Setting

Ms Alison Loffler The Headteacher John Keble Anglican Primary School Crownhill Road London NW10 4DR

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Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 2 March 2011 and for the information which you provided during the inspection. Please also pass on my thanks to members of the governing body, the partners working to support the school and the pupils for their time.

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Since the last inspection, the soft federation with Princess Frederica School has ended. The deputy headteacher was made acting headteacher for September 2010 and was appointed to the post of permanent headteacher from the 1 March 2011. Mobility in the local population is high and several pupils have left the school with a higher number joining since the school was last inspected. This is increasing over time the proportion of pupils learning to speak English as an additional language.

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As a result of the inspection on 15 and 16 July 2010, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter. Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school is making satisfactory progress in addressing the issues for improvement and in raising the pupils’ achievement.

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The new headteacher has worked hard to improve the learning environment and pupils report John Keble Anglican Primary School is a far more pleasant place to be than in recent times. They like the improved playground equipment which they enthusiastically use to good effect. The hard work put into buildings and areas for reflection has enhanced the school’s ethos and atmosphere. The improved environment, coupled to behaviour strategies like ‘Staying on Green’ and better teaching, has led to a significant improvement in pupils’ behaviour. Pupils say that fighting has been eradicated and boisterous behaviour around the school is now very rare. Behaviour observed during this inspection was good in lessons and around the school. Tribal Education 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0845 123 6001 Direct F 0845 123 6002 Direct email :rebecca.jackson@tribalgroup.com

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The school has received very effective support and coaching from the local authority, the London Diocesan Board of Schools and from the London Challenge link adviser. The majority of this support has focused appropriate action on developing leadership and improving teaching. Effective teaching, improved tracking and targeted intervention for groups of pupils are accelerating the progress made in Year 6, particularly in English. This is partly as a result of an increased focus on the use of literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects. School data and inspection evidence show that these pupils are on track to meet their targets in English and mathematics which will both show a rise in attainment when compared with 2010. This will represent satisfactory achievement during their time in the school overall. However, achievement and attainment remain variable in other year groups in Key Stage 2. Attainment has risen in Key Stage 1 due to improved provision.

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Visits to a variety of lessons confirmed the headteacher’s view that teaching and learning are broadly satisfactory in Key Stage 2 and good in Key Stage 1. This represents an improvement since the last inspection. However, accurate school monitoring shows that there are both good and remaining small proportions of inadequate teaching in Key Stage 2. In the increasing number of good lessons, strong pupil engagement in well-structured tasks leads to pupils making good progress. These lessons have good pace and a suitable variety of tasks that provide an effective framework to develop pupils’ learning. All teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and close relationships ensure that pupils are happy to ask and receive clarification whenever they are unsure. Satisfactory lessons are characterised by weaker planning and learning objectives being too broad which lead to a minority of pupils failing to make good progress. This is mainly because the focus on learning

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and, hence pupil engagement, is not sustained throughout extended tasks.

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Effective monitoring of assessment practice by the school, and the partners supporting it, shows that teachers’ assessments are not consistently accurate across Key Stage 2. This has allowed the school to identify the need to ensure progress and attainment data are as secure for other year groups as that used with Year 6 in order to accurately target intervention work. Teachers’ use of assessment data to plan tasks for the full range of abilities remains inconsistent across the school. This most often results in all pupils doing the same task which can lead to a lack of consistent challenge for the more able. Marking has improved. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and pupils appreciate the written dialogue on how to improve. The school recognises that the next step is to ensure that pupils act on advice given. Systems to share targets and assessment information with pupils have been introduced recently and pupils appreciate knowing where they are within the

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subjects they are studying. These systems are not fully embedded and their potential for providing clear next steps for pupils in their learning is yet to be fully utilised. A variety of initiatives has been used to promote attendance, including first day calling, letters home, meetings with parents and celebration displays and awards. This has led to an increase in attendance across the school. Attendance is now above average for older pupils and broadly average overall. The school has accurately identified working with the parents of younger pupils to instil good habits as the next step in improving attendance further.

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The local authority statement of action meets requirements and contains appropriate strategies for supporting the school to improve. The school’s own action plan has evolved from the statement of action through discussion between the headteacher, governors, London Challenge and the local authority. The action plan accurately identifies the areas of provision needing attention. The headteacher and other senior leaders have been effective in targeting these areas. However, some middle leadership roles have either only recently been, or are yet to be, filled. The school recognises the need to build wider leadership capacity and the potential this would bring, for example to the further development of cross-curricular literacy and numeracy.

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I hope that you have found the inspection helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Raise pupils' attainment in English and mathematics in Key Stage 2 by including more opportunities for pupils to use their writing and mathematics skills in other subjects.  Improve the quality of teaching to make all lessons as good as the best by July 2011 by:  increasing the use of subject-specific targets that are shared and reviewed regularly with pupils  raising teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve  ensuring consistency in marking to help pupils know what they need to improve  using assessment data to match work to pupils' abilities.  Ensure that pupils behave appropriately in all parts of the school by consistently following the school's code of conduct.  Work closely with parents to improve attendance.

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