Uxendon Manor Primary School

Uxendon Manor Primary School Vista Way, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 0UX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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.  Attainment of pupils at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 has risen since the last inspection and was well above average in 2011 and 2012.  Pupils make good progress from their starting points and rapid progress across Key Stage 2.  Teachers create a positive climate for learning, with lessons that are well structured and that promote pupils’ skills well.  Since the last inspection, attendance of pupils has risen and is now in line with the national average.  The school is a friendly community; pupils and staff interact well, pupils’ contributions are celebrated and they behave well.  Pupils are well motivated and say that they enjoy opportunities to be creative and active in art, science and physical education lessons.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills effectively through a wide range of in-school, extra-curricular and enrichment activities.  Changes to the governing body and additional

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

training mean that it now gives effective support to the school and asks searching questions of it.  Changes to the management structure at the school, and the way checks on the quality of teaching are conducted, have ensured that the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement at the school are now good.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 More able pupils are not always challenged enough so the pace of learning for these pupils can sometimes slow.  Teachers do not always closely mark literacy across subjects or provide pupils with time to act on comments in marked work, so sometimes they do not make as much progress as they could.  Targets in the school’s action plans for progress in Key Stage 1 are not always as challenging as others so that pupils do not make as much progress across this key stage as they do in the rest of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in 31 lessons or part lessons over the two-day inspection in all of the school’s classes. Some of these observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with pupils, leaders and managers, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors held informal discussions with parents and carers. They also took account of 24 responses to the Parent View online survey and 46 questionnaire responses from staff.  They looked at pupils’ work in lessons and also separately with senior leaders. Inspectors heard pupils reading and observed them in class and around the school.  A wide range of school documentation was considered. This included information relating to the attainment and progress of pupils, and groups of pupils; the management of staff performance; evidence of checks on teaching by the school; external evaluations of the school; the school’s

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Information about this inspection

website; the school’s action plans; minutes from governing body meetings; the school’s self- evaluation; behaviour records and safeguarding information.

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Inspection team

Najoud Ensaff, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Christopher Crouch Additional Inspector Fathiha Maitland Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Uxendon Manor Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The leadership team has been restructured; there is a new deputy headteacher and a new assistant headteacher in post, as well as leaders for the different key stages. There have been a number of changes to the governing body, including a change to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body, since the last inspection.  Pupils come from a diverse range of minority ethnic backgrounds, with the largest groups of pupils coming from Indian, other ethnic, other White, Pakistani and African backgrounds. There is an increasing number of pupils entering the school who are of Eastern European (other White) origins. Many pupils speak English as an additional language, with some at an early stage of learning English.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, who are supported through school action, is above average and the proportion of pupils supported at

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Information about this school

school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  There are fewer than average numbers of pupils supported through the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils eligible for free school meals, in the care of the local authority or with a parent in the armed services). In this school, this refers to children who are known to be eligible for free school meals and very few in the care of the local authority.  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?

 Raise the quality of teaching to outstanding, so that achievement, particularly in English, is at the highest levels, by ensuring that:  teachers consistently mark pupils’ literacy work in more depth in all subjects  best practice is shared between teachers so that pupils in all classes are always given time to act on comments in ‘focused feedback’ marking  ensure that work is always matched to the individual needs of pupils to ensure that all pupils make rapid progress, including the more able.  Raise leadership and management to outstanding by making sure that:  targets in the school development plan for progress in Key Stage 1 are always challenging, and promote accelerated progress for all pupils within this key stage.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children make good progress from typically age-related starting points and enter Key Stage 1 with skills that are above average. They make slightly slower progress across Key Stage 1 than Key Stage 2, because targets in the school development plan for this key stage are not as challenging as for Key Stage 2, where most pupils make rapid progress, particularly in mathematics.  In 2012, the percentage of Year 6 pupils who left with a Level 5 (a higher than expected level) in English and mathematics was significantly above the national average. The number who gained a Level 6 (the highest level) was above average. The school’s current assessment information indicates that there will be an above average number of pupils gaining Levels 5 and 6 in mathematics this year.  The very few pupils who do not speak English as an additional language usually make at least good progress, as a result of teachers considering their needs well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ performance in the Key Stage 1 phonics (linking sounds and letters) screening check was better than that in other schools nationally in 2012. By the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, pupils’ reading is above average.  In 2012, the few pupils in Year 6 who had special educational needs made rapid progress across Key Stage 2. This was as a result of focused and effective additional support.  Funding for the very few pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is used appropriately to provide specialist staff for classes and one-to-one support to boost their learning. Gaps in attainment between these pupils and their peers are closing. Although occasionally progress, particularly of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is behind that of their peers by up to one term, more often than not by the time they reach Year 6, they make similar or better progress in both English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 More able pupils mostly make good progress, particularly in mathematics, but they do not yet make outstanding progress, especially in English, because sometimes they are not challenged to achieve at the highest levels and the pace of learning occasionally slows for them.  The school tracks and monitors the progress of all minority ethnic groups and very effectively addresses any previous gaps in their learning so that they can continue to make progress. However, recent data suggest that this year a very small number of pupils have not made as much progress as their peers, largely because the support offered in class has not been sufficiently well targeted.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There is a positive climate for learning. Pupils’ desire to learn and productive working relationships between them and the teachers contribute to their good achievement.  Progress in most lessons is good, with teachers giving pupils structured activities that build well on their learning. Occasionally, where teachers do not match work carefully enough, or they do not set pupils off quickly enough, some pupils make less progress.  Where teaching is best, teachers use assessment information extremely well to cater for pupils’ individual needs and to challenge them. They effectively stimulate pupils’ curiosity and discussions by using interesting media clips and encouraging them to reflect on their learning. They question pupils precisely, guiding their learning and deepening their understanding, and provide pupils with effective support, allowing them to learn exceptionally well.  This was seen in an excellent mathematics lesson in Year 4, where pupils worked methodically

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The quality of teaching is good

and successfully to solve word problems as a result of very clear explanations by the teacher and very well matched work. In another English lesson, in Year 6, pupils worked independently and knew how to measure their success. They were well supported by adults and, through additional resources such as word mats, they took part in an effective role play, which enhanced their learning.  Teachers promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well across different subjects. Work celebrating a range of cultures and pupils’ art are found in corridors and pupils have good opportunities to consider spiritual questions deeply, including, for example, what it would feel like to suffer the effects of a monsoon in India.  Pupils understand their targets and know how to improve. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly, giving pupils praise and providing them with ‘focused feedback’ on specific pieces of work in

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The quality of teaching is good

English and mathematics. They do not currently mark literacy across subjects, and while some teachers provide pupils with good opportunities to act on feedback, this is not typical.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy attending because of the opportunities to learn new things and the enrichment activities on offer at the school. School records of behaviour and responses by pupils and parents indicate that good behaviour is usual for the vast majority of pupils. Behaviour around the school is also good. Behaviour is not yet outstanding because in some lessons, where teaching is less strong, pupils do not behave as well; they sometimes become less interested and then a few are prone to stray off task.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils report that they feel safe at school because of the friendships they have developed and supervision from teachers, and as a result of the site being secure. They have great confidence in keeping safe when travelling to school because of the adults they travel with and older pupils have a clear understanding of how to keep safe when using the internet.  Pupils know about different forms of bullying such as physical, verbal and racist bullying, although their definitions of what constituted bullying varied. A very small number of parents who responded to Parent View indicated that bullying is not always effectively dealt with. However, all pupils, parents and carers spoken to during the inspection reported that any rare instances of bullying are well dealt with and that children feel safe, well looked after and happy at the school.  Attendance has improved significantly because the school has worked hard to improve the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

attendance of the very few pupils who attend less regularly, with good impact.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers have worked assiduously to raise the quality of teaching and achievement at the school to good. The headteacher’s passion for success has particularly impacted on progress across Key Stage 2, which is rapid.  Leaders have been successful in improving the way that they check on the quality of teaching so that key stage and subject leaders, as well as senior leaders, are now involved in this process. In addition, they have increased the regularity with which pupil progress review meetings happen and this has accelerated progress for the vast majority of pupils across Key Stage 2 in particular.  Leaders identify key priorities for the school and provide relevant professional development for teachers. This has helped to improve individual teachers’ practice and to raise the quality of teaching in the school to good.  They hold formal meetings with teachers to review pupils’ progress, twice a term, and this is

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The leadership and management are good

helping them to monitor and close any gaps in the learning and attainment of the vast majority of pupils. The school has identified that a very small number of pupils did not make as much progress as possible this year and as a result, they have planned targeted interventions to rapidly accelerate their progress next year.  Senior leaders set targets for teachers’ development which are useful and ensure that pay progression is securely linked to performance.  Light-touch support from the local authority has helped the school to focus on its key priorities and to improve the way governors challenge senior leaders.  The school’s self-evaluation is broadly accurate and its development plans are focused on the right priorities which are helping to move the school forward. However, some targets relating to progress across Key Stage 1 are not as challenging as they need to be to promote consistently good or outstanding progress across all key stages.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is a cohesive and friendly community, with leaders fostering good relations between pupils and promoting equal opportunities. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated at the school.  The school engages well with parents and carers, offering information and progress evenings, workshops, a friendly website, and newsletters. While a number indicated that they were not happy about the way the school had responded to their concerns, the vast majority spoken to said they were very happy with the work of the school and several wrote extensively about the benefits their children had reaped in attending the school. The school is planning to set up a parents’ council and employ a translator to enhance relationships with all parents and carers.  The governance of the school:  The governing body both supports the school and asks searching questions of it. They have a good understanding of the quality of teaching in the school and increasingly know how well

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The leadership and management are good

the school is doing in comparison to others in the country. They challenge the school, for example, about whether targets for performance are being met and how senior leaders are managing lesson observations. They have a clear oversight of how well teachers are doing, making sure that pay and salary progression for staff are closely linked to the good achievement of their pupils. The governing body knows what is being done to tackle any underperformance. It oversees the school’s finances well, ensuring that funding for those pupils eligible for pupil premium is used to make a difference to these pupils. The governing body sees that safeguarding meets requirements and that staff and pupils work in a safe environment.

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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 101502 Local authority Brent Inspection number 404764

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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 472 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Christina Savva Headteacher Jonathan Parry Date of previous school inspection 17–18 November 2010 Telephone number 020 89075019 Fax number 020 89072367 Email address admin@uxmanor.brent.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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