Heathrow Primary School

Heathrow Primary School Harmondsworth Lane, Sipson, West Drayton, UB7 0JQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Test results at the end of Year 6 have fallen significantly over the last two years. Pupils are not progressing as well as before and too few pupils achieve at the higher Level 5 in mathematics or in English. Assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 were also significantly lower in 2012.  Progress in mathematics across the year groups is not rapid enough. Work is sometimes repetitive and not sufficiently challenging.  More-able pupils are not always sufficiently stretched in lessons to enable them to make the expected progress.  Teachers do not always explain clearly enough to pupils what they have to achieve by the end of the lesson.  Teachers do not always provide enough opportunities for pupils to be more actively involved in their learning.  Pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to respond to the teacher’s marking to help them to improve their work and deepen their understanding.  Attendance has been below the national

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

average for the past three years.  Leaders do not check on the quality of teaching often and rigorously enough to enable pupils to learn more quickly.  The governing body is not sufficiently knowledgeable about the school’s achievement data and the progress of different groups of pupils to be able to hold school leaders accountable for their work.

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The school has the following strengths

 Good teaching in Early Years Foundation Stage helps pupils make good progress from their starting points.  Behaviour and safety of pupils are good and pupils have positive attitudes to learning.  Pupils enjoy reading and their progress in reading is improving.  Morale is high in the school and there is strong support for the leadership from school staff.  Middle leaders know the main priorities for the school to bring about improvements.  Pupils are well cared for, and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong and well supported.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 27 lessons, of which seven were joint observations with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, and inspectors listened to pupils read and discussed their reading with them.  Discussions were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, senior leaders and managers. A short telephone conversation took place with an external consultant who supports the school. In addition, inspectors spoke to parents and carers in the playground at the start of school.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and examined a range of documentation, including the school’s own performance data, an analysis of its strengths and areas for development, improvement plans, records of monitoring the quality of teaching, and records relating to exclusions, behaviour and safeguarding.  Pupils’ work was also scrutinised to look at their progress, the quality of marking and feedback,

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Information about this inspection

and curriculum coverage.  The inspectors considered 34 questionnaires completed by staff.  The inspectors took account of 23 responses received from parents and carers to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Avtar Sherri, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Gail Robertson Additional Inspector Ian McAllister Janice Williams Additional Inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average primary school.  Pupils come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. The largest group is White British, with pupils from Indian and Pakistani backgrounds forming the next sizeable ethnic groups.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children who are looked after by the local authority and children of service families) is below average. The school currently has no children who are looked after by the local authority or children of service families.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well above the average, as is the proportion of pupils whose first language is not English.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported by school action is average, as is the proportion supported at school action plus or

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Information about this school

with a statement of special educational needs.  The nature of the intake of the school is changing. More pupils are joining the school with skills and abilities below those expected for their age than in previous years.  The school offers a breakfast club.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to ensure that pupils make rapid progress across all year groups by:  ensuring that higher-ability pupils are always stretched to enable them to reach their potential  ensuring that teachers always explain clearly what different groups of learners are expected to achieve by the end of the lesson  reducing the amount of teacher talk in some lessons to give pupils more opportunities to be actively involved in their learning  providing pupils with sufficient opportunities to respond to teachers’ written comments to help them improve their work, deepen their understanding and develop their self-assessment skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics across year groups by:  giving pupils the opportunities to use their mathematical skills in all subjects  making sure that pupils are not always given repetitive work with over-reliance on worksheets  providing pupils with work that is always challenging, and with opportunities to solve practical problems and apply their mathematical skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by making sure that:  the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ progress is monitored and evaluated more frequently with timely feedback to teachers to bring about improvement  school data are used more rigorously to check on the progress made by pupils, with a greater focus on those pupils who could be making faster progress, so that they can be given more support  links with some groups of parents and carers are improved so that they are fully supportive of the school’s efforts to improve attendance  the governing body develops its skills further to support and hold the school’s leaders fully to account for the impact of their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils are not achieving as well as at the time of the previous inspection. Over the last two years, tests and assessment results at the end of Year 6 have fallen significantly. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher National Curriculum Level 5 in mathematics and in English is below the national average. Similarly, there was a significant drop in results at the end of Key Stage 1 in 2012.  The progress of pupils in 2011 was broadly average in English and mathematics. However, in 2012, pupils’ progress fell to significantly below average in both subjects, particularly in mathematics.  The school’s most recent data show that pupils are currently not making rapid enough progress in mathematics in some of the year groups, particularly in Years 5 and 6.  Progress in reading, writing and mathematics is also not sufficiently rapid in Year 1. Pupils scored below average results in the most recent phonics screening check. However, the teaching

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

of phonics (the links between letters and sounds) has improved and pupils are using their phonic skills to blend sounds to read unfamiliar and difficult words. As a result, they enjoy their reading.  Most children start school with skills that are below those typically expected for their age. As a result of good teaching, children make good progress by the end of Reception with attainment that is broadly average.  Current school data show that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils. This is because of the effective support they receive from teachers and teaching assistants.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress and sometimes do better than their peers. Teachers provide them with sufficient opportunities for speaking and listening and to gain key vocabulary to improve their English. Pupils from Indian and Pakistani

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

backgrounds make similar progress to their peers.  Those pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium have been making less progress in Key Stage 2 than their peers. In the 2012 Year 6 tests, pupils who benefited from the pupil premium funding did not do as well as other pupils in the school. They were one third of a National Curriculum level behind in English and half a level behind in mathematics. Compared to results in 2011, this gap was wider in English but narrower in mathematics. The current school data show that pupils known to eligible for the pupil premium are now making better progress because of improvements in monitoring of their progress and better provision.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is not of consistently high enough quality to bring about good progress overall. The quality of teaching is not monitored often enough to provide teachers with feedback on what they need to do to bring about rapid improvements in pupils’ progress.  Although teachers’ expectations are improving, they have not been consistently high enough for all pupils. In a number of lessons observed during the inspection, the pace of learning was insufficient to bring about rapid learning, pupils were not always actively involved in their learning and teachers often gave the same activities to the whole class. As a result, some pupils, particularly the more-able pupils, are not always stretched to reach their potential. Sometimes, the more-able pupils have to sit through teachers’ lengthy introductions and explanations to the whole class when they could be moving on quickly to some challenging work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not always explain clearly enough to pupils what is expected of them by the end of the lesson. As a result, this makes it hard for pupils to take responsibility for their learning and to evaluate their own progress.  Although marking is good and teachers provide written guidance to pupils on how to improve their work, pupils are not always given sufficient opportunities to respond to teachers’ comments to deepen their understanding and develop their self-assessment skills so that they do not repeat the same mistakes again.  In mathematics, pupils are sometimes given repetitive tasks and do similar problems that are not always challenging with some over-reliance on worksheets. Pupils are not always given sufficient opportunities to apply their mathematical skills, particularly to practical everyday situations, and use them in different subjects. Where teaching is better, pupils are given opportunities to use

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

their mental skills and are quickly moved on to challenging tasks to deepen their understanding.  Teachers make good use of questioning to test pupils’ understanding with opportunities for pupils to extend their vocabulary and develop their speaking and communication skills. For example, in a lesson on the Second World War, pupils were given opportunities to discuss and explore what it would be like being in air-raid shelter after seeing a short video clip; they developed their understanding of new descriptive words with opportunities to share and express their feelings. These opportunities are particularly beneficial to pupils who speak English as an additional language, who make good progress with their learning overall.  The school is a very caring place for pupils and equal opportunities are promoted well. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, those eligible for support through the pupil

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

premium funding, and those who speak English as an additional language are supported well in lessons by teachers and teaching assistants. As a result, their progress is at least similar to their peers.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is a strength and children make good progress from their starting points. Teachers have high expectations, and children are given challenging tasks and are introduced to new vocabulary, concepts and experiences. There is a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. However, children in one of the Reception classes do not always have an easy access to the outdoor learning area.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are good and they are very keen to learn. They are polite, courteous and friendly, and relate well with each other and adults.  Pupils from different backgrounds get on well with each other and they show respect for diversity. They say racist and homophobic incidents are rare and that bullying is not an issue. They agree that the school is a safe place to be. They know the school rules and are taught well about how to keep themselves safe from the potential risks of the internet through learning about internet safety, including cyber-bullying.  Good behaviour is acknowledged and children with best or most-improved behaviour are presented with certificates in assemblies. Similarly, those pupils with 100% attendance also receive certificates, with mascot presented weekly to the class with best attendance. Absence is followed up by the attendance officer, and parents and carers are informed of any concerns

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

relating to absences. However, attendance is still below national average with some parents and carers taking their children out of school during term time, usually on holidays. This goes against the school policy on attendance.  Occasionally, a small minority of pupils do not always display good behaviour in lessons, particularly those where there is too much teacher talk and pupils are not sufficiently engaged. As a result, they tend to become restless and lose their focus on learning.  Most parents and carers responding to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and nearly all staff responding to the staff questionnaire agree that the school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The leadership and management require improvement because pupils do not make good progress over time.  The quality of teaching is not monitored frequently and rigorously enough to provide quick feedback to teachers on how to bring about rapid progress in pupils’ learning, with insufficient opportunities for teachers to learn from the best practice in school.  The headteacher and senior leaders are committed to bring about improvements. As a result, the teaching of phonics and reading has improved. The quality of middle leadership is improving and morale is high amongst staff. Middle managers know the main strengths and areas for development of the school and are increasingly involved in monitoring the work of the school, including observing the quality of teaching.  Teachers take advantage of the professional development opportunities that are available to them. Teachers’ progress on the upper pay scale is linked to the quality of their teaching and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

pupils’ progress.  The school’s assessment data identify the progress of individuals and different groups. However, it is not always evaluated well enough to track pupils’ progress over a longer period of time to see if they are making sufficient progress from their starting points.  The school’s improvement plan identifies the important priorities for the school in terms of raising achievement and improving the quality of teaching. However, there is insufficient emphasis in school’s self-evaluation document on whether or not pupils are making sufficient progress across year groups.  The curriculum is broad and balanced, and is effective in engaging pupils in their learning. The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is particularly strong. Pupils enjoy participating in a variety of clubs run by school staff and outside providers. They particularly enjoy their music classes and playing musical instruments. However, the curriculum

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The leadership and management requires improvement

does not always meet the needs of the more-able pupils and provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical skills across different subjects.  The school engages with parents and carers well and most of them who responded to the Parent View agree that the school is well led and managed. However, some groups of parents and carers are not always fully engaged in their children’s education and supportive of the school’s work to improve attendance.  The local authority has provided some support in the past on analysing data to improve monitoring and tracking of pupils’ progress. Further support is planned on improving progress in mathematics.  The school meets all the statutory requirements for safeguarding.  The governance of the school: Governance requires improvement because governors have not had enough training to increase their knowledge and skills in the use of pupil performance data and the use of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

performance management for staff. Governors do not have a good understanding of the impact of the way in which the pupil premium funding is spent. As a result, governors have not been able to hold school leaders sufficiently accountable for the work they do to bring about improvements. However, governors share school leaders’ ambition to drive improvements. They know some of the main strengths and weaknesses of the school in the school improvement plan, mainly through the information provided by the headteacher and some school visits. They have been fully involved in the expansion plan for the school and have attended a number of meetings to discuss this. They are involved in the performance management of the headteacher with the support of an external consultant. They attend training offered by the local authority, particularly on meeting the safeguarding requirements. They keep good control of the school’s budget and finances.

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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 102385 Local authority Hillingdon Inspection number 412483

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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 336 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Newing Headteacher Janet Blair Date of previous school inspection 9 July 2007 Telephone number 020 8759 1628 Fax number 020 8897 3028 Email address heathrow@hillingdongrid.org 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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