Drayton Green Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of teaching further by:
  • developing the use of the assessment system so that teachers make consistently good use of it in their planning
  • making sure that all teachers give pupils tasks that are suitably challenging, particularly for the most able pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders lead the school with care and sensitivity, but also with ambition. Their vision is to improve teaching and outcomes for all pupils. The school’s assessment information, classroom activity and work in pupils’ books show that this is proving successful.
• Senior leaders have surmounted the difficulties posed by several changes of senior staff. The headteacher and assistant headteachers make an effective leadership team, which is well supported by a capable governing body. Through this period of change, a consistent focus on raising the quality of learning and pupils’ progress has been maintained.
• Middle leaders are similarly ambitious for the school. They are enthusiastic about their work and can link the actions they take to improved outcomes for pupils. A good example of this is the successful development of innovative mathematics teaching. This has led to increased expertise and, in turn, to significant improvements in teaching and rates of progress in key stages 1 and 2.
• Leaders’ actions to improve the teaching of phonics and pupils’ early reading skills have also been successful. Leaders recognised that standards needed to rise rapidly following a dip last year and made changes to phonics teaching methods. Standards are now rising rapidly, and the youngest pupils make a good start to their reading. Additionally, leaders’ use of a range of intervention groups and the provision of whole- school resources are supporting rising standards in reading as pupils move through the school.
• The school’s new system for keeping a check on pupils’ progress is also intended to enable senior leaders to hold teachers to account for progress made in their classes. This system is now starting to provide useful information for tracking the progress of groups of pupils to identify any underachievement. The headteacher is keen to develop this further so that teachers can make use of the analysis in planning work for pupils.
• Pupil premium funding is used to support disadvantaged pupils using a range of strategies. For example, leaders have been very quick to address last year’s drop in key stage 2 reading standards for these pupils. Support in lessons is augmented with more intensive intervention where needed, and a wealth of resources supports the specific focus on disadvantaged pupils’ reading. Additionally, the funding is used for pupils’ personal development by providing access to extra-curricular clubs and, for those who need it, a mentoring and counselling service. As a result of these strategies, disadvantaged pupils’ progress often exceeds that of their non-disadvantaged peers.
• The primary physical education and sports premium is carefully spent, including on providing specialist teaching. Pupils benefit from a good range of clubs and opportunities and take part in sports events and competitions with other local schools.
• The school makes good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is helping pupils gain a thorough understanding of life in modern Britain; in particular, the school’s deeply held values place mutual respect at its core.
• Drayton Green’s curriculum is broad and diverse. There is a focus on developing pupils’ key literacy and numeracy skills, but pupils also enjoy studying subjects such as history and geography. These are developed through a topic approach, which pupils find interesting, particularly when the themes are brought into the core subjects of English and mathematics.
• The school has received useful support from Ealing local authority. The authority has a good understanding of the school and has provided advice and consultancy to support leaders’ strategies. This included providing a detailed review of school performance and support for the governing body.

Governance of the school

• Governors are highly effective and thorough in carrying out their duties, particularly in supporting and challenging the headteacher and other leaders. Governors pay frequent visits to the school and consequently know the school very well. They have acted conscientiously to enable the school to recruit suitable staff at a time of significant change. They acted on the recommendations made by the local authority following a review undertaken last term. Because of this, they have been a driving force in school improvement, including raising standards.
• Governor committees provide a focus on pupils’ progress and curriculum provision. They communicate their work very well to parents and carers and publish minutes of all their meetings on the school’s website. Governors question school leaders on the progress of groups of pupils and the impact of additional funding, such as the school’s use of special needs funding and the pupil premium. They therefore have an incisive picture of pupils’ achievement in the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• School leaders have ensured that all members of staff are trained in child protection procedures. The school’s policies and practice are thorough. A strong culture of safety exists in the school. Key staff engage with parents, carers and other stakeholders to ensure that all pupils are supported and safe.
• Pupils are very confident that the school is a safe place; parents and staff at the school who responded to Ofsted’s surveys or spoke with an inspector agree with this view. Governors are thorough in their checking of safeguarding procedures and place the safety of pupils uppermost in their work. School leaders work very effectively with external agencies, such as social services, to ensure that when concerns are raised, they are always followed up quickly and with due care. Key staff have ensured that safer recruitment training and practice are up to date.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching at Drayton Green is good and ensures that all groups of pupils do well. Mostly, teaching is characterised by high expectations of the quality of work that pupils produce.
• The school has successfully improved the way in which teachers assess pupils’ work, with an emphasis on how well they have done and how it can be improved. This has been a helpful development since the previous inspection and is now consistently applied throughout the school. However, assessment information is not yet used consistently by teachers to inform their planning.
• Most teaching is effective in making the lessons challenging and interesting for all pupils. For example, in a mathematics lesson, pupils worked at different tasks to gain a better understanding of ratio to help them solve complex word problems; careful use of assessment information was used to identify which pupils needed additional support or further challenge. However, some teaching fails to challenge the most able pupils, particularly in key stage 2, and they spend too long on work that they can already do. This means that, for this group, teachers’ expectations are still not consistently high enough.
• Teaching staff have very strong relationships with the pupils. They work well with the teaching assistants who support pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. Pupils know that the staff want them to do well. In turn, this has developed pupils’ positive attitudes towards learning.
• Teaching in the specially resourced provision is good. All staff work very effectively as a team to ensure that each pupil’s needs are carefully met. Staff deal with challenging behaviour well and ‘go the extra mile’ to help pupils succeed. In many cases, pupils are well integrated into the mainstream school and are much valued by their classmates.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Leaders have ensured that the welfare and care of pupils is at the heart of the school community. Pupils work and play together harmoniously because they are taught to show tolerance of diversity and awareness of how to be successful learners. Through a strong curriculum, the school is developing their awareness of different faiths, races and cultures, and of people with protected characteristics. This is helping pupils to have a better understanding of life in modern Britain.
• Positive messages about how to tackle and respond to bullying have been helpful to pupils. They are particularly knowledgeable about how to keep safe while working on the internet. Pupils said that bullying is very rare at the school, though were it to occur, they know the systems that exist are robust and easily accessible. The school’s records of behaviour incidents demonstrated this to be the case over time.
• Leaders have instilled a sense of pride in the school, which is evident in the way that the pupils care about the presentation of their work, for example. They are taught how to show respect for one another, even if they hold very different beliefs or points of view.
• The school communicates very well with parents and carers, who are almost unanimous in their praise for the school’s work. One parent’s comment, typical of others, was, ‘Since starting at the school, my two children have been nurtured and encouraged to be the best they can be; this is down to the amazing staff.’ .

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They are confident, friendly and polite. They hold good attitudes to school life, take their work seriously and are respectful of the adults who teach them. Pupils help each other and hold positions of responsibility, which add to the productive culture of the school.
• Since the previous inspection, the school has worked effectively to create sensitive and respectful approaches to behaviour management. Teachers ensure that positive messages about good behaviour are consistently applied throughout lessons. This results in pupils behaving well. However, in a very small number of lessons, their attention wanders and they occasionally lose concentration.
• The school is a happy and calm place. Most pupils want to come to school every day and demonstrate a serious attitude to their work.
• Attendance rates have improved and are now at the average level for primary schools in England for all groups of pupils. However, leaders recognise the need to maintain the focus on attendance in order that standards continue to rise.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Current pupils are making very good progress in mathematics and writing and improving rates of progress in reading. This is reflected in the school’s assessments of their progress over time, in their books and in their learning in lessons. Outcomes have improved continuously for pupils over the past two years in key stages 1 and 2. Pupils are also making good progress in other subjects, including science and art.
• In 2017, the proportion of Year 1 pupils achieving the expected standards in the phonics screening check was slightly below that seen nationally. However, because of determined action by staff, pupils’ phonics skills are improving quickly. Standards of reading are good in key stage 1 and pupils read with clarity and understanding. They clearly enjoy reading and told inspectors about their favourite types of books, although they also offered the view that some of the books in school were rather old-fashioned.
• In 2017, the proportion of Year 6 pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and writing was average, and above average in mathematics. Relatively few pupils attained the higher standards in any subject. The headteacher recognises that more should be expected of most-able pupils and is already putting in place strategies that aim to redress this shortfall.
• Disadvantaged pupils are making good progress. Leaders are tracking their progress more closely, and differences in progress and attainment between these and other pupils have been eradicated. Leaders are committed to maintaining this improvement by targeting additional support where it is most needed.
• Pupils who have SEN and/ or disabilities are making better progress than in the past. Their needs are now better identified, and they are given precise support by teachers and teaching assistants. This includes pupils in both the mainstream school and the specially resourced provision.
• Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education when they leave the school at the end of Year 6. This is because of the good foundation they receive at Drayton Green Primary School. Pupils are confident and positive about their future because they have learned to be successful.

Early years provision Good

• Staff plan carefully to ensure that children learn well and make substantial progress from their starting points. As a result, children’s levels of development have improved and are now close to those seen nationally.
• Teachers in the Reception and Nursery classes create a welcoming learning environment. Teaching assistants work well to support children in their learning. Children are excited by the topics that they study. They settle swiftly to work and are well behaved and respectful towards one another.
• Classrooms are very well resourced and staffed so that children can learn independently or with adults, as they choose. The adults place themselves carefully, so they are always the focus of the main teaching activities taking place. Children are enthusiastic and work well together, enjoying the activities which take place both indoors and outside.
• This strength of provision is typified in the Nursery class where the teacher works hard to develop children’s imagination through themes that enthral them. For example, ‘magic beans’ were used as part of the ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ topic to introduce children to counting forwards and backwards. Very skilful teaching challenged children’s ability to both read and write.
• Across all classes, children are very well cared for and their well-being is of paramount importance.
• Leadership and management of the early years provision are extremely effective so that provision is strong, both in the mainstream school and in the specially resourced provision. Children’s progress is checked carefully to identify any gaps in their understanding.
• Since the previous inspection, the school has worked successfully to raise disadvantaged children’s achievement; they are now doing as well as their peers.
• A small number of parents spoke to inspectors with concerns about the staff changes that have taken place in the early years recently. Inspectors found that teaching in the early years is consistently effective.
• Children develop very positive attitudes to school life in the early years and are well prepared for moving into Year 1. Children in the Reception class are already showing increased skill in writing, and all children clearly enjoy reading.
• The school is developing effective partnership working with parents, who give the school valuable information about the children as they begin their ‘school journey’. Children’s progress is shared with parents electronically, and assessments of the children’s achievement are given to parents at the end of the early years.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 101881 Ealing 10041057 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 Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 396 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Marion Hardy Karen Doherty 020 8997 2307 www.draytongreen.ealing.sch.uk admin@draytongreen.ealing.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 14–15 November 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is larger than most primary schools. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average. The proportion of pupils that join or leave the school during term time is above the national average.
• The school has specially resourced provision for 21 pupils on the autistic spectrum. Currently, there are 17 pupils on roll in the unit.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching in samples of lessons in all year groups, several of which were visited jointly with the headteacher.
• The inspection team heard some pupils in Years 1 and 2 read and looked at samples of their work.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including the school improvement plan and records of pupils’ behaviour, safety, safeguarding and attendance. They also scrutinised assessment information of individual pupils and records of meetings of the governing body.
• Inspectors met with teachers and spoke with pupils. A meeting was held with three members of the governing body. A meeting was also held with a representative from the local authority. Several meetings were held with the headteacher.
• The views of parents were obtained through 41 responses to the online Ofsted Parent View survey, as well as informal discussions, which were held with parents on the first day of the inspection.

Inspection team

Tim McLoughlin, lead inspector Ross Macdonald Nicholas Cornell

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector