Gorringe Park Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Develop the role of the teaching assistants in order to improve outcomes for pupils by:
  • improving curriculum knowledge, leading to good-quality questioning using subject-specific vocabulary
  • providing positive behaviour management strategies
  • improving working relationships with pupils to create a consistently positive environment, focused on learning.
• Improve outcomes for those who have SEN and/or disabilities by:
  • ensuring that this group has access to good-quality teaching
  • providing work that is appropriate to their individual needs
  • celebrating success to provide a positive learning experience.
• Improve outcomes in writing for pupils by:
  • providing challenge for the most able, including in early years
  • supporting the least able pupils to access learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide strong leadership for the school. They have evaluated the school accurately and are aware of what needs to be achieved for further improvement. They celebrate successes achieved since the last inspection and maintain high expectations for pupils.
• Subject-specialist teachers are creative and enthuse pupils to learn well. Resident artists and musicians have a long-lasting impact on those pupils involved, evident in the work that pupils go on to produce. The curriculum is enriched by educational visits and after-school clubs, which include cookery, film-making and basketball. Pupils spoke about how much they enjoyed a variety of trips and how they had developed their learning.
• The inclusion leader effectively monitors the progress of disadvantaged pupils and has a clear understanding of the key barriers to learning for individual pupils. Interventions are reviewed every six weeks and changed if progress is not evident. Working with families to support the learning for disadvantaged pupils is an effective aspect of the school’s strategy.
• Sports funding is used successfully to increase participation rates and develop skills across a range of physical activities through specialist teaching. This has been particularly effective with the school football team, which is now enjoying newly found success. One pupil was incredibly proud to be in the football team and said, ‘I feel like I am contributing to the school when I go to football.’
• Support from the local authority has been focused on key areas with the use of consultants to work with middle leaders. The impact of this has been improved outcomes in these areas. This is closely monitored through half-termly support and challenge meetings.
• Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Leaders ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They regularly teach the importance of British values through effective assemblies which the pupils talk about confidently. When asked about what British values meant to him, one pupil said, ‘To be fair and follow the law. We use democracy when we vote for the school council and for the eco-warriors.’ Pupils shared an example of showing respect for supporters of different football teams and how they had been taught to do this.
• Pupils’ respect for one another is a strength of the school, particularly with regard to different religions. Pupils learn about a range of faiths. Teachers use pupils as specialists to support learning. One pupil said that she enjoyed talking about her faith with other pupils, but that she also learned things that she didn’t know before. Trips to places of worship support learning. One pupil spoke of how a trip to the mosque had developed his understanding of prayer.
• The school works effectively with a cluster of schools and the local authority. This has led to professional development opportunities for leaders and teaching staff. Staff speak highly of the training and say that it is tailored to their individual needs. However, further training now needs to be focused on the quality of learning during small-group intervention work with teaching assistants.
• Individual plans for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities show progress against specific targets. Involvement with external agencies is evident. New leadership in this area has led to significant changes to the identification of pupils who need additional support. It is, however, too early to see any impact from this. Progress for this group of pupils is not as good as it could be.

Governance of the school

• Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively. The governing body is well led. Governors know the strengths and areas for development well and they are not afraid to challenge leaders. Meetings are well focused and show where challenge from governors leads to effective action.
• Link governors understand their role well; meetings are effectively planned and lead to action. Governors are persistent in following issues through until an outcome acceptable to them is achieved. An example of this is pupils’ attendance, where evidence of governors buying in the support of a professional service to work with families is showing an impact. Governors work effectively with parents and demonstrate a sound understanding of the differing needs of the community.
• Governors have received appropriate training and are keen to learn. They regularly engage with other professionals who will check what they are doing while holding school leaders to account. This leads to improved practice. Governor vacancies are filled using the results of a skills audit. This ensures that a breadth of expertise is available to support the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Safeguarding is a strength of the school. It is well led, with a focus on providing early help to pupils and their families to avoid issues escalating.
• Secure systems lead to swift intervention for pupils and their families. Local issues are responded to and leaders make referrals when necessary, including those in response to the ‘Prevent’ duty.
• The school’s checks on the suitability of staff meet requirements. All staff are trained in safeguarding procedures and know how to support pupils who need it. Staff are vigilant and have a sound understanding of recent legislation.
• The school works effectively with external agencies to support families at the earliest opportunity. This has significantly reduced the need for social care referrals and has led to positive relationships between the school and parents.
• Pupils talk about how to stay safe and how teachers have taught them how to be safe, including on the internet. They were able to talk about how they had used this learning in real situations.
• All parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire expressed the view that the school keeps pupils safe.
• Governors regularly check that safeguarding in school is effective, including through discussion with parents and pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Strong working relationships between teachers and pupils provide a positive basis for learning. Teachers know pupils well and swiftly identify misconceptions in the majority of classes.
• Pupils enjoy reading and being read to. This was particularly evident in Year 6 when pupils enthusiastically wrote the second chapter to a book after being motivated by the teacher reading to them. When reading, pupils demonstrate age-appropriate skills and use phonics skills to tackle unfamiliar words. Older pupils show strong word recognition and effective comprehension of what they are reading.
• Pupils consistently respond well to specialist teaching provision. In Year 1 Spanish lessons, pupils were enthralled and keen to develop their own learning. This was also evident in a music and movement lesson, when pupils were actively participating from the moment they arrived. Additional adults were effective in this lesson, where they were supporting and intervening when pupils were struggling to access the learning. The lead practitioner in mathematics uses good-quality questioning to support learning in Year 5.
• Pupils achieve well in mathematics and a whole-school approach leads to consistency across classes. Teachers use effective questioning to develop learning. Focused additional lessons in mathematics develop and consolidate pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills. Pupils are encouraged to support one another. This helps them to address misconceptions and they carefully explain skills needed to solve problems. One pupil said, ‘My teacher says that learning my times tables will help me with my fractions.’
• Pupils follow a clear plan in phonics. This enables pupils to develop skills from an awareness of the sounds, through sentence-level work, on to writing effectively. Spelling is good in Year 2. Pupils use phonics skills well and additional resources are used to support the less able. However, support for the lower-ability pupils in Year 1 group work is not as effective, as they do not have access to visual resources.
• Opportunities for the most able pupils to write at length are evident in some classes; however, this is not consistent. For the most able and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, work is not tailored to their individual needs and therefore they do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make consistently good progress in their writing. For some of these pupils, learning is a negative experience as their work and progress are not recognised. This leads them to be disheartened and disengage from their work.
• Teachers often use sophisticated questioning to develop pupils’ thinking. This is not the case, however, with teaching assistants, when questioning techniques are not fully effective. When this is the case, comments are often simply focused on the completion of a task rather than the learning. This limits the opportunities to extend pupils’ learning.

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 well mannered, polite and proud of their school. They look after one another well.
• Pupils talked sensibly about peer pressure in Year 6 and contributed well to discussions. They valued each other’s contributions and used effective and appropriate language when sharing their ideas.
• Pupils’ respect for one another is exceptional. Pupils talk about respecting the religion and beliefs of others and will ask questions to further develop their understanding. One pupil said, ‘We respect each other’s religion and everybody understands that we are all different.’
• Pupils who need emotional support are well catered for. Learning mentors and external agencies support this area of the school’s work. Pupils know who they can talk to if they need help.
• Pupils know how to be safe and the importance of internet safety. Pupils have been taught to understand the different forms of bullying and spoke of what to do if a victim of cyber bullying. Pupils say that bullying in school is rare.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils generally behave well in lessons. They enter school sensibly at the start of the day, supported by the early opening of doors and tasks being ready to complete. Behaviour in the playground is calm; pupils are well supervised and enjoy a range of activities.
• In some classes, pupils have a really positive attitude to learning and they are proud of their work. At times, behaviour management was exceptional where pupils had the freedom to discuss their learning and opinions. They responded immediately to the teacher bringing them all back together, because they were excited about what the next challenge would be.
• Pupils talk positively about the behaviour system and want to achieve rewards. There are, however, times when some teachers do not notice that pupils are off task and disrupting the learning of others.
• The before- and after-school provision effectively meets the needs of the pupils. A variety of activities lead to positive behaviour in a calm, happy environment.
• Attendance is below national averages and persistence absence for some groups of pupils is too high. The school has recently secured external support for attendance and this is now beginning to have an impact. The school works hard to identify families in need of support and is relentless in its drive to improve attendance and lateness.
• Behaviour during small-group work is not always as good as in classes. Some teaching assistants do not have strategies to manage behaviour well and this disrupts the learning for other pupils. In some cases, behaviour management is negative. This stops learning and leads to pupils disengaging. This is particularly evident for the lower-ability pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Standards at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2 are improving and are now in line with or above national averages. The progress of pupils over time is also following an upward trend and is positive in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils has also improved over time and this is evident for current pupils too. Books show that good progress is made for this group in writing. School data suggests that disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to other pupils in school.
• Progress in other subjects across the curriculum is good and pupils achieve standards appropriate for their age.
• Leaders have a clear and accurate picture of progress data, which shows an improving picture. Work in books and data analysis in school suggest that pupils are on track to achieve well. Work has been moderated across the cluster of schools, and this judgement is supported.
• Most pupils make good progress in reading and writing. Progress in mathematics is well above national averages.
• Progress of pupils is checked every six weeks and plans are put in place for pupils who are falling behind. These are monitored closely to ensure that they are making a difference.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make the progress of which they are capable. This is evidenced in end of key stage data and in pupils’ books. Leaders are aware of this.

Early years provision Good

• Early years is well led, providing clear direction and consistency across Nursery and Reception classes. Staff work effectively with parents and engage them daily in their child’s learning. The early morning drop-off sessions provide the opportunity for children and their parents to write together. Strategies to engage parents are highly successful.
• The proportion of children achieving a good level of development has significantly improved over time and is now slightly above national averages. The broad range of activities supports the children to achieve the early learning goals effectively. Children in Nursery and Reception are focused on their learning and choose activities well.
• Transition into school from the Nursery is effective and children are ready for the next stage in their learning as they move into Year 1.
• Children behave well. Any incidents of inappropriate behaviour are dealt with swiftly. Children respect adults and respond well to them. They are polite and well mannered and were keen to tell inspectors about what they have been learning.
• Safeguarding in early years is effective. Staff have a secure understanding of the school’s safeguarding procedures in order to keep children safe. Referrals are made swiftly and early help is used effectively to support families at the earliest opportunity.
• Funding for disadvantaged children is used well to support children and their families, based on a secure understanding of need.
• Assessments are detailed and identify next steps for individual children, which inform planning. The impact of this is good progress in the majority of areas.
• Opportunities for children to develop their writing independently are not consistently evident. The most able children are not always encouraged to write independently. Resources in the writing areas do not encourage children to write.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102654 Merton 10036373 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 576 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mr Richard Stocker Mr Simon Elledge 020 8648 1451 www.gorringepark.co.uk office@gorringepark.merton.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 13 May 2015

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.
• The proportion of pupils from ethnic minority groups is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium grant is in line with that found nationally. The proportion of those who have SEN and/or disabilities is above schools nationally.
• Pupils are taught in single-year classes from Year 1 to Year 6. There are three classes in each year group. In early years, there is a Nursery and three Reception classes. There is no provision for two-year-olds.
• The school runs before- and after-school childcare provision, in addition to a range of after-school activities.
• The school works in partnership with a cluster of schools and the local authority.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning in 53 lessons, some jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour and attitudes in classrooms, at breaktimes and at lunchtimes.
• Individual pupils and different groups of pupils spoke with inspectors to discuss their learning and views of the school. Inspectors listened to pupils read and discussed their reading with them. The inspectors also looked at samples of pupils’ work across subjects and year groups.
• A range of documents were considered, including the school’s self-evaluation documentation, minutes from governing body meetings, information about pupils’ progress and attendance, behaviour and bullying logs and safeguarding arrangements.
• Two members of the governing body met with inspectors. Meetings were also held with school staff and a representative from the local authority.
• The inspectors took account of the views expressed in the 24 online responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire and contributions from parents who contacted Ofsted directly. In addition, they gathered the views of several parents during informal meetings at the school.
• The inspectors took account of the views of 16 staff in response to the staff questionnaires. There were no responses to the online pupil view questionnaire.

Inspection team

Donna Chambers, lead inspector Jacqueline Underwood Anna Bosher Jude Wilson Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector