Barley Lane Primary School

School report Barley Lane Primary School Huxley Drive, Chadwell Heath, RM6 4RJ

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

 Teaching in Key Stage 2 is inconsistent and this means that not enough pupils exceed their expected levels of progress. In the past too much depended on teachers helping the oldest pupils to catch up.  The quality of teaching has not improved fast enough since the last inspection. Teachers’ marking is too variable and their planning does not always make sure that pupils are given hard enough work.  The information about pupils' progress and achievement that the school uses is not easy to work with so it is difficult to know how well different groups of pupils are doing.  Leaders do not have enough information to be sure how well their actions have made improvements. This means that resources are not used as effectively as they might be.  Staff are not always clear about what is expected of them because school information is not kept up to date and well organised.  Governors do not hold the school rigorously to

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The school has the following strengths

 School leaders have started to make the changes that are needed to improve the quality of teaching.  They have made accurate judgements about what needs improving and they want to make changes quickly.  Pupils feel safe and like being at school.  Children learn well in Early Years Foundation Stage because teaching here is good.  Parents value the support that the school gives them and their children.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 39 lessons and parts of lessons eight of which were joint observations with senior leaders.  Inspectors held discussions with a governor, members of the leadership team and a member of the local authority.  Inspectors gathered information from a range of school documents including policies, school improvement plans, pupil progress information, records of checks that the school carries out on the quality of teaching, safeguarding documents, local authority reports and information for families such as that found on the school’s web site. They also looked at the school’s use of the pupil premium funding, which provides additional funding for pupils in local authority care, children of service families and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  Inspectors heard pupils read, listened to their views about their time at school, attended two assemblies, circulated amongst pupils at play and joined them for lunch in the dining room. They

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Information about this inspection

also looked at pupils’ work books and wall displays.  Inspectors took account of parent surveys made by the school and the 26 responses from Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View) as well as the views that parents shared with inspectors during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Christine Fogg, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Lucia Devine Additional Inspector Peter Hare Additional Inspector Velia Hartland Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average sized primary school with slightly more boys than girls.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium is lower than average.  A very large majority of pupils are from minority ethnic heritages and speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is below average. The proportion which is supported through school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The head teacher was new in post in September 2013.  The school meets the government’s 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 proportion of good and outstanding teaching by:  ensuring pupils always know what they have to do to improve through teachers' marking and guidance  improving the way teachers use the sounds letters make (phonics) to help pupils read and spell  making sure additional adults and other resources are used well to increase progress for pupils across all year groups  encouraging pupils' independence in judging their learning and providing opportunities to talk about this with their peers and teachers.  Raise attainment and increase pupils’ progress in all years by:  ensuring all teachers take into account what pupils have done well and have high expectations of what pupils must do next when planning activities  improving the way information on how pupils are doing is collected and shared so leaders and teachers understand how fast pupils make progress, decide how to help pupils who are not

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

doing well and who is responsible .   Improve behaviour and safety by:  setting clear expectations for behaviour that will help pupils to understand how to be caring of others and more aware of their own learning  ensuring that the minor incidents of name calling and boisterous play are resolved to the satisfaction of pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by:  using training and checks on the quality of teaching to ensure teachers have help to improve teaching skills  developing middle leaders' effectiveness in improving teaching and learning in all areas of the curriculum  improving the way governors check that resources such as pupil premium funding are used wisely.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress across Key Stage 2 is patchy and not enough pupils make good progress. Not enough teaching is building on the good start made in Key Stage 1 and as a result they enter Year 6 well behind where they should be. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 2 have been broadly in line with national averages for several years with no sign of rapid improvement.  Progress improved for all pupils in 2013 as a result of carefully targeted support and good teaching in Year 6. Several pupils, including the most able, were stretched to reach higher levels in mathematics and writing. As a result, standards last year in reading, writing and mathematics were all above national averages, mathematics improved significantly and pupils did exceptionally well in English, grammar, punctuation and spelling. Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge that are below and sometimes well below those

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

which are typical for their age. This includes a majority of children with a small knowledge of English. Good teaching means that they make good progress and by the end of the Reception class most have skills and aptitudes close to those typical for their age.  Pupils make good progress through Key Stage 1 with many pupils reaching levels better than expected for pupils at their age in reading and writing.  Checks on pupils' knowledge of phonics show that they do not do as well as pupils nationally but school information shows that they catch up well and this is seen in the good progress made in reading and writing during Year 2.   Pupils enjoy reading and parents are welcomed to read with their children in a club before school. Many pupils achieve well in reading by the end of Year 6. However, sometimes pupils are held back and a few older pupils read books that do not stretch them because reading is not

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

taught as effectively in other classes. Teachers are not consistent in their use of the sounds letters make, some mispronounce sounds and this slows down the progress of some children.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The achievement of pupils from minority ethnic heritages and those who speak English as an additional language is similar to their peers with some pupils doing much better than expected for their age.  Progress for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is slow in many year groups and the gap between them and their peers is not closing fast enough. In Year 6, rates of progress have improved and standards are broadly in line with their peers nationally.  Gaps between pupils eligible for pupil premium funding and their peers were above the national average but have reduced rapidly so that in 2013 Year 6 pupils eligible for free school meals were less than 4 months behind in reading and writing and 8 months in mathematics. This good progress is not mirrored in the information about other Key Stage 2 classes where gaps are wider.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching has not improved quickly enough since the last inspection. Some pupils are still not challenged enough and say that they have done similar work before. Inspectors saw good learning in Early Years Foundation Stage, for example, children ran a shop and enjoyed greeting customers, selling and wrapping bunches of flowers. However, there is not enough good learning across the rest of the school and too much variation between similar year groups. The school's own information supports this.  Marking is inconsistent in the help it provides to pupils to improve their work. Where the teacher makes useful comments pupils do not always get a chance to respond. Some marking is helpful and makes good links to learning. However, sometimes pupils know what they have done well but cannot explain how they can improve because they don’t have the chance to talk about their learning before they start new work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers often plan a range of activities for pupils of different abilities but some pupils spend time doing work that is not hard enough. Teachers do not always make sure that additional adults are clear about how they can help and so they focus on organising pupils rather than developing their thinking or skills.  Teachers use additional support well to help pupils catch up in Year 6 but this type of action is not always used well in other years. This means that some pupils do not receive the help that they need early enough to make good progress. Leaders have introduced regular meetings to discuss pupil progress and all teachers are held to account for their pupils’ progress in all subjects. A new information system is expected to be much easier to use and will help everyone make these meetings more useful.  Expectations about presentation in work books are variable and the handwriting of teachers is

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

not always clear. This is not a good model for pupils who are learning to join their letters and develop pride in their work.  Pupils use their literacy skills across the curriculum well. A teacher skilfully used the sounds letters make to explain the pronunciation of a French word. The pupils enjoyed applying their knowledge and were soon confidently saying new words. Elsewhere literacy skills were practised well when learning about war propaganda posters. Pupils have fewer chances to improve their progress in mathematics through practising their skills in other subjects.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils do not always consider others on the playground and some complain that older pupils are too boisterous when playing with footballs. Sometimes pupils call each other names and although pupils understand the difference between this and bullying they explain that they think it is bad behaviour. Behaviour in the dining room and corridors is good but not all pupils understand how to behave well when meeting school visitors.  Behaviour in lessons is variable with some pupils very interested in their learning and keen to do their best. In other lessons pupils are easily distracted and finish work too quickly ignoring their errors so that they can start a different activity.  The current behaviour policy is complicated and staff do not use it consistently. This means that behaviour is managed in a variety of ways and pupils do not always know what is expected of

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

them or where they are responsible for managing their own behaviour.  Pupils like coming to school and attendance is improving. Younger pupils like the young leaders who they know they can go to for help or conversation at playtimes.  The schools' work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and parents say that the school keeps their child safe. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, for example when using the internet and electrical items. Pupils know about different types of bullying and say that teachers will listen to their concerns and be supportive in sorting out problems.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because the quality of teaching has not improved quickly enough since the last inspection and leaders have not regularly checked to make sure improvements have happened. Timescales to improve aspects of teaching such as marking are not clear and some of the support and training provided for teachers has not made enough difference.  The new head teacher has started to make important changes to the school. The changes that have been made so far have improved accountability and the quality of teaching in literacy but there is still work to be done to improve the teaching of mathematics across the school. The time lag between making a change and seeing results means it is too soon to see improvements in pupils' achievement.  The majority of the school’s own judgements matched inspectors’ findings during the inspection. An external consultant gave helpful advice to the school so it had a clear understanding about

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The leadership and management requires improvement

strengths and areas for improvement in teaching before the inspection.  A second reason for a slow improvement in the quality of teaching is the system for managing information about pupil progress. It is cumbersome and takes too much time to process. This gives middle leaders extra work and they are unsure about the usefulness of the final information. A new system is planned to improve this situation and benefit all staff. The school has been using this limited range of information for several years and it has only recently become aware of the poor progress after Year 2. As soon as this came to light the school took action and this resulted in good outcomes for Year 6.  Improvements in the quality of teaching have also been hindered by lack of experienced leadership for English and mathematics. The school has plans to develop leaders with clear responsibilities linked to pupil progress and the management of teachers' performance.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Pupil premium funding has not always been spent effectively. The school investigated the difference that the funding has made and as a result changed the way it was spent. However, the information shows that although the gap has narrowed in Year 6 this is not the case in other years. School leaders plan to look again at the way this funding is spent especially how additional adults are linked to classes.  Some school policies are out of date and some are too complex to provide staff with clear guidance on consistency and developing expertise.  The subjects taught are varied and provide pupils with chances to think about other cultures, to speak a new language and experience a range of art forms. Some assemblies provide spiritual moments as well as enabling pupils to come together as part of a caring school community. Pupils say that they like the clubs on offer and would like more.  The school sports funding is planned to provide pupils with experience of sports. However,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

pupils have too few chances to develop their understanding of how games are played and what strategies are used. The pupils say that they enjoy PE but there is not enough evidence that the funding has made much difference to fitness and enthusiasm for physical activity. This is because the school has not yet developed a way to check this accurately using the current success statements.  Parents unanimously agree that they would recommend the school to other parents although they think that the school should pay more attention to homework and being healthy. They value the support that the school gives them so that they know how to help their children learn at home. They welcome more opportunities to do this.  The local authority has provided appropriate support and considers that the school has good capacity to improve. The new head teacher is an experienced local leader in education but the local authority has no plans to ask him to support local schools until he has been at the school

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The leadership and management requires improvement

for long enough to make the improvements that he has planned.  The governance of the school:  Governors do not hold the school to account and have not asked enough challenging questions about the strengths and areas for improvement. They have not tackled underperformance because they have not always been given enough information. The minutes of recent governors’ meetings show that they have begun to ask more challenging questions, for example about pupil progress and the way that the pupil premium funding is spent. The head teacher provides governors with detailed school information about pupil progress. Governors know about some published information but some, such as the data dashboard, was not familiar. They know about the school priorities and can explain where the biggest gaps are, about the quality of teaching and have some understanding of the managements of teachers' performance but a have a better understanding of how the process works for the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

headteacher's performance. However, not all members of the governing body are familiar with the work of each subcommittee. This means that there is no clear, shared picture of important aspects such as the schools’ finances and how these are linked to rewarding high quality teachers or obtaining useful resources for improving pupil progress. There is no current plan for developing relationships with parents although there are informal conversations on the playground. Training is planned for governors but there is no record of the past training available. The governors understand that they have statutory responsibilities.

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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 102840 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 440970

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 748 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Colin Edwards Headteacher Mark Ingham Date of previous school inspection 13–14 January 2011 Telephone number 02085908474 Fax number 02085991202 Email address admin@barleylane.redbridge.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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