Setting

Mrs J Rivans The Headteacher Winkleigh Community Primary School Farmer Frank's Lane Winkleigh Devon EX19 8JQ

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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 10 February 2009, for the time you gave to our phone discussions, and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. Please pass on my thanks to staff, governors and pupils for their warm welcome.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

Since the school was last inspected the number on roll has risen with more children in Reception than in the Year 6 cohort that left in summer 2008. The permanent teaching staff remain the same, but the Year 1/2 class is currently taught by a newly qualified teacher covering for maternity leave. As a result of a review of support staff provision, the school has not replaced a teaching assistant who left at the end of 2008. Two new governors have been appointed and the governing body is now complete.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

As a result of the inspection on 4 and 5 June 2008, the school was asked to:  improve the quality of teaching by using assessment information more effectively to plan lessons which provide pupils with sufficient challenge  monitor teaching and learning more thoroughly to ensure they are of a consistently high quality across the school  raise standards by setting more challenging targets, particularly for higher attaining pupils  ensure that procedures for safeguarding pupils meet current government requirements.

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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 pupils’ achievement.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

In a drive to improve the quality of teaching as required by the last inspection, the school has revised its procedures for assessing, recording and tracking pupils’ 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 progress. It has a much clearer picture of how individual pupils and the school as a whole are performing and can now identify how specific groups of pupils are doing. It now makes satisfactory use of this information to analyse what pupils know, understand and can do before setting targets for improvement. Because of this improving use of assessment, staff are more confident in their judgements of standards and are able to exemplify pupils’ achievement and progress. Inspection evidence indicates that standards are rising at the end of both key stages and are set to be better at the end of 2009 than in the previous year. With broadly average

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

standards likely at the end of Year 6 this represents good progress for these pupils, as standards were well below average when they started in Year 3. Improvements are primarily the result of the success of initiatives. These are to challenge and support higher attaining pupils to reach above average levels and ensure that those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve as well as they are able. However, there has been less success in mathematics in Years 1 and 2 and in writing across the school. Although more able pupils and those with particular needs are responding well to enhanced provision, pupils of average ability who have not been the focus of attention have not made comparable gains.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

The school’s records show that rates of progress vary from class to class with children making good progress in Reception, satisfactory progress in Years 1 and 2, but only adequate progress in Years 3 and 4. Rapid progress in Years 5 and 6, where pupils are effectively helped to overcome gaps in previous learning, is enabling pupils to reach the broadly average standards already referred to. There is a close match between how effectively pupils are taught in each class and the progress they make. A satisfactory range of improvements, which includes better planning and intensive staff training, are having a positive impact on pupils’ learning. There are good features, such as the use of learning objectives to set the aims of lessons and in how pupils are challenged to explain and express themselves through improved questioning techniques. That these have yet to be consistently applied in all classes explains variations in pupils’ progress.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

Satisfactory progress has been made in how teaching is monitored. There is appropriate consideration of the impact of provision on pupils’ learning. Senior staff have a secure understanding of strengths and weaknesses and observation and evaluations are satisfactorily documented. Subject leaders and governors have begun to monitor how effectively the curriculum is taught and link this to outcomes in pupils’ achievement. This represents a satisfactory improvement but still stops short of making a full contribution to the school’s self-evaluation and, consequently, educational direction.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

The support that the local authority gives the school is good. It ranges from subject specialist advisers modelling subject planning and leading staff training to working with the headteacher in analysing the school’s performance and deciding how improvements will be made. There is evidence that the statement of action which underpins the local authority’s support is having a positive impact on the quality of education provided. This is effectively translated from theory into practice through a variety of plans which, although they have not precisely followed the areas for Page 3 improvement raised by the last inspection, do provide sufficient support for school development and lay the foundation for its capacity to improve.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

The school has made good progress in addressing matters of safeguarding. The requirement to maintain a single central record of the checks made on staff, governors and volunteers working with pupils is now fully met. This is now consistent with the good physical and pastoral care reported in the last inspection which continues to support pupils’ good personal development.

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Ofsted monitoring of schools with a notice to improve

I wish you well for the future and hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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