Brimsdown Primary School

Brimsdown Primary School Green Street, Enfield, EN3 7NA

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

p.1

This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Recent teaching improvements have not yet ensured all pupils, especially the most able, make consistently good progress.  Teachers do not always ensure that pupils clearly understand how to reach ambitious targets, and written feedback is not consistently followed up by pupils.  In mathematics, progress is hampered by a narrow curriculum and lost opportunities for extending pupils’ mathematical skills across other subjects.  The leadership’s management of teaching and learning is not rigorous enough. Consequently, pupils’ performance information is not used consistently to hold colleagues to account for pupils’ progress.  The governing body has not challenged school leaders sharply enough about why improvements in teaching have not raised pupils’ progress.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 In the well-led Early Years Foundation Stage children make good progress.  Standards in writing have improved and are broadly average.  Good teaching in Year 6 last year ensured attainment in English and mathematics met the government’s minimum expectations.  Pupils feel very safe, are well behaved in lessons and around the school and are socially very inclusive.  Monitoring and self-evaluation of the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement are established and result in leaders identifying appropriate priorities and making action plans to drive improvement.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 31 lessons taught by 21 teachers. In addition, inspectors observed the teaching of phonics (letter patterns and the sounds they represent). Many of these observations were made jointly with the headteacher and other senior leaders of the school.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage was not observed, as at this early stage of the academic year, staff were making home visits and children were not in school.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body and two other members, a representative of the local authority, parents and carers, staff, including senior and middle leaders, and four groups of pupils.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at school documentation, including teachers’ planning, the school’s self-evaluation and development plans, assessment information, safeguarding documentation and samples of pupils’ work.  In addition, inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with them about their enjoyment of

p.2

Information about this inspection

books.  There were insufficient responses to the on-line questionaire (Parent View) to register parents’ and carers’ views by this means during the inspection.

p.2

Inspection team

David Radomsky, Lead inspector Additional inspector Samuel Ofori-Kyereh Additional inspector Jim McVeigh Additional inspector Kanwaljit Singh Additional inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Brimsdown is a much larger than average-sized primary school.  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, those for whom English is an additional language and those known to be eligible for the pupil premium are well above those found nationally.  An above average proportion of pupils are supported through school action.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average. Most of this group have behavioural, emotional and social or moderate learning difficulties.  The school runs a specialist unit for up to 12 pupils with severe and profound hearing impairment.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  The school runs a daily breakfast club, and an after-school club is managed by an external provider.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By July 2013, raise attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 to at least national averages at both the expected and higher levels, by raising the overall quality of teaching to good or better, by ensuring that:  teachers consistently use pupils’ performance information to plan learning activities that meet the needs of all pupils, especially the more able  teachers make regular reference to ambitious individual targets in marking and give pupils guidance on how to reach the next level, especially in mathematics  teachers provide frequent opportunities for pupils to respond to their written feedback  opportunities are planned across subjects to extend pupils’ mathematical skills, including opportunities for practical application and investigative work.  Improve the capacity of leaders, managers and the governing body to accelerate sustainable improvements by:  ensuring that performance at all levels is rigorously managed and closely linked to

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

improving rapidly the rates of pupils’ progress across the school  empowering all leaders to meticulously hold their colleagues to account for the quality of their teaching and their pupils’ progress  ensuring that the governing body holds the school to account better through increased, direct monitoring and through a more detailed analysis and understanding of pupils’ performance data across all subjects and for all groups of pupils.

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Documentary evidence, work scrutiny and interviews confirm that children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills at very low levels compared with expectations for their age. They make good progress and move into Year 1 with skill levels that are close to average.  Attainment at the expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 over time has been broadly average, but below average at the higher levels.  Rates of progress across Key Stage 2 have improved. From previously significantly below average attainment in reading, writing and mathematics, attainment in writing is now above average and, in 2012, moved closer to average in reading and mathematics. Attainment at the higher Level 5, however, remains below average in all subjects.  In 2012, for the first time in the school’s history, the proportion of Year 6 pupils who attained Level 4 in both English and mathematics was above the government’s floor target.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress in writing has improved because pupils have many opportunities to write across subjects such as history and geography. Evidence in books confirms that most teachers mark written work in detail and give pupils high quality guidance on how to improve the quality of their writing.  The school recently introduced a better planned systematic scheme for the teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make), and has targeted those pupils who underperformed in the Year 1 phonics screening and other weak readers for additional support. All pupils are encouraged through rewards to read at home each day with an adult. The impact of these changes is yet to be felt.  There are few opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematics learning to life’s practicalities and for investigative work. There are no planned activities across other subjects to extend pupils’ mathematical skills, and work seen in books lacks sufficient

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

challenge for the more able. As a result, the proportions making expected and above expected progress across Key Stage 2 are lower than those found nationally.  There are no significant gaps in achievement between groups of pupils. The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, those for whom English is an additional language and those eligible for the pupil premium is in line with that of their peers.  Pupils in the hearing impaired unit have good attitudes to learning and with effective support make similar progress to their peers.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The overall quality of teaching requires improvement as all pupils are not making consistently good progress.  In good lessons, teachers plan activities and use a wide variety of resources that enthuse and cater for the full range of needs and abilities. Teachers monitor learning throughout and pupils are encouraged to work in groups and engage in independent learning activities. For example, in an English lesson, pupils worked enthusiastically in groups, rotating to different tables every 10 minutes to work together in solving challenges on the various forms and uses of verbs.  More typical, however, was a mathematics lesson seen on mirror images where progress was slow as some pupils had already mastered the topic in the previous year. The teacher’s extended presentation and setting of the same work for the entire class failed to cater for this group’s needs.  The majority of lessons require improvement to enable pupils to consistently learn well and

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

progress at a faster rate because typically:  activities are not planned to stretch and challenge pupils of all abilities and dispositions, especially the most able  teachers do not check on learning and progress throughout the lesson and therefore do not sufficiently adapt activities in response to the pupils’ emerging needs  teachers talk for too long and dominate the learning to the point that pupils begin to get restless  teachers do not always utilise fully the teaching assistants throughout the entire lesson to support learning.  Marking in literacy mostly makes explicit what pupils need to do to improve their work. This quality of written feedback, however, is not typically found in mathematics books. Teachers do not always guide pupils specifically on how to reach the next level and pupils do not always follow up on their teachers’ comments and learn from their mistakes.  Inspectors saw some very effective teaching of early reading skills by teachers and teaching

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

assistants, who are skilled in the correct articulation of sounds when teaching reading. This quality, however, is not typical of all reading sessions.  Pupils in the hearing impairment unit are integrated into mainstream classes. Highly skilled teaching assistants trained in the use of sign language and teachers who use special audio equipment provide good support, enabling these pupils to be fully engaged in all learning activities.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They have positive attitudes to learning and respond promptly to their teachers’ directions.  Pupils told inspectors that there have been significant improvements in behaviour over the past two years. This is because teachers have far higher expectations and pupils value the rewards and sanctions systems which are implemented consistently.  Pupils who have behavioural, emotional and social difficulties are well supported and effectively helped to manage and modify their behaviour appropriately.  Pupils are aware of all forms of bullying, including prejudicial behaviour and fighting. They proudly say that in this culturally diverse school, which is also inclusive of pupils with various disabilities, all get on well together. This is supported by all pupils and staff learning basic sign language. Occasionally a bullying or racist incident occurs, and then it is dealt

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

with efficiently by the adults in the school.  Pupils say they feel very safe in school and are astutely aware of unsafe situations. They know, for instance, how to keep themselves safe in the electronic communication environment, on the roads, and to avoid involvement with gangs and substance abuse.

p.5

The leadership and management require improvement

 The headteacher and governing body are ambitious to accelerate improvements so that pupils leave the school with much higher levels of attainment.  The improvements made in teaching, attainment and attendance since the HMI monitoring visit demonstrate that leaders have the capacity to continue to drive improvements in the quality of teaching, in order to raise pupils’ achievement.  Recently improved processes of self-evaluation have helped leaders to accurately identify the school’s priorities for improvement.  Teachers are supported to improve their performance through frequent lesson observation feedback, training, mentoring and through work with teachers in an outstanding school.  Half-termly meetings are used by leaders to discuss pupils’ progress with their teachers and to hold them to account. Leaders, however, do not consistently address staff underperformance with sufficient rigour by linking required improvements to ambitious

p.5

The leadership and management require improvement

pupil progress targets.  The school promotes equality of opportunity through, for example, ensuring disabled pupils are given additional support, enabling them to participate in activities such as trips and swimming. Leaders tackle discrimination rigorously.  The curriculum meets statutory requirements. It is enriched through a range of visits and extra-curricular activities, for example the choir, sports and activities during breakfast club.  Good attention is paid to promoting spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For instance, pupils work hard to support different charities, speak enthusiastically about the `value of the month’ and each year a group of pupils achieve accreditation in British sign language (BSL).  The leader of the hearing impairment unit ensures that pupils are very well supported and included in all aspects of school life.  The local authority provides effective support for the teaching of mathematics in Years 1

p.5

The leadership and management require improvement

and 5, which is improving the quality of teaching in those year groups.  The governance of the school:  The governing body takes a strategic lead in defining `non-negotiable’ priorities and actively seeks ways to recruit high quality governors and staff to drive improvements.  Governors have plans in place to increase the frequency of visiting the school to monitor its work more directly.  All statutory duties are met, including arrangements for safeguarding.  The governing body is aware of the school’s overall strengths and weaknesses. It has not, however, thoroughly analysed pupils’ performance data to enable governors to understand and challenge the school with precision about the performance of all groups and across all years. This also restricts governors’ ability to monitor how effectively the pupil premium money is affecting achievement.

p.6

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 135535 Local authority Enfield Inspection number 402713

p.8

School details

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

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 680 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Bachelor Headteacher Jeremy (Jez) Fisher Date of previous school inspection 6–7 May 2010 Telephone number 020 8804 6797 Fax number 0208 804 4226 Email address contact@brimsdown.enfield.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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.8

School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

p.9

School details

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.9

School details

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 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,

p.9

School details

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.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9