Clockhouse Primary School

Clockhouse Primary School Clockhouse Lane, Romford, RM5 3QR

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Require improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Achievement is not good enough, particularly in reading, because expectations of what pupils can do and achieve are not high enough.  There is not enough focus on improving pupils’ understanding of what they are reading and widening their vocabulary to help them express their ideas.  Teaching is not yet consistently good in all year groups because the pace of lessons is not adapted in all classes to pupils’ responses .  Teachers sometimes set work that is too easy for the more able pupils.  Books are regularly marked but pupils do not always follow up with corrections because they are not always given the time to do this and some pupils are not clear about what they must do to improve their work.  Leaders of subjects are not yet fully involved in checking pupils’ progress in lessons or the quality of teaching across all key stages because some are very new to their roles.  Leaders, managers and governors understand

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

the need to improve achievement but have not yet secured improved attainment in reading.

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The school has the following strengths

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children make good progress across all areas of learning as a result of good teaching.  Progress in Years 4 and 5, particularly in reading and writing, is also good because teaching is well focused.  School leaders have developed imaginative projects for involving parents in lessons and homework to support their children’s learning.  Behaviour is good. Pupils enjoy school and their families are confident that they are happy and feel safe.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is strong and, as a result, pupils develop as well-rounded individuals.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 34 lessons or parts of lessons taught by 24 teachers. Additional activities included observations at lunchtime and of an assembly.  A lesson was observed jointly with the headteacher. There was also a series of short visits to classes to view parents working with their children.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, representatives of the governing body, school leaders and subject leaders. A telephone discussion was held with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the 42 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as views communicated during discussions with parents and a ‘bring your parents to school’ event in Year 6. The views of the staff were gathered through meetings and 64 staff questionnaires.  The inspectors listened to pupils read and examined the work in pupils’ books.  The school’s own attainment records for the current as well as previous academic years were

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Information about this inspection

checked in addition to published information on pupil achievement. Planning and monitoring documents, records relating to pupil safety and welfare, including the school’s single central record of checks on staff, and attendance records were also examined.

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Inspection team

Patricia MacLachlan, Lead inspector Additional inspector Clive Reynolds Additional inspector Pervina Saunders Additional inspector Avtar Sherri Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Clockhouse Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school. The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of a Nursery and three Reception classes.  The proportion of pupils eligible for support from the pupil premium (extra money provided by the government for pupils, including those eligible for free school meals) is above the national average.  The large majority of pupils are of White British or Other White ethnic minority heritages. There are also small groups with Bangladeshi, Indian and African heritages. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action plus is above average. However, the proportion of pupils supported at school action or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school, since the previous inspection, has experienced some changes of senior staff. The acting headteacher was deputy headteacher until September 2013, and the learning support manager is now the acting deputy headteacher. The mathematics leader is also newly appointed this academic year, as are ten other teachers.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that all is good or better by making sure that:  teachers set work that is not too easy for pupils, especially the more able, so that they are required to think deeply about their work  marking is consistent across all years and subjects and shows pupils how to improve their work, and checking that pupils have followed it up with corrections.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement in reading by:  having high expectations of what pupils can do and achieve  making sure pupils understand the meaning of what is being read and use a wider vocabulary to express their ideas.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the leadership and management of teaching by developing the roles of subject leaders to include them in the group of leaders who make regular checks on pupils’ progress in class.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement is not good because it is inconsistent across different year groups. Progress in reading in Year 6 is less strong than in Years 4 and 5, where the majority of pupils are now making good progress in both reading and writing. Smaller proportions of pupils in Key Stage 2 are currently making as good progress in mathematics as they are in writing.  Smaller proportions of more-able pupils, in all Key Stage 2 year groups, are making better progress, given their starting points, than their classmates. This is because there has been an effective focus on assisting those with lower attainment levels to catch up but less emphasis on giving hard work to the more able pupils to help them attain the highest levels.  Attainment and progress in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 have also fluctuated in recent years. However, Year 1 pupils are now making more rapid progress and current information suggests that this year group will attain better scores than previous year groups.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The numbers who attained the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check declined in comparison with the national average between 2012 and 2013. However, the system of teaching phonics (the sounds that letters make) has been revised and current assessments show that larger proportions of pupils are making more rapid progress in reading.  Achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good because carefully planned teaching means that most children leave the Reception classes with levels of communication, language and literacy that are approaching the national average. As they join the school with skill levels that are below those typical for three-year-olds, this represents good progress.  The pupil premium funding is used for a range of booster sessions for eligible pupils. As a result, pupils supported by the premium, particularly those in Years 5 and 6, have narrowed the gap or caught up with the English and mathematics scores of their classmates. In 2013 the gap was

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

less than six months in all subjects. Pupils in receipt of the premium in other years are currently no more than six months behind their peers in their scores for mathematics and writing. The gap in Key Stage 1 scores for reading between eligible pupils and their classmates has also narrowed and is now less than three months.  Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language make broadly the same progress as their classmates because the system of checking their support and progress has been improved.  Pupils with Bangladeshi, Indian and African heritages do at least as well as their classmates and in 2013 pupils with Bangladeshi heritage performed significantly better than their peers nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it has not promoted consistently good progress, especially in reading, as a result of a legacy of weaker teaching and less frequent assessment in the past.  The school’s own evaluation of the quality of teaching shows that there was some weaker teaching in the past. Leadership is increasingly focused on improving the quality of teaching. Much that was seen during the inspection was good. This is improving pupils’ achievement, but pupils are not yet making good progress over time in all years and subjects.  Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can do and achieve, especially in reading. The more able pupils are often set tasks that are not hard enough. This hinders their progress.  Pupils who find the work difficult have skilful, focused support in class to make progress.  In a Year 4 mathematics lesson, pupils were focused because the teacher’s expectations were

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

high and pupils’ responses were checked frequently. There were tasks of different levels of difficulty, based on pupils’ understanding of previous work, so pupils of all abilities were given difficult enough work to do.  Marking is regular but pupils are not always clear what they must do to improve their work because teachers do not give them the specific guidance they need or insist that they make corrections.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Activities are interesting and engage the children’s attention. Adults skilfully promote the children’s interests by posing stimulating questions to encourage their use of vocabulary. They track children’s responses very carefully so that they follow up very precisely in subsequent activities.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are usually good. They want to live up to their teachers’ expectations and they value the recognition and rewards that come from behaving well. Pupils of all ages work cooperatively.  Pupils consider that they are well looked after by the adults around them. Well-mannered, courteous behaviour is typical because the pupils are keen to live up to the school’s values of polite and respectful conduct.  Pupils understand what bullying means and believe that the number of incidents is low. They speak of the ways in which help from adults is forthcoming, including confidential ‘worry boxes’, if there is any unkind behaviour.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good because they have a good awareness of personal safety, including cyber safety and road safety. This is covered well in lessons and assemblies, and older pupils play their part as ’Digital Leaders’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A good range of well-attended sports clubs, including dance, keep fit, multi-skills and healthy cooking, helps to promote a healthy lifestyle.  Behaviour is good rather than outstanding because pupils’ attitudes to learning are not exemplary across all classes.  Attendance has improved and is coming into line with the national average because effective strategies are persistently used to reduce absence in families that find it difficult to maintain good attendance.  Parents who responded to Parent View believe that the school provides a safe and caring environment. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are very pleased with the activities and clubs that have been provided for them.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because the wider leadership team, including subject leaders, have not yet brought about school-wide improvement in attainment and the teaching of reading.  Subject leaders are presently at an early stage of developing their roles in checking pupils’ progress in classrooms. However, they have begun to draw on the support of local authority and other consultants to help them to check that assessments of pupils’ attainment are accurate.  The acting headteacher and her leadership team have begun to raise the standard of teaching. This has had some recent and positive impact on pupils’ progress in Years 4 and 5. The management of staff performance now makes sure that only those teachers who meet required standards move up the salary scale. The acting headteacher has not shied away from difficult conversations about teaching performance when these have been necessary.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leaders have accurately identified the areas of the school’s work requiring development. Staff are overwhelmingly supportive of the drive for improvement. ‘I feel very proud to be a member of staff at Clockhouse Primary School’ is a typical response.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through the curriculum. Pupils have time for reflection in assemblies and express moral viewpoints in their contributions to social education lessons. Opportunities to participate in orchestra, choir and a wide range of sports competitions widen cultural horizons. The good range of well-attended clubs and eagerly anticipated trips and visits build pupils’ social confidence.  Innovative approaches enlist parents in weekly reading sessions with pupils and regular visits to their children’s lessons help them to understand how to help their children with homework.  The Early Years Foundation Stage is led and managed well. Arrangements for settling the

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The leadership and management require improvement

children into Nursery and transferring to Year 1 are sensitively handled and the children benefit from a well-planned mixture of indoor and outdoor activities.  Safeguarding systems meet statutory requirements and policies are systematically reviewed. Leaders promote equal opportunities and are assiduous in tackling any discrimination that may arise.  The additional sports funding has been used to improve teachers’ skills in partnership with sports coaches. As a result, physical education lessons are improving in quality and more pupils are taking part in tournaments with other schools.  The local authority assists the school’s drive for improvement by linking the acting headteacher with an experienced local headteacher for support and advice. The local authority’s staff also undertake joint lesson observations with school leaders and offer subject support.

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The governance of the school

 The governing body has an understanding of how pupils are performing compared with national standards from using the ‘data dashboard’ reports. They have organised training for themselves in tracking pupils’ progress in the school compared with national figures. Governors make regular visits to the school to satisfy themselves that reported improvements are borne out. The governing body understands the link between teachers’ pay progression and pupils’ progress because they have revised the appraisal policy. They receive summaries of teachers’ performance from the headteacher. Checks are made that the pupil-premium funds are spent on the intended groups because school leaders report on the impact on attainment made by the funds. Oversight of safeguarding is systematic. The governing body takes a strategic role by checking the plans for improvement drawn up by the acting headteacher.

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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 102291 Local authority Havering Inspection number 440959

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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 709 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Leaper Headteacher Jo Collard (acting headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 7–8 November 2011 Telephone number 01708 745972 Fax number 01708 742245 Email address office@clockhouse.havering.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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