Dawlish Primary School

Dawlish Primary School Jesse Road, London, E10 6NN

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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This is a school that requires improvement

 In the past, senior leaders and governors have not focused on improving teaching or pupils’ achievement quickly enough. As a result, there remains a legacy of poor academic achievement and too many pupils have fallen behind in their learning.  Academic standards are below national expectations at the end of Key Stage 1. At Key Stage 2, achievement is not rising fast enough in mathematics and writing. Standards remain below national expectations at the end of Year 6.  Teaching over time has not been focused on ensuring that all pupils achieve well. As a result, too many pupils do not reach the standards they should in writing by the end of each key stage.  The teaching of writing does not always ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to extend their knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts.  Gaps in academic achievement between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils continue to exist in some parts of the school.

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The school has the following strengths

 The recently established federation is supporting improvements. As a result of the new, strong leadership, the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress are improving dramatically.  Behaviour and safety of the pupils is good.  Provision in the early years is a strength of the school, and teaching helps children make good progress from their low starting points.  Pupils’ skills in phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) are developed well as they move through the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve outcomes in English and mathematics by: accelerating rates of progress to ensure that pupils reach higher attainment levels by the end of each key stage.  Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that: pupils of all abilities have good opportunities to apply their knowledge, skills and understanding in different contexts and to a range of audiences.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The executive headteacher’s vision for the federation, her strong sense of purpose, and determination to move the school forward is shared by the recently appointed headteacher of the school and the governing body. There is now common purpose among the senior leaders, staff and governors to bring about the necessary improvement.  The local authority recognised the need to ensure stability and improvement, and took action which has been successful over the last four terms. The impact of this is seen in improved leadership and better consistency in the way that the school operates on a day-to-day basis. For example, rapid progress is now being made in reading and in assessment practice. The shared leadership and practice across the federation is undoubtedly benefiting Dawlish Primary School.  Senior leaders also work effectively with middle leaders across the federation to ensure better consistency

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

in classroom practice to further pupils’ academic progress.  The federation provides strong support from outstanding practitioners to help new and inexperienced teachers. They model lessons, teach alongside colleagues and organise further training opportunities linked to individual development needs. This is helping to ensure that newly qualified, developing teachers and teaching assistants are supported to improve as quickly as possible. As a result, no inadequate teaching remains. These actions are starting to raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics across the school compared with the legacy of underachievement.  Senior leaders have thought carefully about how to reduce staff turnover and give good teachers a chance to accept greater responsibility within the federation – for example, the recently formed cross- federation ‘teaching, learning and assessment’ team. As a result, roles and responsibilities of post-holders

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

are clear, with everyone working together to ensure that improvements are successful. Inspection evidence confirms that staff morale is high and that the school is well led and managed.  Over the last 12 months, improvements are evident wherever there has been a specific focus and drive for improvement. As a result, the school is improving quickly and securely across several aspects of its work – notably in planning, assessment, the teaching of reading and the work it does promoting safety. A strong example of this is the school’s safeguarding practices, which are robust and secure. Potential discrimination is tackled seriously and staff work closely with the ‘Prevent’ team, making referrals when required. They are aware of their statutory responsibilities to refer any concerns regarding possible extremism or acts of female genital mutilation. Detailed records are kept of referrals made and evidence

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

was seen by inspectors of follow-up with the relevant organisations.  A broad and balanced curriculum based on themes linked to each year group ensures good opportunities are provided. The taught curriculum and extra-curricular activities serve to ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. An example of this is the work by pupils in Year 4 to explore what British values mean to them through the medium of art. In the school’s ‘Project 360’, Year 5 pupils worked with an artist to create works which were on public display in a local café.  More effective use of the pupil premium fund is improving opportunities for disadvantaged pupils across the school. As a result, in 2015, disadvantaged pupils were broadly at or above the standards of other pupils nationally in all subjects by the end of Key Stage 2.  The school uses the additional sport premium to ensure physical education is taught regularly by a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

specialist coach, alongside the class teacher. This has increased the skills set of class teachers and pupils’ enjoyment of sports was evident in the lessons seen.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school Governance is strong. The formation of a hard federation with a local outstanding school has provided Dawlish with a skilled and experienced governing body. Governors are clear that outcomes require improvement to be good. They ensure systems are in place to link performance to set targets and pay.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 The legacy of weak teaching accounting for poor academic achievement has been arrested by the current senior leaders. The quality of teaching is improving at pace because senior leaders have established more consistent expectations for classroom practice such as marking and assessment, plans for raising achievement in each class linked to professional development, and performance management.  While there are no marked variations in the effectiveness of teaching across the school, since the last inspection teaching has not addressed the wide gaps in pupils’ knowledge particularly in writing and mathematics. The teaching of writing does not always ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to extend their knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts.  The assessment of pupils’ progress is also improving and securing better consistency. Through internal and external moderation, staff are now aware of the low academic outcomes at the end of Key Stages 1

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

and 2 and the legacy of underachievement. Termly moderation meetings within the federation have highlighted to staff the accelerated progress that needs to be made to bring achievement, particularly in writing, in line with national expectations.  The teaching of reading throughout the school is effectively ensuring pupils catch up quickly. Pupils heard reading in Years 1, 2 and 6 were well prepared for the next stage of their learning and showed real enjoyment of reading. In a guided reading session, the teacher modelled questioning to pupils well. As a result pupils were engaged and able to ask their own questions in order to explore the meaning of the text further. This extended pupils’ understanding and learning progressed swiftly for all.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils have a good knowledge of how to keep themselves safe from harm. They eagerly discussed their learning in their books on keeping safe in the house, road safety, and how to avoid cyber-bullying. Pupils are confident about how to keep themselves safe; for example, one pupil reported that ‘you don’t enter your email address’ when playing games online.  Pupils spoke confidently about their learning to inspectors. Incidences of bullying are rare and pupils are able to try to sort out any problems first before going to a teacher.  Senior leaders undertake appropriate health and safety checks to ensure that pupils are safe. Records and logs scrutinised by the inspection team demonstrated that robust systems are in place which include analysis of any patterns. As a result, systems are reviewed regularly, leading to improving

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Personal development and welfare

outcomes. For example, revised fire evacuation procedures were logged following more frequent practices.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are polite, well-mannered and welcoming. The school site is tidy and litter free. Pupils wear their uniforms smartly and respect the school rules. They willingly take responsibility for collecting and tidying away sporting equipment quickly at the start and end of breaktimes.  Pupils now enjoy learning because lessons are better organised and strong relationships contribute to a more positive climate for learning. Consequently, pupils were seen following routines readily and were keen to model the good behaviour expected.  Attendance and persistent absence is broadly in line with national averages. Regular newsletters, clear guidance in the parents’ handbook and the use of a range of strategies are supporting school leaders in raising awareness of the school’s ‘zero tolerance approach’ to absence during term time.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Standards in reading, writing and mathematics remain low in some parts of the school. Pupils have fallen behind in the past and teaching over time has not been good enough to ensure they catch up quickly in all areas. School leaders are aware that inconsistencies in the quality of teaching in the past across year groups and subjects account for the low academic achievement that remains. For example, while reading standards have improved significantly, standards for writing have not improved as significantly.  Work in pupils’ books shows that most pupils are now making at least the progress expected of them across the school and this is confirmed by the school’s own performance data. However, not enough pupils are making the accelerated progress required in all areas. As a result, proportions of pupils achieving the national expectations by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 are lower than the current figures.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Performance information, however, also shows some recent improvement. Last year, the learning in Year 6 enabled faster progression in preparation for the pupils’ move to secondary school, in both reading and mathematics.  At the end of Key Stage 2 outcomes in writing remain significantly below the national average. The school recognises that there has been insufficient time, since the formation of the federation, to address the wide gaps that previously existed in vocabulary and writing structures for the group of pupils that has just left.  School data for current pupils show that those with special educational needs are making good progress from their low starting points. Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs make comparable or better progress compared to all pupils in the school. However, the gaps in academic achievement between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils continue to exist.

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Early years provision is good

 Children enter the school with skills and abilities generally below those typical for their age. From this point, they make good progress and catch up quickly. As a result they acquire the skills needed to access the Key Stage 1 curriculum.  The benefits of the federation are evident in the early years because good opportunities are provided for staff to undertake regular training and development. This includes sharing effective assessment practice with other schools. This has resulted in accurate assessment in the Nursery and Reception classes and also confirms the moderation judgement undertaken by the local authority.  The experienced early years leader knows what works well and what needs to be improved. She leads her team well, monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of teaching and the impact it has on children’s learning. Consequently, teaching is typically good and the proportion of children reaching a good level of

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Early years provision is good

development, from low starting points, has risen significantly since 2013. As a result, the vast majority of children are well prepared for Year 1.  The school uses a range of effective strategies to engage parents, including their ‘starting school packs’, home visits and ‘special books’. Parents’ contribute to these ‘special books’, which accurately track children’s progress through their early years journey. During the inspection, evidence was seen in these ‘special books’ of the sequencing of words leading to strong progress in language development. Language is an area that has shown the biggest improvement in outcomes from 2014 to 2015.  Adults plan learning experiences appropriate to the children’s stage of development and interests. Children were seen enjoying a story about owls; the adult encouraged children to respond individually to questions and talk to each other, helping them to share ideas. The children’s enthusiasm and full

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Early years provision is good

engagement contributed to the good behaviour seen. Visits and resources are carefully planned to broaden and support the children’s learning experiences, for example the recent owl visit.

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School details

Unique reference number 103073 Local authority Waltham Forest Inspection number 10005729 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 230 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Maria Meehan Headteacher Prue Barnes-Kemp (Executive headteacher), Lisa McIntyre (Headteacher) Telephone number 020 8558 1566 Website http://www.dawlishprimary.co.uk Email address school@dawlish.waltham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8–9 February 2012

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection in February 2012, the school formed a hard federation, brokered by the local authority, with a local primary school in September 2014. Both schools share the same governing body. The two schools are also part of a soft federation with another primary school. Since the last inspection there have been significant changes to staffing in the school.  Dawlish Primary School is an average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from Asian or Asian British (Pakistani) or White (any other white) backgrounds. The third largest group comprises any other mixed background (mixed). The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is high.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is high, representing almost two thirds of the school community.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium funding is broadly in line

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Information about this school

with the national figure. The pupil premium is additional government funding that schools receive to support those known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils joining the school at other than normal times is high.  The school’s 2015 data meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 14 lessons or parts of lessons. All of these observations were made jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors held discussions with groups of pupils, staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. Inspectors listened to pupils read and looked at work in pupils’ books and the school’s information showing pupils’ progress.  Inspectors examined a range of documentation provided by the school including the school’s own self- evaluation. Records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding were also considered.  Inspectors took account of 31 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 76 responses to the school’s own recently completed parent survey. Inspectors also considered the 16 responses to Ofsted’s optional online staff survey. Inspectors also met a number of parents informally to hear their

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Information about this inspection

views of the school. These meetings took place before the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Jean Thwaites, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Gill Bal Ofsted Inspector Brian Oppenheim Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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