Schoolimprovementplanforwealdcommunityprimary School

SCHOOLIMPROVEMENTPLANFORWEALDCOMMUNITYPRIMARY SCHOOL

“Independence is Happiness”

Section A: Introduction

The priorities for action have been identified through a process of consultation involvingINSET for staff and governors, Parents’ Forum and Pupil Forum meetings. Discussions focused on recommendations made by Ofsted (October 2011) as well as findings from the school’s self-evaluation and monitoring systems (data tracking & analysis; pupil progress cycle; lesson observation; diagnostic learning walks; plan scans, work scrutiny, lesson study; governor visits etc).

The format of this plan has been designed to align self evaluation with the school improvement priorities

SEF: SECTION 8: Overall Effectiveness

WealdCommunityPrimary School provides a good quality of education for its pupils. Children enter Reception from different Nursery settings but primarily from WealdPre-School. The profile of pupils’ attainment on entry covers the full range, but overall is broadly above average (See EYFS data). By the time they leave school at the age of eleven, national test results show that pupils’ attainment in English and Mathematics is well above the national average (see ROL).

Cohort sizes have fluctuated in recent years owing to variations in the PAN imposed by Kent County Council. This has necessitated the addition of an extra class (5 to 6) to the school’s structure in September 2011 with discrete year groups in Years R, 1, 2 & 3 and two split classes at the top of the school (Years 4/5 and 5/6). The enhanced funding and associated grants that this attracted enabled the appointment of an additional teacher and the installation of a new modular building, housing two modern classrooms, cloakroom and toilet facilities.

Teaching was judged good at the last inspection and attainment and achievement were deemed to be outstanding. The school is committed to improving further the quality of learning and teaching across the school and, since the previous inspection (October 2011), a rigorous system for tracking the performance of individuals and groups has been introduced and embedded. This has highlighted the fact that some pupils who achieved Level 3 at the end of Year 2 “do not always make the progress of which they are capable from Year 3 onwards”. Thorough approaches to staff development and the introduction of pupil progress meetings have addressed these issues. As a result, all staff assume accountability for the performance of the children they teach.

Recent changes to, and the re-organisation of, the staff team have strengthened the qualityof education throughout the school. From September 2012, a renewed emphasis was placed on attainment and achievement of children in Years 5 and 6. The protection of dedicated leadership time for the Deputy Headteacher and The Leader of Learning Success (SENCO) has served to provide high level support for learning and teaching in general, the GRTP programme and SEN provision. External expertise (bought in through KCC and The Sevenoaks Partnership) ensures that, in addition to targeted support for pupils, members of staff have access to specialist knowledge, skills and training to help them plan to meet the needs of all children within their class. The school continues to focus on ensuring that more able pupils are helped to reach the higher levels. The impact of a more creative curriculum has begun to have positive outcomes through the improved quality and quantity of writing. However, attainment in Writing at both Key Stages One and Two remains a sharp focus with the emphasis for the academic year 2014-15 being placed firmly on the improvement of Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation.

The staff team is united in the pursuit of an ambitious vision for the children of Weald CPS. Pupils enjoy coming to school, feel safe and understand what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle (pupil and parent surveys). Leadership roles and responsibilities have been re-defined and the Governing Body has been restructured to reflect school development priorities and the class structure of the school. Class Teachers and Teaching Assistants have been encouraged to record, monitor and analyse performance data for individual pupils and groups and the impact of provision in their classes (see monitoring files). They have shared this practice with staff (both at Weald and with local schools) through activities such as work analysis and lesson study. Leaders regularly monitor teaching through lesson observations, learning walks and and the “Staff Development” cycle and, where any inconsistencies are identified in levels of challenge and expectations for pupils, these are quickly addressed. The Lesson Study Approach is now well embedded at Weald and this focus on improving children’s learning has been extended to a collaborative venture with LeighPrimary School.

“Children get a good start to school in the Reception Class. They clearly enjoy learning and settle well in a happy, purposeful environment”. Planning is thorough and appropriate activities are provided from which children can choose in indoor and outdoor settings. “Children are encouraged to develop their independence” and to “learn to take responsibility” The quality of interactions between adults and children is consistently high and this helps to accelerate learning by stimulating “children’s enquiring, curious minds in all areas of learning”. The teacher assessment data at the end of EYFS is moderated by an external assessor and provides an accurate reflection of the stages of pupils’ development (See LA audit).

The latest rounds of pupilprogress meetings (October 2014) offers strong evidence that a large majority of children across the school are making expected or better progress. The 2014 attainment in Reading, Writing, GPSand Mathematics at KS2 was well above Kent and National averages. However, attainment in Writing at KS1 is significantly below Kent and National averages and progress in Writing between KS1 & 2 is marginally below Kent and National averages. Projected outcomes for Summer 2015 are promising (see Page 10) given the nature of the cohort variation between 2014 & 2015.

This shows the positive impact of leadership at all levels and, at this stage of the school’s development and demonstrates the building of outstanding capacity to improve.

(Quotes from last Ofsted report – October 2011)

Monitoring and Evaluation of Progress

This School Improvement Plan will be monitored and evaluated by the Governing Body according to the following procedures and schedule:

Learning & Development Team: Section 1 (relating to Behaviour Management and attitudes to learning); Section 2 (Teaching) and Section 3 (Achievement); Section 4 (Early Years); Section 6 (SMSC) & Section 7 (SEND)

Strategy Team: Section 1 (Safeguarding); Section 5 (Leadership & Management); Section 8 (Overall Effectiveness)

Resources Team: (Aspects of Section 1; for example Health & Safety)

The above teams will report three times per year to the Full Governing Body.

ABBREVIATIONS:

BL = Book LooksHTO = Headteacher ObservationsPTA = Parent Teacher Association

DHT = Deputy HeadteacherIM = Internal ModerationROL = RaiseOnlineSignificant

DW = Diagnostic WalkLS = Lesson StudySM = Staff Meetingsprogress

EM = External ModerationLTM = Leadership Team MeetingsSTM = Strategy Team Meetingstowards

GB = Governing BodyPF = Parents’ ForumTAM = Teaching Assistant Meetingssatisfying

GV = Governor VisitsPPM = Pupil Progress MeetingsT & L = Teaching & Learningpriority

HT = HeadteacherPSM = Partnership Schools Moderation

Core Area 1: The behaviour and safety of pupils at the school – Current Judgement 2

• April 2015: All learning and teaching in the core subjects to be at least Good and 25% to be outstanding

• July 2015: All teaching and learning in the school to be at least Good and 50% outstanding

Core Area 2: The quality of teaching in the school – Current Judgement 2

Core Area 3: The achievement of pupils at the school – Current Judgement 2