Extracts from Ofsted Inspection Reports: Focus on
Governance
Below are the following extracts from inspection reports since Sept 2012:
 The full report for a primary school where leadership and
management including governance is rated as ‘outstanding’.
 Extracts for four primary schools which were rated as ‘good’. The
extent to which the section on leadership and management has
been cut has depended upon to what extent the different lead
inspectors have chosen to make specific reference to governance in
that section as well as the specific paragraph on the governance of
the school.
 Sections on governance only for three schools where leadership and
management are deemed to ‘require improvement’.
Outstanding
The leadership and management
are outstanding
The headteacher provides inspirational and visionary leadership to this
outstanding school. Together, with the excellent team that supports him, they have
ensured that the rapid improvements at the school have been secured and made
sustainable.
A common purpose, to improve the life chances for the pupils, is shared by all
leaders including the governors. There is a shared determination and focus on
demanding high expectations and a consistency of approach to ensure that the
school continues to move forward. Leaders have a clear understanding of how and
why the school is successful, as well as how it can get even better.
Leaders track pupils’ progress regularly to see how well they are doing. They use
this information to set challenging targets and make checks on the performance of
individuals and groups. This is especially the case for disabled pupils, those with
special educational needs or those who are eligible for support through the pupil
premium. This has been so successful that they have now successfully closed the
gap that existed between the performance of these groups with all pupils.
Teachers are held accountable for the successes of their pupils. This is reflected in
the performance management processes, which also provide the means to identify
how to support teachers in improving their practice through further training. As a
consequence, teaching has improved and is now outstanding.
The curriculum is outstanding and is planned to ensure equality of opportunity
and to reflect the backgrounds of all pupils. It provides pupils with a wealth of
opportunities to develop, both academically and personally. Visits, such as the Year
4 trip to Trewortha Bronze Age Farm, maximise the impact that activities have by
using the trip to focus both on history and also on team-building skills. These
activities also support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
 Parents and carers are regularly invited into school. Parents’ evenings are
attended well and the school is having increasing success in engaging with
parents and carers with family learning sessions that have been arranged for
mathematics and information and communication technology.
The statutory requirements for safeguarding children are robustly managed.
The local authority provides light-touch support to this outstanding school.
The governance of the school:
The governing body is highly effective. Governors understand the school well and
how well the pupils are doing in relation to all pupils nationally. They have a clear
understanding of what the data are telling them about the effectiveness of the
school and they use their knowledge to monitor the school’s arrangements for
performance management, salaries and promotion. They take part regularly in
suitable training. Governors are fully involved in making checks on all aspects of the
school, including whether funding, including the pupil premium, is being spent wisely
and having the desired effect on pupils’ outcomes. They are individually responsible
for specific aspects of provision through a link governor role. They hold weekly
meetings with the headteacher and visit classrooms to ascertain the quality of
teaching. Teachers’ performance is regularly reviewed to ensure that their salary
progression reflects the quality of their teaching and their leadership responsibilities.
Governors use information about the school well and hold the school rigorously to
account. This contributes effectively to ensuring that all groups of pupils have the
opportunity to succeed, resulting in outstanding achievement for all.
Good
School 1
The leadership and management
are good
The headteacher, assistant headteachers and governors consistently
communicate high expectations and an ambition to see the school improve. This
is also shared by staff and the pupils themselves.
As a result of concerted and effective action by the governing body and senior
management, teaching is good and any inadequate teaching has been eliminated.
Performance management and professional development are used well to
promote good teaching and are closely matched to the school’s targets for
improvement as well as teachers’ training needs.
The school has robust procedures to evaluate its performance and consults
widely with pupils, staff and parents and carers. Detailed analysis of pupils’
performance is used to set challenging targets for improvement. Staff monitor
each pupil’s progress carefully and this information is used to ensure that no
pupils fall behind in their learning.
The school has a well-thought-out strategy to promote literacy which ensures
that all teachers are sufficiently well trained to deliver the curriculum effectively.
The governance of the school:
 The governing body systematically challenges and supports the
professional management of the school through regular meetings, visits,
monitoring of lessons and the use of parental questionnaires.
 Governors are proactive in establishing priorities for improvement and have
taken a lead role in dealing with poor teaching and pupils’
underachievement.
 Highly effective use has been made of performance management systems
to ensure that the targets set for school improvement have been carried
out.
 The governing body has made effective use of the local authority school
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improvement team and a consultant to help it address the issues that selfevaluation has identified.
Effective sub-committees oversee every aspect of the school’s work and
ensure that it meets statutory requirements, including those relating to
safeguarding. They also ensure that resources, including financial
resources, are used effectively.
Effective use has been made of the pupil premium to overcome most
barriers to learning.
School 2
The leadership and management
are good
The school’s leadership has worked hard to improve several aspects of the
school’s provision and performance since the previous inspection, effectively
supported by the governing body. Other staff support the drive for continued
improvement and recognise that the school has come a long way. There is secure
capacity for sustained improvement.
The pupil premium is used effectively to sustain intervention programmes and
additional support for vulnerable pupils, helping them achieve very well.
Although the headteacher carries out performance management effectively, the
monitoring of teaching and learning is heavily dependent on him. Other staff
collaborate well in areas such as developing a coherent curriculum, but they have a
limited role in monitoring performance, despite their increased accountability.
Therefore some staff have few opportunities to observe good practice or share ideas
with colleagues.
The local authority provides effective support for the school, for example in
reviewing its performance.
The school meets statutory safeguarding requirements. Parents, carers and
pupils regard the school as a safe and very caring environment. There is no
discrimination, and the school achieves its ambition of being an inclusive, welcoming
community. Parents and carers are invited into the school, for example for ‘drop-in’
sessions.
– has been improved considerably since the previous inspection.
Governors are actively involved in a wide range of school activities.
Governors are knowledgeable and rigorous in successfully holding the
school to account, for example over the budget
– ensures that the performance of the headteacher is monitored and
managed effectively. The performance management of all staff is linked to
progress in school outcomes, and the high attainment and good progress
show that this has successfully and demonstrably been achieved.
School 3
The leadership and management
are good
Strong leadership by the headteacher has brought improvement since the
previous inspection. The senior management team, which includes the Chair of the
Governing Body, fully shares the drive to raise standards and provides good
support.
Rigorous self-evaluation, including by the governing body, identifies the right
priorities for school improvement. Senior leaders also undertake frequent visits to
classes to monitor teaching. They use information effectively to plan staff training
and improve their performance.
effective
guidance. The school’s close collaboration with local schools is mutually beneficial to
the teachers from the schools working and training together, and helps sustain
equality of opportunity and achievement for all its pupils.
The Governance of the school:
 has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for
development, and supports and challenges the school well
 makes financial decisions effectively and according to priorities for
improvements to meet pupils’ needs
 checks to ensure that pupils in receipt of the pupil premium funding make
good progress and take part in all school activities
 fulfils its statutory obligations with regard to safeguarding
School 4
The leadership and management
are good
The headteacher’s leadership and management are excellent. His relentless
focus on improving teaching and thus on raising standards are at the heart of
school improvement. He is ably supported by the deputy headteacher. Together
they provide the drive for improvement, demonstrate high quality teaching skills
and support the training of all staff well. Teaching has improved but as yet the
proportion of outstanding teaching remains small.
Training sessions followed by opportunities for teachers to observe one of the
senior team teaching whilst discussing it with the other senior leader have given all
staff increasing confidence and skills. This has been effectively linked to
performance management targets. There is a close link between pupils’
achievement and how well teachers are paid.
A recent focus on developing the skills of teachers in leading responsibilities
outside of the classroom has enabled them all to have a better understanding of
their roles and to be more active in looking for ways to improve, so as to raise
pupils’ achievement and to enrich their learning.
Partnerships with parents and their participation in the school’s many events
have grown. Parents’ views are regularly sought and the recent questionnaire
shows parents’ strong support and positive views of all aspects of the school. The
Parents’ View website showed that all who had participated would recommend the
school to other families.
The school has benefitted from successful support from the local authority in
the past, especially in improving the quality of teaching and learning in writing in
the older classes, which has resulted in their strong progress.
The Governance of the school:
 is good because the governing body has high expectations for the school and
provides effective challenge to the senior team and staff. It has good levels
of information gained from training, data, the headteacher’s reports and
governors’ regular visits to the school. The school development plan is
monitored effectively and links with each of the curriculum areas and
meetings with staff keep governors up to date with improvements. They ask
searching questions about how strategies such as the use of pupil premium
funding are having an impact on raising achievement. Child protection and
safeguarding arrangements are robust and meet regulatory requirements in
full. The school takes its responsibility to ensure pupils’ safety very
seriously. Equality of opportunity is vigorously promoted. The breakfast and
after-school clubs are managed well to provide a safe and happy
environment.
Requires Improvement
School A
The governance of the school:
 is an area for improvement; there are some very knowledgeable
and committed governors, but they recognise the need to ensure
that all members of the governing body are equally informed and
active
 has not been rigorous enough since the previous inspection in
monitoring the performance of the leadership team and other staff
 now encompasses school self-evaluation fully, challenging leaders
and supporting improvement, although this process is not fully
embedded.
School B
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has established a series of monitoring visits to the school last year,
but these have only recently been organised systematically and the
information is just beginning to be used effectively
is supportive of the school, but has relied too much on the
headteacher to set the educational direction of the school; systems
are now in place for them to do this, but have yet to have an
impact on effectively challenging senior leaders when necessary
has helped establish priorities for improvement and has contributed
effectively in dealing with inadequate teaching by using the
appropriate procedures and appointing new staff
ensures that it meets statutory requirements, including those
relating to safeguarding and it makes sure s that resources are
used effectively.
School C
- Members’ visits to monitor the school’s work are infrequent and
not linked sharply to the school’s priorities for improvement.
Leaders have not been sufficiently challenged to address staff
underperformance swiftly.
- Members of the governing body show a strong commitment to the
school. The comprehensive systems put in place to track pupils’
progress now enable members to ask important questions.
Members of the governing body are aware of what the school does
well and where improvement is needed. Some individual members
spend a lot of time in school and have a good understanding of
specific aspects of the school’s work.
Gov Ofsted reports on L&M for VLE 0213