Harmondsworth Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 31 January – 1 February

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Inspection number 376713 Harmondsworth Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 102384 Local authority Hillingdon Inspection number 376713 Inspection dates 31 January – 1 February 2012 Lead inspector Nigel Grimshaw

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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 241 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nicholas Taylor Headteacher Eleesa Dowding Date of previous school inspection 28–29 April 2009 School address School Road Harmondsworth West Drayton UB7 0AU Telephone number 020 87591718 Fax number 020 85649491 Email address harmondsworth@hillingdongrid.org 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 visited 17 lessons or parts of lessons taught by eight different teachers and looked at pupils’ work. They listened to pupils read and talked to them about how much reading they did. Discussions took place with members of the governing body, staff, parents and carers and groups of pupils. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding, the school’s improvement plan and self-evaluation report, minutes of governing body meetings, reports from the local authority and the school’s own assessment data. The inspectors analysed questionnaires from pupils and staff as well as those from 112 parents and carers.

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Information about the school

Harmondsworth Primary is an average sized primary school. Pupils come from a range of backgrounds with 14 different ethnic groups represented, although the majority are of White British heritage. About 15% of the pupils learn English as an additional language, which is average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is well above average and the majority of these have speech, language and communication difficulties. The school has gained the Healthy Schools status, the Activemark award and the Silver Eco School award. The school meets the current performance floor standard set by the government. 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

 Harmondsworth is a good school. The previous inspection also judged the school to be good. When pupils enter the school in the Early Years Foundation Stage their abilities are below those expected for their age and well below in communication, language and literacy skills. By the time they leave in Year 6 their overall attainment is well above the national average because the significant majority of the teaching is good or outstanding.

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Key findings

 The pupils make consistently good progress as they move through the school, especially in English where progress has been significantly above expectations over the last three years. Progress in mathematics is good overall but lacks consistency between year groups. Progress in reading is good. Pupils enjoy reading and have above average attainment when they leave the school.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching is good because it is monitored rigorously by senior leaders and appropriate support provided when necessary. Although most pupils do well in reading, the programme that links the teaching of sounds to letters (phonics) lacks sufficient structure and further staff training in this area has been planned by the school leaders.

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Key findings

 The pupils’ behaviour is exemplary in lessons because they are motivated by the work planned for them and consequently they enjoy learning.

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Key findings

 The senior leaders are very well supported by the experienced and knowledgeable members of the governing body who challenge the leaders of the school to maintain the drive for improvement. The school promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. The school leadership has worked hard to involve parents and carers in their children’s learning and in the life of the school. As a result, they were almost unanimous in their praise of the school in their responses to all aspects of the questionnaire. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and consistency of phonics teaching by:  providing the additional planned training for all staff  developing a more structured approach to the delivery of the learning programme  ensuring there is a better match of work to pupils’ different levels of ability  monitoring classroom practice after staff training.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Secure consistency in pupils’ progress in mathematics by:  ensuring basic skills and concepts are understood early  developing a more focused monitoring of mathematics teaching, especially to check on pace and the challenge for the more-able pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment in English and mathematics, for both boys and girls, is above average. From low starting points, all groups of pupils, including disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and pupils who are learning English as an additional language, make good progress across all key stages. However, progress in English is more consistent than it is in mathematics. Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals do as well as, or even better, than their peers.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress in the significant majority of lessons observed was good or better. Pupils enjoy learning in lessons and teachers plan work that they find motivating. This has encouraged pupils’ growing levels of confidence and independence and they take pride in assessing and evaluating their own work and that of their peers. This was particularly true in an outstanding storytelling lesson in Year 5 where the pupils demonstrated some outstanding vocabulary and fluency of reading, while their partner evaluated their story and suggested improvements. This was also an example of the excellent cooperative working which the pupils demonstrated in almost every lesson observed.

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Achievement of pupils

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage settle quickly into school life and make good progress in all areas of learning so that they are generally well prepared for moving into Year 1. Pupils’ standards of reading at the ends of Year 2 and Year 6 are above average. The pupils have a real enjoyment of reading and most say that they read for pleasure outside school. Readers were keen to do well and enjoyed reading. However, their understanding of the sounds that letters make is not as good as it could be to help them to sound out the words they are trying to read.

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Achievement of pupils

An overwhelming number of parents and carers responding to the questionnaire feel that the school meets their children’s needs, that their children are making good progress and that the school helps them to support their child’s learning, and 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

inspectors agree that this view is accurate.

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Quality of teaching

In almost every lesson observed the pupils were clear about the learning objective and the small steps in learning by which they could measure their own progress. This development of the pupils’ involvement in their own learning is a strength of the school and one reason why the pupils achieve as well as they do. The pupils are also encouraged to work together in problem-solving exercises and to evaluate their own and each other’s work. Work planned by the teachers made good use of their knowledge of the pupils’ attainment to ensure it was appropriately challenging for all. In the small minority of mathematics lessons where this was not the case the more- able pupils were not sufficiently challenged. The marking of pupils’ work and the guidance given to pupils on how to improve their work are generally of a high standard but, on occasions, the guidance is not sufficiently clear.

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Quality of teaching

The school has planned a new curriculum which provides good opportunities for the pupils to apply their basic literacy and mathematical skills in other subject areas. However, there are occasional opportunities missed for developing mathematical skills and understanding in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, especially for the more-able pupils. Most pupils take pride in all their work and are well motivated because they find the subject matter interesting and often fun. The school makes good use of visits and visitors to enhance the pupils’ learning and pupils spoke enthusiastically about some trips out of school and could relate them to what they had learned. Many visits have enabled the pupils to have a good awareness of other cultures.

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Quality of teaching

The teaching is often inspirational in the very effective way that it promotes aspects of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are given frequent opportunities to reflect on their work in lessons and in assemblies on how fortunate they are compared to many children around the world and given the option of deciding how they can help those less fortunate than themselves. Through teachers’ high expectations pupils have a good appreciation of right and wrong, and how to behave appropriately with other children and adults. In an outstanding lesson in Year 6, for example, the teacher’s planning led the pupils to discuss friendship and friendship groups and this led to a very mature discussion on gangs and the often negative impact of gang activity.

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Quality of teaching

An overwhelming proportion of parents and carers feel that their children are taught well and are prepared for the next stage of their education. The inspection findings fully support this view. One parent or carer wrote, ‘I am impressed with the effort and commitment of all the staff. Children are rewarded well for good work and homework is set on a weekly basis and marked on time.’ 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The pupils in the school are polite and very welcoming. The way they behave in lessons and around school is exemplary. One parent or carer summed it up when writing, ‘The children are extremely polite and well behaved, and my child loves going to school every morning.’ They show consideration for others and work and play together harmoniously. School records indicate that there are very few incidents of bullying. Pupils agreed that bullying only happened rarely, was seldom serious, and was dealt with promptly and effectively by the adults in school. Racist incidents are even less common because the pupils show mutual respect for each other at all times. New pupils into school said that they were made to feel welcome very quickly and they all said that they settled happily into school life. Pupils were confident that they felt very safe at school and had a good awareness of possible dangerous situations. The school has ensured that the older pupils are well aware of safe and

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The response of parents and carers was again extremely positive with almost unanimous views that behaviour was good, bullying was handled effectively and that disruption in lessons was minimal or there was none at all. The inspection team can again confirm their agreement with this view. Behaviour and safety are outstanding because the pupils are highly motivated, are very engaged in their learning and expectations are consistently high.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, make a very strong leadership team with a clear vision and a successful track record of improvement in the school. The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection through raising teachers’ expectations and focused professional development. They have identified correctly that the quality of phonics teaching is variable and have planned training in this area. The senior team is ably supported by the very strong governing body, well led by the experienced and knowledgeable Chair and Vice-Chair. They have a clear view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement because of their active involvement and the rigour of the challenge they present to the school. Areas for improvement from the last inspection have been tackled successfully and are now strengths of the school, particularly the more active role of the pupils in lessons. The school’s self-evaluation is clearly focused on the correct priorities and

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Leadership and management

stems from an effective programme of monitoring and evaluation. Consequently the school’s capacity for further improvement is good. The monitoring role the subject leaders undertake has developed well.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum has been effectively reviewed to create opportunities for more extensive literacy work. The opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills across the curriculum have improved but are not as well established. The curriculum is also providing a good platform for promoting outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. 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

The school is successful in promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination. It has systems for identifying groups and individuals who need additional support and has proved successful in providing appropriate strategies to accelerate their learning and close any gaps in their outcomes compared to their peers. Safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements. The site is secure and all visitors are checked on arrival at the school before they can gain entry. Consequently, all the parents and carers are happy that the children feel safe at school. Parents and carers are almost unanimous in saying that the school keeps them well informed and responds well to any concerns raised.

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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 Harmondsworth Primary School, West Drayton UB7 0AU

On behalf of the inspection team I would like to thank you for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school. We really enjoyed our time with you. We enjoyed talking to many of you in lessons, in our meetings with you and at break times. We were impressed with your enthusiasm for your work and your behaviour is excellent.

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Inspection of Harmondsworth Primary School, West Drayton UB7 0AU

We have judged that yours is a good school. You all get on well together and value each other’s cultures and backgrounds exceptionally well. We know from talking to you and from your questionnaires that you like coming to school very much and enjoy your learning. This is because the teachers try to make the work interesting and fun and so you are making good progress. You report that you feel safe at school.

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Inspection of Harmondsworth Primary School, West Drayton UB7 0AU

Although yours is a good school, we have asked the headteacher, staff and the governing body to make some changes to help it to improve further. We have asked them to make sure that when you are being taught about letters and sounds that the work is challenging for you all. We have also asked them to provide more opportunities for you to learn your basic mathematical skills as soon as possible when you are at school and, if you are finding it difficult, that they give you the support you need quickly.

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Inspection of Harmondsworth Primary School, West Drayton UB7 0AU

Having met you, we are very confident that you will want to help too. You can do this by trying your best at all times and checking that your work in lessons is as good as expected. We would like to wish you all the very best in the future at Harmondsworth Primary School and also when you move on to your next school.

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Inspection of Harmondsworth Primary School, West Drayton UB7 0AU

Nigel Grimshaw Lead 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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