Viking Primary School

Viking Primary School Radcliffe Way, London, UB5 6HW

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils, including those who need extra help and those at risk of not doing well, make good progress from their starting points and achieve well.  The school is improving. Since the previous inspection, leaders, managers, staff and governors have worked closely together to secure good teaching and raise pupils’ achievement.  Well-planned approaches to teaching letters and the sounds they make (phonics) have successfully improved the teaching of reading and pupils’ reading skills.  Additional funds are used carefully. Extra sessions and additional activities boost academic results for pupils at risk of not performing well.  Leaders and managers, including governors, carefully check the progress pupils make. They regularly monitor teaching and provide effective additional training and coaching for staff to sustain improvements.  Friendly and caring attitudes help pupils settle quickly when they join the school. Pupils

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

behave well. They attend regularly and have a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe from harm.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although pupils write regularly and in a variety of styles in English lessons, opportunities for writing in other subjects are not as systematically established.  At times, pupils’ progress in developing handwriting skills slows because strategies to develop fluent and neat handwriting are not consistently well planned to enable pupils to build steadily on their skills.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes and undertook some joint observations with senior leaders. They visited 18 lessons.  Groups of pupils, staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority held discussions with inspectors.  Inspectors listened to groups of pupils reading. They looked at work in pupils’ books, and tracking data showing pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school’s web site, development plans and records relating to safeguarding pupils were also seen.  The inspectors took account of five responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s own analysis of a recent survey of parents’ views.

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Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Alastair McMeckan Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Viking Primary School is an average sized primary school.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in two part-time Nursery classes and one Reception class.  More pupils than the national average speak English as an additional language. Few are at an early stage of learning English.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average. Pupils come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.  Fewer pupils than average are supported through school action. The proportion that is supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average. Most of these pupils have moderate learning difficulties or behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding provided by the government for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and other specific

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Information about this school

groups) is above the national average.  More pupils join and leave the school part way through their primary education than the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  The school manages before- and after-school activity clubs. There is no alternative provision at this school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Over the current academic year, ensure pupils make even swifter gains in their writing by enabling them to practise their writing regularly across a range of subjects.  By September 2013, ensure appropriate approaches are in place to enable pupils to systematically develop neat and fluent handwriting skills as they progress through the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All pupils make good gains as they progress through the school. From entering the school with skills below those expected for their age, pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 6 is broadly average and improving. Increasing proportions of pupils are reaching above average standards, particularly in reading and mathematics.  Achievement in writing is good, although in some classes in Key Stages 1 and 2 it is not as consistently good as it could be. Pupils’ work is careful, but their presentation is not always neat.  Children in Nursery and Reception classes work and play well together. They are confident to choose activities for themselves and share resources readily. They enjoy working with staff. For example, during literacy sessions in the Reception class, children working in small groups listened carefully to the adults. They concentrated hard to learn new letter sounds and use them to read and spell words.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the end of the Reception Year, children’s attainment is close to average and improving. Regular sessions on letter sounds in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 help pupils to make good progress in reading and spelling. Opportunities in Years 1 to 6 for pupils to read together with their parents and carers each week in school, visits from authors and interesting books to choose foster enthusiasm for reading.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because they receive extra help. Additional guidance and support are carefully planned to develop their basic literacy and numeracy skills, and help their social and emotional development.  Pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language learn and progress well. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and pupils in Years 1 and 2 practise speaking in small groups led by adults so that they develop their spoken English and

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The achievement of pupils is good

social skills quickly. Older pupils make good progress in developing their skills in English and other subjects through support in lessons from specialist bilingual additional staff.  Pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding are helped to keep up with pupils not known to be eligible for additional funding. They make good progress and attain equally well in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Pupils who join the school part way through their primary education make friends quickly because pupils are welcoming. They also make good progress.  These strengths reflect the school’s success in fostering good relationships and tackling discrimination to ensure equality of opportunity.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Relationships in lessons are warm and supportive. Teachers plan frequent pair work activities that strengthen pupils’ social skills and promote collaboration.  Teachers demonstrate what is expected and model new learning so that pupils understand quickly. Resources, including computers, are used skilfully to make explanations clear. Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to use a variety of resources that promote their skills. For example, in a Year 6 literacy lesson, pupils writing about an imaginary experience watching a bull fight used laptop computers to edit their written work.  Personal targets help pupils to understand what to do to improve their literacy and numeracy work. Together with helpful feedback from teachers when they mark their work, they help pupils to progress quickly to the next level. Older pupils develop their independence through checking for themselves that they have successfully completed tasks.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Skilled and dedicated additional adults contribute well to pupils’ learning in small group sessions outside the classroom, and in lessons. They play a strong part in teaching letters and the sounds they make to support reading.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are set work at the right level. They benefit from regular sessions tailored to promote their literacy and numeracy as well as personal and social skills with well-trained adults and specialist staff.  The school uses additional funding to organise further help with literacy and numeracy development for pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium. Funding is also used to provide break time activities including a range of clubs and counselling to ensure these pupils are as well prepared for the next stage in their education as other pupils at the school.  Lessons usually set a good pace for pupils’ learning and teachers set time limits for activities that

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The quality of teaching is good

motivate pupils to complete tasks swiftly. Just occasionally, teachers talk to the whole group for too long, or the pace of learning slows when pupils who finish quickly are required to wait for the whole class to finish before moving on to the next task.  Pupils write regularly in English lessons in a variety of styles. However, teachers’ expectations of pupils’ writing in other subjects are more variable.  Handwriting skills are not consistently promoted throughout the school. This means that pupils’ presentation of their work is not always as neat as it could be.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ reading. For example, older pupils are challenged to read as many books as they can from a large collection of fantasy novels in preparation for writing their own fantasy tale in the summer term. Weekly problem-solving tasks and learning multiplication tables help pupils achieve well in mathematics.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils from diverse backgrounds get on well together. Their behaviour and attitudes make a good contribution to their own learning in lessons and the friendly atmosphere around the school. Sometimes, pupils need reminders from staff about the behaviour that is expected. They respond quickly when they are given additional guidance.  Pupils are confident that incidents of bullying are rare. They say there is some name-calling occasionally that is dealt with quickly by the staff. Anti-bullying events, visitors from the local emergency services, road and bicycle safety workshops all help pupils to develop a strong awareness of unsafe situations and how to keep themselves safe from harm.  Celebration of the class with the best attendance, prizes for pupils who attend school every day, as well as medals for pupils help to make the importance of attending regularly abundantly clear to the whole school community.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 At the morning and after-school activity clubs, pupils are cheerful and welcoming and enjoy making friends with pupils in other classes. Here, social skills are well promoted because there is a good variety of board games, crafts and sporting activities for pupils to share and join in together.

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The leadership and management are good

 Effective monitoring of teaching and other aspects of the school’s work ensures self-evaluation is accurate. This has helped the leadership team to identify the most appropriate priorities for improvement. They have successfully enhanced the quality of weaker teaching and raised pupils’ academic achievement through well-targeted training, and other effective staff development and coaching activities.  The performance of staff is managed closely and measured against well-selected targets. Leaders ensure any salary increases are justified by improved achievement for pupils.  Careful planning helps pupils develop their reading and mathematics skills particularly well as they progress through the school.  Leaders have developed the teaching of writing so that pupils regularly practise features of good quality writing in English lessons.  However, leaders have not ensured that opportunities for pupils to develop their writing in other

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The leadership and management are good

subjects are as systematically in place. The curriculum for promoting handwriting skills is less consistently planned to help pupils build fluency quickly as they progress through the school.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is successfully promoted. Charity fundraising and taking on responsibility in the school, for example as sporting referees and in the gardening club, help pupils develop caring attitudes. Through celebration of a wide variety of festivals and events, pupils gain valuable insights into cultural diversity in the school and local community.  The school works hard to engage the parents and carers in their children’s learning. Workshops on aspects of mathematics and on how reading is taught help them to support their children’s achievement further.  The local authority provides appropriate support and has been effective in helping the school to secure the good overall effectiveness of its work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body know the school well and have a good understanding of its performance compared with other schools. Governors fulfil their role in managing performance well: they measure the progress that is made against agreed success criteria, and scrutinise the links between performance and salary progression. They use information from monitoring to check that the quality of teaching improves securely and is consistently good. They are knowledgeable about how the school uses additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium. They evaluate the impact of this money against the results these pupils achieve compared with other pupils at the school and nationally. The governing body ensures that statutory duties are met, including those relating to safeguarding pupils. Financial management is robust so that the school’s resources are well managed. Governors benefit

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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 is

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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.

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School details

Unique reference number 101908 Local authority Ealing Inspection number 400514

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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 240 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Amanda Hancock Headteacher Susan Townson Date of previous school inspection 21–22 September 2009 Telephone number 020 8845 3186 Fax number 020 8845 1289 Email address office@viking.ealing.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, please

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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’.

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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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