Drayton Park Primary School

Drayton Park Primary School Arvon Road, Highbury, London N5 1PJ

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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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 Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have high expectations of staff and pupils. They continually reflect on performance and are keen to use expertise, not just from within the school, to secure improvement.  Areas for improvement from the last inspection have been tackled rigorously. Consequently, teaching has improved and is now good.  The pupils’ progress is good and improving. As a result, their attainment is rising across the school.  Phase group leaders have become a highly effective team in improving teaching and pupil outcomes. They are quite aware where strengths lie and where action is needed.  The governing body has strong systems and structures to hold the school to account. Governors are scrupulous in checking school performance.  Children enjoy learning and feel safe and secure in the early years. Teaching meets their needs and interests well.  The pupils’ behaviour has improved and is now

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This is a good school

good. New systems help them understand the importance of managing their behaviour and meeting school expectations.  The curriculum has been innovatively redesigned and provides many exciting opportunities to stimulate and enhance the pupils’ learning.  Pupils develop very positive attitudes to their learning by trying to fulfil the school’s values of ‘The Drayton Park Way’. These values support well their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development while teaching pupils how to play a part in modern Britain.  Much is done to identify where pupils might be vulnerable or have barriers that hold back their learning. Teams of experts then work to provide them with carefully planned support.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The school does not have an effective handwriting policy. Hence, pupils do not always learn to write in a neat and joined style.  The outside areas in the early years do not promote the children’s learning as well as indoors.  Feedback, including marking, does not always meet school policy fully and help pupils to eliminate errors and improve their work quickly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop an effective policy for the development of the pupils’ handwriting and check it is implemented rigorously.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the outside areas in the early years so that they promote the children’s learning as effectively as inside.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that feedback, including marking, meets school policy throughout the school and helps pupils to improve their work more in all classes.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a very clear vision for the school. They are particularly effective at getting everyone to reflect on their practice and identify where action is needed. A rigorous cycle of monitoring and the close evaluation of assessment information enable actions to be sharply focused on where they can have the most impact.  Phase leaders make a significant contribution to improving the quality of teaching and pupil outcomes in their year groups. They are an engine of change for the school. Training for phase leaders has been rigorous and a key feature of the link with the local authority.  Improving the quality of teaching is a continual focus. Underperformance is identified swiftly and effective programmes of support put in place, with phase leaders instrumental in seeing these through. The result is that teaching is improving rapidly.  Guidance from other schools in and beyond the partnership has supported improvements in the teaching

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

of mathematics. The local authority has challenged the school to improve and supported the development of phase leadership.  The school has introduced very rigorous systems to check pupil progress and put in place support programmes where needed. This includes identifying pupils who have a range of significant and complex barriers to learning and building a team of experts around their needs.  Leaders for English, mathematics and the early years are relatively new in post. Their expertise is developing by working alongside more experienced leaders. This process is not yet complete and they have not fully developed all the skills needed to contribute fully to the rapid improvement of outcomes in their areas of responsibility.  Topics are carefully planned to make learning exciting. They start with an event to capture the pupils’ imaginations, promote writing at every opportunity and end with a presentation of the pupils’ work for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

parents. Art is a major feature and supports well the pupils’ cultural development. Additional activities such as clubs, trips and visits by inspirational speakers broaden the pupils’ experiences considerably.  The school promotes British values such as tolerance and respect well. International Evening celebrated food and music from different cultures while Inclusion Week focused on gender issues and culminated in the production of a piece of music.  Sports funding is used effectively to improve the quality of physical education teaching through specialist coaches. It enables pupils to experience new sports and has widened their participation in competitive sports.  The partnership with parents is very effective. Before- and after-school child care is much valued. The school provides a wide range of workshops and other activities for parents. These include focusing on safeguarding, art therapy and regular coffee mornings to aid communication and to tackle topics such as

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

the new national assessment arrangements.  The governance of the school – The governing body is highly effective and fulfils its responsibilities rigorously. Governors are quite clear about how the performance of teachers is managed and improved. They check carefully that funding is allocated effectively. This includes supporting adjustments to the way the pupil premium is spent so that it now supports good and improved progress of disadvantaged pupils. Phase leaders now focus their support for these pupils within lessons instead of through withdrawal groups so that they can benefit from improved teaching. – Governors are very aware of their responsibilities towards safeguarding and regularly check that systems and procedures are being followed rigorously.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Frequent training is enabling staff to be vigilant so that they can quickly spot where a pupil may be at risk. The school has a strong understanding of the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

community in which the pupils grow up and so can act sensitively and speedily if concerns arise.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching is generally based on a very clear assessment of what the pupils have learned previously. Methods used are interesting and so hold the pupils’ attention for long periods. Work in classrooms is purposeful as pupils generally know they should try their hardest in order to meet the high expectations all adults have of them.  Learning is most successful when teachers use their questions to keep pupils alert and to deepen their understanding of new ideas. Teachers and support staff spot quickly when pupils are struggling with a new idea or are ready to be challenged by harder work. Their interactions with individuals and groups help them to think about what they are doing, challenge them further and help them see how they could improve their work.  Writing is taught well. Pupils regularly develop their skills across other subjects and in the topics they study. They continually edit their work so that the completed version is accurate and improved.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The teaching of mathematics ensures that pupils deepen and consolidate their understanding of concepts by being required to clarify and explain their answers. They choose tasks at the right level of challenge so the most able can quickly extend their learning.  Teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) is effective. Pupils know the routines they are expected to follow in the programme. Wider reading skills are also taught well in small-group sessions where they explore texts closely in order to develop skills such as comprehension and inference.  Much of the feedback pupils receive about their work, either in discussion with their teacher or through their marking, is of a high quality. This helps pupils identify where their work can be improved. This is not consistent as, at times, errors are not picked up and corrected quickly enough.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils’ confidence and self-esteem grows by living ‘The Drayton Park Way’. They learn to be resilient, to try out ideas and to work as part of a team. This is reflected in a poster in one classroom saying, ‘In this room we don’t do easy. We make easy happen through hard work and learning.’  Pupils learn about democracy by having a voice in the school on areas where they can make a difference. They have been instrumental in redesigning the equipment in the playground and adapting school meals. Pupils have also discussed what an inclusive school might look like.  Philosophy sessions encourage pupils to discuss moral issues. They learn to disagree amicably while thinking about big ideas and questions. A lesson in key stage 2 stimulated by a music video led pupils to pose the following question for discussion, ‘Is the unreachable reachable?’

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils are happy to discuss their feelings about safety. They say they can confide in an adult even if the problem they are experiencing is outside school. Work on e-safety has been increased, particularly with parents, when it was discovered that many pupils had unsupervised access to the internet at home.  Parental views indicate they do not see bullying as a problem and that the school keeps their children safe. Pupils agree and say that issues and incidents are dealt with swiftly by staff.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils conduct themselves sensibly as they move around the school and when at play. They are considerate towards each other and polite to adults. Pupils are genuinely proud to applaud others identified as ‘star of the week’ in assembly.  Generally, pupils are keen to learn and attentive of their teachers and peers. They mostly respond immediately to their teachers. They know responding to marking is helping them to improve their work.  Pupils speak with pride about their school and their part in helping it to improve. They contribute in many ways to school life and take responsibilities seriously, such as Year 5 pupils who are trained to support key stage 1 pupils at play.  Systems for managing behaviour were revised following the previous inspection. This has led to improvements in behaviour, particularly at key stage 1 where pupils have spent a greater proportion of

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Behaviour

time in school under new arrangements. A small number of pupils at key stage 2 still need reminders about expectations for their concentration in lessons.  Having fallen over the last two years, attendance has improved and now stands above the 2015 national average. This has been achieved by tightening systems to tackle absence including extending the time dedicated to tackling persistent absence such as through home visits.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The pupils’ progress has improved considerably since the school’s previous inspection and is now good in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because the action taken to improve teaching and learning is coming to fruition. Attainment is rising and pupils are prepared well for secondary school.  Pupils write in depth in a variety of styles and with increasing accuracy in their use of grammar, spelling and punctuation. The lack of an effective handwriting policy means that pupils do not consistently develop a joined script. This holds back their progress.  Pupils make good progress in developing their understanding of phonics. Attainment has risen sharply in Year 1 having fallen last year. The pupils develop well the ability to take meaning from what they read such as through inference and comprehension.  Pupils make good progress in their understanding and recall of mathematical skills. The regular

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Outcomes for pupils are good

application of new skills to solving problems and puzzles, or undertaking investigations and practical activities deepens their understanding so they become securely embedded.  The strong focus in all years on learning and understanding vocabulary enables pupils new to learning English to make good progress in their language development. Once secure their progress is at least as good as others. There are no variations in the progress and attainment of pupils from different minority ethnic groups.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability make good progress. Action put in place to meet their carefully identified particular learning difficulties is regularly checked to ensure that programmes of support are having the intended outcome.  The most-able pupils also make good progress. A significant number of pupils in each year group explore ideas at greater depth than expected for their age.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The progress of disadvantaged pupils had been falling and attainment gaps widening with other pupils nationally. Gaps amounted to six months in writing in 2015, almost a year in reading and over a year in mathematics. Changes to the use of the pupil premium have reversed this decline so disadvantaged pupils now make good progress and attainment gaps are narrowing again.

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Early years provision is good

 Children make good progress in the early years. Progress is particularly strong for children who enter the Nursery or Reception below expected levels, particularly in communication. This is because of a strong focus on promoting language development at every opportunity. Children are also provided with plenty of opportunity to develop their writing in a variety of styles.  Attainment by the end of Reception has been rising and is now above average. Boys are making more rapid progress than previously, particularly in writing. Attainment gaps with girls are closing. Children are given a firm foundation in basic skills from which to tackle learning in Year 1 confidently.  The inside classrooms are full of interesting and stimulating activities. Children have a voice at times in what they need to do next. This means that they quickly become absorbed by what they are doing and greatly enjoy their learning.

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Early years provision is good

 The outside classroom has improved considerably as an area where children’s learning develops, but is still not as effective as indoors. Resources available for children are not as stimulating or always as easily accessible compared to those in the inside classrooms.  Adults continually show by their actions how to respect others. Consequently, children build positive and friendly relationships with each other. This greatly supports their learning. They take turns, share resources and listen carefully to each other. Children behave well and concentrate hard.  Leadership of the early years is effective. There is a clear vision for how the setting can develop including how the outside classrooms can better support children’s learning. Parents are very positive about the care all adults in the early years give their children. This results in their children feeling safe and secure.

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School details

Unique reference number 100402 Local authority Islington Inspection number 10009169

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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 321 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Gilbert Headteacher Damien Parrott Telephone number 020 7607 4142 Website www.draytonpark.islington.sch.uk Email address admin@draytonpark.islington.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 March 2014

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Information about this school

 This school is above-average in size compared with other primary schools.  Over two thirds of pupils are from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds. This figure is very high.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is below average.  The majority of pupils are supported by funding through the pupil premium. This figure is high but falling. The pupil premium is additional government funding which, in this school, supports pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  Children in the early years provision attend the Nursery either part time or full time and the two Reception classes full time.  The school provides child care before and after school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school’s website meets requirements on the publication of specified information.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 25 lessons. School leaders accompanied inspectors to four of these. They looked at work in pupils’ books from the current academic year.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, school staff, with the chair of the governing body and three other governors. A meeting was also held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 67 responses to Ofsted’s online Parent View questionnaire and written contributions from 48 parents. They also met informally with parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Martin Beale, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Jenell Chetty Ofsted Inspector Margaret Warner 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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