Shapla Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that teachers consistently challenge pupils, especially in mathematics, and give them sufficient opportunities to explain their reasoning.
• Strengthen the role of the new subject leaders so that they tackle remaining minor weaknesses in teaching as they arise, in order to maximise the pupils’ learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, governing body and newly formed senior leadership team are working together well. There is a clear sense of purpose and the evaluation of the school’s work is accurate.
• Leaders, including governors, know what remains to be done to ensure that teaching and learning are consistent. Performance management and the monitoring of teaching have been used effectively to pinpoint when teaching is not working well enough, and to help teachers to develop. The impact of this work is evident in the way that teachers are motivated to improve their teaching and in the good outcomes for pupils.
• The curriculum has been developed so that it supports the teaching of skills in literacy and numeracy especially well. Good links have been made between subjects in topic work and this is promoting good progress. Additional activities are used well to motivate the pupils and to enhance their learning.
• Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain and they also gain a good understanding of their responsibilities globally. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported well and pupils learn to tolerate and respect cultural differences. For example, pupils have been learning about traditions at Diwali and have also been learning that not all people believe in God.
• The specific funding to strengthen provision in sport is being used well to teach pupils a wide range of skills and to interest them in taking up sport competitively. For example, pupils in Year 3 were enjoying learning tactics for playing tag rugby and pupils have been successful in playing cricket in the local area following their lessons at school.
• The funding to support disadvantaged pupils has enabled these pupils to do at least as well as their peers in almost all subjects and year groups. The remaining differences are being tackled robustly.
• Funding allocated to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is spent wisely to ensure that individual needs are being met. Leaders monitor provision rigorously and change the support if it is not having enough impact on learning.
• Parents are positive about the school and are pleased that their children feel safe and behave well. They have noticed that the school is improving and make positive comments such as ‘We are happy with the changes’ and ‘The way teachers communicate has improved.’
• The new subject leaders have not been in place long enough to ensure that any remaining minor weaknesses in teaching are tackled as soon as they arise, so that any negative impact on learning is minimised.

Governance of the school

• Governance has improved since the previous inspection and is effective.
• Governors know what works well and what the school needs to do next.
• They are aware of the importance of the breadth of the curriculum and a calm atmosphere to help secure good learning.
• They help to evaluate information on pupils’ progress and monitor the minor gaps in attainment and progress rigorously.
• Governors check that funding is spent so that it is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The training provided for all members of staff is broad and varied, and includes courses chosen to match potential risks in the local area. For example, staff and governors have attended recent training on radicalisation and extremism.
• The curriculum includes many topics that help prepare pupils to be safe in their lives. For example, pupils in Year 5 can explain the dangers of crossing the road when using a mobile phone.
• A safe culture has been established in school and the school works with parents and other agencies to keep the pupils safe. Pupils are equipped to deal with difficulties in life. They know how to resolve conflict and know to approach members of staff if they are unable to sort issues out for themselves. In addition, they have easy access to various helplines to find specialised support beyond the school when needed.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers provide a variety of activities that engage the pupils’ interest and help them to want to learn. For example, in Year 2, pupils enjoyed using ‘the hungry crocodiles who ate the biggest numbers’ to help them remember the direction of the signs ‘greater than’ and ‘smaller than’.
• Teachers and teaching assistants work together well supporting all groups of pupils and enabling them to make good progress. For example, in Year 6, all members of staff used probing questions to encourage pupils to draw on evidence to support their arguments about the fall of the Mayan civilisation.
• Members of staff promote the right vocabulary in each subject and provide clear instructions so that pupils know what they are to learn. Information to support learning is displayed clearly in classes and pupils make use of this to help them to make good progress.
• Strong links are made between subjects, and work builds on what pupils have already learned. Teachers have much higher expectations for how well pupils present their work than at the time of the previous inspection. This is having a good impact on the care pupils take over their writing.
• Members of staff form good relationships with their pupils and manage their behaviour positively. They are skilled in their use of questioning, enabling them to check what pupils have understood and to challenge them further.
• Teachers make good use of assessment information to provide work at the right level in most lessons. Occasionally, especially in mathematics, teachers do not provide pupils with work that is challenging enough or encourage them to justify and explain their answers. When this happens, pupils do not learn at the depth they could.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils support each other well in their learning and are confident that their views and ideas will be respected.
• Good relationships between adults and pupils enable them to feel safe and know how to stay safe. Older pupils are particularly knowledgeable about the importance of being cautious when working online. For example, they know not to share personal information with strangers.
• Pupils understand that there are different forms of bullying. They say that instances of bullying are rare and they know what to do if they have any concerns.
• The school’s shared values are reflected in displays of work around the school and in the pupils’ considerate behaviour. Pupils have a good understanding of what is needed to be a good learner. They enjoy taking responsibility for various tasks at school and raise funds for charity. Pupils say that they would appreciate more opportunities for taking responsibility in their learning so that time is not wasted when they have finished a task too quickly.
• Pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is supported through physical education, additional clubs and activities such as ‘circle time’ when they can talk about any anxieties. There is sensitive support for pupils who are facing difficulties such as bereavement.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils and their parents agree that behaviour at the school is good. Pupils play together well and share resources amicably in class.
• Pupils are keen to learn and take pride in their work. They appreciate and respect the good work of others. For example, they enjoy sharing successes in assemblies.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school and are polite and friendly. Pupils spoken with about playtimes were keen to stress that ‘We don’t leave people out’ and ‘It is peaceful in the playground.’
• Rates of attendance are improving steadily and are close to national averages. The school is doing the right things to help improve attendance further.
• There are few instances of poor behaviour. Pupils who have misbehaved reflect sensibly on why they have not met the school’s values. Occasionally, pupils become restless when work is too easy and they finish it too quickly.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• About two thirds of the children are working below the level expected for their age when they join the school in the early years. Pupils make good progress across the curriculum, including in literacy and numeracy. They are prepared well for the next stage of their education.
• Disadvantaged pupils are making good progress and their attainment now matches or exceeds that of other pupils in almost all year groups. Funding is used well to ensure that their progress is monitored closely and relevant support is provided as needed.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are difficult to identify in class because the support they receive is well focused and unobtrusive. As a result, these pupils are confident and learn quickly.
• The most able pupils are making more rapid progress than in the past. They have good opportunities to demonstrate their greater depth of understanding in literacy. In mathematics, as with other pupils, they do not always progress as well as they could in some units of work.
• Attainment in the phonics screening check improved dramatically in 2017. In the current Year 1, pupils are using their knowledge of phonics to read and spell words such as ‘rain’ and ‘rooftop’ correctly.
• Early indications are that attainment rose at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in 2017 and that pupils’ outcomes are broadly average. Pupils’ workbooks from last year and their current books show that this improvement in attainment and progress is being sustained.
• Pupils enjoy reading and are achieving well. The most able read with good expression and can explain storylines and characters in depth. Least-able pupils are gaining confidence in using phonics to help them with unfamiliar words. Leaders have identified that they need to ensure that there are opportunities for pupils to extend and apply their reading skills. Leaders plan to address this through pupils’ independent research activities.
• Pupils’ writing has improved significantly since the previous inspection and pupils use ambitious vocabulary to make their writing interesting. Pupils are applying their knowledge about grammar, punctuation and spelling well. There are good opportunities for pupils to use their writing to support their learning in topic work.
• Over time, pupils are making good progress in mathematics, although progress is slower in this subject than in reading and writing. Occasionally, pupils are not given work that is sufficiently challenging in this subject. At other times, they are not given enough opportunity to explain their reasoning. Leaders have clear plans to monitor mathematics with greater rigour to tackle this issue.

Early years provision Good

• Members of staff have good relationships with the children, enabling them to settle quickly into the Nursery and Reception classes. Staff give clear instructions and ask good questions to help children build on their prior knowledge.
• Attainment rose in 2017, and assessment information shows that children, including the disadvantaged, make good progress from their starting points. Teachers provide a wide range of activities that enable children to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding across the areas of learning. By the time children join Year 1, their attainment is broadly average and they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Teachers and teaching assistants have a positive impact on the children’s outcomes. They work alongside the children, asking questions to support learning. They are skilled in demonstrating how to use the good-quality resources. For example, when working in the sandpit, Nursery children were encouraged to discuss the ‘food’ they were making, and were learning new words such as ‘mixture’ and ‘inside’.
• Funding for disadvantaged children is used effectively to provide additional staffing so that children’s learning is monitored and supported carefully. The attainment and progress of these children are improving well.
• The children’s interest in reading is expanding with activities planned around a story. For example, in the Nursery, children experienced walking through mud and water like in ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ while learning new vocabulary such as ‘squelching’ and ‘splashing’.
• Children behave well and focus on their learning. They take turns sensibly and are confident. For example, children in the Nursery can already make choices about what they would like to work at. Children feel safe at school and trust the members of staff to tackle any concerns they might have.
• Members of staff prioritise the children’s health and safety. For example, during the inspection, children in the Reception class were learning to brush their teeth correctly to avoid tooth decay.
• Teachers share the children’s ‘special books’ with the children and their parents. They provide clear photographic evidence of the children’s work and a record of attainment and progress over time. There are close links with external services to ensure that children’s specific needs are being met.
• Leaders have clear plans to improve provision and there is a focus on writing this year. Occasionally, members of staff do not check that children are forming letters correctly and when this happens mistakes are not corrected straight away.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100935 Tower Hamlets 10036363 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 178 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mark Campbell Tim Barnes 020 7480 5829 www.shaplaprimary.co.uk tbarnes@shapla.towerhamlets.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 17–18 November 2015

Information about this school

• Shapla is smaller than an average-sized primary school.
• Most pupils come to the school from Asian or Asian British heritage. Most pupils speak English as an additional language, with only a few being at the early stages when they join the school. The home language of most of these pupils is Bengali.
• There is a Nursery and one Reception Year class in the early years provision.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 16 lessons, about half jointly with the headteacher.
• Discussions were held with leaders, other members of staff and members of the governing body.
• Inspectors held informal discussions with several parents and scrutinised 48 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.
• Pupils in Years 2 and 6 were heard reading and samples of pupils’ work 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. The inspectors also looked at the school development plan and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding procedures.

Inspection team

Alison Cartlidge, lead inspector Nick Turvey

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector