Morningside Primary School

Morningside Primary School Chatham Place, Hackney, London, E9 6LL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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.  Standards in English and mathematics have significantly improved and are now close to national averages.  Pupils’ achievement is good. A small minority are making outstanding progress in their learning.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They enjoy school and the improved quality of lessons. There are good measures to engage pupils and sustain good behaviour.  The quality of teaching is good. Teachers have high aspirations for pupils and are determined to ensure they achieve well.  Children achieve well in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They make good progress from their generally low starting points.  The headteacher and the senior team are passionate and relentless in their pursuit of good-quality teaching. The speed of change has been remarkable and has ensured pupils now learn well.  Members of the Interim Executive Board are ambitious for the school’s future. They have been excellent in steering the direction of the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school. There are good transition arrangements to the new governing body.  Strong partnership work with external providers has contributed extremely well to the good achievement and teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ progress needs to be consistently faster in all subjects.  There is variability in the leadership and management skills of a few middle leaders.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning of all classes, and undertook joint lesson observations with senior leaders. They visited 15 lessons.  Inspectors listened to a group of Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils reading.  Meetings were held with a number of school staff including senior leaders, staff, parents and carers, groups of pupils, the Chair and other members of the Interim Executive Board, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised the school’s website and a number of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, the improvement plan, records relating to behaviour and attendance, safeguarding procedures and records of the school’s lesson observations.  An extensive review of pupils’ books in English and mathematics was undertaken.  There were no responses from parents and carers to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View.

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Inspection team

Samantha Morgan-Price, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ann Debono Her Majesty’s Inspector Victor Chaffey Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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Information about this school

 Morningside is a larger-than-average primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritages is much higher than that found nationally; this is also the case for pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium, which provides funding for children looked after by the local authority and for those known to be eligible for free school meals, is much higher than the national average.  A very small number of pupils attend a local authority pupil referral unit.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average. Most of these pupils have speech, language and communication, behavioural, social and emotional, or specific learning difficulties.  In July 2012, the school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this school

 At the previous inspection in April 2012, the school was placed in special measures. Two monitoring inspections were carried out in October 2012 and March 2013.  The headteacher was appointed in November 2012 and the deputy headteacher in January 2013.  The school will become a member of a local federation with five other schools in September 2013. The Interim Executive Board will become part of the governing body and school committee at this time.  The school has a children’s centre on site. This is subject to a separate inspection arrangement.  Fourteen out of the 15 teachers were appointed between September 2012 and May 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all pupils make rapid and sustained progress in all subjects, by increasing the proportion of good and outstanding teaching by:  providing greater challenge in lessons with work that encourages independent thinking and matches the needs of pupils, especially for those who are more able  improving the quality of the outdoor learning environment, so that it promotes good learning  ensuring that teaching staff are consistently assessing children’s progress and are effectively deployed outside  increasing the leadership and management skills of some middle leaders so that they make a stronger contribution to improving teaching and are able to check their progress against actions undertaken  ensuring that senior leaders provide professional development that fully addresses individual teachers’ areas for improvement, so that weaknesses in teaching are tackled comprehensively.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Very good improvements in achievement have narrowed the gap in pupils’ attainment in all years. In Year 2 and Year 6, the school’s information reports that current attainment has significantly improved on the school’s 2012 results. Work in books confirms pupils are making accelerated progress. The results for the phonics (letters and sounds) screening check for pupils in Year 1 are set to be significantly higher than last year. Phonics lessons are taught well.  The proportion of pupils predicted to achieve at the higher levels in English and mathematics has improved compared to 2012.  Throughout the school, pupils are making at least good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils in Year 1 make outstanding progress that is equivalent to the progress usually made over two years. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress from their starting points, which are generally below typical expectations for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The good range of initiatives, including booster support lessons, have ensured that pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium achieve as well as their peers. Based on the school’s assessment, in comparison to other pupils, there is no difference in their attainment in English or mathematics.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are now achieving as well as other pupils. This is also the case for pupils who speak English as an additional language. In 2012, pupils of Black Caribbean, White British and the small proportion from any other ethnic background made the slowest progress. These groups have improved their performance and are now achieving well. No groups are falling behind.  The very few pupils attending the pupil referral unit are well supported to improve their achievement.  The good guided reading lessons and the new mathematics programme have contributed well to

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The achievement of pupils is good

the rise in achievement. In addition to this, pupils are being encouraged to read more at home. The increased opportunities for pupils to discuss their work in pairs or groups are developing their social and language skills.  Pupils are now moving on to the next stage of their education with much better achievement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. This enables them to plan lessons effectively that engage pupils and increase their enthusiasm. They develop good relationships that allow pupils to feel confident to answer questions, even when they are unsure. Pupils say that lessons are fun and more interesting.  Good teaching contributes to pupils making faster progress. The teaching of English and mathematics is generally good. The rapid improvements in teaching over time are clearly seen in pupils’ books, including their more creative topic work.  Pupils are challenged to do their best and are encouraged to work hard and effectively. Teachers manage behaviour well to ensure lessons are not interrupted.  Teachers assess pupils’ learning well and adjust the pace of learning in response to pupils’ understanding. In a good Year 6 English lesson, the teacher used high-level technical language

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The quality of teaching is good

to move pupils on quickly in their work. Pupils were confidently identifying pronouns and adverbs, and wrote well-structured paragraphs to describe events, without direct reference to the time of day. In a Year 3 English lesson, pupils skilfully used information and communication technology to edit their writing and produce polished pieces of work.  Teaching is effectively developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils make good use of the information displayed on the numeracy and literacy ‘working walls’ to improve their knowledge and understanding of their work. There are good displays of their work and they can refer to areas of English or mathematics they are using. Guided reading lessons are well structured and provide good opportunities for pupils to develop their reading levels. Similarly, teachers, well supported by teaching assistants, use questioning effectively to probe pupils’

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The quality of teaching is good

understanding so that they can articulate their ideas and justify their opinions.  Marking is effective in providing pupils with a good understanding of what they need to do next to improve their work. Pupils from as early as Year 1 routinely assess their own performance. This has provided them with good knowledge of their short-term targets. Marking is highly effective in English.  Although there is a sharp focus on assessing pupils’ performance over time, teachers do not always use this information to set sufficiently aspirational or challenging work for more-able pupils, who sometimes find the work easy. Pupils are not always encouraged to think or work independently.  Children learn well in the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, adults do not always use the outdoor area effectively to plan activities or assess children’s development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good and continues to improve. The strong measures adopted by staff ensure pupils behave well. Parents and carers, and pupils, spoken to, say behaviour has improved. Pupils feel safe and well supported by staff.  Pupils, especially those in older year groups, have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying and know where to seek help.  There has been a considerable decline in the number of minor behaviour–related incidents. There have been no fixed term or permanent exclusions since September 2012. Staff have a shared understanding that everyone has the responsibility to check that pupils behave well at all times. They address poor behaviour swiftly when it occurs. The good rewards and sanctions such as ‘Stay on Green’, along with ‘The Morningside Messages’, are improving pupils’ moral values and their sense of respect for others.  Pupils enjoy school and, as a result, attendance has significantly improved. It is now average

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

after many years of being low. The school works well with parents and carers, and other agencies, to improve the attendance of those pupils who are persistently absent.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have effectively introduced new and improved ways of working to the school. The pace of change has been noteworthy. This has given rise to higher expectations from staff of what pupils can achieve. As a result, teaching, achievement, behaviour and attendance have improved significantly. Senior leaders have recruited skilled and experienced staff who have maintained a relentless drive on improving the quality of teaching. Staff are held to account for pupils’ performance well.  The school’s vision is clearly set out in its self-evaluation and development plans. Senior leaders accurately assess the impact of their work to check improvements. However, a few aspects of the school’s self-evaluation are descriptive and are not closely linked to pupil outcomes.  Teaching is improving strongly. Whole-school professional development activities have improved many areas of teaching, including mathematics, the pace and planning of lessons, and marking.

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The leadership and management are good

The coaching of individual teachers is building their confidence to stretch and challenge pupils. It has also increased their subject knowledge in mathematics. As part of their performance management, staff are set challenging targets, which are checked well. However, senior leaders have recently introduced a range of packages to improve individual teachers. As a consequence, lesson observations are not always closely linked to individual teachers’ development or performance management so that those weaknesses in teaching are fully addressed.  Although subject leaders are fairly new to the school and their roles, they have a clear understanding of the key priorities. However, some are not yet making a full contribution to driving teaching.  The curriculum is enriching pupils’ experiences and there have been strong developments in providing better topic work. There are good opportunities for extended writing and developing

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The leadership and management are good

numeracy skills in other subjects. Pupils vividly recall their achievements and how their topic work helps them gain an understanding of different lives, science and history in particular. There is good reinforcement of moral values and support for pupils to develop their social skills. However, opportunities to celebrate cultural differences, understand different cultures or reflect upon their lives are not extensive enough.  The school works well with outside agencies. This good support has led to an improvement in attendance. Pupils supported by the local authority’s pupil referral unit are achieving better.  Parents and carers spoken to say that senior leaders are approachable. The high visibility of staff at the start and end of the day contributes well to this. Parents and carers say they are given good support to improve their children’s performance and behaviour. There is stronger communication between parents and carers and the school. The school is developing ways to

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The leadership and management are good

engage parents and carers who are hard to reach.  The local authority has been relentless in its checking and challenging of the school’s work. This has led to the swift improvements in achievement, teaching, behaviour and attendance.  The highly effective partnership support from a local school and from the federation has enabled senior leaders to tackle difficult areas such as staffing, teaching and behaviour extremely well. This has supported the school well to improve mathematics.  The governance of the school:  The members of the small Interim Executive Board have worked highly effectively to challenge and support school leaders. The board has high expectations and aspirations. They are extremely knowledgeable, and have driven improvements, and steered the direction of the school well. One member of the board has been instrumental in the appointments of new staff to the school and checks how well staff performance is being managed. Another member of

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The leadership and management are good

the board who is a National Leader of Education has mentored senior leaders to ensure strategic decisions about the future of the school are right. The impact of the pupil premium spending is monitored well. Members are also effective in ensuring that pupils are safe at all times. There are good arrangements for transition to the new governing body. Members have also ensured that the future of the school is clearly defined.

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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 100232 Local authority Hackney Inspection number 420398

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 443 Appropriate authority Interim executive board Chair Stephen Belk Headteacher Janet Taylor Date of previous school inspection 30 April−1 May 2012 Telephone number 020 8985 5382 Fax number 020 8985 6881 Email address admin@morningside.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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