Lancasterian Primary School

Lancasterian Primary School Inspection dates 6–7 June 2013

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Leaders and managers communicate high expectations for the achievement and well- being of all pupils.  Children begin school with levels of skill and knowledge that are very low compared to other children of the same age. As a result of well-matched activities, pupils make good progress in literacy and numeracy by the time they leave.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress because teachers and their assistants deliver engaging lessons and develop effective language skills. This is also true of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and pupils eligible for the pupil premium.  Leaders have ensured that teaching that is consistently good, with some that is outstanding, results in good progress across the school and attainment is rising.  Teachers are skilled in checking pupils’ learning in lessons and in providing verbal feedback on how to improve their work.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are good. They feel safe in school and are confident in expressing their views about their learning.  Parents are pleased with how the school keeps their children safe and happy.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is good but is not yet outstanding across the whole school because a few higher attaining pupils are not always sufficiently well challenged in lessons.  Pupils do not consistently respond to their teachers’ comments in the marking of their books.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 24 lessons, of which 10 were seen jointly with the headteacher and her team. In addition, the inspection team made 11 shorter visits to lessons to focus on specific aspects.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and attended two assemblies.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, the headteacher, subject leaders, and members of the governing body. A phone call meeting was held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 23 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View online questionnaire. Members of the inspection team also spoke to parents while they were collecting their children from school.  The inspection team observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including school improvement plans, data on pupils’ current progress, pupils’ written work, minutes of governing body meetings and records relating to behaviour, attendance and

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Inspection team

Janev Mehmet, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Kewal Goel Additional Inspector John Viner Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger than the average-sized primary school.  A high proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, the extra funding provided by the government to support children in care, those who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children from service families. There are no pupils from service families in the school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average.  Most pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and speak English as an additional language.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school shares the site with the local authority special school for disabled pupils. Although

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Information about this school

the leadership and governors are separate for this school, pupils from both schools share some assemblies and lessons, as well as the lunch hall.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the amount of outstanding teaching by:  ensuring that teachers check and encourage pupils to respond regularly to the comments in their marking of pupils' books  ensuring that all teachers match classroom resources well to pupils’ needs, especially so that there are more challenging tasks in lessons for all higher-attaining pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the school with skills and understanding that are below what is expected for their age. They make the expected progress by the end of Key Stage 1, and good progress from their original starting points by the time they complete Key Stage 2.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage enjoy learning through imaginative classroom and outdoor activities. The phonics screening indicates they attain below national averages by the end of Reception; however, the school is clear about the reasons for this, and actions put in place ensure that progress in phonics is improving.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage pupils are very excited about coming to school, and they develop their skills in working independently. For example, when they arrive in class they self- register by finding their name written on a brightly coloured picture of a balloon, on the electronic board, and they move the balloon to the top of the board with their finger. Effective

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The achievement of pupils is good

planning and collaborative teaching with all adults in this phase ensures that children are kept interested and motivated.  Attainment is below national averages in Early Years and Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 compared to other schools. However by the end of Key Stage 2, attainment is in line with national expectations.  Most pupils, including those from different ethnic backgrounds, are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. They are taught phonics (letters and the sounds they make), systematically and successfully.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress as a result of accurate identification of their needs and specialised support provided by all staff.  The pupil premium funding is used successfully to support eligible pupils by providing extra teaching staff, booster classes and opportunities for pupils to attend extra-curricular activities.

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The achievement of pupils is good

These pupils are making good progress in both English and mathematics and their attainment is similar to that of their peers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good overall across the school, with some outstanding teaching. Teachers communicate clear learning objectives at the start of every lesson and work is planned well so that most pupils are provided with motivating tasks appropriate to their ability. However, there are occasions in some classes when there is too little challenge in the work provided for some higher-attaining pupils.  Positive relationships and vibrant classrooms and corridors contribute to a very stimulating atmosphere for learning across the whole school. The Early Years Foundation Stage outdoor area is particularly well set up to reinforce learning about the environment; for example, there is a ‘mini-beast detectives’ area with tents.  Teachers sometimes use electronic whiteboards to make lessons fun and interesting. For example in Year 1, pupils were practising addition using a game on the electronic whiteboard.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers provide pupils with a clear understanding of how well they are doing in their learning through verbal feedback, which praises and guides them to improve. However, not all teachers are consistently following up their marking of pupils' books to check that all pupils have responded to teachers’ comments.  The teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good. Teachers use their teaching assistants well to support both these and other pupils. In all classes, teaching assistants were closely involved in questioning pupils and encouraging them to achieve well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour around the school and in lessons is very positive. Teachers and their assistants manage the behaviour of pupils systematically and positively. For example, in an assembly where a pupil was sitting in the wrong place and did not want to move, the teaching assistant was assertive and signalled the pupil in question by counting to three with her hand. The pupil then moved to her correct place and was instantly praised by the adult.  Pupils are polite, respectful and confident. They were keen to talk to inspectors about themselves and the jobs they do in their school such as peer mediators, library helpers and translators.  Pupils are keen to explain what they are learning, and know how well they are doing. They support each other’s learning through 'talk partners', and peer marking in each other’s books.  Pupils’ sense of responsibility towards each other and the wider community is developed through

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

opportunities to support each other not only through the jobs they do but also through their regular visits to work with pupils from the special school, which shares the same site.  Pupils are happy in school and say that bullying is rare. They have a good understanding of how to keep safe from bullying, including e-safety. Peer mediators confidently talked about how their weekly training sessions enable them to deal positively with any disagreements that take place in the playground.  Pupils’ attendance is improving as a result of the action taken by senior leaders.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and her leadership team have secured high expectations and ambition for the school community. They are accurate in their evaluation of how much the school is improving and what they need to do next to ensure there is further improvement.  Leaders and managers regularly check how good teaching is in lessons, and provide support for teachers to develop their practice to make sure pupils’ progress is good. They involve all staff in the planning of learning, and tracking of individual pupils is detailed and precise.  Literacy is a key focus of the curriculum and is celebrated through activities and displays. Even though some pupils do not read regularly at home, the school ensures that pupils read regularly at school and celebrate events such as World Book Day.  Teachers use data well to understand exactly what stages pupils are at in their learning, and are able to plan their teaching specifically so that all pupils deepen their knowledge in their learning

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The leadership and management are good

activities. For example, in the Nursery class, children were put into groups according to their strengths and needs. This ensured that pupils with speech and language difficulties were encouraged to practise their basic language skills. The teaching assistant used a teddy bear as a prop for this activity, which engaged the group.  The pupil premium is allocated effectively to focus on the literacy and numeracy needs of eligible pupils, through a variety of provision. As a result, the progress made by these pupils is good.  The curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to have fun, develop their skills and become responsible learners. Their experiences are enhanced, for example, through singing, performing and mastering photography.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils learn about other cultures and study Spanish every week. Pupils also visit various places of worship and are very aware of

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The leadership and management are good

equality and respect for different religions and practices. Equal opportunities are embedded in every aspect of school life which means discrimination is non-existent.  Parents are happy with the work of school leaders in ensuring that their children are safe and happy in the school. They are also pleased with the support they receive through workshops and opportunities to visit classes in order to enhance learning at home. For example, every Friday, parents attend ‘family phonics’ in the Reception classes to watch and support their children learning to read and write.  The local authority provides light-touch support to the school offering a variety of training on data for governors and ‘next steps of improvement’ for school leaders.  Requirements for safeguarding are fully met. The school is secure and the safety of all pupils is a priority at all times.  The governance of the school:  The governing body ensures that senior leaders carry out their responsibilities to improve

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The leadership and management are good

teaching and raise achievement. Governors manage the school’s finance effectively. They visit the school regularly and meet with staff they are linked to in order to keep up to date with patterns of progress. Governors attend training regularly and have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and how to use data in order to appreciate the school’s performance and targets. Governors support and hold the school to account through regular meetings with the headteacher. Where appropriate, they ensure that teachers are rewarded through promotion for good performance related to the progress of pupils. They make sure that pupil premium funding is allocated in the best interests of the pupils concerned and they check to make sure it is having the desired effect.

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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 102094 Local authority Haringey Inspection number 412337

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 489 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Martin Burrows Headteacher Jane Kelly Date of previous school inspection 11–12 May 2009 Telephone number 020 8808 8088 Fax number 020 8880 3321 Email address Jkelly22.309@lgflmail.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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