Torriano Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further reduce persistent absence and improve overall attendance so that it is in line with the national average.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher and other senior leaders pursue excellence. They have the highest expectations for pupils and work together as a highly effective team.
• Leadership is outstanding at all levels. All senior leaders are involved in curriculum innovation. Their roles are integral to school improvement and they share an outstanding commitment to improving pupils’ life chances.
• Leaders and governors understand the need to develop future leaders. Strong succession planning is part of the school’s success story. Senior and middle leaders spoke about the exemplary personal and professional development opportunities they have experienced.
• School leaders are outward-looking and work in partnership with local teaching schools to provide initial teacher training to support new entrants to the profession. Leaders are at the forefront of educational research, supported by the Educational Endowment Foundation, to improve pupils’ attainment through a focus on developing their speaking skills.
• The curriculum is exceptional and demonstrates leaders’ intentions to raise attainment through innovating the curriculum. Staff have travelled widely to research successful models of teaching and learning in schools. Their findings have enriched the curriculum.
• Leaders use assessment well to identify individual pupils who may require additional support. Leaders, including governors, ensure that pupil premium and SEN funding is used effectively. A programme of additional support is in place to enable pupils to make strong progress.
• Displays are bold, bright, attractive and stimulating. An artist in residence works alongside pupils to create a rich, vibrant learning environment. The displays inspire pupils to take pride in their school and motivate their learning.
• The sports premium funding is used effectively to offer a wide range of sporting activities in the school. Pupils are aware of healthy lifestyle choices and of the need to be fit and active to support their well-being.
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of school self-evaluation. They know the school’s strengths and areas for further improvement and swift actions are put in place when needed.

Governance of the school

• Governance is very strong. Governors are knowledgeable and thoroughly fulfil all their statutory duties.
• Governors know the school’s key strengths and, also, the areas for further development. They are well trained and offer strong challenge to school leaders.
• Governors are open to challenge and willing to learn. They consider the school to be at the centre of the local community and as a place of calm and purpose for all learners.
• Governors are frequent visitors to their school and take part in conversations with school leaders to promote school improvement.
• Governors engage well with parents and oversee all safeguarding arrangements with diligence and care.

Safeguarding

• Arrangements for safeguarding are highly effective.
• There is a strong safeguarding culture in the school. Governors and school leaders have ensured that safeguarding procedures are securely in place and fully understood by all members of staff. Effective staff training has deepened staff understanding of potential risks and how to report concerns.
• Safer recruitment practices are very strong and all appropriate checks on adults working in the school are rigorous.
• Risk assessments of the school site and educational visits are detailed and thorough.
• Parents report that their children feel very safe in school and are well cared for. This is also the view of pupils, who are confident in the knowledge that all members of staff will listen to their concerns and help them.
• The school responds extremely well to the needs of its community and offers pupils and parents workshops to raise awareness of issues, including knife crime, gangs, substance abuse and online safety.
• School leaders work closely with a wide range of outside agencies, including the police and Camden local safeguarding services.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teaching is outstanding. This is because teachers use excellent subject knowledge to immerse pupils in dynamic and creative learning opportunities. All groups of learners are offered strong challenge and opportunities to reflect on their learning.
• Learning is cross-curricular, and links are made across science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics to broaden pupils’ learning experiences. Teachers are clear that creativity leads the learning and all learning is purposeful and placed in context to aid pupils’ understanding.
• Talk is given priority to enable pupils to articulate their thoughts and to reason, rehearse and evaluate new concepts. Progress is tracked rigorously, and pupils are aware of what they need to do next.
• Learning is exciting and pupils are encouraged to explore new ideas to deepen their understanding. Pupils extend their learning by sharing and evaluating their findings with others.
• All learning is relevant to pupils’ life experiences. Pupils are helped to become global citizens, who have a strong understanding of the needs of others and of issues in the world.
• Teachers know their pupils very well and checking pupils’ understanding is an integral part of every lesson. Pupils’ progress is tracked carefully, and pupils understand how well they are doing and how to improve their work.
• Teachers and teacher assistants work skilfully to support the learning needs of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. Learning is focused on developing what pupils already know, identifying misconceptions and encouraging pupils to reflect on and engage in their own learning. Pupils are encouraged to think about the learning process and to decide on the right steps to improve their knowledge and skills.
• The school is successful in meeting a wide range of learning needs for pupils with developmental language delay. The school’s strong focus on developing pupils’ speaking skills is particularly successful in supporting language development. The school successfully meets the needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Their learning is highly individualised, as identified in their education, health and care plans.
• The teaching of mathematics mastery, alongside a key focus on developing strong reasoning skills, has strengthened pupils’ learning. Pupils are able to reason, justify and apply mathematical skills with confidence in all year groups. This focus delivers strong mathematical outcomes for all pupils.
• Pupils’ standards in reading and writing are outstanding across the school. Pupils are confident readers and have an excellent awareness of phonics sounds to help them to decode words and to support their writing skills.
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of challenging reading material. Reading comprehension skills are taught extremely well. Writing and reading development are seen as interdependent and delivered through a strong fusion of cross-curricular links. There are many planned opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their writing and reading skills across the school’s curriculum.
• Writing is underpinned by speaking, and pupils are encouraged to use ambitious vocabulary in their speech and writing. Pupils are taught skilfully to use grammatical structures to develop their writing. All writing is purposeful and linked to the creative curriculum. Teachers work hard over time to ensure that pupils develop resilience and the confidence to write at length for a variety of purposes.

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’s ethos is positive and affirming. School leaders are determined that all pupils have a right to be heard and are supported to enjoy coming to school.
• Pupils have a strong voice in the school. This includes a ‘rights-respecting’ council and a pupil task force to address new initiatives. Pupils are consulted in regard to curriculum innovation and change.
• The school is at the heart of its community and parents are lavish in their praise of the school. One parent reported, ‘This is an excellent school that makes diversity come alive.’ Parents praise the nurturing ethos of the school and the values that the school celebrates.
• Pupils are very proud of their school and show strong sensitivity to and awareness of the needs of others. Pupils are polite, courteous and highly motivated. Incidents of poor behaviour and bullying are rare.
• Equality, diversity and difference are celebrated as strengths, and pupils are prepared extremely well for life in modern Britain.
• The school is very aware of pupil and parent well-being, and regularly reaches out to its families to offer support. School leaders work effectively with outside agencies to ensure that all families have access to adult services.
• A breakfast club and a wide range of after-school clubs are available for pupils to develop their interests.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils and staff treat each other with kindness and respect. Pupils behave extremely well in lessons and staff nurture their pupils’ confidence and, thus, raise their self-esteem.
• Behaviour in the playground and dining hall is excellent. Parents report that the school is an oasis of calm.
• Assemblies celebrate pupils’ achievement and promote a deep understanding of the spiritual, moral and social responsibilities pupils have towards each other.
• School leaders have taken swift action to improve attendance. Holidays in term time are not authorised. Parents who take their children out of school during term time are issued with fixed penalty notices.
• The school has a policy of calling home on the first morning of any absence to ensure that pupils are safe. Medical certification is required for longer periods of absence and rewards are in place to encourage strong attendance.
• A small number of families present challenges with persistent absence. The school’s pastoral care worker, educational welfare officer and senior leaders work closely with vulnerable families. This has resulted in reducing the proportion of pupils who are repeatedly absent or late for school. However, rates of attendance remain below the national average and too many pupils are persistently absent.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils make exceptional progress. There is a shared expectation that pupils will develop their basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics to a high standard across all subjects.
• A high proportion of pupils join the school with skills, knowledge and experiences that are below those typical for their age. From their low starting points, pupils make strong progress across the early years and into key stage 1.
• Attainment at the end of the early years is above the national average, and pupils score highly in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Progress over time is excellent for all groups of pupils and, by the end of key stage 1, attainment is higher than the national average.
• Progress over time is striking for all pupils. Pupils’ attainment in key stage 2 is well above the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils who attain the greater-depth standards in reading, writing and mathematics is very high.
• Pupils also achieve highly across the wider curriculum. The school’s pursuit of excellence in all subjects ensures that pupils’ learning across the wider curriculum is outstanding.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities make excellent progress from their starting points. This is also true of pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• Oracy underpins all learning and pupils are encouraged to think about what they are learning. Most-able pupils are presented with a strong level of challenge.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The leadership of the early years is outstanding. Leaders and governors are highly ambitious and ensure that children make rapid progress from their low starting points. Attainment is above the national average by the end of the Reception Year.
• Speaking is at the heart of all learning, and adults model ambitious vocabulary through play. Skilful questioning develops the children’s thinking skills and encourages them to begin problem-solving. Children are encouraged to ask why things happen and to explain their thinking.
• The learning environment is visually rich and fires children’s imagination and interest. Leaders plan exciting learning opportunities indoors and outdoors to capture children’s natural curiosity and to extend their learning experiences.
• Children enjoy high levels of independence and take responsibility for their learning. They develop resilience and perseverance to complete tasks and to share with each other.
• Leaders offer strong opportunities for early reading and writing development. The teaching of phonics is outstanding, and children use a wide range of strategies to support themselves in their early reading. Children apply their phonics sounds in their early writing and, by the end of the Reception Year, pupils are able to write confidently in sentences.
• Children make strong progress in mathematics and are very confident in their understanding of number and shape. Adults model mathematical language in their teaching and, as a result, children use mathematical terms confidently and fluently, for example when explaining size, weight and distance.
• The outdoor learning environment provides opportunities to use large play apparatus to help develop children’s fine and gross motor skills. Children are encouraged to take turns, to share and to be considerate of others. Behaviour is excellent and children cooperate and collaborate well in all tasks.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100023 Camden 10052792 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 448 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Luca Salice Helen Bruckdorfer Telephone number 020 7424 0202 Website Email address www.torriano.camden.sch.uk/ headofschool@torriano.camden.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Torriano Primary School opened in September 2015, following the amalgamation of the infant and junior schools.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school, and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well above the national average.
• The school has a language resource base for 14 pupils who are identified as having developmental language delay.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited all classrooms, spoke to pupils in lessons and looked at their work. Senior leaders accompanied inspectors on all visits.
• The school made a wide range of documentation available for scrutiny. This included the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, pupils’ assessment information and monitoring records.
• Discussions were held with senior leaders and middle leaders to discuss areas of school improvement.
• An inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead and the headteacher to view the school’s single central record. Inspectors scrutinised safeguarding documentation and attendance information.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and observed their behaviour during break and lunchtimes. Behaviour logs and first-aid records were reviewed, and inspectors spoke to pupils to gather their views.
• A meeting was held with the chair of governors and the designated governor for safeguarding. There was also a meeting with the school improvement partner from Camden Learning Trust.
• In addition to speaking to parents in the playground, inspectors took into account the 99 responses from the online questionnaire, Parent View.

Inspection team

Tom Canning, lead inspector Rani Karim Lando Du Plooy

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector