Netley Primary School

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 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 strong and inspiring leadership of the headteacher and senior leaders has ensured that teaching has improved and is now good. Some teaching, particularly in Year 6, is outstanding.  The progress of pupils has improved since the previous inspection. From their starting points, pupils make good progress. Standards have risen and are now broadly average by the end of Key Stage 2.  Writing and mathematics have particularly improved. Pupils produce neat work and are proud of their books.  The behaviour of pupils is good. They are keen to work hard and enjoy their learning.  Around the school, pupils are very polite and they get along amicably. Pupils feel safe because they say the school does a lot to keep them safe.  Teachers and leaders make sure that the topics used to plan the work pupils do are exciting and relevant to the pupils.  The headteacher has worked hard to develop the leadership skills of the senior leadership

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

team. The development of middle leaders is also now improving.  Together, the governors and leaders have ensured the developments noted at the previous inspection have continued. This has led to an improvement in teaching and achievement across the school.  Governors and senior leaders work hard to ensure that all statutory requirements are met, particularly those with regard to keeping pupils safe.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not yet consistently outstanding. Some teachers do not check frequently how well pupils have understood what they are learning.  The best practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not always shared effectively.  Pupils do not yet make consistently rapid progress, particularly in developing their reading skills. The development of phonics skills (linking letters and the sounds they make) is variable for some younger pupils. .

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Information about this inspection

 The three inspectors visited 28 lessons and observed 21 teachers, including sessions for groups of pupils, led by teaching assistants. Most of these observations were undertaken together with senior leaders from the school.  The inspectors compared the work pupils were doing with the work they have done in their books this year. Inspectors talked to pupils about the school. They discussed pupils’ work, how pupils know how well they are doing, and how they know what to do next. They also discussed pupils’ views about the behaviour and how safe pupils feel. Inspectors listened to pupils reading.  Inspectors also observed the teaching and learning of pupils in the resource base, Woodlands.  The inspection team reviewed a wide range of documents provided by the school. These included teachers’ and leaders’ records about how well pupils are performing, analysis about groups of pupils, senior leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching and learning, and plans to

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Information about this inspection

bring about further improvements. Minutes from meetings were reviewed, including those recording the work of the governing body.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, groups of teachers and of pupils, and with members of the governing body. The 25 responses to a questionnaire for staff were reviewed. Two representatives from the local authority met with the lead inspector.  Inspectors noted that eight parents had responded to the online survey for parents, Parent View, and took account of the school’s own survey. They spoke to parents informally before and after school, and considered correspondence sent to the inspectors.  During the inspection, some classes had school trips for part of the day.

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Inspection team

Andrew Saunders, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Abigail Misselbrook-Lovejoy Additional Inspector Janice Williams Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than average, and has two classes in each year group, as well as a class of children in Nursery.  Almost all pupils are from minority ethnic groups. The largest group is Bangladeshi. Other groups include African, any other White background and White British pupils.  Most pupils speak English as an additional language. About 8% of pupils speak English as their first language. Some pupils speak a number of languages, having lived in a number of other countries.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above average. There are 16 pupils in a resource base, providing for pupils with severe, complex needs on the autistic spectrum. This is run by the school on behalf of the local authority. This resource base will be expanding the number of pupils it can accept.  There is a pupil referral unit on the same site as the school, which is run separately by the local

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Information about this school

authority. This was not part of this inspection.  There has been an extensive building programme under way for the past two years. This has meant that some classes have been taught in temporary accommodation. While the new building is due to be completed for September, there is further building work planned next term.  More pupils join the school part way through their primary education than nationally.  There has been some turbulence in staffing over the past two years.  In 2013, the school met the floor standards set by the government. These are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure teaching is consistently outstanding, by:  improving teachers’ checks on pupils’ understanding of their learning, in order to use this information when necessary to change the tasks pupils are doing more quickly  ensuring that adults in the Early Years Foundation Stage identify and share the best practice, so that teaching improves further in both Nursery and Reception.  Further increase the rate of pupils’ progress so that it is consistently rapid, especially in reading, by:  improving the consistency of teaching phonics, to match the best in the school  making sure tasks are suitably demanding so that all pupils have to think and work hard.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards have been rising over the past three years as the quality of teaching has improved. This improvement has been most evident in writing and mathematics.  Children join the school in Nursery or Reception with skills and knowledge which are below those expected for their age, particularly so in speaking and listening. Most children who join the school speak English as an additional language, and some have very limited experience of speaking or hearing English.  Well-established routines and good links with parents mean children settle into the social life of the school well and have lots of opportunities to speak and listen to English. As their confidence in understanding English increases, the pace of their progress in other areas also increases. However, progress is variable where teaching is not as strong for some groups of children in the Nursery and in Reception.  Children are enthusiastic about learning phonics. Very occasionally, staff do not use accurate

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The achievement of pupils is good

pronunciation of sounds. This means a few children learn incorrect sounds and their progress slows. Other teaching of phonics is outstanding and helps children make rapid progress.  Pupils currently in Year 2 have reached standards which are slightly below average. From their starting points, they have made good progress. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils in Year 6 have reached standards which are broadly average in writing and mathematics. This demonstrates their good progress overall.  The work in pupils’ books shows that this good progress is typical. However, there are occasions when pupils, including the most able, find the work too easy or they are expected to do lots of examples that do not stretch them to the full.  Pupils from the wide range of ethnic backgrounds, and boys and girls, make similar progress. The many pupils who join the school in different year groups often make exceptional progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in reading is not as strong as in writing and mathematics, in both Key Stages 1 and 2. However, pupils do enjoy reading a great deal. There is considerable discussion about books, and the most popular titles have a list of whom is going to read them next.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs in the main part of the school make good progress. Staff follow their progress carefully, check that the support they get is effective, and provide helpful resources where they are needed. Teachers are well informed about how they can help these pupils.  The pupils with severe and complex needs in the resource base make at least good progress, and some make outstanding progress in their reading and writing skills. Their social development is also carefully nurtured and they are helped to participate more widely in the life of the school.  Pupils eligible for additional support make similar progress to other pupils, and reach higher

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The achievement of pupils is good

standards than other pupils nationally. There are too few pupils who do not benefit from this support to make reliable comparisons within the school.  Parents say that their children make good progress at the school. Some parents particularly appreciate the additional opportunities that are available, including the trips and visits, because these enrich their children’s experiences.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make good use of the information they have about pupils’ skills and knowledge to plan the next skills they need to learn. Teachers plan tasks for pupils to do, based on an exciting choice of topics, so that pupils look forward to learning each day. However, teachers do not always check often enough that the questions or tasks pupils are doing are hard enough. Occasionally, as their books show, some pupils are allowed to continue for too long doing work which does not stretch their thinking.  There are excellent working relationships between adults and pupils. Teaching assistants provide the right amount of support, while making sure pupils do the work themselves. They give helpful explanations to those pupils who need them because they are well informed.  The teaching of phonics is not consistent. A few teachers do not have the confidence and skills to ensure pupils make the most progress they can in their reading, particularly for younger

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils.  The school has focused successfully on improving the teaching of writing and mathematics. Teachers bring a great deal of enthusiasm and energy to their teaching, and pupils like the way they make each topic fun. For example, pupils spoke in glowing terms about work done earlier this year, when all classes learnt about Macbeth. Pupils are very proud of the high-quality displays they produced.  Pupils’ progress in art is another strength of the school. The wide range of media on display shows pupils’ deep appreciation of the many different cultures in the school. Drama and music are similarly well taught so that pupils have wide-ranging experiences.  The teachers in the resource base, Woodlands, are exceptionally well trained and provide highly sensitive, effective support and input so that these pupils learn successfully. They work as a closely knit team, but also work extremely well with the rest of the school to integrate the pupils

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The quality of teaching is good

working in the base, or support pupils in the main part of the school.  Teachers are very experienced at helping pupils to develop their skills and confidence in learning English. Those at the very early stages of learning English are particularly well supported, whatever age they join the school. There are excellent resources to help them learn and they often enjoy using these; their learning is often rapid. Pupils spoke about how quickly other pupils involved them in games and learning, so that they felt part of the school.  Many teachers are particularly expert at using information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance their teaching and pupils’ learning. Teachers say that they feel confident teaching ICT because they can rely on the technology and they get excellent technical support. Pupils develop excellent skills in coding because they are given exciting opportunities to learn about

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The quality of teaching is good

how to control computers.  The quality of marking has been a focus for the school and is now a strength. Most teachers give pupils very helpful comments, showing them where they have succeeded, and an indication of what they need to do next. Pupils take delight in acting on this guidance, and can see how they have improved their work. The best examples of marking help pupils to make rapid progress, particularly in writing and mathematics.  Teachers make sure that pupils are given work to do at home, including learning spellings and reading. The school has provided parents with opportunities to learn how they can help their children at home, particularly in reading.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They are keen to work hard, and thoroughly enjoy the topics teachers prepare for them to study. Around the school they are sensible, polite and kind to one another. They get along well.  Adults use the agreed approaches for managing behaviour well, so that pupils know exactly what the school expects of them. For most pupils, few reminders are ever needed, often only because pupils are excited about learning.  Where behaviour is sometimes challenging, including in the resource base, there are exceptionally well-trained staff to manage this, and any impact on other pupils’ learning is kept to a minimum. There are excellent resources and highly-effective strategies to help pupils calm down and get back to their learning.  Pupils greatly appreciate the cultural and sporting opportunities they have, such as producing the musical The Mikado, the performance of which is anticipated with excitement. They also

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

enjoy competing against other schools in sports.  There is a very strong focus on the rights and responsibilities of children, not only in the school but across the world. Pupils are deeply passionate about this and are well informed about the lives of children in other countries. They take part in the campaign to make sure every child across the world is able to get primary education. They have recently written to the Prime Minister about it. They are very grateful for the opportunities they have for learning and developing themselves.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have been well aware of the additional procedures and arrangements in place during the extensive building works. They know a lot about how to keep themselves safe, particularly within their local area or when using the internet.  Pupils are well informed about the different forms of bullying, but they say that any incidents of

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

this are rare, and they are confident that any bullying would be dealt with quickly.  There has been a persistent focus on improving attendance, which is now average. The number of pupils who are too frequently away from school has been considerably reduced. The weekly figures for each class are shared in assembly, and eagerly anticipated. Pupils who have achieved 100% attendance each term are celebrated. Parents say that the school has worked sensitively to help parents to understand the importance of being at school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has developed an exceptionally effective team of senior leaders. Together they have identified the issues facing the school and ensured that any weak teaching is tackled quickly. They have managed an extensive building programme. The leadership of the resource base is also very strong.  The headteacher and governors have strengthened the leadership team and overcome the turbulence of the last two years. Middle leaders are also developing well and providing increasingly effective leadership in their subjects and areas of responsibility. However, some of these leaders are new to their roles, or their roles are changing, and this means some of the leadership is not as strong. They have not yet had sufficient time to have an impact on pupils’ progress and achievement as the school’s achievement information shows.  The development of the curriculum has been given a high priority and the school is very well

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The leadership and management are good

prepared for new requirements that have to be in place for September 2014. The school provides pupils of all ages with exciting themes through which to learn.  The teaching of sport and physical education has improved because teachers have benefited from support, training and exemplary teaching by specialist sports coaches. The additional sport funding has been used well to raise standards.  There are well-planned and developed systems to gather a wide range of evidence about the quality of teaching and learning. Senior leaders use this information to make sure teachers know what they need to do to improve pupils’ learning. Senior leaders emphasise personal reflection. Consequently, teachers think carefully about what they are going to teach, what impact it has had on different groups of pupils and how they might improve it.  There is a strong focus on equality; any discrimination or racism would not be tolerated. Staff

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The leadership and management are good

and pupils demonstrate this in the way they include pupils of all abilities in their play and learning.  The local authority has provided the school with very helpful support during the changes to leadership over the past two years, as well as with the building programme. This support has diminished as the confidence and impact of leadership have become more evident.  The school supports other schools, both locally and nationally, particularly in helping new headteachers, in developing the use of information and communication technology, and in support for pupils with severe, complex needs.  The governance of the school:  Governors have sought out high-quality training to make sure they are confident in meeting their statutory obligations. They know the school well because they spend time in the school, reviewing documents, systems, assessment information and looking at the learning of pupils in

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The leadership and management are good

lessons. They know the quality of teaching.  The governors have worked closely with the headteacher to support her in challenging weaker teaching. They make sure that any decisions about the level of pay awarded to teachers takes into account the quality of teaching and contribution to the school more widely. The finances of the school are managed well to encourage the best teaching and provide appropriate resources and opportunities.  Together with senior leaders, governors make sure that all statutory requirements are met, particularly those regarding keeping pupils safe.

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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 100018 Local authority Camden Inspection number 450858

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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 431 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anthony Stoll Headteacher Bavaani Nanthabalan Date of previous school inspection 2–3 May 2013 Telephone number 020 7387 6601 Fax number 020 7387 1117 Email address ehead@netley.camden.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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