Hollickwood Primary School

Hollickwood Primary School Sydney Road, London, N10 2NL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Leaders have successfully improved progress in mathematics, with a focus on sharpening pupils’ calculation skills.  Leaders and managers at all levels check the quality of teaching, and provide effective opportunities for training. Consequently, teaching is consistently good.  Regular and accurate checking of pupils’ progress in English and mathematics identifies underachievement quickly.  Children make a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage as a result of the well- planned curriculum, which builds on their interests and assessments of their progress.  Reading is taught well across the school, based on a focus on letters and sounds in the early years. As a result, pupils read fluently and with understanding.  Parents and teachers meet regularly to discuss children’s progress and set targets for improvement.  Pupils feel safe and relationships between staff, pupils and parents are strong, creating a

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

happy and welcoming community. This is seen in pupils’ thoughtful behaviour around the school and in the way pupils work together in lessons.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The use of assessment information to plan learning activities and resources and adapt teaching during lessons is not consistent.  Marking does not always help pupils to improve their work.  There are too few opportunities for pupils to apply their calculation skills in mathematics and for purposeful writing across the curriculum.  Governors do not challenge the school well enough through focusing on the most important areas of the school’s work and the teaching and achievement of different groups of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in all classes, visiting 14 part lessons and teachers in all classes.  Discussions were held with pupils, the headteacher and other leaders and managers, representatives of the governing body and of the local authority.  The team looked at a range of school documents, including the school’s evaluation and school improvement plan, minutes of meetings of the governing body, safeguarding arrangements and work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents and carers expressed at the beginning and end of the school day as well as those of the 53 parents who contributed to the Parent View survey.

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Inspection team

Jennifer Barker, Lead inspector Additional Inspector David Hogg Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The headteacher has been on long-term sick leave since September, and the deputy headteacher is currently acting as headteacher.  There are more pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds than in most schools of this size. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average, but the proportion supported through school action is average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority and for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is above the national average.  No pupils attend alternative off-site provision.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching to raise achievement in English and mathematics further by:  ensuring marking is consistently linked to pupils’ targets and provides guidance on the next steps to improve their work  providing pupils with opportunities to respond to the teacher’s comments and make corrections to their work  developing teachers’ skills in using a wider range of assessment strategies during lessons and enable pupils to share their work and ideas with each other  providing opportunities for pupils, especially the more able, to use and apply their writing and mathematical skills across different subjects.  Improve the impact of the governing body by developing the skills of governors in holding school leaders to account through:  focusing the work of governors on priorities in the school development plan linked to improvements in the quality of teaching and the progress of different groups.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress across the school is good and improving. Children enter the school with skills and experiences that are below the expectations for their age, particularly in their social and communication and language skills. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, although a considerable minority still has skills below those expected for their age when they move into Year 1.  Pupils continue to make good progress between Year 1 and Year 6, particularly in reading and mathematics, and, as a result, most reach the standards expected for their age in Year 6, with a significant minority reaching the higher levels. Pupils’ attainment and progress have improved over the last three years.  The linking of sounds and letters (phonics) is taught systematically in structured groups. The school has recognised that pupils learn at different rates and provides flexibility for movement between the groups, leading to some pupils making rapid progress. By the time they reach Year

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The achievement of pupils is good

2, pupils read confidently, with expression, and gain a good understanding of the text.  While writing skills are improving in English, as seen in pupils’ books and lessons across the school, opportunities for pupils to extend their skills through purposeful writing in other subjects are not as well established.  The learning and progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are good. Teachers deploy support staff well to work with small groups, which ensures that these pupils make good progress.  The school’s highly developed induction and assessment arrangements for newly arrived pupils and those at the early stages of learning English contribute well to the good progress made by these pupils. Specific interventions and support, including the adaptation of tasks linked to pictures, ensure that pupils in the early stages of learning English develop good language skills.  The successful drive to promote pupils’ calculation skills has had an impact on raising

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The achievement of pupils is good

achievement in mathematics. This is linked to systematic assessment and involves pupils finding out what they can and cannot do and to identify their own targets for improvement. However, there are too few opportunities for all pupils to use and apply their skills across the curriculum, and for higher-attaining pupils to solve problems in mathematics in lessons.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to support a range of activities, including breakfast and after-school clubs, music tuition, trips to enrich learning and some one-to-one teaching. As a result of this and the good teaching across the school, the gap is closing for pupils eligible for this support and other pupils, particularly in reading and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is of good quality across the school. Teachers plan and structure lessons effectively, providing a range of activities and opportunities for pupils to discuss their work. Support staff are deployed well when working with groups and are skilful in questioning pupils and moving learning on.  However, teaching is not consistently of the highest quality. There are missed opportunities to use a range of assessment strategies during lessons to pick up misunderstandings and to share and discuss pupils’ work during the lesson. As a result, activities and resources are not always adapted to support those who find learning difficult and ideas are not developed so that the more-able pupils are always challenged.  The best teaching was seen in the provision for younger children. Staff plan activities across all areas of development based on their assessed starting points and interests and make learning

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The quality of teaching is good

fun. For instance, using a book about a bear hunt, children experienced walking through mud, water and a snowstorm, reciting words from the text, meeting the bear in a cave and teamwork in drawing a forest. Such activities, together with high quality discussion with adults, enrich pupils’ language and communication well.  The teaching of pupils who speak English as an additional language is good and based on an accurate assessment of these pupils’ starting points. Volunteer parents also contribute well, including those who speak other languages.  Marking in books is regular and teachers make positive comments on pupils’ work. There are suggestions for improvement, but these are variable and not always linked to pupils’ targets and the next steps for their learning. There are few opportunities for pupils to respond to teachers’ comments and correct their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 This is a welcoming school, set at the heart of the local community. Pupils are friendly and courteous, enjoy coming to school and have good attitudes to learning. They develop good relationships across a range of cultures, with adults as well as with each other.  Parents and carers and staff agree that behaviour is typically good and pupils are safe. Pupils move sensibly around the school. From a young age, pupils learn to share and take turns through the range of activities provided for them, such as playing games. Across the school, pupils collaborate well and have fruitful discussions about their work, which result in their good progress.  Pupils’ attendance has improved rapidly during the last year and is now above average. This is the result of a range of effective strategies, including working more closely with families.  Records show that the school deals well with the rare incidents of deliberate and persistent

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

bullying, with few incidents related to physical behaviour and no exclusions. There is good follow up and the role of other adults is central to improving the behaviour of individuals.  Pupils are clear about different types of bullying, and know how to keep themselves safe, for instance from cyber bullying, and that racist and other name calling is wrong. However, a few pupils have concerns that some unkind remarks are not always taken seriously by teachers. This is being followed up by the school.  Pupils’ views are taken into account and there is an effective school council, which over the years has contributed to the provision of playground equipment. This contributes to the pupils’ good behaviour seen at breaktimes and also to their social and physical development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers work well as a team and have high expectations in raising achievement for all groups of pupils. Teachers’ performance is managed well, with areas of weakness identified and followed up with training and support. As a result, teachers are keen to develop their skills and improve their teaching. Managers who have moved up the salary scale are able to improve performance, including that of newly qualified teachers. Improvements in teaching and its impact on learning, as well as pupils’ progress in mathematics, place the school in a good position to improve further.  Staff and parents are very positive about the work of the school, including the inclusion of pupils who find learning difficult. The local authority evaluates the school regularly, has an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and provides effective support.  Regular tracking of progress in English and mathematics is used well to identify pupils at risk of

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The leadership and management are good

falling behind and to ensure all pupils have equal opportunities. Leaders and managers, including governors, use this information to evaluate the next priorities for the school, including the planned development of purposeful opportunities for writing across the curriculum.  The school engages successfully with parents, who are very positive about all aspects of the school. The use of technology for the assessment of younger pupils, using phones to send pictures and texts, is innovative and ensures parents know how well their children are doing. Parents find the termly meetings with teachers helpful in supporting their children at home.  The curriculum is varied, with a range of activities, such as a spaceship landing, to develop investigations in science. It is enriched for pupils through visits to places of interest, learning to play musical instruments and extra-curricular provision, including the making of bread from

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The leadership and management are good

wheat grown in the garden.  Senior leaders are effective in ensuring there is no discrimination. The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and seen in their positive behaviour and attitudes towards each other. Planned opportunities in lessons for pupils to collaborate and discuss their work ensure pupils develop good social skills, and opportunities to reflect on characters and their feelings in a book, for instance, contribute to their spiritual development. However, these elements are not planned systematically across all areas of the curriculum.  The governance of the school:  Termly updates on the progress of all groups of pupils ensure that governors have an accurate view of the school’s performance, including those who find it harder to learn. However, governors do not challenge the school as effectively as they should. Visits and meetings are not focused well enough on the priorities in the school improvement plan and on the links

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The leadership and management are good

between teaching and achievement across subjects, including the use of pupil premium funding for specific groups of pupils. The governors have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fully in place. Policies and their implementation, as well as training for governors, are in a process of review and development because of recent changes in the governing body.

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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 101285 Local authority Barnet Inspection number 402848

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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 Foundation Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 225 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Barry Rawlings Headteacher Christopher Ryan Date of previous school inspection 12−13 February 2008 Telephone number 020 8883 6880 Fax number 020 8915 9636 Email address office@hollickwood.barnet.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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