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January 2009 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 1 18 May 2009

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Mrs G Daniels Headteacher Wellesbourne Community Primary School Abbotsford Road Liverpool L11 5BA

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 15 May 2009, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. I am also grateful to the chair of governors and the local authority (LA) for assistance with this visit.

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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 24 and 25 September 2008, the school was asked to:  Raise standards and improve achievement in writing and mathematics, particularly in Key Stage 2  Improve the way teachers use assessment information to make lessons more challenging and interesting, particularly for the more able pupils  Monitor and evaluate the impact of whole-school initiatives more rigorously.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a 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 the pupils’ achievement.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

Since the previous inspection, senior leaders have done a great deal to lay the foundations for improvements in pupils’ achievement and in teaching and learning. Decisive action has been taken in re-deploying staff and making sure that everyone knows what is expected of them. All staff are stepping up to the mark: morale is improving, expectations have been raised and staff are increasingly receptive to new ideas. As a consequence, the pace of change has accelerated, significant steps to prioritise actions have been taken and there is a strong momentum for improving the school. The school has taken every opportunity to benefit from the effective support of the LA to get back on track. In doing so, the school has improved the way that it monitors pupils’ performance and consequently has a much clearer CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 08456 40 40 40

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566 934 Direct F 01695 729 320 gtunnicliffe@cfbt.com

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PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 2 understanding of where improvement is required. As a result, pupils’ current work, together with the school’s own data, show that pupils are now making better progress than previously. Pupils in most year groups are beginning to catch up and close gaps in their learning. Provisional assessments this year indicate that increasing numbers of pupils are achieving the levels expected of them. In Year 6 the school’s assessment data show that 67% of pupils in writing and 73% of pupils in mathematics are on track to achieve the expected Level 4, representing increases of 30% and 8% on the 2008 results. Furthermore, whilst still below national averages, the proportions of pupils on target to achieve more highly than this at Level 5 are also increasing in reading, writing and mathematics.

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This rising trend is because the school has successfully introduced several new initiatives to raise pupils’ achievement, which in turn are leading to improvements in classroom practice. There are regular reviews of how well pupils are achieving. Pupils are making better progress in writing because of a whole school focus on the moderation of their work. There are clearer expectations of the progress pupils should make. Improvements to tracking systems are enabling staff to identify more clearly pupils who are underachieving and those capable of working at a higher level. Staff are taking greater responsibility and are held to account for their performance.

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Another factor contributing to rising standards is the increasing progress pupils make in lessons due to improvements in teaching and learning. The planning of pupils’ work is more focused on activities for different abilities. Teachers are gaining confidence in using assessments to judge the level of pupils’ work and in their understanding of what pupils can do and what they need to learn next. The whole- school focus on training and developing teachers’ awareness of effective practice is increasing the opportunities for pupils to become more engaged and work independently. In the very best lessons, the range of teaching styles allows pupils to flourish with a variety of exciting and challenging activities that encourage them to be active and communicate with others. For example, pupils in Year 6 were able to use their initiative and direct their learning by designing and testing their own models of a fairground ride. Where teaching is less strong, pupils’ work is sometimes

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over-directed and on occasions too many worksheets are used. Senior leaders are aware that the next challenge is to share the good practice that exists within the school.

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Much of the improvement in pupils’ learning, although not consistent in all lessons, is down to the strengthening of the way in which the school checks on the quality of teaching and judges the effectiveness of learning. Procedures for monitoring pupils’ progress in books and lessons are clearer. However, observations of teaching by senior staff lack a sharp enough focus on the progress pupils make in lessons with particular reference to the achievement of different groups such as the higher attainers and those who fall just above average. In addition, the scrutiny of pupils’ work does not focus sufficiently on how well pupils are learning to ensure that all pupils are challenged in their work.

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PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 3 Pupils have noticed that their lessons are more interesting and challenging. They talked with enthusiasm for activities that encourage them to think for themselves and where they can discuss and share their ideas with each other. They have positive attitudes to their learning and are keen to succeed: even when activities are less engaging they work hard and behave well. Increasingly pupils are very proud of their achievements: for example, one pupil reached the final in a recent competition to find ‘Liverpool’s Peoples Poet’ for 2009.

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There have been improvements in the way the school monitors and evaluates the impact of whole-school initiatives. Senior staff have been allocated time to scrutinise interventions and analyse the impact on pupils’ progress. This means that staff are more perceptive in making decisions about the suitability of strategies. As a consequence, the school is better placed to judge how well pupils are achieving and plan appropriate support.

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Governance is much improved. Governors continue to deepen their knowledge of the school’s performance through regular and timely reports. They are very well led and are increasingly confident in their role as improvement partners supporting, challenging and holding the school to account.

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Senior staff and governors, keen to move forward, are putting the concerns of the past behind them and have established a clear agenda for improving the school. The leadership team is under no illusions about the task that lies ahead. Whilst taking pride in recent improvements and setting the school on the right track, they realise that further work is still required to raise standards and overcome the legacy of underachievement.

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

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