Our Lady of Walsingham
Catholic Primary School
|
Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Primary School |
|
|
Ofsted Letter |
|
|
|
Friday 12th March 2010 Dear Parents, I am delighted to say that we have now received our OFSTED inspection report. A copy of the full report will be available on the Ofsted website within the next 5 days or alternatively you may come into school to read the full report but I have copied for you the main findings and the areas that we now need to improve on in order to continue the progress that we have made. “The school has come a long way since
its amalgamation and now provides a good education for all pupils.” “The Headteacher
has been the leading player in driving changes through in an excellent
way. This has led to effective teaching and good progress. Staff say they
feel part of a united team all working together to meet agreed priorities.
Improved monitoring has been crucial to improvement. Staff have an
informed picture of pupils’ standards and are held accountable for the
progress of the pupils in their
class. Self-evaluation is detailed and accurate. It is effective in
identifying the correct priorities to move the school forward and ensures
capacity to improve is good. The focus has
rightly been on improving progress but this has not been at the expense of pupils’
enjoyment of school. Pupils flourish because of the good levels of care, guidance and
support the school provides. They have an excellent understanding of how
to keep themselves safe. Pupils say they feel safe at all times and the older pupils
are mature and very sensible. Behaviour is good and pupils play together happily and
energetically. Children start
school with a variety of skills which tend to be below the levels usually seen. They make
satisfactory progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage but attainment in
communication and language, and mathematical development remains below average when
they start in Year 1. Progress from Year 1 to Year 6 is good. Attainment is rising
and is securely average. Reading is a real strength. In mathematics
pupils are not always given enough opportunities to work independently at challenging
activities and the more able pupils do not always make enough progress. The rise
in overall standards is directly linked to good teaching. Many lessons include a
variety of different methods that sustain pupils’ learning. They enjoy practical
activities and discussing their ideas with others. In
the Early Years Foundation Stage it is not always clear what children are
to learn. This leads to children enjoying
activities but not always gaining new knowledge or skills. Since the last
inspection the school has improved as changes have embedded. Leadership teams
have been established and all are involved in monitoring and evaluating the work
of the school. Governors are supportive but do not have enough first-hand
experience to be involved in setting priorities or challenging decisions. What
does the school need to do to improve further? Ensure the more able pupils always make rapid progress in mathematics by: - checking that all
aspects of the National Curriculum receive enough attention - including more
open-ended activities that encourage pupils to be more independent
learners. Improve the progress children make in the Early Years Foundation Stage
by: - giving more
attention to extending children’s learning - clarifying the
management role and making more use of assessment information in
planning activities and deciding future priorities. Improve the governance of the school by: - involving governors more in making decisions about the school’s - extending
governors’ first-hand experiences of the school so that they are better informed
to ask questions and challenge decisions.” Your child will come home today with a
letter from the lead inspector explaining their findings and thanking the
children for making them feel so welcome. Please read it with them. We have been judged to be a good school with good capacity to improve further. This is something that we as a community should be very proud of – I certainly am very proud of our children, the staff and our school community. It is now more important than ever that we continue to work together to further improve our school over the next few years. B M Shiels Head Teacher |