Setting

Mrs L Kiernan Headteacher Salusbury Primary School Salusbury Road London NW6 6RG

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Salusbury Primary School

Following my visit with Atifa Sayani, Additional Inspector, to your school on 4 and 5 July 2012, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Salusbury Primary School

The inspection was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in February 2012. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Salusbury Primary School

Progress since being subject to special measures – inadequate.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Salusbury Primary School

Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed.

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Special measures: monitoring inspection of Salusbury Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Brent.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

Tribal 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 3115319 Direct F 0117 3150430 Direct email :matthew.parker@tribalgroup.com

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place in February 2012

 Raise attainment and accelerate pupils’ progress in English and mathematics by ensuring that teachers:  raise their expectations and pitch their teaching so that it provides greater challenge in lessons  adopt best practice in the teaching of reading  encourage pupils to take more of a lead in their own learning, by giving them more opportunities to practice their communication skills, to initiate more ideas themselves and learn more independently.

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place in February 2012

 Improve teaching, so that none is inadequate by the end of the current academic year and that most is at least good, focusing particularly on:  the effectiveness of lesson planning in meeting the differing needs and interests of pupils so that gaps in the achievement of different groups are narrowed  planning activities which raise pupils’ aspirations  providing more detailed guidance in marking so that pupils know what they have to do to improve and ensuring that pupils respond.

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place in February 2012

 Revise action plans to ensure that they identify the specific key issues for improvement, and implement strategies as a matter of urgency, ensuring that:  plans contain sharply focused actions and milestones for measuring progress, which are monitored and evaluated  continual professional training for all staff is provided, so that teachers’ expectations are raised  challenging and attainable goals for pupils’ achievement are set.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed 16 lessons taught by 14 teachers. Eight lessons were observed jointly by the lead inspector and consultant headteacher. Inspectors scrutinised a range of school documentation including recently introduced policies, improvement plans, monitoring records and minutes of meetings. Meetings were held with the consultant headteacher, the deputy and interim deputy headteacher, curriculum leaders, the special educational needs co-ordinator, the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative from the local authority and also with pupils.

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Context

A consultant headteacher was appointed from April 2012 to work part-time alongside the substantive headteacher. The substantive headteacher left the school in June 2012. Other significant changes to staffing have taken place. These include the departure of the deputy headteacher and the promotion of the assistant headteacher to the post of acting and then substantive deputy headteacher. An interim, part-time deputy headteacher has very recently been appointed. A significant number of staff, both teaching and non-teaching, will be leaving the school at the end of this academic year while new staff are being recruited.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The school’s evaluation of attainment and progress has to be treated with some caution as it is widely accepted by senior and middle leaders that historic assessment routines and resulting information were not fully secure. Therefore, it is not possible for current leaders to use assessment information as an effective strategic tool to drive improvement. Senior leaders have rightly prioritised the need to fully review use of data at all levels as well as to increase teachers’ skills in accurately assessing pupils’ work. Groups of pupils, including those known to be eligible for free school meals and those of Black African heritage are known to have previously achieved much less well than their peers in school and less well than national averages. Despite this, there is no clear picture of how these groups are performing. Lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils’ workbooks indicate that most pupils currently in Year 6 have made good progress in all subjects including reading

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Achievement of pupils at the school

this year. Latest test results demonstrate that achievement for these pupils is broadly average, with most pupils making satisfactory progress from Key Stage 1. Throughout the school however pupils make erratic progress with significant differences evident between classes and year groups. Children start school with the skills and knowledge appropriate to their age but some make inadequate progress and enter Year 1 at below age-related expectations. There has been a further decline in pupils’ end of Key Stage 1 attainment this academic year and standards in reading at the end of Key Stage 1 are below national average.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The impact of actions taken to increase attainment in reading is mixed. Trained parent volunteers provide opportunities for pupils to receive individual or small group support. In guided reading sessions pupils were observed to read with confidence and to evaluate texts in detail. However, some phonics teaching observed was dull and inaccurate. In lessons throughout the school, including mathematics, art and Religious Education pupils make no more than satisfactory progress as there is often too much focus on completing a planned activity, rather than extending learning.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Progress since the last section 5 inspection:  Raise attainment and accelerate pupils’ progress in English and mathematics – inadequate .

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The quality of teaching

As fully acknowledged by senior leaders, the quality of teaching throughout the school is very inconsistent. The very weakest teaching in school has been robustly addressed by the consultant headteacher.

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The quality of teaching

Lesson planning is in place, but is too varied in quality. The better planning clearly identifies learning intentions and success criteria with activities matched to pupils’ learning needs. At other times activities planned are not accurately matched to learning needs and so do not raise pupils’ aspirations. Often there is little account of how to use teaching assistant support to promote learning and supporting adults spend too much time listening to input from the class teacher. Interventions taking place outside the classroom are highly focused in meeting pupils’ needs and are particularly responsive in supporting their well-being. Whilst many of these sessions are monitored, there is currently insufficient evidence to demonstrate the impact of these interventions over time on pupils’ learning and progress.

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The quality of teaching

Learning intentions are shared with pupils and in most lessons clear links are made to previous learning. However, pupils are unaware of the National Curriculum levels they are working at or specific targets that they are working towards. Despite this, pupils generally display positive attitudes to learning and regularly work well in pairs or small groups.

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The quality of teaching

Throughout the school, teachers provide opportunities for pupils to talk about their learning with a partner or with an adult. Whilst this is good practice, many opportunities for pupils to be active learners or to independently influence their own learning are missed. For example, there is an over-reliance on the use of ‘hands up’ in order for pupils to respond to questions posed by teachers. In this way some pupils remain passive and disengage from the learning. Where teachers possess good subject knowledge they convey enthusiasm for challenging topics such as the language of Shakespeare, observed in Year 6 or interpreting abstract paintings in the Reception class. However, on occasions, teachers have insufficient knowledge of the subject matter and this leads to confusion and lack of progress.

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The quality of teaching

A new approach to marking has been introduced throughout the school. Whilst pupils’ books are marked regularly only a minority of the marking gives clear enough direction to pupils’ as to what they need to do in order to improve their work further.

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The quality of teaching

Progress since the last section 5 inspection:  Improve teaching, so that none is inadequate by the end of the current academic year and that most is at least good – inadequate.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

In conversation with inspectors, pupils were very clear that they feel safe and well looked-after. Whilst they say that incidents of bullying do occur from time to time these are swiftly and fully dealt with. Pupils say that there are plenty of people in school they are confident to approach should they have a concern and in addition there is a ‘worry box’ that is emptied and responded to every day. Inspectors found that the school encourages pupils to take responsibility for their own behaviour and that the recently introduced ‘Good to be green’ behaviour system is consistently applied by all teachers and is universally understood by all pupils. Pupils maturely appreciate being consulted and involved regarding aspects of school improvement including the competition for a new school motto.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Generally enthusiastic about their own learning, pupils relate well to staff and each other in lessons. However, when not given clear enough guidance regarding the learning task or during lengthy teacher input some low-level disruptive behaviour occurs. While most pupils demonstrate good attitudes and behaviour at lunchtime, for a minority of pupils behaviour is poor. Attendance rates have increased on the previous year. When pupils are absent without explanation, this is not immediately followed up unless the pupil is known to experience circumstances which make them potentially vulnerable.

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

The impact of recent and significant changes in leadership can be evidenced through staff changes, the reorganisation of the senior leadership team and the implementation of new initiatives and policies. Vitally, the consultant headteacher has been successful in securing the commitment from staff to engage fully in the ambitious drive for urgent improvement. Roles and responsibilities for the year ahead are not fully finalised, however, greater clarity about the generic roles of the senior leadership team and of teachers have been discussed, shared and recorded. Within a very short period of time the consultant headteacher has drawn up a robust ‘success plan’ which clearly identifies what needs to be done to address the areas for improvement, the timing of required actions and opportunities to evaluate these. Despite this positive start, many of the actions have not been implemented or are still in their infancy, so it is too early to judge their impact. Middle and senior leaders

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

have contributed to improvement planning for subjects and phases (key stages or parts of key stages) but plans lack consistency and are having a limited effect on improvement.

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

The consultant headteacher has observed the quality of teaching throughout the school and has taken immediate rigorous action to address inadequate teaching. Information from observations is being shared with teachers and used to plan training and additional professional development requirements. Whilst there has very recently been a more detailed analysis of information on pupils' progress, inherent inaccuracies render this an unreliable tool. Assessment and use of data at all levels are an agreed urgent priority for improvement.

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

The wider curriculum is sufficient to enable pupils to learn about different subjects with some specialist teaching including Spanish and the superb well-used school garden contributing well. However, the broader curriculum is not fully exploited in the drive to raise attainment and increase progress in English and mathematics skills.

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

Typically, governors are highly skilled professionals who are determined to facilitate school improvement although their work in addressing the school’s weaknesses is recent. The governing body will shortly commence the process of recruiting a substantive headteacher.

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

Progress since the last section 5 inspection:

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The quality of leadership and management of the school

 Revise action plans to ensure that they identify the specific key issues for improvement and implement strategies as a matter of urgency – inadequate.

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External support

The local authority’s statement of action and action plan are fit for purpose. Some support has been well-received, but a recent monitoring visit by the local authority generated a considerable negative response from staff and governors. The local authority accepts that it did not previously hold an entirely accurate view of the school’s leadership or of the school’s performance. These matters have been resolved and an appropriate programme of support is being planned although this is not in place.

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