Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mr M Sheppard Acting Headteacher Ash Green Community Primary School Mixenden Road Mixenden Halifax HX2 8QD

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literacy

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 1 December 2009 to look at work in literacy.

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literacy

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

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literacy

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: discussion with you and the acting deputy head; examination of some of the school’s documentation; observation of a Year 6 literacy lesson and an intervention session for Year 6 pupils; a brief examination of Year 6 pupils’ literacy books; a more detailed examination of the records of a small group of specific pupils and a discussion with those pupils.

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Features of good practice observed

 The overwhelming commitment from the school’s leaders and managers to ensure that no child is left behind means that, as far as is possible, every pupil is supported to reach at least Level 4 in English by the end of Year 6.  The school’s procedures for monitoring the progress made by pupils are comprehensive, effective and regular. As a result, there is early identification of pupils in danger of stalling or falling behind in their progress and teachers provide appropriate support for them.  The quality of care, expertise and knowledge in matters pertaining to literacy is high. The pupils at Ash Green are in good hands. The school has a well-developed system of pastoral care. It is provided by a team of well- qualified and experienced staff who focus on pastoral and social matters that could, potentially, be barriers to achieving well. This allows the teaching staff to focus on providing high-quality and consistent teaching of

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Areas for development

 We discussed the performance of boys and pupils in receipt of free school meals in the Key Stage 1 national assessments. You may wish to consider monitoring the progress of these groups even more carefully as they move through Year 3 and Key Stage 2.

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Areas for development

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop literacy in the school.

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Areas for development

As I explained previously, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority and will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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