Setting

Mr S Turner Killamarsh Junior School 38 Sheffield Road Killamarsh Sheffield S21 2EA

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Killamarsh Junior School

Following my visit with Isobel Randall, Additional Inspector, to your school on 17-18 March 2010, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Killamarsh Junior School

The visit was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures in June 2009. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Killamarsh Junior School

Progress since being subject to special measures – inadequate

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Killamarsh Junior School

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Killamarsh Junior School

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

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Killamarsh 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 Children’s Services for Derbyshire.

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Her Majesty's Inspector

Serco Inspections Boundary House 2 Wythall Green Way Middle Lane BIRMINGHAM West Midlands B47 6LW T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0121 683 2083 Direct email : holly.cooper@serco.com Page 2

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, the senior leaders, the chair of governors, parents, groups of pupils, the special educational needs coordinator and a representative of the local authority.

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Context

A Year 4 teacher has been absent through illness since December 2009. A temporary teacher has been appointed to cover her teaching duties. Another Year 4 teacher is currently taking maternity leave. The deputy headteacher, who was relieved of her teaching duties to strengthen the effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school, is now teaching full-time in Year 4 to cover this maternity absence.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

The school’s tracking information shows that, since the last inspection, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has improved. Currently, pupils’ attainment is broadly average in Years 3 and 5 but remains below average in Years 4 and 6. Although most pupils are reaching their age related levels in reading and some exceeding them, boys’ attainment in writing remains low, especially in Years 5 and 6.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Because of the initiatives put into place to improve the quality of teaching, pupils’ progress is beginning to accelerate in all year groups and is better than at the time of the last monitoring inspection. Despite better teaching, pupils’ progress in Year 4 is not accelerating as quickly as in other year groups. This is because there are many gaps in pupils’ basic literacy and numeracy skills and pupils have not yet developed good learning habits with high expectations of their own achievement.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Pupils’ behaviour is good and is managed well by all the teachers observed during the inspection. Regular positive reinforcement of good work and behaviour helps raise pupils’ self-esteem and promotes good attitudes to learning. When pupils are given the opportunity to work together and discuss their work, they do so in a mature and supportive manner.

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The effectiveness of provision

Local authority monitoring reports and observations during the inspection show that the quality of teaching has improved and is now much more consistent. In Year 4, Page 3 where there was previously a significant proportion of inadequate teaching, there have been considerable improvements. Classroom routines have been established, teachers have higher expectations and lessons are calmer and more orderly.

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The effectiveness of provision

The work undertaken to improve teachers’ understanding of the need to plan carefully the small steps in learning is beginning to have a positive impact. During the recent inspection the proportion of good and outstanding teaching observed was higher than at the previous monitoring inspection. Although there are still some inconsistencies, teachers’ ability to assess pupils’ attainment against national curriculum levels has improved and this information is beginning to help teachers match work more closely to pupils’ capabilities. The system to track pupils’ progress is now much more embedded and the school is better placed to identify underperformance of individuals and groups. Consequently, pupils who need additional support are now identified earlier and helped more quickly. Progress of the pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is beginning to be tracked and monitored much more closely and provision for these pupils is now more

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last visit on the area for improvement:

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The effectiveness of provision

Raise standards, particularly in English, to above the national average and accelerate the rate of pupils’ progress by the end of Year 6 by:

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The effectiveness of provision

- improving the quality of teaching and learning so that it is at least good, and ensuring there is consistent effective practice throughout the school - ensuring that assessment information is used effectively to set work that accurately matches the next steps in all pupils’ learning - providing training for staff to ensure accurate grading of pupils’ work in English, mathematics and science according to the National Curriculum levels – satisfactory

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

There is now a clear vision for the future and a strong desire by all leaders to drive improvement through developing their own skills and improving the quality of teaching and learning. The monitoring and evaluation skills of all leaders have improved since the last inspection and systems for school self-evaluation have continued to be embedded. Support from the local authority and the school’s own in- house training have helped leaders improve their skills of data analysis, lesson observation and scrutiny of pupils’ work. Leaders are now using this information more rigorously to evaluate the impact of new initiatives on pupils’ achievement and to identify areas for improvement. The headteacher has become more directly involved in supporting and monitoring the quality of pupils’ learning in lessons. The Page 4 improving skills of the senior leaders has meant that the change of the role of the deputy headteacher to one of full-time class teacher has been achieved without any

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

significant weakening of the leadership and management of the school. Teaching assistants have received training and most are now much more actively involved in planning with teachers and supporting pupils’ learning.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last visit on the area for improvement:

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Strengthen the effectiveness of leadership and management across the school by:

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

- increasing the amount of weekly management time for the deputy headteacher and the wider leadership team, to enable them to organise, structure and implement the monitoring, recording and evaluation of the performance of the school - using the information from monitoring and evaluation to address identified needs promptly and to record the outcomes - defining and developing the role of middle managers, subject leaders, coordinators and teaching assistants to help ensure that they have a consistently good impact on pupils’ achievement and standards - satisfactory.

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External support

The local authority continues to provide a good level of guidance for teachers and leaders and has correctly and accurately refined and focused its support following the findings of the last monitoring inspection. Senior leaders are appreciative of the support they receive. The current local authority support plan requires updating but does not need any major amendments or change of emphasis.

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Priorities for further improvement

There are no new priorities for further improvement. The school needs to embed the systems for monitoring and evaluating the work of the school and continue to develop teachers’ understanding of the need to be clear about what they want pupils to learn in lessons.

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