Setting

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

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and Nursery, Nuneaton

Following my visit to your school on 6 and 7 November 2008, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector to confirm the inspection findings.

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and Nursery, Nuneaton

The visit was the fourth 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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and Nursery, Nuneaton

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory.

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and Nursery, Nuneaton

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – good.

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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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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 Page 2

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Evidence

The inspector observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and pupils’ books, and met with the headteacher and other senior staff, the learning mentor, the chair of governors and school intervention inspector. Discussions were also held with pupils.

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Context

One class is being taken by a supply teacher as a result of a long term staff absence.

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Achievement and standards

More pupils are now making at least satisfactory progress as a result of better teaching and the good use of the school’s pupil tracking systems. Pupils in Years 1, 5 and 6 are consistently achieving well. Evidence from school data, pupils’ work and discussions with staff indicate that current standards in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 2 are broadly average and this indicates a continued trend of improvement over the last two years.

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Achievement and standards

The national test results for 2008 in Year 6 showed a significant improvement on 2007 in English, mathematics and science despite being well below average overall. However, the results in English were significantly weaker than those in mathematics and science. Standards are on course to improve again in 2009 particularly in reading and mathematics, but standards in writing are still low. The school is looking to address the pupils’ weaknesses in English through a number of initiatives. Greater focus is being placed on guided reading and the ‘Big Write’ has been successfully introduced into Key Stage 2. Pupils state that their writing has already begun to improve as a result of this and scrutiny of their books would support their view. Pupils are also very clear that their teachers have high expectations about their extended writing and what they should be including in their work. For example, in a Year 5 lesson observed during the visit, examples of similes, onomatopoeia,

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Achievement and standards

adjectives and personification were expected as the pupils recounted their thoughts and ideas based around a picture called ‘The Frozen Moment’. As a result of these sessions, pupils are enthusiastic about writing and are becoming more successful at producing extended pieces of work. This was seen to good effect in Year 6 as pupils worked extremely hard and conscientiously at producing writing that contained ‘flashbacks’.

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Achievement and standards

Frequent staff absence and less effective teaching in the early years of Key Stage 2 are still providing the school with a significant challenge. It is a much weaker picture than the rest of the school. Despite the school’s best efforts to resolve this situation, Page 3 pupils’ progress is inconsistent and does not match up to that found in other year groups. This is reflected in the school’s own data and monitoring evidence and work in books and lessons.

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Achievement and standards

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:  improve progress and the standards attained by pupils throughout Years 1 to 6 – satisfactory.

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Personal development and well-being

Attendance levels are lower than at the time of the last visit and well below average. Despite this, the school, through its learning mentor and attendance coordinator, is doing its best to improve pupils’ attendance and punctuality. The main reason for the drop has been unauthorised holidays and a small group of pupils who have poor attendance records that are disproportionately influencing the overall attendance figures. The school works appropriately with outside agencies to support pupils and parents and this is proving helpful. Punctuality has improved significantly and there is now an urgency at the beginning of the day for pupils to arrive for registration and lessons on time.

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Personal development and well-being

Those pupils who attend regularly enjoy school and behave well. Most are polite and welcoming and now talk confidently and enthusiastically about their work. Pupils work well independently and in groups. The school atmosphere is calm and settled.

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Personal development and well-being

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:  work closely with parents to improve pupils’ attendance – satisfactory.

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Quality of provision

Pupils state that they are now enjoying lessons even more and feel that they are making better progress. Improved lesson planning and target setting mean that pupils have a much better idea of what they should be aiming for, what they need to do to improve, and of how well they are doing. Where this works well it is good, but this improved practice is still not consistent in all classes. Although there are good examples of developmental marking that reflect the expectations of the school’s marking policy, there are times when insufficient advice is provided for pupils to improve their work.

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Quality of provision

Time is now provided for pupils at the beginning of the day to read and act on teachers’ suggestions for improvement. However, pupils acknowledge that they sometimes forget to do this and not all of them remember to self-assess their work at the end of lessons. A few of the younger pupils are not given enough guidance about their targets and what they are for. Overall, academic guidance has improved significantly and older pupils in particular talk confidently about the National Curriculum sub-level they are working towards. Page 4 Lesson planning in English and mathematics is still of good quality. One of the reasons for this is the rigorous monitoring of planning in these subjects by the subject leaders. Planning clearly outlines the learning for the different ability groups within a class. In a few less effective lessons, expectations of what all pupils can achieve is sometimes still too low, although this is becoming less of an issue.

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Quality of provision

Teachers clearly express the learning outcomes to their pupils and, in return, pupils generally have a clear understanding of what they are trying to achieve. Good use is made of ‘talking partners’ and speaking and listening skills are promoted far more readily. There has also been an improvement in the quality of questioning offered to pupils. Good work has been undertaken to improve the pupils’ learning environments. Classrooms are colourful and, in the main, interestingly arranged. The pupils value the displays. Teachers have benefitted from the good training and support to improve the quality of teaching that has been provided internally and externally by the local authority.

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Quality of provision

Teaching assistants generally contribute well to pupils’ learning, although there are a few occasions when they can be too passive particularly at the beginning of lessons. Pupil tracking is well embedded at the school and there are clear and well organised intervention programmes for pupils with learning difficulties. Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an appropriate development priority at the school. Provision is developing and better resources are now on offer in the ICT suite. Year 6 pupils were observed successfully reinforcing their understanding of their maths topic using computers, whilst Year 3 created myths and legends as part of their literacy work. Teachers generally use ICT well to make learning more interesting.

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Quality of provision

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:  ensure that teaching and the curriculum are closely matched to the needs of all pupils so that they do as well as they should – good  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 – good.

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Leadership and management

The improvement in leadership and management identified at the last monitoring visit has been maintained. The headteacher and senior leadership team have continued to improve and consolidate the good work seen previously. The subject leaders for literacy and numeracy are particularly effective and have played a significant role in improving pupils’ achievement and standards in their subjects. Key stage leaders, who are all good role models, are able to effectively support and nurture their key stage colleagues. The number of meetings with class teachers to discuss pupils’ progress has been increased. The school has taken a more proactive role in strategic development and appropriate professional development is planned accordingly. Monitoring and evaluation are clearly linked to improvement planning and are undertaken rigorously. Overall, expectations have risen considerably over the last year for both pupils and teachers. This can be seen through the

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Leadership and management

improvements at the school. With good support from the local authority, the Page 5 headteacher has shown great determination to improve provision, raise standards and develop the role of other colleagues. She has successfully confronted weaknesses in teaching, although there are still issues about improving teaching in Years 3 and 4. Governors continue to be supportive of the school and are pleased about the strides that have been taken with regards school improvement. However, there is scope for them to become more involved in strategic development, self- evaluation and monitoring. Links with the local and wider community are limited and stakeholders, such as parents, could be included more in the school’s development.

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Leadership and management

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:  rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of provision in each class and take swift action to rectify weaknesses – good.

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External support

The local authority has provided good support through the school intervention inspector and other external staff. Intensifying Support Programme has been successfully introduced at the school and is having a beneficial impact on the quality of teaching and learning and pupils’ progress. Audits and have been carried out by external providers which have enabled the school to take a broader look at their provision for example, the Early Years Foundation Stage and ICT.

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