The Edward Betham Church of England Primary School

Edward Betham Church of England Primary School Oldfield Lane South, Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 9JU.

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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

 The headteacher has tackled underperformance and taken decisive action to improve the quality of teaching. As a result, attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 and test results at the end of Key Stage 2 have markedly improved and are significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils make good progress and achieve well because teaching over time is good. Staff provide a stimulating environment for learning, with interesting and engaging activities for pupils.  Children in the early years make good progress because of the strong teaching and support they receive. As a result, they are prepared well for the next stage of their education.  Teaching assistants are skilled and make a positive contribution to children’s learning.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs receive high quality care and support. As a result, they make good progress.  Pupils enjoy their learning and love coming to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school, and their attendance is high. Their behaviour is good, both inside and outside of classrooms. Pupils feel safe and secure in the school.  The school is effective in promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and prepares them well for life in modern Britain.  Leaders rigorously check pupils’ progress and teachers’ performance. Teachers are provided with effective support and training to bring about continuous improvement in the quality of teaching.  Parents are very positive about the education their children receive, and are supportive of the school’s leadership.  Governors know the school’s main strengths and areas for development, and offer the appropriate support and challenge to bring about improvements.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching does not enable pupils to make and sustain rapid progress consistently across the whole school.  Pupils are not always encouraged to develop their thinking and reasoning skills to deepen their understanding.  The most able pupils are not always challenged sufficiently to work at, and achieve higher levels.  Marking of pupils’ work does not always include clear steps on how to make it better. Pupils are not given sufficient time to respond to these comments to improve their work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 28 lessons. Twelve observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteachers. Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour and attitudes at breaks and lunchtimes.  Meetings were held with different groups of pupils, and inspectors listened to pupils read in Years 1 and 6 and discussed their reading with them.  The inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, and five governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body. A telephone discussion was held with a local authority representative.  The inspectors examined a range of documents, including information on pupils’ progress across the school, development plans and checks on the quality of teaching. They also looked at school records relating to behaviour, safety and attendance.  The inspectors looked at pupils’ books and written work to see what progress they make and to check the

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Information about this inspection

quality of teachers’ marking and feedback to pupils.  The inspectors took account of 33 responses from parents to the online questionnaire (Parent View). In addition, inspectors spoke to parents in the playground at the start of the school day.  The inspectors also considered 39 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Avtar Sherri, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Edward Betham Church of England Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Early years provision consists of a part-time Nursery and two full-time Reception classes.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.  Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic groups, with the largest group being from a White British background.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is average. This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, and to children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The current headteacher took up her post in September 2012, and a new leadership structure has been

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Information about this school

established since the previous inspection.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding so that pupils make rapid and sustained progress consistently across the school by ensuring that:  teachers always provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to extend their thinking and reasoning skills to deepen their understanding  most able pupils are always challenged in lessons, and move quickly to demanding tasks to achieve higher levels  marking of pupils’ work always gives them guidance on how to make it better, and pupils are given time to respond to these comments to improve their work and further their understanding.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders, including governors, and middle managers are ambitious for pupils, and their high expectations are shared by all staff. The headteacher is an effective leader who has developed a strong team of leaders and managers who work together well to drive improvements.  The headteacher has taken decisive action to tackle underperformance, with effective support and training in place for teachers to improve the quality of teaching. As a result, achievement has improved and all groups of pupils make good progress.  Middle managers are effective in their roles. They check the quality of teaching and give guidance to teachers to become even better. They know the progress that pupils make in their subject areas. Through the school’s accurate evaluation of its performance, the middle managers know the schools’ main strengths and areas for development and the part they play in helping the school improve.

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The leadership and management are good

 There are robust systems in place to track the progress of different groups of pupils, and to identify those who are falling behind with their learning, for timely and effective support. This reflects the school’s commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination.  Teachers are closely involved in pupil progress meetings, and performance management is effectively used to hold them to account for the progress their pupils make.  The additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively to ensure these pupils make at least similar progress to their classmates. As a result, the progress these pupils make is improving.  Leaders work closely and effectively with early years staff to ensure that provision is at least good and that children make good or better progress.  The subjects taught in the school are broad and balanced, and seek to engage pupils and provide them

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The leadership and management are good

with a wide variety of learning experiences. Pupils’ learning is aided by a creative ‘topic’ approach to their learning, making clear connections between subjects. For example, in Year 5 and Year 6 classes, pupils learn their numbers from 30 to 60 in French. There is a range of trips, visits, clubs and activities to enrich pupils’ experiences and capture their interest. The school has welcomed the new curriculum for primary schools and teachers are working successfully to implement it fully. However, leaders are aware that the curriculum has yet to ensure that the most able pupils are always challenged to attain the higher levels.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. Pupils know about different cultures and religious beliefs represented in Britain. They take part in elections for the school council, and learn about pupils’ voice and democracy. They learn about tolerance, respect for diversity and

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The leadership and management are good

British values. The school prepares them well for life in modern Britain.  The primary school sports funding is used effectively to encourage participation in physical activity and broaden the number of clubs that are offered. For example, there is a new ‘high energy’ fitness club targeted at pupils to increase their fitness levels. The school has employed sports coaches, and teachers have received coaching and training to improve the quality of teaching in physical education.  Safeguarding arrangements to ensure pupils are kept safe fully meet all requirements. Leaders, including governors, ensure that policies and procedures relating to safeguarding are robust.  This good school receives light-touch support from the local authority. The local authority has provided some support to senior leaders on lesson observations to improve the monitoring of the quality of learning and teaching in Reception classes.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are ambitious for pupils, and have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.  They know how the school is performing in relation to other schools nationally. Governors are keen to increase their effectiveness and have planned further training on the use of performance data to hold senior leaders even more accountable for the progress pupils make.  Governors receive good information about the quality of teaching, and know about the management of teachers’ performance and how teachers’ quality of teaching is linked to pay rewards. They have worked effectively with senior leaders to improve the quality of teaching and to tackle underperformance.  Governors ensure financial management is effective. They know how the pupil premium and the primary sports funding are used, and understand their impact on pupil outcomes.  Governors ensure that safeguarding requirements are met, and attend all the relevant training.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are proud of their school. They are kind and courteous and are respectful of each other and staff. Their behaviour is consistently good, both inside and outside classrooms. Lunchtimes are very orderly, and pupils take care to ensure that the school environment is kept tidy and litter free.  Pupils take great pride in the presentation of their work, and their good attitudes to learning make a strong contribution to the progress they make.  Pupils from all backgrounds get on really well with each other, and pupils say that name-calling or bullying is not an issue. They say that behaviour in the school is good, and that a few small incidents of poor behaviour that occur are dealt with by staff quickly and effectively. They know about the behaviour policy and how it works, including its link with the rewards system.  There are good opportunities for pupils to take on responsibilities, for example as representatives on the

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Behaviour

school council, house captains and mediators.  Pupils’ enjoyment of school is reflected in their attendance rates, which are consistently higher than the national average.  Behaviour is not outstanding because teachers occasionally have to remind some pupils to concentrate on their work and move swiftly between tasks, particularly in some of the classes in Key Stage 2. As a result, progress slows.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that they feel safe in the school, and that they are able to approach a member of staff if they have any concerns.  Pupils are taught about unsafe situations and how to keep themselves safe. For example, they know how to keep safe when using the internet and crossing roads, and about fire safety.  Pupils are aware of different forms of bullying. For example, they know about racist, homophobic and cyber-bullying. They agree that incidents of bullying are rare. This is reflected in the school’s behaviour records, which show that the number of incidents of poor behaviour is very small.  Parents responding to Parent View, and those parents that inspectors spoke to, say that behaviour and safety are good in the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Senior leaders have been effective in improving the quality of teaching and tackling underperformance. Consequently, the quality of teaching is good and getting better.  Teachers create a stimulating learning environment for pupils. They plan activities that interest pupils and engage them in their learning. Displays are effectively used to celebrate pupils’ achievement and to motivate them to do well.  Teaching assistants are skilled and used effectively to support the learning of pupils, both inside and outside of lessons, and to help them make good progress.  Teachers’ assessments of pupils’ work are robust. Assessments made at the end of all key stages have been moderated with those of other schools to ensure accuracy. Leaders, managers and teachers are working together effectively on implementing the assessment arrangements in the light of the new national curriculum.  Pupils enjoy reading, and are eager to read to adults. The weaker readers use their knowledge of phonics

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The quality of teaching is good

(sounds that letters make) as well as picture clues in books, to read unfamiliar words. Pupils have a good range of books to read at school, and are encouraged to read at home.  Pupils have good opportunities to write at length, particularly in their ‘big write’ books. Their work shows that they make good progress with their written work over time, with marked improvements in their quality of writing and presentation.  In mathematics, pupils have good opportunities to apply their skills in other subjects to improve their mathematical knowledge and understanding. In Year 2, pupils have used Venn diagrams and measuring scales to enhance their mathematical skills. Pupils are taught a range of calculation skills, which they use to solve mathematical problems and to carry out investigations. A regular focus on mathematical investigation helps pupils to identify strategies to solve problems and develop their mathematical

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The quality of teaching is good

language.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are taught well. Teaching assistants work closely with teachers to ensure there is effective support for these pupils so that they make at least similar progress to their classmates.  The most able pupils are not always challenged sufficiently in lessons to work at, and achieve, higher levels. Sometimes, they sit through the same introduction as other pupils when they are capable of doing much harder work. As a result, their progress slows.  Pupils are not always given the time to extend their thinking and reasoning skills to deepen their understanding of their learning.  Although teachers’ marking of pupils’ work is improving, teachers do not always provide clear guidance to pupils on how they can improve their work. When some teachers do provide such guidance, pupils do not always respond to this to further their understanding.

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is good

 Pupils’ attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2014 improved markedly in reading, writing and mathematics to well above average. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher levels was also above average. The proportion of pupils making expected and more than expected progress was well above average in mathematics and writing, and in line with the national average in reading.  Pupils’ attainment also improved in Key Stage 1; it is well above average in reading and writing and in line with average in mathematics. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher levels was overall in line with average.  The school’s data shows that pupils, including those from minority ethnic groups, make good progress overall across the year groups in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2013, progress in mathematics was less strong in Years 4 and 5 than other year groups. Current school information and the work in

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is good

pupils’ books, however, show that pupils now make good progress across the year groups. This is because leaders have been effective in improving the quality of teaching.  Pupils enjoy reading, and achieve well in this subject. Improvements in the teaching of phonics have had a positive effect on pupils’ ability to read and write, particularly at Key Stage 1. The results of the Year 1 phonics screening check increased considerably in 2014 to well above average.  The most able pupils make good progress and achieve well. Their work is often of a high standard and shows that they enjoy their learning. However, occasionally the tasks set for them in lessons are not sufficiently demanding and they make slightly slower progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make progress that is similar to, and sometimes better than, that of their classmates. Their progress in reading and writing is better than that of their

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is good

classmates.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress and achieve well. They make better progress than their classmates and similar pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because teachers and teaching assistants are effective in building pupils’ vocabulary and grammar, with rich opportunities for speaking and listening. There are no marked differences in the achievement of different ethnic groups.  In Year 6 in 2014, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils was about one term behind that of their classmates in reading, one and a half terms behind in writing and three terms behind in mathematics. Compared to other pupils nationally, disadvantaged pupils are two terms ahead in writing, and one and a half terms behind in mathematics. There is no gap in attainment in reading.  The current school information, including the work seen in books, indicates that the disadvantaged pupils

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is good

make good progress, and in-school gaps between them and their classmates are closing rapidly in reading, writing and mathematics. The disadvantaged pupils are predicted to do just as well as their classmates in mathematics at the end of Year 6 tests.

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is good

 Teaching in the early years is good. As a result, children make good progress from their different starting points.  Children enter the school with skills and knowledge that are below those typical for their age. By the end of the Reception Year, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is well above the national average. Children are well prepared to move into Year 1.  Staff work closely with parents. Parents say that communication with staff in early years is good, and that they are encouraged to be involved in their children’s education. This helps children to settle down quickly into routines, and interact well with other children. They can make decisions about their learning, choosing between indoor and outdoor learning.  Children have good attitudes to learning and are very well behaved. They are kept safe and secure by very caring staff, who ensure that all safeguarding requirements are met.

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is good

 There are good opportunities for children to develop their speaking and listening skills. This particularly helps children who speak English as an additional language to make good progress.  Teaching over time is not outstanding as it does not ensure that children make rapid and sustained progress across the different areas of learning.  The early years provision is well led and managed. Assessment arrangements are robust and resources are well deployed. Staff provide effective support to children who find learning more difficult. As a result, all groups of children, including disabled children and those who have special educational needs, make good progress.

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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 101927 Local authority Ealing Inspection number 448242

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 472 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Hounsell Headteacher Margaret Kolanowska Date of previous school inspection 4–5 March 2010 Telephone number 020 8578 8928 Fax number 020 8813 2146 Email address admin@edwardbetham.ealing.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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