Setting

Mary Todd The Headteacher Marner Primary School Devas Street Bow London E3 3LL

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Marner Primary School

Following my visit with Barbara Breed and Sharona Semlali, additional inspectors, to your school on 17 and 18 September 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Marner Primary School

This monitoring inspection was conducted, at short notice, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because the Chief Inspector was concerned about aspects of the quality of leadership and management, including the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements, inclusion, and provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Evidence

Inspectors scrutinised the single central record and other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection arrangements, and a range of safeguarding policies. They looked at pupils’ work from the previous academic year, curriculum planning for the current year, minutes of governing body meetings, attendance records, and records of misbehaviour including bullying and incidents of racist behaviour. In preparing for the inspection, inspectors looked at the information on the school’s website.

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Evidence

Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, the school’s parental engagement officer, and a representative of the local authority. They spoke with the Chair of the Governing Body by telephone. They spoke informally with pupils and Tribal Kings Orchard One Queen Street Bristol BS2 0HQ T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 311 5359 Email : christina.bannerman@tribalgroup.com held discussions with small groups of pupils, including members of the school council. Inspectors observed break times, lunchtime and the end of the school day, and made brief visits to the majority of classrooms. They attended two assemblies.

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Evidence

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Evidence

The school’s safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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Context

With 615 pupils on roll, the school is very large in comparison with most primary schools. Numbers are set to rise further as the school expands from two forms to three in each year group. Almost all pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, with 87% from Bangladeshi backgrounds. The proportion whose first language is believed not to be English is very high. The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals) is much higher than in most schools. The proportion of pupils with disabilities and/or special educational needs supported by the school, including through a statement of special educational needs, is higher than average. Most of these pupils have speech, language and communication needs. The school runs and partially funds a Saturday school. The school was last inspected in November 2011 when it was judged to be good.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Brief visits to classrooms showed that staff foster positive attitudes to learning and that pupils respond well to praise and rewards. Such relationships help motivate pupils to work hard. Pupils enjoy school and most attend regularly. Movement around the school is orderly, but not regimented. At play, pupils mix together well. The school’s ‘golden rules’ are not just a list on the wall of each classroom. Pupils show through their behaviour that they understand the importance of how they treat each other and the environment. Pupils understand that their behaviour and actions have consequences. Bullying, including incidents of racist behaviour, is rare and not perceived by pupils to be an area of concern. Nonetheless, leaders take such incidents seriously; they record them, report them and follow them up thoroughly. Staff respond promptly to such incidents through assemblies and classroom activities, including specific programmes designed to encourage pupils to take

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

responsibility for their actions and to be resilient. Pupils say they feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils learn about different faiths in religious education lessons and speak with respect for the religious beliefs of others. They learn about celebrations and festivals and take part in a wide range of cultural events and visits to places of interest. The broad curriculum gives them a range of artistic and musical opportunities, including learning to play a musical instrument and singing at local events with pupils from other schools. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the wide range of things they do and learn. Pupils understand the importance of fairness for all pupils. Everyone takes part in the democratic process of electing school council members to represent them in making decisions about school life. Council members take their role seriously in representing the views of others and in raising funds to support local and global charities.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The school carries out appropriate checks on the suitability of staff to work with children in line with its safer recruitment policy. Records of these checks are held centrally and updated as new staff join the school. All staff have regular training in child protection and two senior leaders with designated responsibility as safeguarding leads have had recent training to update them in this role.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Pupils who may be at risk of harm are monitored carefully. Leaders make a scaled response, according to need, and seek advice from professionals when necessary. They take action on serious incidents and follow them up appropriately with relevant agencies. Staff attend case conferences and the school hosts meetings for all agencies to provide coherent support for pupils and families who need it most. Leaders are supported in this aspect of their work by a school social worker that works in school for one day per week. The system for record keeping ensures that small pieces of information about individuals are brought together and held in one place. This enables leaders to recognise emerging patterns in pupils’ behaviour and circumstances. Leaders also analyse incidents of misbehaviour to look for patterns that might indicate a growing need for support.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Absence is followed up systematically and quickly. Good attendance is celebrated and promoted in assemblies. Joint work with parents and the local authority is resulting in much success in raising attendance rates.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The school has a well-structured programme of support for pupils with specific needs, such as speech and language needs. Support is provided for disadvantaged pupils and those vulnerable to underachievement. The Shine School, a Saturday school for disadvantaged pupils, is an example of the school’s commitment to breaking down barriers to achievement. A programme of additional support provides for the most able pupils. From the start of this term the school has hosted a small class of pupils with autism and communication difficulties from the local special school. At present, pupils socialise with the rest of the school at play times and there are plans to increase the level of integration according to pupils’ needs.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The curriculum is broad, balanced and successful in promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values. It covers all subjects of the National Curriculum and includes the study of Spanish. It is enhanced by a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Leaders and governors are responsive to the views of parents and the wider community. For example, this term the school is embarking on a project which will engage all stakeholders in a review of the school’s vision for equality and will culminate in a new policy on equalities.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Despite the lack of notice given for the inspection, leaders were able to share a wide range of documentary evidence readily with inspectors. The school has a number of policies relating to safeguarding which are due for their annual review and update this term. Although generally consistent, these policies overlap and are repetitious. There is scope to rationalise these policies whilst ensuring due account is taken of the most recent guidance published in April of this year. Policies published on the website for parents are not always the most recent.

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External support

The school draws well on a range of local authority services and agencies to support pupils’ social and emotional needs, as well as specific needs such as in speech and language. The school’s decision to buy into additional support from the attendance welfare officer has resulted in improving pupils’ attendance rates. Plans to work with the local authority’s equalities team are well in hand.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Rationalise policies for safeguarding pupils, ensuring that updates reflect the most recent guidance on safeguarding.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Ensure that parents have access to the most recent school policies.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the Director of Children’s Services for Tower Hamlets and the Chair of the Governing Body. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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