Oakdale Junior School

Oakdale Junior School Oakdale Road, Redbridge, E18 1JX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires Improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This school requires improvement. It is not good because

 Teaching is not consistently good across the school, with the result that pupils’ achievement is not yet good, especially in mathematics.  Pupils are not making rapid enough progress because teachers do not use assessment information about individual pupils to inform their planning.  Teachers do not always provide activities that challenge pupils to extend and deepen their learning, especially in mathematics.  Subject leaders and those with whole-school responsibilities are not yet fully skilled in analysing assessment information.  Where teaching fails to engage pupils fully, behaviour becomes restless, with poor attitudes to learning.

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The school has the following strengths

 The new headteacher and the acting deputy have a clear vision for school improvement and have made a positive start.  There is a strong emphasis on social, moral, emotional and cultural education and pupils’ wellbeing, with the result that most behaviour in and around the school is good. Pupils feel safe in school because relationships are sound.  Pupils and parents are very happy with the school.  The governors know the school well and are very supportive of the new leadership team.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons or part lessons; seven were joint observations with the headteacher or acting deputy headteacher and visits to each class with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with the chair of the governing body, a representative from the local authority, the headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher, staff and pupils.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentary evidence, including the school’s tracking of pupils’ progress, pupils’ work, and documents relating to safeguarding and special educational needs and the school’s view of its own performance.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in class, at break times and at other times around the school.  Inspectors attended an assembly.  The views of 67 parents, as recorded on Parent View (Ofsted’s online survey) were taken into account.

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Inspection team

Gillian Bosschaert, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Nourreddin Khassal Additional Inspector Diana Shepherd Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average junior school.  The headteacher has been in post since September 2013.  There is an acting deputy headteacher who has also been in post since September 2013.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is lower than average.  The proportion at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly above average.  The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is much higher than the national average. However, most are English speaking on entry to the school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is lower than the average. This is the additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals,

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Information about this school

those in local authority care and pupils from service families.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement to good, especially in mathematics, by ensuring that: – help is given to all pupils to understand and apply important ideas in mathematics – learning activities are better matched to pupils’ needs, including starter activities – the good practice in teaching that already exists in the school is shared so that teachers can learn from each other – lessons motivate and engage all the pupils in their learning – there is greater consistency in the way pupils are supported in intervention activities.  Improve the effectiveness of subject leaders and those with whole-school responsibilities in order to strengthen school leadership by: – having a clearer understanding and use of school data to ensure that pupils make the best progress possible. – ensuring training opportunities are provided to enable leaders to improve the performance of colleagues.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Not enough pupils achieve consistently well because class teachers do not regularly use information about their progress in order to identify pupils who are at risk of underachievement and to set more challenging activities.  Pupils enter the school with skills and knowledge that are broadly average for their age. Pupils generally do better in English than in mathematics. Attainment in writing has recently improved to above average, due partly to the recent use of film to stimulate ideas and engage all pupils, especially boys. This was an improvement from the previous year.  Progress in mathematics varies across the school, and within sets, because work is not consistently matched to the needs of all pupils and they do not apply their knowledge well enough to solve practical problems. The most able pupils do not always achieve the high standards they are capable of reaching.  Recent track records and evidence in pupils’ books show that further improvements are

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

beginning to happen in all subjects. Handwriting and presentation have recently improved because there is a focus on improving these aspects in all classes.  The extra funding (pupil premium) used to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is used by the school to provide wide-ranging activities both in and out of school. The progress of these pupils is variable across the school. In some classes, they achieve better than their classmates and in others less well. At the end of Year 6, they are about two terms behind in reading and writing, and three terms behind in mathematics.  In Years 3 and 4, the gap between these pupils and their classmates has closed in reading, writing and mathematics and they achieve as well as other pupils. This is as a result of a more secure understanding of Key Stage 1 through liaison with the infant school and joint moderation of pupils’ work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress made by disabled pupils and those with educational special needs is also variable between classes but improving as a result of carefully planned support.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 There is too much variation in the quality of teaching throughout the school, particularly in mathematics. In too many lessons, teachers are not making the work demanding enough because they have not carefully assessed what pupils already know before planning work to be at the right level of difficulty.  In some lessons, pupils do not have enough time to complete independent work due to long introductions. In the best lessons, pupils make good progress because the teachers’ expectation of what they can achieve is high and lessons are well paced. Teachers relate well to their pupils, offering support, guidance and encouragement by addressing any misunderstandings promptly in these lessons.  Teaching assistants are not always used efficiently or given enough guidance by teachers. However, some offer very good support to pupils. They know when to intervene and when to step back and allow the pupils to work independently, so that pupils do not become over reliant

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

on adult help.  A new marking policy has been implemented across the school. It is used consistently well, especially in mathematics, which has been a school focus. Teachers’ marking is informative and pupils respond to comments made, showing they have made progress as a direct result of teachers’ feedback.  Teachers are developing good questioning skills. They use open questions which stimulate pupils’ thinking skills, and check that they have understood the task. Pupils are attentive and motivated to learn in these lessons.  The school has its own swimming pool and swimming is taught systematically across the school. Skills are built up through clear, precise instruction and informed careful observation and assessment. Pupils make good progress within a safe and well-managed environment.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 In some lessons, a minority of pupils lack sufficient focus and appear uninterested in their work. This affects their learning and they are less enthusiastic to begin working than other pupils in the class. This happens when the work does not stimulate their thinking or imagination and is pitched at too low or too high a level for them to participate. However, in the best lessons, pupils are highly motivated and enthusiastic about their work and achieve well.  Discussions with pupils show they feel safe and understand different forms of bullying, especially internet bullying. They say bullying is rare and if it happens, staff deal with it quickly. Parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, agree that their children are safe and happy at school and standards of behaviour are good.  The school makes a significant contribution to pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural education, which is a strength of the school. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

Child is at the heart of the school. It has been implemented well, with the result that behaviour around the school, including along corridors, in the playground and in most lessons, is good.  The level of attendance has improved and is now average.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because they have not brought about improvement in the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement rapidly enough.  Subject leaders and those with whole-school responsibilities are not yet secure in their knowledge and understanding of pupil assessment information to give clear guidance to colleagues, with the result that pupils are not making fast enough progress in English and mathematics.  The new leadership team have made a good start at tackling underachievement. The self- evaluation and school development plan is accurate in its priorities and has been adjusted from the existing plan written last year. However, senior leaders know that this is not aspirational enough and plan to use it for this year only. They are clear about the need to ensure pupils make better progress, especially in mathematics.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and offers many opportunities for social, moral, spiritual

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The leadership and management requires improvement

and cultural development. For example, art is a real strength of the school, and beautiful examples of pupils’ art are displayed well in corridors and in classrooms. This is carefully linked to topic work, and examples of pupils’ copies of William Morris designs show great care and skill and flair for design and are of a high standard. Other cross-curricular links include paintings of rainforest animals and reptiles and well-constructed and researched tourist leaflets. These required research about countries, written paragraphs, and also a high degree of computer skills, linking English, geography, design and information technology.  Pupils visit religious places of worship, showing respect for others’ faiths and religious beliefs. The school council visited the Houses of Parliament and City Hall to develop community understanding and citizenship.  Physical education is taught in all year groups and the school participates in local and district

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The leadership and management requires improvement

sporting events linking with other schools. After-school clubs offer a good variety of sporting activities including yoga, squash, Brazilian indoor football and golf. This variety of sporting opportunities demonstrates an effective use of the additional funding provided by the government to help children be active and improve their fitness. Opportunities to develop teachers’ knowledge and skills are also planned.  Safeguarding meets all statutory requirements.  The local authority has supported the school well, for example in ensuring that evaluations of the quality of teaching are accurate. Senior leaders’ judgements of lessons observed jointly with inspectors were accurate and perceptive.  The governance of the school: The governing body has recently been reconstituted in order to become more effective following a review of roles and responsibilities. The chair of governors is in regular contact

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The leadership and management requires improvement

with the headteacher and has a sound understanding of the quality of teaching. She is fully involved and supports the school well. There is a good understanding that pupils are not achieving well enough. Governors regularly attend training offered both by the local authority and the school. The chair of governors is currently undertaking training offered by the National College’s Chairs of Governors Leadership programme. Governors understand how to set targets for teachers to improve their work and how this is linked to improvement to pay rises. Governors are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, including teaching, and are regularly updated on the school development plan’s progress. They too are aware that it is not ambitious enough and are keen to develop a further plan. The use of the pupil premium funding is a regular item on the governing body’s agenda and governors keep a close eye on

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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 133931 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 411975

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 350 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Emma Williamson Headteacher Jenny Davies Date of previous school inspection 25–26 March 2009 Telephone number 02089897471 Fax number N/A Email address adminoj@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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