West Green Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 1–2 February 2012 Inspection number 376668 West Green Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 102115 Local authority Haringey Inspection number 376668 Inspection dates 1–2 February 2012 Lead inspector Chris Nye HMI

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 245 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Davies Headteacher Vivette Sewell Date of previous school inspection 2 October 2008 School address Woodlands Park Road London N15 3RT Telephone number 020 8800 4676 Fax number 020 8802 8297 Email address admin@westgreen.haringey.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 17 lessons, taught by nine teachers. Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and school staff, including the headteacher, deputy headteacher and senior staff. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, including pupils’ books, and looked at a number of documents, including assessment data, monitoring evidence, curriculum and strategic planning. Inspectors met informally with some parents and carers and scrutinised questionnaires completed by 53 parents and carers, 16 staff and 76 pupils.

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Information about the school

West Green Primary School is of average size. It serves a very diverse community and most pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. The large majority of pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion known to be eligible for free school meals is well above average. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or who require significant extra support is much higher than average. The needs of these pupils are associated with autism, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language or communications difficulties. Key Stage 1 pupils in the latter group are supported in a specialist Speech and Language Resource Base. The school has met government’s floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. The Nursery and Reception unit provides for children in Early Years Foundation Stage. The school manages a breakfast club on the site. An on-site after-school club is run by a private company

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Information about the school

and was therefore not included in this inspection. There have been recent significant changes to the senior management of the school with the appointment of a new deputy headteacher and senior teacher. The Chair of Governors is also new to the post. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school that has made a number of improvements since the previous inspection. Newly appointed senior staff are having a significant impact on the pace of improvement and in supporting the headteacher in her drive to raise standards, but they recognise that more needs to be done to address remaining weaknesses.  The school provides good opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, with particular strengths in the way the school reflects and celebrates the wide cultural diversity of the community that it serves. Pupils demonstrate a highly developed social awareness, illustrated by thought- provoking letters to the Prime Minister about the riots last summer. Events such as international evenings help to engage parents and carers from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and the school rightly has a good reputation for inclusion and valuing individual pupils and their families.

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Key findings

 Pupils make good progress in Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 2, relative to their starting points. However, achievement is only satisfactory overall because although progress in reading, writing and mathematics in Key Stage 1 is improving, it is at a slower rate and consequently attainment in this key stage is below average; however, those pupils who are well supported by the speech and language resource base make good progress.  Teaching is satisfactory, with some that is good or better, but this is not yet a consistent picture throughout the school. In particular, marking and assessment systems are not consistently applied.  Given the improvements, the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve. Leaders are rigorous in monitoring the work of the school, although governors do not yet have sufficient understanding of performance data to effectively hold the school to account. Some aspects of strategic planning lack sufficient clarity

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Key findings

and the school is rightly planning to strengthen the curriculum so it better meets the pupils’ needs.  Pupils are kept safe and behaviour is satisfactory overall. This is because, although most pupils are caring and considerate, attendance is low and in a few lessons low-level disruption slows the pace of learning. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

Up to 40% of schools whose overall effectiveness is judged as satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good or better lessons to 90% by July 2012 by ensuring that:  the pace of lessons is not slowed by low-level disruption  consistent use is made of assessment data to plan lessons so that they more effectively meet the needs of all pupils  consistent use is made of marking policies so that all pupils have a clear understanding of what they need to do to improve their work.  Raise pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics in Key Stage 1 so that none is significantly below national expectations.  Strengthen leadership and management by:  ensuring that governors have a full understanding of performance data so that they can fully hold the school to account  ensuring that, by September 2012, plans are implemented so that the curriculum is more exciting, creative and relevant to the needs of pupils  ensuring that success criteria in strategic plans indicate clearly how

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

success will be measured against outcomes for pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Most parents and carers feel that their children make good progress in school, and the pupils themselves are mostly positive about their learning. Inspection evidence shows that achievement is satisfactory overall, with some significant strengths, but also some areas of weakness.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage in either the Nursery or Reception classes with skill levels well below those expected for their age, especially in communication, language and literacy. Good teaching means that they make good progress and although their attainment at the start of Key Stage 1 remains low, they have started to catch up. Their social development, use of numbers as labels and for counting, and their physical development are strengths, with outcomes at the end of the Reception year that are close to those found nationally.

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Achievement of pupils

The most recent assessments of reading, writing and mathematics in Key Stage 1 show that attainment by the end of Year 2 has been significantly below that found nationally in each of these aspects. However, although still low, there are early indications that achievement has improved since September. Speaking and listening is a weak area, especially for the large majority of pupils who speak English as an Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

additional language. Pupils are starting to use phonics (linking letters with the sounds they make) more effectively to support their reading, but writing remains a weakness. The school has put in place appropriate support, which is starting to show impact, but this needs to be further embedded. However, statemented pupils who are supported by the speech and language resource base make good progress, relative to their starting points, because of the exceptionally good support and well- focused teaching.

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Achievement of pupils

Throughout Key Stage 2 there is an acceleration in pupils’ rates of progress and although attainment is slightly below that found nationally in mathematics and English, it is not significantly so. In older classes, inspectors observed a faster pace of learning, especially in mathematics. Most pupils, especially disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make good progress in lessons, often from very low starting points. Pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals also make good progress, relative to their starting points, and the gap between their achievement and that found nationally is closing. Achievement in reading and writing is rapidly improving, especially in Years 4 to 6, because of the strong focus that the school has placed on this, and on speaking and listening. This is having a very positive impact, especially on pupils who speak English as an additional language.

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Achievement of pupils

This is demonstrated by the improvements in pupils’ ‘Big Write’ books since September, the confidence with which older pupils read aloud and the fact that standards in reading when pupils leave school are now broadly in line with those found nationally.

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Quality of teaching

Most parents and carers who responded to the questionnaires said that they felt their child was well taught, but inspectors found a varying picture in the quality of teaching, which is satisfactory overall. Good teaching was observed in the Early Years Foundation Stage, the Speech and Language Resource Base and some Key Stage 2 classes. However, there is not a consistent picture across the school and although little inadequate teaching was observed, some was only satisfactory because the pace of learning was too slow, often as a result of low-level disruption.

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Quality of teaching

In Key Stage 1, teaching is satisfactory overall and the school has put in place robust strategies to improve the quality of teaching. These are starting to have an impact, but are not yet reflected in end-of-Year 2 assessments.

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Quality of teaching

The best teaching is lively, well planned and resourced and engages pupils of varying needs and abilities effectively. For example, in a phonics lesson, puppets were being imaginatively used by a teacher to help pupils blend sounds. Teaching is well structured to ensure that pupils develop key skills, especially in literacy and numeracy. For example, pupils in a Key Stage 2 mathematics lesson were accurately and confidently solving word problems using fractions because of a clear explanation of the processes they needed to use. Teaching assistants make a positive contribution to learning, especially those pupils who speak English as an additional language or who have special educational needs. In the best lessons teaching Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

actively encourages the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness. For example, in one Key Stage 2 English lesson, the careful use of ‘talk partners’ and the effective encouragement of debate actively supported the development of pupils’ social skills.

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Quality of teaching

Suitable policies for marking and the use of assessment are in place but are inconsistently applied across the school. At best, marking is clear, evaluative and links closely to pupils’ targets. In such instances pupils have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and actively contribute to assessing their own understanding. Pupils’ progress is accurately assessed and tracked, and this usually links well to individual targets. However, where teaching is less effective, work is not well matched to their ability and some marking is perfunctory, with fewer opportunities for pupils to assess their own work. Consequently, pupils are less clear about what they need to do to improve.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour is only satisfactory overall. This is because, although most pupils are polite and caring and demonstrate high levels of respect and consideration towards adults and each other, a few find it a challenge to behave well in lessons, resulting in occasional low levels of disruption. Parents, carers and staff are generally positive about behaviour and the majority of pupils say that they enjoy school and feel safe and happy there. The school is effective in supporting pupils in assessing and dealing with risks to their safety, for example through training them in e-safety. The school is proactive in preventing bullying in all its forms and rare instances are tackled effectively. Attendance is low but strategies have been put in place to improve this and these are having a positive impact.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

A bright and attractive learning environment which celebrates pupils’ successes and cultural diversity helps to ensure that pupils engage well with their learning. The inclusive nature of the school, where every pupil feels valued and accepted, regardless of background or learning need, is a particular strength. One pupil commented typically that, ‘The school feels like a big family’ and inspectors were impressed with the range of activities and work undertaken to ensure that pupils are kept safe, healthy and happy.

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Leadership and management

Recent changes in the senior leadership of the school have re-invigorated the school’s drive to raise standards of teaching and achievement because senior leaders and middle managers have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. There are clear indications of a concerted approach towards driving improvement with greater urgency. Although this is having a positive impact and improvements have been made, leaders recognise that some weaknesses remain. Rigorous monitoring by senior leaders has identified accurately where weaker teaching exists, resulting in slower pupil progress; extensive coaching and other support has been provided to address this. As a result, teaching and pupils’ Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

achievement, while still satisfactory, is steadily improving, especially in Key Stage 2. Very detailed strategic planning makes good use of monitoring and assessment evidence to identify priorities and actions for improvement. However, the criteria with which to measure the success of such actions against pupils’ progress or attainment are not made sufficiently clear. Overall, given improvements to date, the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve further.

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Leadership and management

Curriculum leaders monitor their subjects closely and the curriculum provides suitable breadth and balance. The issue of integrating key literacy, numeracy and information and communication skills across the curriculum identified in the previous inspection has been fully addressed. However, curriculum leaders recognise that a greater focus is now needed to ensure that the curriculum is more creative and enables teaching to engage and motivate pupils more. Accordingly, the decision has been taken to review the curriculum, but plans have yet to be implemented.

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Leadership and management

Governors are well organised and provide good levels of support to the school. Most visit the school regularly and are enthusiastic advocates of the school’s strengths. However, although they are developing a stronger awareness of how to interpret assessment and performance data, this is a comparatively new area of their work so their ability to challenge the school, based on accurate interpretation of the data, is underdeveloped.

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Leadership and management

A number of partnerships, for example with the local community and local authority, are effectively managed to promote pupils’ learning and well-being. For example, the school works closely with parents, carers and external agencies to support individual pupils whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable, including those with autism or severe speech and language difficulties.

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Leadership and management

All safeguarding procedures are securely in place and rigorously applied. Inclusion is at the heart of the school’s ethos; although achievement is only satisfactory, it is improving in practice and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all staff and pupils is subsequently effective, especially in the way disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language are supported.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons, and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of West Green Primary School, London N15 3RT

Thank you for making my colleague and me so welcome when we inspected your school. We were very interested in what you told us, as well as what you, your parents and carers said in their questionnaires. We really enjoyed visiting your lessons, talking to staff and looking at the work that you have been doing. We think that yours is a satisfactory school and these are the things that it does particularly well.  Most of you in the Reception and Nursery classes and in Key Stage 2 are making good progress in your reading, writing and mathematics, even though a lot of you find the work a bit of a struggle, especially when English is not the language that you speak at home. However, by the time you leave at the end of Year 6, many of you are doing as well as pupils in other schools, especially in mathematics.  Most of you behave really well and work well with each other. We were especially impressed with how you value and celebrate each other’s cultures

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Inspection of West Green Primary School, London N15 3RT

and traditions.  In many lessons you are keen to do well and enjoy discussing what you are learning with each other and adults.  The adults who lead the school know what needs to improve and are making sure that things keep on getting better.

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Inspection of West Green Primary School, London N15 3RT

Although the school is doing well, there are still things that it can improve even more. We have asked the school’s leaders to focus on:  making sure that all the teaching is as good as the best  helping pupils in Key Stage 1 to make faster progress in reading, writing and mathematics  making sure that plans to improve the school are clearer, that the curriculum is more exciting and that governors know more about how well the school is doing.

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Inspection of West Green Primary School, London N15 3RT

You can help by always attending school, not being distracted from your work in lessons and by continuing to try your hardest. Good luck with the future.

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Inspection of West Green Primary School, London N15 3RT

Chris Nye Her Majesty's Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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