Avondale Park Primary School

Avondale Park Primary School Sirdar Road, London, W11 4EE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils learn well and make fast progress, particularly in Years 3 to 6, from starting points which are in many cases well below those typically found.  By the time pupils leave the school their attainment in English and mathematics is in line with the national average.  All groups do well, including pupils who speak English as an additional language, because their needs are identified quickly and they are provided with effective support.  Teaching and learning are good overall, and some teaching is outstanding, especially where expectations are very high and tasks are particularly stimulating.  The school makes a very strong contribution towards promoting the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils from an unusually wide range of backgrounds get on extremely well together, because the school is highly inclusive.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. The school

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

keeps them safe and gives them the skills to enable them to understand how to keep themselves safe.  Attendance has improved and now is in line with the national average.  Parents and carers report that communications are good between home and school.  Leaders and managers, working closely with the governing body and the local authority, are ambitious, and have brought about improvements in pupils’ attainment and in the quality of teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 The learning and progress of pupils in Years 1 and 2, although good overall, are more variable than in Years 3 to 6, and attainment has not risen as sharply for these younger pupils in recent years as it has for the older pupils.  Pupils’ writing skills lag slightly behind their skills in reading, because they do not always have enough opportunity to write at length in a range of topics.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 30 lessons and part lessons, most observed jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, senior managers and local authority representives.  Five responses were recorded on the online Parent View survey. The inspectors took these into account, and held discussions with parents and carers.  Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at its self-evaluation documents, the data collected on pupils’ attainment and progress, safeguarding information, records relating to behaviour and safety, and minutes of meetings of the governing body.

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Inspection team

Natalia Power, Lead inspector Additional inspector Jim Eshelby Additional inspector Debbie Thomas Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Avondale Park is larger than the average primary school.  Over two thirds of pupils are known to be eligible for support through Pupil Premium funding, and this proportion is higher than usual.  Most pupils come from a wide range of minority ethnic heritages, and around two out of three speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs is higher than usual. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs that are supported by school action is a little below average.  More pupils leave or join the school part-way through their school career than is usual.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In order to ensure that all pupils make consistently rapid progress throughout their time at school, ensure that teaching for all pupils, particularly those in Years 1 and 2:  is consistently brisk in every lesson, so that pupils are more fully engaged in their own learning  offers more tasks that are interesting and stimulating, so that pupils do not spend too long on mundane activities, such as worksheets  has high expectations of what pupils are capable of, to ensure they are stimulated to learn quickly and accurately.  Raise pupils’ attainment in writing by ensuring that all pupils have as many opportunities as possible to practise their writing skills in a range of subjects and topics, not just in English lessons.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the tests in English and mathematics taken at the end of Year 6, pupils do as well as pupils nationally. Information provided by the school shows that this pattern is continuing in 2012.  Taking their school career as a whole, pupils make more than expected progress from their starting points.  Children enter the Nursery and Reception classes with language and number skills that vary, but which are often well below the levels typical of children of their age. Through good teaching, based on early identification of their language and learning needs, the children make fast progress in these years.  Progress in Years 1 and 2 has good features but is less rapid, and this reflects the sometimes slower pace of learning in these years. From Year 3 on, however, pupils characteristically make considerably more than nationally expected progress, and this reflects generally stronger and more ambitious teaching in Years 3 to 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Inspection evidence obtained from lesson observations, looking at pupils’ work, and talking to parents and carers and pupils, confirms that progress overall is strong, particularly where the teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are high.  Groups of pupils, including those eligible for the Pupil Premium, and those who join the school part-way through their school career, make more than expected progress in their learning because the school is highly inclusive and provides well for their needs.  Pupils from the wide range of ethnic minorities, most of whom speak English as an additional language, make similar progress to others, because their needs are identified early and effective support put in place. This is also the case with disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are given effective and flexible support to meet their needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching observed by inspectors was rarely less than good, and sometimes outstanding. In the best lessons, pupils were excited and engaged by the high level of challenge, and made particularly fast progress. In one fast-paced Year 6 English lesson, for example, pupils used ambitious language in their writing, because the teacher encouraged them to aim high.  In the Nursery, the adults used a fairy story particularly effectively as a starting point to encourage the children to develop their imagination and to practise language skills. The story was also used to introduce the children to a variety of skills such as puppet making.  A particularly strong feature of the best teaching is the close match of tasks to pupils’ abilities. In one successful Year 3 mathematics lesson, for example, groups of pupils learned to tackle subtraction using different techniques, and took charge of their own learning by choosing the method best suited to their capabilities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In other lessons seen by inspectors, particularly in Years 1 and 2, the pace of learning was less swift, and less was expected of pupils. In these lessons pupils were sometimes allowed to take too long over simple tasks and made less progress than they could.  Teachers and teaching assistants provide effective support for pupils with a range of special educational needs, ensuring that they have full access to the curriculum and can work at a pace that enables them to make progress in line with others.  A scrutiny of pupils’ work from the first weeks of term, and a sampling of work from last year, show that the quality of marking is good and that pupils are given valuable guidance on how to improve.  The school provides excellent opportunities to promote the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and to give them a sense of wonder and awe. One assembly, for example, led confidently by Year 5 pupils, held the audience of pupils, parents and carers

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The quality of teaching is good

and teachers spellbound, and provided opportunities for pupils to continue the theme through video film and story writing.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Behaviour seen in lessons and around the school is exemplary. It demonstrates that the school’s strong commitment to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extremely effective in enabling pupils from a wide variety of backgrounds and heritages to get on exceptionally well with one another.  Pupils speak with pride of their school, and parents and carers that spoke with inspectors described the school as ‘a community’ and emphasised how happy their children were in the school.  Pupils told inspectors that the excellent behaviour seen during the inspection was typical. They reported that they feel safe in school and that there is hardly any name-calling or bullying, and that any minor incidents are dealt with quickly and very effectively by the school.  Pupils have a particularly strong understanding of how to keep themselves safe when using the internet, and are able to explain e-safety clearly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils play considerately in the well-resourced playgrounds, taking turns on the playground equipment and being careful not to hurt others when playing ball games. The playgrounds are well supervised by adults.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exceptionally good, and even in lessons where the pace of learning is a little slow they remain attentive and ready to learn.  The school has made determined efforts to improve pupils’ attendance, for example, by not allowing holidays during term-time. As a result, attendance has risen over three years from very low levels to a point this year where it is in line with the national average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The ambitious leadership team, in partnership with the committed governing body and effective local authority support, has made a strong impact on improving the school, so that it is now good after being judged satisfactory in the previous inspection.  The school has responded well to the recommendations of the previous inspection, so that, for example, teachers plan well for the needs of pupils with different capabilities in their classes.  The local authority has made a valuable contribution to school improvement by offering support to school leaders in their evaluation of teaching performance.  The strong commitment to equality of opportunity by school leaders ensures that no group is overlooked and that all make similar progress in their learning.  Leaders and managers ensure that the school is a safe environment and that pupils are kept protected.  School leaders have a welcoming open-door policy, and parents and carers report that they

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The leadership and management are good

are highly responsive in meeting any concerns that they might have.  Leaders and managers have improved the quality of teaching through a rigorous programme of performance management, including classroom visits and work scrutiny, which ensure that pupils overall are learning well and making above expected progress. Teachers told inspectors that their leaders and managers encourage them to improve and give valuable pointers as to how this could be done.  All leaders and managers are clear-eyed about their school’s strengths and areas for development. They recognise that pupils do less well by the end of Year 2 than they might. Their plans to tackle this are realistic and achievable. Even though the plans are still at a relatively early stage, they are beginning to make an impact on the achievement of these pupils.  The curriculum has a strong focus on the key skills of literacy and numeracy, ensuring that

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The leadership and management are good

all pupils, including those with a wide range of additional needs, make more than expected progress. However, opportunities are sometimes missed to encourage pupils to practise their writing skills by writing at length in subjects other than English. Pupils sometimes spend too much of the lesson completing worksheets on historical or geographical topics, instead of writing their own thoughts and ideas.  The school is committed to giving pupils the best range of experiences outside the classroom they can. The school’s wildlife and vegetable gardens, for example, encourage them to understand how things grow, and this contributes strongly to their sense of wonder and curiosity.  Pupils report that they enjoy the wide range of clubs, trips and visits which are designed to raise their horizons and encourage them to aim as high as they can.  The governance of the school:  plays an active and important part in the life of the school

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The leadership and management are good

 is well informed by leaders and managers about how the pupils are doing  goes to great lengths to find things out  asks searching questions of leaders and managers, and has been instrumental, for example, in bringing about recent improvements in the achievement of pupils in Key Stage 1.

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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

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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.

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School details

Unique reference number 100487 Local authority Kensington and Chelsea Inspection number 400417

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School details

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

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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 391 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Charles Manners Headteacher Katy Blackler Date of previous school inspection 4 March 2010 Telephone number 020 7727 7727 Fax number 020 7227 2993 Email address info@avondalepark.rbkc.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 .

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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.

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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

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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,

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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’.

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School details

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

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