Harris Primary Academy Mayflower Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ progress and attainment further by:
  • making sure that the additional challenges made of pupils encourage them to think deeply across all subjects
  • using the effective assessment strategies established in the early years, and for pupils who have special educational needs, as a model for developing practice throughout the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The principal’s vision and aspirational leadership have secured very firm foundations for this new and expanding school. The executive principal provides strategic advice and support in developing leadership capacity throughout the school.
• Leaders and governors are planning effectively for the future. They are making sure that the expansion in pupil numbers is carefully managed to ensure that the already high standards are maintained.
• The senior and middle leaders make a very effective team within a culture where coaching and leading by example is well established. They lead a united staff team who promote and share the same high expectations.
• Leaders have a very good understanding of the strengths and areas for development for the school. High expectations and precise, focused actions have improved the quality of teaching and led to outstanding outcomes for pupils. This takes place alongside a rigorous programme of monitoring and evaluating, and an excellent programme of professional development for all staff members. For example, teachers in the early stages of their careers receive effective guidance and support, and opportunities to progress to leaderships posts are widely available.
• Although there is limited published data for the school, leaders have ensured that there is an abundance of assessment information available, which is checked for consistency and accuracy both internally by school leaders, and externally by the trust.
• The inspiring curriculum is highly successful in widening pupils’ experiences and stimulating pupils’ interests and engagement. There remains an unrelenting focus on pupils using the core skills of reading, writing and mathematics across the curriculum. Opportunities to write are included in every subject; the skills of reasoning and problem solving taught in mathematics are applied equally well to scientific investigations. Pupils practise their reading skills when reading aloud the stories they have written.
• The school’s work in promoting core values, including British values, is outstanding. The whole community look for ways to reinforce them. Pupils in Year 2 spoke with pride about how they have persevered in literacy and how their achievements and improvements led to their work going on public display. Events such as the art exhibitions and community evenings have helped to engage parents and the wider community in creating the Mayflower identity.
• The wide range of opportunities offered to pupils both within and outside the school day contribute strongly to pupils’ achievement and their enjoyment of school. Thoughtful use of the sports premium has led to an increase in the number of sports activities offered and more pupils receiving specialist coaching.
• The special educational needs coordinator ensures that all additional funding is spent effectively. As a result of well-planned and focused support, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make very good progress from their starting points.
• Disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, do well. This is because leaders know the pupils’ needs well and have a very clear understanding of what are the most effective measures to improve their outcomes. The school tracks the progress of disadvantaged pupils very closely. The additional funding is used effectively to provide targeted support.
• The trust delivers excellent strategic guidance to school leaders. The primary director visits the school regularly to provide quality assurance, challenge and support. This ensures that leaders are held firmly to account for the school’s performance.

Governance of the school

• The knowledgeable, well-trained and very committed governing body, supported by the trust, are an integral part of the outstanding leadership team at Mayflower.
• Led by an experienced chair of the governing body, governors are able to support how the school makes judgements about the quality of its work. They do this by focusing on priorities identified in the school development plan, through meetings with the board of trustees and regular updates on what they have found out. They accurately evaluate how well the school is doing.
• Governors ensure that finances are used to best effect. Through incisive monitoring, they have a clear understanding of the impact of the actions taken to improve disadvantaged pupils’ achievements. Governors are also precisely aware of the positive impact the additional funding for physical education and sports has had on improving pupils’ health and well-being.
• Governors use performance management to successfully uphold the school’s high expectations and aspirations. The performance management process is rigorous and there are clear lines of accountability established by the trust. Leaders and staff acknowledge that the systems are very clear and allow for professional development alongside the maintenance of high standards.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The very thorough recruitment and vetting processes ensure that all staff appointed share the school’s values and that all adults are suitable to work with children.
• A strong safeguarding team promotes a culture of watchfulness. This is evident in the quality of the training given to all staff and in the prompt way staff at all levels raise and respond to concerns.
• Pupils report that they feel safe in school. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the care the school takes to keep their children safe. As commented by a parent, ‘When in school visiting we are always given a child protection leaflet which shows that the school has safeguarding as a priority.’

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• The school’s vision of ‘Excellence, Every Child, Every Day’ is evident in the unrelenting focus on the teaching of key skills. Teachers’ expectations are high of both learning and behaviour, and as a result, pupils are eager to learn.
• Pupils make excellent progress in acquiring the knowledge, skills and understanding they need across a range of subjects, including English, mathematics and science. This is because of consistently high quality teaching across the school.
• Pupils are regularly challenged to extend and deepen their thinking and, consequently, improve their learning. For example, in a Year 2 English lesson, pupils were independently completing a piece of extended writing which included paragraphs and adventurous language.
• Well-planned activities allow pupils to work well together and support each other’s learning. In a Year 2 mathematics lesson, ‘deeper thinking’ challenges allowed pupils to apply their mathematics knowledge and understanding to solve problems successfully.
• Teachers have very good subject knowledge and use it skilfully to plan exciting and engaging topics that enable pupils to use and apply their specialist knowledge. For example, in a Year 1 art lesson, pupils were confidently discussing graduating and blending colours for the sky and background features. They were able to explain clearly the difference between primary and secondary colours.
• Pupils rapidly acquire very good writing skills. This is evident in the quality of written work across all subject areas. Teachers take every opportunity to reinforce grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to ensure that pupils routinely use them independently in their writing.
• The teaching of phonics throughout the school is highly successful. Pupils apply their knowledge of letters and sounds very well. They read confidently and with enthusiasm. In key stage 1, pupils were able to demonstrate advanced reading skills such as retelling a story and predicting what happens next. They then went on to find evidence from the text to explain and support their opinion about what they were reading.
• Teachers plan learning that provides equality of opportunity for all pupils. This is evident in the way all classes in each year group access similar activities and resources adapted according to their needs.
• All adults take responsibility for pupils’ learning. Focused and regular training ensures that every adult is continually developing the skills to support and challenge pupils well. A shared understanding of what effective teaching and learning looks like, aligned with rigorous monitoring, leads to outstanding outcomes.
• Parents are supportive of the school and the efforts staff make to involve them in their children’s learning. This helps parents to support their children with homework that is given to consolidate and further extend pupils’ learning. Parents spoke positively to inspectors about how much progress their children have made since starting at Mayflower.
• Teachers undertake accurate and thorough assessments of pupils’ starting points. Although this ensures that pupils make very good progress regardless of their starting points, leaders agree that making even better use of all available assessment information when planning next steps in learning will enhance these outcomes further.
• Although teachers use the school’s assessment system consistently and most pupils understand what they have to do to improve their learning, there are occasions when younger pupils are less certain and the ‘challenge questions’ are not completed as carefully as other pieces of work. This slows the progress they are capable of making.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• The school has excellent systems and support in place to help pupils and their families who need extra help. This ensures that the school’s welfare and care of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils are proud to be at Mayflower. They wear their uniforms with pride. They aspire to the high standards all adults set for them. They demonstrate this in the presentation of their work and their desire to improve.
• Pupils’ attitudes to all aspects of their play and learning are positive. They know their achievements are recognised and their opinions valued. They are very pleased to show examples of their work displayed on the ‘boards of excellence’ and share with great pride and enthusiasm the identity boxes they have created with their families.
• The excellent work the school does to promote equality and diversity allows the pupils to thrive as individuals as well as appreciate each other’s views and beliefs.
• Pupils at Mayflower are happy and feel safe. They know what to do if they have any worries or concerns and who they could go to. They were able to demonstrate the strategies for keeping themselves safe online and know not to give their address out to anyone. Parents spoke of how they like the fact the school provides online and face-to-face training on e-safety.
• Pupils at the end of key stage 1 display a confidence and maturity in managing their own learning and are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils are respectful and listen very attentively to each other. Staff are excellent role models and pupils respond thoughtfully to each other and to all adults.
• Pupils have a very good understanding of how their behaviour contributes to the success they experience in learning. They speak confidently of how their core values help them learn and to help each other.
• Mayflower is a harmonious community. Pupils play very well together at break and lunchtime. Pupils report that any differences are quickly sorted and no one is left out. They are also confident that bullying is not allowed, as it ‘doesn’t show good manners.’
• Pupils move around the school in a calm and orderly fashion. Pupils are courteous to each other and visitors, including their attitudes and responses to the inspection team. School records show that good respectful behaviour is the norm. Parents and staff agree this is the case.
• Leaders including governors closely monitor pupils’ behaviour. They have been swift in securing additional provision for pupils who need extra help, including providing external support.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved significantly over the past year. It is now above the national average. The work of the attendance team in identifying pupils at risk of persistent absence and putting in place effective interventions and strategies to improve attendance has been very successful.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• All children and pupils achieve well at Mayflower. This ensures that they are all being well prepared for the next stages of their education.
• Pupils make very good progress in all curriculum subjects. This is because pupils’ basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics are strong and pupils are able to use these competently in various contexts and situations. As a result, pupils achieve consistently very well.
• The school has placed a great deal of emphasis on both learning to read, and reading with fluency and comprehension. Outcomes in reading in every year group are high. The newly established community library and the use of digital reading are giving pupils access to a wider range of reading material. Consequently, pupils have many opportunities to apply their reading skills.
• Pupils achieve well in reading and writing skills in the early years and Year 1. The proportion of Year 1 pupils who reached the expected standard in the phonics screening check in 2016 was above the national average. Inspection evidence, along with the school’s own assessment information, shows that these high outcomes are likely to be sustained.
• Outcomes in the early years have been improving since the school opened in 2014. The proportion of children who are achieving a good level of development is consistently above the national average. This year, the school’s assessment information shows that a comparable proportion of children are on track to achieve similar high standards.
• The additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively to provide targeted support. There is very little difference in outcomes between the disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged peers. This is particularly the case in writing, where progress in Years 1 and 2 has been rapid. All of the disadvantaged most-able pupils are on track to exceed end-of-year expectations.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make very good progress from their starting points. The school supports their learning needs with the focus on developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills, and promoting positive attitudes to learning.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make excellent progress from their starting points. This is because of careful matching of support to their needs. All pupils have an individual ‘flight path’ that is closely monitored and shared with parents.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The very experienced and highly skilled early years vice-principal is effectively building leadership capacity and expertise among the team. All adults are involved in developing the provision, and welcome opportunities to observe and learn from each other to improve the quality of teaching.
• The majority of children enter Nursery and Reception with skills broadly typical for children of their age. The number reaching a good level of development by the end of Reception is high when compared to the national average. An increasing number of children exceed the early learning goals.
• The indoor and outdoor learning environments are stimulating and children move easily between both. A carefully planned curriculum promotes development in all areas of learning including reading, writing and number, and children make outstanding progress.
• Planning focuses on the next steps in learning. Staff use evidence from a range of different observations to plan activities that build upon, and develop, skills that are relevant to the early years outcomes.
• Learning links to real-life situations. For example, using real fruit and vegetables in the farm shop as well as accessing natural materials encourages children’s curiosity of the world around them. This contributes towards igniting children’s imagination and enhancing their creative development.
• Children listen attentively in a range of situations from whole-group activities to sitting close to an adult reading a story. They share resources, take turns and form positive relationships with each other, and with adults.
• Staff are very involved with transition both at pre-school and into Year 1. Well-planned arrangements allow children to settle quickly. Previous learning is valued and taken into account when completing baseline assessments.
• Parents are involved with their child’s learning and are overwhelmingly positive about the foundation stage at Mayflower. As one parent said, ‘this was not my first choice of school, but it is definitely my school of choice now’.
• All adults ensure that the welfare and safeguarding of children has a high priority. As a result, all children are well cared for and stay safe in school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140938 Thurrock 10031328 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 Academy free school 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 334 Appropriate authority

Harris Federation Academy Trust

Chair Principal Executive Principal Telephone number Website Email address Ann Slater Katie Hanley Matt Britt 020 3772 4588 www.harrisprimarymayflower.org.uk/ info@harrisprimarymayflower.org.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Harris Primary Academy Mayflower opened in 2014 as a free school within the Harris Federation. It is a growing school, eventually expanding to a five-form entry school.
• The school moved to new purpose-built accommodation in September 2015. The Nursery opened in 2016.
• There are currently three classes in each year group up to Year 2. Pupils attend the three Reception classes on a full-time basis. The Nursery has two part-time morning and afternoon classes.
• The school is an ethnically diverse community.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is lower than average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be entitled to the pupil premium is lower than the national average.
• The Harris Federation manages the local governing body.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish on their website.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors carried out a range of observations in all classes, often alongside senior leaders.
• Inspectors held discussions with senior and middle leaders including the executive principal, newly and recently qualified staff, members of the governing body and representatives of the Harris Federation.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of pupils’ written work including that on display. They heard pupils read both in class and in settings that are more formal.
• Inspectors spoke to different groups of pupils about their work. They also spoke about their experiences of being a pupil at Mayflower.
• Inspectors observed behaviour at different times of the day. This included before and after school, and at lunchtimes.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of written evidence. This included safeguarding records, records of attendance and the associated improvement work. Records of the work of leaders and the trust in monitoring the quality of teaching, the school’s records of pupils’ progress, governing body records, plans for improvement and plans for future expansion were also looked at.
• Inspectors met informally with a number of parents at the beginning of the school day and during their visits to the art exhibition. They took account of 186 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, alongside a range of written comments submitted by parents.
• No responses were received to the pupil or staff questionnaires. However, inspectors considered feedback from anonymised staff surveys the school had undertaken recently and considered other records of pupil views.

Inspection team

Liz Chaplin, lead inspector Bridgette Gough Russell Ayling Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector