St Michael's CofE Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 3–4 May 2012 Inspection number 395517 St Michael's C of E Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 102034 Local authority Enfield Inspection number 395517 Inspection dates 3–4 May 2012 Lead inspector John Horwood

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 300 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Juliette Doggett Headteacher Cathryn Mann Date of previous school inspection 1 May 2008 School address Brigadier Hill Enfield EN2 0NB Telephone number 020 83632724 Fax number 020 83422600 Email address head@st-michaels.enfield.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 inspe cts 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. The inspectors used a number of strategies to observe learning. These included lesson observations ranging from 10 to 40 minutes. Over eight hours was spent observing teaching, which included visiting 20 lessons taught by 12 teachers. Meetings were held with staff, a group of members of the governing body and groups of pupils. Informal discussions also took place with parents, carers and pupils. The inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at documents including the school improvement plan, minutes of meetings, the school’s information on pupils’ progress and samples of pupils’ work. The responses to questionnaires from 150 parents and carers were examined and analysed.

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Information about the school

St Michael’s C of E Primary School is an average-size primary school that is expanding to become a two-form entry school. All pupils are taught in single-age classes. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups and the proportion who speak English as an additional language are similar to the national average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is lower than that found nationally. The proportions of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, including pupils who are supported at school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs, are similar to those found in most schools. The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. The school manages a daily breakfast club, which is held in the nearby church hall. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Information about the school

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a good school. Effective leadership ensures that good teaching enables pupils to reach above average levels of attainment. Their behaviour is outstanding. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly happy with the school. A typical comment was: ‘This is an exceptional school with a very high level of care and competence.’ It is not outstanding because actions taken to raise achievement in mathematics are too recent to show improvement over a sustained period.  All groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make good progress in all subjects. The trend in attainment has been above average for many years, although better in English than in mathematics. In 2011, Year 6 pupils reached average attainment in spite of additional support provided by the school.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and set a good pace of learning. They adapt the activities well to meet the needs of all pupils and involve a Key Stage

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Key findings

3 consultant to help pupils to reach the higher levels. They mark pupils’ work regularly and targets are used well, together with written comments to help pupils reach the next step in their learning.  Pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning are outstanding. They make an excellent contribution to keeping themselves and others really safe through school council initiatives and the older pupils helping the younger ones. Pupils say they feel extremely safe in school.  Leaders share a vision of enabling all pupils to achieve their full potential academically while maintaining their excellent personal skills. School performance is monitored closely and professional development provided for staff has ensured that the quality of teaching has improved, leading to greater achievement by pupils. The curriculum fully supports all aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in mathematics throughout the school by ensuring consistent 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?

application of the school’s new mathematics programme, including the systematic teaching of calculation skills.

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Achievement of pupils

All pupils make good progress in all lessons. Pupils really enjoy their learning and achieve well. This was typified in a Reception lesson, where ‘tricky word bingo’ was used to extend their letters and sounds (phonics) skills. In a Year 2 mathematics lesson, there was a lively interactive discussion at the end of the session to review the learning that had taken place. Pupils are actively involved in their learning wherever possible and this was seen in a Year 4 mathematics lesson where pupils were used as actors to demonstrate the calculation. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are always fully integrated into activities and well supported by teaching assistants.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment on entry to Reception is at age-expected levels in many areas of learning but below expected levels in communication and number skills. Children join from a variety of playgroups and nurseries and they make good progress across all the areas of learning as a result of effective teaching so that they are well prepared for entry into Year 1. Attainment levels and progress made are closely monitored and analysed. Children’s social skills develop extremely quickly because both Reception classes and the nursery interact throughout the day in an outstanding learning environment.

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Achievement of pupils

In Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils continue to make good progress. Attainment levels are consistently above average overall and often high in English. The Year 6 cohort in 2011 were an exception to this and their attainment was broadly average. Currently, in mathematics and English, including reading, attainment levels are above average in Year 2 and high in Year 6. Mathematics, including calculation skills, has been the weaker subject but many of the Year 6 pupils are now working at high levels because a new programme has been introduced to support their learning more effectively. There is no significant variation in the achievement of boys or girls. Those who speak English as an additional language make similar progress to their peers. Individual progress by pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is good because they are given excellent support in class or in short periods of withdrawal. The most-able pupils relish the range of opportunities they are given to

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Achievement of pupils

extend their knowledge through enrichment activities, and a significant number of pupils are on track to reach the higher levels. Pupils’ good progress is confirmed by the work seen in their books, and the responses of the overwhelming majority of parents and carers who returned questionnaires.

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Quality of teaching

The Early Years Foundation Stage is an excellent self-contained unit where 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

is consistently good and has many outstanding features that enable children to make rapid progress in their social skills, for example how learning is linked between the indoor and outdoor areas and providing children with good opportunities to choose their own activities, moving freely between them. Staff work as a very effective team to support all areas of learning, assessing children’s progress and identifying early any additional support needed. The teachers build up a comprehensive ‘learning journal’ for each child, reflecting their time in the foundation unit. The teaching of phonics is well established and every opportunity is taken by teachers to extend this learning during the daily activities.

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Quality of teaching

Throughout the school, teachers have excellent relationships with pupils. They ensure that all pupils are given sufficiently challenging work and have high expectations of pupils’ academic ability and their behaviour. The impact of this is evident in the good progress pupils make. Until recently, the teaching of mathematics has been less effective than that of English. The introduction of a systematic approach to teaching calculation skills is now improving teachers’ skills and effectiveness and raising pupils’ achievement as a result. Teachers work well with the teaching assistants to ensure the teaching fully supports disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. This enables teaching assistants to provide excellent support for pupils’ care and learning throughout the whole lesson and not just the group activities. Most of the teaching seen during the inspection was good or better, and much had some outstanding features. In an outstanding Year 6

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Quality of teaching

mathematics lesson, the teacher ensured that pupils learnt quickly throughout the lesson by excellent planning which enabled direct teaching of each group in turn whilst others had challenging group activities to carry on with. Teachers always help pupils understand what they have to do in lessons and how to improve. Targets are used well to motivate pupils and the marking of their work helps them know exactly how to get to the next level in their learning.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers plan their lessons well and make good use of information and communication technology to make lessons interactive and enjoyable. Teaching has a good impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Teachers are excellent role models and use curriculum content well to extend learning of pupils’ own faiths and also to teach about other faiths and cultures.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The behaviour seen during the inspection was outstanding. School documentation, parents and carers, as well as pupils and staff, confirm that this is the normal situation in the school. The questionnaire responses about behaviour and bullying were overwhelmingly positive about behaviour. Pupils say they feel extremely safe in school, a view shared by staff, parents and carers. There are a few pupils with known behaviour difficulties but these are very well managed and disturbance to learning is extremely rare. While there have been a very few fixed-term exclusions for isolated incidents, there have been no re-occurrences because of the particularly effective procedures in place for working with these pupils and their families. There is no evidence of bullying of any kind in the school and pupils say any minor 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

disagreements are quickly resolved. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are well cared for and feel safe. Pupils understand about internet security and no incidents of cyber bullying have been recorded. Pupils are aware of the school’s high expectations of behaviour and respect these. They willingly take on responsibilities within school and look after each other around the school. The school is a very harmonious community with excellent relationships throughout. Attendance is above the national average.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher provides strong leadership and is very well supported by the senior leadership team and the governing body. They all share the same vision for raising standards and improving the school. The staff questionnaires show that all staff are overwhelmingly supportive of the leaders and all aspects of the school. Since the previous inspection, they have made good progress in raising the progress made in Key Stage 2. They have developed a broader leadership team in preparation for the school becoming a two-form entry school. During this time, the behaviour and safety of pupils has continued to be outstanding. These improvements demonstrate the school’s capacity for sustained improvement. The management of performance and professional development of teachers and support staff is given a high priority and uses both external provision and visiting consultants. The governing body provides good support and challenge to the school. Each year group has a class governor who

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Leadership and management

follows the pupils through the school. Governors also help in classes to gain an insight into how the school operates. They are very pro-active at monitoring outcomes. The school’s self-evaluation is accurate and the school development plan demonstrates the clear vision of leaders. All stakeholders are involved in monitoring and reviewing this plan. It clearly focuses on what needs to be done and is based on a clear and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Leadership and management

The excellent relationships throughout the school mean that every pupil is well known by adults and their needs are addressed to ensure they all have equal opportunities to succeed. The achievement of all pupils is similar and there is no evidence of discrimination of any kind. Safeguarding requirements are fully met, with good focus on health and safety. The governing body manages a breakfast club in the nearby church hall to extend the care beyond the normal school day. They ensure the safety of pupils in moving between the two sites by ensuring good supervision and providing high visibility jackets.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is broad and balanced. The wide range of extra-curricular activities seen during the previous inspection has been extended to provide even more opportunities, such as a residential visit for Year 4 pupils at Cuffley Camp and a ‘sleepover’ for Year 2 in the school grounds. Pupils say they all enjoy the clubs and activities available to them and they are well attended. The curriculum is adapted well to support disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, as well as providing opportunities for the specific gifts and talents of pupils. The curriculum makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, not least through its visits into the community to visit other places of worship. 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

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Leadership and management

schemes of work have been adapted to reflect a wide range of cultures.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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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 St Michael’s C of E Primary School, Enfield EN2 0NB

Thank you for making us welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking with you, reading the questionnaires some of you completed, and looking at the work you do. Your school provides you with a good education.

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Inspection of St Michael’s C of E Primary School, Enfield EN2 0NB

There are many things we admired about your school and these are a few of them.

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Inspection of St Michael’s C of E Primary School, Enfield EN2 0NB

 Your behaviour and how you keep yourself safe are outstanding.  You all get on very well together and enjoy coming to school.  The Early Years Foundation Stage unit provides an excellent learning environment where children make rapid progress in their social skills.  You are very well cared for in school.  Your teachers make lessons fun and help you make good progress.  Attainment levels are rising and most of you now attain at least above average as a result of good teaching.  The school is led and managed well.

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Inspection of St Michael’s C of E Primary School, Enfield EN2 0NB

For the school to improve further, I have asked your headteacher to help you attain higher levels in mathematics by ensuring teachers always use the school’s new mathematics programme, including methods to help you with your calculations.

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Inspection of St Michael’s C of E Primary School, Enfield EN2 0NB

All of you can help the school to move forward by continuing to work hard. I wish you every success in the future.

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Inspection of St Michael’s C of E Primary School, Enfield EN2 0NB

John Horwood 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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