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16 June 2011 Headteacher Great Torrington Junior School Borough Road Torrington EX38 7NU Dear Mrs Brown Special measures: monitoring inspection of Great Torrington Junior School Following my visit with Charlotte Roberson, Additional Inspector, to your school on 1415 June 2011, I write on behalf of Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Education, Childrens Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. The inspection was the fourth monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in January 2010. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below. Progress since being subject to special measures good. Progress since previous monitoring inspection good. Newly Qualified Teachers may be appointed, up to a maximum of one. This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Childrens Services for Devon. Yours sincerely

Karl Sampson Her Majestys Inspector

Annex
The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took place in January 2010 In order to improve attainment and accelerate progress, ensure teaching is good or better in the majority of lessons in all classes by December 2010, making sure: teachers have high expectations of pupils and set targets which are both realistic and challenging teachers make effective use of all assessment information in order to plan and set activities which are closely matched to the pupils different abilities pupils are given detailed feedback and frequent opportunities to talk about and reflect on their learning and how to improve. Strengthen the impact of all leaders by: ensuring a clear focus on raising attainment and pupils progress implementing a systematic programme of robust checks on all aspects of performance, particularly the quality of teaching, from April 2010 improving the coordination of the provision for pupils with special educational needs, including staffing, from September 2010 ensuring the governing body seeks and receives detailed and accurate information about the schools performance, enabling it to hold the school to account. Establish and implement by September 2010 a clear curriculum framework which indicates how all subjects are planned coherently to ensure links are made between them and that there is progression in the key skills from one year to the next.

Special measures: monitoring of Great Torrington Junior School Report from the fourth monitoring inspection on 14 and 15 June 2011 Evidence Inspectors observed the schools work, visited seven lessons and a range of mathematics and literacy intervention lessons, scrutinised documents and met with the executive headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the English, mathematics and assessment leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, five members of the governing body, teachers and teaching assistants. Discussions also took place with groups of pupils and a representative from the local authority. Context Since the previous monitoring visit, there have been changes made to the schools staffing structure for September 2011. Consequently, two full-time and one parttime member of teaching staff and three teaching assistants will be leaving at the end of the summer term. Pupils achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning The pupils positive attitudes and enthusiasm for learning have contributed to the accelerated progress made by the majority of pupils. The cooperative culture and better focused teaching means that progress is now more consistent for all year groups. The schools monitoring of learning and progress is now fully embedded and provides leaders with regular progress information about individual pupils, groups and those involved in intervention programmes. As a result, the accuracy of assessment information enables classroom teaching and intervention to be better adjusted so that the gap between pupils attainment in school and pupil performance nationally is closing quickly. Current data and evidence from inspectors and senior leaders lesson observations show that the overall rate of pupils progress is accelerating. This is particularly evident in Year 6, where pupils are on track to achieve in line with national expectations in English and mathematics for the first time. Pupils in Year 5 are also making accelerated progress but the legacy of previous underperformance has meant that they are still a considerable distance away from achieving their challenging targets in 2012. Consequently, the school has further refined its provision to ensure that the progress for this year group continues to maintain an upward trajectory. Inspectors saw good examples of the impact of this work in Year 5 mathematics and literacy lessons as well as in intervention groups, where all pupils were making good progress in their learning as a result of these changes. Progress in other year groups is more variable between classes, especially in mathematics, but is nevertheless satisfactory overall. The work done by teachers

to encourage pupils to share and discuss their work is beginning to pay dividends, although again some variability in the quality of practice was observed between classes. The most recent school assessments indicate that pupils identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities are now making satisfactory progress. Overall, progress is stronger in reading and mathematics, although some unevenness still remains across year groups. Progress in writing continues to be a concern for this group of pupils and the school is developing its provision to enable teachers and teaching assistants to plan more closely to meet the individual needs of each child. Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the areas for improvement: In order to improve attainment and accelerate progress, ensure teaching is good or better in the majority of lessons in all classes by December 2010, making sure: teachers have high expectations of pupils and set targets which are both realistic and challenging teachers make effective use of all assessment information in order to plan and set activities which are closely matched to the pupils different abilities pupils are given detailed feedback and frequent opportunities to talk about and reflect on their learning and how to improve good. Other relevant pupil outcomes Pupils cooperate well and play safely with one another and are polite to staff and visitors. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good and the older pupils are very positive role models. This is both true of their commitment to study as well as their contribution to the school ethos. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning, especially when lessons are carefully planned and cater for their individual needs and interests. The pupils involved in a wide range of intervention programmes approach their additional learning activities with enthusiasm and consistently try their best to succeed. All pupils say how much they enjoy coming to school because of opportunities within the curriculum that make learning more interesting. Further evidence of this can be seen in the consistently high level of pupil attendance across the school. The effectiveness of provision The majority of the teaching observed at this visit is of good quality. Teachers have embraced change and have been effectively supported in improving their practice. They are increasingly confident and ambitious to improve, as evidenced by the greater emphasis on the development of engaging and carefully structured learning activities with the onus on pupils to drive learning forward. Consequently, pupils are far more engaged and teachers are enjoying their teaching. Significant training has also been provided for teaching assistants and their capacity to support pupils

effectively is growing. A peer-assessment programme has been put in place to give teachers more opportunity to share, observe and evaluate each others teaching and its impact on pupil learning. This has been warmly received by teachers but it is still too early to assess the extent of its influence on day-to-day practice. In the best lessons it was evident that the teacher and teaching assistant had planned together expertly to tailor the learning so that it specifically meets individual need. For example, a Year 5 mathematics lesson was built around a challenging and exciting series of big mathematical problems which pupils worked on very effectively in mixed-ability groups. Throughout the lesson the emphasis was on the development of pupils talk for maths so that thinking was verbalised, captured and later articulated and discussed with the rest of the class to test out its quality. The teacher and teaching assistant dovetailed seamlessly to meet a complex and diverse range of pupil learning needs. Pupils enjoyment was evident; they were engrossed in the task and all made accelerated progress as a result. This lesson was typical of where learning and progress were most effective. In such lessons assessment information is used deftly to plan activities that are well matched to individual pupils needs and there is a relentless focus on the quality of learning. In less effective lessons, although teachers are using pupils prior assessment information to plan, sometimes the activities are not sufficiently focused on what and how the teacher wants the pupils to learn. Teachers sometimes miss opportunities to set expectations of the quality of work required or to take the opportunity to explore with pupils the most effective way to tackle a learning activity. Consequently, achievement is not always maximised because pupils lack clarity with regard to success criteria and/or misconceptions are allowed to develop and not addressed quickly enough when they are identified. The quality of marking is improving and is increasingly consistent. Pupils clearly understand the system and it is usually well implemented by teachers. Pupils say how much they enjoy the chance to engage in a dialogue about their work and respond to teachers comments through correcting and revisiting work in the light of identified next steps. However, the opportunity to do this is not yet consistent both within and across year groups. Assessment information gained from marking and from intervention work with teaching assistants is not yet always used to refine and reshape planning to effectively meet pupils individual needs, and progress is slowed. The new curriculum continues to be developing well and teachers, pupils and parents say how much they like the approach because it caters more closely for the interests and learning needs of the pupils. Good opportunities are taken to use cross-curricular work, especially as a vehicle to develop pupils writing for different audiences and purposes. However, the limited role of the subject leader in supporting teachers to plan for subject-specific skill progression can hamper the development of pupils skills within the foundation subjects. This is most noticeable in teachers comments on cross-curricular pieces of work, where, regardless of the

context, the teacher comments tend to identify next steps in literacy and writing development rather than offer specific subject guidance. The school recognises this issue and is working hard to develop the role of subject leaders and their influence across the curriculum. Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the areas for improvement: Establish and implement by September 2010 a clear curriculum framework which indicates how all subjects are planned coherently to ensure links are made between them and that there is progression in the key skills from one year to the next good. The effectiveness of leadership and management The headteacher has an excellent understanding of the school and its key priorities. Her expert and energetic leadership allied with the stability and confidence that she brings ensure that pupils overall achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning continue to improve. Her partnership with the governing body has ensured that the school has established robust assessment processes to accurately track the progress of individuals and different groups of pupils. Senior leaders have grown in confidence and established a stronger position from which to carry out their leadership roles, provide clear direction and focus on school improvement based upon accurate data. Leaders and the governing body are aware of the progress they have made and are fully involved in reviewing the action plans, although the overlap and repetition within the plans can be a distraction. The underlying culture, philosophy and infrastructure are now in place to help the school drive forward in its development. However, in order to ensure that progress is accelerated for all groups of pupils the school must ensure that such principles are embedded into day-to-day practice and applied consistently across the school. Although developing their expertise, leaders of foundation subjects have yet to play a sufficiently strong enough role in the development of subject-specific skills and progression for all pupils across the curriculum. Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the areas for improvement: Strengthen the impact of all leaders by: ensuring a clear focus on raising attainment and pupils progress implementing a systematic programme of robust checks on all aspects of performance, particularly the quality of teaching, from April 2010 improving the coordination of the provision for pupils with special educational needs, including staffing, from September 2010 ensuring the governing body seeks and receives detailed and accurate information about the schools performance enabling it to hold the school to account good.

External support The school has worked well in partnership with the local authority. Support has been targeted where it is most needed and the local authoritys interventions are rightly enhancing rather than driving improvement. The rate and amount of progress that the school has made so far indicate that a further scaling back of external support is an appropriate next step.