Lake Farm Park Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching by ensuring that:
  • all staff challenge the most able pupils to do as well as they can
  • leaders, staff and governors are regularly provided with information about the progress of different groups of pupils, so that improvements can be made swiftly where these are needed
  • pupils become less reliant on adults to support their learning.
• Improve pupils’ attendance still further, so that pupils attend as well as or more regularly than their peers nationally.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• With the support of the board of directors and governors, the senior leadership team has established a culture of high expectations and success for every pupil. The school’s values are at the heart of its work.
• The effective curriculum provides pupils with many opportunities to develop a wide

range of skills and interests, including in music and sport. Pupils learn how to apply their reading, writing, mathematical, speaking and listening skills to a variety of exciting activities. Links with university departments, visits to the neighbouring country park and work in the school’s own kitchen garden further enhance the curriculum. These activities have provided pupils with opportunities to learn about the biodiversity of plants and animals.

• The rich out-of-hours programme, ranging from multi-sports to yoga, has a very positive impact in developing pupils’ confidence and social skills in preparation for their future.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Festivals from different religions around the world are regularly celebrated. Pupils have many opportunities to reflect on and understand how people from different cultures and backgrounds contribute to life in modern Britain.
• Staff at all levels are very positive about the many training opportunities available to them through the support of programmes that are available across The Park Federation of academies to which the school belongs. Staff take part in research, through which they develop and improve their own teaching. As a result, a number have gained promotion, within this school or by taking up posts elsewhere. However, leaders acknowledge that more work is needed to ensure that teachers challenge the most able pupils to achieve their potential. They also agree that pupils need to be less reliant on adults to guide their learning.
• The additional pupil premium funding is spent effectively to ensure that eligible pupils gain confidence, self-esteem and proficiency in core skills, particularly reading and mathematics. Differences between the performance of disadvantaged pupils and that of others have been reduced as a result of the highly effective care and support for vulnerable families.
• Leaders have a clear rationale for the spending of the physical education (PE) and sport premium. As a result, the proportion of pupils involved in sport has increased so that a very large number of them take part in at least one sporting activity each week. In addition, regular opportunities are provided for teachers to work alongside sports coaches to improve their skills in the teaching of PE.
• The funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is spent wisely. Teachers and adults ensure that teaching activities and support are adapted to meet the needs and enthusiasms of this group of pupils. As a result, they make good progress in a range of subjects, both in mainstream classes and in the SRP.
• The leadership of the SRP is effective. As a result, staff are well trained in using effective teaching methods that enable pupils attending the SRP and those integrated into mainstream classrooms to achieve well.
• Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, had very positive views about a range of issues. Almost all those who responded to the questionnaire would recommend the school to another parent.
• The Park Federation holds senior leaders rigorously to account. It provides high-quality support to the school through the use of specialist subject advisers and consultants.
• The school’s assessment system is valuable in enabling leaders to see how well the pupils are achieving. However, leaders do not routinely and regularly share the analysis about the progress being made by different groups of pupils with all staff as a basis for their discussions and decisions.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective.
• Directors and governors know the school well and minutes of their meetings show the effective support and challenge they offer to its leaders. Together with senior staff, they have ensured that performance management arrangements are robust, so that all staff contribute well to school improvement.
• The school’s finances are carefully monitored through rigorous internal checks as well as external audits to ensure that the best value is achieved. Directors and governors have ensured that the additional funding is spent wisely. This is having a positive impact on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and pupils’ participation in sport.
• Board members and governors bring considerable expertise and experience to their role. They visit regularly and have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They have a good overall grasp of pupils’ performance information, but are not always regularly provided with summaries of the progress of different groups of pupils. This information would enable governors to provide even greater challenge to leaders, so that action can be taken swiftly.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders, board directors and governors have established a strong culture of safeguarding and vigilance, in which pupils’ safety and well-being are central. They have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are effective and that records are detailed and of high quality.
• Parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, felt that their children are safe at the school. Leaders have established clear procedures for parents to raise issues about any aspect of the school’s work.
• The school provides a safe and caring haven where pupils feel safe and secure. Staff are meticulous in their reporting and following up of any concerns with external agencies. This helps to ensure the best outcomes for the most vulnerable pupils and their families, by providing the help they need in a timely manner.
• All staff training, including that for the designated and deputy safeguarding leads, is up to date. A weekly briefing ensures that staff are kept abreast of any concerns that arise. Training is provided to ensure that pupils are kept safe from the risk of extremism and online dangers. Staff demonstrate the impact of training in describing how they would spot the signs that pupils may need early help.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge that is well used to build pupils’ reading skills in English and their understanding in mathematics, as well as in other subjects. Pupils’ reading abilities are improving through the effective teaching of phonics. Additional individual support for weaker readers enables these pupils to engage with their learning across all subjects and to catch up with their classmates.
• Teachers and teaching assistants know their pupils well and plan interesting activities that capture their interest. They use a range of effective methods to teach mathematics. Teachers provide interesting activities that enable pupils to explore mathematical ideas and apply them to different situations. They respond well to these approaches, which help them to deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts.
• Pupils receive helpful guidance, tailored to the requirements of each subject and to their individual needs. This is in line with the school’s assessment policy.
• In the SRP, the teaching is well structured and effective. Staff meet pupils’ individualised educational and care needs well. As a result, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make strong gains in their literacy skills. This enables pupils in the SRP to be successfully supported and integrated into mainstream lessons, enabling them to achieve as well as their peers.
• Overall, pupils make good progress. However, sometimes, teachers do not provide challenging enough activities to ensure that the most able pupils achieve their full potential. Leaders have already put in place a number of strategies to improve this aspect in teaching.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school’s family atmosphere promotes positive relationships between pupils and adults. As a result, pupils feel valued and self-confident, and make good progress in their learning.
• Pupils who spoke to inspectors reported that bullying is rare. Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying and how to stay safe while using the internet and while travelling outside school. For example, one commented that he had been taught, ‘If you receive an email and you don’t know the person it is from, don’t open it, just delete it.’
• Effective care and support enable pupils in the SRP to make strong gains in their personal development so that they are successfully reintegrated into mainstream classes.
• Although attendance has improved, particularly among those who are persistently absent, a significant minority of pupils do not attend regularly. The school has already implemented several increasingly effective measures to tackle this. However, attendance is still below the national average for primary schools.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils behave well in the classroom, around the building and at playtimes and lunchtimes. They have positive attitudes to learning, are keen to contribute in lessons and work together effectively.
• Teachers have established clear routines that effectively support pupils’ learning. Pupils respond to teachers’ directions swiftly and move about the building responsibly. Misbehaviour, including incidents of low-level disruption, is extremely rare.
• Specialist staff help pupils in the SRP to develop effective ways of regulating their emotions and feelings, so that their behaviour is good.
• Overall, relationships are positive between staff and pupils and between the pupils themselves, both in mainstream classes and in the SRP. Nevertheless, pupils are sometimes over-reliant on staff to guide and support their learning. This is why behaviour is not outstanding.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Currently, the school only has children in the early years and key stage 1 pupils on roll. Many pupils join and leave the school at different times of the year and, because the school is still growing, some pupil groups are small. The school’s information about pupils’ progress for 2016 therefore needs to be interpreted with care, as analyses of trends or comparisons with national results can be misleading where small numbers are involved.
• In 2016, the overall proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 national phonics screening check was average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils achieving the expected standard was below that seen nationally. However, of the disadvantaged pupils who did not reach the standard, almost all had special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Inspectors’ observations of learning and their reading of workbooks show that pupils currently on roll make good progress across a range of subjects, including English and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, make similar progress to that of their classmates. This is largely because leaders and governors have ensured that the funding is well spent to meet pupils’ needs.
• Gaps between the progress made by boys and girls have reduced because leaders have ensured that activities are engaging and designed to meet the pupils’ specific needs. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities also make strong progress. This is because of the highly effective care and support they receive from specialist staff, both in their mainstream lessons and in the SRP.
• Stimulating classrooms, rich in language, help pupils to develop a love of reading. In the centrally located open-plan library, pupils are often seen choosing books, talking about what they are reading and settling down to read. Teachers’ effective deployment of teaching assistants enables the least able readers to make good use of their phonics skills and to persevere in sounding out unfamiliar words.
• Pupils’ skills in mathematics are also strong and develop well during their time at school. Interesting problem-solving activities deepen pupils’ understanding of mathematical concepts.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language and those from different minority ethnic backgrounds make good progress. This is because staff are well trained to address and meet these pupils’ needs.
• Although the most able pupils make good progress, they are not always set sufficiently challenging tasks to enable them to reach their full potential. Leaders have already started to take effective action to address this. Inspection evidence shows that outcomes for the most able pupils are improving. However, it is too early to judge the full impact of these actions.

Early years provision Good

• Children get off to a good start in Nursery. They settle in quickly and are keen and happy to learn as a result of high expectations. Classroom routines are well established, so that children enjoy their learning in this stimulating environment.
• Teachers plan a range of interesting activities, both indoors and outside for children to develop their reading, writing and mathematical skills. Children readily help themselves to resources and develop their confidence in writing skills. There are quiet corners where children happily look at books and develop a love of reading.
• Overall, children enter the early years with skills that are below those typical for their age. By the end of the Reception Year, children attain average standards, and this represents good progress from their starting points.
• Additional funding is used effectively to provide extra adult support to help disadvantaged children focus on acquiring basic skills. Differences between the achievement of disadvantaged children and that of others are reducing as a result of the early identification of their needs and implementation of well-planned support.
• Leaders ensure that teachers have high expectations of the children’s behaviour and progress. They also check carefully that assessments of children’s progress are accurate and share information about children’s learning regularly with parents.

• Safeguarding practices in the early years are effective. Children are safe and secure. They behave well, and have positive relationships with each other and adults. This enables children to make good progress in their learning.
• The quality of teaching is good. Teachers work effectively as a team to plan interesting activities that capture children’s enthusiasm for learning. Focused leadership and skilful teaching in this part of the school ensure that children are well prepared for their move into Year 1.
• Leaders work closely with parents, carers and external agencies to provide the appropriate intervention for children who require additional or specialist support.
• Although children make good progress in the early years, sometimes teachers do not offer appropriate levels of challenge to ensure that the most able children achieve as well as they should.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140391 Hillingdon 10031661 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 sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 343 Appropriate authority Chair Executive principal Telephone number Website Email address Academy trust Adrian Ingham Sarah Evans 020 8573 2622 www.lakefarmpark.academy lfpaoffice@theparkfederation.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.
• The school opened as a new academy, on a new and purpose-built site, in September 2014. It is sponsored by The Park Federation, a multi-academy trust consisting of seven primary schools.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school and currently has boys and girls in the early years and in Years 1 and 2.
• The school has a specialist resource provision (SRP) for pupils who have autistic spectrum disorder that was opened in September 2015. Currently, six pupils attend the SRP, which is registered to admit up to 12 pupils.
• An above-average proportion of pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
• One in five pupils are supported by the pupil premium funding, which is below the national average.
• A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language, but few are new to learning English.
• The proportion of pupils who join and leave the school at different times of the year is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic groups is almost three times the national average.
• The executive principal joined the school in April 2017.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes. All visits to classrooms were jointly carried out with senior leaders. Inspectors held informal discussions with pupils.
• There were 64 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. In addition, inspectors took account of the 39 responses to a questionnaire for members of staff.
• Inspectors held discussions with the executive principal, a board director, two governors (including the chair of the governing body), senior and middle leaders and the local authority’s safeguarding officer.
• Inspectors reviewed key documents and policies, including those related to safeguarding. They scrutinised pupils’ workbooks and learning files and the school’s information about pupils’ attainment and progress.

Inspection team

David Scott, lead inspector Roger Easthope Shabana Khan

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector