Foxfield Primary School

Sandbach Place, Woolwich, London, SE18 7EX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  Leaders, managers and governors have not taken the action needed to stop the decline in achievement, behaviour and the quality of teaching since the previous inspection. Their view of the school’s effectiveness is not accurate.  In Year 2 pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has remained low for several years. Pupils’ progress from Years 3 to 6 is slow. Staff are not held accountable for what pupils achieve.  Too much teaching is inadequate. Staff are not sufficiently ambitious for pupils’ achievements. Checks on what pupils know are not used to help teachers plan work that is at the right level of challenge for pupils. Teaching assistants are not used well enough to accelerate pupils’ learning.  Feedback in lessons and marking do not help pupils to know how well they are doing or what they need to do to improve.  Children in the Nursery and Reception do not

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

make a good start to their education. They are not prepared well for Year 1.  Pupils do not behave well in lessons, in the playground or at lunchtime. They lack respect for one another and the staff. Leaders have not yet established a culture that prevents bullying or helps pupils to develop the skills to prevent it. They have not identified the underlying causes of disruptive behaviour.  Pupils do not enjoy a rich, broad and balanced programme of work. Subjects fail to engage their interest, especially boys. Pupils too often lose concentration, and take little pride in presenting their work neatly.  Governors have not secured strong and effective leadership over time. Not all governors and staff have the subject knowledge or training to carry out their roles well. Plans to improve the school rapidly are too new to have had an impact.  Leaders do not use information robustly to check that all pupil groups achieve equally

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

well.  Parents do not have confidence in the school. Over half of those responding to the questionnaire would not recommend it to others.

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The school has the following strengths

 The interim executive headteacher has gained quickly the confidence of staff and governors. Pupils feel safe.  The ‘Harbour’, a new provision for pupils on the autistic spectrum, has made a good start.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 23 parts of lessons often accompanied by senior leaders. They also observed pupils working in The Harbour and in small groups away from the classroom.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning were observed in lessons, assemblies, playtimes, lunchtime and when they moved around the school.  Pupils in Years 2 and 6 read to inspectors. Other pupils spoke about their perceptions of the school. Their previous work in literacy and numeracy was reviewed.  Meetings were held with the interim executive headteacher and staff responsible for major aspects of the school’s work. Inspectors also met with representatives of the local authority and the governing body.  Inspectors met with parents when they brought their children to school. The responses of 49 parents who completed the online survey Parent View and 20 questionnaires completed by staff were considered.  Inspectors examined documents examined including a recent review of the quality of teaching

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Information about this inspection

and learning and action plans to improve the school. The arrangements for safeguarding, and details of pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance were reviewed. The minutes of governing body meetings and a report written by a local authority representative were taken into account.

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Inspection team

Kath Beck, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Barbara Firth Additional Inspector Joanna Toulson Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Full report

The school may not employ newly qualified teachers.

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than most primary schools nationally. The number of pupils on roll is rising rapidly. By 2015 there will be three classes in each year group from Reception to Year 6.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Almost half of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, the additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and looked after children. This is a higher proportion than usually found in most schools. The school receives additional funding for both of these groups.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is similar to the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above that found nationally.

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Information about this school

 Over two thirds of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds. The largest groups are from Black African and White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than in most schools.  Since the previous inspection the school has moved into new purpose-built accommodation. The Nursery has been integrated into the school. In January 2014, it opened The Harbour, a unit with specialist provision for up to eight pupils with autism. Most pupils are very new to the school and are integrated into classes. They also spend designated time in the unit.  Staff turnover is high. The headteacher and two other senior leaders left in April 2014. Some teachers are temporary and eight are leaving at the end of term. The Chair of the Governing Body took up her role in January 2014.  An executive headteacher, a National Leader of Education, has been appointed to support the

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Information about this school

school temporarily. He took up his post three weeks prior to the inspection. Staff and governors from his school, Woodhill Primary School, have recently begun to offer support.  A new head of school is due to take up her duties in June 2014. Some other senior leaders have only been in post for a very short time.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club during term time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in all year groups so that it is consistently good or better by:  eradicating inadequate teaching  ensuring all staff are ambitious for pupils’ achievements, and work is set at the right level to provide suitable challenge for all pupils  making sure that teachers make better checks on pupils’ progress and understanding in lessons  encouraging pupils to take pride in the presentation of their work  ensuring teachers use comments in marked work and constructive feedback in lessons so pupils know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve their work  using teaching assistants more effectively to accelerate pupils’ learning throughout lessons.  Raise attainment in mathematics and English, especially in writing, by:  clearly identifying the expected knowledge, skills and understanding pupils should have reached by the time that they move on to their next year

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 insisting that pupils apply their skills in punctuation and grammar correctly  providing more opportunities for pupils to apply their skills in English and mathematics across different subjects  Give children in the Nursery and Reception a better start to their education by:  providing a range of stimulating activities to promote confidence and fluency in spoken language  taking urgent action to develop children’s early reading and writing skills to prepare them well for Year 1  redesigning the outdoor area to provide varied and rich challenges that extend classroom learning  creating an accurate record of each child’s achievements to plan activities based on their prior learning.  Raise standards of behaviour and safety in the classroom, playground and at lunchtime by:  carefully analysing logs of pupils’ behaviour to ascertain, and take action about, underlying causes of incidents  helping pupils to display respectful behaviour towards to each other and to adults

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 establishing a culture which prohibits bullying, and provides pupils with the skills to manage it should it occur  increasing pupils’ knowledge of how to stay safe on the internet.  Secure strong and effective governance and leadership and management at all levels to build the capacity to improve the school by:  checking that plans to bring about rapid improvements are fully implemented and that they are having the desired impact  developing the skills of those with specific responsibilities to enable them to play a better role in raising the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements  ensuring that leaders' view of how well the school is doing is robust and accurate and acknowledges the contributions of parents, staff, governors and pupils  using data rigorously to check that all groups of pupils achieve equally well  establishing robust procedures for checking on staff performance and holding all to account

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

for pupils’ achievements  providing training to support those new to the school and to teaching to improve skills in managing behaviour and promoting effective learning in English and mathematics and for children in Reception and Nursery  introducing a broad programme of work that enthuses pupils, especially boys, about learning which promotes essential skills in English and mathematics across subjects  restoring parental confidence in the school by raising attainment, rates of progress and improving behaviour.

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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 management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Children in the Nursery and Reception classes do not make the best possible start to their education. Their confidence in talking and using early literacy and numeracy skills is not developed well. Staff do not provide appropriately engaging activities that enable children to learn and apply these skills rapidly.  Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 has been much lower than in most schools for several years.  Over the past three years the rate at which pupils progress between Years 3 to 6 has slowed. This means pupils have a lot of catching up to do. In 2013 by the end of Year 6, few pupils reached levels higher than expected for their age in reading and mathematics.  To reach the levels expected for their age, pupils in Year 6 attend after-school and holiday clubs, and booster classes. Pupils described how their curriculum was reduced to revising literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils’ books show that typically progress is slow across the school. They often

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

work at levels lower than those expected for their age. This is because expectations of what they could do are too low.  Pupils’ performance across the school is currently weakest in writing, as it was at the time of the previous inspection. Few pupils use a good style of handwriting. Their books show a lack of understanding in the application of accurate punctuation and grammar.  Pupils’ progress is slow. Teachers do not clearly identify the knowledge, skills and understanding pupils should reach by the end of the school year, before moving on to the next class.  More able pupils are not challenged sufficiently to reach the levels of which they are capable in most year groups. A very small number of pupils reached the nationally expected Level 4 in mathematics last year.  The school is not ensuring that all pupils have an equal opportunity to succeed. Pupils who speak English as an additional language perform well against similar pupils in other schools.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

White British pupils, others who speak English as their first language and some Black African boys do not do as well. Their performance is lower than their groups nationally and for 11-year- olds across the country.  Pupils for whom the school receives additional funding are almost a year behind their classmates in mathematics, and six months behind in reading and writing. This is a slightly narrower gap than is found nationally.  The progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs requires improvement. Their programmes of work are designed to build up their learning in small steps. They are supported well working individually or in small groups with an adult outside the classroom.  Since starting in The Harbour unit pupils have made good progress from their starting points in their personal, social and language skills.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Inadequate teaching limits pupils’ attainment. Teachers’ knowledge of how to teach essential writing and mathematical skills in the Nursery, Reception and Years 1 to 5 is not sufficient to promote rapid progress.  Assessments of what pupils can do are not always accurate. Work is not demanding enough or pitched at the right level. Consequently, lower attaining or more able pupils receive work that is too easy or too hard. In lessons, teachers do not check pupils’ progress or their understanding well enough to move learning on.  In the Nursery and Reception, staff do not keep an appropriate record of each child’s achievements. This means activities are not planned to build on what they have learned before. They do not challenge children to achieve as well as they can.  Much of the work set in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is dull. It fails to capture pupils’ interest, especially the boys, and this leads to poor behaviour that slows learning. Few pupils take pride

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

in how they present their work, which is often scruffy.  Teachers' feedback to pupils in lessons and their written comments are not good enough. Pupils do not know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Teachers do not provide suitable activities across subjects that allow pupils to apply their writing and mathematical skills in their work.  Teaching assistants are not always used efficiently to enhance pupils’ learning throughout lessons. Too often they supervise other activities and tell pupils what to do so pupils do not get enough chance to show they can get on with their work and learn on their own. Teaching assistants support effectively the needs of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  Good teaching in The Harbour allows pupils to make gains in developing their social skills, learning to deal with sudden changes in the classroom and in effective communication.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  Parents and teachers responding to questionnaires say that behaviour is typically poor and ineffectively managed. Staff have only recently introduced logs to record inappropriate behaviour. These have not been analysed to identify the underlying causes.  Many pupils, especially boys, have difficulty managing their own behaviour. In lessons where activities fail to enthuse them to want to learn, they lose concentration and distract others from learning. Young children squabble, finding it hard to share resources or take turns.  In the playground behaviour is overly boisterous. Some pupils miss their playtimes because they have been involved in fighting. Not all pupils are respectful to one another or to adults.  Pupils and parents say that bullying is a concern for them. They acknowledge some recent improvements. The school has yet to develop a culture which is intolerant of unkind behaviour

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

or provide pupils with the strategies to deal with it.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe from bullying and unruly behaviour requires improvement.  Staff are attentive to pupils’ safety. That said, pupils are not sufficiently aware of how to stay safe when using the internet.  Attendance is improving. Few pupils are taking extended time off school.  Counselling is available for families and their children at times of stress which supports their welfare. Pupils in The Harbour are supported well.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leadership and management are inadequate because pupils’ achievements, behaviour and the quality of teaching have declined significantly since 2011. With the high turnover of staff at senior management level the school does not have the capacity to improve without significant support. Parents have lost confidence in many aspects of the school’s work.  Since September 2103 the local authority has challenged the school to raise achievement in all year groups. In doing so, it rightly negotiated the current leadership arrangements to improve the school’s effectiveness.  The interim executive headteacher has quickly won the confidence of staff and governors, and is starting to develop a culture that fosters rapid improvement. Robust plans to bring this about have been drawn up. They have not been fully implemented and it is too early to judge their impact.  Subject, year group and phase leaders, some of whom are new to their roles, have been unable

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The leadership and management are inadequate

to raise achievement. They recognise the school’s weaknesses, but do not have the skills to be effectively and lead and manage their areas of responsibility. Procedures for the appraisal of staff are weak. Leaders do not hold staff accountable for pupils’ underachievement.  Judgements on the school’s effectiveness are generous. Systems to monitor the quality of the school’s work lack rigour. There is not robust analysis of data by leaders and managers at all levels to ensure that all groups of pupils achieve equally well. They do not consider the views of parents, staff, governors and pupils when identifying areas for improvement.  Staff, especially those new to teaching, have received too little training to help them to enhance pupils’ progress. Not all have the skills to: manage pupils’ behaviour well; promote effective learning in English and mathematics; or help children in Reception and Nursery make the best

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The leadership and management are inadequate

possible start to their education.  The programme of work in the Nursery and Reception lacks rich and varied learning experiences indoors and outside. In Key Stage 1 and 2 it lacks breadth and balance. It does not promote pupils’ social, literacy or mathematical skills well enough, or engage boys in their learning. However, assemblies and discussions about the protection of endangered species add to pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development.  The primary sports funding is used well to improve sporting activities for girls, and those needing individual support. As there are many changes in staffing, money has been saved to train new staff when they join the school in September 2014. The impact of spending on developing pupils’ healthy lifestyles, better physical well-being and performance levels has not been checked.  Those responsible for The Harbour have ensured that it has made a good start with appropriate

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The leadership and management are inadequate

resources and qualified staff. Parents of pupils who attend are pleased with the progress their children have made in a short time.  The governance of the school:  Governors have not undertaken enough training to ensure they are effective in their roles. This term they are working with others from the partner school led by the interim headteacher to develop their skills. Governors are not sufficiently familiar with the data on the school’s performance, which compares it to other schools. Minutes of their meetings show that they are starting to ask senior leaders more challenging questions about the school’s effectiveness. They, however, accept positive reassurances too readily.  Until December 2013, governors were unaware of the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ progress. They have little involvement in the performance arrangements for staff that link pay to pupils’ achievements.  Governors know that much of the pupil premium money is spent on raising achievement in

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The leadership and management are inadequate

Year 6. They know that its impact throughout the school is not good enough.  With additional funding becoming available with the new building, finances are checked in cooperation with the local authority. Governors understand that they need to be ar about the precise level of money available to benefit pupils and how the impact will be measured.  A recent audit shows that statutory requirements for safeguarding are met.

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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 100156 Local authority Greenwich Inspection number 443939

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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 557 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Deanne Saxby Headteacher Rob Carpenter (interim executive headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 30 ‒ 31 March 2011 Telephone number 020 8854 0816 Fax number 020 8317 8244 Email address Sao1@foxfield.greenwich.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 and 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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