Chingford CofE Primary School

Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School King’s Road, Chingford, London, E4 7EY

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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

 Standards reached by all pupils at the end of Year 2 are high compared with those reached by pupils in other schools.  Pupils achieve well. They make good progress because teaching is good overall and improving over time.  Skilled teaching assistants make a considerable contribution to pupils’ learning, particularly for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  The new headteacher is focusing sharply and effectively on improving teaching and learning. She provides excellent direction for the school to improve. Parents and carers say that ‘she is a visible presence’.  Pupils feel safe and are proud of their school. They are polite and behave well. They thoroughly enjoy school.  Leaders, managers and governors work together well to improve the quality of education the school offers to its pupils.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In a very few lessons, there are occasions when teaching is not always pitched at the right level of difficulty so that pupils can lose their concentration and progress in their learning slows.  Although pupils’ progress in mathematics is improving, it is not yet as good as that in reading and writing. This is because not all teachers give pupils sufficient information so that they know exactly what they must do to improve their work. Inspection report: Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School, 14–15 March 2013 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in all classes. They visited 10 lessons, of which four were joint observations with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons, an assembly and the breakfast club.  They held meetings with leaders and managers, staff, pupils and a representative from the local authority. They held a telephone conversation with the Chair of the Governing Body.  Inspectors met informally with parents and carers at the beginning of the school day and took account of the 43 responses to the online Parent View survey and individual communications from parents.  They observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s current assessment data, the self-evaluation summary, the school development plan, planning and monitoring documents, minutes of meetings of the governing body, records relating to

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Information about this inspection

behaviour and attendance, and safeguarding documents.  Inspectors sampled pupils’ work, listened to pupils read, and checked information on pupils’ attendance.  The inspectors analysed 18 questionnaires from staff.

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Inspection team

Gay Whent, Lead inspector Additional inspector Michael Jude Additional inspector Inspection report: Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School, 14–15 March 2013 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 This is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school is part of a federation with Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School. The two schools share the same headteacher and have a single governing body. A number of staff either work in both schools or are based in one school and provide support in both schools. The headteacher has been in post since January 2013.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in two Reception classes.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average. The proportion of those supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium (extra government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, looked-after children and children of service families) is below average. There are currently a small number of looked-after children

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Information about this school

but no children of service families at the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by making sure that all teachers always plan their lessons to be pitched at just the right levels of challenge so that every pupil’s attention and interest is maintained throughout the session.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement in mathematics so that it matches that of English by ensuring that all teachers set precise ‘next steps’ for learning for each pupil, closely matched to their abilities and needs. Inspection report: Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School, 14–15 March 2013 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Pupils enter the Reception classes with lower-than-expected skill levels, especially in reading and writing. Whatever their starting point, all pupils make good progress. They play and work together well and share toys and equipment happily.  Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 is above average and has been improving year on year. Most pupils make good progress throughout the school.  All groups of pupils who benefit from the pupil premium funding reach similar levels of attainment to other pupils in the school in reading, writing and mathematics, as measured by their average point scores at the end of Key Stage 1.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make at least the progress expected, and many make good progress. This is because the support pupils receive is finely matched to their next learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy reading. The teaching of phonics (learning about the sounds that letters make) is effective. The results of the phonics screening check in Year 1 were above average. Reading is a high priority in the school and all pupils make at least good progress. They sound out unfamiliar words, showing good phonics teaching over time.  Pupils are developing good writing skills because of the consistency in teaching across the school and clear guidance for teachers and their assistants. Highlighted examples of how Year 2 pupils use ‘because’ as a connective on display include the following: ‘Mrs Twit got more ugly over the space of her life because she had ugly thoughts.’  Pupils’ progress in mathematics is not yet as good as it is in reading and writing. This is because all teachers do not set very precise ‘next step’ learning targets for each pupil, closely matched to their abilities and needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The enthusiasm of teachers motivates pupils in their learning. Lessons are well paced and lively. Pupils have plenty of interesting first-hand experiences, such as the Year 1 visit on the train to the Baptist Church at Walthamstow.  Teaching is typically good and there are examples of outstanding teaching. Where teaching is outstanding, all pupils are fully engaged throughout the whole lesson. Pupils follow the teacher’s modelling in writing and create carefully constructed sentences with exclamation marks. In Year 1, a pupil wrote: ‘My superhero is helpful and strong and saves animals!’ Lessons have a real purpose and a sense of pace. This is also apparent in their books over the year.  Well-planned lessons ensure that most activities are set at the right level of difficulty for all ability groups. However, where explanations last too long, this reduces the time for independent learning and there is a slight loss of concentration and pace. As a result, pupils’ progress in their

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The quality of teaching is good

learning can slow a little.  Teachers set high expectations, particularly of pupils’ behaviour, which ensures a calm, purposeful working environment.  Pupils say they ‘thoroughly enjoy’ their lessons. They are able to talk about how they can improve their learning, especially in literacy, where they can all remember their current targets for good learning. As one Year 1 pupil with a target ‘to make sentences more interesting’ wrote in her book: ‘In London 100 years ago people lived differently – they used carbolic soap to clean.’  Teachers and teaching assistants work together effectively as teams. Teaching assistants play a full part in lessons, often taking responsibility for the learning of small groups. All adults use good questioning skills. Effective teaching strategies, appropriately targeted support and Inspection report: Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School, 14–15 March 2013 5 of 9

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The quality of teaching is good

intervention ensure that most pupils’ individual needs, whatever their ability, are met well.  Teachers use assessment well to establish what pupils have learnt. They set targets for pupils’ next steps in learning, but these are not always precisely matched to pupils’ next steps in learning, especially in mathematics. This hinders the progress pupils make.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons and are keen, enthusiastic learners. They say that typical behaviour in the school is good.  Good relationships are at the heart of this good behaviour and pupils are keen to do well in their work. Parents and carers, staff and governors agree behaviour is good.  Pupils behave sensibly when moving around the school, in lessons, in the dining hall and in assembly. It is clearly apparent that they are used to good routines, particularly when they eat lunch or attend assembly. Playtime in the playground for older pupils in Years 1 and 2 is occasionally over-boisterous because of a lack of space for different activities. As a result, behaviour is not yet outstanding.  Pupils otherwise feel safe. There are no recorded incidents of bullying. Pupils confirm this and say that they know what bullying is like and that it does not happen at this school.  A well-attended breakfast club starts the day, where a warm, nurturing environment is created.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

For some pupils, coming to the breakfast club has led to a noticeable improvement in attendance. Breakfast club is also having a positive impact on punctuality.  Pupils take responsibility through activities such as Year 2 prefects for children in the Reception classes.  Pupils’ enjoyment of school is evident. This is reflected in consistently above-average attendance. Poor attendance is followed up rigorously. There have been no exclusions in the school for seven years.

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The leadership and management are good

 All staff agree that the school is led and managed well. They say that the new headteacher ‘has a clear vision of where we are going’ as well as what needs to be improved.  The headteacher provides strong leadership and, together with both her senior team and middle leadership team, is having an effective impact on improvement. School staff are aware that their work is monitored closely. They have been pleased with the training opportunities they have been given, particularly in observing outstanding practice in other schools. Opportunities for training are well matched to teachers’ needs.  An effective partnership with speech and language specialists is one example of how the provision for those pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is having a positive impact on pupils’ achievement, attendance and social development.  The school’s self-evaluation is up to date and accurate. Development planning focuses accurately

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The leadership and management are good

on priorities for improvement, which are shared with and understood by all staff.  Accurate information about pupils’ progress is at the heart of informing the systems for managing teachers’ performance. This process holds teachers to account and ensures that the school has good value for money.  The use of additional funding is reported to parents and carers through the school’s website, which itemises how the money has been spent. The school monitors the progress of those pupils in receipt of pupil premium funding and reports this to the governing body. An example of this has been providing funding at the breakfast club, which has had a positive impact on improving attendance.  Leaders focus sharply on ensuring that all pupils fulfil their potential, that they have equal Inspection report: Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School, 14–15 March 2013 6 of 9

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The leadership and management are good

opportunities to prosper and that there is no discrimination.  Safeguarding arrangements are thorough and fully in place.  The school enjoys good relationships with parents and carers. Those spoken to at the start of the school day were unanimously positive about the school’s work. They all feel their children are happy and doing well.  The curriculum is focused on developing reading, writing and mathematics skills across a range of subjects. It supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. The school’s entrance includes a place for reflective thinking. It is also used for the deputy headteacher to challenge pupils to a game of chess during the lunch break.  The local authority has provided support for the new headteacher to validate her judgements where improvements are needed and help senior leaders to improve the quality of teaching.  The governance of the school:

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school is strong, well informed and well organised. Governors know their school very well and make regular planned visits. They support the clear drive for improvement by checking the effectiveness of the school development plan. They have a very clear understanding of what the quality of teaching is like at the school by monitoring the performance of teachers. This knowledge is used to reward good teaching. Governors are fully aware of how any underperformance is being tackled and what has been carried out. They understand how well pupils are doing, compared with all schools nationally and the achievement of different groups of learners. Governors keep a very tight rein on the budget; in particular, they ensure that pupil premium funding is correctly directed at benefiting the learning of those pupils in receipt of the funding, as seen in narrowing the gap between those pupils and their peers. Governors take full advantage of available professional training to

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The leadership and management are good

become even more effective. Inspection report: Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School, 14–15 March 2013 7 of 9

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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. Inspection report: Chingford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants’ School, 14–15 March 2013 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 103084 Local authority Waltham Forest Inspection number 404854

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 178 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Dooks Headteacher Lindsey Lampard Date of previous school inspection 30–31 March 2011 Telephone number 020 8529 7601 Fax number 020 8523 9165 Email address school@chingford-inf.waltham.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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