Malorees Primary School

Malorees Infant School Christchurch Avenue, London NW6 7PB

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding Outcomes for pupils Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The leadership team, governors and staff are ambitious for the school and have worked hard to make sure that it has improved.  Pupils achieve well because they are well taught. They work hard and make at least good progress from their different starting points.  Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has risen since the previous inspection. It is above the national average and has been for three years.  Teaching in the early years provision is good. Adults are caring and offer children stimulating, enjoyable tasks which lead to good learning.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. In this happy and welcoming school, pupils develop excellent personal skills. They are eager to learn and are considerate to others.  The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is strong. Pupils show a good understanding of British values such as tolerance and respect.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher

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This is a good school

rigorously monitor the progress of groups. As a result, all groups do well and no groups are left to fall behind.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school and its leaders. As one parent put it, ‘They have created a wonderful community’.  The school keeps pupils extremely safe and secure.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Middle leaders are not confident in supporting senior leaders to evaluate the achievement of the pupils in their phases or subjects over time. This limits their capacity to identify priorities for further improvement.  Progress in writing is sometimes held back by poor handwriting skills and poor presentation.  The quality of teaching does not yet result in outstanding outcomes for all pupils  The most-able pupils do not always make the progress they are capable of in mathematics because activities do not help them to deepen their understanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further strengthen the leadership and management of the school by ensuring that all middle leaders understand the progress that their pupils make over time within phases and subjects, and that they use this information effectively to plan for further improvements.  Improve the quality of teaching and learning to outstanding by ensuring that: the most-able pupils are given tasks which enable them to deepen their knowledge and understanding of one topic before moving on to the next pupils across the school improve the quality of their handwriting and presentation teachers improve their skills further through learning from each other, by sharing the practices in the school which result in outstanding progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The relentless drive of the headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors to develop the school is evident in the improvements made to teaching and in pupils’ outcomes since the previous inspection. The headteacher and deputy headteacher have maintained and enhanced the credibility of the school in the community and are loyally supported by all staff. The large majority of parents registered their appreciation of what the leadership team have achieved through their responses to the online Parent View survey and through their conversations with inspectors.  Pupils’ successes are celebrated at regular ‘Grand Finale’ events at school. Parents attend and hear about their children’s achievements in a range of interesting presentations and performances. Teachers are proud of their pupils and what they achieve, and parents appreciate this.  Teaching and learning are being monitored carefully and purposeful training and support is provided for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

new and experienced teachers to help them improve further.  Leaders, including governors, ensure that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively. The achievement of disadvantaged pupils is at least as good as their classmates and their attainment is above the national average by the end of Year 2.  Pupils with disability and those who have special educational needs make good progress from their starting points because of the quality of support they receive. The school has worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for children who speak English as an additional language. Their progress is now similar to their classmates’. The school’s ‘target’ pupils work ensures that any pupil who is at risk of underachieving for any reason is identified and supported, so that they do not fall behind.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and offers pupils a range of interesting themes and topics. It has

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

been refocused to meet the more challenging expectations for pupils’ attainment. A range of extra- curricular activities, visits and visitors enhance the curriculum and support pupils’ progress. Pupils enjoyed their recent visit to the Fire of London monument.  Strategies such as the school’s ‘Promise Tree’ have resulted in a strong emphasis on valuing cultural differences and respecting others. This prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.  The use of assessment has been developed well since the previous inspection and all staff follow the school’s marking policy consistently. This has a positive impact on the progress pupils make over time. Leaders recognise that in order to move outcomes to outstanding, the verbal and written guidance that teachers give to pupils needs to have immediate impact on the next piece of work that pupils do. The way work is presented in folders rather than books sometimes makes it difficult to see those small steps

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

in progress that pupils make.  The school has made good use of the primary physical education and sport premium fund to provide a wider range of sports and activities within and beyond the school day. Teachers’ confidence in teaching physical education has grown and the quality of teaching has improved because of this. Pupils’ participation in sports has increased significantly and this has had a good impact on their well-being and physical development.  The local authority rightly views the school as a good school and therefore do not currently support the school on a regular basis. The school use the services of the Brent Schools’ Partnership to help them fine- tune school improvement priorities and to ensure they receive the external challenge that they value.  Middle leaders have a good impact on the quality of teaching and the learning environment in their phases or subjects. However, they are not yet effective in supporting the highly skilled deputy

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

headteacher in identifying priorities for development based on the progress of pupils over time. They are being well supported by the deputy headteacher to develop these skills. They are reflective professionals who want to improve their leadership skills and they have good capacity to do so.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school Governance is good and has improved significantly since the previous inspection. Governors have engaged reflectively with the review of how well they are doing. The recently appointed Chair steers the work of the governors well. They visit the school regularly and undertake learning walks. Link governor roles have been well established. Records of governors’ visits to school and governing body minutes show that they know their school well and get the balance of support and challenge right in order to help the school continually improve. Governors have a range of skills which they put to good use to add to the strong overall leadership of the school. Governors have recently challenged the school effectively regarding its sports and physical education provision and they have ensured that the sport premium funding has been targeted effectively.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All governors and staff receive regular safeguarding

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Leaders have been successful in improving the quality of teaching since the previous inspection. Teachers’ subject knowledge of English and mathematics is strong and is used successfully to plan lessons in all subjects which motivate and engage pupils in their learning. As a result, all pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The ‘G.R.O.W’ (give it a go, rise to the challenge, on target, working together) values underpin learning in all classrooms. Pupils are happy to take risks, ‘have a go’ and to ask for help when they need it. Relationships between adults and pupils ensure that pupils celebrate their successes and feel that they are doing well.  Teachers are consistent in their use of the marking policy and they guide pupils well with their ongoing verbal feedback. In the classrooms where outstanding progress is evident, teachers skilfully support pupils in evaluating their own and others’ learning. This was seen in a Year 1 mathematics lesson where

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

the teacher and teaching assistant went ‘in role’ as teacher and pupil in order to show pupils how to be successful with counting on. Pupils then worked in pairs to ‘mark’ the teacher’s work and correct it. Pupils made rapid progress in their mathematics skills and at the same time developed their thinking and learning skills.  Teachers and other adults plan well for ‘target’ pupils who are at risk of underachieving for a variety of reasons. Teaching assistants are deployed well to support individuals and groups and they make a valuable contribution to pupils’ personal development as well as their academic progress.  Teaching and learning is not yet outstanding because occasionally the most-able pupils in particular move on too quickly through topics and are not given tasks which allow them to deepen their knowledge and understanding and make rapid progress. Occasionally, teachers miss opportunities to use concrete and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

visual resources to support learning in mathematics and there is a tendency to over-rely on worksheets. Teachers are reflective and recognise that this is an area they can work on to support pupils in making rapid progress.  Pupils make good progress in writing and apply their good phonics learning to mark-making and early writing activities. They make good progress across the school and by the time they leave the school they can write for a range of purposes and audiences. However, letter formation and handwriting is not well developed across the school and sometimes work is poorly presented.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils told inspectors that they are happy at school and this is very evident in classrooms, in the playground and around the building. Pupils say they feel safe and that they are very well looked after.  Pupils are friendly, polite and welcoming. Even the youngest children in the school are happy to stop and have a chat to visitors and tell them about all the exciting things they are doing and learning. Pupils hold doors open for visitors and greet them with unfailing courtesy, respect and, typically, a smile.  Pupils’ needs are met extremely well, whether physical, emotional, behavioural or academic. The school works in highly effective partnerships with external agencies to help those who require support.  At lunchtime pupils show a good understanding of healthy eating and are offered a range of healthy choices. They eat and play together harmoniously.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school keeps pupils safe and teaches them how to keep themselves safe. Parents and visitors are provided with a useful, accessible information leaflet on safeguarding procedures and key people to approach within the school community. Pupils show good awareness of e-safety issues.  Pupils confirm that there are hardly ever any incidences of unkindness from one child to another. They understand what bullying is and are very secure in their knowledge that all adults in the school would help them if they had worries or concerns.  Relationships between adults and pupils in the school are caring and nurturing. Teachers and other adults know their pupils very well and because of this they are able to make an outstanding contribution to each individual’s personal development and welfare.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. They are eager to learn and approach work with enthusiasm. They are confident to ask for help with their learning and can talk about their learning with a maturity which belies their years. The ‘G.R.O.W.’ values are very much part of the school’s climate for learning. Pupils are confident at explaining the values and find them motivating. An example of this is a Reception child who was happily sticking a sticker on the ‘give it a go grasshopper’ poster on the classroom door. When asked what it was all about, she confidently told inspectors, ‘I gave my numicon work a good go!’ She had not been directed to use the sticker but had chosen to reflect on her learning.  The ‘Promise Tree’ has been used very successfully across the school to encourage pupils to make the right choices about behaviour. Pupils recognise that it helps them all ‘think about things’ and get on well

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Behaviour

together.  In this diverse school community, pupils show respect, friendship and tolerance towards each other. Their behaviour is impeccable in classrooms and around the school.  Attendance has been below the national average but is improving and is now average. The school have significantly reduced the rate of persistent absenteeism during this academic year.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Children entry both the Nursery and the Reception classes with knowledge and skills which are typically less well developed than those seen nationally for their age, particularly in communication, language and literacy. They make good progress during the Early Years Foundation Stage and the proportion of pupils achieving a good level of overall development at the end of their time in Reception is broadly in line with national averages. There are some differences in the achievement of boys and girls, particularly in writing. Current work and pupil progress information indicates that this is being tackled effectively and gaps are closing.  Pupils’ outcomes are good. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 have risen since the last inspection and are above the national average. Pupils leave this infant school well equipped with the skills and knowledge to enter the next stage of their education.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 In 2015 Year 1 pupils’ attainment in the phonics screening check was in line with the national average, as a result of focused efforts to improve the quality of teaching of phonics. Disadvantaged pupils did less well. Gaps are closing this year and the proportion of pupils set to achieve the expected standard is set to improve further.  Pupils across the school are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils with disability, those with special educational needs, disadvantaged pupils and those who speak English as an additional language make similar progress to their classmates. Pupils who are at risk of not making the progress they are capable of are quickly identified as ‘target’ pupils and provision is adapted effectively. Some pupils in some classes make outstanding progress.  The most-able pupils are not yet making the progress they are capable of in mathematics and progress in

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Outcomes for pupils are good

writing is sometimes impeded by poor handwriting skills and presentation.

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Early years provision is good

 The Nursery and Reception classes provide children with a flying start to their education.  Teachers and other members of staff work well with individuals and groups and ask effective questions that help to move children’s learning forward. For example, in the Nursery children were prompted to explain why one wheel was moving faster than the other. Skilful questioning helped them to think carefully and revise their initial ideas.  The atmosphere within the Nursery and Reception class is sometimes calm and sometimes busy and exciting, but it is always purposeful. Tasks and activities inspire and enthuse learners. In the Reception classes, children watched chickens hatching and observed them throughout the day through magnifying glasses. They then imagined what the chicks would say if they could talk and wrote speech bubbles confidently.  From their various starting points, children make good progress because they are taught well and cared

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Early years provision is good

for exceptionally well. Disadvantaged pupils make similar or better progress to their classmates because of well-targeted additional funding.  Early mathematics skills and literacy skills are rightly prioritised in the Early Years Foundation Stage and because of this pupils make good progress in these areas. All the other areas of learning are also well catered for and pupils benefit from a range of enjoyable tasks and activities and make good progress. As a result of this pupils leave Reception ready to enjoy and achieve well in Year 1.  Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and nurturing. Key workers are introduced to families when children join the nursery and they work well to support pupils’ progress as well as their personal development.  Parents say that the early years is a safe and happy place to be. They are given excellent information and welcoming packs when their children start school and they contribute well to the pupils’ learning journeys.

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Early years provision is good

The Nursery leader plans wonderful ‘family days out’ when children and their parents meet with the staff outside school for picnics. These events are well attended and are often at weekends. This is typical of the commitment of the staff at Malorees to create a happy, cohesive community.  Safeguarding is effective. Parents have absolute confidence that their children are well cared for and safe. One parent’s only complaint was that her child ‘misses school so much during the holidays!’  In the Nursery class, the outdoor ‘role play’ area gives children opportunities to apply their early writing and mathematics skills. This is not the case in the Reception classes.  Early years provision is not yet outstanding because teaching is not yet leading to outstanding outcomes. The early years leader has had good impact on the quality of teaching and on the quality of the environment. However, leaders lack clarity in their understanding of how well pupils are doing from their

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School details

Unique reference number 101507 Local authority Brent Inspection number 10002014

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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 Infant School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 241 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Urmi Shah Headteacher Sian Davies Telephone number 0208 459 3038 Website http://www.maloreesinfants.com/ Email address admin@malorees-inf.brent.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 14–15 November 2013

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Information about this school

 Malorees is a slightly smaller than average-sized infant school. It has an Early Years Foundation Stage which consists of two part-time Nursery classes and three full-time Reception classes.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support from the pupil premium funding (additional money provided by the government for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority) is below the national average.  Pupils come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and speak a range of languages. Almost half of the pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils with a disability and those who have special educational needs is higher than average.  There have been changes to some key subject and phase leader roles since the previous inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in all classes at least once. Three observations were undertaken with the headteacher and early years leader.  Meetings were held with governors and with a representative of the local authority.  Meetings were held with pupils to discuss their learning and their views on the school.  All leaders met with inspectors to discuss their roles and the impact of their work.  Inspectors heard pupils read and talked to pupils in the lunch hall, in the playground and as they moved around the building.  Inspectors attended an assembly.  Inspectors examined a range of school documents, including information on pupils’ progress across the school, improvement plans, curriculum plans and checks on the quality of teaching. They also examined school policies and school records relating to safety, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ books in every classroom to see what progress pupils make and to look at

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Information about this inspection

the impact of the guidance teachers provide.  Inspectors took account of the 160 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and to information gathered from discussions with parents during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Ruth Dollner, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Helen Bailey 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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