Goffs Oak Primary & Nursery School

Goffs Oak Primary School Millcrest Road, Goffs Oak, Waltham Cross, EN7 5NS

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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.  Most pupils make good progress during their time at the school. Some pupils make outstanding progress, especially in reading and mathematics.  Pupils’ attainment in the national tests at the end of Key Stage 1 and 2 has improved over the past three years.  The quality of teaching has improved so that most teaching is now good. There are elements of outstanding teaching in the school.  Children enter the Nursery with skills broadly in line with those typical for their age, although some are less secure in communication and mathematics. They achieve well in the Nursery and Reception classes.  The school is a vibrant, welcoming place where pupils, staff and parents cooperate well to create a positive working atmosphere.  Pupils from a range of ethnic backgrounds get on well together. They behave well in lessons and around the school, and this makes a significant contribution to their good learning.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The work of the governing body has improved since the last inspection. It supports the school well and asks searching questions to ensure that teaching and pupils’ achievement are good.  The headteacher is passionate and ambitious for the school. He and senior leaders identify any group or individual pupil who falls behind and make sure any gaps in performance are quickly closing.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not enough outstanding teaching to raise achievement further. Occasionally, teaching requires improvement.  Pupils’ work is not always matched closely to pupils’ needs and it is sometimes not demanding enough. This means the pace of learning is not always brisk enough, particularly for more-able pupils.  Teachers do not always set pupils off quickly enough on work that promotes their independence.  Marking does not always reinforce pupils’ learning and teachers do not always give pupils time to act on the advice written in their books.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in 15 lessons over the two-day inspection in all of the school’s classes. Some of these observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with pupils, senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors held informal discussions with parents and carers. They also took account of 58 responses to the Parent View online survey, and 18 questionnaire responses from staff.  They looked at pupils’ work in lessons, and separately with the headteacher. Inspectors heard pupils reading, and observed them in class and around the school.  A wide range of school documentation was also considered. This included information relating to the progress of pupils, the school’s website, the school’s development plans, its self-evaluation, minutes from governing body meetings, behaviour records, the local authority’s evaluation of

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Information about this inspection

school performance and safeguarding information.

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Inspection team

Najoud Ensaff, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Concetta Caruana Additional Inspector Keith Brown Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Goffs Oak is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, although the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through funding for the pupil premium (those eligible for free school meals, in the care of the local authority or with a parent in the armed services) is much lower than the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is much lower than the national average. The proportion supported through school action is lower than the national average.  There have been considerable changes of staff and members of the governing body since the last inspection.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  All pupils are educated on-site. The school does not use alternative places for pupils to learn away from the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better, and a greater proportion is outstanding, by ensuring that teachers:  consistently set tasks that are challenging and match pupils’ needs and abilities  give pupils more opportunities to work independently and take responsibility for their own learning  always maintain a brisk pace of learning  always reinforce pupils’ learning, provide challenging next steps when they mark their work, and give them time to respond to comments.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge that match those typical for children of their age. A significant number enter with weaker skills particularly in communication and mathematics. They settle quickly into the nurturing environment of the Nursery and Reception classes, making good progress in communication and mathematics. They enter Year 1 with skills that are in line with those expected nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils continue to make good progress through the rest of the school so that they leave at the end of Year 6 with attainment which is above the national average, particularly in reading. Reading skills by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 are better than those expected nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Over the past three years, attainment across the school has risen and pupils’ performance in national tests has improved. The pace of progress has also increased so that the proportion of pupils now making and exceeding expected progress compares positively with other schools nationally. In all year groups, progress in mathematics and reading is stronger than in writing, although, over time, progress in writing is generally good.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs generally make similar progress to their peers, as a result of focused support from teaching assistants. Occasionally, in lessons where teachers do not consider pupils’ abilities and needs carefully enough, they make less progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils supported through pupil premium funding generally make similar progress to their peers. Often, in particular classes they make better progress than their peers, although occasionally they make less progress than others. Their gains in attainment are generally in line with those found nationally and sometimes are much better, such as those seen in 2011. Improvements in the way in which the school supports these pupils are helping them to overcome any difficulties that limit their learning and they are almost always able to attain standards in line with those of all pupils nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils at Goffs Oak achieve well, irrespective of their ethnic background. Those who speak English as an additional language generally achieve well but sometimes their progress in mathematics is not as good as possible because teachers do not consider their needs carefully enough.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school is working successfully to support more-able pupils at the school so that generally they make at least the progress expected of them. Last year, a number of pupils in Year 6 gained the highest levels in the end of Key Stage 2 tests, in mathematics and reading. However, more-able pupils are not always given work that demands a lot of them quickly enough, and sometimes teachers speak for too long so that the pace of learning slows.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good overall and has improved since the last inspection. Teachers have positive working relationships with pupils and pupils behave well in lessons so that learning proceeds without interruption. As a result, pupils achieve well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teachers make learning objectives clear for pupils and give them directions about the tasks they will be carrying out. The best teaching ensured that the learning goals and tasks matched pupils’ needs and abilities closely. It challenged pupils to think deeply about a subject and gave them opportunities to consolidate and develop their learning independently and in pairs. The best teaching gave pupils ways in which they could measure how successful they had been in achieving learning goals.

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The quality of teaching is good

 For example, in a well-planned lesson in the Reception class, careful consideration had been given to which skills needed to be developed and which children should participate in the different activities. Good use was made of both the indoor and outdoor environment to promote pupils’ knowledge of the world and their mathematical and creative development.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a lesson in Year 1, the teacher had adapted her planning so that pupils who had made good progress the previous lesson worked on harder tasks and those that needed mathematical concepts to be reinforced were supported by an adult.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a lesson in Year 6, the teacher’s careful questioning meant that pupils were encouraged to develop their ideas and think critically as a class, independently and in pairs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Sometimes teachers spend too long talking to pupils or explaining ideas or tasks before sending them off to work independently. This slowed the pace of learning, particularly for more-able pupils. Teachers also do not always provide pupils with the tools to measure how successful they are in their learning. This means that pupils do not have a sense of ownership of what they learn or focus their thinking on how they might improve further.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly, often providing pupils with a question that points them towards the next steps in learning. Pupils said that this helps them to make good progress. Occasionally, however, marking does not reinforce for pupils what has already been learnt. Teachers do not always give pupils time to respond to comments so that their progress is not yet outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The best teaching is skilful in stimulating pupils’ interests and imagination. This was seen in the Reception class where children went on a ‘snow walk’ to develop their understanding of the world and in Year 6 where the teacher presented an over-packaged box to stimulate class discussion about wastefulness.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons. They work hard and their disciplined behaviour makes a good contribution to their progress and achievement. School records of behaviour and comments by pupils and parents indicate that this good behaviour is typical for pupils at the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour around the school is a real strength. Pupils from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds interact very harmoniously at break and lunchtimes. They are polite and respectful to adults and one another, sharing positive working relationships.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils reported that they feel safe at school and that they know how to keep themselves safe. They understand about different forms of bullying such as cyber bullying, physical and verbal bullying. They also say that they enjoy attending school. The school has worked hard to improve attendance so that it is now above average.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Overwhelmingly, parents and carers agree that behaviour is good in the school and they report that the very rare instances of bullying are quickly and effectively dealt with.  All parents and carers believe that their children are well looked after and that their children are safe. Several parents and carers wrote extensively about the gains their children had made in their learning and confidence. They also spoke positively about the work of the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The governing body ensures that child protection policies and safeguarding meet requirements and that staff and pupils work within a safe environment.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is passionate about education and ambitious for the school. With the recently appointed deputy headteacher and the governing body, he has gained the full support of school staff to improve teaching and learning. As a result, pupils’ attainment has improved over the past three years, and their achievement has been raised so that it is now good.

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The leadership and management are good

 New members of the teaching staff and governing body have helped the headteacher to bring increased energy to the school’s drive for improvement. The impact of these changes was most evident in the outstanding progress made by boys last year, the well-above-average attainment of pupils and the outstanding progress made by pupils supported through pupil premium funding in 2011.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers have worked well with the local authority to support teachers’ professional development. In particular, training related to literacy and mathematics has been effective in improving the quality of teaching to good and raising pupils’ attainment in these areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school welcomes pupils regardless of their background and promotes equality strongly. Discrimination is not tolerated. The school promotes pupils’ moral, social and cultural skills very effectively. Pupils have more opportunities in these areas than in their spiritual development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders and subject leaders have improved the way that they check the quality of teaching and the planning of learning. This now happens regularly and provides very effective feedback to staff. They hold formal meetings with teachers every term to review pupils’ progress. This good practice, coupled with their close analysis of data on pupils’ progress, is helping the school to identify any gaps in performance between different groups of pupils and to take decisive action to tackle any underachievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The range of subjects taught is balanced and topic coverage is well organised. Pupils have effective opportunities to take part in celebration days and extra-curricular activities and residential visits. Moral values are effectively promoted through themed assemblies and the ‘rights, respect and responsibility’ approach adopted by the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school makes good use of pupil premium funding. For example, specialist staff provide classes and one-to-one support to these pupils to boost their learning, and additional resources and funding are provided for pupils to gain access to on-line support at home and for breakfast activities in school. This has helped these pupils to make progress in line with their peers and sometimes to make much better progress than similar pupils nationally.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  As a result of training and changes in membership, the governing body has improved its skills and involvement since the last inspection. It makes good use of the range of skills of its members to support the school’s further improvement. For example, individual governors have made presentations to parents on e-safety and have accompanied residential school trips. Governors now know much more about the school’s day-to-day work, and about the quality of teaching in the school. They discuss pupils’ attainment and how well they are making progress. The governing body now considers how well the school is doing in comparison to others in the country. It sets challenging targets for the school’s future performance. The governing body has a clear oversight of how well teachers are doing, ensuring that promotion and pay for staff are linked closely to the good achievement of their pupils. It oversees the

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The leadership and management are good

school’s finances rigorously, ensuring that, for example, pupil premium funding is spent appropriately to make a positive difference to these pupils.

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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 117243 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 405695

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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 220 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jeremy Pearce Headteacher Christopher Tofallis Date of previous school inspection 30 November 2010 Telephone number 01707 888488 Fax number 01707 872053 Email address admin@goffsoak.herts.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

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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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