St Paul's CofE Primary School NW7 Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that teachers consistently provide the most able pupils with challenge to deepen their thinking.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Senior leaders, supported by the governing body, have worked very well together to move the school forward since the last inspection. They have high expectations of pupils’ achievement and steadfastly keep a sharp focus on all areas of the school’s work. This has been possible because the school lives its values. The school’s culture enables staff to succeed and pupils to achieve very well. As a result, the school has attained its ultimate goal of ‘excellence’.

• The executive headteacher has the very able support of the head of school, and other senior and middle leaders. All have a very good understanding of the school’s work. Together, they drive improvement through a continuous focus on training and professional development to refine teaching and leadership skills.
• Strong partnership work between staff and local schools, in particular the ‘sister’ school, Millbrook Park CofE Primary School, have led to teachers and other staff sharing practices and developing outstanding teaching and learning. The school nurtures staff to develop their teaching and their leadership and management skills. Staff have many opportunities to develop newly acquired skills and use them to make further improvements. For example, middle leaders use their extensive knowledge of assessing and moderating pupils’ work with other schools to plan and set challenging work for the most able to reach greater depth in their work.
• The school has well-thought-out systems for checking pupils’ attainment and progress. Senior leaders use assessment information astutely when they judge the school’s overall effectiveness. They use this to identify priorities for improvement, for example making changes to the support for individuals or groups of pupils. This approach ensures that all pupils receive an equal opportunity to achieve well.
• Systems for monitoring the quality of teaching are highly effective. Senior leaders use the information gathered from observations of teaching and scrutiny of pupils’ work to appraise staff. They provide clear guidance on how staff can improve their work.
• The wider curriculum injects fun into pupils’ learning. Pupils attend the breakfast club and a range of lunchtime and after-school activities that include pupils from all phases. It is usual to see pupils from Year 1 working alongside older pupils in the computing club, or a mixed age range doing gymnastics together. Musical performances are encouraged, and this includes pupils playing the recorder or steel pans and taking part in local or national concerts. In addition, gifted and talented pupils have opportunities to play chess in national events.
• The school’s provision of specialist teaching, for example in music and physical education, leads to pupils developing interests and flair in both fields.
• The school maintains a sharp focus on developing pupils’ reading, writing and mathematical skills. Senior leaders ensure that reading sessions instil a love for books in pupils. There is much emphasis on reading and discussing a range of texts to help pupils identify different layers of meaning, and comment on their importance and effect. Well-organised support for reading sessions and the increased focus on phonics ensure that children in Reception begin to read and write quickly. As a result, children make rapid progress from Reception onwards.
• Pupils write well from Reception through to Year 6 and plans are being rolled out to work with partner schools to moderate and develop the writing skills of gifted writers.
• Following the 2016 national test results in mathematics, leaders have modified the curriculum to increase the focus on problem solving and investigation skills. This has led to Year 6 pupils working on much more complex mathematical questions.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. The school excels in developing each aspect to increase pupils’ understanding of different faiths, groups and cultures. Pupils have a strong moral grounding, and their spiritual awareness is increased through opportunities to reflect, serve others and show tolerance in the school or local community. The school’s values are intertwined with British values, which the school uses effectively to prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• The school uses the pupil premium funding effectively to serve a very small cohort of pupils. It offers pupils support through a range of interventions, activities and resources to develop their academic progress and increase their participation in sporting activities. This funding has a direct impact on pupils’ attendance, their rates of progress and involvement in wider school activities. Likewise, the physical and sport premium funding has enabled pupils to experience a wide range of sports, including the joys of winning and how to be a good loser. It also provides opportunities for pupils to develop resilience and teamwork. Senior leaders monitor the effectiveness of the funding carefully to evaluate the impact on pupils’ well-being and academic achievement.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is effective and its members make an excellent contribution to the school’s work and development.

• Governors use their expertise to provide challenge and make demands on the senior leaders to increase the school’s effectiveness. They check information given on, for example, the school’s priorities and development plan, pupils’ performance, and attendance and behaviour. Information is not readily accepted and senior leaders know that scrutiny is meticulous. Records of minutes confirm that governors make sure that targets for pupils to achieve are suitably challenging and, where necessary, adjustments are made as standards and progress improve each year.
• Governors work closely with the senior leaders to ensure that priorities are accurate and actions are effectively monitored and evaluated. They are well informed about the quality of teaching, including staffing and finance, which they keep under scrutiny. Governors fulfil their statutory duties well. They use their very good knowledge of changes and priorities in the local community. This allows them to plan ahead of impending changes that are expected to have a direct impact on the school.
• Partnership work between St Paul’s and Millbrook Park CofE Primary School is excellent. The close partnership work includes governors who sit on both bodies. There is not a long-term plan for the schools to merge but the full governing body of St Paul’s is currently investigating whether to join the London Diocesan Board Trust.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Policies are comprehensive and implemented well. Senior leaders, including the governors, ensure that nothing is left to chance in relation to protecting pupils’ well-being. The school uses robust pre-employment checks. Leaders have extended further requirements on safeguarding policy and training from contractors before they begin working on-site. 

• Classrooms provide pupils with ample guidance and references should they need to seek help and support.
• All staff are up to date with the latest training requirements in relation to radicalisation and extremism, female genital mutilation and child sexual exploitation. Leaders ensure that staff have a good understanding of the actions needed when making a referral. Recording systems show attention to detail. For example, risk assessments are robust and there is very good attention to the needs of pupils with high needs. Due regard is given to health and safety matters and no stone is left unturned. Consequently, staff are vigilant and close partnership work with external services ensures that help is timely.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teachers set high expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour. As a result, pupils are alert and inspired to achieve very well. Pupils demonstrate the stamina to remain on task and in deep concentration for a long period.

• Classrooms are calm and safe learning environments. Richly detailed displays and quick reference guides on the themes or topics taught support learning well: they provide pupils with a good access to secure knowledge as they learn.
• Teachers have a deep understanding of the subjects taught and how pupils learn. They use their expertise to plan fun but well-structured and informative lessons. As a result, teachers use time effectively to increase pupils’ knowledge and enable them to work through increasingly challenging work. For example, Year 3 pupils initially worked on separating the sources and use of man-made and natural materials before they proceeded to discuss the properties of solids, liquids and gases. Effective questioning led to pupils thinking deeply and talking about chemically processed materials. High-quality discussion that belied the actual age of pupils led to them defining the meaning of properties and ‘the chart with funny names and letters and numbers’. Skilful questioning contributed to the pupils drawing on personal and taught knowledge to identify the ‘funny chart’ as periodic tables. Pupils also made links to other work in mathematics. This was learning at its best.
• Effective planning and teaching take misconceptions into consideration. Teachers adopt a consistent approach to developing pupils’ confidence, which enables them to move progressively from working by themselves and into groups. Excellent organisation, supported by well-established rules enables learning to flow. For instance, Year 1 pupils worked enthusiastically, moving quickly from one writing activity to the next. They did not depend on the supervision of the class teacher.
• A number of features support the effectiveness of teaching very well. First, planning ensures that work is well matched to pupils’ learning needs. The most able are set more challenging work than others in the class. Those identified by the school as gifted and talented say that they would relish still-greater challenge, to stretch them even more. Inspectors agree with them. Second, support staff are carefully deployed to provide short but intensive and individualised guidance. This helps them to focus on, and consolidate, skills learned and make at least good progress. Third, teachers set pupils clear goals to achieve. For example, pupils’ desire to achieve the ‘pen licence’ demonstrates excellent attitudes to learning and the ability for them to persevere with their learning.
• Teachers and support staff adapt resources and teaching to the needs of pupils requiring additional support very well. This enables pupils at the early stage of learning English as an additional language, and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, to make good progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and move between activities without dawdling or making a fuss. Pupils are full of confidence, and know that strong self-discipline contributes to successful learning; therefore, time is not wasted. They enjoy and love their school, in particular the sheer fun of learning and the school’s values, which they treasure. A pupil’s comment sums up pupils’ views, ‘I will remember the schools’ values because they help us to focus on caring for others.’ They have used the class charter very well to develop the framework for their values, and all pupils find they can contribute to decision-making. Pupils are fully involved in serving the school and community, and in international charities. Relationships within this diverse and tightly-knit school community are strong, as is equal opportunity for all.

• Pupils take on roles of responsibility as head boy and girl and take turns to carry out specific duties around the school. Pupils proudly represent their school. As pupils progress through the school, they mature into well-rounded young people, who are opinionated, polite, helpful and ready to listen to other viewpoints.
• Bullying is rare and pupils know about different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying and prejudice-based bullying. Pupils say they are safe and parents agree wholeheartedly with their views about the secure systems at the school. Pupils are aware of ‘stranger danger’ and internet and road safety.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.

• Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning mean that they exercise good self-discipline and regulate themselves well during lessons. Consequently, lessons proceed without any interruption. Pupils keep to the school rules, and enter and leave the building in an orderly way. They arrive at school ready to begin learning, and leave with a lot of information to tell their parents about. However, while behaviour is often exemplary in the classroom, it is no better than good when pupils are in the playground. This is because over-boisterous behaviour occasionally affects relationships. Pupils are confident that when this sometimes happens, staff deal with issues swiftly and efficiently.
• Most pupils attend regularly and attendance is broadly in line with the national average for primary schools. Personal circumstances have affected the very few pupils with low attendance. However, the school’s work with external services, such as the education welfare officer, provision of the breakfast club and fines, have resulted in better attendance among the few who do not attend regularly.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Standards of attainment are well above average in all year groups. In 2016, pupils reached well above average standards in the national tests in reading, writing and mathematics at key stages 1 and 2. Similarly, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics was above the national average in Year 1. The school has sustained the high standards reached at the time of the last inspection. As a result, pupils are well prepared for secondary education.

• From their average starting points, pupils’ rates of progress were above average overall in the 2016 key stage 2 national tests. Pupils made better progress in writing and reading than in mathematics. The blip in mathematics was a direct result of the school, focusing much more on developing pupils’ writing skills. Scrutiny of pupils’ work in all year groups confirms that the school has increased the focus on developing pupils’ understanding of mathematical concepts. For example, in Year 6, pupils work competently on shapes and algebra.
• Both reading and writing skills are strong in all phases. Pupils are avid readers and read different genres fluently and with understanding. They can identify key features, comment on the use of vocabulary and give personal responses to literary texts. Pupils requiring additional help with their reading receive well-organised support from teachers and teaching assistants. Writing remains a focus, to make sure that more of the most able pupils, including those identified as talented writers, can reach higher standards by writing with greater precision and flair.
• Currently, the very few disadvantaged pupils are making above-average progress in reading, writing and mathematics and other subjects. The exceptionally good support provided helps them to access the curriculum and achieve as well as their peers and others nationally in reaching the expected standards.
• Outcomes for the most able pupils were strong, particularly in reading and mathematics. However, not all of them attained the higher standard expected in writing. The school has made a good start to correcting this. Current assessment information and scrutiny of pupils’ work confirm that the most able pupils are making above-average progress in the key subjects, reading, writing and mathematics, as well as in other subjects in the curriculum.
• The school uses very good support systems to develop the achievement of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Progress was much slower than that of other pupils nationally in 2016, primarily because not all of these very few pupils could access the curriculum. Progress currently confirms that pupils are responsive to the high level of support, which is leading to them making better than expected progress.
• Middle-attaining pupils made significantly good progress in 2016, as did pupils from minority ethnic groups, and pupils learning English as an additional language. They achieved standards in line with the national averages and made above-average progress. Like their peers, they are responsive to the support provided and they make rapid progress from below-average starting points.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Outstanding practice means that children achieve extremely well. Most children achieved a good or better level of development in all areas of learning in 2016. The focus on children making rapid progress and achieving high standards has been maintained. The culture of high expectations means that senior leaders have set higher targets for the current academic year.

• Parents very much appreciate the highly effective support provided for their children; they have noted the rapid progress children make on entry. For example, children unable to read or write were able to do so within a very short time of starting. A parent’s comment about her child’s progress gives insight into the rapid progress children make: ‘…was writing short sentences within three months and enjoyed doing it.’ This illustrates the impact of highly effective teaching, teachers’ deep knowledge and understanding of teaching phonics and basic literacy skills, and the excellent support for all children. Children develop a wide range of language, communication and numeracy skills that lead to them becoming confident learners. The school prepares children exceptionally well for the next stage of their learning.
• Teachers work very closely with the key stage 1 coordinator to discuss children’s work and their achievement, and they observe teaching in Years 1 and 2. This ensures that the early years curriculum is covering work in depth to support children when they make the transition into key stage1.
• Partnership work with parents is strong, as is their contribution to the assessments, before children enter the early years. Systems for assessing and tracking children’s progress from their entry are very good. Teachers use the information gleaned to plan ahead and give children the best possible start.
• Work in children’s online journals covers what children know, understand and can do. Achievement is skilfully linked to the award system, which teachers use to motivate children. The environment, indoors and outdoors, provides children with a wide range of stimulating activities. Teachers ensure that the use of a stepped approach allows the day to move from directed teaching activities to free flow. This works well, as specific learning activities are carefully mapped across the external and internal environment.
• Children’s learning records show that the provision has very few children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Teachers develop and use visual resources and specially adapted timetables to support children’s learning. The achievement of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. Work with external services and links with the special educational needs coordinator ensure that the progress is monitored and that work matches the needs of children well.
• The early years provision is very well led. The coordinator and other staff ensure that it runs smoothly and makes a great contribution to children’s personal development and the inclusive culture of the school. Children’s well-being is secure and their behaviour is exemplary.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 101326 Barnet 10019244 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 211 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Executive headteacher Head of school Telephone number Website Email address Robert Cottingham Anthony David Lisa Bub 020 8959 3412 www.stpaulsnw7.barnet.sch.uk office@stpaulsnw7.barnetmail.net Date of previous inspection 10–11 October 2011

Information about this school

• The school is much smaller than the average primary school.

• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is high, as is the proportion who speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average.

• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for additional funding through the pupil premium is below the national average.
• The school provides full-time provision for children in the early years phase.
• The school runs a breakfast club and a range of after-school clubs.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• The school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.
• The school does not use an alternative provider.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed a range of learning activities, including 11 part-lessons, of which four were observed with senior leaders. The inspectors also made a series of brief visits to lessons, including two one-to-one short support sessions with pupils.
• Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, head of school and middle leaders, the chair of the governing body and three other members, and a representative from the local authority. Discussions were held with three groups of pupils.
• Inspectors took into consideration the 44 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, and 26 free text responses received during the inspection. They also took account of the school’s own survey, which included responses from parents. This survey is similar to Parent View. The inspection team met parents when they were dropping off their children at school during the second day of the inspection.
• The inspection team observed the school’s work and scrutinised a number of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan, records of data on pupils’ performance, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding. Inspectors also analysed minutes of governors’ meetings, monitoring records of the school’s work to gauge the school’s effectiveness, and pupils’ work from the last academic year to the present.
• The inspection began as a section 8 short inspection for one day but it was converted to a full section 5 inspection that lasted for two days. Inspectors used the second day to gather additional evidence to assess the school’s effectiveness and verify the leaders’ self-evaluation of the school’s work.

Inspection team

Carmen Rodney, lead inspector Helen Bailey Rosemarie McCarthy Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector