Fairholme Primary School

Peacock Avenue, Bedfont, Feltham, TW14 8ET

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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 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils make good progress in English and mathematics in all year groups in the school.  By the end of Year 6, they achieve above average standards.  The quality of teaching is mostly good. Teachers have high expectations, know their pupils well and plan interesting activities to engage them in their learning.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety in classrooms and around the school are good.  The school provides good opportunities for developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through a well-planned curriculum.  The school provides a caring and inclusive atmosphere for learning. Pupils say they are safe.  The headteacher and the governing body ensure that all staff have drive and ambition to improve the school further. They know the school’s strengths and areas for development very well. They have taken effective actions to strengthen the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ achievement.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The governing body effectively holds the headteacher and senior leaders to account. They have a clear understanding of the effectiveness of the school and the management of the school’s finances.  Systems to check the quality of teaching by the senior leaders in the school are rigorous and effective. Therefore, all staff know exactly what they do well and how to improve.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress because of the very specific focus on developing their early language skills.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 On occasions, the most able pupils are not given challenging enough work to enable them to make more rapid progress.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are not consistently encouraged to make rapid progress.  Newly appointed middle leaders are not checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress well enough.  A small minority of pupils are not punctual enough and do not attend school as regularly as they should do.  Existing best practice in teaching is not consistently shared across the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in parts of 22 lessons, three of which were joint observations with the headteacher and five with the members of the senior leadership team. Inspectors undertook a series of short visits to other lessons across the school and listened to a sample of readers from Year 2 and Year 6. They also observed pupils at breaks and lunchtimes.  Meetings were held with staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the Chair of the Governing Body, another governor and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of 26 responses to the online survey Parent View as well as the views of the parents they met. They also considered the 42 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including national test results and the school’s own information about pupils’ progress. They looked at the school’s own checks on how well it is doing, the

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Information about this inspection

school’s development plan, safeguarding policies and records and documents relating to the work of the governing body.  The inspection team scrutinised samples of pupils’ work in English and mathematics and records relating to behaviour, attendance and punctuality.  The inspection team took account of information on the school’s website and the data dashboard.

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Inspection team

Kewal Goel, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Fairholme is larger than the average sized primary school.  It has an Early Years Foundation Stage, which is made up of two part-time Nursery classes and three full- time Reception classes. There are three classes in each year group from Years 1 to 5 and two classes in Year 6. The school is expanding further and from September 2015 it will be a three-form entry school.  There is an on-site children’s centre. It is not managed by the school and is inspected separately.  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and of those who speak English as an additional language are higher than average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average. This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to disadvantaged pupils.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is lower than that found in most schools.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards for Year 6, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

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 amount of outstanding teaching to ensure all pupils make rapid progress by:  consistently challenging the most able pupils to speed up their learning and progress  encouraging children more effectively in the Early Years Foundation Stage to make rapid progress so they are more prepared for work in Year 1  sharing the existing best practice in teaching across the school.  Improve the punctuality and attendance of a small group of pupils by seeking to better engage hard-to- reach parents..  Develop the skills of newly appointed middle leaders so that they can make effective checks on the quality of teaching and learning and pupils’ progress..

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is passionate about pupils' progress and has strong drive and ambition. She has implemented a number of changes across the school. As a result, the quality of teaching and learning has improved. This has had a positive impact on pupils’ achievement and good behaviour. Governors are effective and are passionate about continually driving the school forward.  The senior leaders check the quality of teaching along with a scrutiny of pupils' work, looking in depth at progress in books and standards of work. They use this information very well to identify areas of good practice and areas to develop through staff appraisal systems and training for teachers.  A staff restructuring occurred in the last year to ensure that staffing supports the school’s future plans to continue to move forward. There is now a good mix of skills in teaching, leadership and management among the senior and middle leadership team.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership and management are not outstanding because the best practice in teaching is not shared widely enough across the school. The middle leaders who are new in their role have made a good start However,they are not yet carrying out checks on teaching and learning regularly or rigorously enough..The school’s self-check of its strengths and areas for improvement is thorough and accurate. The priorities in the school development plan link closely with areas for improvement.  The school has a topic-based approach to the curriculum to allow pupils to study a range of subjects through a single topic. At the end of each topic pupils get good opportunities to share what they have learnt with parents. There is a strong focus on teaching reading, writing and mathematics. All pupils in Years 3 to 6 are given the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. The curriculum is enriched through a range of extra-curricular activities, for example gardening, street dance, outdoor games, art,

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The leadership and management are good

animation and drama.  Pupils are given opportunities to reflect on their experiences and respond with interest to new experiences, which broaden their understanding. The provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development enables pupils to discuss and understand feelings and conflicts in order to make good choices. British values are promoted well through the school's own values system of honesty, belonging, respect, opportunity, commitment and excellence. The school ensures that there is no discrimination and promotes equality of opportunity very well. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The school uses the additional funding for sport well to improve teachers’ confidence in teaching physical education. As a result the quality of teaching has improved. The school’s self-review analysis shows that pupils’ attitudes and self-confidence in physical education have improved.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders make good use of the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils. For example, the school provides extra guidance related to pupils’ individual needs and specialist teaching programmes in English and mathematics and to raise their self-esteem.  The school has strong relationships with parents. It provides a range of opportunities for communication with them through newsletters, the website, mathematics workshops and parents evenings. Parents have very positive views about the school.  The local authority has worked closely with and provided intensive support to the school. Now it is decreasing the level of support because of its view of the school’s effectiveness.  The school’s arrangements for child protection and safeguarding meet statutory requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors are committed and have high expectations for the school. They know the school’s strengths

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The leadership and management are good

and areas for improvement well. They have a clear plan to review and update the policies. The governing body has conducted a skills audit to identify strengths and the training needs of individual governors. It holds the headteacher to account by checking all her reports and asking questions about the quality of teaching and learning and the progress of disadvantaged pupils. Governors check the use of additional funding for sports closely. They have put in place an appraisal policy to ensure that the systems for managing the performance of staff and making pay awards are rigorous and link closely to the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. Governors keep themselves up to date by attending training provided by the local authority relevant to their roles. They use an independent company that provides detailed financial reports. The governors ensure that they comply with the local authority’s financial regulations.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ behaviour is good. They are polite and courteous. Pupils behave well in lessons, for example, in putting their hands up when wanting to speak and listening to each other. Pupils say behaviour in classes and in the outside areas is good. They bring the right resources to the school and quickly settle in the class so no learning time is wasted. Pupils are generally engaged and attentive in class and play well together during breaks and lunchtimes.  Most pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive. They work well in small groups, on their own and understand the importance of taking care of each other.  Pupils’ behaviour is not outstanding because a few pupils in some lessons are not fully engaged, slowing their learning. Overall, the attendance is average. However, the persistent absence of a few pupils is above the national average and a small minority of pupils are not punctual in the morning so they miss

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Behaviour

valuable learning time. Leaders know that they need to engage more effectively with some hard-to-reach parents to ensure their children attend regularly and punctually.  Pupils are aware of different kinds of bullying such as cyber-bullying and racist bullying. They have confidence in staff to deal with any instances of bullying which might occur. This confidence is well founded.  Teachers' management of pupils' behaviour is consistent and in line with the school's policy. Pupils understand the importance of good behaviour. They say that teachers reward good behaviour well and challenge poor behaviour fairly. Pupils know who to go to if they have any concerns.  There were no permanent exclusions and a small number of fixed-term exclusions during the last academic year and this term. The school’s records show very few behaviour and racist incidents over the last year. These few were dealt with effectively.

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Behaviour

 Staff and parents in their responses commented that behaviour in the school is good.  Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities and play an active part in fund raising, acting as play leaders, choosing playground resources and in taking on other classroom jobs.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils say they feel safe everywhere in school. The say that the school site is secure and they are well supervised. Pupils know how to keep safe and how to respond appropriately to emergency situations. They have good understanding of how to stay safe online, for example in not sharing password information with anybody and online.  The school has effective systems to ensure all safety requirements, including risk assessments, are met.  The child protection and safeguarding policy is reviewed annually and staff attend child protection training regularly.  Almost all staff and most parents who responded to the staff questionnaire and the Parent View questionnaire say that pupils are safe in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching across the school over time is good. Classrooms and corridors are welcoming. Displays in the classrooms are linked to the learning. Teachers have good subject knowledge and use a wide range of resources, including information and communication technology, to enhance pupils’ learning. Teachers are enthusiastic and have high expectations.  Teaching is not yet outstanding because in some classes teachers do not always give the most able pupils sufficiently challenging tasks, which limits their progress.  Most teachers use questioning effectively during lessons to extend pupils’ thinking and their understanding and knowledge.  Work undertaken in pupils’ books and in lessons show that literacy and numeracy are being taught well across a range of subjects. Pupils are given opportunities to solve problems in mathematics which develop their skills.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) through a range of activities is a strength that

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The quality of teaching is good

promotes children’s good early reading skills in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.  Pupils are usually interested and engaged. Relationships between pupils and between pupils and staff are very good.  Pupils’ books show that there is a good range of work completed. It is well presented especially in Years 3 to 6. There is clear progression in learning and good progress over time.  Additional adults are deployed effectively. They have a good understanding of pupils’ needs and provide a good level of support and challenge, especially to the less able pupils.  Homework is linked to the classwork and is marked regularly. Teachers follow the school’s marking policy consistently. They give feedback and suggest 'next steps' in learning. Pupils respond to teachers' comments which moves their learning on further.  Teachers assess pupils’ progress, learning and understanding regularly and adapt their planning

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The quality of teaching is good

accordingly. Pupils are also given opportunities to assess their own progress and that of their peers.

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is good

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Their attainment and progress by the end of Year 6 is above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2014, achievement in writing was significantly above the national average. Pupils apply their literacy and numeracy skills well across different subjects, thus they are well prepared for secondary school.  Although the most able achieve well, their achievement is not outstanding because they do not consistently make the very rapid progress of which they are capable. In a few lessons they are not given appropriately challenging work.  Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge that are below those typically expected for their age. They make good progress because teachers identify their needs early on and give targeted support.  As a result of the school’s specific focus on phonics, pupils’ reading has improved. This is illustrated by the

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is good

high numbers reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve well because their needs are identified early on and correctly. As a result, effective support is put in place to meet their needs and checks are made on the impact of the support provided.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language (including those at an early stage of learning English) and those from different minority ethnic groups make good progress. This is because adults effectively demonstrate good language skills and offer visual clues to develop their comprehension skills.  Disadvantaged pupils make good progress from their starting points. The gap between their attainment and that of their peers in the school is closing. The school’s information on pupils’ achievement for 2014 shows that at the end of Year 6, there was very little gap between these pupils and their peers in the

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is good

school. These pupils attained as well as all pupils nationally in English and mathematics.  Pupils enjoy reading. They have many opportunities to read in school and read widely out of school. Pupils think that teachers help them to deepen their understanding of texts so that they can find information from factual books when they need to do so. They read a range of books and have developed preferences for both non-fiction and fiction books.

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is good

 Children come into the school with skills and understanding that are below those typical for their age in personal health, self-care, speech and language.  Good progress is made in improving the weakest areas because of the effective work in the Nursery with parents and the on-site children’s centre.  Checks on progress are shared between the Nursery and Reception leaders so that the transition from one class to another is smooth and children’s progress continues seamlessly.  In Reception, all groups of children make good progress. They show initiative and confidence. For example, in the 'vegetable shop' they use their knowledge of sounds that letters make to write a list of ingredients for a recipe.  The Early Years Foundation Stage provision is not outstanding because sometimes teaching does not encourage children to make rapid progress so as to fully prepare them to meet the demands of Year 1.

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is good

 Children’s ‘learning journals’ (the collections of their work and records of observations by adults) show that they have taken part in a variety of activities. The journals show the good ongoing progress in reading, writing and number work. Adults record children’s progress carefully and use these records well to plan future actions and the next steps in their learning.  Children have good relationships with adults. They get on well with each other so they play and learn in a harmonious atmosphere. The school has clear systems to ensure children’s safety.  Parents say that their children have settled into school well and that they are making good progress.  Children who are disabled and those with special educational needs are well cared for.  The Early Years Foundation Stage leader regularly checks the effectiveness of teaching and learning and children’s progress. She knows all the child protection and safeguarding procedures. Staff attend training

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is good

to address identified needs such as the teaching of numbers for the more able and to enhance their questioning skills.

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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 132264 Local authority Hounslow Inspection number 452048

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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 630 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jenny Capstick Headteacher Helen Willis Date of previous school inspection 8–9 November 2010 Telephone number 020 88902584 Fax number 020 88442297 Email address office@fairholme.hounslow.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 whenand 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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