West Hampstead Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 10–11 July 2012 Inspection number 376335 Beckford Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 100009 Local authority Camden Inspection number 376335 Inspection dates 10–11 July 2012 Lead inspector Lesley Leak

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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 455 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mary White Headteacher Samantha Smith Date of previous school inspection 31 October – 1 November 2007 School address Dornfell Street London NW6 Telephone number 020 7435 8646 Fax number 020 7435 8739 Email address admin@beckford.camden.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 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 observed 32 lessons or part lessons taught by 17 teachers. Inspectors held meetings with the Chair of the Governing Body, staff and groups of pupils. Inspectors also attended school assemblies and observed break and lunchtimes. They took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at the school development plan, assessment and tracking information, safeguarding policies and samples of pupils’ work. The inspection team analysed 133 questionnaires completed by parents and carers as well as those returned by 100 pupils in Key Stage 2.

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Information about the school

Beckford Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school with Early Years Foundation Stage provision for children in two Reception classes and one full-time Nursery class. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average. The school has a specially resourced provision for six physically disabled pupils. These children are fully integrated into the school. Pupils are from a wide variety of minority ethnic backgrounds with no dominant group. A large majority speak English as an additional language, although relatively few are at the early stages of learning English. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average. More pupils join and leave school part-way through their primary education than is usually the case. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. The school

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Information about the school

manages a breakfast club. The after-school play centre, which shares the school site, was not part of this inspection because it is not managed by the governing body. 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

 This is a good school where pupils achieve well because of good teaching. It is not yet outstanding because there is some remaining variability in teaching and, consequently, in the rates of pupils’ learning and progress.  Achievement is good. From generally below average starting points, all groups of pupils, including disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those at an early stage of learning English, make good progress in English and mathematics. Attainment at the end of Year 6 is broadly average and improving. High quality support tailored to specific needs ensures that children and pupils in the specially resourced provision make good gains in their learning. Higher attaining pupils do well throughout the school.  Teaching is good. Mostly, teachers plan activities which closely match pupils’ needs and abilities with well-structured tasks, enabling pupils to make good progress. However the role of additional adults in supporting pupils’ progress is

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Key findings

not always consistently well planned. Sometimes, opportunities for pupils to develop skills in working independently are more limited.  Pupils have good attitudes to learning and collaborate well together in class. Their behaviour is good around the school and they respond quickly to reminders from staff about the behaviour that is expected. They know how to keep themselves from harm, for example when crossing the road. Attendance is above average.  Leaders, managers and members of the governing body have worked with determination to secure improvements to pupils’ academic outcomes. They manage performance successfully through a process of regular monitoring of provision and well-selected training for staff. The management of teaching is also good. Improvements to the curriculum boost pupils’ performance in English and mathematics. Pupils have regular opportunities to develop their literacy skills across a range of subjects but this is not always the case with their

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Key findings

numeracy skills. 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 of teaching from good to outstanding by:  increasing opportunities for pupils to develop their skills as independent learners  ensuring additional adults are deployed to their best effect to support children’s learning.  Increase pupils’ opportunities to develop their mathematics skills further across a range of curriculum subjects.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make good progress from their starting points and, in some classes they make particularly rapid progress. Nevertheless, inconsistencies remain. All groups of pupils, including those speaking English as an additional language and those from minority ethnic backgrounds, achieve well. By the end of Year 6, attainment, including in reading, is broadly average, and improving.

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Achievement of pupils

Children begin in the Early Years Foundation Stage with generally below age-related levels of skills and capabilities and make good progress so that the gaps are closed by the time they enter Year 1. Staff work effectively to ensure that children in Nursery and Reception classes settle quickly and make particularly good progress in their understanding of letters and the sounds they make (phonics), their numeracy skills and the development of social skills. For example, children in Reception were observed playing hopscotch together in an outside area. They particularly enjoyed using chalks to create the course on the playground. They worked enthusiastically to make the biggest course possible using numbers up to 40.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment in reading by the end of Year 2 is broadly average and rising. The school teaches phonics well and this is confirmed by the recent outcomes for the phonics screening of Year 1 pupils. By Year 6 pupils are emerging as confident readers and writers and for example, demonstrate good comprehension, inference and deduction skills when tackling challenging class texts. Progress in mathematics is improving as a result of the school’s thorough pupil tracking and monitoring systems. Pupils needing support in mathematics are identified and given the correct interventions to accelerate their progress. For example in a Year 2 mathematics lesson, pupils learnt accurate drawing skills through successfully defining their own success criteria. Peer- assessment challenged higher attaining pupils to develop accurate measuring skills.

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Achievement of pupils

Individual support and small-group work for disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and pupils in the early stages of learning English are carefully targeted and skilfully led. These different groups of pupils make good progress and achieve equally well. Higher attaining pupils also make good progress with increasing 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

numbers of pupils reaching above average levels.

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Achievement of pupils

Children and pupils with the specially resourced provision thrive because they receive individualised support and guidance carefully tailored to their requirements helping them to be fully included in lessons. In the survey most parents and carers are rightly confident that children make good progress and are effectively helped to develop skills in communication, reading, writing and mathematics.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good, a view endorsed in the questionnaires by parents, carers and pupils. Teachers have high expectations of what children can achieve and learning activities are well matched to children’s needs. Staff monitor all pupils’ progress rigorously, and the school provides additional support for those identified as making slower than expected progress. Teachers are particularly successful at using sharply focused questioning to support individual children’s progress. Imaginative ideas are explored within well-chosen topics. For example, children in Reception measured an inflatable dinosaur and wrote sentences about the number of dinosaurs they saw on a recent visit to the Natural History Museum. Adults successfully encourage cooperation, fairness and respect to effectively promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Time is given for the pupils to develop

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Quality of teaching

creative ideas, particularly in music, art and creative design.

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Quality of teaching

There were many occasions when teachers helped pupils to develop their thinking, including in their understanding of letters and sounds. Pupils make good progress in phonics as a result of strong phonics teaching. Guided reading sessions are used well to explore pupils’ understanding of text. Children are benefiting from a daily focus on mental mathematics. Pupils are motivated to succeed in mathematics, for example pupils in Year 3 were highly engaged and confident about using a range of mathematical strategies to calculate the perimeter of an imaginary swimming pool. However, there are missed opportunities to develop pupils’ mathematics skills further across a range of curriculum subjects. In the best lessons, pupils are developing resilience and confidence as independent learners but this is not yet embedded across the school. While teaching is usually carefully planned to meet the needs of individual pupils, additional adults are not always deployed well enough to have the

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Quality of teaching

most impact on pupils’ learning. Nevertheless, teaching is good overall for pupils from the unit and for those who are disabled or have special educational needs.

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Quality of teaching

Marking is generally purposeful, acknowledging achievement and setting goals for improvement. There are some good examples of pupils assessing their own work, identifying strengths, deciding what they could do better and taking steps to make the necessary changes.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils have good attitudes to learning and collaborate well together in class. Their behaviour is generally good in lessons and around the school and they respond 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

quickly to any reminders from staff about the behaviour that is expected. Almost all of the parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire said that there is a good standard of behaviour at the school. The school’s records and discussions with pupils indicate that behaviour over time has been mostly good. On the very few occasions when pupils do not behave as they should, they are managed well by adults. Pupils recognise that bullying can take different forms; they say that incidents of bullying are dealt with swiftly by the school. In the few instances where exclusions have been necessary great care has been taken to employ a multi-agency approach in support of any vulnerable children who are at risk of exclusion.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school is a harmonious community. There is a culture of celebrating achievement and rewarding effort, for example through weekly Good Work assemblies. Pupils’ and parents’ and carers’ questionnaires indicate that the school provides a safe and secure environment, a view confirmed by the inspectors’ own observations. Attendance is above average.

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Leadership and management

Senior and middle leaders together with members of the governing body have worked successfully to secure improvements to pupils’ academic outcomes by enhancing the quality of provision. The headteacher and her senior team communicate high expectations and considerable ambition to improve teaching and pupils’ achievement. Good teaching has been sustained since the previous inspection. The school provides a well-planned and imaginative curriculum, which places great emphasis on teaching the key skills of numeracy and literacy in a systematic and engaging way. As a result of improvements to the curriculum, pupils’ outcomes in English and mathematics are boosted and attainment is rising. Literacy across the curriculum is helping to accelerate progress in English but there are not enough opportunities to promote numeracy in other subjects.

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Leadership and management

Pupils benefit from a rich programme of activities, for example clubs, residential trips and visits. The contribution of music to the extra-curricular provision is a particular strength. Every child is given the opportunity to play a musical instrument. These examples are part of the school’s highly effective and engaging provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There are planned opportunities for pupils to reflect on the issues raised by living in a multicultural, multi-faith community. The curriculum supports all groups of pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development well. The school is especially responsive in providing good additional personal support for children whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. The environment benefits from good displays of pupils’ work and an attractive new outdoor space for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Leadership and management

The senior leadership team has a very good understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the school. There has been a successful programme for the professional development of staff in areas such as the use of assessment. Links with local schools are exploited well to promote an understanding among staff about what constitutes good and better teaching. Teachers are given opportunities to observe 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

each other teach and they are encouraged to coach each other as they reflect on their own practice. Middle leaders are increasingly raising expectations and ensuring greater consistency, for example in marking. Pupils feel safe and know that they all have an equal opportunity to do well and any form of discrimination will be tackled rigorously. Governors actively ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and that both pupils’ and adults’ awareness of safeguarding issues is regularly updated.

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Leadership and management

The leadership’s track record of success since the previous inspection, for example in accelerating progress and improving attendance and its determination to maintain pupils’ academic success and personal development, clearly demonstrates its strong capacity to improve further.

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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 Beckford Primary School, London NW6 1QL

Thank you for being so welcoming and friendly to us when we visited your school and for your responses to the questionnaire. We enjoyed meeting you and seeing you in lessons and around the school. Beckford Primary School provides you with a good education, and I am writing to tell you what we found.

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Inspection of Beckford Primary School, London NW6 1QL

 All of you, from the Nursery up to Year 6, make good progress in your work, especially in English and increasingly so in mathematics.  Your teachers support you to do well and provide activities which are well suited to your individual needs.  You have positive attitudes to learning and work well together in small groups. We agree with you when you tell us you feel safe in school and are well cared for. You know how to keep yourselves from harm, for example when crossing the road.  Your headteacher, the governors, other leaders and your teachers have worked very hard to make sure that you all achieve well, and especially in English and mathematics.

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Inspection of Beckford Primary School, London NW6 1QL

In order to make your good school even better, we have asked the school to:

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Inspection of Beckford Primary School, London NW6 1QL

 ensure that there are further opportunities to develop your mathematical skills across a range of curriculum subjects  develop your skills as independent learners  ensure that additional adults consistently support your learning very well.

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Inspection of Beckford Primary School, London NW6 1QL

We much enjoyed looking at your work on display, particularly the art, craft and design and technology, and hearing your lovely singing.

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Inspection of Beckford Primary School, London NW6 1QL

Thank you again for all your help and best wishes for the future.

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Inspection of Beckford Primary School, London NW6 1QL

Yours sincerely Lesley Leak 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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