Laurel Lane Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve the quality of teaching, so that more pupils make outstanding progress by:
  • teachers having higher expectations of what pupils, especially the most able, can achieve
  • ensuring that pupils who find work easy get on with more difficult work without unnecessary delay.
• Further reduce rates of absence by helping parents to understand that poor attendance has a detrimental effect on their children’s learning.
• Develop further new subject leaders’ skills in driving forward improvements to teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• School leaders and governors are ambitious. They are determined to drive forward improvements continuously in all aspects of the school’s work. They strive to make sure that all pupils, many of whom have circumstances that make them vulnerable, have plentiful opportunities to thrive academically and socially. As a result, teaching has improved and outcomes have been on a three-year upward trajectory. Pupils are well looked after and they have positive attitudes to learning. Most parents and members of staff are fully behind the leaders and recognise how much the school has improved since the previous inspection.
• Leaders work closely with the trust’s leaders and leaders in the partner schools. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Together, they often check on the quality of teaching, pupils’ progress and other aspects of the school’s work. The information gathered helps school leaders identify strengths and weaknesses. The resulting plans for improvement are well conceived and based on ambitious targets for improvements. These processes have played a key part in securing recent improvements.
• Equally, the best teachers and subject experts across the trust, including from this school, share best practice and provide effective support to teachers and leaders. Members of staff value these opportunities for professional development and for contributing to the training of their colleagues. These collaborative arrangements have contributed to improving the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of leadership in the school.
• Leaders, in their determination to give children the best possible start to their education, took the initiative and established the only provision for two-year-olds located in a primary school in the local borough. `The Pond’, which opened in September 2016, is providing young children with a stimulating environment which is highly effective in helping them to learn and socialise. They will thus be very well prepared for entry into compulsory education.
• New subject leaders have made a good start and have identified improvements they want to make in their subjects. They have not yet developed fully their leadership skills in helping teachers to improve the quality of teaching in their subjects and in holding them to account for their pupils’ progress.
• The curriculum gives prominence to developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills, but not to the exclusion of everything else. Pupils in all year groups receive a well-rounded education in subjects such as religious education, science, geography, history, physical education and the arts. The most able pupils have opportunities to participate in mathematics and writing competitions with pupils across the trust and in reading competitions in the local library, for instance.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development successfully. Members of staff foster this, for instance, through assemblies, visitors and a good range of extra-curricular activities. These include visits to the theatre, to museums and sleeping in tents overnight on the school field with pupils from the other trust schools.
• During the inspection, pupils joined the nation in a one-minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the London terror attack. Elections for the school council give pupils the opportunity to take part in the democratic process. In assembly, pupils discussed the forthcoming general election. Leaders are considering implementing visits to public institutions such as the Houses of Parliament, law courts and a range of places of worship. These would help pupils to gain a deeper understanding of government, and the legal institutions and diversity of faiths that make up modern Britain.
• Equality of opportunity is at the heart of the school’s work. The school has the Inclusion Quality Mark, and was named ‘school of the year 2016’ by the Mayor’s Fund for London for its work with disadvantaged pupils.
• The inclusion leader and her team plan effective support for all pupils who need help in catching up. The school has a very high number of mid-year admissions, many with poor English skills. Leaders assess pupils’ knowledge and skills and quickly tailor a support plan to help each of them to catch up. Equally, leaders identify the specific needs and arrange well-targeted support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, these pupils make good progress from their starting points. This demonstrates that leaders make effective use of the special educational needs funding.
• Leaders make effective use of the pupil premium grant and this ensures that disadvantaged pupils achieve well. The rates of progress these pupils made last year across key stage 2 were greater overall than those of other pupils nationally.
• The school uses its physical education and sport funding well. External experts train teachers and there has been an increase in the range of sports on offer, with increasing pupil uptake. Leaders successfully focused on a group of previously less active girls this year and got them involved in sporting activities. An external provider led physical activities and provided lessons on healthy eating and lifestyles to pupils in key stage 2. Pupils now take part in a range of sporting tournaments. These increased opportunities make a strong contribution to pupils’ physical well-being and understanding of how to live healthily.

Governance of the school

• Governance is strong. Governors have well-established systems for checking on all aspects of the school. All governors visit the school regularly, gathering first-hand information on the school’s work. Each focuses sharply on an agreed target for improvement. In addition, governors scrutinise reports from leaders and external consultants. As a result, they know the school’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Governors provide a good balance of challenge and support to school leaders to drive further improvements.
• Governors also work collaboratively with trust leaders and governors in the partner schools. They audit their own effectiveness and undertake regular joint training, such as on safeguarding and on finances during termly development days. As a result, they are effective and play a key role in improving the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The site is secure and pupils said that they feel safe. Leaders ensure that safeguarding training is up to date and processes for safer recruitment meet requirements.
• Members of staff are alert to any changes in pupils’ behaviours and to other signs that raise concerns. They report to leaders, who respond quickly to any allegations. Leaders keep clear and robust records of their work with parents and agencies to make sure that pupils are safe.
• The school has a higher than usual transient pupil population. Leaders are particularly vigilant in alerting the local authority if they have concerns about children that may be missing from education.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching has improved substantially since the previous inspection. This is because leaders have higher expectations and provide teachers with effective ongoing training. As a result, standards have been on a three-year upward trajectory.
• Typically, teachers have good subject knowledge and plan activities that help all groups of pupils to make timely progress. They give pupils clear explanations and guidance on how to approach and improve their work. Pupils therefore become successful learners.
• Teachers and other adults create a learning environment that gives pupils the confidence to answer questions without fear of getting things wrong. Equally, pupils readily ask adults or peers for help if they do not understand something.
• Teachers and teaching assistants are particularly strong in matching work to the needs of pupils that are behind. As a result, the late joiners, those new to English and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points.
• On the other hand, occasionally work set for other pupils is not challenging enough to make them think more deeply. In a few instances, when teachers do prepare challenging work, pupils mark time doing work that is too easy before they start the more difficult tasks. This slows pupils, especially the most able, from making rapid progress to reach even higher standards.
• The quality of teaching in writing is now good. Teachers make sure that pupils write for a variety of purposes and have regular opportunities to apply their good writing skills in different subjects. Teachers sometimes hold back the most able writers, as they do not push them to write at greater length and with deeper sophistication.
• The teaching of reading is effective. Right from the start in the provision for two-year-olds, there is a strong emphasis on developing children’s phonics skills. Leaders support late joiners and other pupils having difficulties with catch-up programmes and additional one-to-one reading with an adult. The systematic teaching programme ensures that all pupils make good gains in their comprehension skills. As a result, pupils make good progress. However, teachers do not give the most able pupils sufficiently difficult texts consistently to challenge them to be able to reach the highest standards.
• The teaching of mathematics has improved and is now good. Teachers have gained much from recent training. A consistent approach ensures that pupils make good progress in developing a range of mathematical skills. Evidence in books shows that pupils of both middle and high ability, although making good progress, are finding the work easy. They are not benefiting from grappling with more advanced problem-solving activities that would enable them to make outstanding progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• As pupils progress through the school, they grow in self-confidence. Because of the nurturing nature of the school, pupils feel valued and respect others, no matter what their background.
• Pupils are aware of the different types of bullying. They say that it rarely occurs in the school, but should it happen, adults sort things out. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, such as when using the internet.
• Leaders take pupils’ welfare very seriously. They arranged an age-appropriate workshop for older pupils on child sexual exploitation, for example. They actively make sure that pupils take part in sports activities to keep fit and healthy. They support pupils’ emotional and mental health through assemblies on resilience, for instance. The school employs an assistant psychologist and learning mentors who support pupils and parents who have any concerns and whose circumstances make them vulnerable.
• Pupils welcome the opportunities to take on responsibilities in school, such as those of school councillors, playground buddies and house captains. Most-able Year 6 readers support younger pupils who need help with their reading. Pupils are also supportive of, and welcoming to, the many new arrivals to the school.
• Pupils benefit from workshops, such as one in which groups of pupils received a sum of money and had to design, manufacture and sell a product. They applied a range of skills successfully and learned the basics of running a business and managing money.
• Pupils have a basic understanding of modern Britain’s parliamentary democracy and rule of law, and of the range of faiths in the United Kingdom. Leaders are planning to deepen pupils’ understanding of these aspects through providing them with relevant additional enrichment activities.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are courteous and polite to adults and their peers alike. The vast majority have very good attitudes to learning. They work well in groups and follow their teachers’ instructions. This makes a good contribution to their successful learning. On the odd occasion, there is some low-level disruption. Adults deal with this quickly and learning proceeds.
• Pupils move around the school sensibly, and behaviour in the playground and dining hall is good. Pupils take good care of the environment, which is generally free of litter.
• School leaders and staff responsible for attendance have worked tirelessly to improve attendance. This year, they have started sending a bus to pick up some pupils from home in the mornings. However, although there is a noticeable improvement in attendance for all groups of pupils currently in the school, it remains below average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• There has been a sustained and marked improvement in pupils’ outcomes. Standards have risen in the early years, key stage 1 and key stage 2.
• In 2016, pupils made good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in the early years and in key stage 1. Key stage 2 progress was above average in reading and mathematics and average in writing. The rates of progress for some groups were in the top 10% nationally.
• Inspection evidence confirms the school’s assessments that the proportions of current pupils reaching expected standards for their ages are continuing the three-year upward trajectory. The proportion of pupils in Year 1 on track to pass the phonics screening check is above last year’s national average. The proportion of Year 2 pupils working at age-related expectations has increased considerably and is now above last year’s national figures. At key stage 2, pupils are making at least similar progress to last year’s cohort. These sustained improvements are because the quality of teaching continues to improve.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those pupils who speak English as an additional language, make good progress from their starting points due to the carefully targeted support they receive. This is also true of those pupils who join mid-term.
• In 2016, disadvantaged pupils made faster overall progress than other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Their peers, however, made even faster progress. Current information shows that they are continuing to make good progress overall and gaps with peers are narrowing. In some year groups and subjects, they are outperforming their peers.
• In 2016, the most able pupils in Year 6 reached similar standards to others who had the same high starting points. This was also the case with the few most able disadvantaged pupils because of the effective support that they receive. Inspection evidence shows that almost all most-able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, across the year groups and subjects are on track to reach the standards expected for their age. With greater challenge, more could reach the higher standards of which they are capable.

Early years provision Good

• The new provision for two-year-old children has got off to an excellent start. Leaders have created a very vibrant learning environment that engages and excites the children. Teachers carefully check on the children’s learning and development. They use the information to plan activities that meet every child’s needs. There is a strong emphasis on modelling spoken English. As a result, children learn a range of social skills and gain new knowledge, understanding and skills at a sound rate.
• Leadership of the early years has benefited greatly from the support provided by the trust’s early years consultant. Leadership has therefore markedly improved. Teachers and other adults have also enhanced their professional skills through effective training and support. Leaders have robust systems in place to check often on every child’s progress. Adults carefully plan activities to help children learn well and develop socially. There has been a successful drive since the previous inspection to raise standards of literacy and numeracy.
• Children enter the Nursery and Reception with skills that vary. Typically, over half have skills that are below what is expected for their age. Because of stronger leadership and well-planned teaching activities, children now make good progress in all areas of learning. The proportion of children who leave Reception and enter Year 1 with a good level of development has increased by over 25% since the previous inspection and is now above average.
• Teaching is good. Teachers model correct English and there is a lot of formal teaching of phonics and writing as well as mathematical exercises. During child-initiated activities, adults ask children questions and encourage them to think and speak. They use various opportunities to reinforce number work. Children therefore make good progress in their learning.
• The indoor classrooms and outdoor area are well resourced. They provide an inviting and stimulating learning environment for children. For instance, one of the current themes is the sea. Children can go to the ‘beach shop’, run by the children, and make purchases. There are books about what one can find in the sea and there is a sand and water area with model fish. Children are encouraged to write about what they find under the sea and to count fish or shells.
• Children’s behaviour is good. They play together and share equipment. They persevere and concentrate well. Leaders make sure that children are safe and well cared for.
• Adults support disadvantaged children very effectively. In 2016, the proportion reaching a good level of development was the same as for other children in Reception.
• Leaders have identified correctly that they need to encourage parents more to support their children’s learning and development at home and to share the information with the early years members of staff. They also recognise that with additional challenge, they can help more of the most able children to exceed the expected standards at the end of Reception.

School details

Unique reference number 139275 Local authority Hillingdon Inspection number 10031709 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils 2 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 423 Appropriate authority The local governing body and academy trust Chair Becky Hughes Head of school Sandra Voisey Telephone number 018 9546 2360 Website www.laurel-laneprimary.hillingdon.sch.uk Email address laurellane@fraysacademytrust.org Date of previous inspection 18 March 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school does not comply with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish about the school’s financial information. This is because the trust’s website is under reconstruction. The information is available in hard copy.
• Laurel Lane Primary School is an above-average-sized primary school.
• The school became an academy in April 2013 under the sponsorship and management of the London Diocesan Board of Schools Frays Academy Trust. Its first inspection as an academy was in March 2015.
• The school is partnered with three local Church of England primary schools within the academy trust. The executive headteacher has all four schools within his remit. The school is led and managed by the head of school. It has its own governing body, which is federated with one of the other schools in the trust.
• The executive headteacher is a national leader of education. He is chief executive to the academy trust and supports other local schools.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is well above that found nationally.
• The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those for whom English is an additional language are well above average.
• A well above-average proportion of pupils have special educational needs support. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is similar to that found nationally.
• The number of pupils who join and leave the school at other than the usual times is well above average.
• Children attend the Nursery part time, either in the morning or afternoon sessions. Children in Reception attend full time.
• In September 2016, the school opened a provision for two-year-olds. Children attend part time, either in the morning or in the afternoon.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 25 parts of lessons. Some of these observations were made jointly with the headteacher.
• Inspectors looked closely at the work in pupils’ books to inform further the judgements made about pupils’ outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors also read with pupils.
• Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and spoke informally to other pupils in lessons and during break- and lunchtimes. Inspectors also met with school leaders.
• Meetings were held with three members of the local governing body, including the chair, and with the chair of the trust and the chief executive of the trust.
• Inspectors examined a range of documentation, such as that relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, information about how teachers’ performance is managed, and minutes of governing body meetings. They also looked at records and documentation about pupils’ behaviour, attendance and exclusions, and the ways in which the school keeps pupils safe.
• Inspectors considered the 75 responses to the online questionnaire for parents. They also had informal conversations with parents in the playground. Inspectors also took account of the views of 43 members of staff and 116 pupils who responded to the inspection questionnaires.

Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Lando Du Plooy Ofsted Inspector Rekha Bhakoo Ofsted Inspector