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September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 1 5 May 2011

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Ms Sarah Noden Acting Headteacher Lambourne Primary School Hoe Lane Abridge Romford RM4 1AU

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Lambourne Primary School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 4 May 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Could you also convey my thanks to the pupils I spoke to, the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the governing body and the School Improvement Partner.

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Lambourne Primary School

An acting headteacher was appointed in September 2010 following the departure of the substantive head.

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Lambourne Primary School

As a result of the inspection on 21-22 September 2009, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter.

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Lambourne Primary School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made:

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Lambourne Primary School

good progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Lambourne Primary School

In 2010, pupils in Year 6 did not undertake the national tests. The school’s own data indicate that in that year, the proportion of pupils who achieved high grades in both mathematics and English was above national averages. This demonstrated a significant improvement on the 2009 results. Most pupils achieved - and some Serco Inspections Cedar House 21 William Street Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1LH Ofsted T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Serco Direct T 0121 683 3888

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September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 2 surpassed - their expected grades, which demonstrated good achievement overall. This level of achievement is set to be maintained in 2011. Behaviour is at least good in lessons and around the school. This has contributed well to pupils’ improved pace of learning in lessons. In lessons seen, pupils were challenged well to do their best and were given good opportunities to contribute to their lessons. The good use of group work and peer discussions are having positive effect on pupils’ understanding of their learning tasks. In these lessons, teachers provided appropriate tasks to stretch and challenge more-able pupils. Many of these pupils are developing good independent and problem-solving skills.

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Pupils say that they are now much better supported in lessons, although some more-able pupils say that there are occasions when they are not suitably challenged and would welcome more opportunities to extend their learning. Pupils’ attendance is above average; this represents an excellent improvement since the last inspection. Pupils welcome the opportunity to contribute to the school through the school council and they say it gives them a chance to make suggestions for improvement, particularly in relation to improving school clubs and facilities. However they would appreciate more opportunities to meet more regularly.

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The focus on improving teaching, especially for the more-able pupils, has had a good impact on progress in lessons. Teachers use various strategies to engage pupils and to enable them to develop independent learning skills. In the lessons seen, teachers’ use of questioning to identify how well pupils were learning was very effective. The adoption of different strategies to further engage pupils is working well, including the provision of appropriately challenging work for pupils of differing abilities. Leaders recognise that there is more work to be done in order for these strategies to be consistently used and completely embedded in lessons.

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There have been further, recent improvements to the creative topic-based curriculum. These have enabled teachers to identify where to reinforce the development of pupils’ key skills and design work to meet their differing abilities. However, it is too early to assess the full impact of these measures.

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Many good strategies have been adopted to improve attendance. These include a strict policy of non-authorisation of holidays in term time, a robust attendance policy, pupil rewards and end-of-year celebrations for excellent attendance. The strengthened partnerships outside agencies that support these improvements are working well, especially to reduce the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent.

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The acting headteacher has implemented many good measures to improve the quality of provision and pupils’ outcomes. Much good work has been undertaken to improve the school and its capacity to sustain improvement. The implementation of a distributed leadership structure has given clear responsibilities to subject leaders who are undertaking effective evaluations of their areas of work. There is a transparent cycle of self-evaluation where good contributions are made from

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September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 3 members of the governing body, pupils and parents. The robust scrutiny undertaken by the acting headteacher and her team has given them an accurate picture of how successful their actions have been in improving pupils’ outcomes. Data clearly inform leadership decisions which results in swifter interventions when pupils are underachieving. The impact of this work is evident in the improving levels of attainment and the significant rise in attendance. Policies are reviewed well and the governing body is kept informed of the school’s progress on key priorities. Members of the governing body are making suitable challenges to school leaders and have increased their level of scrutiny of the school’s performance. Good measures have been implemented to monitor the school’s work, although some are still in their infancy. The local authority School Improvement Partner is working well

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to support and challenge school leaders in their work.

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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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September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 4 Once the school has had 24 hours to report any factual inaccuracies , the post-inspection letter is copied as appropriate to the following:

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 Appropriate authority - Chair of the Governing Body/Interim Executive Board  Local authority – except for academies  Contractor providing support services on behalf of the local authority - where appropriate  Diocese – for voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools  The person or body responsible for appointing foundation governors if the school has a foundation.

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The letters should also be copied electronically to: each member of the inspection team,

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A copy with editing marked up should be forwarded to the: Lead inspector

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September 2010 PROTECT-INSPECTION Page 5

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place in September 2009

 Move learning forward more rapidly, particularly more able, by: - identifying the characteristics of good and outstanding learning and how these can be promoted by teachers - focusing on how to challenge the thinking and learning of the more able pupils - adopting strategies that engage pupils more so that they can take greater ownership of their learning.

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place in September 2009

 Reduce absence levels by: - sharpening systems for contacting parents on the absence of their child - making parents fully aware of their responsibilities to minimize absence - taking a more robust approach to holidays during the term.

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place in September 2009

 Focus school evaluation and improvement priorities on the impact of actions on outcomes for pupils by: - establishing a cycle of self-evaluation that involves all stakeholders and is based on rigorous monitoring - identifying criteria against which to judge the effectiveness of the school’s actions - monitoring thoroughly the impact of school policies.

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