Hallfield Primary School

Hallfield Primary School Hallfield Estate, London, W2 6JJ

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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.  Children begin school with levels of skill and knowledge that are well below other children of the same age. As a result of good teaching pupils make good to very good progress in English and mathematics and are above average by the time they leave.  Leaders and managers communicate high expectations for the achievement and well- being of all pupils. They know the school’s strengths and areas for development very well.  Key areas of the school’s work, such as the quality of teaching, have improved significantly over the last two years.  All school leaders and the governing body have high aspirations and are ambitious for the school.  Effective peer-mentoring and rigorous systems to check the quality of teaching by senior leaders mean that all teachers know how to improve.  Pupils are caring, polite and courteous. Their behaviour in classes and around the school is very good. Pupils say they feel very safe in the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school and are well cared for.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding, which results in their great respect for all members of the school community.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is insufficient outstanding teaching to enable pupils’ achievement to be consistently high across the school.  The support pupils receive in some classes is less effective as it is not based carefully on their needs.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 25 lessons, of which 22 were seen jointly with the headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher and members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors evaluated pupils’ work and talked to them about their learning.  Inspectors held discussions with parents and carers, staff, members of the senior leadership team and other leaders, the Chair and four members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors analysed a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plan, notes from local authority representative visits, documents relating to safeguarding, policies, information about pupils’ progress, minutes of meetings held by the governing body and records of behaviour and incidents. They also looked at the school’s website and ‘data dashboard’ and records of the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors examined anonymised documents about the management of staff performance.  Inspectors took account of 15 responses to the online Parent View survey, the views expressed by parents and carers to the inspection team and the school’s records of parents’ and carers’ views. They reviewed the responses to staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Kewal Goel, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Josephine Lewis Additional Inspector Sibani Raychaudhuri Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. There are three classes in each year group from Reception to Year 6, and 78 full-time places in Nursery.  The school has unusually extensive landscaped grounds, including a vegetable garden.  The overwhelming majority of pupils are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Pupils from Kurdish, Iraqi and mixed heritage make up the largest groups in the school.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than average. Most are at the very early stages of learning English when they join the school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, from forces families and looked-after children) is significantly above average.  The number of pupils who join or leave the school other than at the usual time is significantly

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Information about this school

higher than average and is rapidly increasing.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is slightly above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly below average.  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?

 Increase the amount of outstanding teaching by:  ensuring that all teachers use well-planned support based on carefully acknowledging pupils’ individual needs.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ attainment and progress so that they are consistently high across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the school with skills and knowledge that are well below those expected for their age. Pupils make good and often very good progress throughout their time in school. At the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment is above average in both English and mathematics. Thus, by the time pupils leave, they are well prepared for their time in secondary school.  Children make good progress in the Nursery especially in their personal development and their communication and language because of consistently good teaching, care, support and stimulating curriculum. They continue to make good or better progress in the Reception classes and achieve standards that are in line with those expected for their age.  Pupils read widely and often. As a result of good and targeted teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, pupils have a secure understanding of phonics (letters and the sounds they make). In 2012, Year 1 pupils performed above the national average in the

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The achievement of pupils is good

phonic screening check and 2013 data show that the proportion achieving the expected standard is higher than last year.  By the end of Key Stage 1 pupils’ attainment is above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers make sure that pupils build well on this good foundation.  By the end of Key Stage 2 pupils’ attainment is above average in English and mathematics, although pupils achieve much higher levels in reading and mathematics than they do in writing. The support pupils receive very occasionally is less effective in writing.  The achievement of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good as is the achievement of those who speak English as an additional language (including those at an early stage of learning English). This is because of accurate identification of their needs and specialised and targeted support by staff.  More-able pupils also make good progress because they are appropriately challenged to reach

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The achievement of pupils is good

the higher levels of attainment.  Pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium make good progress and attain as well as their peers in the school, both in English and mathematics. The school uses the designated funds well to support these pupils, including small-group support, special teaching programmes in English and mathematics and specialist support to develop social skills. In comparison with pupils in other schools they achieve above average levels.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved since the last inspection because teachers have been well supported to develop their skills. Teaching is good or better in the majority of lessons.  Teachers make clear at the start of every lesson what pupils are expected to learn and how they can achieve success. Most pupils are provided with motivating tasks appropriate to their ability.  Many teachers use a variety of inspiring and creative approaches to meet and respond to pupils’ different learning needs. Pupils are challenged to explore and develop critical thinking. For example, in Year 3, pupils were linking the nine times table to the angles of a square and identifying patterns. All pupils worked on a range of tasks at their level and could explain their method and thinking successfully.  Planning is thorough and takes into account fully the skills pupils need to learn and develop in all subjects. Teachers ensure there are strong links with pupils’ prior learning, and check pupils’

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The quality of teaching is good

learning and progress throughout each lesson. However, in some classes the additional support is not planned carefully to meet pupils’ individual needs.  Pupils show high levels of engagement and excitement in their learning. For example, in Year 6, pupils were writing a balanced argument. Pupils gave eloquent opinions, used formal language such as ‘in my opinion’ and connectives such as ‘however’.  Relationships between pupils and between pupils and teachers are very good so that classrooms have a positive atmosphere in which pupils work together and can share their views and ideas with each other.  Overall the quality of marking and feedback is very good. Teachers give constructive feedback to pupils, which help them in deciding what to do next and how to influence their own learning. Pupils respond to teachers’ feedback regularly.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage the quality of teaching and learning is consistently good.

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The quality of teaching is good

There is a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities. Teaching assistants are deployed effectively. Children are motivated, keen to learn and enjoy lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour around the school and in lessons is very good. Pupils’ response to teaching is immediate with no disruption.  Pupils are respectful, polite and courteous. Relationships among pupils and between pupils and adults are very good. Pupils are proud of their school and fully appreciative of the opportunities they are given.  Pupils’ understanding of the feedback from marking is excellent and they know this helps them to learn. All pupils know their targets, what they are learning and how well they are doing. They work well and support each other’s learning through ‘talk partners’ and in groups.  Pupils say that bullying and racism are rare and they trust staff to follow up if they have any concerns. Pupils have a good understanding of different forms of bullying and how to keep safe from bullying, including e-safety.  Pupils have a high regard for the behaviour policy. Staff manage behaviour consistently well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

The school-based records on behaviour and support indicate that there have been improvements in behaviour over time for individual pupils with particular behavioural needs. However, the fixed-period exclusions are still above the national average.  Pupils’ attendance and punctuality have improved as a result of the actions taken by the senior leadership team but attendance is still slightly below average.  Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the behaviour and safety of pupils.  Pupils say behaviour is good and appreciate praise and rewards. All pupils feel safe and well supported at school. They know how to keep themselves safe from everyday hazards.

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The leadership and management are good

 All leaders pursue excellence and have high aspirations and ambition. They systematically challenge all teachers. As a result, the overall quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement has improved since the last inspection.  The school leaders put a strong focus on distributive leadership. As a result the middle leaders are proactive in improving the quality of teaching and learning further.  Self-evaluation is based on clear evidence and the school’s actions are carefully planned, collaborative and effective. The school has very effective systems for checking pupils’ progress in all year groups. All staff have a responsibility to take action quickly when pupils fall behind.  The school has invested in an innovative professional development model to improve the quality of teaching and learning. This model of peer mentoring to share good and outstanding practice in teaching and learning is effective. Teachers’ performance management and salary progression

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The leadership and management are good

are closely linked to the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.  The school promotes equal opportunities for all pupils and uses well-planned strategies to support any groups of pupils who are doing less well than they could. It creates a learning environment where everyone is respected and discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.  The school has an outstanding curriculum, which combines subjects and develops skills for life. It provides exciting learning experiences for pupils. There is a wide range of cross-curricular and enrichment activities to develop pupils’ skills and attributes.  The school’s promotion of pupils’ social, moral, cultural and spiritual development is outstanding. It is given a high profile and promoted very well throughout the school. For example, a local priest is involved in inter-faith delivery. Cultural and moral development draws effectively on pupils’ experiences. Pupils enjoy performing in front of their peers using a range of different

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The leadership and management are good

media.  After the last inspection, the local authority put in a programme entitled ‘Building Capacity From Within’ which provided a higher-than-average level of support to the school. In January 2013 the local authority carried out a review and categorised the school as a good school. The school now has monitoring visits in line with other schools in the borough.  The school has recently received one instalment of the new primary sports funding and has prepared an action plan on how to spend this funding. It is purchasing the best quality gymnastics equipment, developing and consolidating teachers’ subject knowledge in physical education and sports, and increasing pupils’ participation in the local authority’s sports programmes. The impact of this funding on pupils’ achievements will be monitored and evaluated towards the end of this academic year.  Pupil-premium funding is allocated effectively to raise achievement of eligible pupils, through a

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The leadership and management are good

variety of provision. As a result the progress made by these pupils is good.  The school works well to engage parents and carers in their children’s learning by inviting them to many different consultation and information events as well as to the celebrations of achievements. The school works effectively with partners in the local community and businesses and has some international links.  Safeguarding meets statutory requirements.  The governance of the school:  The governing body shares the high aspirations of the senior leadership team. It has a very clear understanding of the school’s effectiveness, including the quality of teaching and the data relating to pupils’ performance. The governing body has a link governor system to provide support and systematic challenge to the senior leadership team. Governors monitor allocated budgets effectively in each area and have robust procedures, which meet all financial

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The leadership and management are good

regulations well.  The governing body is fully aware of the school’s strengths and areas for development. It closely monitors how the pupil-premium funding is used in the school and its impact on pupils’ progress. It has developed a coordinated approach in planning the use of the additional sports funding.  The governing body regularly checks the performance of staff, and its link to salary and progression. It knows what the school is doing to tackle any underperformance. The governing body makes sure that all statutory duties are met and governors attend training regularly.

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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 101116 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 425516

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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 575 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Aslam Merchant Headteacher Judith Grigg Date of previous school inspection 11 – 12 October 2011 Telephone number 020 7087 4960 Fax number 020 7087 4961 Email address head@hallfieldschool.org.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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