Stanley Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to develop the effectiveness of the teaching of writing in key stage 2 by:
  • ensuring that pupils’ written work makes effective use of grammar and punctuation
  • giving pupils the confidence to write interesting, lively and engaging written pieces
  • setting writing tasks that challenge pupils of different ability appropriately to do the best work they can.
• Improve the quality of teaching in key stage 2 so that pupils make outstanding progress in all subjects by:
  • addressing inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment
  • ensuring that work is sufficiently challenging and routinely meets the needs of pupils.
• Continue to improve attendance rates in the early years and key stage 1.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Following the previous inspection, school leaders have refocused the school’s work on raising expectations and improving the quality of education that pupils receive. Their aim is to ensure that pupils attain to the best of their abilities and benefit from memorable learning experiences in all subjects. As a result, standards have risen, particularly in reading and mathematics. Nevertheless, more work is needed before pupils’ progress in writing is equally strong.
• Together with a very capable governing body, the senior leadership team has established a clear set of school values which inform the school’s ethos and are understood by pupils and staff. Their work is centred on both academic success and personal development.
• Leaders have a comprehensive view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Their plans for improvement focus astutely on the areas in need of most attention. The impact of leaders’ work is shown by the clear improvements in the quality of teaching made in recent years. This is most evident in the teaching of mathematics and a range of other important subject areas, including, PE, science and music where standards are continuing to rise.
• Middle leaders contribute enthusiastically to the school’s work to raise standards. They work with teachers, focusing on the quality of work produced by pupils in their areas of responsibility. Their work is leading to improvements in how well pupils are being taught and is starting to address the remaining inconsistencies in the quality of teaching in key stage 2.
• Leaders use assessment information skilfully to hold teachers to account for their pupils’ progress. Leaders and teachers now have useful and accurate information to identify and support pupils at risk of underachievement. Teachers now use this information to plan learning that meets pupils’ needs. Nevertheless, some inconsistency remains in the extent to which teaching routinely supports and challenges pupils of all abilities, particularly in writing.
• Leaders use the pupil premium funding well to support the learning of disadvantaged pupils. High-quality resources and bespoke extra help for those pupils who need to catch up form the basis of this work. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils are now making the same progress as other pupils nationally.
• The primary physical education (PE) and sport premium enables the school to provide specialist equipment and some teaching experiences which the pupils asked for, including, for instance, lessons in golf skills. Pupils benefit from a good range of clubs and extra-curricular activities, such as competitive sporting events. These opportunities are effective in promoting pupils’ fitness and enjoyment of physical activity.
• The school makes good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is helping pupils to acquire a thorough understanding of life in modern Britain. The school’s deeply held values place mutual respect at its core, which contributes positively to the life of the school.
• The curriculum at Stanley School is broad and diverse. Leaders have analysed and amended the curriculum so that it is easier for pupils to see subject links across broad themes. Pupils are keen to do well because teaching provides interesting topics for them to explore. The curriculum is enriched by specialist teaching of physical education, French and music.
• The school has received useful external support from the local authority’s school improvement service. This service has a good understanding of the school and has provided advice and consultancy to support leaders’ work to raise standards.
• Leadership of the additional resource provision is good. The provision gives much-needed stability and ensures that children and pupils are well cared for and have access to a wide curriculum appropriate to their individual needs.

Governance of the school

• Governors carry out their duties diligently and have acted as a driving force in school improvement. They understand the school’s context very well and offer challenge and support to the school’s leadership team. They have acted conscientiously to enable the school to develop its vision of a high achieving community school. They are keen to promote the school further so that it is fully recognised for the increasingly good work which takes place there.
• Governors’ focus is rightly on ensuring that pupils do the best they can at the school. They use their meetings and committee structure to make sure that this remains central to their work. They have also been able to offer their experience to help steer the school through a protracted building development programme.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that all members of staff are well trained in child protection and have the necessary skills and knowledge to promote pupils’ welfare. The school’s policies and practice are thorough. A strong culture of safety exists in the school. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and carers, as well as external professionals, to ensure that all pupils are supported and as safe as possible.
• Pupils are very confident that the school is a safe place; parents and staff at the school who responded to Ofsted’s surveys or spoke with an inspector agree with this view. Key staff have ensured that safer recruitment training and practice are up to date.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching across the school is good overall. Most teaching shows high expectations of what pupils can achieve and uses time and resources well. Staff have very positive relationships with the pupils.
• Some variability in teaching remains, particularly in lower key stage 2. On occasion, teaching fails to capture the interests of all pupils, with consequences for both progress and behaviour.
• The school has recently changed its approach to the teaching of early reading skills. This has helped to ensure that teaching is sufficiently precise to support pupils in acquiring the knowledge of phonics expected for their age. Staff have good subject knowledge and so model sounds accurately and correct pupils when they make mistakes. This helps pupils to use phonics to decode words accurately and fluently.
• Senior leaders have implemented a range of initiatives to improve the quality of teaching and learning. These include, for example, the introduction of assessment procedures and feedback to pupils. These are now used consistently and have contributed to the improved outcomes for pupils.
• Senior leaders have identified weaker aspects of teaching. For example, they are aware that some teaching has not ensured that pupils apply their understanding of the rules of grammar and punctuation in their independent writing. This is now a priority for the school.
• Teaching of mathematics is effective in making tasks challenging and interesting for all pupils. The teaching places emphasis on developing pupils’ conceptual understanding. They are then taught to apply this to new areas of mathematics and solve more complex problems in different ways, so deepening their understanding.
• Additional adults support pupils with SEND effectively and motivate them to try hard. Pupils know that the staff want them to do well. In turn, this has developed pupils’ positive attitudes towards learning.
• Teaching in the additional resource base is good. Small-group and individual work ensures that pupils make good progress. The classrooms are resourced appropriately so that pupils know their routines and are kept safe. An increasing number are also able to integrate into the main school for some of their lessons.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good in both the main school and the additional resource provision. Leaders ensure that the welfare and care of pupils is central to life at the school. Pupils work and play together harmoniously because they are taught to show tolerance of diversity as well as compassion for others. Pupils are also taught to work hard and to demonstrate resilience.
• Through the curriculum, pupils develop a strong awareness of different faiths, ethnic backgrounds and cultures. Pupils demonstrate respectful and considerate attitudes and show respect for each other, even if they hold different beliefs or points of view. They are well prepared to play a positive role in modern Britain.
• Positive messages about how to tackle and respond to bullying have been helpful to pupils. Pupils say that bullying does not take place at the school, though were it to occur, they know the systems that exist to support them. Teachers ensure that pupils are knowledgeable about how to keep safe while working on the internet, including when using social media at home.
• Through different subjects, including science, pupils are made aware of key aspects of keeping healthy such as the importance of a good diet and regular exercise.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good both in the main school and the additional resource provision. Pupils conduct themselves sensibly, both in classrooms and around the school site. Only at times when teaching does not meet pupils’ needs do they become distracted, so limiting their progress.
• Leaders have continued to work effectively to maintain a great sense of community in the school. This is evident in how the pupils care for one another.
• The school communicates well with parents and carers, who are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work. One parent’s comment, typical of others, was that ‘My children love the school…the teachers make the lessons interesting and my children love learning.’ Inspectors found no evidence to support the view of a few parents that the lengthy building programme had been detrimental to pupils’ learning.
• Most pupils attend regularly and on time each day. A small number of predominantly younger, disadvantaged pupils have yet to establish this habit. These pupils’ attendance is not as high as it should be. Leaders recognise this and are working hard to remedy this situation.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Standards at key stage 2 have been rising since 2016. In 2018, the proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was above the national average. This represented strong progress in mathematics and reading. In writing, their progress was slower, and a below-average proportion of the most able pupils attained the higher standard in writing.
• In 2018, the proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check was close to the national average. However, leaders believe that standards could be even higher and have reviewed the way this is now taught. Already, this is yielding positive outcomes due to better teaching.
• Current pupils are making good progress in reading and mathematics. This is shown by the school’s assessments of their progress over time, work in their books and their learning in classrooms. This is the result of consistently good teaching.
• Senior leaders recognised that more should be expected of pupils in writing. Children in the early years now make a very good start to developing literacy skills, which are then built upon in key stage 1. In key stage 2, although there are indications of improving progress, overall pupils’ progress in writing is uneven.
• Most pupils clearly enjoy reading, and leaders have ensured that a wide variety of good-quality reading materials is available to them. Book areas are very well resourced, and include a newspaper published for children, which they read with interest. This promotion of reading is helping pupils to broaden their reading as well as improving their vocabulary and comprehension skills.
• Careful use of the pupil premium funding is helping to support the good progress that disadvantaged pupils make in most curriculum areas. Their progress in writing is now improving because of the school’s careful analysis and the resulting actions.
• As a result of effective support, pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of learning, and they learn well. Leaders use assessment information effectively to monitor the progress of these pupils and ensure that they receive the help they need to make good progress.
• Outcomes for pupils in the additional resource provision are good. Each pupil has specific targets with clear milestones. Parents are involved at every step and this partnership is invaluable.

Early years provision Good

• The leadership of early years is good. Leaders make sure that staff plan learning carefully. As a result, children learn well and make strong progress from their starting points. The proportion of children attaining a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year is above other schools nationally. Children develop very positive attitudes to school life in the early years and are well prepared for moving into Year 1.
• Across the Reception and Nursery classes, teachers create a welcoming learning environment, which interests children in activities that they find enjoyable. Skilful teaching ensures that children get plenty of experiences in learning how to read and write. Even though some classes were in temporary rooms, teachers had created superb environments in which children could flourish.
• Children are excited by the interesting topics that staff plan for them. They settle swiftly to work and are very well behaved and respectful towards one another. The interesting work areas encourage them to practise the skills they have learned, including the use of basic number facts and writing. Children in the Reception class are already showing increased skill in writing, with many children able to write clearly and use basic punctuation, including full stops and capital letters in their work.
• Classrooms are well resourced and staffed so that children can learn independently or with adults, as they choose. Teaching assistants work very well to support children in their learning. Adults place themselves carefully, so that they are in a good position to ensure that children are working well. Children are enthusiastic and work well together, enjoying the activities which take place both indoors and outside.
• Across all classes, children are very well cared for and their well-being is of paramount importance. The school has worked successfully to raise disadvantaged children’s achievement. They are now doing almost as well as their peers nationally.
• The school has developed effective partnership working with parents; they are clearly valued and contribute to the assessments made of children’s progress throughout the early years. They are able to access the school’s ongoing assessment records through an online system which contains examples of children’s work matched to specific areas of learning.
• Children in the additional resource provision are well integrated at various points throughout each day, as well as being well catered for in the resource base.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102898 Richmond 10054359 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 Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 726 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Fliss Syrad Ian Dickinson 020 8977 4858 www.stanley.richmond.sch.uk info@stanley.richmond.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 7–8 December 2016

Information about this school

• The school is much larger than most primary schools. The proportion of pupils with SEND is above average. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is slightly above average.
• Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The largest group of children is from White British backgrounds, with children from Any Other White background forming the next sizeable ethnic group.
• The school was formed from the amalgamation of the separate infant and junior schools on the same site in 2010. Since then, a building programme has been in operation.
• The school has an 18-place additional resource base called The Peartree Centre. All pupils in the centre are identified as having autistic spectrum disorder and are taught in one of three classes.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited classrooms in all year groups, several of which visits were carried out jointly with members of the school’s leadership team.
• The inspection team heard pupils read in Year 1 and Year 2. They talked to pupils in classrooms and looked at samples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including the school’s improvement plan and records of pupils’ behaviour, safeguarding and attendance. They also scrutinised assessment information and records of meetings of the governing body.
• Inspectors met with teachers and spoke with pupils. A meeting was held with members of the governing body. A meeting was also held with a representative from the local authority. Several meetings were held with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.
• The views of parents were obtained through informal discussions, the 227 responses to the online Parent View survey and 137 responses for the online text facility.
• The views of staff were examined through the 51 responses of the staff survey.
• The views of pupils were analysed from the 134 responses from the pupil survey.

Inspection team

Tim McLoughlin, lead inspector Helen Rai Jonathan Roddick Dr Kanwaljit Singh

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector