Petts Hill Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Increase the opportunities for children to develop their literacy skills in the early years provision, particularly their spoken language.
• Improve pupils’ attendance further by ensuring that parents whose children do not attend school regularly:
  • take full responsibility for their children’s attendance
  • are made aware of the negative impact that low attendance has on their children’s achievement.
• Build on existing strategies to improve further pupils’ reading skills to enable them to:
  • become more confident in their interpretation and understanding of the different shades of meaning in a writer’s choice of vocabulary
  • focus closely on inference and deduction to support their comprehension skills when reading ambitious texts.
• Ensure that all middle leaders contribute to the school’s development so that their work has a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes as part of the school’s wider leadership team.

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Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Members of the leadership team are passionate about the school’s work. They have worked together effectively to sustain the school’s performance. Leaders have successfully developed a caring and friendly culture in which they expect pupils to work hard and do their best. As a result, the quality of education is good.

• Leaders check teachers’ work regularly. Senior leaders provide detailed feedback to staff that includes clear advice on how they can improve their work further. This helps staff to refine and develop the quality of their teaching through well-planned support and appropriate training. Leaders, teachers and other staff regularly assess the quality of teaching against pupils’ progress. Leaders use the progress meetings very well to make sure that teachers have relevant plans in place to support pupils at risk of falling behind with their work.
• Staff new to teaching very much appreciate the good-quality support provided. They receive mentoring and opportunities to observe and work alongside more experienced teachers. This includes visits to other schools to increase their understanding of good or better practice.
• Leaders have appointed some middle leaders but they have not filled all positions. Leaders do not delegate responsibilities to the middle leaders consistently well. As a result, the workload of senior staff is too heavy, and this affects their efficiency and management of paperwork. The work of middle leaders is underdeveloped.
• Senior leaders have high expectations of all staff and use effective performance management procedures effectively. Staff targets and actions are closely linked to the school development plan.
• The broad and balanced curriculum provides pupils with wide-ranging experiences. Programmes such as the ‘enabling enterprise’ project and careers education introduce pupils to the competitive world of industry through organised visits to simulated work places. Subjects such as music, taught by a specialist teacher, add to the breadth of the curriculum. This provides opportunities for pupils to take part in productions and show off their creative skills.
• The creative curriculum includes strong opportunities for pupils to learn about and show respect for all cultures. For instance, the work on ‘festival memories’ enabled pupils to learn about cultural heritages, through celebrations such as Diwali and Eid. In literacy, pupils use rap to learn grammatical features such as ‘determiners’. Such activities lead pupils to say that the curriculum is fun and interesting. After-school clubs and activities, and organised visits to places of interest, extend the curriculum. As part of the school’s work on equality, all pupils have full and free access to the clubs and activities offered.
• The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Leaders and staff have created a culture in which pupils know they are valued as distinctive groups, and as individuals. Leaders use assemblies to develop pupils’ ability to reflect and celebrate pupils’ achievements. This creates a sense of wonder and respect as pupils demonstrate their understanding of living together within a closely-knit and friendly community. Pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values, particularly the concepts of democracy, respect and tolerance, is good. The curriculum prepares pupils extremely well for life in modern Britain.
• Across the curriculum, leaders ensure that teachers have high expectations for pupils’ use of literacy and numeracy skills. Leaders have increased the focus on developing reading because it has not been as strong as writing and mathematics. Consequently, pupils currently in the school read well, enjoy reading across the curriculum, and understand the importance of explaining the writer’s choice of words to convey meaning. The teaching of phonics is good. However, the school has had less success this year.
• Leaders carefully target the use of the pupil premium and sports funding. This has a direct impact on pupils’ academic achievement and personal development. Leaders ensure that they use the pupil premium funding effectively to provide timely and relevant specialist support, such as speech and language therapy and counselling. The high quality of this support results in pupils engaging well with the extra tuition in mathematics and literacy. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make good academic gains, as seen in the end of key stage 2 tests.
• The sports premium funding has led to an increase in pupils enjoying competitive sports locally. Additionally, pupils have an awareness of the importance of staying healthy and practising good oral hygiene daily as part of the healthy school programme. Targeted training for staff has had a substantial impact on the development of their skills to teach physical education confidently.
• Funding for special educational needs is used effectively to provide individual and group support for pupils. This leads to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities making good progress.

Governance of the school

• Members of the governing body have a wealth of experience that they bring to the school. They supplement their expertise with additional and specific training, for example related to safeguarding and assessment information. Training has equipped governors with the skills to challenge leaders and hold them to account for pupils’ achievement. Governors scrutinise outcomes when challenging leaders about the progress of different groups of pupils.

• Governors work closely with the senior leaders and have a thorough knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Minutes of their meetings show that they ask leaders questions and check information given to them carefully. They do this through regular visits to the school to verify the senior leaders’ assessment, gauge pupils’ views, and involve them in making some important decisions. For example, governors invited members of the school council to take part in the appointment of the deputy headteacher. Governors value pupils’ input, which they view as purposeful and powerful.
• Governors understand the demographic changes in the locality, the impact these have on the school’s priorities and the challenges they place on maintaining the school’s effectiveness. They make sure that staff have sufficient resources to meet the needs of pupils, that financial management is strong and that all statutory requirements are met.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Senior leaders and the governors have ensured that staff receive relevant training and are up to date with changes and developments in safeguarding. Staff are aware of potential signs of abuse and know how to report concerns regarding pupils’ welfare. Comprehensive training on national priorities, such as female genital mutilation, radicalisation and children missing education, has increased the awareness of all staff.

• Leaders, governors and staff know the local community very well and the contextual safeguarding issues that can affect pupils’ lives. For example, they have skilfully worked with the local police when there was a serious incident in the local community.
• Partnership working with a range of local safeguarding groups is very good. The school ensures that referrals are timely. Staff encourage pupils to tell if they have worries, however small. Consequently, pupils do not hesitate to use the different channels provided to seek help and guidance.
• Pupils feel very safe in the school and parents agree that the school is a haven. The school works closely with parents and ensures that they are well informed about keeping their children safe from harm. Parents readily accept the offers available to attend workshops, and receive information sheets, letters and text messages on safeguarding.
• Regular fire drills mean that pupils are familiar with the established routines. This, combined with coverage of a wide range of safeguarding topics, including e-safety week, means that pupils have a clear understanding about staying safe when in and out of school.
• All welfare requirements are fully met in the early years provision.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use their subject expertise and knowledge of pupils’ progress well to make sure that they plan tasks that meet the needs of individuals and groups of pupils. Teachers link tasks to well-selected resources that stimulate pupils’ thinking.
• Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour. Pupils enjoy their learning and rise to the challenge. Pupils learn well and respond effectively to teachers’ clear explanations and demonstrations. Teachers ensure that all pupils understand the standard of work needed to achieve successful outcomes.
• Classrooms are calm. Work captures pupils’ imagination, primarily because teachers set a series of tasks of that increase in difficulty. Even so, the most able pupils from Year 1 through to Year 6 have a hunger for learning and are rarely ever satisfied with the challenges set; they want more. Leaders are aware of pupils’ zest for knowledge and have raised the bar even further this academic year. For the first time in two years, almost all the most able pupils in Year 2 attained the greater depth standard in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teachers and other staff are effective in managing disruptions to learning. Established routines and the positive approaches used by staff ensure that pupils with specific behavioural needs are supported in a calm way to prevent pupils being distracted from their learning.
• Teachers maintain a sharp focus on developing pupils’ reading, particularly their vocabulary and skills of inference and deduction. Year 6 pupils told an inspector that this has helped them to have a clearer understanding of the texts and the ability to contextualise the meaning of words. Strategies to develop pupils’ reading skills have been effective. However, the school acknowledges that consolidation is required to improve skills of inference and deduction to support pupils’ comprehension work.
• The promotion of pupils’ literacy skills across the curriculum is strong, and pupils speak and write confidently, particularly in Years 2 to 6. Teachers make sure that pupils have a good awareness of the importance of mathematical skills in other subjects and everyday life.
• Teachers deploy teaching assistants carefully to work with individual pupils and groups. Teaching assistants are supportive and provide intensive support to pupils, explaining, demonstrating and encouraging pupils to develop stamina to complete their work.
• Occasionally, the pace of learning slows. This happens when a few pupils do not concentrate well, teachers do not explain set tasks clearly and there is insufficient time to develop pupils’ oral skills and explore their learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

• Pupils are confident, mature, talkative and have good social skills. They are highly motivated and ambitious. The vast majority focus very well during lessons. Pupils enjoy their school, take pride in their learning and have a shared sense of belonging to Petts Hill. This is because leaders and staff encourage pupils to be outward-looking and to interact well with each other. Relationships are strong between pupils and their teachers.
• Pupils relish opportunities to apply for roles, such as school councillors and reading ambassadors. They have a strong moral sense of duty towards others in the school and the local and wider community. Pupils carry out charitable work and speak positively about working with other pupils who might be struggling with their work. They listen very well to one another and to their teachers. As such, pupils show respect and tolerance for others.
• Pupils feel safe in their school and have learned a broad range of information about staying safe. They are clear about the role staff play and are confident they can turn to them should they have worries or if there should be incidents of bullying. Pupils know about different types of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying, and are adamant that incidents of bullying are rare in their school. Records of incidents confirm this and most parents say that behaviour is good. However, a few parents who responded to the questionnaire are unclear about how well the school deals with bullying incidents.

Behaviour

• Pupils are polite, helpful and well mannered. They quickly exercise a good level of self-discipline when teachers cut short discussions. Despite the energy shown when they want to take part, their maturity is such that they quickly curtail their disappointment. Pupils say that behaviour is good and parents and staff agree with their assessment.
• Rates of attendance are slightly below average for the current academic year. The dip in attendance is linked to a short period of medical illness in the early years, persistent absence of specific groups of pupils, particularly those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and poor attendance of a few children in the early years provision. Records show that the attendance of some pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has improved as a result of leaders’ actions. However, the attendance of those pupils who are absent from school most often continues to be a focus for leaders. The attendance of several children in the early years fluctuates and has a direct impact on them not achieving well by the end of Reception.
• The school has a small number of fixed-term exclusions for pupils with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. Permanent exclusions are rare and only used as a last resort.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make good progress from their starting points to achieve standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are slightly above those seen nationally. Pupils build on the good progress from the early years and this is sustained throughout the school, particularly towards the end of key stage 2. Pupils are well prepared for the move to secondary school.
• Achievement in the 2016 national tests indicates that pupils achieved well overall, particularly in mathematics at the end of key stage 1 and in writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. Progress was significantly above average in mathematics for all pupils, and particularly so for the low- and high-attaining pupils, who made outstanding progress. The most able pupils made similarly outstanding progress in reading. Although standards achieved in reading were lower than the national average, pupils made slightly better progress from their varied starting points, which was better than others nationally.
• Achievement in the phonics screening check has varied from year to year. The 2016 Year 1 cohort achieved average standards in the phonics screening check. These results were the school’s best results in three years. However, the current unvalidated 2017 outcomes are low. These outcomes reflect several cohort-specific factors. The current Year 1 cohort have not all benefited from the typically good teaching. Over one third joined the school at different points in the year and many pupils were at the initial stage of learning English. Additionally, a higher than average proportion have additional needs, including behavioural and emotional difficulties, which in some instances affected their ability to settle quickly into their learning. Consequently, they did not achieve well. 
• Disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, make good progress and achieve as well as other pupils. In 2016, these pupils made good progress to achieve well in the national tests. Scrutiny of work and assessment information shows that the differences in attainment between this group and others are minimal. Leaders make sure that they use the funding very well to provide relevant support that enables pupils to make good and improving progress over time.
• Outcomes for the most able pupils are strong, particularly in reading and mathematics. These pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, make good progress over time. Pupils receive challenging work and this is reflected in the unvalidated 2017 outcomes, which indicate that the most able pupils in Year 2 have achieved the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. The school provides effective support for pupils during guided reading sessions. Teaching assistants use these sessions to develop pupils’ writing skills; for example, their vocabulary, spellings and sentences. Pupils made good progress in mathematics in 2016. Progress was slower in reading and writing. Leaders ensure that pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan receive strong support. 
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language are given the help and support needed when they join the school to make sure that they can access the curriculum. Pupils who are fluent and competent speakers of English achieve as well as other pupils nationally.

Early years provision Good

• The early years provision is good. On entry, a minority of children are working at the levels expected for their age; the majority have low starting points. Over time, children make good progress. The 2017 unvalidated results are the best in the last three years. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development rose significantly, with the majority of children attaining the national average. This is the result of increased focus on early intervention to develop children’s reading skills, in particular their vocabulary.

• Children enter the school with speaking and understanding skills that are low for their age. Teachers assess children’s understanding of managing feelings and behaviour as also being low on entry. Early intervention and speech and language support, combined with consistently good teaching, leads to the majority of children being ready for the transition into Year 1. However, although children receive speech and language support, their spoken literacy skills are not as strong as other areas of learning.
• Teachers make good use of their subject knowledge to accelerate children’s understanding of the names and sounds of letters to read words. Children use phonics skills well to support their writing, particularly the most able, who are adventurous in their use of words.
• Work in children’s ‘learning journals’ shows that children make good progress. Staff check children’s understanding and pinpoint the areas that require further work as well as children who need additional support or challenge.
• Children behave well; they are confident and polite. They take turns, listen very well to each other and cooperate well with the adults. Clear routines lead to sessions running smoothly and time being used efficiently.
• The learning environment engages children. Activities are well organised and include all children. For example, music increases children’s sense of enjoyment and brings out their musicality when they join in a common singing activity. Children can name percussion instruments and play them accurately to the correct rhythm. Similarly, their observations of butterflies leaving the cocoon create awe and wonder, as does their word of the week, ‘frogspawn’, when they explore different ‘mini beasts’. The setting whets children’s appetite for learning. Work to improve the outdoor area, which is not as stimulating as the indoors, has started but there is more to do. 
• Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are very positive about the early years provision. They comment favourably on teachers’ passion for their children’s achievements, the workshops on phonics and their children’s safety in school. Parents are fully involved in the assessment of their children. For example, parents take part in the initial assessment of their children’s skills before they enter the school. Parents make good use of planned extended meetings throughout the year to discuss their children’s progress with the early years coordinator and other staff. Their attendance at workshop sessions and the regular opportunities to work alongside their children contribute to parents’ understanding of how to help their children make even better progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 134217 Ealing 10031808 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 Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 260 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mark Wild Valerie Upton 020 8422 4095

www.pettshill.org/ admin@pettshill.ealing.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 18–19 September 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average.
• The school provides part-time provision for 50 children in the Nursery. Children in Reception classes attend on a full-time basis.

• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average.
• More pupils than usual join or leave the school at different times during the academic year.
• The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team observed a range of teaching activities in the early years provision, and in a range of subject areas in Years 1 to 6. They carried out most observations with senior leaders. The inspectors also made short visits to lessons to observe reading and other learning activities.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, four governors, including the chair of governors, a newly qualified teacher and two groups of pupils. They also spoke to groups of pupils during break and lunchtime. Inspectors held telephone conversations with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors listened to pupils reading from Years 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, and scrutinised their reading diaries and work across the curriculum.
• The inspection team observed the school’s work and scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, development plan, records of pupils’ attainment and progress and behaviour, external reviews, minutes of governors’ meetings and procedures for safeguarding pupils.
• A number of parents spoke to an inspector to share their views about the school’s work when dropping off their children at school at the start of the first day of the inspection. The inspectors considered the 25 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, the 33 responses to the survey conducted by the school and the 14 free-text comments that parents submitted online in the Ofsted survey. The inspectors also took into account eight questionnaires completed by staff and 92 that pupils completed.

Inspection team

Carmen Rodney, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Alison Cartlidge Ofsted Inspector Michelle Thomas, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector