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4. The school should develop and implement a policy to provide sufficient homework, across the curriculum, which is appropriately challenging for all pupils.

The school had met this recommendation fully.

Teachers had carried out an audit of pupils’ views on homework and had involved parents in drawing up a new homework policy. All pupils in middle and upper stages now had a homework diary. Teachers issued an appropriate amount of homework regularly. The variety of tasks had improved and work was now suitably challenging.

5. The school should build on its programme for positive behaviour to raise expectations of pupils’ attainment.

The school had made good progress in meeting this recommendation.

The school had revised its aims to include specific reference to raising pupils’ attainment. Following staff development, teachers were now much more aware of targets to be achieved and conscious of the need to strive to achieve them. They used praise effectively to encourage success and inspire pupils, who worked conscientiously on their tasks and showed good motivation.

6. The school should extend its quality assurance systems by using performance indicators more effectively and by implementing its proposed scheme of monitoring classroom practice and sharing examples of good practice.

Good progress had been made on this recommendation.

The previous headteacher had developed a range of effective strategies for monitoring and evaluating the work of the school. She reviewed and discussed teachers’ plans, offering advice as appropriate. She evaluated aspects of teaching, learning and attainment through regular visits to classes and by working with groups of pupils. Staff had used national performance indicators to evaluate, for example, key features of learning and teaching in mathematics. The new headteacher had begun to use the quality assurance systems set up by her predecessor.

No further visits will be made to the school by HM Inspectors of Schools in connection with the inspection report of January 1998.