Barn Croft Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen the teaching of writing so that it is consistently of the highest quality throughout the school by ensuring that:
  • pupils have regular opportunities to apply their writing skills to extended pieces of work
  • spelling is taught consistently well, and pupils apply what they know in their writing
  • staff maximise opportunities for children in the early years, particularly boys, to develop their early writing skills so that children are well prepared for their learning in Year 1.
• Further improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • middle leaders monitor standards in subjects across the curriculum with the same rigour as in English and mathematics
  • pupils’ attendance improves, particularly for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that it is at least in line with the national average.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, leaders and governors have improved the quality of education provided to pupils. Since the previous inspection, leaders’ actions to improve the quality of teaching have been successful. As a result, pupils make strong progress in their learning and the standards reached in the end of key stage tests have improved.
• The headteacher has the respect and trust of parents and the community. Parents are extremely positive about the changes that have been made. They can see how the school has improved and how the headteacher’s vision has their children’s learning, progress and well-being at its core. Partnerships with parents are a strength of the school and this is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning. One parent’s comment, which was echoed by many others, exemplified this point: ‘This is a wonderful community, the headteacher is committed to our children and I am thoroughly impressed with the school.’
• Leaders are not complacent. Although improvements have been made, they know the aspects of the school’s work that could be even better. Leaders and governors have strengthened the school’s leadership since the previous inspection. An experienced team of middle leaders is now in place to maintain the good-quality teaching throughout the school. This complements the work of senior leaders in continually improving pupils’ outcomes.
• Middle leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Since the previous inspection, improvements to assessment procedures and the teaching of English and mathematics have been significant. However, the monitoring of standards in other curriculum subjects is not as rigorous.
• The small but dedicated staff team is well supported by leaders. Teachers who are new to the profession speak extremely positively about the training opportunities that leaders provide. Experienced middle leaders act as mentors to the newer staff and ensure that pupils receive consistently good teaching in each phase group.
• Leaders make sure that the pupil premium funding is well spent. Disadvantaged pupils achieve well throughout the school. Some of the money has been spent on employing additional teachers to work between year groups. These teachers, alongside class teachers, ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve their targets and progress well.
• The experienced inclusion leader ensures that additional funding is used well for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Following a recent restructure, the deployment of teaching assistants has changed. Leaders make sure that pupils who are entitled to additional support and those who have complex needs are well supported in class. Work with external agencies to support pupils with additional needs is effective. Parents’ feedback praises the provision for these pupils. As one parent said, ‘The staff at Barn Croft have gone above and beyond to help my son achieve.’
• Parents and pupils are particularly pleased with the school’s wider curriculum. The headteacher and her team have worked hard at improving the breadth of the curriculum, including outdoor and environmental education. Subjects are well planned, and pupils have a range of opportunities to answer key questions, explore, investigate and find things out for themselves about times gone by and the world around them, and to develop their creative and musical skills.
• Leaders ensure that pupils’ learning is enriched by a programme of extra-curricular clubs, activities and visits. Outdoor learning has recently been enhanced, with the support of parents, so that pupils have opportunities to grow vegetables, learn outside in the forest garden and study the natural environment. After-school clubs extend pupils’ learning in activities such as choir, sports and cooking.
• The primary sports funding is used well. Leaders have used some of the funding to enhance the swimming programme for pupils. Last year, additional sessions ensured that all pupils were able to swim by the time they left primary school. Leaders ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to take part in a sporting club each year.
• Staff, governors and pupils speak about a ‘zero tolerance’ that exists in the school in relation to all forms of discrimination. Pupils articulate the school’s ethos and values very well. Pupils respect others and are taught about the different communities that make up modern Britain. Pupils told inspectors that all forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying, are wrong and not tolerated at their school.
• Following the previous inspection, the local authority provided good support to leaders and governors in order to raise standards. Over time, as pupils’ outcomes have improved and the effectiveness of leadership has strengthened, the support from the local authority has reduced.

Governance of the school

• Governance has improved since the previous inspection. Governors have the interests of pupils, parents and staff at the heart of their work. They support the headteacher and other leaders effectively in order to raise standards.
• Governors assure themselves that standards are continually improving through half-termly meetings and visits to the school. Governors have used training well in order to ask more challenging questions of leaders. Their visits to the school have a clear focus and relate to the school improvement plan. Governors bring a wide range of skills to the school and use these well to make strategic decisions and improve the school.
• The governors have a clear understanding of how well pupils are achieving. They know what leaders are doing to continually improve pupils’ outcomes and are aware of the progress made by different groups of pupils.
• Governors make sure that safer recruitment procedures are followed and that the checks made on staff are suitable.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders ensure that all staff know how to keep pupils safe. Staff take part in regular training to ensure that they are up to date with the latest legislation related to child protection procedures.
• The headteacher and her team develop strong and positive relationships with pupils and their families. Pupils’ welfare is key to leaders’ work. Leaders have worked well with parents to help them understand important safeguarding information. Assemblies and the school’s personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) curriculum enables pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe.
• Pupils say that teachers look after them. They feel confident to report any concerns. There is a culture of safeguarding throughout the school, where staff are clear about the procedures to follow if they have concerns about pupils’ welfare.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Since the previous inspection, leaders have successfully improved the way in which key subjects are taught throughout the school. Middle leaders have effectively overhauled the school’s assessment systems so that these are easier for pupils to use and understand. Despite changes to the teaching staff team, leaders have ensured that the improvements made over the previous two years have been maintained.
• Throughout the school, pupils are well taught. Teachers know pupils very well. In lessons, teachers use what they know about pupils’ achievements to adapt activities to meet their learning needs.
• Teachers use questioning effectively to help pupils understand new and difficult concepts, particularly in mathematics. Pupils benefit from teachers’ strong subject knowledge in lessons. Pupils are well supported to learn from their misconceptions and to apply their skills in a range of contexts.
• Teachers organise their classrooms well to support pupils’ learning. Typically, classrooms are positive and calm learning environments where pupils work well with others and approach their activities sensibly. Teachers model examples to pupils consistently well, and use visual and practical resources effectively to support pupils’ understanding. Pupils routinely articulate their ideas, views and opinions in lessons. Teachers are good role models for speaking and listening.
• Planned activities, and teachers’ questioning, successfully challenge pupils to think deeply. The most able pupils are given work that is appropriate and the new approaches to teaching mathematics are providing pupils with more opportunities to apply their key skills in problem-solving activities. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standards in mathematics has increased because of these approaches.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have targets that are monitored by the inclusion leader and teachers. Leaders ensure that activities meet pupils’ needs and that additional support, such as specialist teaching or interventions, is in place to extend pupils’ learning. Inspectors saw additional adults working very effectively with disadvantaged pupils and those who have additional needs.
• Changes to the way in which reading is taught have had a positive impact on pupils’ progress. The teaching of phonics in Year 1 is systematic and effective. Inspectors’ visits to phonics sessions showed that pupils are taught to use these skills well to read new words. In other classes, pupils respond well to group reading sessions and time to read independently. Pupils who read with inspectors demonstrated good comprehension skills for their age and the ability to read with expression and fluency.
• Pupils’ written work is well presented. Work on displays and in their books shows that pupils have a range of opportunities to write for different purposes and audiences. However, the teachers do not always ensure that pupils apply their core writing skills to extended pieces of work. Pupils do not routinely apply their knowledge of spelling patterns well in their written work. Leaders acknowledge this, and the teaching of writing will remain a focus for further improvement this academic year.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good and is a strength of the school, acknowledged by parents and pupils. The school is a happy and friendly place where pupils get on well with others and develop good relationships with adults.
• Pupils say that adults keep them safe in school. They demonstrate the school’s values of ‘ready, respectful, safe’ in lessons and in the playground. Pupils are well looked after and staff are suitably trained to help pupils who are injured or unwell.
• The headteacher knows all pupils very well. She makes sure that the most vulnerable pupils have whatever they need to feel safe and secure. The school’s work with families, particularly those whose circumstances make them vulnerable, is effective.
• In religious education lessons and through the well-planned assembly programme, pupils are taught about the differences between themselves and others. This is a small school in a large city, and leaders provide pupils with many opportunities to be prepared for life beyond their experiences at Barn Croft.
• Leaders’ efforts to significantly reduce persistent absence have paid off. Pupils who previously had high rates of absence have improved their attendance over time. However, the overall attendance remains lower than the national average, particularly for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders’ work to reduce absence for these pupils has not been as successful.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Most of the time, pupils behave very well in lessons and respond to their teachers positively. They enjoy learning and are excited by the challenges set for them.
• The school is a calm and orderly place. Pupils enter and leave their lessons sensibly. They take pride in their school and play their part in keeping the school community clean and tidy. Pupils clearly enjoy school, sing with pleasure in assembly and are eager to show visitors around.
• In the playground, pupils follow the rules and behave sensibly. There are plenty of activities for pupils to enjoy, including spaces for quiet reading, apparatus for climbing, and pitches and courts for ball games. The kitchen and midday staff make lunchtimes a pleasant and calm experience for pupils. Pupils enter and leave the hall sensibly, socialise with their friends and use good table manners.
• Leaders monitor pupils’ behaviour effectively. Teachers use strategies to manage behaviour consistently and these are well understood by pupils. Inspectors scrutinised behaviour records which show that the number of incidents has reduced significantly in the past year. Pupils say that behaviour is good in the school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Since the previous inspection, pupils’ outcomes have improved. The quality of teaching in reading, writing and mathematics is good and enables pupils to achieve well.
• Leaders meet regularly with teachers to review and monitor pupils’ progress. The school’s assessment information shows that pupils are making good progress throughout the school in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The teaching of phonics has improved. In 2017, the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check increased to just below the national average. By the end of Year 2, all pupils met the expected standard in phonics in 2016 and 2017.
• Pupils in key stage 1 make strong progress from their starting points. By the end of Year 2 in 2017, the proportion of pupils achieving the standards expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics had risen from the previous year and was in line with the national average.
• Pupils’ progress has been strong for the past two years, particularly at the end of Year 6. From their starting points, pupils made progress in reading, writing and mathematics that was above the national average.
• In 2017, pupils’ progress by the end of key stage 2 was strong, particularly in reading and mathematics. Pupils’ attainment also improved. The proportion of pupils who reached the expected standards at the end of Year 6 in reading was in line with the national average, and in mathematics it was above the national average. This means that pupils were well prepared for the move to secondary school.
• In 2016, disadvantaged pupils did not achieve as well as their peers at the end of key stage 2. In 2017, the small number of disadvantaged pupils achieved better results. Disadvantaged pupils made good progress in reading and mathematics. Their attainment was in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. However, their progress in writing was lower than that of other pupils. The school’s assessment information and work in pupils’ books show that, overall, disadvantaged pupils currently in the school are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupil premium funding, including the use of additional teaching staff, is enabling these pupils to make good gains in their learning.
• The most able pupils achieve well. From their starting points, these pupils make strong progress. In key stage 1, the proportion of pupils who achieved the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics has increased over the past two years and in 2017 it was in line with or above the national average. By the end of key stage 2, the number of pupils who reached the higher standards also increased in line with the national average, particularly in reading and writing.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported to meet their individual targets and make progress in line with other pupils in the school. Inspectors sampled pupils’ books, assessment information and case studies. These pupils have made strong progress since the start of the academic year.
• The provisional published assessment information for 2017 shows that Year 6 pupils did not achieve as well in writing as they did in reading and mathematics. The school’s assessment information shows that this was also the case for pupils in other year groups throughout the school. Leaders have already started to put actions in place to improve the quality and consistency in the teaching of writing so that outcomes in this subject improve further.

Early years provision Good

• Children have good fun in the early years. Teachers plan exciting and engaging activities that cover all areas of learning. Children in Reception use the Nursery facilities each afternoon and this adds variety to their learning experiences well.
• The learning environments are bright and inviting. Children have a range of opportunities to develop their imagination skills, for example in the role play surgery and as they create underwater habitats for the sea creatures.
• Staff are very positive with the children. They are kind and caring and promote children’s self-esteem and personal development well. Children settle quickly and soon get to know the routines of the early years. Adults address minor disputes sensitively, teaching children the rules and encouraging good relationships with their friends. Children behave well in the early years.
• Teachers plan learning that follows children’s emerging needs and interests effectively. Staff observe children’s achievements well and plan the next steps in their learning.
• Staff promote children’s mathematical knowledge and skills effectively. Children explore a range of three-dimensional shapes as they play. The most able children are challenged effectively. For example, children concentrated for sustained periods to decorate and create a cube from a template, naming the properties of shapes accurately.
• The deputy headteacher oversees the early years provision well. She provides strong support for the early years team and has ensured improvements to the quality of teaching since the previous inspection.
• Children make very good progress in the Nursery. In the Reception Year, children’s progress is good overall. However, some of the strategies to improve children’s literacy skills have not been fully effective. This is particularly the case for boys. Leaders are now addressing this and have put into place actions to improve boys’ writing. Although the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development in 2017 was the highest it had been for many years, it is still below average.
• Inspectors saw evidence that leaders’ efforts are already starting to have an impact. Work in boys’ books and on the walls in the classrooms is good. Leaders’ work to maximise opportunities to develop boys’ writing skills and evaluate the interventions closely to check that these are working now needs to be fully embedded.
• Parents are positive about the early years provision. They are happy with how well their children settle into school life and say that staff are friendly and welcoming. They praise the quality of communication with early years staff and the kind and nurturing learning environment provided.

Inspection report: Barn Croft Primary School, 17–18 October 2017

Page 9 of 12

School details

Unique reference number Local authority 131057 Waltham Forest Inspection number 10036372 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 207 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Colin Whitehead Tracey Griffiths 020 8521 1145 www.barncroftprimaryschool.org school@barncroft.waltham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 October 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Barn Croft is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The school’s Nursery operates each morning. Children in the Nursery attend on a part-time basis for five mornings each week. There is one Reception class. Children attend on a full-time basis.
• The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is high. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is higher than average.
• Since the previous inspection, there have been changes to the staff team, including to the teaching and middle leadership teams.
• The school met the government’s floor standards in 2016, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Throughout the inspection, inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors met with middle leaders, newly qualified teachers and other members of staff. Inspectors also considered the nine responses to the staff survey.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in every classroom at least twice and conducted shorter, informal visits to classes and phase groups.
• The lead inspector met with a group of governors and spoke with a local authority representative on the telephone.
• Inspectors spoke with parents in the playground at the start of the school day and considered the 59 responses that were submitted to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.
• The lead inspector met formally with a group of pupils from across the school and accompanied two Year 6 pupils on a learning walk of the school to hear their views. Inspectors spoke with pupils informally during lessons and in the playground.
• An inspector heard pupils reading in Year 2 and Year 6.
• Inspectors sampled the school’s documentation related to safeguarding, pupils’ outcomes and governing body information. An inspector checked the single central record of suitability checks on staff who work at the school and met with the designated safeguarding leader.

Inspection team

Gary Rawlings, lead inspector Alison Martin

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector