Danetree Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

Build on the improvements made to pupils’ attainment so that even more pupils make strong and sustained progress.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. Her energy and passion is infectious and she is highly respected by the school community. The headteacher has worked hard to ensure that pupils make strong and sustained progress. Her high expectations are shared by staff and ensure that all pupils have a very high standard of education. 

• The headteacher has skilfully built upon staff’s strengths and consequently has developed a very strong leadership team. Their commitment to improving outcomes for pupils has been seen in the very effective support given to developing outstanding teaching and learning across the school.
• Senior leaders know their school exceptionally well. They make good use of all the information they have about each pupil to ensure that pupils’ needs are thoroughly met and that they achieve well. Assessments are rigorous and carefully planned in line with the school’s curriculum. This means that pupils’ current learning is checked well and any gaps quickly filled.
• Senior leaders are active members of the trust and are committed to sharing best practice. They make the most of every opportunity to extend their own learning as well as ensuring the development of other staff. Staff are highly motivated and engage in the continuous improvement of their own performance, through formal training and informally among themselves.
• Subject leaders have excellent knowledge about their subject areas and work very professionally to support colleagues in developing their own knowledge, skills and understanding. This level of support is particularly strong in mathematics, where ways of working are embedded well in every classroom. Staff continuously reflect upon, and improve, their own practice. As a result, pupils are making very strong progress in mathematics and have very positive attitudes to learning.
• The curriculum is exciting and engaging because learning intentions are meaningful and relevant to pupils. It supports pupils in making exceptional progress across a range of subjects, while helping pupils to develop as well-rounded individuals who learn from their own experiences as well as from the experiences of others. The curriculum is enriched and developed extremely well through many visits and other activities. A wide range of extra-curricular activities is also on offer at school, from ‘Lego club’ to street dance.
• Leaders and board members have made sound decisions about the spending of additional government funds. They publish on the school’s website full reports on each area of spending. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND receive good support, and consequently make excellent progress, catching up rapidly with their peers. The physical education and sports premium has made a positive difference to pupils’ health and well-being.
• The leadership of behaviour is excellent. The values of the school are successfully embedded within pupils’ day-to-day experiences. Pupils therefore actively promote them in all that they do. The school’s values interlink seamlessly with fundamental British values. Good conduct is therefore part and parcel of the school’s culture. The school’s leaders are a highly visible presence in the school. They make excellent use of their frequent contact with pupils and parents, both in and out of lessons, to reinforce what is expected.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. The school is strongly committed to equality of opportunity, fostering good relationships and discouraging discrimination.
• Parents are overwhelming in their support for the school. One parent commented: ‘All our children are happy and excited by their learning. They are proud of their school. We have noticed a constant drive for improvement from the school leaders in recent years and a willingness to work with the wider community.’

Governance of the school

• The trust has overall responsibility for governance of the school. It works effectively with the school strategic board because all parties are clearly committed to the school and work collaboratively. This effective partnership ensures that everyone is rigorously held to account.
• Members of the board have a strong understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the school. They have taken positive steps to support senior leaders to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Through regular visits to the school, board members also keep up to date with the actions that leaders are taking in their day-to-day work. In addition, members receive timely information from the headteacher in detailed reports.
• Board members understand and fulfil their statutory duties well, particularly those relating to safeguarding and pupils’ welfare. They have undertaken appropriate training and carry out regular safeguarding checks.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Pupils’ safety and welfare is of paramount importance, and leaders are rigorous in ensuring that pupils are well cared for. Systems are efficient and used consistently. Records are diligently completed and securely kept. Staff, governors and volunteers are well trained to recognise any of the signs that could give rise to concern about pupils’ well-being, and to follow the school’s policies and procedures. They are rigorous in pursuing any concerns without exception.
• Members of the inclusion team work proactively with pupils and their families. They have built positive relationships over time and, through open and honest communication, make sure that they properly address any concerns. Leaders make good use of their own resources and expertise to help individual pupils.
• Leaders work hard to maintain strong links with local authority agencies. Leaders are not afraid to challenge where the services are not as responsive and supportive as leaders feel they should be, or where they believe that decisions made by other professionals are not in the best interests of the pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teachers and teaching assistants know their pupils exceptionally well. They identify and support effectively all pupils, including those at risk of falling behind. Timely interventions ensure that the large majority of pupils make strong progress. In some cases this could be sharper so that even more pupils make very rapid progress.
• Pupils demonstrate very positive attitudes to learning. The relationships between teachers and pupils strongly promote learning. One pupil said: ‘We’re very proud of the connection between pupils and teachers. It helps us to be good learners.’
• Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning extremely well to deepen pupils’ understanding and ensure that they make rapid progress in lessons. Challenges are posed to extend learning, and to enable pupils to discuss and understand any misconceptions so that they can take responsibility for their own learning.
• Teachers plan well for different abilities and provide ‘diving deeper’ extension tasks for pupils when appropriate. Pupils talk positively about problem-solving in mathematics. For example, in Year 5, pupils engage in lively discussions about how to subtract fractions that have different denominators.
• Teaching in English and mathematics is excellent, due to the strong input of the specialist leaders. The way that pupils, from an early age, develop their vocabulary is particularly noteworthy. For example, in Reception, some children started the day with a writing activity and responded well to prompts to use conjunctions in their compositions.
• Science teaching across the school excites pupils. A number of them say that they want to be scientists when they are older. Experiments in the school’s ‘Phiz Lab’ or in classrooms motivate and engage pupils. For example, in a Year 4 science lesson, pupils talked avidly about parachutes and surface area. Their teacher successfully reminded and reinforced their understanding of science knowledge as they thought about materials, and of scientific skills as they discussed variables.
• Pupils’ mathematics books show that the work is pitched to challenge even the most able mathematicians. Expectations are high, and teachers’ careful guidance helps pupils to rise to the challenges.
• Work in pupils’ books is of a very high standard. Clarity of expression, the considered use of key grammatical structures, even in mathematics, and cursive handwriting, are developed well. Across the range of subjects taught, pupils write at length, editing and perfecting their work until it is the best it can be. They show great pride in their work.
• Pupils read confidently and are equipped with a range of strategies to help them understand more-challenging vocabulary and phrases. Children in the early years get an excellent start to learning phonics. High-quality support continues in Years 1 and 2 so that pupils develop into fluent readers. A well-planned literacy and language programme complements the teaching of phonics. It is instrumental in extending the reading skills of the most able readers.
• Parents are very confident that their children are working hard and achieving well across the curriculum. Parental confidence in teachers is high.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• The school works on the clear principle that every pupil is important and identifies any barriers to learning at an early stage so that appropriate support is delivered quickly, with learning as the main focus.
• Pupils are extremely positive about their learning and fully engage in lessons. They are always keen to make contributions to the lesson and to respond to questions. Pupils are often given opportunities to discuss and debate issues, expressing their views coherently and with passion.
• Pupils explain confidently how to stay healthy, and only bring healthy snacks to school. They like to stay fit and make the most of the school’s extensive outdoor space and equipment.
• Pupils understand all types of bullying, including cyber bullying, and are confident in how to stay safe. They feel that there are no incidents of bullying, but if they have any concerns, they know they would be addressed quickly. The school has very clear guidance about staying safe online, and pupils explained the risks clearly. 


Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils work and play very harmoniously. Misbehaviour is rare, but should it occur it is dealt with very effectively by staff.
• Behaviour in lessons is outstanding because learning is fun and challenging. Teachers engage all pupils in lessons so that there is no disruptive behaviour.
• Pupils enjoy taking on additional responsibilities. For example, the pupil parliament works to make the school a better place for all pupils. They visited the Houses of Parliament to learn about current issues around ‘Brexit’ and talked to other pupils in assembly so that they were equally well informed.
• Attendance is in line with national averages because pupils enjoy going to school and do not want to miss out on their learning. Leaders help parents and families to understand how important it is to be at school.
• Parents are pleased with the attitudes, values and behaviour promoted by school staff. One commented: ‘My son loves school and adores his teachers. The level of respect and care he is shown is wonderful to see. I feel incredibly lucky to have chosen Danetree for my children.’

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Over the last three years, the proportion of Year 6 pupils achieving age-related expectations in all subjects has been above the national average. The school has made significant improvements over this period, with attainment rising in all subjects every year, and an increasing number of pupils working at the higher standards. By 2018, outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics were significantly above national figures.
• The joint and in-depth checks of current pupils’ work carried out by inspectors and school leaders demonstrate that the vast majority of current pupils are making very strong progress in both English and mathematics.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND is improving towards that of other pupils nationally. They are catching up rapidly because of the incisive steps taken by leaders to address pupils’ individual needs. Their learning and cognition needs, and their emotional and social development, are well catered for by teachers and teaching assistants and ‘the harbour’ provision.
• Teachers’ high expectations for pupils mean that an increasing number of pupils are working at the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics across all year groups.
• Pupils read widely and often, and the school offers them a wide range of excellent texts. The school’s current focus on developing the ‘love of reading’ is actively supporting the development of pupils’ fluency and comprehension.
• A review of the teaching of phonics has resulted in consistent and accurate phonics teaching which meets the needs of individuals. As a result, the majority of pupils in Years 1 and 2 are on track to reach the expected standard by the end of the academic year.
• Pupils’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics are very highly developed in other areas of the curriculum. For example, in Year 1, pupils demonstrated impressive writing skills in science as they observed how a worm moved. A pupil used her excellent phonics skills to write down her choice of adjectives and spell them accurately.
• The curriculum is designed and built around themes which meet the needs and experiences of pupils extremely well. Pupils are making strong progress in the acquisition of skills in a wide range of subjects, including geography, history, science, art and music.
• Effective assessments and meetings to monitor pupils’ progress provide opportunities for leaders and teachers to discuss pupils’ individual outcomes and identify strategies to help pupils who need additional support. Teachers’ assessments are accurate.
• Pupils are very well prepared for their next stage of education due to their excellent attitudes to learning and outstanding progress. The vast majority of pupils move on to their next school with outstanding skills, knowledge and understanding.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Provision for children in the Nursery and Reception classes is outstanding. Leaders have worked tirelessly to develop an exciting and inspiring learning environment. Consequently, children make very strong progress from their different starting points.
• The early years leader is passionate about every child’s entitlement to high-quality provision. She works hard with her skilled team to ensure that each child is safe and happy and that their experiences in early years help them to grow in confidence and learn quickly. She makes extremely good use of any additional funding to improve the progress made by any vulnerable children.
• Children love coming to school, reflecting the staff’s absolute commitment to giving every child the best possible learning experience. Relationships are strong, and talented, knowledgeable adults bring learning to life.
• Children settle very quickly into Nursery and Reception because they are made to feel extremely welcome and safe. Parents speak positively about how well staff care for and nurture their children.
• A flexible and innovative curriculum provides rich learning experiences for children. They are encouraged to ask questions and investigate. For example, one boy in the Nursery class watched as his teacher made a shape out of ‘play-doh’. He recognised it as a ball and went on unprompted to roll out another shape, explaining clearly, ‘This is a sausage.’ Children went on to investigate what other shapes they could make and to talk about their properties.
• Children work well on their own, in pairs and in groups. They take turns and share and clearly enjoy the activities and experiences offered. They are developing good learning habits.
• Phonics is taught very well and is a priority in this setting. Children quickly learn to identify the sounds letters make and to blend sounds to form words, some of which they then put into sentences. Staff take every opportunity to use high-quality texts, along with signs and written prompts, to support the progress that children make in learning to read well.
• Teaching from all adults in the early years is of a consistently high standard, ensuring that children make exceptional progress from a range of different starting points. Last year, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development was above the national average. Current assessments indicate that considerably more children than at the same point last year are on track to achieve a good level of development by the time they move into Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 138764 Surrey 10088077 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 Academy converter 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 720 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Mr Gary Hunnisett Mrs Bethan Smith Telephone number 020 8393 6406 Website Email address www.danetreeschool.org bsmith@danetree.surrey.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school is a significantly larger than the average-sized primary school. It converted to join the GLF Schools multi-academy trust in October 2012.
• The school was previously inspected in June 2014 when it was a junior school. There were two main infant feeder schools. The school converted to a primary school in September 2016.
• The headteacher took up her post from September 2017. The current leadership team was established one year ago.
• Approximately half of the staff worked at the school when it was a junior school.
• The school currently employs seven newly qualified teachers and two teachers on the school-centred initial teacher training programme.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is in line with the national average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning across the school. Senior leaders visited some lessons jointly with inspectors. 

• Inspectors listened to pupils read and reviewed the work in their books.
• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during breaktimes was observed. 

• Inspectors talked to pupils in lessons, around the school and held a formal meeting with the pupil parliament.
• The head girl and head boy accompanied an inspector on a ‘learning walk’.
• Inspectors, together with middle and senior leaders, carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ learning in mathematics and writing, and across the broader curriculum.
• Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, middle leaders and class teachers. In addition to this, they met with members of the school strategic board, two newly qualified teachers, and those responsible for safeguarding and attendance.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance and the school development plan. They also looked at the school’s assessment information, minutes of meetings of the school strategic board, outcomes of school questionnaires, and the school’s policies and documentation relating to safeguarding and pupils’ attendance
• Inspectors considered the views of 25 parents gathered during the inspection, in addition to 133 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and 135 free-text comments. Inspectors considered 54 responses to the online staff questionnaire and gathered the views of pupils during formal and informal meetings.

Inspection team

Sarah Varnom, lead inspector Graham Marshall Joyce Lydford Julie Sackett

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector