St Mary's Church of England Primary Norwood Green Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve the quality of teaching so that attainment levels at the end of key stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics are at least in line with national standards.
• Improve pupils’ attendance further and reduce levels of persistent absenteeism, so that rates for disadvantaged pupils are at least in line with the national average.
• Further develop the rigour of the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning from leaders, especially middle leaders, as the school expands so that:
  • the depth of curriculum opportunities in subjects other than English and mathematics is further improved to deepen pupils’ understanding
  • pupils are given consistent opportunities to reason about their work to deepen understanding
  • provision for lower attaining pupils is consistently matched to their needs.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher has been central to creating a school where the nurture and care of pupils are core features. She has been effective in overcoming a range of challenges as the school has grown and kept a keen eye on the standards of teaching and learning. However, a key challenge is to develop leaders to ensure stability as the school roll increases.
• Staff and parents respect the hands-on attitude of the headteacher. She has worked alongside parents and staff to develop an inclusive school that reflects an ethos where everyone is welcome. Parents value the approachable manner of all members of staff.
• The small and inclusive community allows leaders to understand the needs of pupils well. Through successfully imparting the school’s Christian values of ‘compassion, justice, reverence and thankfulness’, the headteacher ensures that the school is a warm and pleasant place for all.
• Leaders have developed a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils have benefited from themed science weeks, visits from external artists and a whole-school environmental week linked to the school’s mission to deliver ‘a stimulating curriculum with an environmental focus’.
• Pupils make the most progress when trips and workshops link with topics learned in class. However, such opportunities are not consistently used to embed learning. Consequently, the depth of understanding by pupils in subjects other than English and mathematics varies across the school.
• The special educational needs coordinator has had a positive impact on pupils and parents since her recent appointment. She works diligently and knows pupils well. Through well-thought-out interventions and good use of the funding, provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good.
• The special educational needs coordinator monitors the impact of interventions regularly. One parent felt that the special educational needs coordinator had been ‘amazing’ in supporting her child who has dyslexia and that he was now ‘thriving and learning’ well.
• Leaders use performance management effectively by setting clear targets to hold teachers to account. The monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning are effective in providing staff with clear next steps to improve their teaching. Leaders have particularly focused on ensuring the accuracy of their understanding of pupils’ abilities. They work with a range of external bodies to develop their own expertise.
• The school has an open culture in which regular drop-ins to lessons by leaders encourage staff to develop professionally. Leaders regularly provide support to teachers and this means that the standards in teaching and learning are maintained well. Teachers new to the profession receive strong support and staff praise the ‘unique’ culture of the school where teachers and leaders collaborate regularly.
• The physical education and sport premium funding enables staff to deliver a more engaging sports curriculum. Pupils benefit from additional tennis sessions, and physical education lessons for the youngest children allow them to develop confidently.
• Leaders ensure that the pupil premium funding is spent wisely on the small cohort of disadvantaged pupils. The headteacher and special educational needs coordinator use funding to provide further help to pupils that require it. Consequently, these pupils are typically making similar progress, and in some cases substantially more, compared with their peers.
• The school is a positive place for pupils to learn and develop. Staff know pupils well and encourage their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils understand British values well and one pupil confidently shared with the inspector that ‘we respect people of all faiths and backgrounds’. Pupils have learned about major landmarks across the United Kingdom and spoke articulately about the role of the Mayor of London and his role as an elected representative.
• Parents’ views on the school, particularly those who have recently joined the school, are highly positive. They speak enthusiastically of strong communication and receiving regular information about their child’s progress. One parent described the school as ‘a breath of fresh air with fully committed staff’. Some parents did say that homework was an area to improve. Leaders are planning to implement a more consistent format, which is understood by all parents.
• Leaders use the local authority and London Diocesan Board of Schools’ expertise to check their own evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. As a result, leaders have a clearer understanding of the school’s performance.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the strengths and weaknesses of the school well. They have been an integral part of the school’s journey. The governing body used its expertise well to hold the headteacher to account. For example, governors ask probing questions about the progress of different groups of pupils and are fully involved in regular monitoring activities.
• Governors take the school’s Christian ethos and pupils’ understanding of British values seriously. For example, they scrutinised books alongside leaders and spoke with pupils about ‘what it means to be British’. Policies are up to date and reflect the unique context of the school. Governors meet regularly with middle leaders to ensure that their roles improve pupils’ outcomes.
• The governing body understands the effect that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is making to their outcomes. They have a clear insight into additional resources for phonics and mathematics and how to use funds to benefit pupils as the school expands.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Record keeping is robust and leaders carry out pre-employment checks carefully.
• Leaders ensure that safeguarding training reflects the latest guidance. Reporting of concerns is swift and to the correct bodies. Staff members who spoke with the inspector knew how to follow policies in practice effectively. Leaders ensure that staff understand their responsibilities in relation to the ‘Prevent’ duty.
• Leaders keep up to date with potential local risks by working closely with external agencies. Leaders also work with staff, parents and pupils to ensure that pupils’ safety is paramount. Staff embody the school mantra of ‘it can happen here’ and take the safety of pupils seriously.
• Governors put a strong emphasis on pupils’ safety. Link governors for safeguarding check regularly that procedures are effective and make recommendations if required. Leaders and governors discuss safeguarding in their meetings.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Opportunities within the curriculum allow pupils to gain a deeper understanding of safety. For example, during a history topic pupils learned about the Great Fire of London and workshops with the local fire service enabled pupils to learn practical skills for keeping safe. One pupil told the inspector, ‘We don’t panic and just stay calm.’ Parents agree that pupils are well cared for and remain safe.
• Even the youngest pupils have a strong understanding of online safety. Pupils confidently share their learning about keeping safe on the internet and give real examples of potential risks online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations of their pupils and encourage pupils to work hard. Pupils engage well in lessons and make good progress. Teaching assistants provide good support to pupils. They encourage pupils to work independently and challenge them with probing questions.
• Pupils routinely discuss their work, which develops their speaking and listening skills well. Teachers encourage pupils to share their views in lessons. As a result, pupils learn and understand new vocabulary very well. In addition, those new to English make substantial progress in their acquisition of English and talk confidently with their peers. However, pupils’ chances to work out things for themselves and reason about choices they make are limited.
• Leaders encourage teachers to take appropriate risks and reflect on what works well in their classrooms. For example, a teacher was able to use singing and repetition in a mathematics lesson. This resulted in pupils confidently recalling number facts and effectively revising previous learning.
• Pupils learn to read well from a young age. The teaching of phonics is a strength of the school. Small-group teaching and interventions ensure that teachers match tasks to the needs of individual pupils. Teachers plan many opportunities for pupils to apply phonics in their writing. Pupils new to English apply appropriate decoding skills and teachers encourage them to read independently. The most able pupils have books that match their abilities closely and read with expression. Teachers encourage pupils to gain an understanding of the use of punctuation and its effect through reading aloud to pupils.
• Classrooms are positive learning environments. All adults work collaboratively to ensure that pupils are on track and understand their learning. Displays demonstrate a range of learning activities and working walls aid pupils’ mathematical development. For example, pupils learned to use a large 100-square chart to learn how to count on and back. They were then confidently able to use these techniques and apply these skills in working collaboratively.
• Pupils are encouraged to write in subjects across the curriculum. For example, they wrote at length about what they had learned from a trip linked to history. However, expectations in handwriting vary and standards of writing in subjects other than English are not as high.
• More experienced teachers use questioning to deepen pupils’ knowledge. For example, in a lesson on poetry, pupils were encouraged to think deeply about the poet’s use of words and phrases. Consequently, pupils’ understanding of inference was very strong. However, in some cases, tasks for lower attaining pupils do not match their abilities, as texts can be too difficult to understand. This results in limited progress in the acquisition of new language and meanings.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils develop a strong understanding of differences between faiths and cultures. They collaborate confidently and treat adults and their peers with respect. Work in books and displays demonstrates a range of ways in which pupils develop knowledge of the world around them. For example, they learn about different faiths and, through assemblies, articulate a clear moral purpose where all are respected.
• Pupils say that they feel safe and parents agree. Staff are vigilant throughout the day, particularly while supervising pupils at play- and lunchtimes. On occasions, some boys can be boisterous during break- and playtimes. However, staff intervene in a timely manner and ensure that things do not get out of hand.
• Pupils say that bullying is very rare. They speak highly about their teachers and show respect to their peers. For example, a pupil gave up his seat to a newly arrived pupil with limited English, without any prompting. In lessons, pupils challenged remarks they felt had hurt the feelings of another child. This positive behaviour is reflected across the school.
• The school’s curriculum promotes positive values. For example, assemblies linked to thematic moral stories within the Bible allow pupils to reflect on being good citizens. Even the youngest pupils are able to share articulately the importance of being ‘Godly’ by helping and caring for others. Opportunities to raise money for international and local charities help pursue the school’s vision of working within a ‘moral framework’.
• Leaders have improved pupils’ attendance. They know individual pupils well and attendance is improving for many so that it is now in line with national averages. Leaders liaise well with external agencies and parents to support pupils coming to school more regularly. Although the actions have made a difference, rates of persistent absenteeism are still high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They behave well in lessons and listen carefully to each other and adults. Pupils respond well to teachers’ strategies, such as counting down, and quickly settle to learn when directed.
• Pupils are polite, courteous and well mannered. Teachers promote pupils’ positive attitudes by ensuring that expectations are kept high. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about rewards they receive for good behaviour. For example, they valued the choices they can make to buy items from a class shop to ‘cash in’ good behaviour coins. The school is a calm place where pupils are able to learn effectively.
• The management of lunchtimes is highly effective. Leaders have used a staggered approach to overcome the limitations of space in the school. This approach works well and pupils move around the school in an orderly manner. Pupils conduct themselves very well in the dining room. Staff enable this by engaging with pupils in a respectful way and ensuring that the atmosphere is pleasant and inviting.
• Leaders have ensured, despite the limitations of the outdoor area, that pupils behave well. At break- and lunchtimes, pupils benefit from a range of activities. Many pupils paint, play basketball or use the equipment provided safely.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Teachers know pupils very well. Through careful analysis of the progress of different groups, effective interventions enable pupils to catch up where necessary. Leaders use the approach of ‘stage not age’. For example, a phonics intervention session mixed the most able children in early years with those requiring additional support in Year 1. This enabled all pupils to progress well.
• Children make good progress because of strong teaching and appropriate support from teaching assistants. By the end of Reception, the proportion of children attaining a good level of development is in line with national averages and rising year on year. In 2016, disadvantaged pupils attained well below their peers. The school’s provisional assessment information indicates that all groups of pupils achieve similarly well.
• The number of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics at the end of Year 1 is rising year on year. This is due to the good teaching of phonics. In 2016, disadvantaged pupils attained below their peers. Recent assessment information suggests that these pupils’ attainment is to rise significantly.
• Progress and attainment information suggests that pupils’ achievement at the end of key stage 1 is below the standard the school would have liked. Pupils’ attainment is likely to be below the national average, particularly in writing. This was due to weaker teaching while these pupils were in Year 1. Leaders took immediate action to raise the standards of teaching but these were unable to accelerate progress as high as they expected.
• The school has had a number of new arrivals with limited prior schooling. These pupils did not sit the test at the end of key stage 1. Pupils who have been at the school since its opening progress well, particularly in reading. Leaders ensure that most pupils progress well by tracking the understanding of each pupil diligently. Consequently, all pupils who attained the higher standard at the end of early years achieved greater depth at the end of key stage 1. However, leaders recognise that more pupils need to be making better progress from their strong starting points.
• The small cohort of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities progress well. Pupils who speak English as an additional language develop markedly in their speaking and listening skills but their progress in writing is not as high. This is due to work not always being matched to their needs as sharply as it could be.

Early years provision Good

• Children enter the early years slightly below the typical standards expected. They attain in line with national averages at the end of Reception and the proportion of children attaining a good level of development has risen year on year. The focus on developing children’s social skills in particular sees them leave Reception well prepared for the move to Year 1.
• Boys’ achievement at the end of 2016 was well below that of girls. Leaders identified this and worked effectively to address this. In particular, the early years team has used curricular themes to engage boys further. For example, boys enjoyed learning about dinosaurs and a number of activities helped to increase participation at the start of the year. As a result, boys and girls now attain similarly at the end of Reception.
• Leaders prioritise building on children’s social skills. Strong relationships between adults and children enable children to speak confidently to adults. Children are encouraged to express themselves and develop very well in their communication and language. They speak confidently with adults and visitors.
• Children progress very well in their physical development. Teachers encourage children to develop their coordination and control. For example, during a physical education lesson, children listened attentively and actively collaborated with their peers to improve their balance. The teacher used good questioning to ensure that children understood how to keep themselves safe. Children were encouraged to challenge themselves and attempt harder routines, which they did safely.
• Phonics teaching is effective. The most able children receive targeted support to enable them to apply their reading and early comprehension skills. The lower ability children are also progressing well. Children use previously learned strategies to decode unfamiliar words. Teachers challenge children to learn unfamiliar high frequency words and check their understanding carefully.
• The early years is well resourced and leaders ensure that restrictions in space have not limited children’s opportunities to develop. Children have access to, and engage enthusiastically with, painting and building areas. These develop their creative and artistic skills. Children enjoy working with building blocks as part of an intervention to build their social skills.
• Children benefit from good early mathematical understanding. Adults use practical equipment well to develop early number awareness. For example, the most able children use concrete resources to aid them in working out calculations. Children enjoy investigating open-ended tasks and enthusiastically share their findings of different solutions.
• Children behave well and know the routines. The early years is a calm and industrious environment where children collaborate and learn together. They are respectful of each other and readily help their friends as they learn and play. However, on occasions, adults’ positioning in the setting does not allow them to keep an eye on all children. In such circumstances, children become unsettled and no longer work on tasks.
• Safeguarding is effective. The early years team has created a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Children feel safe and can develop into confident learners ready for the next stages of their education. Parents value the work of adults and praise the open communication.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140963 Ealing 10031670 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 Academy free school 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 79 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Sandra James Jane Mutch 0203 693 0510 www.stmarysschoolng.org office@stmarysschoolng.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• This school opened in September 2014. It is part of a single academy trust. When the school is full, it will have one form of entry up to Year 6. Currently, the school has pupils up to Year 2. Children in Reception attend on a full-time basis.
• The headteacher has worked at the school since it opened.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector made visits to a variety of lessons in all classrooms. The headteacher accompanied the inspector on most of these visits.
• The inspector met with representatives from the governing body, middle leaders and teachers. The inspector made a phone call to the chair of governors and a representative from the Department for Education.
• A wide range of documentation was scrutinised. Information was provided relating to assessment, external visits, governing body minutes, risk assessments and monitoring of teaching and learning.
• Work in pupils’ books was scrutinised in lessons and during a work scrutiny session. The inspector observed pupils at the start of the day, and during break- and lunchtime. Pupils were spoken to informally in lessons and during social times.
• The inspector heard pupils read in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Pupils took the inspector on a tour of the school and discussed their learning and curriculum.
• The inspector met with parents on the second day. In addition, 25 responses (including written responses) to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, were considered. Seven responses to the staff questionnaire were received.

Inspection team

Noeman Anwar, lead inspector

Her Majesty’s Inspector