Parkhill Junior School

Parkhill Junior School 735 Lord Avenue, Ilford, Essex IG5 0DB

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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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This is a good school

 Most pupils make good progress throughout the school.  Standards have risen every year since the previous inspection.  Some pupils do exceptionally well in mathematics.  Teachers are enthusiastic and use praise well. They question well and make sure pupils know how to improve  Pupils behave well; they work hard and have very good social skills.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe.  The headteacher and senior staff are relentless in their drive to improve standards.  Leaders have improved the quality of teaching, which is now good in every year group.  The governing body is effective in helping raise everyone’s expectations of what can be achieved.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some lessons do not get off to a prompt start and in a few, teachers spend too long explaining tasks or going over previous work so pupils have too little time to work at their own best pace.  Staff providing help for struggling readers do not all use the same methods. This slows progress for these few pupils.  The few pupils who find mental calculation difficult get left behind when this part of mathematics lessons goes at the speed of the most able.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons, taught by 12 teachers, including two joint observations with the headteacher.  Inspectors took account of the 23 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the 40 responses received to the staff questionnaire.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, other members of the school’s leadership team, other staff including learning support assistants, groups of pupils, governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ progress over several years as well as recent and current progress. They also looked at planning and monitoring information, records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding, and minutes of recent meetings of the governing body.

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Inspection team

Ruth McFarlane, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Avtar Sherri Additional Inspector Jane Richmond Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than average for its type.  A smaller proportion of pupils than average are known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding) and the number is reducing year on year.  The proportions of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action, or through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, are below average.  Much higher proportions of pupils than average are from minority ethnic groups and speak English as an additional language.  The school meets the government’s floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  A breakfast club is held each school day, run by the school.  No pupils are taught in alternative provision (other schools or units).

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate the progress of the few pupils who do not do as well as the rest in reading and mathematics, by:  making sure teachers and teaching assistants stick to the same systematic methods to support pupils who find reading difficult  strengthening these pupils’ understanding of how to read unfamiliar words, and how other clues can be used to understand meaning  ensuring that these pupils are given time, in lessons, to develop increased speed and understanding in mental calculation.  Improve teaching by reducing ‘teacher talk’ in those lessons where it dominates, so that pupils have more time to work at their own best pace.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enter the school in Year 3 with above average standards. They make good progress in their learning, throughout the school.  Standards are significantly above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The proportion of pupils who achieved Level 6 (the average for a 14-year-old) in mathematics in 2012 was nearly four times the national average. In lessons, pupils show great enjoyment of mathematics, but a few are not good at working out calculations speedily, and this slows their progress. This is partly because practice in mental calculations in lessons is often taken at high speed, which provides good challenge for the most able, but sometimes means that less able pupils do not have time to understand the questions or work out the answers.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium were lagging behind in mathematics. This gap is narrowing rapidly because the school has taken a number of steps to make sure their mathematics skills

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The achievement of pupils is good

improve, such as a parents’ workshop to help parents understand the school’s methods. In addition, these pupils are provided with additional help, fostering good learning relationships and ensuring that all have an equal opportunity to make good progress.  Reading standards are above average. Most pupils read widely and often. Daily sessions of guided reading promote fluency well. However, there are a few pupils who struggle to develop the skills to read unfamiliar words. They do not show a secure knowledge of how sounds link with letters, or how parts of words can be sounded and blended together. They do not understand how to use other clues such as the context and the sense of sentences to make good guesses at a meaning.  Boys and girls achieve equally well. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs receive skilled support in most aspects of their work and make good progress against

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The achievement of pupils is good

their increasingly difficult and well-chosen targets.  Pupils from different ethnic groups make equally good progress. Pupils who speak English as an additional language receive effective support and achieve well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ good achievement is the result of good teaching in every year group.  Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils, including those on ‘school action’, ‘school action plus’, or with statements of special educational needs, are usually provided with work that is well matched to their abilities.  Staff have strong working relationships with the pupils. They offer plenty of praise for pupils’ efforts, which builds pupils’ confidence and self-esteem well.  Where teaching is most effective, teachers have high quality subject knowledge which they impart with great enthusiasm. Questions are used very effectively to encourage pupils to describe what they are learning.  Support staff provide well-tailored help to pupils of all abilities. The school has used the pupil premium funding very effectively to provide extra tuition and educational visits for targeted pupils. School tracking information indicates this is having a positive impact on the achievement

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The quality of teaching is good

of this group of pupils.  There is a good pace to most lessons and a good range of resources are used to help pupils learn. Good use of ‘spot the deliberate mistake’ in mathematics lessons keeps pupils on their toes.  In the small number of lessons that require improvement, too much time is spent focusing on what pupils already know, or explaining a whole-class task, reducing the time for pupils to undertake new work. By contrast, sometimes, teachers’ desire to maintain a brisk pace in lessons means that some weaker pupils struggle to understand the work.  The teaching of reading is generally effective. Sessions where pupils read together in a small group with an adult are good and assist most to make good progress in their reading. However, teachers and learning support assistants do not use a cohesive systematic approach to help the few readers who still struggle to work out new words. This slows their progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Adults give careful verbal feedback to pupils so that they know what they have done well and what they need to improve. Pupils also help check their friends’ work, which gives them ideas of how to improve their own. Target books ensure that each pupil knows what is required to reach the next level. Teachers’ written marking in pupils’ work is often thorough and identifies to pupils what they need to do to improve.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A strength of the school is the way in which all pupils are welcomed and valued for who they are. Pupils from all ethnic groups get on very well together and enjoy being part of the school community. The school promotes an understanding of cultural differences and is committed to promoting tolerance of others.  Most pupils behave well in and around the school. For example, the playground and dining hall are calm and welcoming places to be. Many of the pupils spoken to during the inspection say they like coming to school and feel happy and safe there. In responses to the online questionnaire, parents registered strongly positive responses to questions about good behaviour and their child’s safety.  Pupils readily identify several ways that they can keep themselves and their friends safe. The school has recently focused on the use of social media among pupils at this age. Pupils understand the potential risks and their responsibilities to ensure that social media are not used

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

to bully others. Most recognise what bullying is and know that it is not tolerated in school. They feel confident that staff take any concerns they have seriously.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. They are very eager to learn; they work hard and persevere even when faced with difficult work. They cooperate very well together and with their teachers and the other adults in school. Only in the few lessons that require improvement does behaviour deteriorate a little, because pupils lose interest.  Attendance has been a key focus since the last inspection and it has improved each year since the previous inspection. It is above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides strong and very well-focused leadership that has ensured the school has improved in many aspects since the previous inspection. Her determination to raise standards is at the heart of school improvement.  Leaders and managers are fully focused on the school’s priorities. All contribute well to the drive to raise pupils’ achievement. Good training from consultants is ensuring that leadership skills are more widely developed among all managers.  Pupils’ progress is checked thoroughly and this leads to the school’s accurate self-evaluation. Senior staff recognise what aspects of teaching work well and where improvement is needed. Targets are set for teachers and these are linked well to staff training. This has led to considerable improvements in teaching and ensures that the school is continuing to improve.  Learning support assistants perform a valuable and valued service to the school and contribute

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The leadership and management are good

well to pupils’ learning overall. Training is regular, but this has not led to consistent application of the latest techniques for helping pupils read, and this affects the progress of the few weaker readers.  Subjects taught are usually well planned and are appropriate. Additional funds are used well to support pupils who need extra help. The impact is evident in narrowing the gap in progress and attainment for this group compared with the whole year group.  Visits and visitors to school enhance what is learned in class, and help pupils develop very strong social skills. The school prepares pupils very well for life in a diverse society. Pupils’ personal development has an extremely high priority and, through developing pupils’ self-belief and their awareness of others, successfully underpins much of the work of the school.  The school informs and involves parents in family learning activities with increasing success. A

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The leadership and management are good

breakfast club provides a good range of activities for pupils who need to arrive early. Most of the parents who responded to the online questionnaire are very pleased with the quality of education and care provided.  The local authority provides effective support to the school, especially in helping to focus on successful teaching in literacy and numeracy.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors provide experienced and valued support for the school. The good programme of meetings, exchange of information and a focus upon standards ensures governors understand the school’s strengths and weaknesses and know how the school’s standards compare with those of other schools nationally. They have a good understanding of the quality of teaching in the school. They are beginning to check that that targets set for teachers help them improve further, and that increased payments are made only to teachers who offer consistently good or better teaching to pupils. Governors undertake regular training, for instance in safeguarding and in understanding data that show how well pupils are making progress. They keep a close eye on the finances and know how additional funding such as the pupil premium is spent. They are also starting to check the impact of this spending on pupils’ achievement.

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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 133939 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 406553

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 363 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Michelle Fuller Headteacher Denise Hughes-Mulhall Date of previous school inspection 23 November 2010 Telephone number 020 8550 5253 Fax number 020 8551 7479 Email address admin.parkhill-jun@redbridge.gov.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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