Headteacher’s Report Extract

Section 1 – Context

Class Overview

Yr R30 Pupils

Yr 130 Pupils

Yr 229 Pupils

Yr 323 Pupils

Yr 421 Pupils

Yr 522 Pupils

Yr 623 Pupils

There are 178 pupils in the school (PAN 210). Two pupils one Y2 and one Y3 will be leaving the school at the end of term as they are moving out of the area. We have:

22% SEN (39 pupils)

15% FSM (20 pupils)

11% EAL (20 pupils) (23% EAL in Yr R)

12 pupils have joined the school this term. The vast majority of pupils joining the school are working below age related expectations. The staff have worked hard to support these pupils and as a result they have settled in well and made very good progress in a short time. Some of these pupils have had a very poor attendance record at their previous schools but this has improved and in some cases the improvement has been the result of the children themselves wanting to come to school every day.

Section 2 – School Improvement Plan Report

Objective 1: Teaching and Learning

I have monitored all teaching across the school – all teaching seen was good with satisfactory features, over 80% of teaching was good or better, one lesson observed was outstanding.

Action to improve teaching and learning

  • A range of half termly assessments have been introduced to identify progress and next steps eg assessment of phonic knowledge, number facts, times tables, spelling linked to linking sounds and letters phases.
  • Teachers have been looking at videos of lessons – good and outstanding lessons.
  • Teachers have been videoing their own lessons.
  • Teachers have observed outstanding teaching.
  • Advance Skills Teacher has been team teaching with two teachers in KS2 to build teachers confidence and expertise.
  • Parents have been provided with information to help pupils learn at home.
  • Home learning projects have been set up to enhance learning.
  • Parents are invited to come into school once a week to view pupils work and discuss any concerns with the class teacher.
  • Weekly homework club helps children who find it difficult to concentrate at home or children to prefer to stay and complete homework in school where support is available.
  • Marking policy has been reviewed and updated and agreed with staff.
  • Staff are now feeding back to pupils in books regarding their next steps for learning.
  • Booster sessions are held for pupils whose progress is not on track.
  • SEN pupils are assessed half termly to ensure interventions are effective.
  • Mathletics and Reading Bugs have been used to encourage home learning.
  • Training in teaching and assessing writing.
  • Training in meeting the needs of able pupils.
  • Training in improving teaching and learning in maths.
  • Training in meeting the needs of able pupils.
  • Training in assessment for learning.
  • Individual training for staff to meet own needs.
  • Teachers have reviewed their planning to ensure it identifies the needs of pupils of different abilities.

The information gained from monitoring teaching and learning is used to identify future training needs. Training on inset days has been attended by teaching and support staff.

Impact

  • Improvement in quality of teaching and learning
  • Progress of pupils
  • Pupils are more engaged in lessons.
  • Enthusiasm of pupils for learning. Pupils are actively seeking out staff to tell them when they have learnt their tables or improve their writing etc.
  • Increased participation in learning at home – all children in Yr 1 & 2 completed the home learning tasks set.
  • Increase in number of pupils participating in holiday reading challenge and weekly reading raffle.
  • Parents are more involved in learning e.g. parents taking children to London after they studied the Fire of London and grandparents contributing to WWII homework with memories of evacuees coming to stay locally.

Next Steps

  • Continue to develop Teaching and Learning.
  • Provide Opportunities for teachers to observe outstanding teaching.
  • Teachers to video lessons – peer observations of lessons.
  • Continue to review planning in light of changes to practise.

Objective 2: Leadership and Management

Rapid improvement in leadership and management is a key priority. I have met with members of the SLT and discussed their areas of responsibility from next term. They in turn will be meeting with the leaders in their curriculum areas to establish a meeting and reporting cycle. During these initial meetings I expect any training needs to be identified. These areas are now on the updated SIP which will be circulated to governors prior to the next FGB. I will be having regular 1:1 sessions with SLT to explore their impact on middle leaders and the wider impact on teaching and learning.

Staff absence continues to be an issue and SLT will be meeting with staff who are absent on their return to work. I will meet with any SLT members who return to work after a period of sick leave.

Governors need to understand their role as strategic leaders for the school and be visibly engaged in school improvement activities. I have met with the chair of governors and we have assigned areas of the school improvement plan to a number of governors. The chair and I will meet with all governors to discuss the monitoring activities and the links they will be making with members of the senior leadership team. Governors have revised and agreed the new visits policy and in the next GB meeting governors will decide and agree dates for monitoring activities which will enable the monitoring plan to be updated and re-circulated.

The chair has suggested that governor monitoring and governor training is a regular item on the agenda at FGB.

Action taken to Improve leadership and management

  • Meeting cycle with SLT & middle leaders
  • CPD review to identify training needs.
  • Performance management target setting reviewed to reflect school improvement priorities.
  • Middle leaders encouraged to take on more leadership opportunities
  • Discussions with LLP to identify other local schools with good L&M practices.
  • Visits to be arranged with agreed schools.
  • Middle leaders with strong leadership potential to be identified and developed through training and links with other schools.
  • SLT meetings now have clear structured agendas.
  • Evidence of SLT impact explored with middle leaders.
  • Regular monitoring of teaching and learning through learning walks.
  • Regular monitoring of leadership behaviours by SLT and middle leaders.
  • INSET programme revised to focus on improving teaching and learning and sharing the SIP with wider staff.
  • Governors roles in school improvement refined and allocated on the SIP.

Impact

  • SLT report greater confidence in engaging with wider staff.
  • Staff now clear about school improvement priorities and where their focus should be.
  • Engaging in sharing of good practice with other schools seen as hugely positive.
  • Weaker teachers engaging positively with ‘getting to great’ programme.
  • Consistency in addressing behaviour issues and low level disruption in lessons through increased confidence in SLT.

Next Steps

  • Ensure ALL staff (teaching and non teaching) engage with school improvement issues.
  • Improve communication with parents to ensure they are kept regularly informed about progress of the whole school as well as their own children.
  • Develop capacity on the GB to undertaken effective governor visits and provide useful feedback to school leaders.
  • Ensure succession planning on the GB is adequate.

Objective 3 - Pupil progress and attainment in reading

Improving reading has been a priority.

Action

  • Training has been provided on effective ways to accelerate progress in reading.
  • Support is provided for pupils who need to make accelerated progress.
  • A link has been formed with an Outstanding school and three members of staff have met with their staff member who leads on Reading.
  • Guided reading takes place daily.
  • Daily phonic sessions improve children’s ability to decode words.
  • Staff are now feeding back to pupils consistently regarding their next steps for learning.
  • Standardised reading tests are used to monitor progress.
  • Planning for reading is now consistent throughout the school.
  • Home reading rewarded and weekly raffle takes place for reading seven times a week.
  • Home-school reading diaries are being used more consistently by parents and staff.
  • Children are encouraged to use their own online library of books and complete the comprehension questions.
  • Key words are assessed monthly to monitor progress and effectiveness of teaching.
  • Half termly assessment of sounds to monitor progress and effectiveness of teaching.

Impact

  • The emphasis on daily story telling has helped to improve comprehension by increasing vocabulary and understanding of the text. It also exposes less able readers to texts at a level above their reading level.
  • When we first introduced the raffle only two children participated – we now have over twenty children participating on a regular basis.
  • Improvement in reading standards.
  • Increase in number of pupils reading regularly at home.

Yr 1

  • Pupils have made very good progress with their key words. In March eight children were able to read over 200 keywords: no children were able to read 400 keywords. In May fourteen pupils were able to read over 200 key words and five children were able to read 400 key words. Pupils who are able to read 400 key words are reading at a very good level for their age.
  • Two SEN pupils doubled their September key word score.
  • Lower ability pupils more than doubled their September score – this is very good progress.

Yr 2

  • In May seven pupils (24%) achieved above Age Related Expectations
  • We are on track for 30% to be working above Age Related Expectations and 93% to be working at Age Related Expectations

SEN

  • 84% made 2 months or more gain in reading between March and the end of May with 72% of pupils making a gain of four months or more.
  • There has been a good increase in key word and phonic knowledge of SEN pupils.

Next Steps

  • Improve comprehension skills
  • Increase number of pupils reading at home five times or more.
  • Give all children an opportunity to work with an author
  • Participate in world book day
  • Provide more opportunities for pupils to share books with adults
  • Provide more opportunities for older pupils to read with younger pupils
  • Develop further the links with the outstanding school for sharing of best practice

Objective 4 - Attendance

Improving attendance is a priority with all staff. We had a very good start to the term but during the last few weeks of the autumn term attendance dipped again due to illness. The vomiting virus has affected a large number of staff and pupils. To try and prevent the spread of the virus we have shared with parents the NHS guidance that pupils stay away from school for 48 hours after their symptoms have subsided. Chicken Pox has also hit Yr R and in one week we had 8 Yr R children absent in one day.

Action taken to improve attendance:

  • Weekly monitoring of attendance and punctuality by class to identify any issues at an early stage and take appropriate action.
  • Weekly reward – sticker/certificate for every child achieving 100% attendance.
  • The class with the highest attendance for the week is awarded the attendance bear – all classes are very eager to achieve this!
  • Termly certificate for every child with 100% attendance and name entered into a raffle for a prize.
  • Following an Inset training session, staff actively promoting the importance of attending school unless ill.
  • The class with the highest attendance for the week is awarded the attendance bear – all classes are very eager to achieve this!
  • Daily calls home to establish why pupils are not in school.
  • Involvement of school nurse where issue is medical.
  • Pupils returning to school after an extended period of absence are given support to catch up with work missed.
  • Regular contact with parents of children who are not attending due to illness to check on progress and offer support. Support for pupils returning after a long period of absence.
  • Regular reminders to parents about the importance of not taking children out of school in term time except in exceptional circumstances.
  • Team around the Child (TAC) meeting set up for pupils if measures put in place to improve attendance aren’t effective.
  • Any parents requesting leave for pupils during school time meet with HT to discuss the request. If pupils are taken out of school parents are given work for them to do.
  • When pupils transfer to the school we request their attendance record so we can identify any issues – if issues are highlighted HT meets with parents to discuss the reasons for the poor attendance and establish a way forward.

Impact

  • There has been a reduction in the number of requests as parents have now realised that holidays in school time will not be authorised.
  • One parent changed their holiday request to the school holiday period and another changed the plans so that the pupil was absent for two days instead of two weeks.
  • A number of parents have stated that in future they will book holidays during the school break.
  • Children see the importance of attending school. Parents tell us that children don’t want to stay at home even when they’re not well.
  • Improved attendance of pupils who join the school having had a poor attendance record.
  • Children are not being kept at home due to the illness of a parent or sibling.

Next Steps

  • Annual reward for all pupils achieving 100% attendance.
  • Work closely with pre-schools and nurseries to identify pupils with a poor attendance record.
  • Continue to monitor the absence of all pupils.
  • Parent Support Assistants to support vulnerable families.
  • Provide a mentor for pupils we are concerned about.

Questions you would ask the headteacher about this report

Induction pre-work Sept 2016Page 1