Snaresbrook Primary School

Snaresbrook Primary School Meadow Walk, Snaresbrook, London E18 2EN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  Standards have declined since the previous inspection in reading, writing and mathematics. They are lowest in writing.  Pupils make inadequate progress because teaching and leadership are inadequate. Leaders have not brought about improvements in teaching or achievement since the previous inspection. Their judgements about teaching are generous. They do not track the progress that pupils make closely enough.  Many pupils underachieve, particularly boys, more able pupils, and some for whom the school receives additional funding from the government.  The pace of learning in most lessons is too slow. More able pupils are not given work that gets the best out of them. Teachers’ questions do not make pupils think hard enough and their marking does not offer enough guidance to pupils.  Teaching of phonics (the sounds letters make) is inadequate.  Pupils’ behaviour is inadequate because it

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

deteriorates when teaching is weak, holding back progress.  Some pupils do not come to school often enough and attendance shows little sign of improvement. This is because leaders’ checks on pupils’ absence rates are inadequate.  The school’s plans for improvement are weak. Targets for pupils’ progress are set so low that even if they are successfully met, pupils’ progress would still be inadequate.  Some subjects receive too little time. The content of lessons is not adapted well enough to interest boys in learning, or to promote writing.  Governance is inadequate. Governors have not held the headteacher or the school to account for the decline in standards and pupils’ underachievement.

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The school has the following strengths

 The school has a welcoming, family feel. Pupils feel happy and safe.  The use of the sensory room offers good support for those pupils who use it.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in all classes and saw 23 lessons, about a third of which were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  The inspectors made a thorough check of the work in pupils’ books to see how well current pupils are doing. They spoke to pupils about their work, what they are involved in at school, and what they think about behaviour.  The inspectors listened to pupils read and looked at the school’s records of progress in reading.  The inspectors took account of 44 responses from parents to the online questionnaire (Parent View). In addition they spoke with parents during the inspection, and had a telephone conversation with a parent. They also considered the views expressed in 14 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, the school’s senior leaders and teachers with responsibility for subjects, teaching assistants, and a representative from the local

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Information about this inspection

authority.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, the improvement plan, records of the school’s checks on the quality of teaching and the school’s tracking of pupils’ progress. They also looked at minutes of meetings held by the governing body, safeguarding documents and the school’s records of behaviour and incidents of bullying.

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Inspection team

Ruth McFarlane, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Carlton Midgley Additional Inspector Marina Coleman Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Full report

Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed.

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.  About a quarter of the pupils are White British. There are more pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds than usually found. The largest groups are of Indian and Pakistani heritages. None of the pupils is at an early stage of speaking English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is lower than average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with statements of special educational needs is lower than in most schools.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is smaller than average. The pupil premium is extra funding given to the school for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, who are looked after by the local authority or who have a parent in the armed services.  The school has recently developed a sensory room to support pupils who have occasional

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Information about this school

difficulties in adjusting to classroom life.  A new deputy headteacher was appointed in September 2012.  Three new managers, appointed from within the school for the Early Years Foundation Stage, for mathematics and for science, took up their posts the day before the inspection was announced.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and make sure none is inadequate by ensuring that:  teachers plan tasks at the right level of difficulty to challenge pupils of different abilities, especially the more able  pupils spend enough time learning actively  teachers’ questioning is probing and extends learning fully  teaching assistants are directed more effectively to assist learning throughout the whole lesson  teachers always take action to stop and prevent silly behaviour in lessons.  Provide better feedback to pupils by:  making sure pupils understand what it is that they are aiming for and how to reach the next level in their learning  ensuring that pupils’ work is marked in a way that helps them to know how to improve it, and that pupils are given time to respond to these comments.  Raise pupils’ achievement in mathematics and in English, especially writing by:  improving the teaching of phonics and the use of home-school reading records

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 providing better opportunities to interest boys in writing and making sure pupils write for different purposes in a range of subjects  ensuring mathematics lessons focus closely on the skills pupils need to learn.  Prevent individuals or groups of pupils from falling behind, by:  gathering accurate information about pupils’ starting points when they join the school, and tracking their progress much more carefully through the school  using records of pupils’ progress to identify pupils and groups of pupils who are underachieving and taking prompt action, where needed, to help them make good progress  making sure leaders use the pupil premium funding more effectively  rigorously checking attendance and improving it for poor attenders.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:  improvement plans focus sharply on what needs to be achieved, contain targets that are more

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

challenging, that actions are fully implemented and the impact closely monitored  leaders check the curriculum thoroughly to ensure sufficient depth of coverage for each subject  leaders ensure the needs and interests of all groups of pupils are met, especially boys, those who are more able and those for whom the school receives additional funding  managers responsible for subjects or other aspects of the school are fully involved in driving improvement  leaders and managers accurately assess the quality of teaching and take steps to ensure that teaching is good or better, holding teachers to account for pupils’ progress  governors hold the school fully to account for the standard of education provided, and that they are equipped to do this well  an external review of governance is carried out, to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils of all ethnic backgrounds make inadequate progress through the school. As a result, standards have fallen in reading, writing and mathematics.  No pupil reached the highest level for 11-year-olds in 2012 National Curriculum tests in English or mathematics, despite most pupils entering the school with skills and abilities above those typical of their age. This is because teaching does not provide well enough for the more-able pupils and teachers’ expectations are not high enough.  Pupils’ progress in writing, the progress made by boys and the progress of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium are particularly weak.  Progress throughout Key Stage 2 is especially slow; but, in classes throughout the school, boys often lose attention because lessons do not capture their interest. Writing tasks are often too narrow in scope and last too long, slowing progress and diminishing pupils’ interest. Pupils do

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

not have enough practice writing for different, relevant purposes in other subjects.  In the phonics check for Year 1 in 2012, only a quarter of the pupils achieved the required standard. Inadequate progress in phonics holds back progress in reading and writing. The progress made across Key Stage 2 by pupils in last year’s Year 6 in English was in the bottom 3% of all schools nationally. The home-school reading records show too little exchange of comments to promote good learning and a love of reading.  Progress in mathematics is inadequate because in mathematics lessons, typically, too little mathematics is taught. In a mathematics lesson in Year 6, the focus was on taking exercise and measuring pulse rates rather than extending mathematical skills.  The school is not promoting equal opportunities well enough. In 2012, the attainment of pupils in Year 6 who were known to be eligible for free school meals and supported by the pupil

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

premium was nearly a year behind their classmates in English, and six months behind in mathematics. The school’s current data show that gaps between the performance of this group of pupils and their peers are not narrowing rapidly enough, because money spent on additional resources is not having enough impact.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are sometimes provided with work that meets their needs in the classroom, but the subject knowledge of adults assisting them is not always adequate. For instance, in an exercise about ‘speech marks’ pupils in Year 2 who are less able were supported by a teaching assistant. However, the lack of good direction from the teacher for the teaching assistant led to inaccurate and inadequate learning.  Progress has begun to increase in some classes due to recently introduced initiatives, but improvements are not rapid or consistent enough to overcome underachievement.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teaching has had insufficient impact on pupils’ learning and achievement since the previous inspection. This is because leaders’ and managers’ checks have given a false picture of improving quality. Some teaching is still inadequate.  The success of new good initiatives, such as a revised system for teaching phonics, is held back by weak teaching.  In most lessons, tasks are too easy so learning is too slow, especially for the more able. In a Year 6 physical education lesson, the objective was simply ‘to throw and catch a ball’, with no relation to any sport or related technical skill.  Teachers often take too long explaining tasks or recapping earlier work. This holds back pupils’ progress because those who find learning difficult have to wait for help, and restricts opportunities the more able could have to extend their learning.  Teaching assistants often just sit passively while the teacher is speaking. At some other times,

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

they are poorly directed, so the support they can give is limited.  Not enough marking provides pupils with guidance that is precise enough to help them improve their work. Pupils are not given time to act on the teachers’ advice. They do not routinely attend to the written comments teachers make in their books.  Teachers provide targets for pupils in numeracy and literacy. However, pupils who were asked could not explain them.  During activities, adults miss opportunities to secure and extend learning through asking probing questions, especially in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ workbooks and work seen in lessons in literacy and numeracy show that too little work is done, and tasks are not demanding enough for most pupils.  Teaching does not do enough to encourage boys’ learning. Consequently, boys’ lack of engagement is endemic and goes unchallenged.  There is some good teaching. In the best lessons, teachers use imaginative activities. These

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

were seen in lively displays around the school on topics such as ‘The Victorians’. In a Year 1 mathematics lesson, tasks were adapted well to meet the range of pupils’ abilities. Frequent checks on understanding enabled pupils to learn quickly during a task using paper clips to measure items and relating this to how a ruler can be used to measure. However, this lively learning which led to good progress was the exception.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 Pupils’ behaviour in class, particularly boys’, is poor. In many lessons, pupils become disengaged and, although they are not noisy, silly behaviour is widespread. When this occurs it often goes unchecked by adults, and little learning takes place.  The attendance of some pupils is low and shows no sign of improving. Leaders and managers do not analyse absence rates thoroughly enough and, because of this, work to raise the attendance of some groups of pupils who have very high rates of absence has little impact.  Most pupils are keen to learn but told inspectors that work is rarely hard and that this is why the frequent low-level disruption occurs.  The atmosphere outside classrooms is calm. The school does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and is a harmonious community. Pupils said that there is little bullying in school and that ‘teachers sort it out’. Discussions with pupils showed they understand about different types of

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

bullying, including cyber bullying.  The friendly relationships between most pupils and between them and adults contribute to the sense of belonging in the school. Pupils are proud of their school and keenly take on responsibilities, for example as school councillors, buddies and monitors.  The majority of parents who responded to the online questionnaire or spoke to inspectors felt that behaviour is managed well. The sensory room is a very helpful facility that allows pupils with particular behaviour needs to be helped to manage their own behaviour with increasing success.  Parents have confidence that their children are kept safe and pupils agree that they feel happy and safe in school. Pupils are taught about how to deal with risks to their safety, such as on the road and when using the internet.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders and managers have not been effective in improving pupils’ learning and achievement, allowing them to decline since the previous inspection. The school is not providing an acceptable education for its pupils. The lack of improvements, together with inaccurate self-evaluation, demonstrate that leaders are not showing the capacity to improve the school further.  Staff are not aware that there is too much weak teaching. There are examples of written feedback to teachers on lessons observed by leaders which describe significant weaknesses, yet teaching and learning have been judged ‘good’. As the school is not demonstrating the capacity to develop teaching, newly qualified teachers should not be appointed.  Pupils who are underachieving are not identified quickly enough. As a result, actions to close gaps in attainment between groups of pupils have not had enough effect. Information about the

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The leadership and management are inadequate

progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs includes examples of pupils making no progress at all over a whole year.  New arrangements to track pupils’ progress are flawed. No starting points are checked or logged for children in Nursery or Reception, so accurate measurements are not possible. The system has been set to record ‘good progress’ at far too low a level, giving a false impression of success. Consequently, the school’s self-evaluation is unrealistic.  Although the school improvement plan identifies action to deal with weaknesses in pupils’ achievement, it lacks important details. Not all strategies have clear targets. Where targets are indicated, they lack challenge. Plans are not always fully implemented or rigorously monitored.  Managers of subjects and other aspects of the school have not had sufficient impact in helping to raise standards. They do not check teaching and learning well enough, are not making sure

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The leadership and management are inadequate

coverage of their subject is deep enough, and are not contributing to, and responding to, the data produced on pupils’ progress well enough to improve achievement.  Since the previous inspection, teachers have not been held to account sufficiently for pupils’ progress. Decisions about the salary that each teacher receives are not based on any realistic view of the quality of their teaching.  Topics bring together different subjects in a way that some pupils describe as ‘interesting and fun’ and this contributes to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. However, checking of the depth of coverage of each subject is not carried out effectively. Not enough time is allocated for some subjects. As a result, standards are lower than they should be, given pupils’ starting points.  The local authority has recently increased its focus on the school and placed it in a ‘category of concern’. Advisers from the local authority, who provide the school with additional support, and

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The leadership and management are inadequate

the new deputy headteacher have quickly identified the school’s weaknesses.  While the deputy headteacher’s work has been focused and astute, it is too early to see the impact of it.  The governance of the school:  Governance is inadequate. Attainment has been allowed to decline for too long. Governors have not sought enough external support to help them understand how to operate more effectively.  Governors accept the school’s view of itself as good, and do not ask the right questions. Consequently they do not have an accurate view of the quality of teaching or the achievement of pupils. They have limited knowledge of the relationship between the quality of education provided by the school and how well teachers and the headteacher are paid. This restricts their ability to ensure that the school delivers value for money.  Governors have attended some training, for instance in safer recruitment, that enables them

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The leadership and management are inadequate

to carry out the statutory duties for safeguarding pupils effectively, but training in understanding data has been limited. Governors are not sufficiently aware of the decline in standards or how the school compares unfavourably with others in similar circumstances.  Governors have not managed the school’s finances effectively, either for salaries or for the spending of pupil premium funding.

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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 102832 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 412142

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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 482 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nick Andrews Headteacher John Snow Date of previous school inspection 27–28 April 2009 Telephone number 020 8989 9975 Fax number 020 8518 8781 Email address admin.snaresbrook@redbridge.gov.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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