Claremont Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • leaders develop strong and positive partnerships with parents to ensure that they are fully involved in their children’s learning and the life of the school
  • middle leaders have the skills and opportunities to monitor the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects in order to improve pupils’ outcomes
  • the wider curriculum is planned and taught consistently well so that pupils make strong and sustained progress in subjects other than English and mathematics.
• Improve pupils’ outcomes and the quality of teaching by ensuring that:
  • support for lower-attaining pupils is consistently of the highest quality
  • teachers’ approaches to extend and challenge pupils’ learning are consistently effective throughout the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• In the last academic year, there have been changes to the senior leadership of the school. The trust has, nonetheless, ensured that standards have continued to improve. The interim executive headteacher has quickly gained a clear picture of the school’s work and understands the priorities for further improvement.
• School-to-school support has been used very effectively to raise the quality of teaching. The trust uses the expertise of its other leaders, including headteachers, to support the school’s work. This has ensured that developments to the teaching of English and mathematics, for example, and the use of pupil premium funding have been effective.
• The local cluster of schools within the trust forms a strong and effective network for school improvement. For example, teachers benefit from a range of opportunities to visit other schools to share good practice and learn new approaches. Staff told inspectors that they are well supported by leaders, and that the training provided has improved their teaching and pupils’ outcomes. Newly qualified staff praise the support they receive from leaders.
• Leaders monitor the quality of teaching and learning regularly and meet with staff to discuss pupils’ outcomes. This has led to improvements in the teaching of English, phonics and mathematics.
• The pupil premium funding is used well to support disadvantaged pupils. Leaders ensure that this funding is used to improve the quality of teaching. They provide staff training and have increased the involvement of senior leaders in helping teachers to plan and deliver high-quality lessons.
• Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is well coordinated. Leaders ensure that these pupils are well supported to achieve their individual targets. Leaders know what needs to develop further. For example, they have identified the need to strengthen the way in which teachers and teaching assistants work in partnership to plan for individual pupils’ learning.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well by leaders and other staff. The school’s religious education curriculum and lessons in personal, social, health and economic education provide a range of opportunities for pupils to learn about others and the world around them.
• Displays around the school depict a vibrant and creative curriculum. Teachers work effectively to plan activities through topics that pupils enjoy. The arts and science, for example, are praised by pupils as being enjoyable and interesting. Pupils are rightly proud of their work that takes pride of place in the local community, outside Cricklewood Station.
• Although pupils enjoy a broad and balanced curriculum, the leadership of these subjects is still developing. The monitoring of teaching and learning in subjects other than English and mathematics is not fully effective. The interim executive headteacher has plans in place to develop the wider curriculum so that pupils make consistently good progress and develop knowledge and skills more efficiently.
• The curriculum is enriched by a range of other activities, including residential trips and educational visits to support pupils’ learning in subjects such as history and science. The school is a key part of the local community. Pupils have been involved in the design process to regenerate the local area, and regularly work with the local community on projects. Partnerships with other schools support pupils’ physical education lessons well, and their increasing involvement in sporting competitions.
• Leaders have worked in partnership with the local authority to redevelop the early years provision. This year, the early years department is in a new location within the school grounds, which is more conducive to developing children’s play and learning. The newly refurbished environment is bright and attractive, and leaders’ work to improve this part of the school has had a positive impact on children’s outcomes.
• Most parents are happy with the school. Those who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, were mostly content with the school’s work. They were particularly pleased with the quality of teaching and their children’s progress. Those who spoke with inspectors praised the way in which teachers are keen to listen to their comments.
• Nevertheless, a significant minority of parents are not happy with the school. More work is needed to gain their trust and reassure them of the school’s strengths and leaders’ actions to improve the school. Leaders do not make the most of all opportunities to involve parents fully in their children’s learning and the life of the school.

Governance of the school

• The local governing body works closely with trustees and representatives of the trust’s executive team to monitor the school’s work. The trust holds senior leaders to account well, and challenges leaders to improve pupils’ outcomes. As a team, they have ensured that recent changes to leadership have been managed well, and that standards in the school have been maintained.
• The regional director has kept a clear focus on school improvement in the school since it joined the trust. He has ensured that leaders have been well supported by the trust to continually improve standards.
• The trust has been particularly effective in holding leaders to account for pupils’ attendance and the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, both of which have improved over time.
• Governors and representatives of the trust visit the school regularly to see teaching in action and talk to pupils about their learning. Meetings are held regularly to monitor all aspects of leadership, teaching and pupils’ outcomes. Records of these meetings demonstrate a strong and effective governing body that offers the right balance of support and challenge to school leaders.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that all staff are suitably trained in child protection matters. The designated safeguarding leaders make sure that all concerns are addressed swiftly and are in line with the school’s safeguarding arrangements.
• Staff understand how to manage allegations and are clear about the school’s whistleblowing procedures. Regular briefings ensure that safeguarding is addressed throughout the year.
• Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe. Those who spoke with inspectors demonstrated a clear understanding of how to stay safe online. Pupils feel safe in school and report that staff deal effectively with any concerns they raise.
• Lessons and assemblies are used well to raise the profile of personal well-being and safety. Parents agree that their children are safe and well cared for at school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers work well together and form a strong team. Staff morale is positive, and teachers meet regularly, both formally and informally, to discuss their work and to talk about pupils’ progress. New staff compliment the ethos of the school and the way in which staff work together to make learning interesting for pupils.
• Reading is taught well. Pupils are particularly pleased with leaders’ investment in new and engaging texts for them to read in lessons. The new library is also well used to support pupils’ enjoyment for reading. Displays around the school demonstrate teachers’ commitment to raise the profile of reading and literacy. The focus on developing pupils’ vocabulary is consistently good throughout the school.
• Phonics is taught effectively. Teachers are confident in their teaching strategies to enable pupils to use letter sounds to read and write words. Phonics sessions are engaging and build well on what pupils already know and can do. Phonics is also taught well in other lessons, where teachers remind pupils about how to blend sounds to read new words.
• Teachers and leaders are working effectively to improve pupils’ writing. The use of engaging reading texts is having an impact on the quality of pupils’ written work. For example, Year 6 pupils showed great empathy in their written stories based on ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’. Pupils are taught systematically how to use punctuation and grammar accurately in their written work. Writing is well modelled by teachers. The use of ‘working walls’ and other displays provide good examples of effective writing.
• The approaches to teaching mathematics are well developed throughout the school. Teachers ensure that pupils have a good grasp of number and calculation in order to tackle other mathematical problems and topics. Teachers use resources well to develop pupils’ understanding of mathematics concepts.
• In most classes, teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. They know how to move pupils’ learning on and address pupils’ misconceptions well. However, teachers’ strategies to extend pupils’ learning and to deepen their knowledge are not consistently effective throughout the school.
• The support for lower-attaining pupils is not consistently of the best quality. Sometimes, activities for these pupils are not well matched to their needs, and sometimes expectations of what these pupils can achieve are not sufficiently high.
• Work in pupils’ topic books shows that they learn a range of concepts in science, history, geography and the wider curriculum. However, leaders do not use consistently effective systems to monitor the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning in these subjects. The planning and delivery of these subjects is not consistently strong.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils told inspectors that bullying rarely happens in their school but that when it does occur, teachers deal with it quickly and effectively. Displays around the school communicate quite vividly, the school’s work to promote anti-bullying. Pupils know the different forms of bullying and are confident in reporting any worries they may have.
• Pupils are well cared for by a committed team of teachers, teaching assistants and support staff, including midday supervisors. In the playground, pupils are well supervised. Pupils enjoy the school’s grounds, including the green space, playgrounds and sports equipment.
• Leaders’ work to promote pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is good. The use of the sports premium has led to an increase in the number of pupils taking part in sports activities, for example. Healthy lifestyles are well promoted in lessons and through special events and assemblies.
• Pupils like school and this is shown in their good attendance. Leaders’ actions to improve attendance have been very effective. The rates of persistent absence have fallen markedly and are now in line with the national average.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils like the school-wide approach to rewarding good behaviour. They are keen to support their peers to do well and look forward to the Monday morning assemblies to celebrate their successes. Throughout the school, pupils behave well and enjoy their learning.
• In the playground, pupils behave well. Younger pupils are well looked after by the older ones and pupils play together harmoniously. They are polite and well mannered. They show respect for adults and each other.
• Pupils told inspectors that behaviour in school is usually good. The school’s records and incident logs support this view. Last year, the number of fixed-term exclusions was higher than the national average. Records show that leaders followed the school’s policy, and exclusions only happened as a last resort. This year, there have been no fixed-term exclusions.
• In lessons, pupils are attentive and follow instructions well. Pupils respect their teachers and are keen to improve their work. Occasionally, when work is not well matched to pupils’ needs, they lose focus and sometimes become restless.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Strong teaching throughout the school ensures that pupils make good progress in their learning. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Pupils learn to read well. Younger pupils use phonics accurately to read and write new words. The teaching of phonics has improved, and pupils in Years 1 and 2 achieve well. Pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 who read with inspectors demonstrated good skills for their age. They answered questions about their chosen texts and were able to talk about the meanings of key words. Pupils used a range of approaches effectively to read unfamiliar words. Pupils develop a good knowledge of different authors and could talk about their favourite authors and genres.
• Pupils’ counting and number skills are developed well from key stage 1 and built upon as they move through key stage 2. Pupils develop independence in using calculation strategies to find answers to complex problems. The school’s focus on improving pupils’ reasoning skills is having a positive impact, particularly in key stage 2. Pupils make good progress in mathematics throughout the school. The work in their books shows that they cover a range of mathematical concepts in depth.
• Work in books demonstrates pupils’ good writing skills. Pupils learn how to spell, punctuate sentences and use grammar correctly to create interesting pieces of written work. They have the freedom to write for enjoyment and at length, across a range of subjects. Over time, pupils make good progress in writing.
• Although pupils’ progress is strong in reading, writing and mathematics, some pupils are capable of achieving even more. Lower-attaining pupils are sometimes held back by work that does not meet their needs.
• Although pupils explore a range of topics and develop skills in a variety of subjects, their progress is more variable in subjects other than English and mathematics.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders have worked effectively to make significant changes to the early years provision this year. These classes have been relocated so that children in the Nursery and Reception classes can learn and play together. The learning environment has been refurbished, inside and out, so that it provides children with good-quality experiences across all areas of learning.
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of the early years. They identify priorities for improvement and monitor children’s learning well. Leaders analyse the progress made by different groups of children and identify where additional teaching is required to help children keep up with their peers. Leaders acknowledge that partnerships with parents could be strengthened, particularly in sharing children’s achievements from home.
• From low starting points for their age, children achieve well. The work in children’s books and teachers’ observations of children’s learning show that children make good progress. The proportion of children that achieved a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year was below the national average last year. Nonetheless, those children made substantial progress from their starting points. Children achieve well and a higher proportion is on track to achieve a good level of development this year.
• Teaching is consistently strong in the early years. Staff know children well and follow their interests. Children enjoy their learning. One group of children had great fun with the teaching assistant as they drew around themselves on large pieces of paper to find out who was the tallest. Children responded very well to the challenge of using a metre stick to measure their height accurately.
• Staff provide a variety of interesting and engaging activities for children to explore. Staff intervene appropriately to ask questions that extend children’s learning. Their interactions with children are positive and support children’s language and communication skills well.
• Children develop their physical skills well, which supports their early writing skills. For example, in the Nursery, children tried different sized tweezers to move jelly balls from slime to pots and containers. Outside, children use the ride-on toys with confidence, and undertake activities on a larger scale.
• Children are encouraged to be creative and use their imagination. For example, children pretend to take care of babies as they play with dolls and know that they must be gentle when they put the babies into their cots. Other children used the mud kitchen to make a range of potions and meals to serve to visitors.
• Staff make the most of opportunities to promote children’s literacy and mathematical skills. Children’s writing is celebrated in every part of the early years. There are continuous opportunities for children to develop their writing, reading and number skills as they play and during focus activities with adults. For example, children used good measuring skills as they poured different amounts of porridge into bowls.
• Children’s behaviour is good. They cooperate well and respond happily to adults’ encouragement. They develop good social skills and learn why turn taking is a good thing. For example, children shared the resources sensibly as they explored coloured blocks of ice.
• Provision for two-year-olds is effective. Staff are well trained, and resources are appropriate to meet young children’s needs. Care routines for all children are appropriate. Children are safe in the early years and are well prepared for their learning in Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 142636 Barnet 10058812 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 converter 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 376 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Andrew Harper Daniel Hawkins (Interim executive headteacher) Telephone number 0208 455 4013 Website Email address www.claremontprimarynw2.co.uk office@claremontprimary.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Claremont Primary School joined The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust in 2016. The trust delegates some responsibilities to the school’s local governing body. The chair of governors is also a trustee. The trust’s regional director works closely with leaders and governors to oversee the work of the school.
• The school is led by an interim executive headteacher who is also the headteacher of Child’s Hill Primary School. The interim executive headteacher spends four days each week at Claremont Primary. He took up post at the start of January 2019.
• The school also receives support from other headteachers and senior leaders within the trust.
• The school has provision for two-year-old children.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited each class at least once to observe pupils’ learning. Senior leaders accompanied inspectors on most of these visits.
• Inspectors looked at pupils’ work in books and on display. Leaders reviewed pupils’ work with inspectors and held meetings to talk about pupils’ progress.
• The inspection team met with different groups of pupils to discuss their views. Inspectors heard pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 read. Inspectors spoke with pupils informally during lessons and breaktimes.
• Inspectors met with different members of staff, including senior and middle leaders, and newly qualified staff. The lead inspector met with representatives of the trust and held a separate meeting with the local governing body.
• Inspectors looked at the single central record of staff suitability and scrutinised other documentation related to behaviour and safety, including incident records, policies and procedures.
• Inspectors met with parents in the playground to seek their views. Inspectors reviewed the 14 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and the five free-text responses to the survey.
• Inspectors reviewed the 26 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

Inspection team

Gary Rawlings, lead inspector Karen Jaeggi Tim McLoughlin

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector