London Fields Primary School

London Fields Primary School Westgate Street, London, E8 3RL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders, managers and governors have ensured that the school continues to give an outstanding education to its pupils. They are highly ambitious for everyone in the school.  Much teaching is outstanding and never less than good. Pupils’ progress has continued to accelerate since the previous inspection.  Pupils make outstanding progress from their different starting points. Attainment is well above the national average at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  Children in the early years achieve extremely well because of the wide range of high-quality and enjoyable learning experiences.  All groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, disabled or have special educational needs, make rapid and sustained progress through the school. School leaders make sure that no pupil falls behind.  Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and very high expectations for both pupils’ learning and behaviour. Relationships between staff and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils are a real strength of the school.  Other adults make a very effective contribution to pupils’ learning whether supporting pupils in class or working with them in small groups.  Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. This includes the children in the early years. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their time at school, which is shown in the improving levels of attendance. Their attitudes in the classroom are extremely positive.  Pupils are very proud of their school and display a real love of learning. Pupils say that they feel very safe at school.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. They have a strong sense of right and wrong and very well-developed social skills.  Parents and carers speak highly of the school. They are entirely confident that their children are well cared for and kept safe. The school routinely involves parents and carers in the education of their children.  The governing body is highly effective in holding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

leaders to account for the school’s performance.  The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. Her clear vision and high aspirations for all pupils have been key to the school’s continued development and improvement since the previous inspection.  Staff work extremely well together. Teamwork is very strong. They are very loyal to the school and share the senior leadership’s vision for the school. Middle leaders make a very strong contribution to pupils’ achievement in their areas of responsibility.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 23 lessons. Twelve of these were jointly observed with senior leaders.  Inspectors talked to pupils both informally and formally, including a group of some of the most able pupils. They heard pupils read and talked to them about their reading habits.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents and carers, including the 19 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire. They also talked to several parents and carers before school and considered the views of staff, expressed in 21 inspection questionnaires.  Discussions were held with representatives from the local authority’s advisory service and members of the governing body, including the Chair of the Governing Body. Inspectors also held discussions with members of the senior and extended leadership teams, and other staff.  Inspectors examined information on pupils’ progress and the work of a randomly selected group of pupils,

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Information about this inspection

including those who are supported by additional government funding. They also looked at records of learning of children in the Nursery and Reception. Other school documentation which was considered included the school’s own self-evaluation and development planning, the minutes of governors’ meetings and information on pupils’ achievement. Behaviour logs, policies and information relating to child protection and safeguarding were also scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Barbara Firth, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils belong to a range of minority ethnic groups and approximately half of pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above the national average.  There are two classes in Reception Year and one in the Nursery Year. Just over half of the children attend the Nursery full time.  Just over half of all pupils are eligible for support through pupil premium funding. This is well above the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding given to schools for disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for free school meals or are children who are looked after.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  At the time of the previous inspection, the school was part of a federation of five local schools and the

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Information about this school

current headteacher was head of school. In April 2014 the federation ceased; a new governing body was created and the head of school was appointed as the headteacher. In the autumn term 2014, the school increased the capacity of the leadership team by employing two non-class based key stage leaders. There are currently six Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) in the school.  The headteacher is a National Leader of Education (NLE) and the deputy headteacher is a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE). The school works closely with a number of schools in a supportive capacity, including one in a neighbouring authority. The school has achieved the Gold Artsmark and Science awards.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the in-school gap between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others continues to narrow.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school is extremely well led by the headteacher, who has established a culture of high expectations for staff and pupils. She has created a strong sense of teamwork and loyalty among staff. They appreciate the opportunities they are given for training and development and many told inspectors that they were very proud to work at the school.  The deputy headteacher and other senior and middle leaders also play a very important part in raising standards for all pupils by improving the quality of teaching and learning. Extremely effective leadership of teaching means that checks on the performance of teachers are rigorous and challenging. Teachers are given clear and constructive guidance on how to improve their practice.  Leaders responsible for subjects are highly effective. Along with senior colleagues, they regularly keep check on all aspects of teaching both formally and informally. They spend time in the classroom teaching

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The leadership and management are outstanding

alongside the class teacher, demonstrating how to deliver outstanding practice. Teachers new to the profession particularly benefit from this on-going support from senior and middle leaders.  Leaders, including middle leaders, know the school’s strengths and areas to develop very well. An ongoing and thorough analysis of pupils’ attainment and progress has ensured that achievement for all pupils has improved over time. Regular meetings involving all staff ensure that any pupil in danger of underachieving is quickly identified and provided with appropriate and effective additional help. This is particularly effective in supporting those pupils eligible for the pupil premium, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.  The school ensures that the assessments of how well pupils learn and achieve are accurate. There are regular opportunities in school for teachers to share and discuss pupils’ standards and achievements. The

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The leadership and management are outstanding

school works closely with another local school and the local authority to ensure that their assessments of pupils are accurate.  Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is spent very effectively. Extra teachers to reduce class sizes, counselling support and funding for enrichment activities have contributed to the high achievement of disadvantaged pupils compared to similar pupils nationally. Senior leaders have identified, however, that there is still some difference between the attainment of these pupils and others in the school at the end of Key Stage 2. Current school information shows that as a result of an increased focus on the progress of these pupils and the implementation of well-chosen interventions, this gap is narrowing.  Staff make sure they know all the pupils individually and that their needs are fully met. It is a very inclusive school and ensures that all pupils have equal opportunities to excel. The school fosters excellent

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The leadership and management are outstanding

relationships with parents and carers and other organisations, and will not tolerate discrimination.  The quality of the curriculum is outstanding. It gives pupils memorable experiences and builds upon their interests and aspirations. The excellent displays around the school not only celebrate the high-quality work which pupils produce but also the range and depth of subjects that they learn about. The curriculum meets the needs of the current National Curriculum very well. Clear and extensive information on the website ensures that parents and carers are kept very well informed about what their children are learning.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development extremely well. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures and take every opportunity to help their peers. The newly introduced ‘manners curriculum’ is fully equipping pupils with the social skills to be successful in adult life. British

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The leadership and management are outstanding

values are promoted very well, for example, through visits to the Houses of Parliament and electing their classmates to the very active school council. Pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The primary school sports funding is being spent very effectively on additional coaching for pupils and training for staff, including an enhanced range of sporting clubs available to pupils after school. This has resulted in staff having much greater confidence in teaching physical education and sport and a sharply increased uptake by girls in sports such as football and boxing.  The local authority provides light-touch support to this highly effective school, by helping the school compare its performance with that of similar schools in the area and assisting with target setting and confirming the school’s self-evaluation. They are in agreement that this is an outstanding school. Everything possible is done to keep pupils safe. Staff members and the governing body are well trained in

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The leadership and management are outstanding

child protection and know the signs to look out for to keep pupils safe.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governance is outstanding. Governors have an excellent understanding of how well the school is doing and provide regular and rigorous challenge to school leaders. As a group they have a very good range of skills which add strength to the leadership team. They are outward looking and continuously seeking opportunities to develop their skills. Through regular and well-documented visits, governors build up a clear picture of the quality of teaching. They have an excellent understanding of how the school’s performance compares with that of similar and other schools. They take a particular interest in monitoring the impact of the pupil premium spending and other extra funding on outcomes for eligible pupils. Excellent systems are in place for monitoring the headteacher’s performance and governors are fully involved overseeing the management of teachers’ performance and ensuring that good and better

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Parents and carers, pupils and staff totally agree.  Pupils’ attitudes in lessons are excellent. They enjoy learning greatly and are eager and enthusiastic in all that they do. They appreciate that the work they are given is challenging. One pupil said, ‘They stretch you to the limit here – we learn an awful lot.’ Consequently, the progress they make is excellent.  Pupils readily cooperate and share ideas with each other and keep up very good levels of concentration when working on their own. They show a great deal of respect for each other’s opinions and contributions during lessons. Presentation of pupils’ books is excellent throughout the school.  All staff have very high expectations of behaviour and manage pupils extremely well. Pupils are always polite, courteous and friendly.  There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in the school. Pupils move around it in an orderly manner.

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Behaviour

Routines are well embedded and adhered to by everyone, including the youngest children in the Nursery. Consequently transitions between activities are swift so that minimal learning time is lost.  At playtime and lunchtime, pupils are well supervised and play together cooperatively. They take a great deal of pride in their school and look after the building very well. Common areas are litter and graffiti free.  Pupils relish the opportunities that they have to help one another through, for example, being a reading buddy or traffic supervisor.  School records show that there are very few racist or bullying incidents; these are well recorded and follow up has been rigorous.  The school has worked hard to improve attendance over the last few years with much success. Attendance has improved to just over the national average, with fewer persistent poor attenders.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils say that they feel very safe in school. All parents and carers who responded to the online Parent View survey and those that inspectors spoke to during the inspection absolutely agreed that their children were kept safe in school.  Leaders have ensured that there is a comprehensive range of opportunities for pupils to learn how to stay safe both in and outside of school, including for road and rail safety.  Pupils say that there is very little bullying and that staff deal it with swiftly. They have been taught about different types of bullying, including cyber bullying, through for example, assemblies and workshops.  School staff work highly effectively with external agencies to support children and their families.  The school site is completely secure. Any visitors are checked thoroughly before they enter the school premises.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The quality of teaching is consistently good and often outstanding throughout the school. Teachers’ excellent subject knowledge is used very well to excite and inspire pupils and to explain learning very clearly.  Teachers expect much of their pupils who respond exceptionally well to all that is asked of them. Teachers’ very high expectations of the quality and quantity of pupils’ work enable pupils to make rapid progress. The work in pupils’ books shows that they are making outstanding progress from their individual starting points in the current academic year.  Relationships between pupils and adults are excellent. There is very strong encouragement of excellent learning in all lessons. This motivates pupils to do their best.  Teachers skilfully set work at the right level for pupils because they know them very well as individuals. Teachers and teaching assistants are very skilled at questioning pupils. As pupils make progress in the

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

lesson, tasks are adjusted so that they are always challenged.  All teachers mark pupils’ work thoroughly and provide useful comments and tasks which ensure that pupils know how to improve their work. Pupils are encouraged, at the start of each lesson, to respond to these comments. The detailed marking enables teachers to identify quickly when pupils are ready to move on to more challenging work.  Pupils’ writing has been improving rapidly because they are given a wide range of opportunities to write in other subjects besides English. Pupils are very clear that their writing should be legible, with accurate spelling and punctuation. As a result, the attainment and progress of pupils in writing are outstanding.  The teaching of mathematics is strong because pupils are given every opportunity to solve number problems and undertake investigations. They routinely practise what they are learning until they are

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

secure in their knowledge and understanding. Pupils are expected to be able to verbally explain how they have found the solution to a problem using appropriate mathematical language. Pupils know their number facts well and are able to apply them in new situations and in other subjects.  Every opportunity is taken to read across the school. Phonics (the sounds that letters make) is very effectively taught in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Pupils are encouraged to take a book home every day. They confirmed to inspectors that there is a good range of books to choose from and that they have to have a book with them all of the time so that any spare moment can be used to read.  The teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is highly effective in meeting their personal and learning needs. Individuals and groups of pupils benefit immensely from the highly skilled work of teaching assistants and specialist teachers.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers make sure that their classrooms are bright and attractive. Displays are of high quality and celebrate pupils’ success in a range of subjects and provide useful support with learning. They use all available resources to great effect, such as place value counters when teaching addition and subtraction to younger pupils.

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The achievement of pupils

 Pupils make excellent progress across the school, often from very low starting points on admission. Improved provision in the early years has ensured that a high proportion of children make rapid progress. The proportion of children that have attained a good level of development in all areas of learning has been above the national average for the last two years. As a result, children are well prepared for Year 1.  This outstanding progress continues into Key Stage 1. Standards have risen over recent years and in 2014 were above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Standards are particularly strong in writing and mathematics where a high proportion of pupils reach the higher levels. School information indicates that currently, pupils are on track for standards to be well above the national average in 2015 in all subjects.  By the end of Year 6, standards are exceptionally high. All pupils made expected progress across Key

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The achievement of pupils

Stage 2 in 2014 in reading, writing and mathematics and at least half of pupils made better than expected progress. School information indicates that currently, pupils are on track for standards to be well above the national average again in 2015 with an increasing number of pupils attaining the higher levels in all subjects.  Reading has a high focus in the school. Pupils told inspectors that not only did they enjoy reading, but also their teachers provided them with many opportunities to read aloud and privately in many subjects. The phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 in 2014 showed reading skills to be above national expectations. All pupils did well and there was no difference in the performance between girls and boys. This level of progress in reading continues throughout the school so that by the end of Year 6 half of the pupils attain above expectations.  The most able pupils in the school are challenged to think creatively about their work. Consequently they

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The achievement of pupils

achieve high standards, especially in mathematics, writing and English, grammar, punctuation and spelling, in which more pupils than nationally achieved the highest standard, Level 6, in 2014. A significantly higher proportion of pupils than nationally achieved the higher Level 5 in all of mathematics, reading and writing.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make more progress than pupils nationally. Similarly pupils with English as an additional language and those from minority groups make more progress than similar pupils nationally and at least the same as their peers in school. This demonstrates the schools’ commitment to equality of opportunity for all to succeed.  All disadvantaged pupils (those eligible for additional funds) made at least the progress expected of them. Their progress and the standards they attained were better than those of similar pupils nationally at the

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The achievement of pupils

end of Key Stage 2. The standards attained by disadvantaged pupils at the end of Key Stage 1 are very similar to those of their peers in school. However, at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2014, disadvantaged pupils were approximately six months behind their peers in school overall and three months in reading and writing. The largest gap was eight months in mathematics. School records confirm that this gap is closing.

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The early years provision

 The leadership of the early years is outstanding. Children make excellent progress in both Nursery and Reception because the quality of teaching is outstanding.  As a result of effective teaching, children are making rapid progress from their individual starting points. The proportion of children exceeding expectations is increasing over time.  The behaviour of children from the very beginning is outstanding. This is because teachers and other adults plan activities in the classroom and outside which capture the imagination and stretch them as much as possible. Good use is made of all spaces, including the outdoors for helping children to learn to share and for discussing each other’s ideas.  Children are encouraged to be independent and persevere. There is a balance between child-initiated activities and whole-class and adult-supervised activities. These are carefully selected to cover all areas of

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The early years provision

learning. In order to decrease the gap in writing between boys and girls, writing opportunities that would interest and engage boys, have been increased. Inspectors found boys highly engaged in writing tasks during the inspection. The children’s books showed excellent progress being made by children over time.  Children are kept very safe and show mature attitudes to their learning. Teachers and other adults create a positive learning environment. They work well with groups and individuals and relate to each other in a calm manner.  Parents and carers are encouraged to spend time in school with their children. As well as having an open door approach for parents and carers, there is an opportunity every Friday for a group of parents and carers to spend time talking to their children about work they have completed and the progress they are making. Parents and carers are very pleased about this opportunity.

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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 100230 Local authority Hackney Inspection number 453210

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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 450 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Thomas Kibling Headteacher Caroline Tyson Date of previous school inspection 15–16 March 2011 Telephone number 020 7254 4330 Fax number 020 7249 2824 Email address ctyson@londonfields.hackney.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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