Shacklewell Primary School

Shacklewell Primary School Shacklewell Row, London, E8 2EA

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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.  School leaders have improved the school since the previous inspection. As a result, pupils now make good progress in their learning and social development.  The executive headteacher, senior leaders and governors provide strong leadership to make sure that the school continues to improve further.  Working closely together with the staff, they make sure the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement are good.  Pupils achieve well from starting points that are often below expectations for their age. As a result, attainment at the end of Year 6, which was previously low, has risen and is now average and rising.  Teachers have high expectations. Pupils enjoy their learning because teachers plan interesting activities and expect them to complete tasks quickly so that no time is wasted.  Pupils behave well and know how to keep themselves safe. Attendance is improving.  Senior leaders and governors regularly check

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the quality of the school’s work. Support, coaching and additional training help to secure lasting improvements.  Staff are determined to give the pupils the best opportunities they can.  The school provides good opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through, for example, music, art, language learning and physical education.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally, higher attaining pupils are not asked suitably difficult questions or given hard enough work, particularly during whole class teaching.  Sometimes in the Early Years Foundation Stage, adults lead tasks for too long. This limits the time children spend working independently or choosing activities for themselves in the inside and outdoor areas.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes and undertook some joint observations with senior leaders. They visited 37 lessons.  Inspectors held discussions with groups of pupils, staff, the Chair of the Governing Body and with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors listened to groups of pupils reading. They looked at work in pupils’ books and the school’s data showing pupils’ progress.  The school website, development plans and records relating to safeguarding pupils were also seen.  The inspection took account of 42 responses to the on-line survey (Parent View) and 27 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Enid Korn Additional Inspector Olson Davies Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Shacklewell is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in one full-time and two part-time Nursery classes, and two Reception classes.  More pupils than the national average speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average. Pupils come from a wide range of different backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action is above the national average. A below average proportion is supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. Most of these pupils appear to have behaviour, emotional and social difficulties, or speech, language and communication needs.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils who are looked after by the local authority, known to be eligible for free

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Information about this school

school meals and the children of service families) is above the national average. There are currently no pupils who are looked after by the local authority or children of service families at the school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  More pupils join and leave the school part way through their primary education than is found nationally.  The school organises and manages a breakfast club.  The school is part of a federation, a group of two schools that works closely together. Each school has its own head of school. The two schools are led overall by one executive headteacher and have a single governing body.  There have been a number of changes in staff over recent years. The head of school was appointed in September 2012.  The executive headteacher provides support for two other local primary schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards and increase pupils’ achievement further by:  making sure that the tasks and questions given to the highest attaining pupils are sufficiently challenging by being closely matched to their abilities, particularly during whole class teaching  making sure children in the Early Years Foundation Stage have regular opportunities to select activities for themselves in the indoor and outdoor areas so they can develop greater independence.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress through the school. Improvements to the way English and mathematics are taught are helping increasing proportions of pupils reach average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Standards overall are rising, although fewer pupils reach above average standards in English and mathematics compared with all pupils nationally.  Children join the Nursery and Reception classes with levels of skills that are generally below those expected for their age. They make good gains in Nursery and Reception so that their attainment at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage is closer to national expectations, and improving.  Regular sessions on letters and the sounds they make (phonics) for children in Nursery and Reception classes, and for pupils in Key Stage 1, help them to make good progress in reading and spelling. Carefully selected books for pupils to read together in class in Years 1 to 6 promote

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The achievement of pupils is good

pleasure in reading and help develop pupils’ reading skills well.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because they receive carefully planned extra help. This additional support helps their basic literacy and numeracy skills, and promotes their social and emotional development. Additional sessions with therapists help to boost speaking and listening effectively.  Pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language make similarly good progress. Pupils at an early stage of speaking English make good gains in their English and other skills because they practise reading aloud with an additional adult every day, an example of the way the school successfully promotes equality and tackles discrimination.  The pupil premium is used effectively to raise achievement for all those pupils known to be eligible. Funding is used to provide additional sessions in literacy and numeracy to boost the

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The achievement of pupils is good

achievement of these pupils. As a result, they also make good progress from their starting points. Although the average point scores of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are below those of all pupils nationally both in English and mathematics, the gap is closing well year on year.  Pupils who join the school part way through their primary education settle well because pupils are friendly and make them feel welcome.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of pupils. They use a wide variety of resources to support clear explanations, which make learning fun. For example, during a phonics session in a Reception class, children confidently used the interactive whiteboard to read words they had been learning.  Leaders have worked with staff to improve the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics so that pupils steadily build up their skills as they progress through the classes. Teachers follow a consistent approach to teaching phonics so that reading skills are developing well. Consequently, an above average proportion of pupils reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.  Skills in mathematics are taught using interesting approaches that capture pupils’ interest and motivate pupils. One example of this was seen in a mathematics lesson in Year 2 where pupils were developing their understanding of fractions. They thoroughly enjoyed calculating the

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The quality of teaching is good

fractions of ceramic tiles needed to decorate an imaginary bathroom.  Teachers manage classes well and make sure that no time is wasted. Pupils often discuss their learning with each other. Through cooperating regularly together, pupils’ personal and social skills grow.  The progress each pupil makes is carefully checked and teachers use the information to set work that is usually at the right level for them. However, teachers do not always plan work and ask questions that are difficult enough to stretch the most able pupils during whole class teaching.  When teachers mark pupils’ work, they make encouraging comments and give clear guidance on how to improve their skills to the next level of attainment. Pupils often take responsibility for responding to teachers’ comments and feedback.  Helpful guidance in class, as well as extra sessions with specialist staff and therapists, helps disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to develop literacy, numeracy, and

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The quality of teaching is good

speaking and listening skills. Well-trained staff make sure that pupils at an early stage of learning English increase their proficiency in reading and spoken English, and succeed in other subjects.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils from widely diverse backgrounds get on well together because the school places a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and fosters good relationships. Their behaviour and attitudes make a good contribution to learning in lessons, although sometimes the pupils need reminders about the behaviour expected.  Pupils are confident that incidents of bullying are rare. They say there is some name calling and that staff deal with this effectively. Anti-bullying events, guidance about safe practices when using computers and road safety training help them to develop an awareness of unsafe situations and how to keep themselves safe from harm.  Attendance rates are average. The school makes the importance of regular attendance clear to the whole school community. Effective work with parents has been particularly successful in improving the attendance of pupils who were often absent. Certificates and weekly celebration

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

of the class with the best punctuality and attendance are helping the school to raise attendance rates further.  The breakfast club ensures that those pupils who attend have a healthy choice of breakfast food and enjoy a positive start to the school day.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the previous inspection, the executive headteacher, senior leaders and governors, together with the federated partner school, have worked successfully and with determination to drive improvements and raise pupils’ academic achievements.  By regularly checking the quality of teaching and how well pupils are making progress, leaders and governors form an accurate view of the school’s strengths and those aspects requiring further improvement. Staff are keen to improve their practice.  Leaders have not made absolutely sure that teachers set higher attaining pupils suitably difficult questions and tasks during whole class teaching to increase further the proportions of pupils reaching above average standards.  Through good quality training and coaching activities, leaders have effectively improved weaker teaching. Well-selected and regular professional development for staff has helped leaders and

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The leadership and management are good

governors to improve the quality of teaching and the school’s overall effectiveness so that it is now good. All these strengths reflect the school’s capacity to improve further.  Leaders have introduced improvements to the way literacy and numeracy are taught in Years 1 to 6 that are helping to improve pupils’ attainment and progress in their basic skills.  Similar enhancements to the environment and curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage are securing higher attainment for children by the end of Reception. Sometimes, there is more emphasis on planning adult-directed tasks than on activities for children to choose for themselves in the inside and outdoor spaces.  There is a clear link between promotion and salary progression, and between pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching, because the performance of staff is managed carefully and the school sets itself ambitious targets.  A good variety of educational outings, including a residential visit to an activity centre for pupils

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The leadership and management are good

in Year 6, complement class-work projects and support learning well. The wide range of extra- curricular clubs, including drama, cooking, football and break dancing are popular.  Strong partnerships play a key part in helping the school to secure improvements. In addition to teamwork with the partnership school, specialist sports coaches teach high quality activity sessions for all pupils, organise games at breaktimes and run after-school clubs. A team of graduate volunteers leads additional literacy and numeracy sessions for pupils in Key Stage 2. They provide additional support to benefit pupils’ learning in lessons and in extra-curricular computing clubs.  The local authority has provided appropriate advice and guidance to assist the school in securing improvement to the overall effectiveness of its work. Given the school’s track record, the local authority rightly now provides light touch support for this good school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body works closely with the school’s leaders and shares their resolve to promote ambition and drive improvements. Governors are confident in challenging the school to improve further. They make sure they attend the professional training they need to keep up to date with current developments in education and be even more effective. They review the quality of teaching and check information about pupils’ progress to identify further priorities. They know how well the school is doing compared with other similar schools and compared with all schools nationally. Governors are clear about their role in performance management and take steps to ensure that teaching quality and pupils’ achievement are reflected in promotion, responsibilities and salary progression of staff. Governors understand the ways in which the pupil premium is used, although they do not necessarily demand sufficient details of

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The leadership and management are good

how additional funding is spent. They check the results these pupils achieve compared with all pupils nationally. Governors are experienced, well trained and highly committed. They are careful to ensure the site is secure and well maintained, and that procedures to keep pupils safe are effective and meet requirements.

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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 100241 Local authority Hackney Inspection number 404718

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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 411 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ben Plant Executive Headteacher Michelle Thomas Head of School Nicole Reid Date of previous school inspection 16–17 March 2011 Telephone number 020 7254 1415 Fax number 020 7254 1151 Email address admin@shacklewell.hackney.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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