Greenvale Primary School

Greenvale Primary School Sandpiper Road, Selsdon Vale, South Croydon, CR2 8PR

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils achieve well. They make good progress from low starting points to reach average standards in mathematics and English by the end of Year 6.  Teaching is good because teachers have high expectations of what pupils can accomplish and lessons are well paced and interesting.  Marking is of a high quality and contributes well to the good progress pupils make.  Pupils are courteous and respectful, both within school and beyond, as for example, when visiting local pensioners as part of their community links.  Pupils feel safe at school and say that behaviour is good because any issues are quickly dealt with.  In terms of attendance, the school is in the top 40% of schools nationally.  The new headteacher has brought rigour and efficiency to the management of teachers’ performance and this is driving improvement in the quality of teaching.  Members of the governing body are highly involved in the life of the school and work

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

effectively to support staff in striving for ever better outcomes for pupils.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not enough outstanding teaching to ensure all pupils make and sustain rapid progress, particularly in mathematics.  Although pupils have opportunities to write and use mathematics in different subjects, these links are not reinforced systematically in order to ensure maximum progress.  The performance of individual pupils is checked regularly, but the information is not always used as effectively as it could be to target teaching to match individual needs.  The impact of additional provision is not measured accurately enough to ensure it generates the best possible progress for the pupils concerned.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons or parts of lessons, including the teaching of phonics (letter patterns and the sounds they represent) and group reading. All classes were seen and several of the observations were conducted jointly with senior members of staff.  The inspection team listened to pupils read and held meetings with staff, pupils, and representatives from the governing body and the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 78 responses to the online Parent View survey as well as correspondence from and conversations with parents and carers during the course of the inspection, along with the 28 questionnaires returned by staff.  The inspection team looked carefully at pupils’ work in lessons as well as work they had completed over time in their books.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including those related to safeguarding and child protection, behaviour and attendance, the governing body minutes, checks on the quality of

p.2

Information about this inspection

teaching, information related to pupils’ academic performance and the school’s self-evaluation and development planning.

p.2

Inspection team

Jeanie Jovanova, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Velia Hartland Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, which is additional funding for children looked after by the local authority, those known to be eligible for free school meals and children from service families, is much lower than the national average. There are currently no children from service families in the school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is less than half that found nationally. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also much lower.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. A number of minority ethnic groups are represented in varying proportions.  Very few pupils speak English as an additional language. There are no pupils at a very early stage of learning English.

p.3

Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There has been some turnover of staff since the previous inspection, including the appointment of a new headteacher and a new special educational needs coordinator.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching in order that all pupils make and sustain rapid progress, particularly in mathematics, by:  building more systematic links across subjects in order to ensure there are regular opportunities for strengthening the key skills of reading, writing, communication and mathematics  using information about the performance of individual pupils to target teaching more effectively in order to accelerate progress further  measuring the impact of additional provision, such as a specialist group or one- to-one teaching sessions, more effectively in order to ensure the best possible progress for the pupils.

p.3

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children’s skills on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage are below those expected for their age in communication, language, literacy and mathematics. During their time at the school, pupils make good progress to leave with standards at, or sometimes above, national expectations for 11-year-olds.  Phonics is taught well because pupils are placed in groups that exactly match their needs. This has resulted in the proportion of pupils achieving the expected score in the screening check at the end of Year 1 being much higher than national figures.  The introduction of group reading sessions in Key Stage 2 has further enhanced pupils’ achievement in reading. For example, the pupils in the current Year 5 are two terms ahead compared with their peers in previous years.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well because planning takes their needs into account, especially in English and mathematics lessons.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 The school takes effective steps in ensuring that pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium are supported in their academic and personal needs. Very small numbers mean the statistics are not wholly representative but, for example, in the current Year 6, this group reached standards that were over three terms above their classmates in English and over one term above in mathematics, when measured against average points scored in national tests.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve well, because there is a strong focus on understanding and using imaginative vocabulary which ensures that all pupils develop a good command of English. Pupils’ best sentences are displayed and this encourages everyone to produce increasingly complex and sophisticated work.  The school is fully committed to tackling discrimination and ensuring equality of opportunity, and therefore makes sure that pupils from all ethnic groups achieve equally well.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good because it ensures that pupils make good progress. Lessons proceed at an engaging pace and teachers check regularly to make sure pupils are coping well with the tasks they have been given.  Teachers mark pupils’ work diligently and make helpful comments that let pupils know exactly what they have done well, and what they need to do to improve further. Pupils are closely involved in this process. They mark their own and each other’s work, and make mature and insightful comments on what needs improving. They respond in depth to the comments teachers have made and this clearly has a direct, and beneficial, impact on progress.  There is a strong focus on investigation in many subjects which ensures that pupils develop good thinking and independent research skills. For example, in science, pupils were using the internet to find out more about what purpose roots serve during a topic on plants. Teaching in

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

this way also ensures pupils sustain high levels of interest and concentration for increasingly lengthy periods of time. Being competent in these skills stands them in good stead when they move on to secondary school.  Teachers meet senior staff regularly to discuss how well every pupil in their class is attaining. At these meetings, additional provision is decided upon. However, the information available on each pupil is not always used effectively to tailor an individual package to ensure that they make progress as rapidly as possible. Moreover, the impact of additional provision is not measured accurately enough to show how much difference it makes in terms of accelerating progress, and this reduces its effectiveness.  Pupils read, write and use mathematics in subjects such as science and history, as well as in English and mathematics lessons. However, this emphasis on developing key skills is not being

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

exploited as systematically as it could to deepen pupils’ understanding. This hinders the impact of the curriculum in promoting outstanding outcomes.

p.4

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils often show the utmost courtesy and consideration to each other and to the adults they come across in the course of a school day. Playtimes are harmonious and the lunch hall is a calm, happy place where pupils sit and chat as they eat.  Behaviour in lessons is usually very good, pupils take an active interest in their own learning and contribute well, especially when marking their work or responding to teachers’ comments on how to improve. However, on the few occasions where teaching does not engage them, pupils’ attitudes are not always exemplary. For this reason, behaviour is not outstanding.  Pupils say they feel safe at school and can explain the many ways in which they know how to keep themselves safe, for example that you never give out any personal details online. Most parents and carers who completed the online survey agreed that their child feels safe at school and that the school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils clearly understand the many guises that bullying may take. They recognise that sometimes pupils may fall out with each other but say that it never becomes anything sustained and long term because teachers deal with incidents well.  The school is committed to fostering good relations, and this can be seen in the respect pupils show both to each other and adults in school, and when they interact with the local community on projects such as befriending local pensioners. Parents and carers, and pupils, go so far as to say the school ‘feels like a family’.  The school has maintained its attendance figure at above the national average for at least the last three years.  The positive relationships and support for any pupils who find behaving well more difficult ensured that there were no instances requiring exclusion as a sanction last year.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders, under the skilled guidance of the new headteacher, are ambitious for the school and know its strengths well. They understand how its performance compares to that of similar schools and strive for increasingly high outcomes for all pupils. They recognise that outcomes are not yet as high as they could be for all pupils, and therefore agree that leadership and management are not yet outstanding. Self-evaluation is robust and used well to formulate effective development plans.  The performance of staff is well managed. The new headteacher, ably supported by the governing body, has brought in clear targets for teachers to work towards, based on the progress pupils in their class need to make in order to develop at a good pace and reach standards that reflect positively on their starting points. This is helping drive an improvement in achievement across the school because teachers are more focused on, and have a clearer

p.5

The leadership and management are good

understanding of what constitutes, good progress.  Subject leaders ensure that progress in subjects other than English and mathematics is equally good by supporting teachers in making regular checks on pupils’ understanding. For example, the leader responsible for coordinating science has devised a method of logging pupils’ attainment on a computer system which analyses information in a range of ways to ensure no individuals or groups are falling behind.  There is continuity in approach across different subjects, because leaders have ensured staff place a focus on using investigation skills, which has strengthened pupils’ independent learning. However, there is scope to ensure that the key skills of reading, writing, communication and mathematics are being systematically reinforced across all curriculum areas, as this is not yet as effective as it could be in helping to drive outstanding progress.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum provides good opportunities for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There is a rich selection of after-school clubs; assemblies touch on eternal themes of right and wrong; texts chosen carry a moral message; group work cements social skills; and trips out broaden pupils’ cultural horizons.  The local authority has provided an appropriate level of support to the headteacher in his new role and the school uses its services well, as and when needed.  The governance of the school:  Governors are closely involved in the day-to-day life of the school, and this means they understand where the school’s strengths lie and what needs to be done to drive further improvement. They look at a range of information to help them pinpoint key development priorities, such as comparison tables with other schools, nationally published test scores and the school’s own figures on pupils’ academic performance, and the quality of teaching. They

p.6

The leadership and management are good

set the headteacher stringent targets and support him to meet them by holding regular meetings to review progress to date and plan for next steps. Governors are committed to ensuring they get the best value for money and, as such, look closely at the roles and responsibilities of staff, and how well they perform them, before making decisions about pay increments and additional allowances. They also ask questions about how well funding is used, for example what impact the pupil premium is having on the achievement of those pupils eligible for it. Governors ensure that safeguarding requirements are met and attend any relevant training to keep their skills and knowledge updated.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 101781 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 413222

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 214 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mike Fisher Headteacher Daniel Bowden Date of previous school inspection 22 May 2007 Telephone number 020 8651 2833 Fax number 020 8651 0844 Email address dbowden@greenvale.croydon.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9