Eldon Primary School

P R O T E C T – I N S P E C T I O N School report Eldon Infant School Eldon Road, London, N9 8LG

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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.  From very low starting points, all groups of pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Attainment in writing has improved over the last three years and is now broadly average by the end of Year 2.  Teaching assistants and the extra teachers in the classes work closely with pupils in smaller groups helping them to learn more quickly.  Teachers’ marking helps pupils to clearly understand how well they have done and what they need to do next to make further improvements.  The school is bright, colourful and welcoming. It helps to provide a place where all pupils peacefully want to learn.  Pupils enjoy a wide range of activities, such as street dancing, athletics, attending mathematics club and going out on visits in the local area. Pupils have the chance to experience and learn about other cultures and religions.  The school has worked well with parents in helping them to have a clearer idea about how

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

they can help their children to do well in school.  Leadership of the executive headteacher and the associate headteacher is outstanding. They are very determined and passionate to get this to become an outstanding school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Attainment in reading and mathematics is below average and there is not enough outstanding teaching to improve this.  At times, teachers talk for too long at the start of lessons which means pupils spend less time being involved in their work.  Sometimes, teachers miss opportunities to teach pupils to copy their correct spoken English so they can learn how to speak the language more accurately and quickly.  Leaders who are in charge of different subjects are still learning how to do their duties.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 24 lessons and 21 teachers. Four were joint observations with the executive headteacher and associate headteacher. In addition, inspectors made a number of short visits to other lessons and listened to two groups of pupils read.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, staff, and two members of the governing body and with a representative from the local authority.  There were no responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors talked to parents at the beginning of the school day and took account of the school’s recent surveys with parents.  Inspectors analysed 40 questionnaires completed by staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ progress, the federation improvement plan, planning and monitoring information, documents relating to safeguarding and records relating to behaviour

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Inspection team

Sharona Semlali, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Kanwaljit Singh Additional Inspector Howard Dodd Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized infant school. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is a morning and afternoon Nursery and five Reception classes.  A very large majority come from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds. The main ethnic groups are Turkish, Black African and Black Caribbean..  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is high.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have a special educational needs supported through school action is high.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus with a statement of special educational needs is slightly lower than average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium is high. This is additional money given to schools by the government.  The school is part of a hard federation with a local junior school and children’s centre. All of these share the same governing body which was recently established on 27 September 2012. An

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Information about this school

executive headteacher leads the federation. The school has an associate headteacher.  A high proportion of pupils join the school after the usual admission times. Some of those who join are only there for a short time because they are only passing through the area. Some are at the early stages of learning to speak and understand English.  No pupils receive alternative provision, but the school does offer a breakfast club to all its pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment for all pupils to be closer to the national average by: – increasing the proportion of outstanding teaching – ensuring that staff set a good example by speaking in full sentences using the correct English and getting pupils to repeat what they say to develop their confidence in practising how to speak the language properly and quickly – reducing the amount of time that teachers talk at the beginning of lessons so that pupils are more involved in their learning earlier on in the lesson.  Strengthen the roles of those in charge of the different subjects so they are fully involved in ensuring that all pupils are doing well in all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The vast majority of pupils arrive into the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities that are well below those is expected for their age, especially in communication and language. They make good progress in Nursery and Reception relative to their starting points, but are still below average when they move into Year 1. Best progress is made in their personal, social and emotional development where children’s skills in these areas are similar to others in their age group at the start of Year 1.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers know when the children need to play and explore by themselves and they know when the children need their support.  Achievement is good in Key Stage 1. Pupils with English as an additional language make good progress as the school regularly check how well they are learning to speak and understand it. However, there are times when the teachers and other adults miss the chance to speak in full

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The achievement of pupils is good

sentences to pupils using the correct English and then getting them to repeat what they say.  Pupils with special educational needs and pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium make good progress because they receive good-quality support by having extra teachers and skilled teaching assistants. This also allows them to be taught in very small groups if and when needed.  All of the classroom areas and the resources used help pupils to learn quickly. In a Year 2 class, large photographs of their visits to the local fire station were shown on the big interactive whiteboard. This helped to remind and excite pupils into successfully writing about their visit using descriptive words.  Pupils enjoy reading and frequently read both at school and at home. Pupils read words that they have never seen before. They do this by using their knowledge of putting together the different sounds the letters make (phonics) to read the word.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Good progress is made in mathematics, partly because pupils have good opportunities to practise ways of solving problems using their mental mathematical skills. In a Year 2 lesson, pupils practised doing this by quickly counting in twos and fives.  Attainment is broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics for those pupils who have been in the school right from the start of the Reception class. However, attainment in reading and mathematics is below average overall when including the many pupils who join the school at a later time.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good over time and some is outstanding.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, a wide range of activities that are placed in the indoor and outdoor areas excite and stimulate children’s learning. As a result, children show high levels of curiosity and imagination. This was seen when a small group was working with their teacher looking at exotic pieces of fruit. Children were curious about the different smells and textures of these different types of fruits and described the inside of a kiwi as looking like that of a firework.  Work produced in books throughout the school shows good progress over time in all subjects. Marking is very detailed. It is the same in all classes. Pupils know that they are given ‘two stars and a wish’. This means teachers tell them two good things about their work and also one area that they can improve on.. Pupils use this information to know how well they have done and how

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The quality of teaching is good

to make improvements to their work.  Teachers effectively use information from the previous lesson of how well the pupils did to plan the next one. This allows teachers to give the right level of challenge to the different abilities of pupils. Throughout the lesson, teachers stop the lesson at different times to make sure that pupils are still clear that they know what they are learning and to check that they are on the right track. Pupils are given good opportunities to check their own learning.  Pupils are taught to accept other cultures and still encouraged to feel proud of their own. This was seen in a Year 2 mathematics lesson where a group of pupils were enjoying counting in Turkish.  Pupils have good opportunities to discuss and think about their answers and ideas with another person. In a Year 1 lesson, pupils were learning about Martin Luther King as part of Black History Week. In pairs, pupils had good opportunities to talk about whether there was enough peace and

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The quality of teaching is good

fairness in those days when children went to different schools based on their skin colour. However, in some lessons, some teachers talk for too long during the introductions and this means pupils are not fully involved in being active in learning soon enough.  Pupils with special educational needs and those eligible for the pupil premium are taught well. A nurture group helps to develop their social and emotional skills and make good progress in English and mathematics.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is taught well. Pupils have a good exposure to learning about different religions and have visited different places of worship. Pupils and adults celebrate different cultures and languages. All classes have a selection of books that are in more than one language. Displays around the school strongly reflect the different cultures. The school has a strong feeling of mutual respect which is one of the values that it is successfully promoting.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are very keen and eager to learn.  Behaviour is good over time. Pupils are sensible when walking around the school and behave well in lessons. Behaviour is generally good at playtimes and there are a good number of adults around if pupils need them. They show plenty for respect to each other and to all adults. Pupils from different cultural backgrounds play and get on well together.  Pupils are given good opportunities to be in charge of doing different things in the school. These responsibilities are very important to them. The Eco Warriors are in charge of making sure that the lights are turned off and other jobs include keeping the school tidy by picking up litter, making sure the lunch boxes go back to the correct classes, and playground buddies look after others in the playground.  Pupils say they feel safe. A good example being children in the Early Years Foundation Stage playing happily, using all of the indoor and outdoor areas. This has helped them to settle very

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

quickly when they arrive in the Nursery.  Pupils are clear about what is meant by bullying. Pupils say that it does occur on a few occasions, but feel that if it does happen then the school sorts it out properly. When it does happen, it is in the form of name calling.  Attendance is average and is improving. Pupils say they enjoy coming to school.  The school provides a free healthy breakfast club, which is thoroughly enjoyed by many pupils who behave well and get on with each other very well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The outstanding leadership of the executive headteacher and the associate headteacher provides inspiration to the school. However, the overall leadership and management are not outstanding because some of the leaders who are responsible for their subjects are fairly new to their roles and are not yet fully involved and effective in helping the school move forward.  Leaders have an extremely clear view of how successful the school can be. The school’s new logo of Together in Learning, which is surrounded by eleven stars, is very visual around the school. Each star has its own value written on it and pupils are quickly taking on these values, such as ‘respecting’ and ‘tolerating’ others.  Senior leaders fully know the strengths and weaknesses of the school and have used this information to make improvements. The impressive federation improvement plan clearly explains what the school is doing. Improvements in teaching have been one of the main areas on the plan

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The leadership and management are good

that the school has done well in. Teachers have visited and observed outstanding teaching in other schools. They have watched each other teach and senior leaders have supported and shown them how to make their teaching better. Senior leaders regularly make checks on the quality of teaching. Teachers are given their own challenging targets, related to ensuring that pupils do well, and are appropriately linked to pay arrangements.  The curriculum is good and it creatively changes to meet the different needs and interests of the pupils. It effectively helps to give pupils a wide range of new opportunities and experiences. Over 40 different after-school and lunch-time clubs are offered to the pupils. Pupils enjoy having visitors coming into school, but also have the chance to go out on visits. A couple of examples were where a visitor brought in different types of animals and the pupils had a chance to see and

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The leadership and management are good

hold them. Another was where children went out on a visit to their local fire station and had a chance to try on the fire fighters’ outfits and learn to use the equipment. The curriculum helps to develop writing and mathematical skills using real life situations that are meaningful to pupils.  The school has been given a Leading Parent Partnership Award because of its close communication and work with parents. Parents who spoke to inspectors said that they feel happy and valued. A typical comment by parents was, ‘The school’s support is invaluable.’ The school has classes where parents are taught how to speak and understand English too. The school has actively contributed in helping the parents to work together from the different communities by forming a Parent Teachers Association. This group has worked extremely well together in organising themselves to raise money in challenging circumstances. Parents now run their own

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The leadership and management are good

Teapot, which offers beverages to parents and gives free toast to those who do not go to the breakfast club. This has helped to foster good relationships between the different communities.  The school effectively ensures that no one is discriminated against and promotes equality of opportunity by: – providing a free breakfast to children every morning which is donated to the school by a local business company – having a couple of parents that are employed by the school to help to liaise even more closely with parents – employing school staff who reflect and come from the school’s community – having interpreters who help to strengthen the communication links.  Funding for pupil premium is spent effectively to support all pupils, particularly those who find themselves in difficult circumstances. This has been achieved by employing more teachers to help to improve pupils’ language skills, more teachers are in the classrooms to work with children in

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The leadership and management are good

smaller groups and extra adults are employed to run extra clubs for the pupils. The senior leaders and governors keep a close check to see if all of this helps pupils to do well, and to make modifications where necessary.  All safeguarding procedures fully meet the statutory requirements which make sure that all pupils are safely protected in school.  The local authority has given the school good support, such as providing training for teachers to help them to improve their teaching when they needed it. It now provides light touch support to the school.  The governance of the school: – There is now one governing body that oversees all of the schools in the federation which was recently established, but the members have good understanding about the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Governors have a clear view of how successful they want the school to be. Governors regularly check how well the school is doing, including teaching, by coming in

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The leadership and management are good

to see what is happening and by asking various questions about the information they receive. They have recently set up a Governor of the Month. This is where a governor comes into school during month to find out how well it is doing and then will report back to the full governing body. Governors have a good understanding of the information that is used to track how well pupils are doing and are not afraid to ask difficult questions. Leaders produce reports that help to let them know what is happening in school. They are fully involved in deciding how the funding for the pupil premium is spent. They have received training on how to keep children safe and on how to do their role efficiently. They are fully involved in the performance of the headteachers and teachers, are instrumental in making decisions about salary progression based on successful performance and maintain a good overview of the budget.

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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 101988 Local authority Enfield Inspection number 404796

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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 Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 3–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 535 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Judy Ellerby Headteacher Julie Messer Date of previous school inspection 24–25 November 2012 Telephone number O208 807 5230 Fax number 0208 887 0338 Email address executivehead@eldon-jun.enfield.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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