Cannon Lane Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Embed the use of assessment information to accelerate progress by:
  • using teachers’ prior knowledge of pupils, including the most able, to set consistent expectations for rapid progress.
• Accelerate the progress made by children in early years by:
  • developing the outdoor area to provide more opportunities for children to explore, create and think about the world around them.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and governors are ambitious for the pupils and staff at Cannon Lane. Despite the challenges the school has faced in recent years, there is a determination by all that the school will continue to improve.
• Leaders and staff are clear about their continued plans about how to improve standards for all pupils at the school. Staff share leaders’ ambitions. This is reflected in recent accelerated improvements in pupils’ attainment for reading, writing and mathematics.
• Leaders have forged a strong, close relationship with the local teaching school. Staff attend relevant meetings and training, benefiting from sharing ideas and good practice. Staff and governors collaborate well, and this partnership has also contributed to recent improvements.
• The management of teachers’ performance is closely linked to pupils’ progress. There is an expectation that all pupils will make good progress. The school’s professional development plan is carefully planned to link with whole-school priorities as well as individual teachers’ needs.
• The local authority has provided effective support. Senior advisers from the local authority have worked in partnership with school leaders, managers and teachers to identify the school’s strengths and areas for continued improvement.
• Working relationships between staff and pupils are strong. The majority of parents hold the school in high regard. One of many positive parent comments stated: ‘The school works tirelessly to ensure my child achieves well and he is happy.’
• The curriculum allows pupils to learn a broad and balanced range of subjects, including science, history and geography. Creativity is woven through all aspects of the curriculum. Specialist teachers in music enhance pupils’ experiences through participation in the school orchestra, concerts and trips.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. The school’s work as a ‘Rights Respecting School’ means that pupils debate moral issues and discuss how they can demonstrate the school’s values together with their individual and collective roles within it. Consequently, pupils are reflective of the world around them and know what it means to be a good citizen.
• Leaders use and evaluate the impact of the pupil premium funding effectively. The school has a small number of disadvantaged pupils who make good progress from their different starting points. Leaders ensure that each child has a personalised programme of interventions and activities. This supports their academic progress as well as their personal development.
• Physical education and sports premium funding is used effectively to develop staff teaching skills and improve the range of sports clubs on offer for pupils.

Governance of the school

• Governance at Cannon Lane is effective. Governors share the vision and expectations of the headteacher. They have contributed significantly to improvements since the last inspection.
• The school has faced many challenges in recent years. Despite this, the governors remain resolutely committed to further improving the school. Governors bring a wide range of expertise, which enables the governing body to provide support and advice to school leaders. Governors also visit the school to meet staff and pupils and to validate information received from school leaders.
• Governors ensure that systems are in place to manage the performance of the headteacher. Members are fully aware of their statutory responsibilities and are actively involved in the school. They are aspirational for the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. A member of the governing body oversees all safeguarding procedures and checks that these are robust.
• Staff training is up to date and staff receive regular safeguarding updates. They understand their responsibilities and deal with any safeguarding concerns in a timely and appropriate manner. Staff are vigilant about child protection matters. Leaders ensure that pre-recruitment checks on the suitability of staff are thorough.
• Records are kept in good order. Leaders share information with parents and the appropriate external agencies effectively to enhance safeguarding. Pupils said that they feel safe and know who they would speak if they had any worries. The school uses lessons and assemblies to communicate the importance of safety to all children. A vast majority of parents agree that their children are safe and well looked after.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is good and promotes effective learning in a wide range of subjects. There are well-established routines and clear expectations. These, together with pupils’ positive attitudes to learning, have led to sustained progress over time.
• Teachers use a thematic approach to make learning interesting and to motivate pupils. In one Year 5 English lesson, pupils were writing a balanced argument about creation and the ‘big bang theory’ using their knowledge of Judaism and science.
• In reading, most teachers ask probing questions to help pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding. As a result, pupils can explain what they are learning. For example, in a Year 6 English lesson, pupils read a challenging text and confidently articulated their understanding.
• Most teachers plan carefully so that pupils use their prior learning effectively across different subject areas. However, this is not always the case. In less effective teaching, the level of challenge and expectation is not as high.
• In writing, recent initiatives have had huge impact on attainment and progress across the school. Most pupils receive clear and precise guidance from teachers, which helps them improve the quality of their work.
• Teachers use good questioning skills to check on pupils’ understanding of concepts. They encourage pupils to think more deeply about their answers, often modelling answers so that pupils know exactly what to do. This is not always consistently true across the school. Where questioning is not effective, it leads to pupils’ becoming disengaged from the learning activity and to low-level disruptions.
• Across all subjects, the few disadvantaged pupils in the school make good progress. They have personal action plans to ensure that they make progress including in physical education, music and art lessons.
• Teaching assistants are well deployed. They work closely with teachers and know how to engage pupils they work with, especially those who have SEN and/or disabilities. These pupils make good progress as a result.
• Teachers use a wide range of resources and equipment to support pupils’ learning in key stage 1 and the early years. Most adults model strategies to support pupils’ learning, including the use of probing questions to make pupils think hard about their learning and new skills.
• Adults deliver carefully planned phonics sessions. These help pupils acquire skills quickly. They are able to blend sounds and segment words effectively, applying their skills confidently across the curriculum.

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 highly articulate and reflective learners. They learn about and can compare their faiths with other religions. One pupil commented, ‘I don’t have a religion, but I respect all religions.’
• Pupils are part of organising and coordinating play and games at lunchtimes. Their sense of responsibility helps play to be harmonious.
• Pupils are confident and articulate. They are eager to talk about their school and their learning. Pupils discuss and share their ideas in lessons, collaborating with each other to come up with the best solutions. Pupils are keen to help each other in class and by carrying out duties and responsibilities around the school.
• Leaders have provided pupils with strong anti-bullying guidance since the last inspection, and this has had a huge impact on behaviour and attitudes. Pupils are knowledgeable about the various types of bullying and said that bullying of any kind is rare. They know what bullying is and can differentiate it from ‘falling out with your friend’ or an isolated incident.
• Pupils take part in a range of physical activities to help them keep fit and healthy.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• School records show that behaviour over time is good and learning is rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. The school behaviour policy provides clear guidance on how pupils are expected to behave.
• Pupils are polite, kind and considerate. They focus on their learning in lessons and they cooperate well with each other to improve their work. They are enthusiastic about tackling challenging work and are keen to succeed.
• Most parents who responded to the online questionnaire have no concerns about pupils’ behaviour.
• Pupils love coming to school, and attendance is above the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have worked hard to ensure good attainment across all key stages. In 2017, across all measures at the end of key stages 1 and 2, attainment was above average. However, progress at the end of Year 6 was below average in English and mathematics.
• Current pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, generally make good progress in a wide range of subjects including English and mathematics. Where progress is slower, this is because information about pupils’ prior learning is not used effectively to set tasks at the right level of challenge.
• Pupil premium funding is used well. External data shows that the few disadvantaged pupils and the pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress. This is because adults provide tailored activities that meet the needs of most pupils.
• Most pupils acquire good phonics knowledge and make good progress in reading skills from their initial starting points. The Year 1 phonics screening check shows that pupils at the school achieve high standards in phonics.

Early years provision Good

• The school is committed to raising standards for all children in early years. The leaders work with teachers to provide relevant and meaningful experiences for children. A large proportion of pupils come into Reception with good communication and language skills. They are confident and articulate. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of early years is above average.
• Teachers and additional adults demonstrate knowledge and understanding of effective learning characteristics. They provide opportunities for early conversation to build on the confidence of children on entry into the school, providing opportunities for children to build on their thinking and ideas.
• Additional adults provide good support, particularly for children with less confidence. They model activities and give lots of reassurance so that children feel confident and involved in learning. Children who have SEN and/or disabilities are well supported and make rapid progress.
• Teaching has a clear structure that supports children’s acquisition of skills. However, teachers do not always take advantage of children’s strong starting points. There are some missed opportunities to adapt work so that it builds on children’s prior knowledge to accelerate progress.
• Adults ensure that children are safe and that they know how to keep themselves safe, indoors and outdoors. In sessions observed, children reminded each other of the safety rules, including the need to share sensibly.
• Phonics teaching is discrete and based on a programme of synthetic phonics. Teachers and additional adults use the correct terminology; they encourage children to segment and blend sounds. However, they do not always expect children to apply their new skills in all sessions.
• Teachers foster children’s mathematical understanding. As a result, children make good progress. Resources are often adapted to better meet the needs of specific groups and individuals. This prepares most children well for life in Year 1.
• Planning for indoor learning enables children to build on the key characteristics that accelerate learning. However, there are only limited opportunities in the outside area for children to explore and to extend their knowledge and understanding of the world.
• The headteacher and senior leaders currently provide overarching support for leadership in the early years. This is ensuring that leadership is developing well. The school’s action plan makes it clear that this is an area of priority.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102204 Harrow 10047625 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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 774 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Sarah Skerton Alastair Phillips 0208 866 3536 www.cannonlaneprimary.org office@cannonlane.harrow.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 25−26 September 2014

Information about this school

• The school opened in September 2013, following the amalgamation of Cannon Lane First School and Cannon Lane Junior School.
• The headteacher was appointed in September 2014.
• In 2017, the school met the government’s floor standards, which set out the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of key stage 2.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and who speak English as an additional language is above average.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning in 39 lessons. These covered all classes in the school. The inspectors also made short visits to classes, most of which were joint observations with members of the senior leadership team. The inspectors also scrutinised many examples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors observed assemblies.
• Inspectors heard pupils from Years 1, 2 and 6 reading and held meetings with the school council.
• The inspection team held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, middle leaders, governors and a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s development plan and its self-evaluation, policies and records related to safeguarding, and information about pupils’ behaviour and attendance. Inspectors considered a range of evidence related to governance.
• The views of 214 parents who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, were considered. Inspectors also considered 17 parents’ views gathered at the school gate. There were 34 staff survey responses. No pupil survey responses were received. 

Inspection team

Maureen Okoye, lead inspector Alison Martin Teresa Skeggs David Bryant Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector