Dear Parents and Carers,

Attached is the Inspection report following the Ofsted visit in June.

An Ofsted report covers five areas of school life, namely:

• Quality of Education
• Behaviour and Attitudes
• Personal Development
• Leadership and Management
• Early Years

In the Ofsted Report each of these areas is graded separately, with some having more of a weighting than others over the final judgement. The Inspectors’ finding for Quality of Education and Leadership and Management and for Overall Effectiveness was “Requires Improvement” whilst the judgement for Early Years, Behaviour and Attitudes and Personal Development was “Good”.

One of the areas highlighted in the report is the development of the curriculum, which has been ongoing since May 2022. Like all schools, we have experienced significant challenges in restoring normality to all areas of school life in the wake of the pandemic. In addition, we have undergone three changes of Headteacher since the summer of 2019, each one bringing a particular vision to the development of the school. The Inspectors acknowledged that several changes of leadership over a short time have hampered improvements in the design and delivery of the curriculum.

In the areas of Mathematics and Writing pupils were found to achieve well.

The introduction of our new phonics scheme, ‘Read, Write, Inc’, has already begun to address fluency and confidence in reading.

In certain areas of the curriculum, highlighted by the Inspectors as needing improvement, work had already begun and we will continue to work on all curriculum subjects as part of our School Improvement Plan.

Our priority in helping to develop the behaviour for learning, values, social and emotional skills and life skills for our children was suitably recognised and our positive, friendly ethos was celebrated in the report, as below:

• Children in the early years enjoy a strong start to their education. They benefit from a carefully crafted curriculum, which helps them to gain secure foundations for later learning.

• Medlar-with-Wesham Church of England Primary School is a happy and friendly place to be. Everyone is welcome, and pupils know about the importance of equality and diversity. Positive relationships between staff and pupils and among pupils are evident throughout the school.

• Pupils benefit from the wide range of extra-curricular clubs that leaders provide.

• Pupils are polite and respectful to each other and to adults. Classrooms are calm and orderly.

• The provision for pupils’ personal development is woven through all aspects of school life effectively. Pupils relish the leadership opportunities they have, including acting as school council representatives.

• Pupils are taught about how to keep themselves safe. They learn about road safety, healthy eating and how to stay safe online. They know that there is someone they can talk to if they are worried or concerned.

As stated previously, we are already focusing on the areas identified in the report as improvement priorities. My thanks go to the whole school community for your continued support. The Inspectors were impressed by the level of positive feedback in the parent surveys which they conducted and the very encouraging interactions which they had. We will continue to strive to ensure that all our pupils achieve their full potential across a wide and dynamic curriculum, enjoy school and feel safe and cared for at all times.

September is a new beginning for our school with new leadership, a clear and focused vision and the template of the Inspection report to keep us on track. We can’t wait to begin!

Kind regards,

Mrs Panther

(Headteacher Designate)