Setting

September 2008 Page 1 20 th November 2008

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Mr Chris Read, Headteacher, Attleborough Junior School, Besthorpe Road, Attleborough, Norfolk NR17 2NA

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

Following my visit with John Francis AI and David Wynford-Jones Additional Inspector, to your school on the 18 th and 19 th of November, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to confirm the inspection findings.

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

The visit was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures in January 2008. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

Progress since being subject to special measures - satisfactory

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

Newly qualified teachers may be appointed.

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the chair of governors and the Director of Education for Norfolk

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H M Inspector

Cambridge Education Demeter House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2RS T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01223 578500 Direct F 01223 578501 risp.inspections@camb-ed.com Page 2

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, leaders and managers, governors, teachers and pupils together with a representative from the LA. All classes were observed, as well as pupils’ work, and behaviour around the school.

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Context

A temporary seconded assistant headteacher continues in post.

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Achievement and standards

The most recent, unvalidated, national test results at the end of Year 6 show standards to be broadly in line with national averages for English and science, and a significant improvement on the previous year. A strong and effective focus on literacy has enabled pupils to develop their comprehension skills in reading, and gain a greater understanding of writing for different purposes. Mathematics remains an area for further improvement across the school and standards remain below those for English and science, particularly the proportion achieving at the higher levels. For most pupils, the rate of progress is increasing. Improvements to progress in other year groups are beginning to narrow the gap between pupils’ current achievement and the expectations for age. Teachers generally have higher expectations but there remains some variation in the progress pupils with the best progress in Years 4 and 6 where the quality of teaching is more consistently good.

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Achievement and standards

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:  Improve the rate of pupils' progress and raise standards in English, mathematics and science - good progress

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Quality of provision

The proportion of good or better teaching continues to increase. This is because the leadership team has rightly focussed on improving basic teaching skills. This includes extending the teachers’ knowledge of the revised plans for literacy and numeracy, implementing assessment systems and developing the teachers’ skills in matching Page 3 the work to the pupils’ needs and abilities. However, the impact of this work is variable. The school’s target of 80% good or better teaching by the end of the autumn term is challenging and has not yet been achieved. A significant number of lessons are still taught to a satisfactory standard. The best teaching occurs in Years 4 and 6. Pupils’ behaviour in all classes is managed well. As a result, classrooms are calm and pupils are increasingly enjoying their learning.

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Quality of provision

The improvements in teaching are most noticeable in literacy. Teachers’ improved subject knowledge is resulting in higher teacher and pupil expectations. Teachers ensure pupils write in different styles and for a range of purposes. The electronic whiteboards are increasingly being used to enhance learning and to bring an added stimulus to lessons. Pupils are given good advice on how to improve their work and to achieve their targets, especially in writing. However, these skills are not consistently reinforced through work in other lessons. In mathematics, teachers’ subject knowledge is not as secure. They do not challenge the potentially higher attaining pupils sufficiently. There are good examples of marking that identifies what pupils need to do to improve in English but in other subjects this is not the case. Pupils are increasingly being involved in setting success criteria for the outcomes for

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Quality of provision

lessons and assessing their own work and that of their peers. This is contributing to improving standards

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Quality of provision

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:  Improve the consistency of teaching and raise teachers' expectations of pupils' performance so that all groups of pupils are well motivated and learn effectively in each class – satisfactory progress

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Leadership and management

Since the last monitoring visit the school has consolidated many of the changes and improvements made and has introduced others. Much work has been undertaken on the improvement of teaching and learning, for example by peer observation and by teachers visiting other schools. As a result the proportion of good or better teaching has improved and standards have risen though not yet to above national averages particularly in mathematics. Leaders have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and learning across the school which has led to clearly identified actions for further improvement.

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Leadership and management

The school’s improvement plans and self evaluations are sufficiently detailed, with appropriate targets and monitoring identified. Governors continue to provide effective support and guidance. However the completion of actions and the meeting of targets is often incompletely documented in governors meetings. As a consequence the alignment of targets in development plans with their monitoring by governors lacks clarity. The school monitors the implementation of its policies, for Page 4 example for homework and marking, but the outcomes of this monitoring are not systematically reported to governors.

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Leadership and management

Middle leaders are supported well by the headteacher and governors and as a consequence they are becoming more effective in their leadership role. Performance management of staff is improving. The use of data to track pupils’ progress has improved markedly with the installation and use of new software. As a consequence individual target setting is now used across the school and progress against targets is increasingly well monitored. Further development of this tool will enable detailed evaluation of the performance of different groups within the school. Communications between staff remain good, and morale is high.

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Leadership and management

Progress since the last visit on the areas for improvement:  Improve the quality of leadership and management, and make sure that leaders and managers are effective in evaluating the work of the school and ensuring that policies are implemented consistently: - satisfactory

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External support

The local authority continues to provide extensive and effective support. This includes a seconded assistant headteacher, together with resources to enable staff to visit other schools to disseminate the best practice.

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Priorities for further improvement

Inspectors have not identified any further areas for improvement.

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Priorities for further improvement

Please email this letter to the Ofsted email postbox for the region in which the school is based: SouthSIQA@ofsted.gov.uk or North_SIQA@ofsted.gov.uk or Midlands_SIQA@ofsted.gov.uk for quality assurance .

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