Hargrave Park School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 13–14 March 2012 Inspection number 376391 Hargrave Park School Inspection report

p.1

Unique reference number 100408 Local authority Islington Inspection number 376391 Inspection dates 13–14 March 2012 Lead inspector Alison Thomson

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

p.1

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 220 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Janet Burgess Headteacher Lisa Horton Date of previous school inspection 23–24 June 2009 School address 51 Bredgar Road London N19 5BS Telephone number 020 7272 3989 Fax number 020 7272 7847 Email address admin@hargravepark.islington.sch.uk

p.1

Registered childcare provision Hargrave Park Primary School Number of children on roll in the registered childcare provision Date of last inspection of registered childcare provision 22 January 2007 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 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

p.1

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’.

p.2

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.

p.2

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

p.2

Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspectors observed eight teachers teaching 15 lessons, of which two were joint observations with the members of the school’s senior leadership team. Meetings were held with members of the governing body, school leaders and pupils. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, including analyses of the pupils' work, and looked at a number of documents, including those relating to development planning, safeguarding and child protection, the monitoring of the quality of teaching and external views of the school. The inspectors also analysed 79 questionnaires returned by parents and carers, 69 completed by pupils and 12 completed by staff.

p.3

Information about the school

This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much higher than average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups, including those who speak English as an additional language, is also much higher than average. The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is much higher than average, although the proportion who have a statement of special educational needs is average. The school meets the government floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. The school has many awards including the Healthy Schools award and the silver Eco-Schools award for promoting sustainability. Since the previous inspection there have been considerable changes in staffing, including the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. The school includes, under the guardianship of the governing body, extended childcare provision in the

p.3

Information about the school

form of a breakfast club and an after-school club, together with provision for children between the ages of 0 and 3. 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

p.3

Key findings

 Hargrave Park is a good school. It is improving strongly following a decline in achievement since the previous inspection. Pupils, staff, parents and carers are very positive about all aspects of the school’s work. The school is not outstanding because there are a few inconsistencies in teaching quality, and aspects of assessment in the Early Years Foundation Stage lack sufficient rigour.

p.4

Key findings

 Pupils’ achievement is good. They enter the Nursery with skills that are generally below the expected levels. They leave at the end of Year 6 with attainment that is broadly average. Progress is good throughout the school for all groups of pupils.

p.4

Key findings

 Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers are enthusiastic and use interesting activities to make learning both fun and challenging. Teachers regularly assess pupils' work and make it clear how they can improve it. However, they do not always explain clearly to pupils what they should be learning in lessons, which limits pupils’ ability to judge how well they are doing.

p.4

Key findings

 Most pupils behave well and they say that they feel very safe in school. They are polite and welcoming and they look after each other well. Pupils cooperate in a very mature way in lessons and this has a very positive effect on their learning. Parents, carers and staff agree strongly that behaviour is good and that the school keeps pupils safe.

p.4

Key findings

 The leadership of teaching and the management of performance are very successful. The quality of teaching has improved greatly and, along with a well- thought-out curriculum, is bringing about improvements rapidly. However, the monitoring of children's progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not always as accurate and effective as it could be. The school makes good provision for the pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

p.4

What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Eliminate the remaining inconsistencies in teaching in order to raise achievement further by: 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

p.4

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 always explaining clearly to pupils what they should be learning in lessons, so that they can tell more easily how well they are doing  using assessment information more rigorously in the Early Years Foundation Stage to plan individual children’s next steps in learning and to monitor their progress more effectively.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

Children start in Nursery with a range of skills generally lower than those typically found for their age, especially so in linking letters to sounds and in writing. Many children enter unable to speak English. Good induction procedures with parents and carers and with the extended school provision help the children to settle quickly and make a confident start. Children play happily together and are well behaved. They enter Year 1 having made good progress in all areas of learning, but with skills still below those expected, particularly in writing. Attainment in reading by the end of Year 2 is improving strongly. This is helped greatly by the school’s very effective daily phonics sessions. Listening to pupils read in Year 1 and Year 2 confirmed that their attainment in reading is average. The school's assessment shows clearly that progress in reading is good. Progress throughout the school is good and pupils leave

p.5

Achievement of pupils

school at the end of Year 6 with attainment in reading, writing and mathematics that is broadly average.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

Almost all parents and carers strongly agree that their children are achieving well. This was exemplified well in the good progress in learning seen in the lessons observed during the inspection. The highest-attaining pupils make good progress and become more capable independent learners. This was seen to very good effect in a Year 4 English lesson where pupils rose well to the challenge of assessing for themselves how well they were writing in the role of characters from the story, ‘The Tunnel’. The school’s assessment information and lesson observations show that the school is successful in ensuring that boys and girls perform equally well. For example, in a Year 1 mathematics lesson, both girls and boys were seen making good progress ordering numbers up to one hundred. Throughout the school, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. This is helped greatly by very sensitive and well-focused support from the teaching

p.5

Achievement of pupils

assistants. Pupils who speak English as an additional language also make good progress as a result of various strategies, such as staff providing practical activities using visual clues for word recognition.

p.5

Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good and some lessons are outstanding. The parents’ and carers' questionnaire responses show that they agree strongly that their children are well taught. Teachers are very enthusiastic and create a very purposeful 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 environment. Lessons generally proceed at a good pace and there is a wide range of interesting activities to engage pupils, including many opportunities for them to practise their basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT). For example, Year 5 pupils were seen creating PowerPoint presentations about Leonardo da Vinci. Many lessons contribute well to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, such as the study of Caribbean culture in Year 3 topic work. Here, the pupils were seen thoroughly enjoying creating

p.5

Quality of teaching

their own word calculation problems based around Caribbean food, places and animals. This also exemplified the innovative use of the curriculum, with teachers weaving together basic skills and giving the pupils opportunities to practise them.

p.6

Quality of teaching

Teachers plan their lessons well with work that is carefully modified for the pupils’ different ages and abilities. This was seen particularly well in a Year 2 English lesson where different groups of pupils each had their own appropriate information sources to enable them to formulate questions about places. Pupils gain much confidence because of the many opportunities they are given to voice their opinions and share ideas. This was seen in a Reception class lesson where children were encouraged to talk about what the dinosaurs were doing. Teachers usually share with the pupils what they are going to learn in lessons and they check how well the pupils are doing throughout the lessons. However, they do not always enable pupils to evaluate for themselves how well they are learning. Thus achievement is not always as good as it could be. Teachers mark the pupils’ work thoroughly. As well as correcting mistakes

p.6

Quality of teaching

and giving praise, there are many comments to help pupils know how to improve their work. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers do not always use assessment information with sufficient rigour to plan the next steps in learning for individual children.

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is good and there is evidence from visitors and from visits that it is consistently so. Older pupils confirm this and also say that it has improved. They like the school's system of different coloured behaviour cards, especially the gold ones for particularly good behaviour or effort. Parents and carers comment on the effectiveness of the card system and some have adopted it at home. Pupils say that bullying rarely occurs and that they get on well together. Incidents of poor behaviour are not common, but when they do occur they are dealt with very well. Attendance is consistently above average and pupils arrive punctually at school. Most parents and carers who returned the questionnaire agreed that behaviour is good. Staff and pupils agree that behaviour is good in lessons most of the time.

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils' behaviour impacts well on their learning. This was seen many times throughout the inspection. Pupils love working together with their talk partners or using their individual whiteboards to write ideas before sharing them with the whole class. They were also seen accepting constructive criticism well when assessing each other's work. In the playground, pupils interact with each other well, with boys and girls playing together and also older ones playing happily with younger ones.

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Most pupils agreed that they feel safe in school all of the time. They told the 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 inspectors that school is very safe because the teachers look after them well and there are locks on the doors. They have an extremely good understanding of how to take care of themselves and one another. The school council members are proud of their notices around the school promoting health and safety; for example, their poster reminding pupils to wash their hands after going to the toilet because of bacteria. Pupils describe their school as being a ‘caring and fun place,' and when asked what they would change, one pupil said, 'I would like it to be the same.’

p.6

Leadership and management

The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a clear vision for the school. They impart this well to all staff, who are very ambitious for their pupils and fully involved in driving improvements. Expectations are high and reflect the school's motto, 'We Aim High.' The school knows its strengths and areas for development very well. It has addressed weaknesses identified at the previous inspection thoroughly. Leadership and management of teaching are excellent, leading to rapid improvement in the quality of learning. The school monitors and evaluates the progress of the pupils rigorously, particularly so in Years 1 to 6, and any underachievement is addressed quickly and effectively. Consequently, attainment and progress have improved at a very good pace, demonstrating the school’s strong capacity for further improvement. Equality of opportunity is good, with any remaining gaps in the performance of different groups diminishing rapidly. Governance is good. Members of

p.7

Leadership and management

the governing body are becoming increasingly involved in monitoring the school's performance and also in evaluating their own work.

p.7

Leadership and management

The staff make learning highly enjoyable and provide pupils with an engaging curriculum that impacts well on their academic achievement as well as their personal development. There was a real buzz as pupils eagerly told the inspectors about all the exciting places they had visited, such as the science museum and the local hospital as part of their Eco project. Right from the start of the day at the breakfast club until the end of the after-school club, pupils are nurtured very well. The promotion of the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Time is built in for reflection in many lesson activities as well as assemblies. Also, pupils and their parents and carers said how much they enjoyed the international days where they could sample food and see traditional dress from other cultures. Safety is a very high priority and this approach results in children feeling very safe

p.7

Leadership and management

and secure. Safeguarding is robust with clear policies and very thorough risk assessments. Parents and carers agree that the school keeps them well informed, acts promptly on any concerns and helps them to be involved in their children’s learning through activities such as mathematics workshops. Many comment favourably about the conscientiousness and approachability of the headteacher and the staff.

p.7

childcare provision

Provision for babies and toddlers is good, particularly the care that they receive. This is commented on most favourably by the parents and carers. A typical comment received was, 'The toddler room is faultless in my eyes.’ There is a good choice of activities on offer that promotes learning well. Toddlers were seen patiently taking turns to enthusiastically bath their ‘babies’. One toddler explained to the inspector that her baby needed a bath as it had been 'playing in the mud'. New technology is used well to enhance learning; toddlers were so excited when they managed to choose the correct colour of balloon to 'burst' and then saw it bursting on the iPad screen. Adults use questioning well to help children build up their learning, but sometimes there are missed opportunities, such as not referring to the colour of fruits when naming them or not counting the number of toes of the babies as they were being 'washed'. Leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage provision is

p.8

childcare provision

good and the babies and toddlers make good gains in their development during their time there. However, adults do not always assess and record rigorously enough how well the babies and toddlers are developing and use this information to plan future activities for individual children.

p.8

childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

p.8

childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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

p.9

Common terminology used by inspectors

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

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

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

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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

main findings from the inspection of their school.

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

Thank you for the lovely welcome you gave the inspectors when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed talking with you and seeing you learn in class. We worked closely with your headteacher and deputy headteacher and also spent time talking to your teachers and governors and looking at your work. You believe that your school is a good one and one that is improving strongly. We agree with you.

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

Here are some of the things that we particularly liked.

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

■ You love coming to school and you learn well. ■ The behaviour of most of you is good, you get on well together and you know how to keep yourselves safe. ■ Your teachers make your lessons fun and give you work that makes you think. ■ The adults in school make sure that you are very well looked after. ■ The leaders in your school are very successful in making your time at school enjoyable and a good place to learn.

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

We have asked your headteacher to make your school even better by:

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

■ helping you to be able to tell how well you are learning in lessons ■ making sure that no opportunities are missed to check how well the children in the Nursery and Reception classes are learning.

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

You can help by telling your teacher if you are not sure if you are learning well in each of your activities.

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

We enjoyed your assemblies and hearing you talk so enthusiastically about the trips you go on. We would like to wish you all the best for the future and hope that you continue to enjoy being at your school.

p.11

Inspection of Hargrave Park Primary School, Islington, N19 5BS

Alison Thomson 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 .

p.11