Setting

PROTECT - INSPECTION

Miss Deborah Bland Headteacher Lytham St Annes Mayfield Primary School St Leonard's Road East Lytham St Annes Lancashire FY8 2HQ

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

I was sorry that you were unable to be present, due to ill health, when I inspected your school on 11 November 2008. I wish to express my thanks to your deputy headteacher for the time she gave to our phone discussions and for the information that she provided for me before and during my visit. I was also grateful that representatives of the local authority gave up their time to speak with me.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

There have been limited changes to the staff of the school since the previous inspection in that one teacher has retired and two staff who were absent on maternity leave have returned. However three staff, including the headteacher, were absent at the time of this inspection.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a 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 a notice to improve

As a result of the inspection on 12 and 13 February 2008, the school was asked to:  improve achievement and raise standards in English, mathematics and science  improve the quality of teaching; in particular, the pace in lessons and teachers’ expectations of the pupils  improve teachers’ use of assessment to monitor pupils’ progress, to inform planning and to make sure pupils know how to improve their work.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

During the inspection I observed the work of the school including parts of six lessons, reviewed documentation and held interviews with the deputy headteacher and representatives of the local authority. 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’ achievement. Nord Anglia Inspections Anglia House Carrs Road Cheadle Stockport SK8 2LA T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0161 491 4191 Direct F 0161 491 4409 Page 2 The attainment of pupils on entry to the school is broadly in line with national expectations, but there are variations between year groups with some groups being slightly below the expectation. Standards of attainment as shown by the unvalidated results at the end of Key Stage 1 in 2008 improved slightly overall, but remain broadly average. The results in reading declined slightly, but results in writing

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

improved. The school’s monitoring data show that the overwhelming majority of pupils in Year 2 made good progress to remedy the weaker progress they had made in Year 1. Progress in the foundation stage is now good.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

School assessment data and unvalidated results indicate that the standards achieved at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2008 were broadly similar with those attained in 2007. Overall standards of attainment are broadly average. However, there were significant increases in the proportion of pupils gaining the higher levels in the national tests in English and science. The school monitoring data indicate that progress has improved. The overwhelming majority of pupils made satisfactory progress and over three quarters made good progress during their final year in the school. The school’s monitoring data also show that progress is now satisfactory for the vast majority of pupils in Key Stage 2 and that in Key Stage 1 progress is good. However there remains some inconsistency in the rate of progress between year groups reflecting the legacy of underachievement.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

The improvement in the progress that pupils are making reflects the school’s success in addressing the weaknesses in teaching identified in the previous inspection. An extensive programme of staff development and targeted support has improved teaching. No inadequate teaching was seen during the inspection and some teaching was good. Lessons are effectively planned with clear learning objectives. In some classes the learning objectives could be further refined to make it clearer to pupils what they have to do to succeed. Activities are generally well matched to the range of abilities within groups. In the best lessons this matching of activities to the needs of small groups is particularly well developed and this approach should be disseminated more widely. The range of activities within lessons and the provision of clear time frames for their completion ensure that in most lessons a brisk pace is maintained. There is a need for these features of the best teaching now to be

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

consistently embedded in all classes. Pupils are responding well to the greater challenge in lessons and almost all approach their learning with enthusiasm and clearly enjoy coming to school. They are polite, behave well and work together harmoniously reflecting their good personal and social skills.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

The use of assessment to inform planning and to ensure that pupils know the next steps in their learning has improved. There are well established systems for assessing the attainment of pupils and monitoring their progress. This allows appropriate support to be provided to pupils when it is required. The use of teaching assistants to provide additional support is well established. Subject leaders analyse pupils’ work to identify areas for improvement and set targets for each class. In addition, pupils have individual targets to work towards. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and in many books comments include detailed advice on what the pupils Page 3 need to do to make further progress. It is a strength that pupils are well aware of the level at which they are working and what they have to do to reach a higher level.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

The local authority has provided effective support that has contributed to the improvements in pupils’ progress, the quality of teaching and assessment. The action plan developed by the local authority was well structured and integrated closely with the governors’ plan. Advice and support in establishing a system for monitoring and evaluating the quality of education has been effective. This has supported the development of an appropriate programme of professional development to address effectively areas requiring improvement. The local authority representatives, the school’s senior leaders and governors work together effectively to evaluate progress.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

I hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school.

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