Prior Weston Primary School and Children's Centre Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching, learning and pupils’ outcomes by:
  • ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations of what pupils should learn, especially those who are disadvantaged and the most able
  • making sure that work builds on what pupils already know and understand
  • ensuring that pupils check their work and correct their errors
  • developing pupils’ use of literacy and numeracy when working in science and topic work.
• Develop the early years provision by:
  • making sure that teachers provide activities that engage children’s interest and support their learning
  • ensuring that there is a strong focus on developing children’s speech and handwriting
  • establishing clear routines for children’s day-to-day personal care.
• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • increasing the rigour of monitoring teaching and learning
  • developing the curriculum in science and topic work
  • monitoring the provision for disadvantaged pupils so that they achieve consistently well.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leadership and management require improvement. The monitoring of teaching and learning and performance management are improving but are insufficiently rigorous to ensure that teaching and learning and pupils’ outcomes are good or better.
• Many teachers are motivated to improve their teaching, and staff training and support are being provided. However, not all members of staff follow the new school policies and some are not improving their teaching fast enough.
• Leaders have undertaken an external review of the way pupil premium funding is being spent. As a result, they have altered the approach to support disadvantaged pupils. Provision is improving in some year groups, but remains uneven across the school.
• The curriculum is being developed, and new plans are in place in English and mathematics. School assessment information shows that these changes are beginning to have a positive impact on pupils’ progress.
• The curriculum for subjects other than English and mathematics does not ensure that topics are taught in such a way that pupils develop and extend skills as they get older. In addition, pupils have too few opportunities to extend their literacy and numeracy skills when working in other subjects.
• The curriculum has a range of good enrichment opportunities, and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported well. Pupils learn about British values and are well prepared socially for life in modern Britain. For example, pupils are knowledgeable about different religious festivals and beliefs. They typically make comments such as, ‘I value diversity.’
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of school effectiveness, and are starting to make the necessary changes. For example, improvements have been made in pupils’ behaviour and attendance since the previous inspection.
• The sports premium is being used well to provide specialist teaching and training for staff. Pupils engage in a wide range of sporting activities in school and in the local area.
• Not all parents and carers are positive about the school, although several have noticed that it is improving. As one parent said, ‘Last year wasn’t great, this year is better.’
• The support from the local authority and neighbouring good school supports the new leaders well in establishing the right approaches to school improvement.

Governance of the school

• Governance is developing well, but is yet to ensure that all teaching is good enough and that pupils make consistently good progress.
  • Governors have undertaken an external review, and are knowledgeable about what works well and what remains to be improved.
  • They are working with school leaders to monitor all aspects of the school’s work.
  • Governors have attended appropriate training to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school provides a calm and orderly community where pupils feel safe and valued. All adults in the school are checked for their suitability to work with pupils and are trained in safeguarding matters. Leaders work well with parents and external agencies to help keep pupils safe. Pupils are supervised well throughout the school day. Members of staff are clear about their responsibilities and how to tackle any concerns.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching, learning and assessment require improvement because teachers do not have consistently high expectations of what pupils can achieve, especially disadvantaged pupils.
• Too often, especially in science and topic work, pupils of all abilities complete the same work. When this happens, some pupils do not deepen their knowledge and understanding well enough and find the work too easy, or in some cases, too difficult.
• Pupils have too few opportunities to extend their literacy and numeracy skills. For example, they do not use them to support their learning in other subjects. In some lessons, pupils who finish their work, especially the most able, are kept waiting while others catch up.
• Assessment information is not used well enough by some teachers to check that pupils have understood what they are to learn. As a result, some misconceptions are not corrected, and pupils carry on making the same avoidable mistakes.
• The teaching of phonics has improved since the previous inspection. There is now a clear structure to the way sounds are being taught, and pupils learn more quickly than in the past.
• Across the school, teachers encourage pupils to make use of wall displays and other resources to support their learning.
• Teachers have good relationships with pupils, and manage their behaviour effectively.

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 confident and keen to learn. They know how to stay safe and feel safe at school. Pupils have improved their understanding of the different forms that bullying can take, and are happy with the way this is dealt with by the school. As one pupil said, ‘We have such good adults, we don’t really have problems with bullying anymore.’
• There are good opportunities for pupils to develop their physical well-being. Sports clubs are well attended, pupils learn new skills in physical education lessons and understand about healthy eating.
• Pupils develop their understanding of what they need to do to be successful learners. As one pupil said, ‘If you aim high you will accomplish more.’ However, they still make avoidable errors because they have not checked their work well enough.

Behaviour

• Pupils’ behaviour is good. They support each other in class, and move around the school sensibly. Pupils and their parents are mostly positive about behaviour. School records show that there is a clear policy for dealing with poor behaviour. The number of exclusions has reduced radically over the past year. Occasionally, pupils lose concentration when work is not set at the right level for them.
• Pupils are polite and friendly, and older pupils are keen to take on additional responsibilities, such as being playground buddies.
• Levels of attendance are improving and persistent absences are dropping. Leaders monitor attendance and punctuality rigorously.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ current work shows that their outcomes continue to require improvement. Pupils do not consistently make good enough progress. Too often, work does not build well on pupils’ prior learning. The outcomes for pupils from their different starting points are frequently the same, especially in science and topic work. When this happens, the most able do not work at greater depth.
• Disadvantaged pupils do less well than other pupils, although improvements have been made in the progress of these pupils in some classes this year. In other classes, not enough is expected of these pupils, especially the most able.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not make enough progress over time. In some classes, support is targeted effectively, but in others, pupils are not given appropriate work.
• Pupils do not extend their knowledge and understanding of literacy and numeracy well enough, in science and topic work.
• Pupils’ progress in phonics is improving, and is now good. Pupils enjoy reading and use their knowledge of phonics to help them tackle unfamiliar words. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 talk knowledgeably about sounds that are ‘special friends’, such as ‘ng’ and ‘sh’. Year 6 pupils typically make positive comments about the books they have read.
• Pupils are suitably prepared for the next stage of education. School assessment information shows that their progress is improving this year, and they behave well.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The provision in the early years requires improvement. There remains an inconsistent focus on the development of communication and handwriting since the previous inspection. Not all members of staff provide good opportunities for children to talk about their learning. Mistakes in children’s letter formation go undetected and, as a result, bad habits are not corrected soon enough.
• Children’s progress is not good enough, including for disadvantaged children. Children’s attainment remains below average. The quality of teaching and learning is uneven. This is, in part, because not all activities are sufficiently interesting to engage the children in their learning.
• Personal care routines are not fully established. For example, children work outside in the cold without suitably warm clothing, or forget to wash their hands before eating.
• Leadership and management are starting to have an impact on provision, although there are still inconsistencies. Leaders have changed the arrangements for assessing the children’s learning this year. Learning journals are shared with parents, and show how children improve their skills.
• There are good relationships between members of staff and the children. As a result, children behave well and are cooperative. Children feel safe and are kept safe. There are good links with external agencies, when needed, to improve the support given to individuals.
• Children gain independence and are well behaved, preparing them adequately for joining Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100434 Islington 10054348 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 Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 424 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Helen Fentimen Joanne Pettifor 020 7786 4800 www.priorweston.islington.sch.uk office@priorweston.islington.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 27 March 2018

Information about this school

• Prior Weston is larger than an average-sized primary school. There are two Nursery and two Reception classes in the early years provision. School leaders also run the children’s centre, which is attached to the school. The children’s centre was not part of this inspection.
• Pupils come to the school from a wide range of heritages, and about a third speak English as an additional language. Few are at the early stages of learning to speak English. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above average. The proportion of pupils with SEND is also well above average.
• The interim senior leadership team is new in post, and the acting headteacher started in her role just before the previous inspection in March 2018. The school is being supported by the local authority and a neighbouring successful school.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 23 lessons and learning walks, all jointly with the acting headteacher or another senior leader.
• Discussions were held with leaders, pupils, other members of staff and members of the governing body.
• Inspectors held informal discussions with several parents and scrutinised 129 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View.
• Pupils in Years 2 and 6 were heard reading, and samples of pupils’ work from across the school were scrutinised.
• A range of information supplied by the school was checked, including the school’s own information about how well pupils are doing, planning documents and checks on the quality of teaching. Inspectors also looked at the school development plan and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

Inspection team

Alison Cartlidge, lead inspector Raj Mehta Julian Grenier

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector