Orchard Primary School

Orchard School Oxford Road, Sidcup, DA14 6LW

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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.  The headteacher and the governing body have ensured that all staff share their high expectations, relentless drive and ambition to improve the school.  Pupils achieve well from very low starting points to reach well-above-average standards in mathematics and above-average standards in English.  Teaching throughout the school is generally good.  High quality teaching and very good teamwork in the Early Years Foundation Stage enable the majority of pupils to reach a good level of development by the time they leave Reception.  The governing body very effectively holds the senior leaders to account for pupils’ results and quality of teaching.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety, both inside and outside the classrooms, are good.  Systems to check the quality of teaching by the senior leaders are rigorous. Therefore, all staff know exactly what they do well and how to improve.  The school has successfully closed the gap in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

attainment between pupils supported by the pupil premium and other pupils at the school as well as with all pupils nationally.  Parents and carers are very positive about what the school has to offer and increasing numbers are actively involved in supporting their children’s learning, especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Progress in reading and writing in some year groups is slightly slower than in mathematics.  There is not enough outstanding teaching.  Overall attendance and punctuality figures indicate that, until recently, too many pupils have not attended school regularly when compared with other schools nationally.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 parts of lessons, five of which were jointly observed with the headteacher. Inspectors undertook a series of short visits to other lessons across the school, observed an assembly and listened to children read.  Meetings were held with staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the Chair and Vice-Chair and another member of the Governing Body, as well as representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 35 responses to the online Parent View survey, a recent school questionnaire for parents and pupil questionnaire, as well as the views of the parents they met. Inspectors also considered the 33 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including national test results and the school’s own information about pupils’ achievement, the school’s checks on how well it is doing, the school development plan, safeguarding policies, and records and documents relating to the work

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Information about this inspection

of the governing body.  The inspection team also looked at pupils’ work, records of behaviour and incidents, the school’s website, data dashboard, records of the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and additional sports funding action plan.

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Inspection team

Kewal Goel, Lead inspector Additional inspector Ann Sydney Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The school has an Early Years Foundation Stage, which is made up of the Nursery and one Reception class.  The majority of pupils are White British, but a larger proportion than average come from a wide range of other minority ethnic backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is well above the national average. The additional funding is for certain groups of pupils, including children in the care of the local authority, those from service families and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average. The majority of pupils who need extra help

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Information about this school

have speech, language and communication needs.  The school has achieved the ICT Mark, National Inclusion and National Quality Basic Skills Mark.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards for Year 6, which set the minimum expectations for the pupils’ attainment and progress 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 ensure pupils make rapid and sustained progress in reading and writing across all year groups by: - further improving teachers’ expertise in teaching reading - continuing to embed opportunities to extend pupils’ writing skills.  Improve attendance and punctuality by targeting the small group of hard-to-reach parents so that they engage more actively with the school, and ensure their children attend more regularly and punctually.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children in the Early Years Foundation Stage enter the Nursery with skills and knowledge much lower than expected for their age. Children learn extremely well as a result of consistently good teaching, effective planning and support. By the end of Reception, the majority of pupils secure a good level of development.  The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) is well organised, with classes divided into small ability groups. The national checks for six-year-olds in 2012 and 2013 demonstrate average skills in phonics for the majority of pupils.  Good teaching enables pupils to build on the foundations laid in the Early Years Foundation Stage. At the end of Year 6, pupils achieve well-above-average standards in mathematics and above-average standards in reading and writing. Achievement is not yet outstanding because progress in reading and writing varies across the school and, in some year groups, pupils are not

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The achievement of pupils is good

given enough opportunities to extend their writing skills.  Pupils’ work and the school’s checks on pupils’ progress show that pupils make good, and often rapid, progress in reading and writing in some year groups. Standards of achievement in mathematics are very high throughout the school because pupils are given appropriately challenging work to take them to the next level. Pupils are highly motivated to achieve well in mathematics because of the many opportunities to solve real-life, practical mathematical problems.  The attainment of the most able and the middle-ability pupils is improving over time because of the good levels of challenge they receive. This is reflected in the increasing proportions reaching the highest levels in reading and mathematics at Key Stage 1, as well as in mathematics in Key Stage 2.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good and sometimes

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The achievement of pupils is good

outstanding progress because of the early identification of their needs and highly effective extra guidance and support by specialist staff.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language and those from minority ethnic groups make good progress because of effective targeted support.  There is no gap in attainment between pupils supported by the pupil premium and other pupils in the school in English and mathematics. These pupils are making more progress in English and mathematics when compared with all pupils nationally. This is because the funding has been spent effectively on meeting the needs of these pupils through targeted support to individual pupils and other small-group activities to accelerate their progress.  Pupils enjoy reading. They talk enthusiastically about reading in school as well as at home. The school promotes pupils’ love of reading through a range of clubs and other activities.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school actively promotes equal opportunities and tackles discrimination by ensuring pupils who are not making sufficient progress are given extra support to achieve well. Regular checks on pupils’ progress mean that anyone who needs extra help is quickly identified and provided with specific support.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching across the school over time is consistently good, with examples of some outstanding teaching. Teachers and other adults create positive and welcoming classrooms and corridors throughout the school. Wall displays are very attractive and classrooms are tidy.  Staff promote good relationships and high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievement. There are effective systems to ensure everyone follows school rules and, as a result, most pupils are engrossed in learning.  Good teaching has brought about the recent acceleration of pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics over the last two years. However, this is not the case in some year groups, especially in reading and writing, because pupils are not given enough opportunities to extend their writing skills.  Teachers ask questions to extend pupils’ thinking, and to check and deepen their knowledge and understanding. They set work that is appropriate for pupils’ needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers check pupils’ learning regularly and then adjust their teaching accordingly. They mark pupils’ work regularly and their feedback helps them to extend their learning. They give pupils time to respond; pupils’ response to the feedback is good.  When teaching is most effective, the teachers’ subject knowledge is strong and the pace of learning is fast. For example, in a Year 6 lesson, pupils quickly worked out the area of a parallelogram and a triangle from their knowledge of the area of a rectangle.  Additional adults are deployed well. They have a good understanding of pupils’ needs and support them very effectively.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, staff provide stimulating environments for learning, both indoors and outdoors. Children become confident learners and make good progress in their personal and social development, early reading, writing and speaking and number skills.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good. Most of them behave well in and around the school. They have consistently positive attitudes to learning during whole-class sessions, group work or when working alone. This enables them to make good progress.  All the staff that responded to the staff questionnaire agree that behaviour in the school is good and consistently well managed, and almost all parents who responded to Parent View and in the school’s annual parent survey agree that the school makes sure its pupils are well behaved. During the inspection, behaviour observed at break times and lunchtime was good.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that they are safe in the school. This is also the view of parents and school staff. The school carries out thorough risk assessments for a range of activities to ensure pupils’ safety.  Pupils respond promptly to the instructions of teachers and support staff. This allows lessons to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

proceed smoothly. Pupils are engaged in lessons and motivated to do well at tasks, which usually meet their needs well.  Pupils have a good sense of right and wrong, promoted well through teaching and assemblies. Diversity is valued and pupils from all backgrounds get on well with each other. Senior leaders ensure that there is no discrimination.  Pupils are friendly and welcoming to visitors. They play well together and enjoy good relationships with other pupils and adults. Pupils have a positive work ethic, as shown by the volume of work in books and pupils’ typically good participation in lessons.  Pupils are fully aware of different forms of bullying. Pupils say that bullying and name calling, including racist behaviour, are rare and, if they occur, are dealt with promptly. This is reflected in the very low number of incidents recorded in the school’s behaviour logs. There are no racist incidents recorded by the school this academic year.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Staff manage behaviour consistently well by using the school’s behaviour management procedures. Pupils respond well to these procedures. The school provides mentoring, counselling, play therapy and therapeutic programmes for pupils to ensure that social and emotional issues do not get in the way of their learning.  Pupils enjoy being given responsibility, for example as peer mentors and junior road safety officers.  The school makes strenuous efforts to improve attendance and punctuality, and now attendance is broadly average and punctuality is improving. To promote good attendance and punctuality, the school has appointed a family liaison officer and an attendance officer to work more closely with a small group of hard-to-reach parents.

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The leadership and management are good

 The ambitious leadership of the headteacher, senior leadership team and governing body is shown in their constant drive to secure improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement. Central to this improvement is the school’s clear and deep understanding of its strengths and areas for improvement.  The leadership team closely monitors the quality of teaching and learning of each member of staff. This enables all staff to identify their strengths and areas for development, so they know exactly what to do to improve.  Subject leaders have provided valuable guidance to teachers about how best to teach different subjects and this has led to some positive developments in teachers’ planning for a range of abilities.  There is a very supportive culture within the school as senior leaders model good, highly effective teaching and learning.  The system for setting targets for teachers is very closely linked to the quality of teaching,

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The leadership and management are good

pupils’ progress and training. The school provides its staff with personalised training and support programmes.  The analysis and tracking of progress of individual pupils are very good. These help teachers to identify pupils who are making expected progress and others who require additional support. The school has successful systems, using early identification and monitoring strategies, to take action to support vulnerable pupils.  The teaching of subjects is well planned and provides positive experiences with rich opportunities for learning. It is broadened by a variety of before- and after-school activities, including residential trips and visits, sports, ICT, art and music. Recently introduced approaches to teaching reading and writing are assisting pupils to learn more effectively than previously. What the school offers promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium is allocated very effectively to raise the achievement of eligible pupils by employing additional support staff and providing targeted support and extra guidance. As a result, these pupils’ progress is good.  The school makes good use of the government additional funding for sport. It has increased the time allocated for the sports coach, extended the range of sports clubs and provided free breakfast for children participating in clubs before school. The school’s analysis shows that the number of pupils who are participating in sports clubs this year has gone up by over a third.  The school has very successful strategies for engaging parents. The school communicates with them in a range of ways, including weekly newsletters, subject workshops, ‘stay and learn’ sessions and a range of adult learning courses. It works closely with families to support their emotional health and well-being through its family liaison advisor.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works positively with the local authority, which has confidence in the school’s leadership to maintain high rates of progress through its good teaching.  The school’s safeguarding systems are robust and meet all statutory requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors are highly focused and have high expectations for the school. They make a strong contribution to the quality of education the school offers. The governing body knows how the school’s results compare with national standards and pays close attention to the school’s checks on pupil progress. Governors make sure that the system for setting targets for staff is robust and linked closely to pupil achievement and salary progression. They hold the headteacher and senior leaders to account for the school’s results. Governors are very well organised through committees and bring a range of skills to ensure that the budget is

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The leadership and management are good

allocated carefully to the school’s priorities. They ensure that the extra money allocated for pupils who are at risk of not doing well and the additional sports funding are used well.  Governors attend training specific to their roles and responsibilities. The Chair of the Governing Body is attending the training for national leadership for Chairs of Governing Bodies. Governors ensure that safeguarding arrangements and other statutory duties are met fully.

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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 134185 Local authority Bexley Inspection number 430813

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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 226 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Susan Twynam Headteacher Amanda Lavelle Date of previous school inspection 27–28 June 2012 Telephone number 020 8300 4878 Fax number 020 8309 9343 Email address head@orchard.bexley.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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