Setting

Mr P Gosling The Headteacher Exeter Road Community Primary School Exeter Road Exmouth Devon EX8 1PU

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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 14 September 2010, for the time you gave to our phone discussion and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. Please pass on my thanks to Mrs Brice, Chair of Governors, for making her time available to me.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Since the previous inspection the governors have appointed a new headteacher and deputy head. The headteacher has been in post since April 2009.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

As a result of the inspection on 23 and 24 September 2008, the school was asked to:

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

 raise standards by ensuring that there is a greater proportion of good or better teaching  ensure teachers use assessment information more effectively to plan lessons which enable all groups of pupils to achieve well  strengthen the roles of senior and middle leaders in monitoring and evaluating the work of the school in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning  improve facilities for outdoor learning in the Early Years 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:

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

satisfactory progress in making improvements, and

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

satisfactory progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement. Tribal 1-4 Portland Square BRISTOL BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0845 123 6001 Direct F 0117 315 0430 Email : Fiona.allan1@tribalgroup.com Page 2 In the majority of lessons most pupils make satisfactory progress, although more able pupils are insufficiently challenged to reach higher levels of attainment. In a minority of lessons, predominantly in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, all pupils make good progress. The new headteacher has introduced a more robust system for tracking pupils’ progress and more effective intervention programmes to address underachievement. As a result of this, and the improvements in teaching, the school’s data indicate that attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 improved in 2010. It is now in line with the national average. Given the

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

low levels of literacy and general knowledge of the pupils when they enter the school, this demonstrates good achievement. However, the school’s data for 2010 indicate that standards of attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 remain well below average and current pupils in Year 6 are not on track to achieve challenging targets in 2011. Given the attainment of these pupils when they were in Key Stage 1, their achievement is satisfactory.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Satisfactory progress has been made in raising standards, improving teaching and ensuring teachers use assessment to enable all pupils to achieve. While standards of attainment in Key Stage 1 have risen due to improvements in teaching, they have not risen in Key Stage 2. This is because the quality of teaching in the majority of lessons remains satisfactory. In the good lessons seen, teachers use assessment information more effectively to plan work which enables all groups of pupils to achieve well. In these lessons, more able pupils are challenged to think independently. For example, in a Year 2 mathematics lesson more able pupils were asked to ‘form a good question’ to investigate numbers on a 100 square and to evaluate ‘the best question’ for the group task. While targets are set for individual pupils in English and mathematics, not all teachers are setting work at the various target levels, particularly in literacy. The pupils are not familiar with their targets and

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

are not always informed how to improve their work in order to reach them.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

The new headteacher is building capacity for improvement appropriately by strengthening the roles of senior and middle leaders in monitoring and evaluating the work of the school. This includes developing the leadership team’s skills in analysing progress information on different groups of pupils, and monitoring lessons and pupils’ work books. Teachers’ planning is not yet monitored and lesson observations are insufficiently focused on the different groups of pupils to ensure they are all making good progress. Nonetheless, the impact of the team is beginning to be seen in the improvements in the quality of teaching and learning, and progress in this area is satisfactory.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Good progress has been made in improving facilities for outdoor learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The Reception class has been relocated into new and extended learning areas. The indoor areas have immediate access to a well- resourced outdoor area which is used effectively to enhance the children’s learning. Page 3 Good support is provided by the local authority in the form of a targeted intervention and support programme. However, the support is too recent, having started in April 2010, to ensure the school has made good progress to date.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

The school’s procedures for safeguarding children meet requirements.

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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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