Setting

Ms Surinder Dhingra Crowlands Primary School London Road Romford RM7 9EJ

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Crowlands Primary School

Following my visit with Joanna Jones, Additional Inspector, to your school on 1 and 2 December 2011, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Crowlands Primary School

The inspection was the fourth monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in May 2010. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Crowlands Primary School

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Crowlands Primary School

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Crowlands Primary School

Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Crowlands Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Havering.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

Tribal 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 0117 315 0430 Direct email : rebecca.jackson@tribalgroup.com

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Take action immediately to provide training for all staff in child protection and enhanced training for the designated person(s) that meet statutory requirements.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Carry out comprehensive risk assessments of hazards on the school site and for all activities.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership, management and governance, by:  ensuring whole-school policies and procedures are comprehensive, reviewed appropriately and implemented effectively  sharing responsibilities for leadership and management more widely so that all managers can have greater impact on school improvement  improving the effectiveness with which systems for tracking pupils’ progress are managed and the information shared with teachers  monitoring teachers’ planning more effectively so that essential components are consistently included.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Raise pupils’ attainment through improved teaching, so that 75% or more is consistently at least good and attainment is broadly average in all subjects by September 2011, by:  making full use of assessment information to ensure higher expectations in lessons and increased challenge for all pupils  ensuring that activities match the abilities of the pupils  improving teachers’ marking and the use of targets to ensure that all pupils are aware of how they can improve.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Reduce persistent absence so that it is no higher than the national average by April 2011.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work over two days, scrutinised documents and met the headteacher, a range of senior and middle managers, pupils, representatives from the governing body and the local authority. Pupils were observed at lunchtime and generally around the school.

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Context

There have been substantial staff changes at the school since the previous monitoring inspection. The executive headteacher, in post at the time of the last visit, left at the end of the summer term. The soft federation is no longer in place. A new substantive headteacher took post in September 2011. One teacher has left the school and five members of staff will leave at the end of this term.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Unvalidated 2011 national test results show that Year 6 attainment is in line with the national average in English, although it remains below the national average in mathematics. An analysis of the school’s assessment information, pupils’ workbooks and lesson observations reveals that more pupils are making accelerated progress in English and satisfactory progress in mathematics, although there is some evidence of accelerated progress in both subjects in upper Key Stage 2. Pupils make uneven progress in lower Key Stage 2. Teachers are beginning to be held to account more regularly for progress through ongoing assessments by their senior leaders. However, there is still too much inconsistency of practice and the monitoring of improvement by senior leaders lacks sufficient rigour. The reduction in persistent absence has been maintained since the previous monitoring visit in May 2011.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

 reduce persistent absence so that it is no higher than the national average by April 2011 – good

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Pupils’ behaviour continues to be good throughout the school, both in lessons and in the playground. Even when lessons are uninteresting, pupils concentrate and try their best. They are friendly and polite, and relationships are usually good.

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The effectiveness of provision

Most of the teaching observed was satisfactory or better. However, there is still inadequate teaching. This in the main is due to teachers not using assessment information sufficiently well to provide activities matched to pupils’ individual needs. The deputy headteacher has worked hard to ensure that assessment information is very detailed and includes a thorough analysis of the performance of different groups. However, lessons have a lack of focus on the needs of different pupils, for example challenging the most able and supporting those who needed help. While marking remains variable, there was evidence of some improving practice with clear diagnostic feedback being provided to pupils in upper Key Stage 2.

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The effectiveness of provision

In more effective teaching, tasks are explained well to the pupils and followed up with individual advice and progress checks throughout the lesson. Pupils behave particularly well in lessons when they are actively involved in their own learning. There is some good use of the interactive whiteboards, but this is inconsistent and does not involve the pupils enough. Some of the lessons are still very teacher led, with pupils being too passive. Questioning is not probing enough and does not always challenge the pupils to think for themselves. Some conclusions to lessons are too rushed and do not focus strongly on checking individual progress. This is particularly the case in lower Key Stage 2. On occasions, learning support assistants provide too much help so pupils become dependent on them rather than developing independent skills and self-confidence.

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The effectiveness of provision

The school leadership team is working closely with local authority consultants to build on the quality of provision across the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, there are inconsistencies in the quality of learning, despite a high level of support. Some aspects of Nursery provision are inadequate; for example in the quality of teaching and learning. In particular, work is not challenging, and consequently, children are not achieving as well as they can.

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The effectiveness of provision

 raise pupils’ attainment through improved teaching, so that 75% or more is consistently at least good and attainment is broadly average in all subjects by September 2011 - satisfactory

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The focus of much of the good-quality support received by the school from the local authority and external consultants has been on improving the effectiveness of the new leadership of the school. This has included support for improvement planning, the collection and analysis of performance information, and the monitoring of teaching. Evidence from this monitoring inspection indicates that there has been little improvement in teaching and learning, and it is now fragile and uneven across the school. The headteacher has an increasingly accurate view of the school’s performance, but has not confronted inadequate performance with sufficient rigour. A variety of monitoring activities, including lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils’ books, have taken place. The feedback provided to teachers is too wide- ranging so that they have too many issues to address at once. This reflects an inconsistent and ineffective approach to improvement. The most common weakness

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

preventing lessons from being good is that teaching is not sufficiently adapted to challenge the most able and check that the least able could understand what they were supposed to be doing. This was a key area for improvement in the last inspection report and remains so.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

There have been some changes in the constitution of the governing body. Newly appointed members of the governing body have relevant and suitable expertise to contribute to the life of the school. The governing body continues to provide increasing rigour with which it holds the school to account and ensures that safety routines and checks continue to be maintained well, and the Chair of the Governing Body has proved very active in challenging and supporting the new leadership team.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

 take action immediately to provide training for all staff in child protection and enhanced training for the designated person(s) that meet statutory requirements – satisfactory  carry out comprehensive risk assessments of hazards on the school site and for all activities – satisfactory  improve the effectiveness of leadership, management and governance – satisfactory

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External support

The local authority’s statement of action continues to paint a clear picture of the actions needed to secure more rapid improvement. The local authority has provided good support for the school, for instance through the appointment of the associate headteacher and the training provided for staff, but this has not yet fully resulted in sustained improvement, particularly in improving the quality of teaching. In order to accelerate the impact of their support, the local authority should explore how it might support the development of senior leaders, individually and collectively, to give greater strategic drive to the school’s work.

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Priorities for further improvement

 improve the quality of teaching, so more of it is good, and eradicate inadequate teaching.

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