HMI letter

HMI Monitoring Visit

Please find attached the letter received in response to the first HMI monitoring visit undertaken at the end of January 2017, which I am now able to share with you.

The outcome of this first, long-awaited visit was that HMI recognised that senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the last section 5 inspection in order to become a good school.

As a school, we are rightly delighted that HMI has acknowledged the many positive improvements we have made in school since our inspection in December 2015.

Our staff have been developed in their many and varied roles and are seen to be successful in these roles. Our Governing Body has also been acknowledged for now having the skills and expertise to both support and challenge myself, as Head-teacher, and the staff effectively.

Anne Seneviratne, HMI, states that: 'The pupils I spoke to during the inspection were overwhelmingly positive about their school describing it as 'awesome', 'fabulous' and 'fantastic'. It is clear that they value the support they receive from staff and that they enjoy their learning. Older pupils commented on improvements since the last inspection, including the new approaches to writing and mathematics, which they believe are helping them to make better progress.'

We are proud that HMI recognises that 'This is a school that puts the well-being of children at the heart of all that it does. Children at Wrenbury feel safe, valued and happy, which helps them to learn more effectively' and that 'Staff and pupils alike embrace the school motto, 'We All Matter'.

Our children are at the heart of ALL that we do at Wrenbury because they matter!

There is work still to do:
Attendance for some children is not as good as it should or could be. We have been acting on this for a while by engaging in talks with parents about the need to have their children in school more regularly and avoid days off for minor ailments. The school's Educational Welfare Officer is supporting us in addressing this issue. As we reiterate in our communication with parents about attendance, 'Every day does count!' Ofsted is also counting days of absence as they, like school, take it very seriously and know how absence impacts on a child's progress, attainment, self-esteem and sense of belonging! Please do try and have your child in school for as many days as possible.

We also need to ensure that the more able children are challenged further. This has become a focus as we didn't have any children achieving at greater depth in last year's SATs, as anticipated from the previous inspection outcomes. Challenging the most able pupils to reach the highest standards is a key focus for us as we continue to develop teaching and learning in literacy and mathematics in school.

Kind regards,
Mrs Cador