Andrews Lane Primary School

Andrews Lane Primary School Andrews Lane, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, EN7 6LB

p.1

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 Outstanding 1

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Good leadership from senior leaders and governors has led to better teaching and higher achievement since the last inspection. As a result, the school is continuing to improve.  Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including their understanding of British values, well.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and they have good attitudes to learning. These are reflected in their good attendance and punctuality.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and high expectations for learning. They ask challenging questions to probe pupils’ understanding and extend their thinking.  Teaching assistants provide good support for learning and behaviour.  Pupils in all year groups are making at least good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  There has been a rising trend in attainment since the last inspection. Pupils who left Year 6 in 2014

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

made good progress, although standards dipped for well-documented reasons.  The gap in attainment of disadvantaged pupils compared with that of their classmates and other pupils nationally has narrowed considerably in recent years.  Pupils in the Primary Support Base make consistently good progress in learning and behaviour.  Outstanding leadership in the early years has led to outstanding teaching and excellent progress in that age group. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes are very settled, happy and secure in school.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is sufficiently challenging to ensure pupils are making outstanding progress.  Pupils are sometimes given learning tasks that they find too hard or too easy.  Pupils do not always know how to improve their work.  Subject leaders are not checking that teachers are using the school’s data on pupils’ progress to improve learning across the school.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 10 lessons, including two in the Primary Support Base and two in the early years provision, to look at the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. They observed most lessons jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work in each year group, including that of children in the early years. They also heard a few pupils read.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, subject leaders, the early years leader, the special educational needs coordinator, the leader of the Primary Support Base, four members of the governing body, a group of eight pupils and a representative of the local authority. Informal discussions were also held with pupils.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents. They analysed the 29 responses to Parent View (the online questionnaire for parents) and held informal discussions with 12 parents who visited the school to work with their children.

p.2

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors examined 23 completed questionnaires returned by staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation, including: safeguarding policies and records of training; the school’s evaluation of its work; minutes of governing body meetings; the school development plan; records of behaviour; attendance figures; information about the progress of pupils across the school, including in the early years and in the Primary Support Base.

p.2

Inspection team

Declan McCarthy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  High proportions of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and speak English as an additional language.  More pupils than in most schools join and leave the school during term time.  The majority of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium. This is much higher than in most schools. The pupil premium provides funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school includes specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs arising from behavioural, emotional and social difficulties and autism. The provision is known as the Primary Support

p.3

Information about this school

Base, which caters for up to six pupils aged 7 to 11 years. All of these pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan. There are currently four pupils on roll.  Staff from the resource base provide outreach support to local schools.  Children in the Nursery class attend part-time and those in the Reception class attend full time.  The school received an interim assessment by Ofsted in January 2013, which stated that good performance had been sustained.  The school hosts a privately run pre-school setting on its site, which is inspected separately.  Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed. She took up post in September 2013. A new deputy headteacher was appointed in January 2014 and a new leader for the Primary Support Base in January 2015.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make more teaching outstanding so that pupils can make rapid progress by making sure that:  teachers give pupils with different abilities learning tasks that provide the right level of challenge for their ability  teachers’ marking gives pupils clear guidance on how to improve their learning  subject leaders rigorously check that teachers are using the information about pupils’ progress to improve learning across the school.

p.3

The leadership and management are good

 Good leadership by the new headteacher and deputy headteacher has improved the quality of teaching and created a strong culture and ethos in which teaching and good behaviour flourish. Staff are fully committed to continuous improvement and their morale is high.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 Links with parents are good. Nearly all parents who completed the Parent View questionnaire said they would recommend the school to others. In discussion, parents praised the quality of teaching, the good progress their children are making and the calm and welcoming ethos of the school.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The weaknesses identified in the previous inspection have been successfully tackled. Improvements to the outdoor learning area mean that children in the early years are now achieving exceptionally well. In the rest of the school, pupils are usually given tasks that challenge them at the right level, although this is not always the case.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The school has an accurate view of its performance and provision. Leaders make good use of the information from monitoring to identify sharply focused priorities for whole-school improvement.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of teaching is good. The new senior leadership team quickly identified weaknesses in teaching and put support strategies in place for improvement. For example, teachers took part in lesson studies in 2014 with a focus on mathematics and on securing better progress for pupils who are supported through the pupil premium. As a result, teaching and learning have rapidly improved.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders visit lessons each term to check on the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. They look at pupils’ books and hold progress meeting each half term to review how well pupils are doing across the school. Consequently, the school has an accurate view of the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning over time.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The management of the performance of teachers and teaching assistants is good. Targets set are based on priorities from the school development plan. They focus well on raising pupils’ achievement by improving the quality of teaching. Targets are regularly reviewed to ensure good performance is sustained.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The special educational needs co-ordinator provides good support for teachers and teaching assistants in meeting the needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Subject leaders have liaised closely with other schools, successfully developing and implementing the new curriculum and assessment arrangements. However, they have yet to check how well teachers are using assessment information to improve pupils’ learning across the school.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of the Primary Support Base is strong. It ensures high quality teaching and learning for its pupils helps them to re-integrate successfully in mainstream classes. Staff in the base are also providing highly valued and effective outreach support to local schools. Early years provision is exceptionally well led and managed.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The new curriculum has a strong focus on developing reading, writing and mathematics. English and mathematics are taught separately and termly topics are well chosen to extend pupils’ writing further. Topics such as ‘New Life’ in the early years enable children to talk and write about themselves and others, exploring differences in size and age between a baby and a toddler.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders are effective in making sure that pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain, for example through the whole-school focus on the ‘Rights Respecting’ values. Pupils also celebrate different cultural festivals in assemblies, learn about different world religions, and look at art from different civilisations, such as ancient Mayan art. They learn how democracy works by holding elections to the school council. All this promotes pupils’ awareness and appreciation of different cultures and religions within modern Britain, and tolerance and respect for others.  Staff promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well with good opportunities for reflection and the celebration of success in assemblies. For example, a Paralympian talked to pupils about trying hard and never giving up when the odds seem stacked against them. Pupils celebrated the successes of the athlete in overcoming obstacles and reflected on aspiring to the highest levels of

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The school works closely with families needing additional support through the local children’s centres and by involving a range of professionals to ensure the needs of all pupils are met well. The school is developing the role of a bilingual Family Liaison Officer to ensure better communication with the parents of pupils who speak English as an additional language.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders promote equality of opportunity well. All pupils of different abilities are making the same good progress. Boys and girls from different backgrounds participate equally in all the school offers. Staff promote good relationships and tackle any form of discrimination well, as seen in the good relationships between pupils and no recorded incidents of racial abuse.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders make good use of pupil premium funding to provide additional individual support through, for example, small group teaching for disadvantaged pupils. Consequently, the gap between their attainment and that of their classmates and other pupils nationally is narrowing significantly.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders make good use of the primary school physical education and sport funding to provide specialist coaching and increase the range of sports clubs and activities available before and after school. The impact has been a threefold increase in pupils’ participation in sports, and an increase in their levels of fitness and well-being. The funding has also been used successfully to train staff to teach physical education more effectively.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has a good knowledge of the school’s work. It provides good support and challenge through regular visits, reviews and training opportunities.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The school rigorously promotes safeguarding and ensures that all statutory requirements are met. The procedures to check the suitability of staff and visitors to work with children are robust. Staff are kept up- to-date with all current policies and guidance through training in child protection and safeguarding. They thoroughly assess any potential risk to pupils in school or when they go on trips or visits outside of school.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance is good. The governing body ensures that all statutory requirements are met. Governors have used the outcome of a skills audit to identify and strengthen important aspects of their work, such as the use of focused visits to check the school’s work. The strong support and robust challenge they provide to leaders help to drive improvement.  The governing body has an accurate view of the quality of teaching, which it gains from governors’ frequent visits to the school, consideration of the school’s data and the detailed reports they receive from school leaders. They use their good knowledge of data to set clear priorities for improvement. They also check that the decisions they make about spending additional funds lead to improvement and ensure good value for money.  Systems for managing the performance of staff, including that of the headteacher, are robust.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

Governors check that targets are linked to whole-school priorities for improvement. They promote good teaching by ensuring it is rewarded by pay increases, while making sure that any underperformance is dealt with.  Governors carry out regular checks on health and safety. They also promote safeguarding well by making sure that all policies are regularly reviewed and updated, and that all training is up to date. They make sure the school promotes British values and safeguards pupils against any possible form of extremism.

p.5

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They respond well to the consistent management of their behaviour in lessons and around the school. Parents, staff and pupils all agree that behaviour is usually good. Pupils have many opportunities to share, take turns and work together. They do all of these things well.

p.6

Behaviour

 Pupils enjoy their activities and are keen to learn. Their good attitudes to learning were seen in all lessons, the neat presentation of their work, the high uptake of lunchtime and after-school sports activities, and in their above-average attendance and good punctuality.

p.6

Behaviour

 Pupils have good relationships with one another and with staff. They listen carefully and are respectful, polite and courteous towards others. Staff provide good role models for pupils in developing their sense of right from wrong and this contributes well to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

p.6

Behaviour

 Pupils in the Primary Support Base make rapid progress in improving their behaviour. Staff have high expectations and apply the systems of rewards and sanctions consistently within a nurturing environment. As a result, pupils re-engage with learning and re-integrate successfully into mainstream classes.

p.6

Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The school thoroughly checks the suitability of staff to work with children prior to their appointment.

p.6

Safety

 The close monitoring of any absences and rewards for good attendance have led to good improvement in attendance since the last inspection. There has also been a significant reduction in the amount of unauthorised absence.

p.6

Safety

 Bullying is rare. This was confirmed in discussions with parents and with pupils, all of whom also agreed that should any bullying occur, it would be dealt with effectively by staff. Pupils have a good understanding of the various types of bullying, not least because of the very successful ‘Friends Against Bullying’ week held last summer term.

p.6

Safety

 Pupils say they feel safe in school and their parents agree. Pupils play competitive sports by safe rules, use the internet safely, move sensibly from one area of the school to another and play together safely in the playground. Pupils also learn about the harmful effects associated with the misuse of drugs and alcohol.

p.6

Safety

 The school and its grounds are safe and secure. Any potential risk to pupils’ safety in school and on outside trips is carefully assessed. Pupils say they can talk to any member of staff if they feel worried about anything.

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

 The good impact of teaching on pupils’ learning is confirmed in pupils’ written work, in the school’s monitoring of teaching over time and in the recent local authority review of the school. Parents, pupils, staff and governors all said that teaching is good. Teaching is consistently outstanding in the early years.

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of the basic skills of communication, reading, writing and mathematics, as seen in lessons and in pupils’ work, is good. This is also reflected in the good progress made by all pupils, including those in the Primary Support Base, and the outstanding progress children make in the early years.

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

 Senior leaders quickly identify and rectify any weaknesses in teaching. The good impact teaching is having on pupils’ learning over time is evident in pupils’ written work, in the school’s monitoring of teaching over time and in the recent local authority review of the school.

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use their good subject knowledge well to set high expectations for learning and ask challenging questions to probe and extend pupils’ thinking. For example, pupils in Year 6 were asked to define a rhetorical question and further challenged to include one in their writing.

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants provide good support for learning and behaviour. For example, pupils in Year 1 made rapid progress in writing because of the reminders they received to put finger spaces between words, include capital letters and full stops in their sentences, and use joined-up writing. Teachers and teaching assistants work together closely to promote good behaviour and attitudes to learning.

p.7

The quality of teaching is good

 Assessment has improved since the last inspection, with new systems in place to check pupils’ progress. Sometimes, however, teachers still do not use the information about pupils’ previous learning well enough to ensure that learning tasks are pitched at the right levels for pupils of different abilities. As a result, some tasks are either too easy or too difficult. Although teachers’ marking provides pupils with good feedback on how well they are doing, it does not always provide them with enough guidance on how to improve their work.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the early years with weaknesses in their communication and language skills and in their social and emotional development. They make outstanding progress in all areas of learning as they move through the Nursery and Reception classes. As a result, the majority show good levels of development and all are very well prepared for entry into Year 1.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 In Year 1, pupils build on this excellent foundation by making good progress in phonics (the sounds that letters make) and using their knowledge in their reading and writing. An above-average proportion of pupils met the expected standard in the phonics screening check in 2014, continuing the increase in attainment of the last two years. An above-average proportion of pupils are on course to meet the required standard in the phonics screening test again this year.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 The attainment of pupils in Year 2 has risen steadily since the last inspection, although it dipped in 2014 because of some weaknesses in teaching. These weaknesses were quickly picked up and successfully tackled. As a result, pupils currently in Years 1 and 2 are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2014, pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 was average in reading, writing and mathematics with most pupils reaching the expected levels in the national tests. It was slightly below average in English grammar, punctuation and spelling.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics had risen steadily since the last inspection but dipped in 2014. This was because a number of pupils with complex communication difficulties or who did not speak English arrived in Year 6 a few months before the tests.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 Despite the dip in performance in 2014, pupils in Year 6 made good progress from their starting points. This was confirmed in the school’s data and by the detailed recent review conducted by the local authority. The school’s data also shows that all groups of pupils in all years made equally good progress from their different starting points in 2014.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2014, disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 were slightly ahead of their classmates in writing and about a term behind them in reading and mathematics. They were approximately a term behind other pupils nationally in all three subjects. Disadvantaged pupils made equally good progress in all subjects compared with their classmates from their different starting points. The gap in the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their classmates narrowed considerably in 2014.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 The small number of pupils who joined the school towards the end of Key Stage 2 made good progress from their starting points, but were not in school long enough to benefit in full from the consistently strong teaching in Years 5 and 6.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s most-able pupils are achieving well and are on course to reach higher levels in all subjects. The very small number in 2014 made faster progress and achieved slightly better results than similar pupils nationally.

p.7

The achievement of pupils is good

 Current attainment in Year 6 is below national averages because the pupils’ starting points from the end of Year 2 are significantly lower than found nationally. Nevertheless, the school’s data and pupils’ work in their books show they are making good progress in all areas.

p.8

The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making good progress because they receive good support for their learning.

p.8

The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils at an early stage of learning English make consistently good progress in communication, language and literacy and achieve as well as their classmates in other areas.

p.8

The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in physical education as a result of the good use of additional funding. They exercise regularly and significantly more participate in sports clubs and events than at the previous inspection.

p.8

The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in the Primary Support Base make consistently good and sometimes outstanding progress from their starting points as a result of good teaching and support for their learning and personal development. This enables them to re-integrate successfully into mainstream classes.

p.8

The early years provision is outstanding

 Outstanding leadership of the early years is ensuring that teaching is outstanding. Children are making outstanding progress from their low starting points and the provision has improved significantly since the last inspection. Leaders have developed a highly stimulating learning environment and a strong drive among staff to sustain the highest levels of achievement for all children.

p.8

The early years provision is outstanding

 Children who enter the Nursery unable to speak English make very rapid gains in communication and language because these areas are given a high priority in all learning activities.

p.8

The early years provision is outstanding

 Rich and varied learning experiences, such as the new outdoor provision, are having a very strong impact on stimulating children’s curiosity and imagination about the world around them, promoting language and social development well. Children in the early years develop excellent attitudes to learning. They are very well behaved and settle into their routines quickly.

p.8

The early years provision is outstanding

 Children experience a great sense of wonder and excitement in learning about the world around them. For example, as children in the Nursery explored the outdoor environment, they investigated the buds emerging on the trees, dew on the grass, fox holes, plants, bulbs and mini-beasts. Staff develop the children’s communication and language skills exceptionally well in these activities by encouraging them to explain what they learn using sentences and incorporating technical language.

p.8

The early years provision is outstanding

 Teamwork amongst the staff is excellent. All staff promote children’s well-being and safety through active engagement in all learning activities, good levels of supervision and consistently applying all safeguarding requirements to ensure children are safe. As a result, children in the Nursery and Reception classes feel safe, are very settled into their routines and are very happy at school.

p.8

The early years provision is outstanding

 Assessments, observations and recordings of children’s progress are very thorough. New systems for recording the very small steps of progress each child makes have been implemented well. These enable parents to see the journeys in learning that their children are making at any given time. The systems are also used effectively to plan a range of stimulating activities across all areas of learning.

p.8

The early years provision is outstanding

 Links with parents and carers and their engagement with their children’s learning are strong. Parents and carers are very positive about all aspects of early years provision. Overall, children are exceptionally well prepared academically, socially and emotionally for entry into Year 1, and the proportion achieving a good level of development has increased in the past two years.

p.8

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

p.9

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.

p.9

School details

Unique reference number 117302 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 448498

p.10

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.10

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 208 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jackie Haynes Headteacher Emma Devally Date of previous school inspection 29 March 2010 Telephone number 01992 623065 Fax number 01992 628199 Email address head@andrewslane.herts.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 .

p.10

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.

p.11

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

p.11

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

p.11

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’.

p.11

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.11