Lakenham Primary School

Lakenham Primary School City Road, Norwich NR1 2HL

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 Pupils make good progress from their different starting points. The longer pupils remain at the school the better they achieve.  Books show that pupils in all year groups and all subjects are making good progress this year.  The early years provision is good. Children enjoy a rich curriculum that engages them well.  Teaching is consistently good. This has improved considerably since the previous inspection.  The headteacher provides outstanding leadership and is very ably supported by her deputies.  Governors know the school very well and challenge senior leaders rigorously.  Pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare is outstanding. They have very positive attitudes to learning.  Safeguarding is a particular strength. Staff deal very skilfully with the many complex issues they face on a daily basis.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Standards are still too low by the end of Key Stage 2 but are improving rapidly.  The level of challenge is not always appropriate for different groups of pupils in the introductions to lessons.  The most-able pupils are sometimes not given sufficient opportunities to write at length in other subjects  Some middle leaders are new to their roles and would benefit from seeing outstanding practice in other schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2 by: ensuring all pupils have a level of challenge that is appropriate for them during introductions to lessons making sure the most-able pupils have more opportunities to write at length in other subjects honing the skills of phase leaders in improving provision through observing best leadership practice in other schools.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The impact of the headteacher and deputy headteachers is outstanding in setting the vision and culture of the school and in having the highest aspirations for all pupils, whatever their circumstances or starting points.  The leadership team has made clear their very high expectations of all staff and pupils. They do not shy away from making difficult staffing decisions to ensure provision continues to improve.  The headteacher has developed the leadership skills of her team very well, most recently through phase leaders. They have been given increasing responsibility for standards and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in their areas.  The school supports its staff well in their professional development. Leaders give teachers clear feedback about how well they are doing. Points for improvement are followed up promptly. Teachers new to the profession say they feel very well supported.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 A couple of the middle leaders are fairly new to role and would benefit from observing the outstanding practice that goes on in other schools.  The impact of leadership and management is not yet evident in average standards at the end of Key Stage 2, although standards are rising rapidly.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has a high priority and is visible in displays and through the curriculum. For example a ‘Colours of the World’ display highlighted the many different countries represented among the school population. Pupils cooperate and play very well together, sharing play equipment at lunchtimes. The student council were democratically elected. Pupils understand the importance of laws in modern life. They are encouraged to take risks and try new things.  Pupils celebrate Black History Month. The school held a Remembrance Day assembly organised by Year 3. Pupils have been engaged in making money in enterprise week, selling products they have made.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

They visit different places of worship. Pupils visited the University of East Anglia to inspire them to aim high in their futures. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Pupils take responsibility as school ambassadors, showing visitors around, and as play leaders, organising games and activities for the other pupils. They have to write a formal application for these posts and are interviewed by the headteacher.  The curriculum is well resourced and promotes the diversity of the school with its 29 languages and the cultures of the local community. The pupils’ float won the Lord Mayor’s show procession with its giant 3D animals.  The curriculum allows pupils to take a pride in the school and wider community. Staff evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum on a regular basis and make changes to suit pupils’ needs.  The curriculum is enriched through a variety of sports, music and art. A total of 73 pupils are learning a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

wide range of musical instruments. There is a school orchestra. Norwich Dragons (hockey), Premier Sports (football and multi-sports) and a local bowls club all provide coaching for pupils.  The primary physical education and sport premium is spent on a coaching qualification for teaching staff, physical education teaching and multi-skills activities. The impact of these activities is to include more pupils in sport and to equip staff to support them once the grant comes to an end.  The pupil premium is spent effectively on helping disadvantaged pupils to catch up with the others in the school and nationally. Gaps in their attainment have closed or are closing rapidly. They benefit from small groups and enrichment activities such as ‘Forest Schools’.  The governance of the school Governors have a good knowledge and understanding of the school’s strengths and areas to develop further. They visit regularly to see for themselves how things are going and have undertaken training

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

so that they are equipped to challenge senior leaders, for example about performance information. Governors have a wide range of expertise which they use to benefit the school. They keep a careful eye on spending and ensure, for example, that the pupil premium and sport premium represent value for money.  The arrangements for safeguarding are outstanding. The school has developed considerable expertise in dealing with a large number of complex cases. It works very effectively with a wide range of different agencies. Records are kept meticulously. All staff are extremely well trained and very alert to any signs that could be a concern. Parents are happy that their children are safe and pupils report that they feel very safe in school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and this means they make learning interesting for pupils and bring different subjects to life. For example, in a Year 5 science lesson, pupils rose to the challenge to find who could make yeast froth the most. They chose their own different variables and recorded the results carefully. The one with double sugar erupted like a volcano, to general delight.  Teachers know pupils very well and make sure that they set work for them at the correct level for their abilities. They encourage pupils to make their own choices to challenge themselves. Pupils do this very confidently.  Skilful targeted questioning probes pupils’ responses. Teachers assess what pupils already know and help them to deepen their understanding. This was evident in a very sensitive discussion in Year 6 about the impact of the holocaust. Pupils looked at case studies of Jewish children of the time. The most-able

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

pupils were questioning each other about how Jewish people would have felt under persecution in Nazi Germany and the teacher steered the discussion very well.  Teachers pick up misconceptions straight away and correct them, such as by insisting that Year 1 pupils use the correct sounds in their phonics lessons. (Phonics are the sounds that letters make.)  All teachers follow the school’s marking and feedback policy consistently and this results in very clear steps for learning in books.  There is good evidence of pupils assessing how well they and their peers are doing and reflecting upon their learning in their written work.  Teachers involve pupils well in target setting. They have their own personal target sheets which they fill in with their parents at home.  Pupils are keen to improve their work. They take a pride in neat presentation and act upon their teachers’ suggestions.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils and offer high levels of challenge.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Pupils are taught from an early age to cooperate together very well and share resources.  Sometimes the less-able pupils sit through explanations during the introduction to lessons even though they are not going to be doing this work. Similarly, the most-able pupils sometimes have to listen to explanations about work for the less-able pupils which are not relevant to them. This delays pupils in beginning their own tasks.  Overuse of worksheets in some subjects can constrain the most-able pupils from writing at length, because the amount of work they can do is limited by the small space allocated on the worksheet.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning in class. They show resilience and want to do their best.  Pupils come across as confident and have a very good understanding about their learning. They talk enthusiastically about new knowledge and skills they have learnt.  Pupils are ambitious to do as well as they can. They like to know how they are doing and use their personal target sheets to check their progress.  Pupils are very polite and friendly. They are happy to chat with visitors.  Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to live healthily and how to develop healthy relationships. Pupils report that they have good sets of friends in school.  They are very knowledgeable about keeping safe when using the internet and the dangers posed by social media.  Pupils say that bullying is not a problem for them. A couple of parents indicated that their child had been

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Personal development and welfare

bullied, but inspectors found no evidence of this in school. Pupils showed respect and understanding for one another.  Pupils cooperate well together in the breakfast club and after-school club. The clubs are well run and keep pupils safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. They behave extremely well in and around the school.  The school environment is attractive. There are plenty of displays of children’s work and large colourful posters created within school.  While attendance is below average the school has robust systems in place and does not shy away from prosecuting parents who condone persistent absence. There were 63 legal interventions in 2015 after the school had provided all support. Persistent absence went down in 2015.  The attendance of pupils with special educational needs was low in 2015 but it has improved considerably this year.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 All groups of current pupils are making good progress from their different starting points. This was evident both in lessons and in this year’s books.  Gaps in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally were wide in 2015, but this year they are closing in all year groups.  The progress of disadvantaged pupils for all but one of the starting points was better than for other pupils nationally in 2015.  The school’s data for other year groups in 2015 show that in some years the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils were better than for other pupils in the school.  The school has identified 25 different factors outside its control that could have a negative impact on pupils’ learning, including the fact that they are homeless, refugees, and come from homes where there is domestic abuse and so on. It has observed that where pupils are subject to seven or more of these

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Outcomes for pupils are good

potential difficulties there is a direct impact on their ability to access learning.  All staff work extremely hard to overcome the potentially debilitating impact of these many negative factors. The school’s detailed records show a kaleidoscope of concern, as each factor is coloured differently against individual pupils’ records. The school is currently working with more than 20 different social workers on its safeguarding issues alone.  Pupils read widely and often. They develop a love of learning and keep careful records of their home reading. Younger pupils use their phonics knowledge to sound out new words. Older pupils talk about the authors they enjoy.  In 2015 children left the early years with a good level of development in line with the national average. This has improved considerably over the past three years as a result of increasingly effective leadership and provision in the early years.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Because the school has adopted innovative and flexible approaches to supporting its pupils, bearing in mind their often very complex starting points, a tide of improvement is evident sweeping over the early years and Key Stage 1. This resulted in pupils reaching broadly average levels by the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics in 2015.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress because teaching assistants are well trained and effective; pupils benefit from a rich and varied curriculum tailored to their needs.  The most-able pupils choose the hardest challenges in lessons and achieve well. Those who spend their entire school career at the school fulfil their potential and reach the higher levels of attainment. The most-able pupils are stretched well in guided reading sessions.  Leaders ensure that lower-attaining pupils receive all the help they need to catch up rapidly. This is not

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Outcomes for pupils are good

clear in published historical information because many of these pupils leave the school before Year 6 and others join late in their school careers, reducing the impact the school can have on their achievement before they complete Year 6.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress because work is tailored to their needs and the curriculum adapted to suit them.  Looked-after children also make good progress because of the pastoral and academic support they receive.  Pupils’ books show that they have made good progress in all year groups this year in English and mathematics.  The outcomes of the Year 1 phonics check were low in 2015. A phonics specialist has been appointed this year and is already making a difference. Current Year 1 pupils are on course to reach the national average in the phonics check this year.  The historical published information shows that pupils’ standards were low in reading, mathematics and

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Outcomes for pupils are good

grammar, punctuation and spelling by the end of Year 6. However, this does not take account of the fact that over half of this small year group joined the school late into their school careers with very low attainment and complex needs. This meant the school had limited time to accelerate their learning sufficiently to meet national expectations for their attainment. When the pupils who started in the school from Reception are considered, their standards were in line with the national average for 2015 in reading, writing and mathematics combined.

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Early years provision is good

 Children get off to a good start in the Nursery and Reception classes because staff have a very good understanding of how young children learn. They make learning exciting and enjoyable. For example, children making finger puppets made their own choices about the design and materials they wanted to use and cut out their own figures.  Children settle quickly into the well-established routines of the early years. They are taught how to get on with one another and cooperate together. For example, a child was complaining to the teacher about somebody who would not share. The teacher said, ‘Use your words and tell her what you would like her to do’. The child duly departed and returned shortly, having used her words, to report that ‘she said yes!’  Staff take every opportunity to develop children’s language and to encourage them to practise their early literacy skills. The ‘literacy shed’ outside the Nursery is a place where children go to read and to plan.

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Early years provision is good

 The leadership and management of the early years are good. All staff keep careful records of children’s achievements electronically. Children’s literacy and numeracy books also show the rapid progress they are making.  The teaching in the early years is good because staff plan activities that suit the children and that build on their interests. They question children well and encourage them to develop their learning when they are choosing their own activities.  Children achieve well in the early years from their different starting points and are ready to begin work in Year 1 as a result. Their needs are identified early and any support provided swiftly so that it has the maximum impact on their learning. This includes disadvantaged children.  The early years is not outstanding because standards by the end of the Reception Year are no better than the national average. This represents good rather than outstanding progress from pupils’ different

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Early years provision is good

starting points.  Early years staff work closely and effectively with parents, who are very positive about their children’s experiences. They join their children for enjoyable ‘Come and Learn’ sessions every week.  Staff ensure that all children are safe and all statutory welfare requirements are met for young children.

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School details

Unique reference number 134965 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 10001892

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School details

This inspection 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 410 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Allen Headteacher Oriana Dalton Telephone number 01603 877780 Website www.lakenhamprimaryschool.co.uk Email address office@lakenham.norfolk.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. It has two classes for each year group.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or looked after by the local authority) is high.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average.  In 2015 the school met current government floor standards.  The school is housed in a modern, spacious building.  The governing body runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.  The school has very recently linked up with the London Leadership Strategy.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed learning in 30 lessons or parts of lessons, most of them jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteachers.  The inspectors heard pupils read and, with the deputy headteachers, looked closely at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspection team looked at a wide range of school documents including development plans, policies, self-evaluation reports and safeguarding records. They considered evidence of the school’s partnership work and the information provided for families.  A meeting was held with a group of older pupils chosen at random and with members of the school council. A meeting was also held with pupils to consider their target files. Discussions were held with senior leaders, subject leaders, teachers and other staff. The lead inspector talked to the Chair of the Governing Body and three other governors and a representative from the local authority.  There were no responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. The inspection team considered

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Information about this inspection

electronic comments about the school and spoke informally to some parents in the playground.  The inspectors considered the 12 staff questionnaires that were completed.

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Inspection team

Nick Butt, lead inspector Nick Templeton Olive Millington Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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