classes is well planned to enable children to achieve well in relation to their low starting points. Main school planning in literacy and numeracy is now more closely based on individual and group targets. However, this is not challenging enough for all pupils. Setting in literacy and

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Quality of provision

numeracy by ability in Years 5 and 6, resulting in mixed age classes, has not brought about an improvement in achievement. Similar setting this term in Years 3 and 4 is recognised as having failed and is therefore being abandoned. The school has reorganised the curriculum to provide more time for literacy and numeracy, but teachers are not yet using potential opportunities for the reinforcement and development of basic literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects. Enrichment through regular clubs has not improved since the last inspection, although the school has widened its range of visits and special events such as the Book Week.

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Quality of provision

Pupils say that they feel safe in school and can turn to adults if they are worried or upset. The school pays due attention to health and safety. Safeguarding procedures meet current government requirements.

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Quality of provision

Academic guidance is inconsistent. Nearly all pupils know that they have group targets for numeracy and literacy and some are able to recall them from memory. However, it is too early to judge whether these are having any impact on improving pupils’ achievement. At the time of the last inspection marking was patchy. All teachers are now marking pupils’ work and some teachers are writing helpful comments linked to pupils’ targets. Not all teachers are giving pupils enough guidance, in lessons or through marking, about the next steps in their learning or how to improve.

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Quality of provision

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in April 2007:  ensure that teaching and the curriculum are closely matched to the needs of all pupils so that they do as well as they should – inadequate  make sure that pupils are given clear information on how well they are doing and about what they need to do next to improve their performance – inadequate.

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Leadership and management

The school has not improved sufficiently since its last inspection. Many of the reported weaknesses still exist. Staff morale is high and everyone is committed to the school’s improvement. However, the headteacher is not providing clear enough direction or taking decisive action to drive through change and improve the quality of provision and pupils’ achievement. There is still a long way to go in developing leadership capacity at all levels. The school has a new management team but new staff are inexperienced and only beginning to understand their roles. School self- evaluation is not systematic enough and strategic thinking is ineffective. Staff and governors are currently insufficiently involved in these processes. There are procedures in place for monitoring the school’s work but they are not having sufficient impact with regards to school improvement.

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Leadership and management

Lesson observations have been used to identify strengths and areas for development in teaching. Teachers are given points for improvement. However, observations do not always focus sufficiently on the progress of individual pupils which means that the direction given to teachers for improvement is not always the right direction. Despite there being some good practice within the school, there is still too much inadequate teaching.

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Leadership and management

The governing body fulfils its statutory responsibilities. However, governors are not provided with sufficient information about the quality of provision and pupils’ progress to hold the school to account for the standards pupils achieve. Governors do not play an active role in self-evaluation and strategic development.

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Leadership and management

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in April 2007:  rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of provision in each class and take swift action to rectify weaknesses – inadequate.

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External support

The local authority’s statement of action sets out an appropriate programme of support for the school. Suitably focused advice and support have been provided for the school and has been appreciated by the staff. However, the school has not always met agreed deadlines for improvement priorities and this is a source of concern.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Ensure that the more capable pupils are challenged in all lessons and provide activities that excite and engage all pupils.  Improve school self-evaluation and systems for monitoring and evaluating teaching to drive forward school improvement with the urgency required.  Raise pupils’ expectations of what they can do and of the quality of presentation of their work.

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