Harrow Lodge Primary School

Wykeham Primary School Rainsford Way, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 4BP

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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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 Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Although leaders are improving the quality of teaching, it is not yet consistently good.  Sometimes, tasks are not sufficiently interesting or challenging to motivate pupils to do their best. In some classes, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are not high enough.  Across the school, the achievement gap between all pupils and disadvantaged pupils is not closing quickly enough.  Pupils leave the school with standards that are only broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Attendance is below average. Too many pupils are persistently absent or late for school.  Written and spoken guidance to pupils is sometimes unduly negative in tone, and consequently not enough of it is securing higher outcomes for pupils or helping them to feel proud of their achievements.  Parents’ views about the school are very mixed. Although most expressed confidence in the new headteacher, a minority are dissatisfied with the

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This is a school that requires improvement

quality of teaching in the school and with the standard of behaviour.  At times, pupils’ behaviour in the playground, in lessons and as they move around the school is not good. Conflicts in the playground are not dealt with swiftly enough and there is inconsistency in the way adults deal with poor behaviour.

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The school has the following strengths

 This is an improving school. He early years provision has improved and is now good.  The new headteacher has brought about a number of important changes since September. All leaders, including middle leaders, show a great determination to improve achievement. As a result of effective action, rates of progress are beginning to accelerate in some classes.  The interesting curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.  Safeguarding is effective and pupils say that they feel safe at school.  Governors provide a good level of challenge and support to school leaders and regularly check the progress that the school is making.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that it leads to good outcomes for all pupils, by ensuring that: all additional adults across the school are directed by teachers to support learning effectively in whole-class and group work, including in the early years tasks and activities in all classes are challenging and interesting to pupils and motivate them to do the best that they can teachers who are less confident in teaching reading, writing and mathematics learn from the strong practice which exists in the school.  Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: leaders take swift action to improve attendance and punctuality leaders take effective action to engage with, understand and provide for the needs of those parents who are dissatisfied with the work of the school structures and systems are used consistently and effectively to improve behaviour and reduce the

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

incidents of poor behaviour and bullying leaders build on the work already begun, to assist teachers in identifying what is necessary to make sure that the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others narrows the school’s policies ensure that written and verbal feedback to pupils is appropriate to their age and stage of development, and helps them move on in their learning and feel positive about their achievements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium is recommended.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors have an accurate view of the school. Collectively, they have identified the areas that need to be improved.  Swift action has been taken to implement an effective assessment system from September 2015. All staff are using the system. The identification of pupils who are falling behind is much more efficient than in the past. However, actions taken to ensure rapid pupil progress as a result of this are yet to have an impact in all classes. There are some early indications that gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others are beginning to narrow, but in some classes the gaps are still too wide.  The school’s work to improve attendance and punctuality has had little impact. Attendance remains below average and some pupils are persistently late for school. The headteacher has introduced a range of rewards to encourage good attendance which pupils say they value. However, there has been little improvement,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

and attendance targets set by leaders are not high enough.  Parents are not united in their views of the school. A minority of parents are dissatisfied with all aspects of the school’s work. The majority of parents who completed the online questionnaire, Parent View, said that they would recommend the school to another parent, but over a third of the parents who completed it, said they would not. Parents show well-founded concerns about behaviour in the playground and incidents of bullying. Parents believe that staff turnover has had a negative impact on pupil progress. Parents of Reception children were generally more united in their positive views of the school.  The school has implemented a marking policy since the previous inspection. While this is used by all teachers, it does not always support pupils’ progress and sometimes impacts negatively on their views of themselves as learners. Several pupils were unable to find a single piece of work that they were ‘proud of’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

during the inspection. Some comments in books are unduly negative and punitive.  The school’s leaders have identified priorities and are planning for improvement. Senior leaders’ work to secure strong leadership and improved quality of teaching and provision in the early years has helped to ensure that the provision is now good.  The school has a good understanding of what needs to be done to improve outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs or disability. Class teachers understand more fully their role in supporting pupils with special educational needs, and targets set are focused on supporting pupils’ progress. It is too early to see the impact of these actions on pupils’ outcomes.  Subject leaders have a good understanding of what needs to be done to improve the quality of teaching and accelerate pupils’ progress. This is particularly the case in mathematics, and English in Years 5 and 6.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

Improvements to the teaching of reading and writing are evident in Key Stage 1.  The curriculum is interesting and well organised and is effective in promoting learning. It is supported well by a range of extra-curricular activities, trips and visitors, which widen pupils’ experiences and understanding. They often provoke excitement, for example, when Key Stage 1 pupils enjoyed meeting a visiting demonstration of live owls.  The curriculum provides well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. It is underpinned by the school’s core values explained by one pupil, ‘We must persevere, try hard and not give up.’ Pupils are aware of British values, and are quick to point out that these ‘are what we are trying to achieve’. Activities such as visits to the Houses of Parliament help to promote pupils’ understanding of society, the rule of law and democracy.  The teaching of sports and physical education is a strength of the school. Access to a wide range of sports

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

has had a good impact on pupils’ confidence and self-esteem, and promotes social development and British values well. Pupils enjoy being involved in a range of competitions and links with other schools.  The primary physical education and sport premium funding is used exceptionally well. Full-time sports coaches employed by the school have had a positive impact on pupils’ physical and personal development. Parents say that the initiative has ‘turned the school around’. The coaches are a strong presence in the school and provide excellent role models for the pupils. The impact of the coaching has gone well beyond the sports activities they broker or provide. The funding has, in addition, been instrumental in the school being able to ensure that a large majority of disadvantaged pupils attend a free after-school sports club.  Senior leaders and governors continually review provision to try to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

but have not used pupil premium spending to help them prioritise resources and actions for all disadvantaged pupils. Well-targeted use of the funding has led to narrowing of the gaps in achievement for the current Year 6, and to the closing of attainment gaps in the Reception classes. However, gaps in other year groups are still too wide in reading, writing and mathematics.  The newly qualified teachers are well supported by their mentors in the school. They benefit from the training they receive in school and that which is provided by the local authority.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school Governance has improved since the last inspection. Governors have audited their skills and ensured that all governors have received appropriate training for their role. All governors attend all committees to ensure that they are up to date with all aspects of the school’s work. They are a highly committed group with a good range of skills. The whole governing body attended a meeting with inspectors. Such is their commitment and determination to ensure that the school continues to improve. Governors are knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and weaknesses and what it needs to do to improve. They know how well the school compares with other schools nationally. Governors challenge and support the work of the school in equal measure. They ensure that performance management of teachers and the headteacher is rigorous. They monitor the impact of the sports funding and pupil premium funding well. They are aware that the achievement of disadvantaged pupils has not

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

improved sufficiently and are supporting leaders in taking action to address this. Governors visit the school regularly to carry out monitoring visits. They keep careful records that show the purpose of their visits, the impact of school improvement actions and the further implications for school leaders and governors.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The headteacher and governors ensure that this aspect of the school’s work is strong. Staff and governors receive appropriate training and all relevant checks on staff and volunteers are in place and up to date.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Although improved, teaching is not leading to good outcomes for all pupils because its quality remains too variable. The renewed focus on closing the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others is showing some early signs of having impact in some classes, but not in all.  In some classes, pupils become demotivated by work which is too easy or by teaching which lacks enthusiasm, and many visibly ‘switch off’ and stop paying attention. This leads to some low-level disruption in lessons.  The impact that additional adults have on pupils’ progress varies across the school. In some classes they are not well directed by teachers to support learning, with their role being reduced, in effect, to ‘policing’. This has a negative impact on pupils’ confidence and on their progress. In other classes, they work well in a partnership with teachers to support learning, nurturing pupils and building up their self-esteem.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 The quality of teaching of reading varies across the school. Some pupils say that they never read with anyone at school, some say they enjoy the books teachers share with them and the books they take home. The two libraries in the school are not used effectively to promote a love of reading.  Some teaching ensures that pupils are highly motivated and enjoy their learning. Pupils are sometimes engaged, stimulated and interested. Pupils can demonstrate good reading comprehension skills, learn from each other, and engage in interesting discussion.  Assessment is effective and used by all staff to identify where support is needed, although action has not ensured the rapid pupil progress that is needed. Gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally, and in the school, are beginning to narrow, but not quickly enough.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils in some classes do not have confidence in their own abilities because adults do not give them the right level of encouragement. Some pupils show little pride in their work or confidence in their achievements.  There are too many incidents of poor behaviour and bullying outside the classroom. Most incidents are dealt with effectively by staff but some go unnoticed, particularly in the playground.  Pupils say they feel safe at school and they understand how to keep themselves safe because this is addressed well by the curriculum.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  The majority of pupils behave well in lessons but a small minority of pupils do not.  Behaviour around the school, when leaving classrooms, entering the lunch hall, or going out to play is sometimes disorderly and often boisterous. Conflicts in the playground are sometimes not sorted out quickly enough by adults. During the inspection, some adults were seen to turn and look the other way when pupils were behaving aggressively towards each other.  Some parents report significant improvements in behaviour at the start of the day recently due to the work of the sports coaches and the activities that they have put in place at the start of the day such as the ‘road for learning’.  Most pupils are polite and welcoming to visitors but a very few are disrespectful.  When teaching fails to inspire or motivate pupils, they become distracted and do not learn well.

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Behaviour

Occasionally, pupils become disengaged where the work does not challenge them and the pace of learning is too slow.  Attendance is below average and improving too slowly, despite the recent focus on attendance and the rewards that have been put in place by the headteacher. Too many pupils are frequently late for school.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Since the previous inspection, leaders have not paid enough attention to accelerating the progress of disadvantaged pupils across the school to close the gaps in attainment between them and other pupils by the time they leave the school. In 2015, disadvantaged pupils left the school with achievement that was almost a year behind their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics. The actions put in place by leaders since September have led to gaps narrowing for current Year 6 pupils and closing for the children in the Reception classes. Across the school, in all other year groups, gaps in attainment are still too wide.  Attainment at the end of Year 6 has been broadly average for the last five years and the current Year 6 are set to achieve average outcomes. This means that pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of their education as they could be.  The progress that pupils make across the school is not consistently good because the quality of teaching is

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

too variable.  The school’s own information about how well pupils are doing shows that current progress across the school is variable and that in some classes disadvantaged pupils are making much less progress than their classmates.  Outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs or disability are below those achieved by other pupils. Progress for these pupils is variable because not all the targets set for them are appropriate.  The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2015 was slightly below the national average. Disadvantaged pupils’ achievement was much lower than average. Attainment is set to improve this year, although gaps between disadvantaged pupils and others remain.

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Early years provision is good

 The early years has improved significantly since the previous inspection, due to strong leadership. Teaching is consistently good and leads to good progress. Children enjoy a wide range of interesting activities and tasks inside the classroom and outside. All areas of learning are well planned for and there is a sharp focus on developing early literacy and numeracy skills.  Children enter the Reception classes with knowledge and skills which are below those typically seen for their age, particularly in terms of communication, language and literacy, and numeracy.  The proportion of children achieving a good overall level of development when they left the early years in 2015 was slightly below that achieved nationally. However, this was good progress from their various starting points. Because of consistently good teaching, the current cohort has made better progress so far this year, and are on track to achieve well above the national average by the end of the year. The early

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Early years provision is good

years prepares children well for moving up to work in Year 1.  The attainment gap between disadvantaged children and others has closed. Gaps between the attainment of girls and boys has also closed as a result of good teaching and targeting of resources.  Children are challenged effectively and clarify their thinking. For example, in a mathematics session, clear instructions helped the group to understand that ‘double eight makes 16’.  Children in the Reception classes are encouraged to learn from each other and work together. They are confident learners who are keen to explain what they are doing and what they are learning.  Relationships with the adults are warm and nurturing. Children feel safe and well-cared-for. The vast majority of parents who spoke to inspectors said that their children were happy in Reception and achieving well.  The teaching of phonics is particularly strong in the early years. Children use their phonics skills well to read,

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Early years provision is good

and their writing shows that they are applying their phonics skills and are confident to ‘have a go’ at spellings.  Children who have special educational needs or disability are well supported and make similar progress to their classmates.  Although improving, teaching does not yet lead to outstanding progress. Sometimes additional adults are not directed effectively to extend learning during whole-class sessions. When working with specific focus groups, they have a good impact on children’s progress.

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School details

Unique reference number 131787 Local authority Havering Inspection number 10001994

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 483 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Susan Asser Headteacher Una Connolly Telephone number 01708 448187 Website wykehamessex.schooljotter2.com Email address office@wykeham.havering.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10–11 October 2013

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Information about this school

 The school is a much larger than average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage, with those of Any other White background making up the next largest group.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional funding provided by the government for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after) is average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is lower than average.  The headteacher took up her post in September 2015. There have been significant changes to key leadership roles and responsibilities during this academic year.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in all classes at least once. Three observations were undertaken with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher.  Meetings were held with the full governing body.  A telephone discussion took place 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ books in every classroom to see what progress pupils make and to look at the impact of the guidance that teachers provide.  Inspectors took account of the 43 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 Gary Rawlings Ofsted Inspector Sarah Lack 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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