Conifers Primary School
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23
November 2010 Dear
Parents Earlier
this month, the school received an Ofsted monitoring inspection. The outcome of
this visit was very positive for the school and agreed with our own evaluation
that we are indeed a good school, with outstanding behaviour of children. Jane
Neech, Her Majesty’s Inspector reported: Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this
time the school has made good progress in making improvements and good progress
in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement. The legacy of underachievement in writing has been securely turned
around and there is an improving trend. In the most recent school tests for
2010, pupil attainment at the end of Year 6 was above average. Key Stage 1
national test results show that younger pupils’ attainment in writing has been
above average for the last 2 years. The current attainment of Key Stage 2 pupils
is broadly average, given their different abilities and starting points. The
relentless focus on writing has resulted in good progress in raising attainment
in this key skill. The introduction of writing about real life events has
appealed to boys and, consequently, the quality of their work is often high.
They enjoyed, for instance, being newspaper editors and creating headlines from
topical stories. The range of writing now covered in the improved curriculum
means that pupils can apply their skills in different contexts, such as poetry.
An older pupil wrote the following as part of a poem relating to the local
seaside area, ‘Polishing the smooth sand, the furious waves frothed!’ The
youngest children are keen to write. For example, in the Reception class, a
spaceship controller was worried he had lost a spaceship on the way to Mars and
wrote notes in the Space Log Book. Displays of writing throughout the school
begin with celebrating the youngest children’s mark-making and continue with
examples of high-quality presentation in all classes. Improved tracking and
analysis of data has enabled the school to close the gap between the attainment
of those pupils who are entitled to free school meals and those who are not.
Consequently, all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or
disabilities, make faster progress in relation to their starting points. Until
recently pupils, including more able pupils, were performing better in writing
than in reading but recent results show that performance in reading is also now
improving. Parents appreciate the care and guidance afforded to their
children. In a letter to the inspection team, one parent wrote, ‘My son and
daughter are thriving since becoming part of the Conifers family… I think the
care and support provided are outstanding’. Discussions with pupils reflect
the same level of confidence as pupils report they enjoy coming to school and
meeting their friends. They are enthusiastic about lessons which are now more
active and interesting. Pupils feel safe in school and know who to talk to if
they have a worry or concern. Behaviour in class is exemplary and pupils work
well together. For example, they discuss the merits of their writing and ask one
another for help with spelling words. Pupils know how to keep themselves healthy
and enjoy taking part in a range of sports. Several pupils spoke with pride
about their participation in the local carnival which is a good example of the
level of community involvement. Work based around being a Teachers’ consistent format for planning is generally adjusted to
meet the differing needs of pupils. Effective teaching of writing is underpinned
by teachers’ good subject knowledge. Lessons are exciting, challenging and
move along at a good pace and a range of learning techniques and high-quality
resources are used to develop pupils’ vocabulary and stimulate their
imagination. For example, pupils handle fossils from the local area to develop a
range of descriptive words in preparation for narrative writing. Pupils know
their own targets for improvement. Their involvement in assessing their own work
helps them know what the next steps are and how to improve their writing. Pupils
report that they like the teachers’ marking because it tells them how well
they are doing. Pupils make good progress in lessons when learning is active.
For example, younger pupils act out the middle part of their story in pairs
using puppets as props. Pupils with special educational needs and/or
disabilities work independently as a result of work set, which enables them to
make progress during the lesson. Occasionally tasks planned by teachers for
groups are not always broken down to enable individuals to practise their
writing skills and move forward at a fast pace. The high ambition and relentless drive of the headteacher and
senior leadership team are unquestionable. Their focus on school improvement has
been successfully cascaded down to middle managers, and in particular the
English subject leader who has a clear understanding of her role. As a result,
she has created appropriate action plans to improve pupils’ skills in writing;
these include a staff audit, monitoring, training and support ensuring that all
teachers have good subject knowledge in English. Any weaknesses in teaching of
English have been quickly identified by the leadership team and the appropriate
support and challenge put in place so that all pupils make good progress.
Through regular pupil progress meetings, the headteacher has ensured that all
teachers are accountable for the progress of their pupils in writing. The
joined-up approach of senior leaders has meant that leaders responsible for
tracking the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or
disabilities have ensured that all adults working with individuals and groups of
pupils are well trained, particularly in the teaching of phonics and writing.
The governing body now has a much sharper understanding of its role. Together
with senior leaders, they have ensured that the school rigorously monitors and
evaluates its work. They have carried out their own self-evaluation of skills,
and individual governors are now well matched to areas of the school’s work,
such as a link governor for English. This has contributed to a much more
proactive approach in supporting and challenging the school’s work. The school has made effective use of good-quality support and
training from the local authority. Effective guidance and challenge from the
School Improvement Partner has continually challenged and supported the senior
leaders and the governing body. This has enabled them to consistently focus on
school improvement and to build a good capacity for further improvement. I am sure that you join the
Staff and Governors in celebrating such a glowing report and I would also like
to thank you for your continued support. Yours sincerely HEADTEACHER |
