St Mary's Priory RC Junior School

St Mary’s Priory Catholic Junior School Hermitage Road, London, N15 5RE

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 All groups of pupils make good progress. By the end of Year 6, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above average.  Teaching is typically good. Pupils are encouraged to learn collaboratively, which contributes to their learning.  Pupils’ behaviour is good in lessons. Their positive attitudes contribute well towards their progress. Pupils feel safe and have confidence in all the staff.  This is a warm, welcoming and caring school which pupils are proud of and enjoy attending. This is reflected in their above average attendance.  The school successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is seen in the way pupils respect and value their diverse cultures.  The range of subjects and activities makes a good contribution to pupils’ understanding about British values and is preparing them well for life in modern Britain.  School leaders, in partnership with the governing

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

body, have strengthened teaching and assessment and, as a result, have raised pupils’ achievement.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They continue to focus on helping the school to improve further.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Progress slows in Years 3 and 4 because the work does not always challenge most-able pupils. Opportunities to extend writing skills in subjects other than English are limited.  Pupils are not always confident at spelling key words.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 12 parts of lessons and all teachers were seen, some jointly with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the phase leader.  Inspectors observed lunch time and break times and attended an assembly.  Inspectors heard some pupils from Years 3 and 6 reading.  Discussions were held with pupils, key staff, a representative from the local authority and two members of the governing body.  Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including the school’s own evaluation of its performance, plans for improvement, governing body minutes, a range of pupils’ work in all of the year groups, records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance, and information relating to safeguarding.  Inspectors considered the 19 responses to the questionnaires completed by staff.  Inspectors took account of the recent questionnaires to parents and the few written responses from parents. Inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the school day. There were not enough responses to

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Inspection team

Sharona Semlali, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Mathew Kleiner-Mann Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized junior school. It is part of a hard federation with the infants’ school which is situated on the same site.  The infant school was inspected at the same time as the junior school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported by school action is slightly below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also slightly below average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (which provides additional funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children in local authority care) is well above average.  The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic groups and those that have English as an additional language is well above average. The two main groups are from Poland and Africa. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is also well above average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school runs its own breakfast and after school clubs providing provision from 8.00am until 6.00pm.  The school provides a nurture group called the Kingfisher suite.  The headteacher is a Local Leader of Education. She supports three schools: St Monica’s Primary School; St Paul’s Primary School; and St Thomas of Canterbury.  Since the previous inspection there has been some staff turbulence in Years 3 and 4.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make teaching typically outstanding to accelerate progress in Years 3 and 4 by:  ensuring that the work is hard enough, particularly for the most-able pupils  extending pupils’ writing skills by getting pupils to write at length in subjects other than English  ensuring that pupils are confident and accurately spell any key words.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, alongside the senior leadership team, has worked tirelessly to address all weaknesses in teaching over the past year. This has been successful. They have addressed the issues from the previous inspection. As a result, the quality of teaching has improved and is now good and pupils are achieving well.  Senior leaders have developed robust systems for checking the quality of teaching, which is shared with governors. Middle leaders are actively involved in this process. The information is used well to provide teachers with the specific training and support required. Teachers have clear and challenging targets that are reviewed regularly. Stringent support is put in place for them whenever it is needed. This is helping to raise achievement.  The middle leaders have a good understanding on how to use data to evaluate pupils’ progress. Those that are new to their roles are quickly brought up to speed by working alongside more established leaders.

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The leadership and management are good

 All leaders have a clear understanding of the need to prevent discrimination. Equality and diversity are promoted well. This is evident in the way pupils from different backgrounds and cultures learn and achieve well together. The school has an international day every year that celebrates the different cultures within the school. Good links are established with the local places of worship. This is contributing well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The curriculum is currently being developed. It is relevant to the local community and represents modern British values. For example, the school had a week of ‘proud being British’. Pupils enjoyed dressing up for this occasion. This is having a positive impact on pupils’ achievement. However, the curriculum does not always provide enough challenge in Years 3 and 4, particularly for the most-able pupils.  The primary school sport funding is used well to improve teachers’ skills to deliver high quality lessons

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The leadership and management are good

through using the expertise of trained coaches. Pupils are developing better lifestyles as extra-curricular activities are offered, such as a running club at lunchtime and tennis. All of this is helping pupils to develop a healthier lifestyle.  The local authority provides only limited support to this good school.  The school has established good partnerships with parents. They say that the leaders are approachable and do well in helping their child to learn.  Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is stable, experienced and effective. Its members make good use of each other’s skills to determine which committee they will belong to. Governors have regular training which helps them to carry out their duties effectively. From their regular visits and scrutiny of data, they are fully aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Also, governors know the views of parents by talking

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The leadership and management are good

to them. Governors meet regularly with pupils. This forum is known as ‘Have Your Say’. The governors are able to use this information to hold leaders to account.  Governors have worked closely with the headteacher and acted quickly to address any weaknesses in the quality of teaching. The management of the headteacher’s performance is firmly in place. Governors are fully informed of the teachers’ effectiveness in raising standards. They know how it links to their pay progression as they have the final say in the decision.  Governors have a good understanding of how the additional pupil premium funding is closing the gaps in attainment and how the sport funding is improving their pupils’ physical well-being. They ensure that the school promotes respect and tolerance through the curriculum and they utilise the different links with the local community.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. This is also the view of parents, pupils and staff. Pupils are polite, courteous and very friendly. They know how to welcome visitors into their school. They conduct themselves well around the school. The atmosphere in the dining hall at lunchtimes is calm. All pupils wear the correct uniforms and the learning environment is free from litter. In the playground, pupils play well together, regardless of their nationality, race and gender.  In the classrooms, pupils cooperate and learn together well in pairs and in small groups. They have good attitudes to learning and show plenty of respect to each other at all times. Behaviour is not yet outstanding as, on the odd times, where the lesson does not fully involve them, their concentration wanders.  Pupils have a good understanding of the school’s rewards and sanctions. They respond well to them. At the time of the inspection pupils were eager to gain the ‘best I can do’ tokens.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying, including cyberbullying. They know how to keep themselves safe, particularly when using the internet. Pupils say that there was bullying in the school, but feel strongly that this has been addressed and there is no bullying now. They are confident that staff will sort out any problems.  The rigorous and robust systems that leaders have in place have drastically improved attendance. It is well above average.  Pupils enjoy going to breakfast club. It enables them to socialise with their friends and gives them a settled start to the day.

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The quality of teaching is good

 School leaders have worked hard to address previous issues in teaching in Years 3 and 4. Matters have greatly improved over the year and teaching is now good. As a result, pupils are making better progress.  Mathematics is taught effectively, and in other subjects. For example, work in pupils’ books shows that pupils are given time to investigate temperature, different types of graphs and the use of Venn diagrams in other subjects, such as science and geography. Pupils do well in mathematics because real life and meaningful situations are used.  Reading is taught well throughout the school and pupils have good opportunities to read in subjects other than in English. Teachers skilfully use a range of questioning techniques and activities to develop pupils’ understanding of the text. For example, in a Year 3 class the different types of questions and group work helped pupils to have a good understanding of how to empathise with the characters’ thoughts and feeling

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The quality of teaching is good

from the class novel.  Teaching assistants work closely with teachers. They provide effective support to individuals and groups, particularly for those who need it. They provide useful resources to support pupils’ learning.  Good routines, strong relationships and interesting topics help pupils who attend the Kingfisher suite to make good progress.  In lessons, teachers effectively develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills. For example, in a Year 5 class, pupils confidently articulated their opinion about where the dark photograph took place. Pupils are encouraged to debate, and do so in a mature way. As a result, pupils have good speaking and listening skills.  Pupils’ work is marked well. This has greatly improved over the last year. Pupils have designated time to respond and act on the advice provided by their teachers. This helps them to learn quickly from their mistakes.  Teachers make good use of a variety of interesting resources and the class novel to stimulate pupils’ ideas

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The quality of teaching is good

to develop their writing skills. For example, pupils in a Year 3 class were thoroughly focused and engaged in making a gruesome medicine for one of the characters from their class novel. They produced some high quality writing. However, pupils are not challenged to write at length in different subjects. Sometimes, pupils do always not spell key words correctly and this is not always addressed.

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The achievement of pupils

 Pupils start Year 3 with standards of attainment that are broadly average. Since the previous inspection, staff turbulence in Years 3 and 4 has slowed pupils’ progress. However, in Years 5 and 6, pupils’ progress is accelerated so that pupils quickly make up for any lost ground. By the time they leave at the end of Year 6, attainment is above average and pupils are well prepared for their next stage in education.  Reading is promoted well in lessons and in other subjects. As a result, pupils have good comprehension skills and enjoy reading for pleasure. Pupils who can read books in other languages do so frequently and are proud of this. Those who are at the early stages of reading have good strategies to work out unfamiliar words.  In mathematics, pupils are good at working out their calculations mentally. Pupils say they enjoy mathematics. Their presentation in mathematics is good.  School leaders are effectively making a difference to the disadvantaged pupils. Currently, in the different

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The achievement of pupils

year groups, the achievement gap between the disadvantaged pupils and the others has virtually closed or is rapidly closing. Results in the end of Key Stage 2 National Assessment Tests in 2013 show that the disadvantaged pupils are just less than a term behind in mathematics and writing, and just over a term in reading when compared to their classmates. When comparing the results of the disadvantaged pupils to other pupils nationally, the gap is also narrow. The disadvantaged pupils are a term behind in reading, just over a term behind in writing and just under a term behind in mathematics.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. This is because they are well supported and catered for in class; this is also the case for those who attend the Kingfisher suite.  Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language achieve

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The achievement of pupils

well. They often do better than the others in the school, as well as other pupils nationally. This is because school leaders provide good support for the parents so that they are better equipped to support their children.  Pupils’ handwriting is neatly presented. Pupils legibly join their letters together and take pride when using a pen to write with.  The most-able pupils achieve similarly to their peers nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. However, they could do even better if the work was hard enough to extend their thinking skills in Years 3 and 4.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 102145 Local authority Haringey Inspection number 448180

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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 Junior School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 236 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Marva Hibbet Headteacher Florence Collins Date of previous school inspection 16–17 March 2010 Telephone number 020 88009305 Fax number 020 88801142 Email address admin@stmarysrcpriory.haringey.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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