Setting

Ms Sarah Poole Headteacher West Street Community Primary School West Street Colne Lancashire BBE 0HW

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 10 December 2009, for the time you gave to our discussions and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. Please pass on my thanks to the governors that I met and to the representative of the local authority.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

As a result of the inspection on 19 – 20 November 2008, the school was asked to raise standards and achievement by improving the proportion of good teaching. It was also asked to inject more rigour into its monitoring processes and to improve the consistency of provision in the Foundation Stage.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made: satisfactory progress in making improvements and satisfactory progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Achievement is now satisfactory overall, but standards remain low. The results at Key Stage 2 have improved over the last 3 years reflecting improvements in mathematics and science. In the results of the Key Stage 2 tests in 2009 attainment was significantly below average in all subjects. This reflects inadequate achievement across the Key Stage. The progress made by the pupils in their final year at the school was good. Standards currently remain low across the school reflecting the very low standards of pupils on entry to the school particularly in language and mathematical awareness and the limited progress pupils have made in previous years. The school’s tracking data, moderated by local authority staff, show that the majority of pupils in each year group are now making satisfactory progress and Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View White Moss Business Park Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 08456 40 40 40

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566 930 Direct F 01695 729 320 Page 2 some make good progress albeit from a low starting point. Progress is strongest in upper Key Stage 2.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

The overall standard of teaching seen during the inspection was satisfactory. Your assessment of the quality of teaching and learning during our joint lesson observations was accurate. Your records and those of the local authority officers show that teaching within the school has improved since the inspection and there are an increasing number of good features. These include planning that is more detailed and generally defines learning objectives clearly. The relationships with pupils are now good and behaviour in lessons and around the school has improved. However, there remain areas for further development if progress is to become consistently good. Greater pace of learning needs to be engendered within lessons by ensuring that all tasks fully meet the needs of all abilities and that there are high expectations of the amount of work that pupils should complete. Efforts to improve the consistency of provision within the Early Years and Foundation Stage are

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

beginning to pay dividends, but developments need to be embedded. Despite this the progress of pupils in this stage is good overall.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

You have developed the monitoring systems within the school well. There is a detailed calendar of monitoring events that covers pupils’ work, planning and teaching. Training has been provided by the local authority in both work scrutiny and lesson observations for senior staff and the English co-ordinator; the coordinator for mathematics is currently absent. The results of monitoring are used well to focus staff development and target support. There is however scope to increase the impact of the monitoring of teaching by reporting in detail on pupils’ learning and the learning of different groups of pupils within lessons.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

The capacity of the school to improve has been strengthened. You have an increasingly detailed awareness of the strengths and areas for development within the school. The enhanced role of the subject co-ordinators, the training provided by the local authority and the detailed plans for improvement are all beginning to pay dividends. The governors now have a clear awareness of the strengths of the school and the areas requiring development and are not afraid to take difficult decisions. The governing body is extending its role of challenge well, particularly through the role of link governors. The local authority has provided a wide range of effective support for the school. The impact of this is seen in the improvement in rates of progress across the school and in the enhanced monitoring skills of staff.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

I 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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