Eastbury Farm Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further develop subject leadership so that learning in all subjects matches the quality achieved in reading, writing and mathematics, by:
  • using monitoring and assessment information to identify what needs to be done to enable pupils to overcome barriers to learning as individuals, in each cohort and across the school
  • using precise measures to evaluate progress against actions in subject improvement plans
  • ensuring that pupils understand what skills they are learning in each subject.
• Ensure that all teachers set consistently high expectations for pupils’ handwriting and presentation.
• In the early years, ensure that opportunities for independent learning are consistently high in quality by:
  • ensuring that all activities have a clear purpose
  • creating stimulating opportunities for children to practise or develop reading and writing skills, particularly in the outside areas.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Following her appointment in January 2017, the headteacher has worked closely with the school governors to secure the support of staff, parents and pupils. As one parent commented, ‘Under the leadership of the new headteacher Miss Workman, there is a real pride in the school.’ Parents have confidence in school leaders and 98% of those who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View would recommend the school.
• The headteacher has successfully created a team which is committed to enabling pupils to thrive by ensuring that staff feel valued and by taking their views into account when planning school improvement activities.
• Leaders’ improvement plans have addressed the weaknesses identified in the last inspection and the recent monitoring visit. They have ensured that there has been rapid improvement in writing and continued improvement in attainment in reading and mathematics.
• Responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire indicate that staff feel well supported and are proud to work at the school. Effective professional development, linked to performance management, enables all staff to improve their practice. For example, teaching assistants are provided with training that meets the requirements of each of their roles and this enables them to meet the specific need of the pupils they support.
• Additional funding is carefully targeted to support disadvantaged pupils. Leaders ensure that funded activities are monitored closely and are adapted to meet pupils’ needs. As a result, these pupils are making good progress.
• Additional funding for service children is used effectively. In addition to academic support, pupils have access to a nurture group and counselling. These pupils are well supported academically and emotionally to make strong progress.
• A sports coach is employed, using the additional funding for sport and physical education, to support teachers to improve their knowledge and skills. Additionally, funding enables pupils to access a wide range of sports clubs and opportunities to take part in competitions. As a result, participation in physical activity has increased.
• Additional funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is used well to improve outcomes and provision. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) provides strong leadership. She ensures that pupils’ barriers to learning are identified and addressed, through carefully planned support in lessons and small group activities. As one parent commented, ‘The improvements in SEN organisation are significant under the new SENCo.’
• The local authority provides effective support to the school. The school’s improvement partner provides appropriate challenge and support to senior leaders. Teaching and learning advisers work with core subject leaders to ensure that assessment is accurate and to contribute to plans to improve English and mathematics further.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. For example, pupils organised a ‘Star Wars’ day to raise money for a charity which supports ex-service personnel. The school’s curriculum and range of extra-curricular activities provide pupils with a number of artistic and musical opportunities. The breadth of the curriculum has increased since the last inspection. For example, pupils are provided with opportunities to learn science, design and technology and music in specialised rooms. British values, including democracy, are also evident. Pupils have opportunities to be elected to the school council and other roles. They take their responsibilities seriously.
• Equality and diversity are promoted well around the school. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. Pupils’ experiences are enhanced by visitors, including the local vicar and imam, who lead assemblies in the school.
• Subject leaders have been allocated responsibilities based upon their skills, knowledge and passion for a subject. They work hard to promote their subjects, but their monitoring is not sufficiently focused on identifying pupils’ barriers to learning across the school as a whole. Consequently, their action plans are not precisely focused on what needs to be done to enable all groups of pupils to make the best possible progress.

Governance

• The governing body is enthusiastic and highly ambitious for the school and its pupils.
• Since the last inspection, almost all of the governors on the governing body have changed. The current governing body, ably led by the new chair of governors, is an intrinsic part of leadership at the school. They visit the school frequently and are known by parents, staff and pupils.
• Governors work with school leaders to monitor progress against actions in the school’s improvement plan and consult regularly with parents, staff and pupils. As a result, they know the school well and provide informed challenge and support to the headteacher and her team.
• The impact of additional funding is monitored closely. Governors with responsibility for SEN and/or disabilities, pupil premium and sport funding know how the funding is spent and its impact on pupils.
• Governors evaluate their effectiveness carefully. They complete skills audits, and this identifies which skills are needed when new governors are recruited.
• There is a programme of training in place for all governors, so that they can fulfil their statutory responsibilities and evaluate the school effectively. An induction programme is in place for new governors and this ensures that they understand their roles and responsibilities.
• Governors work with the headteacher to ensure that performance management processes are robust and linked to the priorities of the school as well as the development needs of individuals.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders and governors ensure that there is a culture of safeguarding in the school. Policies and procedures for all aspects of safeguarding are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are being consistently applied.
• Leaders have responded to parents’ concerns about site security. There is controlled access to the school, and the grounds are monitored closely.
• Staff training for safeguarding is comprehensive. Regular updates are provided and checks are made to ensure that staff understand their responsibilities. As a result, all staff know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil.
• Records of any concerns raised are detailed, well organised and enable leaders to monitor pupils, using a wide range of evidence. School staff engage with outside agencies effectively to ensure that pupils are safe and their needs are met.
• Required checks on all adults working with pupils are robustly undertaken. Records of these checks are thorough and up to date.
• Pupils say that they feel safe and all of the parents who completed Parent View agree. Pupils know what bullying is and say that it is extremely rare. They know how to stay safe on the internet and say that this because of the lessons they receive.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use their excellent subject knowledge in English and mathematics to plan lessons which enable pupils to make good progress. They provide useful models for pupils to use when they are writing or solving mathematical problems.
• Teaching of writing has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now a strength. Writing skills are reinforced across the curriculum and opportunities to write in other subjects are regular and frequent.
• In mathematics, accurate teaching and well-chosen activities enable pupils to develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.
• Teachers excite and motivate pupils in reading activities. In interviews with pupils, each of them could talk about the books they have enjoyed and their favourite authors. Some pupils were keen to suggest books for inspectors to read. Parents contribute to their children’s learning in reading by hearing them read regularly at home.
• The teaching of phonics is highly effective. Results in the Year 1 phonics screening check have been above the national average for many years. Pupils use their phonic skills confidently when reading and spelling unfamiliar words.
• Teachers and teaching assistants use effective questioning to help pupils to develop their ideas. Instructions and expectations for tasks are clear, and this ensures that pupils settle quickly to work in lessons.
• Pupils are encouraged to support each other in lessons. Several examples were seen of pupils working in pairs and small groups to solve problems. Pupils make useful evaluations of their own written work and that of their peers. Key stage 2 pupils provide each other with written feedback, which often includes precise advice. For example, one pupil suggested that one of her peers used a colon to link ideas in a sentence.
• Teaching assistants are well trained. This enables them to meet the needs of groups or individual pupils in lessons and in interventions. For example, some teaching assistants are trained to lead speech and language sessions, and others are trained to run interventions in mathematics. Teachers and teaching assistants share assessment information, and this enables learning to be adapted to meet the changing needs of pupils.
• Following consultations with parents, arrangements for homework have been changed. Homework can now be completed over the weekend and teachers provide feedback so that pupils and their parents know how well they have done. This has contributed to increased participation in homework activities.
• Expectations for the development of skills and knowledge in the wider curriculum are not always clear. Consequently, pupils cannot evaluate how good their work is or the progress that they are making
• Not all adults have consistently high expectations of pupils and this is reflected in variations in the quality of pupils’ presentation and handwriting.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils’ well-being is central to the work of leaders and staff in the school. Staff work closely with families to promote positive relationships. As one parent stated, ‘The teaching staff are very committed and go above and beyond to ensure our children’s well-being and learning needs are met.’
• Leaders ensure that service children are well supported and valued at the school. They provide a welcome pack when pupils join the school, so that they can adapt quickly to their new environment. When they leave the school, they receive a leaving pack which includes a card from their class, a school bear and a photograph to help them remember their time at the school.
• Adults are skilled at recognising when pupils require support. When pupils have concerns or worries, they know who to talk to so that they can get advice. In this nurturing environment, pupils learn respect and care for each other.
• The school’s curriculum includes a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. Pupils get lots of opportunities to enjoy exercise, try various sporting activities and learn musical instruments.
• Bullying incidents and incidents of prejudice are extremely rare in the school. Pupils say that, if bullying does happen, it is dealt with quickly by adults so that it stops.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding
• The school has a clear policy for managing behaviour, which is understood by staff and pupils. Pupils can explain what happens if they misbehave, but say that poor behaviour is rare.
• No lessons were disrupted by poor behaviour during the inspection. Low-level disruption is rare, and pupils’ attitudes towards the learning activities provided for them are almost always positive.
• Pupils conduct themselves well at all times of the day. They are polite, courteous and respectful. They move around the school safely and listen respectfully to visitors in assembly. During lunchtimes, pupils invited inspectors to join them at their dinner tables. They were keen to talk about their school and wanted to ensure that inspectors were enjoying their visit.
• Attendance is above average. The school has robust systems for tracking absence and lateness. Support for families has improved the attendance and punctuality of individual pupils and reduced persistent absence.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• From an average starting point when they arrive at school, a higher proportion of pupils exceed expectations for their age than the national average by the end of Reception. Boys tend to join the school with lower starting points than girls but make excellent progress with the results that any gaps are diminished by the time they leave Reception.
• Pupils continue to make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in key stage 1 and key stage 2. Progress in writing improved significantly in 2017 in published key stage 2 results, compared to 2016. The school’s assessment information and pupils’ workbooks show that progress of current pupils continues to be strong in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are well supported in lessons and through additional small group and one-to-one sessions. As a result, they make good progress academically and socially.
• The small group of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds make good progress from their starting points. This is because they are provided with a bespoke programme of support which enables them to be successful in lessons.
• Service children make rapid progress and attain high standards. They are a valued part of the school community, and leaders ensure that their needs are met.
• Pupils with who speak English as an additional language make good progress. Staff adapt lessons, where necessary, so that pupils can access them. When new pupils join the school, they are well supported socially and emotionally so that they adjust quickly to their new environment.
• The most able pupils achieve well in the school. In 2017, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standard at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2 was higher than in other schools nationally. The school’s assessment information and pupils’ work books show this is likely to be the case in 2018 for the current Year 6 and Year 2 cohorts.
• While pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics, their progress in other subjects is less strong. The appropriate focus on writing since the last inspection has ensured that pupils apply their writing skills consistently in other subjects. However, the development of other skills in the wider curriculum is not always clear. This makes it hard for pupils to understand how they are making progress or what they need to do to improve.

Early years provision Good

• Children enter the Nursery with varying starting points. The Nursery team ensures that the differing needs of children are met through well-planned activities. Children are well prepared to transfer to Reception within this school and other settings.
• Children’s starting points in Reception are broadly average. A small group of pupils have SEN and/or disabilities and a small group speak English as an additional language. Both of these groups are well supported, so that they make good progress. Boys often have lower starting points than girls, but staff ensure that their needs are met so that most attain a good level of development when they leave Reception. Overall, children are well prepared for key stage 1.
• The early years leader makes good use of assessment information to track children’s progress and to inform choices about the balance of the curriculum. She ensures that staff have appropriate training and that they understand their safeguarding and welfare responsibilities.
• Adult-led activities are highly effective. For example, in sessions where children explored number bonds to twenty, they were supported with practical resources and pictures to help them to calculate correctly. Learning was extended when adults asked children to write number sentences and explain how they knew the answer was correct.
• Phonics is systematically taught in the early years. The class teachers and teaching assistants model sounds correctly and ensure that children do the same. The excellent start children have in Reception contributes to the strong phonics results that they achieve in Year 1.
• Records of learning are detailed and show the good progress that children make. Children shared their learning journeys with inspectors and talked enthusiastically about their experiences and learning.
• The early years team successfully engages with parents. ‘Stay and play’ sessions and workshops are well attended. As a result, parents learn about the expectations the setting has of their children so that they can support them at home.
• Early years classrooms are stimulating environments which provide a range of exciting learning opportunities. The vast majority of children demonstrate excellent behaviour. However, a few lose focus when they are choosing their play activities and are easily distracted.
• The quality of learning in activities provided for the children varies. On occasions, learning is not sufficiently stimulating to sustain children’s interest, particularly in independent reading and writing.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 117245 Hertfordshire 10051971 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 330 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Local authority Gillian Leonard Rebecca Workman Telephone number 01923824543 Website Email address http://www.eastburyfarm.herts.sch.uk/ admin@eastburyfarm.herts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 November 2016

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. It admits 45 children per year into the Reception class, and this means that there are mixed-age classes in key stage 1 and key stage 2.
• Children enter the Nursery part time in the September after their third birthday. Children enter the Reception Year full time in the September after their fourth birthday.
• The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic backgrounds is above the national average. Over a third of pupils are Asian or British Asian and over a third of pupils are White British.
• Over one tenth of pupils come from Armed Forces families.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is in line with the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities or an education, health and care plan is well below average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is less than half the national average.
• In 2017, the school met the government’s floor standards for pupils in Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in every class and were joined by senior leaders for many of these observations. Pupils’ learning was also evaluated through inspectors’ scrutiny of a range of pupils’ books across most year groups and in all subjects.
• Inspectors met with pupils from key stage 1 and key stage 2 and listened to some Year 1 and Year 6 pupils read.
• A range of school documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation summary, the school’s improvement plan, minutes of meetings of the governing body and a variety of school policies and procedures, was reviewed by inspectors.
• Inspectors took account of the 133 parent responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View, as well as 127 written responses through the linked free-text messaging service.
• Inspectors met informally with parents at the start of the school day and considered the views of a parent expressed in one letter.
• The views of 24 staff who completed Ofsted’s online staff survey were taken into account.
• Meetings were held with governors, the school’s improvement adviser, school leaders and teaching assistants.
• Inspectors observed pupils at playtimes and lunchtimes and spoke to them informally about their experiences of school.

Inspection team

Keith Pullen, lead inspector Simon Harbrow Deborah Estcourt

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector