Benhurst Primary School

Benhurst Primary School Benhurst Avenue, Elm Park, Hornchurch, RM12 4QS

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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

 Some teaching is good, but not consistently so and especially in Key Stages 1 and 2.  Teaching does not always support pupils to help them understand what they are learning and how they can show progress.  Progress from Year 1 to Year 6, while in line with national rates, is not rapid enough.  Progress and attainment across the school in English are not as strong as in mathematics and there are differences between how well boys and girls do.  Leaders at all levels are not yet securing enough improvement in teaching to make it good or better.  Actions taken by senior leaders are not yet bringing about more rapid progress for pupils.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 Leadership is shared effectively and leaders want pupils to do well.  Leaders know the school well and use accurate assessments of pupils’ learning to plan improvement.  Leaders at all levels work well together to plan school improvement. Staff and members of the governing body cooperate effectively on school self-evaluation.  Where teaching is better the use of other adults is good because they question pupils well and help them progress in their learning.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and settle well into Benhurst Primary School.  Staff feel proud to be members of the school community.  Relationships throughout the school are good and the school has a positive, friendly ethos. Pupils behave well and are clear about what is expected of them in terms of behaviour.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 24 lessons, of which three were joint observations with senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work and listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 6 reading.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative from the local authority and school staff, including senior and middle leaders.  Safeguarding paperwork was looked at, as well as incident logs, information on pupils’ progress, minutes of meetings held by the governing body, and the school’s self-evaluation.  Inspectors took account of the views of 43 parents through the Parent View website and written communication during the inspection. The views of staff were looked at through the voluntary staff questionnaire.

p.2

Inspection team

Peter Lacey-Hastings, Lead Inspector Additional Inspector Helen Powell Additional Inspector Victor Chaffey Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Benhurst is larger than the average-sized primary school, serving the local community and pupils from outside its immediate area.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is increasing and is now average.  The large majority of pupils come from White British backgrounds and the proportion of those from minority ethnic backgrounds is increasing.  The proportions of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and are supported through school action and school action plus is average.  An average proportion of pupils is known to be eligible for the additional government funding for pupils entitled to free school meals, for children in public care and for pupils with a parent in the armed forces.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching at Key Stages 1 and 2 so that more is consistently good or outstanding by:  ensuring pupils are clear about what they need to do in lessons and checking to see how successful they have been in their learning  using marking more effectively to help pupils know more about how they can improve their work  increase pupils’ ability to work and learn independently  ensuring reading books are more challenging so that pupils make more rapid progress.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leadership and governance at all levels, by:  building on existing school self-evaluation and accurate assessment of pupils’ achievement in order to bring about more rapid progress for pupils  using performance targets and training opportunities for staff to address teaching that requires improvement and ensuring that more teaching is consistently good  ensuring that monitoring of the quality of teaching is accurate, rigorous and robust, focusing on pupils’ progress  modelling and sharing good teaching so that more lessons are good or better.

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children enter the Reception classes with skills generally below those expected for their age. Good teaching means that by time they finish the Early Years Foundation Stage, their attainment is broadly in line with national levels, demonstrating that progress is good. Children in the Reception classes achieve well in their personal, social and emotional development; in this area, they make the most rapid progress from their starting points. Girls generally do better than boys across all areas of learning, particularly in their communication, language and literacy skills. Children make clear improvement in their physical development.  Achievement at Key Stages 1 and 2 requires improvement because pupils, while making the expected progress from their starting points, could do better. They start both of these key stages with average attainment compared to other pupils nationally and then end each key

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

stage with average attainment.  At Key Stage 1, there has been a steady improvement in attainment. Key Stage 1 pupils generally make better progress in reading than in other subjects. Pupils from minority ethnic groups make better progress than other groups overall. White British boys make better progress in mathematics.  Girls’ achievement at Key Stage 1 is better than that of boys in reading and writing, while boys’ achievement is better than that of girls in mathematics. There has been an increase in the number of pupils of both genders attaining the higher Level 3 in reading.  Achievement at Key Stage 2 is beginning to improve, especially for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. By the end of Year 6, non-White British boys are making better progress in writing and mathematics compared to other pupils.  Previous good achievement in Years 1 to 6 has not been consolidated over time. Attainment in

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

mathematics has shown a slight decline and more so for English, especially for more able pupils. More recent improvements have yet to be kept up over time for all groups and across all years in Key Stages 1 and 2.  Pupils make expected progress in reading. They enjoy reading, showing confidence and enthusiasm. Younger readers are able to link letters to sounds they make, and make reasonable attempts at unknown words. However, the difficulty of the books that they are reading does not always challenge pupils enough and they spend too much time on a particular level of reading.  Girls’ reading is good at Key Stage 1 and above national expectations. Pupils at Key Stage 1 are able to use a variety of reading strategies, such as using picture clues and remembering words they have read before.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching, while good in the Reception classes is too variable across the rest of the school and means that pupils do not build on what they have learnt as they move through each year group. Pupils are not well enough prepared to work on their own or to build their independence.  In Key Stage 1, just over half of the lessons observed were good. Nevertheless, in the remaining lessons, work is not always matched closely enough to pupils’ abilities, marking does not always give pupils a clear idea of what they need to do to improve their work and verbal feedback does not check on what is being learnt.  Similarly, Key Stage 2 teaching also requires improvement. Again, just over half of the lessons observed were also good but work in mixed-age classes is not consistently matched well enough to the range of different abilities.  Good subject knowledge by teachers at Key Stage 2 is not used in order to refine work for

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

different abilities and age groups. Expectations of these different groups are too similar, which means the outcomes the teachers aim for are general rather than matched to the needs of different groups. As a result, more able pupils are not always challenged enough and learning needs are not met well enough.  Teaching in the Reception classes is good and children receive a positive start to their schooling. Expectations are high and children settle well because routines are being well established. As a result, children enjoy learning and involve themselves in well-planned activities that support all areas of learning.  Teachers rightly plan opportunities so pupils can make better progress in their personal, social and emotional development, for example when eating their snacks on their own and playing in the ‘medical centre’. This is also true for skills in communication, language and literacy, with

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

good opportunities for mark-making and more developed activities such as name writing.  Children know what to do and are meaningfully involved in independent activities. This allows the teachers and other adults to work with smaller groups so they can focus on key skills such as reading. Opportunities are used well to make assessments of what children are doing and what progress they are making.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour and safety of pupils help to build up a strong communal feeling. Pupils contribute to, and benefit from, a positive ethos. Staff expect the highest levels of behaviour around the school and in lessons. Safety issues are well addressed and explained, such as in a physical education lesson.  A very large majority of parents feel their children are safe at Benhurst Primary and pupils say they are kept safe in all ways. They are aware of the need and the reasons for safety measures, such as fences and gate security. Pupils have a good awareness of different forms of bullying.  Pupils say that when rare problems occur, they are solved quickly. This is true in the playground and in lessons. Disruption of any kind is very uncommon, including during lessons.  Around the school, pupils are typically courteous, polite and welcoming. They respond well to guidance and direction from all adults, for example lining up quickly and quietly at the end of

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

playtime. Behaviour is well managed.  Attendance is average but improving, and pupils like coming to school.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership, while being shared effectively, does not ensure that the monitoring of the quality of teaching takes enough account of how much progress pupils are making. The link between performance and pay progression is not always strong enough. The use of performance targets for staff and training opportunities does not lead to teaching that is consistently good or better. Best teaching is not shared and modelled effectively enough and too much teaching requires improvement.  Leaders know the school well and provide accurate self-evaluation of how well it is doing. They use information on pupils’ progress to plan actions for improvement. These actions are beginning to have an impact on learning but this is not yet happening for a long enough period of time.  Leaders, including members of the governing body, are ambitious and committed to making the school better. The school has the ability to make the necessary improvements.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Support from the local authority has been reduced over time but did not increase again when rates of pupil progress fell.  The curriculum is broad and balanced, giving pupils opportunities to learn important skills. For example, the ‘Newspaper Club’ helps pupils’ reading and writing. Pupils also learn to play musical instruments and there are clubs for sports such as netball, tennis and football.  The curriculum also supports the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There is a school council, a range of ‘jobs’ to promote responsibility and a ‘Green Club’, which all prepare pupils well to become active members of their school community. Cultural opportunities include a ‘language of the month’ and other languages such as Italian.  Assemblies also help to develop spiritual, moral and social development by encouraging pupils to think about deeper issues such as living in harmony. They play an active part by volunteering for

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

role-play activities and answering difficult questions.  The governance of the school:  members of the governing body know the school well and work closely with staff and senior leaders, such as attending an annual training day with staff to help make plans for school improvement  self-evaluation and monitoring of the school’s performance are understood and shared by members of the governing body, although they failed to react quickly enough when standards fell  members of the governing body provide challenge on key issues such as pupil progress and use this to set performance targets for the headteacher  governors have approved the use of extra funding to provide support programmes for pupils, maintain smaller class sizes at Key Stage 1 and to put an extra teacher to support Key Stage 2 pupils in small groups; as a result, pupils who benefit from this funding make similar progress to other pupils

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 is

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

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 102273 Local authority Havering Inspection number 402883

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 311 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Fred Steel Headteacher Ian Trafford Date of previous school inspection 12 June 2008 Telephone number 01708 450807 Fax number 01708 620182 Email address office@benhurst.havering.sch.uk Inspection report: Benhurst Primary School , 11–12 October 2012 9 of 9

p.8

School details

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.9

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, please

p.9

School details

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 Inspection report: Benhurst Primary School , 11–12 October 2012 10 of 10

p.9