1. Traffic lights show news that the school thinks is GOOD, REQUIRING IMPROVEMENT, or INADEQUATE. The Palmer Academy Self-Evaluation for Parents & Carers – April 8 th 2015 Every term, school leaders think about how well the school is improving and performing. School leaders present this information to the Governing Body, and use the judgements to think about how to improve the school even further in the future. Here is some of the key information about our school, including summaries of comments received from our pupil, parents and carers surveys. You can find more by visiting: www.thepalmeracademy.com www.reach2.org http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/ Summary for Parents & Carers

2. Quality of Teaching School leaders feel that teaching and learning at the school is good and that teachers work together well to share ideas and develop strengths. The amount of progress that children make is good across the school, with lots of children progressing at school than in many other schools. Many more children than before leave the school at the end of Year 6 being ready for secondary school. To make sure that all children succeed, teachers are working hard to make sure that everyone is involved in giving and getting better feedback on their learning and that topics and projects interest every child. Teachers aim to help all children make progress towards their steps to success and are committed to making sure that children with additional needs receive the support they require. The children’s books and the communal displays continue to look better than ever, as many parents commented on at Parents & Carers’ evening. Pupils say that they enjoy lessons and find the things that they learn about at school interesting. They take pride in their learning. They feel that teachers help them to learn and make progress - particularly in PE, writing and maths lessons. They feel that they sometimes need more help with their reading and are happy that the school has invested in new books and iPads to help. Parents and Carers feel that their child’s class teachers are good and help them to learn. They feel that their child enjoys coming to school and learning. They are happy with the feedback that they receive from teachers and find it useful in helping their child learn outside of school. Some Parents and Carers feel that their should be more focus on Geography, History and Art in the school timetable, and that children should be given more homework during a school week. Almost all parents take the opportunity to visit the school to learn about their child’s experiences and talk with their child’s class teacher and many respond to letters and questionnaires. Our Next Steps  Developing better reading and library areas in every year group and in the school learning zone  Improving the school website to help inform pupils, parents and carers  Making sure children understand what their next steps are in becoming amazing readers  Developing our curriculum so that children have more opportunities to develop their Art, History, Geography and Science skills  Providing opportunities for children to take part in additional home learning using websites and apps at home School leaders feel that teaching and learning is good and that teachers work together well to share ideas and develops strength. Pupils say that they enjoy lessons and find the things that they learn about interesting.

3. Achievement Please see our parents and carers’ guide to ‘The Palmer Academy in the National Performance Tables and Raiseonline’

4. Behaviour School leaders feel that behaviour at The Palmer Academy is good. Children have developed good manners over the year and are polite and courteous in their classrooms and around the school building. Pupils, Parents and Carers and Staff have made a commitment to meeting high expectations of behaviour that are shared in the school prospectus and the home-school agreement. Each class has developed a ‘class charter’ and children take opportunities to share thoughts and feelings on their rights and responsibilities. Incidents of poor behaviour have decreased significantly, meaning that children can learn without the anxiety and distraction caused by the poor behaviour of others. Children with additional behavioural needs are better supported and the school continues to work with other agencies and services to make sure children receive the level of support that they need. Unsafe incidents have decreased dramatically and the school is now a safe and happy place to be. Pupils say that school rules help them to learn, and that they know what behaviours help them to make the most of their opportunities at school. They feel that they behave well, are safe and know what to do if they feel like someone is treating them unfairly. Pupils like being rewarded for good behaviour with Vivo Points, House Points and the Palmer Awards. Some pupils feel that other pupils do not always behave well but that teachers help with this. Parents agree that children are rewarded for good behaviour. They say that the behaviour of their own children is good, but the behaviour of some other children, and sometimes a minority of parents is not always good. Children are safe at The Palmer Academy and they believe that school staff are approachable, polite and helpful. A small number of parents feel that the behaviour expectations of the school are too high and that uniform rules are strict. Our Next Steps  Developing more opportunities for children with behavioural needs to take part in activities and programmes which will help them overcome difficulties.  Developing roles for older children and The Palmer Parliament so that they can help to keep the environment tidy and help to develop good learning behaviours around the school.  Continuing to develop the school environment, including the playground, to improve behaviour and safety even further  Providing children with more opportunities to receive rewards for outstanding behaviour The school judges behaviour as good at The Palmer Academy. Children have good manners and are polite. Children feel that their good behaviour is rewarded.

5. Leadership and Management School leaders feel that the leadership and management of The Palmer Academy is good. The school has worked effectively to grow stronger since the new school opened in September 2013. School staff feel that the quality of teaching, the achievement of pupils and the quality of behaviour have improved significantly since the old school’s Ofsted inspection in September 2012. Phase leaders and subject leaders are ensuring that better quality lessons are being taught across all subjects and that children are getting a better school experience than ever before. They are leading better communication with parents and improving the level of confidence that pupils, parents and carers have in the job that the school is doing. The school’s senior leadership team and its Governing Body have a good understanding of strengths and areas for development and are working hard to make sure that children leave the school with the skills, knowledge and understanding expected of children ready for secondary school. Opportunities for pupils to play an active part in the leadership of the school are developing. Representatives from most year groups make up The Palmer Parliament that are actively engaged in improving key areas of school life such as the playground. Pupils say that The Palmer Academy is a good school and that they enjoy attending. Parents say that The Palmer Academy is a good school and can see the improvements in the quality of teaching, achievement, behaviour and the school environment over the past year. Parents are appreciative that there are more people at the school to ask questions or talk about issues with. Phase leaders and SLT are committed to building relationships with parents and carers and parents like seeing school leaders in the playground every day. They feel that they can speak with Mr Wyld and Mrs Ducker if they need to. Parents are involved in the school’s governing body. Our Next Steps  Strengthening our governing body including recruiting interested parents, carers and independent members of the local community  Continuing to develop more links with the local community including parent groups, other schools, Reading University and local businesses  Asking for more feedback from pupils, parents and carers on plans that the school has to develop in the future, including what we spend public money on  More training for school leaders to make sure that we can continue to improve how well the school works as quickly as possible The school judges leadership and management at The Palmer Academy as good. The school has made significant improvements since it opened in September 2013 in all areas.