Stanburn Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Develop the assessment system in early years and across the key stages so that it is used accurately to:
  • set challenging targets in all phases
  • report on the achievement of children and pupils exceeding expected targets at the end of Reception and key stage 1.
• Build on the good quality of teaching and learning in English and mathematics to enable middle-attaining pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, to make better progress:
  • in developing and using a good range of reading skills to enable them to analyse language effectively and make deduction and inference
  • in mathematics by focusing more on investigation and problem-solving work.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders under the direction of the headteacher have skilfully moved the school forward following the amalgamation. Their clear direction has propelled staff and maintained a continuous focus on pupils making better progress and achieving very well.
• On appointment, the headteacher quickly formed a strategic plan about the improvements needed in order to make the school effective. She has helped staff to understand her ambitious vision by introducing new systems to improve standards. Following the merger, there was opposition and the schools were not unified. The new school experienced a difficult transition period; there was a rapid succession of three headteachers and staff turnover was high. Staff now play their part and show their determination to realise this new vision. As a result, the school is stable and pupils now make good progress. The headteacher has achieved this against all odds while managing a challenging building programme and unifying two schools into a successful school.
• Careful restructuring of the leadership team has led to senior leaders being very clear about their responsibilities. They now have direct accountability for directing and managing other staff. This has increased the school’s capacity to improve further. As a result, strong teamwork among staff has led to better planning and teaching. Newly qualified teachers and teaching assistants appreciate the supportive partnership work. Monitoring and evaluation of teaching is now robust, linked to training and to teachers’ annual performance.
• Senior leaders use a range of approaches to make regular checks on the quality of teachers’ work, including lesson observations, scrutiny of pupils’ work and the new and strengthened appraisal system. They provide clear guidance and support to staff on how they can improve their work. Better systems for monitoring the school’s work contribute to leaders accurately identifying the school’s strengths and weaknesses and next steps.
• Systems for tracking pupils’ attainment and progress are developing but there is still more to do to ensure that the information is used consistently well. Leaders use progress meetings to hold staff to account when identifying how well pupils are achieving so that the right support is given. Teachers use the information to identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning and ensure that all have equal opportunity to achieve well.
• Middle leaders are fundamental to developing the changes to the school’s improvement. They are reflective and responsive to change and make good use of opportunities given to develop their skills. The school nurtures aspiring leaders and recognises that they will require further development as the school expands.
• The curriculum is creative and provides pupils with a range of exciting and memorable experiences. Research skills and practical activities increase pupils’ understanding of historical events. Opportunities abound for pupils in key stage 2 to experience specialist teaching in English, mathematics, design technology and music, which is a particular strength. Numerous educational visits contribute to pupils’ personal development, including residentials and enrichment activities.
• Leaders have focused on revising aspects of the curriculum, particularly the teaching of reading and developing pupils’ mathematical skills. This is to ensure that pupils can reach higher standards in their work. The promotion of reading, including the development of good phonic skills, ensures that pupils quickly master basic core literacy skills. Similarly, the development of investigation and problem-solving in mathematics now receives greater attention.
• The school has very good partnership work with local schools in the cluster and beyond. These links are used well to develop teachers’ good practice and provide further opportunities for training and development.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength. The school places a clear emphasis on pupils’ moral development, enabling them to make the right choices. Social mixing and relationships are very good. Pupils are welcoming to others from different cultures and backgrounds. Pupils have very good opportunities to develop their artistic skills in music, art and dance. International days and coverage of major faiths increase pupils’ understanding of others’ lives. They learn to foster good relationships with other people. The school promotes British values very well. Pupils learn about tolerance and respect. Through their rights-respecting work, they are well prepared for life in a culturally diverse Britain.
• Leaders plan carefully how to support the specific needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Funding is used to access external services such as speech and language therapy and the local autism and sensory teams. Leaders ensure that small-group interventions and specially adapted resources are used well to reduce barriers to pupils’ learning.
• Leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively to provide interventions and activities that accelerate the progress of disadvantaged pupils. The impact of this is thoroughly analysed. Evidence indicates that disadvantaged pupils are making faster progress similar to other pupils nationally, particularly in reading and writing.
• The sports premium funding is used to improve the physical education skills of staff and develop after school activities for pupils. While leaders have not completed a thorough evaluation of the impact of this, it is leading to an increasing number of pupils taking part in a range of sports, including competitive sports.

Governance of the school

• The governors are knowledgeable and highly experienced in their particular fields of work. They use their extensive expertise to support the school very well. This includes, for example, safeguarding arrangements, developing computing in the curriculum and checking the expansion programme to ensure good value for money. Governors ensure that the financial management is strong.
• Governors have a good understanding of the problems that the amalgamation created. Consequently, they deferred making a quick appointment to the substantive leadership post until the right candidate was found. They have a good understanding about the strategic direction of the school and the improvement journey it is on to make the school highly effective. Governors receive and challenge information about the school’s work. They use assessment information to question the school’s effectiveness when considering outcomes for different groups. In this regard, they pursue issues around the Equality Act 2010.
• Governors visit the school regularly to assess how well pupils are achieving. They are knowledgeable about how additional funding is used and are aware of the quality of teaching. Governors make sure that appraisal is dealt with fairly and in a supportive way.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders give a high profile to safeguarding matters in the curriculum and in staff development. The school takes great care to make sure that procedures meet requirements. As such, the governor with responsibility for safeguarding meets regularly with the designated teachers and holds them to account for pupils’ safety. Regular checks and audits of employees’ suitability ensure that pre-appointment checks are thorough.
• Notices and displays on pupils’ safety reassure pupils that they are in a safe environment. Leaders use the annual e-safety survey findings to gauge pupils’ awareness of staying safe, to develop the curriculum and to increase parents’ vigilance. Leaders’ work to protect the welfare of pupils is very good. They act swiftly to use external agencies to provide early help and support, such as parenting classes to prevent pupils being at risk.
• All staff have received training and are up to date with the most recent policy and guidance on keeping pupils safe. Increased training has made staff vigilant about child protection matters, including radicalisation and extremism. Referrals are timely and lead to pupils receiving the help and support they need. Partnership work with external agencies is very good. The school is meticulous about risk assessments.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching and learning are consistently good across the curriculum. Teachers make good use of their subject knowledge to plan together as a team in year groups. They select and use resources well to inspire pupils. They set work that meets the needs of individuals and groups.
• Teachers manage their classes well, having high expectations of work and behaviour. Pupils work well with concentration and engagement. The classroom environment is calm and positive relationships mean that learning is uninterrupted.
• Teaching moves at a fast pace, and teachers routinely give clear explanations about the subject and the skills pupils are developing. This helps pupils to understand what they have to achieve, particularly when teachers demonstrate the standard of work they want them to reach.
• Teachers use assessment information and their knowledge of pupils to plan well-structured lessons. For example, in a Year 5 English lesson, the most able pupils deconstructed a speech in Malala’s autobiography very well. Similarly, lower-attaining pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities could explain the purpose of analysing the speech. However, teachers do not all have a consistent approach to challenging the most able.
• The teaching of reading is a particular strength. The school’s survey on reading shows that the vast majority of pupils say they love reading. Teachers use a range of strategies to develop pupils’ language and their skills in the analysis of texts.
• The promotion of literacy across the curriculum is strong, and structured planning carefully weaves different topics into subjects. The reinforcement of pupils’ writing skills is particularly effective.
• The quality of marking and feedback is detailed and linked to the school’s policy. Teachers include clear steps that help pupils to understand how they can improve their work. The school’s use of targets helps pupils from Reception onwards to use peer and self-assessment when they evaluate and improve their learning.
• Teachers work closely with teaching assistants and deploy them very well. The teaching assistants support pupils by demonstrating and explaining how to understand the work. They work skilfully and link their specialism to support pupils at an early stage of learning English or pupils who require additional support. Teaching assistants value their partnership work with the class teachers.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils have very good social skills and are articulate and confident in lessons, during social times and when speaking with visitors.
• Pupils seize opportunities to take on roles and responsibilities such as elected representatives of the pupil parliament, prefects or playground friends. They care for each other and show a high level of concern and support if someone needs a helping hand. For example, ‘buddies’ make sure that no one is left feeling lonely during playtime.
• Discussions with pupils indicate that they love attending school. They show pride when talking about Stanburn. A pupil summed up this sense of belonging to the school community with: ‘It helps us to develop responsibilities’. The school certainly shapes pupils’ character and develops them for the next stage of their education. Pupils are ambitious and dream about prospective careers. The school has used enterprise projects to whet pupils’ appetite but more could be done to develop pupils’ curiosity, particularly the most able.
• Pupils say they feel safe because of the high visibility of staff and the precautions taken when visitors enter the main gates. Pupils are very much aware of potential risks when using different social networks. This is because of the detailed work the school does to make them understand ‘stranger danger’. Parents agree that pupils are safe at the school.
• Attendance is above average. Parents say that their children ‘do not struggle to wake up and attend school’, and wish that it could open each day. However, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils is below average. Leaders understand the dilemma families face because of social housing, which has led to many living at a considerable distance from the school of their choice. This has also affected the punctuality of a few pupils.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. During lessons and around the school, pupils conduct themselves well. The ethos and pupils’ adherence to the school’s routines contribute to the way in which pupils understand and keep to the school’s values.
• Pupils behave very well in lessons and misbehaviour is uncommon. They concentrate very well and work engagingly. In the few instances when behaviour is unacceptable, or what pupils described as ‘silly and disrespectful’, teachers deal with it quickly.
• Bullying is rare. Pupils are emphatic that it does not occur in their school because they all get on very well and the ‘consequences’ would be dire. Pupils have learned much about other cultures and faith; they value their work and understanding of living in a diverse society.
• Pupils have a good awareness about different forms of bullying. They have gained a good understanding about anti-bullying from personal, social and health education lessons, and from listening to talks in assemblies and by visiting speakers. For example, they have a good understanding of racist, religious and gender-based bigotry.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• From below average starting points, pupils make good progress throughout key stages 1 and 2. Across the school, evidence in books confirms this. The school prepares pupils well for the next stage of their learning.
• Since the new school opened, standards have been in line with or above the national average in early years and in the Year 1 phonics check. Girls have consistently outperformed boys. The school has accurately identified weaknesses in communication, literacy and numbers specifically for boys and disadvantaged pupils.
• In all year groups, pupils read fluently and accurately. However, standards achieved in the 2016 key stage 1 national reading tests were lower than expected. Senior leaders have therefore sharpened the focus on developing early reading skills in early years and key stage 1. Consequently, weaker readers make use of their knowledge of letters and sound-symbol to read words and establish meaning. Equally, at key stage 2, there is more emphasis on increasing pupils’ understanding of reading techniques such as inference and deduction.
• An above-average proportion of pupils attained or exceeded the 2016 national tests in reading, writing and mathematics, and in grammar, punctuation and spelling at key stage 2. At key stage 1, the high standard achieved in all subjects was above average.
• The school has taken swift measures to develop the weaknesses identified in reading and mathematics. For example, there is now more focus on developing pupils’ awareness of examination techniques. In reading, there is attention to pupils’ understanding of a writer’s use of language. Evidence shows that pupils make good progress in identifying key features and layers of meaning in literary texts. In mathematics, the school is addressing areas of weaknesses in relation to problem-solving and investigation. Across the school, pupils are prolific and confident writers; they write for different purposes and have a good grasp of style.
• Disadvantaged pupils, including those who are the most able, receive the support needed through the pupil premium funding. More initiatives are planned to increase the support and ensure that the funding is having a direct impact on raising standards further. This group makes similar progress in writing to other pupils nationally but their performance dipped in reading and mathematics in 2016.
• In 2016, the vast majority of the most able pupils achieved expected outcomes in reading, writing and in mathematics. While a minority achieved the higher level in reading, the majority did so in writing and mathematics. The school recognises that more could be reaching a higher standard. Initiatives to extend the most able pupils have started, but it is too early to evaluate the work.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support linked to their specific needs. The school’s assessment data shows that given the learning needs of the few pupils with specific needs, their progress over time is good and is linked to the good support provided.
• Pupils who are at the early stage of speaking English as an additional language make rapid progress in developing basic literacy skills. They receive good support, which encourages them to learn quickly. Given the support and high expectations of work, they are keen to work hard and as a result, they make good progress.

Early years provision

• Teaching is effective in early years and leads to children making good progress. For example, they work engagingly, keep to routines, take part in activities, concentrate well and remain engrossed for extended periods.

Good

• Colourful and stimulating classrooms stimulate children to learn each of the seven themed areas that reflect the early years curriculum. Strong coverage of the curriculum means that children maintain a lively interest in activities in calm learning environments, which support learning very well.
• Children enter the school with skills that are below average in communication, literacy and numbers. The proportion reaching a good level of development is average by the end of Reception and this gives them a good grounding for Year 1.
• Initial assessments before children enter the school lead to teachers having an accurate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of children’s skills. Accordingly, support is mapped out and children can have a ‘flying’ start when they arrive. However, the school does not accurately record the assessment of the most able pupils. Leaders recognise this weakness.
• Teachers integrate themes in planned activities, which lead to children seeing relevance in the well-structured and planned activities indoors and outdoors. For example, the planned party included writing invitations, artwork, party games and talking about their ideas.
• Teachers plan well for developing children’s talk. They provide opportunities for children to practise their speaking and listening, writing and number skills as they move around the different themed areas. Staff support the development of basic literacy and numeracy skills through questioning children as they begin to write letters, read basic words and count. Activities are well planned and linked to the needs of children.
• Learning journals exemplify progress and starting points well. By the end of Reception, children have a good understanding of blending the sounds letters make; they write simple sentences and stories accurately and have a sound grasp of basic number skills
• Senior leaders ensure that the pupil premium grant is used effectively to support targeted and early intervention of literacy and number skills in early years. Intensive support has led to the majority of disadvantaged achieving a good level of development.
• Safeguarding is effective and children are safe and happy in the early years environment and the school.
• The partnership with parents is strong, and they are very happy with the school’s approach to working with them. They are involved in their children’s assessments and attend workshops to find out how they can best support their children.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102214 Harrow 10019635

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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 802 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Liza Martin Caroline Lansdown Telephone number 020 8954 1423 Website Email address www.stanburn.harrow.sch.uk office@stanburn.harrow.sch.uk 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 is larger than the average-sized primary school. It is currently part of the first phase of the local authority’s expansion programme of primary schools. The school expects to become a four-form entry with 850 pupils on roll when the work is completed in September 2017.
• The school makes full-time provision for 120 children in Reception.
• A below average proportion of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is very high. However, a small minority are at an early stage.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational support is low. The proportion who have a statement of special educational needs and/or disabilities is average. The school has a number of pupils with autism spectrum disorders but it does not have a special unit.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics for pupils by the end of Year 6.
• The headteacher became the permanent post holder in January 2016. Following the merger of the infant and junior schools in 2014, the permanent headteacher left within one year and two interim headteachers were appointed at different times. The staff turnover was high.
• More pupils than usual join the school at different times throughout the academic year.
• The school runs a breakfast club and after-school clubs.
• The school works very well within a cluster of good and outstanding schools to share and develop good practice. These schools include: Kenmore Park Infant and Nursery and Kenmore Junior, Priestmead Primary School and Nursery, St John’s Primary and Bentley Wood High. Stanburn Primary also works closely with other local schools.

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Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed a range of learning activities in each Reception class, both indoors and outdoors. They observed learning in all year groups and carried out 12 joint observations with senior leaders. Altogether, 23 lessons were observed.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other senior leaders, a representative from the local authority, newly qualified teachers, teaching assistants and pupils. Pupils were also spoken to at different times. A telephone conference was held with the chair of the governing body and two other governors.
• A number of parents spoke to an inspector to share their views about the school’s work when dropping off their children to school at the start of the first day of the inspection. The inspectors considered the 74 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. The inspectors also analysed pupils’ responses to various surveys conducted by the school.
• A range of documentation was scrutinised and included the school’s self-evaluation, and development plan, records of pupils’ attainment and progress, information on behaviour and attendance, assessment information, the minutes of governors’ work in the school and evidence of systems for protecting and safeguarding children. The inspectors also scrutinised records relating to teaching, the curriculum, policies on the school’s website and information about enrichment activities.
• Inspectors listened to pupils from Years 1 to 4 and Year 6 reading, and scrutinised their work across the curriculum.
• The inspection, deemed a section 8, was converted to a section 5 inspection on the first day.

Inspection team

Carmen Rodney, lead inspector Martin Roberts Roger Easthope Janet Hallett

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector