Grange Primary School

School report Grange Primary School Church Gardens, London, W5 4HN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Pupils achieve well from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. By the end of Year 6 in 2013, pupils reached standards that were similar to national expectations in all subjects.  The headteacher knows the school well and provides strong leadership. His drive and ambition for the school have resulted in the school improving quickly over the past year.  Teaching is consistently good throughout the school and is improving. Phonics (linking sounds with letters) is well taught and pupils use these skills to make good progress in their reading and writing.  All groups of pupils make good progress in their learning, including the most able. Good support from teachers and skilled teaching assistants ensures that pupils learning to speak English as an additional language and those supported by the pupil premium grant achieve well.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They enjoy learning

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and respond quickly in lessons. They are very well cared for and feel safe. They work and play together well and enjoy the responsibilities they have in school  The curriculum is well planned and is a strength of the school. It provides stimulating topics for pupils to learn about and supports their social, moral and cultural development very well. There is a lot of extra support for reading and mathematics. Music, art and physical education are a strong focus which the pupils enjoy.  Parents and carers are very positive about the school and praise the work of the teachers and the wide range of opportunities their children have.  The governing body supports the school very well and ensures that finances are well managed. They are engaged with all aspects of the school life and know the actions that are being taken to further improve the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not enough outstanding teaching to ensure that all pupils make rapid progress in their learning.  Leaders do not analyse regularly enough how different groups of pupils are achieving; this makes it difficult to check on how well improvements to teaching are progressing.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 31 lessons, of which four were conducted jointly with senior leaders. In addition, they made shorter visits to lessons to focus on specific aspects. They listened to pupils reading and scrutinised pupils’ work.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority, staff and groups of pupils.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and examined a range of documentation, including the school’s own performance data, records of the monitoring of the quality of teaching, governing body minutes and notes of visits and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.  The inspectors took account of the 37 questionnaires completed by members of staff.  The views of parents and carers were sought at the beginning of the school day and the inspection team took account of 108 responses from Parent View, the Ofsted online survey.

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Inspection team

Peter Nathan, Lead Inspector Additional Inspector Atifa Sayani Additional Inspector Gill Walley Additional Inspector Fiona Robinson Additional Inspector Avtar Sherri Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than most schools and has four forms of entry.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above average. The pupil premium provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, looked after children and pupils with a parent or carer in the armed forces.  The proportion of pupils who are of minority ethnic heritage is well above average: just under half of the pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs at school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is lower than average.  The proportion of pupils who join or leave the school between Reception and Year 6 is above the national average.  The current headteacher was appointed in January 2013 and has been in post for just over one year.  The school meets the current government’s floor standards which sets the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching to improve pupils’ achievement by ensuring that:  there is a high level of challenge in all lessons to increase the pace of learning  the marking of pupils’ work consistently gives clear guidance on how they should improve  information about how well different groups of pupils are achieving is regularly analysed and fully used by leaders and teachers so that the impact of improvements to teaching can be better monitored.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in the nursery and Reception classes with skills and knowledge that are lower than expected for their age. This includes a high proportion of pupils who are in the early stages of learning English. Children make good progress with their personal and social development, language skills and mathematical skills development due to the good teaching, the stimulating learning environment and the care they receive. By the time they leave Reception, half of the children reach a good level of development, with some exceeding this level.  Pupils continue to make good progress between Year 1 and Year 6, with many making excellent progress. This includes pupils from the range of minority ethnic groups within the school and also those pupils who have joined the school from other schools or from other countries. As a result, by the time pupils leave the school in Year 6, attainment is overall broadly in line with

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The achievement of pupils is good

that seen nationally and over half of pupils achieved high levels in reading and in the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test in 2013.  The results of the phonics screening checks (checks on pupils’ ability to read words using letters and sounds) for six-year-olds in 2012 and 2013 were above average for the majority of pupils. Good systematic teaching by teachers and teaching assistants has ensured that children become competent readers who learn to enjoy books. This is reflected throughout the school, which has a strong reading culture.  Progress in writing has improved considerably over the past year, which has led to improving standards across the school. Pupils now have more time to write in different subjects and good marking of their work has supported learning well in most classes.  The learning and progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are good. Support staff are well deployed to work in class with these pupils, who receive good individual

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The achievement of pupils is good

support. Pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties receive excellent support to enable them to achieve well in school.  Parents and carers are highly appreciative of the way in which the school and individual staff are available to talk to and support pupils when they need it so that they can learn well. This, together with an effective partnership with parents and carers for example around homework, has had a positive impact on raising standards.  School leaders and teachers make sure that individual pupils are monitored to ensure that they make good progress in their learning.  Pupils who are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding, including those entitled to free school meals, receive good support when they need it to keep up with other pupils. They have access to after-school clubs to develop a wide range of skills. Overall, the attainment of this group of pupils in the Year 6 class which left in 2013 was a little below

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The achievement of pupils is good

that of other pupils in the school. In mathematics, the gap equated to about two terms’ progress, and in both reading and writing about half a term in each. These gaps are smaller than those found nationally. Overall, pupils supported through the pupil premium funding achieve well, with many exceeding expected progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good across the school and this enables pupils to make at least good progress in their learning. Lessons are well planned, providing a good balance between listening, speaking and reading and an increased focus on writing skills and grammar. Teachers have good subject knowledge and this is clear from the way that questioning deepens understanding and any misunderstandings are clarified.  Pupils enjoy their lessons and are motivated to learn. They like and respect their teachers and the good relationship between pupils and teachers supports their learning well. This is particularly the case for more vulnerable pupils, who are supported well.  Teaching in the nursery and Reception classes is good. Curriculum activities are well planned and this ensures that children really delight in their learning. Good use is made of the outdoor areas and children are purposefully engaged in a range of activities. Mathematical activities are

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The quality of teaching is good

supported well, which makes sure that children make good progress in understanding numbers and shapes.  Teachers use creative ways of stimulating pupils learning. Resources are used well, such as the use of technology, for example ‘visualisers’, which enhances learning. In a few lessons seen, however, some pupils needed to be challenged more in their learning to enable them to make faster progress.  The quality of marking and the use of personal targets have had an effective impact on the improvement in writing skills which has been a school priority. All marking seen during the inspection was up to date and supportive of pupils, providing a lot of encouragement. In a few examples seen, marking did not always guide pupils precisely enough to understand how to improve their learning.  Teaching assistants play an important role in ensuring that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, pupils eligible for free school meals and those who need additional support

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The quality of teaching is good

with their learning make at least good progress in their learning. They work well both in the classroom and in one-to-one teaching sessions to support mathematics, reading and writing.  The school provides good support for pupils learning English as an additional language. Teachers and teaching assistants develop these pupils spoken and written language well. The use of pictures, photos and videos in lessons helps these pupils develop their understanding of language quickly. Electronic translators help pupils quickly understand new words and ideas in English.  All the parents spoken to believe that their children are taught well and they like the homework the children receive.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. This is a warm and welcoming school in which pupils are safe and behave well. Pupils play and learn together in a very positive and happy atmosphere. They are friendly and courteous, with pupils from a variety of cultural backgrounds developing positive relationships with each other.  Pupils, staff, parents and carers agree that behaviour is typically good, particularly in lessons, where pupils usually challenge themselves and persevere well. They clearly want to do their best for their teachers and they sometimes demonstrate excellent attitudes to learning. Pupils’ ability to work by themselves for longer periods of time particularly while writing shows their growing maturity and love of learning.  In nursery and Reception classes, all staff encourage children to share, take turns and work together and children respond to this well. This means that children learn to respect each other,

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

develop good manners and have consideration for each other’s feelings and helps make them ready for learning in Year 1.  Pupils are keen to take on roles and responsibilities in the school. School council members wear their specially designed sweatshirts with pride around the school and have a role in ensuring that any disagreements between pupils are sorted out. This teaches pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour themselves.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are aware of different kinds of bullying, including cyber-bullying. There are a few instance of bullying but these are addressed swiftly and firmly by the school.  Pupils cooperate well together in lessons in pair and group work and support each other’s learning well. For example, in a lesson seen which was looking at how to write persuasively, pupils checked through each other’s work, offering good guidance to their partner as to how to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

improve.  In a few lessons seen, pupils’ focus on learning was not as good as it could be, mainly due to the quality of teaching. This meant that occasionally not all pupils concentrated on the work set for them.  Pupils love coming to school and attendance has improved and is now above average. The school has systems in place to encourage attendance, including an attendance cup for the class with the highest attendance. Many pupils stay late after school to attend the many clubs on offer.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe and their parents agree that this is a very happy, safe school. Pupils know how to play safely using playground equipment, learn how to ride their bicycles properly on the road and have a good understanding of how to stay safe using computers as appropriate to their age.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and school leaders have a clear vision and ambition for the school which has resulted in greatly improved achievement over the past year. They have a clear understanding of the many strengths of the school and they have plans in place for continuing improvement. They have an uncompromising commitment to ensuring that all pupils make good or better progress in their learning.  The headteacher knows his school well and the school’s evaluation of teaching is accurate. School leaders, including middle leaders such as those responsible for subjects, are highly focused on continuous improvement in teaching and learning, and support for newly qualified teachers and those at an early stage of their teaching careers is good. A coaching scheme is in place to improve teaching performance across the school which has, in a short time, improved teaching quality. The school’s performance management system is good and fully supports

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The leadership and management are good

teaching improvement.  Individual pupil progress is closely monitored through termly or more frequent meetings. This means that pupil progress can be checked to make sure that pupils are learning well. Support is provided for pupils who need additional help with reading, writing or mathematics. School leaders and teachers do not, however, have a complete overview of the progress that all groups of pupils make in their learning because this analysis has not yet been completed. This makes it difficult to gauge the impact of initiatives to improve teaching.  The curriculum provides an excellent, exciting and wide range of learning opportunities for pupils. It ensures that reading, writing and mathematics are very well covered, with a lot of extra support for those children who need it, including in after-school classes. Creative learning is at the heart of the school, with a lot of opportunities for pupils to develop skills in art and

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The leadership and management are good

music. Pupils are regularly involved in performances in school and the local community, with the school choir having over 200 members. The library is used well, as are the computers located in the library area. The curriculum is enriched by the trips the pupils go on and by the wide range of clubs offered after school, including sports activities.  The school has a good partnership with parents and carers and many spoken to were very pleased with the school. Regular meetings are held with parents and carers to discuss pupils’ learning. Links with the local business community support gardening and cooking in the school and there are also good links with secondary schools, for example to support science teaching.  The school is using the new school sport funding to increase the wide range of opportunities that pupils have to take part in physical education and sports activities. This has already included

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The leadership and management are good

the funding of a specialist sports coach to train staff and to fund further staff training at a local sports college.  The local authority has provided appropriate support for this school and has an accurate view of what the school needs to do to improve. It has supported the improvements in teaching and the curriculum, with teachers attending relevant courses and through advice from specialist subject consultants.  The governance of the school:  Governors know about the standards that pupils are achieving in the school and how well the school is doing compared to all schools nationally. They are very engaged with the school and make visits looking at subject areas and other parts of school life. They have been involved in supporting the headteacher to improve teaching and leadership in the school. They now have a clear understanding of the quality of teaching in the school and other improvements through

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The leadership and management are good

reports from the headteacher and from their involvement in the performance management process. They have also developed their skills through attending a range of training courses provided by the local authority. They do not, however, have full information on the progress that pupils make in their learning because this has not been previously provided by the school leaders. They do know, though, that this is a school priority and they are clear about the steps that the school needs to take to improve further. Governors ensure that statutory duties are met and that financial resources are managed well. For example, they know how many pupils are eligible for pupil premium funding, what the funding is spent on and the impact in terms of attainment when these pupils leave the school.

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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 131144 Local authority Ealing Inspection number 441076

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 8 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 746 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lisa Dumais Headteacher Mr Graham Beeden Date of previous school inspection 19–20 July 2011 Telephone number 020 85671432 Email address admin@grange.ealing.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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