Emmanuel Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ outcomes by ensuring that rates of progress in writing in key stage 2 strengthen to match those in mathematics and reading.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by identifying and using teaching approaches to improve boys’ progress.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that any gaps in performance between different groups and different subjects are eliminated.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, well supported by two effective assistant headteachers, brings a firm moral purpose to the leadership of Emmanuel School. The leadership team has high expectations of themselves and staff. The vision of the leadership team can be seen in every aspect of the work of the school. In particular, leaders have been instrumental in creating a culture that enables all pupils to excel. This is reflected in the outstanding personal development, behaviour and welfare, strong curriculum and special needs provision.
• Emmanuel School has changed significantly since the time of the previous inspection, in 2007. For example, an additional modern new building, opened in 2012, has enabled the school to more than double in size.
• Parents continue to regard the school very highly. One parent told inspectors that ‘Emmanuel isn’t just a pillar of the community – it is more than that’. Parents were unreservedly positive about their experiences, citing nurture, approachability and support for themselves and their families as key strengths.
• School leaders have developed a rich and engaging curriculum, and this is a strength of the school. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, including learning about British values, is implicit in the curriculum and taught well. The curriculum includes, for example, engagement with a community in Sierra Leone. There is a high-quality music offer, which includes a school brass band. Every child in Years 5 and 6 learns a brass instrument. All children in key stages 1 and 2 have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. There are opportunities provided in a range of sports, for example football, netball, cricket and tag rugby, where the school has many achievements. The curriculum and teaching of Spanish in key stage 2 is of high quality.
• Pupils spoke highly of the curriculum and said they enjoy learning. They enthused about the extra-curricular activities, for example art club, chess, coding and French. They enjoy their school journeys to local places of interest.
• Leaders check on the progress of all pupils and train teachers through transparent performance management processes. This ensures consistency in the quality of teaching and learning across the school. Teachers said that they feel supported and that their well-being is carefully considered.
• Leaders have ensured that teachers have access to effective programmes of professional development and training. For example, staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities.
• Attendance at the school is above national average, and the rate of exclusion is very low. This is because leaders have established and maintained excellent behaviour management systems. Incidents at the school are rare and dealt with effectively, so that there is no repeat.
• Leadership and provision for pupils with SEND is a strength of the school. Here, pupils make strong progress from their starting points due to high-quality nurture and support.
• Middle leaders add to the capacity to make improvements. This group supports their colleagues well, enabling good practice to spread.
• Leaders have ensured that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used well to raise standards. Additional sports funding is equally well used to successfully promote access to high-quality sporting opportunities.
• The school has wide-ranging and accurate assessment systems, which the school uses to monitor progress and set targets. Using these systems, leaders have identified an issue of underperformance in writing at key stage 2 and gaps between the performance of boys and girls across the school. Strategies to tackle these issues have been put in place, and are beginning to have the desired impact.

Governance of the school

• Governors take their roles and responsibilities very seriously. There is a good balance of support and challenge. They understand and take account of the diverse nature of the community which the school serves.
• Governors have a good understanding of the effectiveness of the school. This is because they receive detailed information from the leadership team about pupils’ progress. They visit the school regularly to find out for themselves about the quality of teaching and learning. This enables them to ask probing questions about how well pupils are doing. However, they have not been sufficiently clear about some gaps in performance, and so have not been able to challenge the school consistently in this respect.
• Governors ensure value for money in using additional government funding to deepen the progress of disadvantaged pupils. Governors play a full part in securing sufficiently skilled staff to meet the pupils’ wide-ranging needs. The governing body undertakes regular training, for example in safeguarding and checking school performance, and ensures statutory requirements are met.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding at Emmanuel. The school provides a safe and caring environment for pupils.
• Leaders ensure that staff have received up-to-date safeguarding training and training for the ‘Prevent’ duty. They work effectively with outside agencies to keep pupils safe. Members of staff are familiar with the procedures in the school. Records are well maintained, and governors fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.
• All statutory checks are in place to ensure the suitability of adults working in the school. The site is secure, and staff make appropriate checks on visitors when they arrive at the school.
• Pupils spoken with during the inspection said that they felt safe. This view is shared by parents and carers who responded to the online inspection questionnaire.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations and are fully committed to providing pupils with a good education. Teachers’ positive attitudes towards learning ensure that pupils are eager to do their best and prepared to challenge themselves. Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and practice.
• Additional adults in the classroom support learning well. The respect between members of staff and pupils ensures that behaviour is managed effectively.
• Teachers and teaching assistants are skilled in asking the pupils probing questions. Their high expectations for the way pupils should answer by using full sentences support the development of language well.
• Targeted support sessions, for example for pupils with SEND, are effective. As a result, this group makes strong progress. A notable feature is the care and nurture for pupils with SEND.
• Arrangements for assessing how well pupils learn are, in the main, used effectively to ensure that pupils’ next steps are planned.
• However, assessment information reveals some differences in the performance of boys and girls. Leadership has prioritised the need to raise boys’ outcomes in writing across the school.
• Pupils are positive about the help they receive from their teachers and other pupils on how to improve their work. They are clear about what they are learning, and know how well they are doing.
• Across the school, there are consistent approaches for teaching. The development of literacy and numeracy to support learning in other subjects is well established. The curriculum enables teachers to make connections skilfully, so that they can identify pupils’ interests and secure their engagement.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils are very articulate and welcoming. They listen to each other’s ideas and support each other in their learning. They are happy and secure, and show high levels of maturity.
• Positive relationships enable pupils to become confident and to feel safe at school. Pupils are not afraid to make mistakes. For example, children in the Nursery who were in the early stages of speaking English were happy to share their limited vocabulary with adults, because members of staff are supportive and value their efforts.
• Pupils know how to stay safe. For example, they talk knowledgeably about e-safety and about how to stay free from bullying. Pupils are clear about various types of bullying and know what to do if they have any concerns. If bullying occasionally happens, pupils say that it is always dealt with quickly.
• Members of staff promote pupils’ physical and emotional well-being extremely well. As a result, pupils develop and show high levels of self-discipline. Pupils are resilient, and respond to challenge with enthusiasm.
• Pupils are supported and encouraged to be active citizens in the community from the earliest age. For example, children in the Nursery make biscuits for the local homeless persons’ shelter. This is reflective of the strong spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) provision at the school.
• Pupils are proud of their learning and take care with the presentation of their work.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Parents and pupils are very positive about behaviour at the school. Pupils move around the school calmly. They are very enthusiastic about taking responsibility. Pupils behave very well in lessons, because they want to do well. Classrooms are calm and orderly learning environments.
• Leaders carefully monitor the very few incidents of poor behaviour. Their actions have ensured that the rate of temporary exclusion has remained very low.
• Pupils are unreservedly polite, courteous and friendly.
• Pupils’ enjoyment of school is evident in their high levels of attendance. Few families present their children late for school, and levels of persistent absence are low. Leadership actions to tackle absences are effective.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• By the end of key stage 1, in reading, writing and mathematics the proportion of pupils reaching the expected or greater depth standard from their starting points is above the national average.
• Rates of progress in reading in key stage 2 have been rising. In 2018, overall reading progress was in the top 20%, nationally.
• In key stage 2, progress in mathematics is above the national average and has been for several years. The three-year average mathematics attainment score was in the top 10%, nationally. In 2018, overall progress in mathematics was above national average.
• The position is less strong in writing. In key stage 2, overall progress in writing in 2017 was in the bottom 20%, nationally. Leaders have taken action to address this, with the result that in 2018 rates of progress increased. However, progress was still below the national average. Scrutiny of books and the school’s own recent internal data reveal that actions taken to raise progress in writing are having a positive effect. Progress in writing is good, but there is more to be done to secure improvement.
• There is some variation in the performance of boys and girls across different subjects and year groups. School leaders have identified this variation and have taken steps to address it. For example, the schools’ current data shows that, in Year 6, all gaps have been eliminated. More needs to be done to close the gaps elsewhere in the school.
• Most pupils in Years 1 and 2 reach above national levels in the annual checks on phonics. This is, in part, because of the good teaching of phonics in the school.
• Pupils with SEND make good in progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The teaching provision for this for group is a strength of the school.
• Nearly half of the pupils speak English as an additional language (EAL). This group of pupils respond well to skilled teaching and specialist support, and make good progress during their time in the school.
• Across the curriculum, pupils apply their skills in literacy and numeracy. They make progress in a wide range of subjects because the rich and wide curriculum offer encourages their interests. For example, in topic work, pupils were able to articulate their knowledge and understanding in mature and thoughtful conversations with inspectors. In Spanish, inspirational teaching engages the pupils, who then freely use what they have been taught to a high standard, with good pronunciation. In physical education, levels of engagement are also high, enabling good standards to be reached.
• Pupils read regularly and in a range of contexts. The most able readers read widely for pleasure and when looking up information. Pupils told inspectors that they were ‘inspired by reading’ and that they had ‘learned a lot from books’. Such comments are typical of the aspirations of the pupils.
• Pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education.

Early years provision Good

• The bright and stimulating learning environment of the early years classroom, and outdoors, encourages children to be inquisitive and interested in their learning. They cooperate with each and show good levels of concentration. This is because teaching staff take every opportunity to engage children in activities that support their learning.
• The curriculum is a strength of the setting. Well-designed activities meet children’s interests and extend their experiences. In particular, staff plan activities which develop the children’s imagination. Children choose areas and equipment to use, and they work well and thoughtfully with each other.
• Teaching staff are skilled in teaching phonics, and children quickly develop confidence in reading. Children use their phonics knowledge well to develop their early writing skills.
• Children demonstrate good social and learning skills. For example, they were enjoying exploring paint and ice, sharing jigsaw puzzles, dressing up, and engaging in imaginative and creative play. The effective use of questioning ensures that all children are fully included in activities. Children have opportunities, for example, to explore and expand on their vocabulary using words such as, ‘bigger’, ‘smaller’, ‘under’ and ‘next to’.
• Good relationships between staff and children ensure that children behave well and show care for each other. They are safe because staff supervise them carefully and know when to provide close support or observe from a distance. Safeguarding arrangements in the early years are effective and meet requirements.
• The leadership of the early years is good and is helping to raise standards. For example, the percentage of children reaching nationally expected standards is above average. Leaders deploy staff and resources appropriately, and ensure that children’s progress in each aspect of their learning is recorded and shared with parents.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100030 Camden 10058975 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 266 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Rob Marshall Kathryn Fitzsimmons Telephone number 020 7431 7984 Website Email address www.emmanuel.camden.sch.uk/ admin@emmanuel.camden.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 14 June 2007

Information about this school

• At the time of the last inspection there were 105 pupils on roll. Due to expansion, the number on roll is 266. Emmanuel is now an average-sized primary school.
• Just under a half of pupils are from a White British heritage. Other pupils are from a variety of other ethnic heritages, including those from other White backgrounds and Asian or Asian British.
• Just under half of pupils speak English as an additional language. This is well above the national average. 16.3% of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium.
• The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan or statement is well above the national average. The proportion of pupils who receive special needs support is well below the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited classrooms to observe teaching and learning, including undertaking joint observations with school leaders. They also spent time looking through pupils’ books and listening to pupils read.
• Meetings were held with members of the governing body, and with representatives from the local authority and Diocesan Board. Discussions were held with senior and middle leaders.
• Inspectors spoke with a number of parents before and after the school day. They also considered 59 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.
• Inspectors held discussions with groups of pupils, as well as other conversations with pupils in school and on the playground. Views from 15 staff questionnaires were also considered. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.
• A wide range of documents was scrutinised, including records related to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, safeguarding procedures and the school’s analysis of how well it is improving. Inspectors also examined the school’s records of checks on the quality of teaching.

Inspection team

Martin Roberts, lead inspector Nick Hitchen Laura Pease Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector