Harris Primary Academy Kent House

Harris Primary Academy Kent House High Street, Penge, London SE20 7QR

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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This is an outstanding school

 The dramatic improvement of this school has been brought about by senior leaders and managers who have instilled highly effective, systematic and consistent approaches to teaching.  The passionate and enthusiastic teaching staff, including the very able teaching assistants, plan challenging and extremely well-structured lessons that make sure no pupil is left behind.  Pupils’ progress has accelerated rapidly from very low starting points to above average standards of attainment at the end of the early years, Year 2 and Year 6.  Pupils’ attitudes towards their learning, the school and each other are exceptionally positive. Their behaviour is excellent.  The governing body is exceptionally well informed and holds leaders to account for their actions regarding improving teaching and the progress pupils make.  The early years leadership and provision is of a high quality. The youngest children settle promptly into their school lives and make rapid

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This is an outstanding school

progress from very low starting points.  The federation of which the school is a member has provided a significant range of support, challenge and resources to ensure leadership and educational provision are highly effective.  Leaders have already accurately identified the need to provide the most-able pupils with activities and questioning that will stretch and challenge them.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide challenging activities and questions for the most-able pupils consistently.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The focus and drive of the principal and her senior leadership team have dramatically improved the school since its predecessor closed less than three years ago. Parents who responded to the online survey Parent View and who spoke to inspectors are pleased with the improvements.  Despite having to deal with significant changes and challenges, including a large number of new staff, leaders have remained steadfast in their focus on providing an excellent education for the pupils.  All leaders and managers including the governing body are aware of what the school does well and what it needs to do to maintain its high performance and improve even more.  Senior leaders have worked closely with leaders of subjects and year groups to keep a tight grip on the progress of different groups. The frequent meetings with each teacher to monitor the progress of individual pupils are a key element in the school’s success. During these meetings, teachers are held to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

account for the progress of the pupils in their classes. The outcomes of the meetings focus in great detail on those pupils who are at risk of not making the progress expected of them.  Information about pupils’ progress is regularly shared with all staff, including the highly trained and very able teaching assistants. Any pupils whose progress is at risk of slowing down receive very well-managed support which is regularly adapted to suit their needs.  Senior leaders and middle leaders check on the quality of teaching and learning through frequent visits to classrooms and scrutiny of pupils’ work. Teachers are provided with clear targets for improvement which are embedded in the highly effective performance management processes. Effective support and training includes coaching, demonstration lessons and regular briefings to improve teachers’ skills. Nonetheless, senior leaders have taken decisive action to move on any staff who have not met their high expectations.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The curriculum is designed to have a high-quality literacy content, ensuring pupils’ reading and writing skills develop rapidly. All subjects are covered well and, in addition, high-quality specialist teaching and instruction is provided for music and physical education (PE). Additionally, French is taught to a high standard. The school has developed a ‘forest school’ in the spacious grounds and imaginative use of the quadrangle in the middle of the school provides pupils with opportunities to look after animals including chickens and rabbits.  The curriculum is enhanced by regular educational trips and visitors. During the inspection, Year 3 pupils visited a local Roman villa, and Reception children went to a local supermarket. Leaders have rightly assessed that these activities provide pupils with shared, rich experiences and opportunities to stimulate their interest and improve their skills in communication and writing. The result of these experiences and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

high-quality teaching has been a radical improvement in the standards of pupils’ writing.  Leaders target the use of additional pupil premium funding extremely effectively. Disadvantaged pupils have benefited from additional staff, resources and time to help make sure that any attainment gaps narrow rapidly and in a short period of time.  Sports funding has provided pupils with specialist instructors and adventurous activities including providing pupils in Years 5 and 6 with rural experiences and physical challenges at a scout camp.  Leaders have ensured that the procedures and staff training for reducing the risks of radicalisation and extremism are up to date. As a result, the school works closely with appropriate agencies to good effect, alerting them to any concerns.  The school has worked hard to increase the levels of involvement of parents. Significant numbers of parents have attended the ‘INSPIRE’ workshops organised by the school. These were spoken about

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

positively when inspectors met parents informally.  The governance of the school: holds leaders to account effectively during meetings and regular visits to the school. ensures decisions about pay increases are based closely on a good range of evidence from the robust challenge and support provided to staff is aware of what the school does well and what it needs to do to maintain the high-quality provision through the effective leadership of the chair of governors. keeps a close watch on the progress of pupils and the quality of teaching and learning, through the informative reports from the principal, external reviews and rigorous performance management systems. has a highly effective partnership with the federation of which the school is a member, which provides enhanced resources for challenging and supporting senior leaders.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The team responsible for the management and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

administration of safeguarding arrangements has developed exemplary procedures and checking systems to do everything practicable to protect pupils from harm. The school’s family worker is highly regarded by leaders and external agencies. Her work with vulnerable pupils, their families and support services is a strength of the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Teachers are enthusiastic and skilful. They are passionate about making sure all their pupils enjoy learning and make as much progress as they can. Teachers have very high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and rates of progress. These expectations are communicated effectively and regularly to pupils and contribute to the startlingly rapid progress.  Leaders have established a deep level of consistency across all the classrooms in terms of displays and resources. Teachers refer to the ‘working walls’ to reinforce and enhance pupils’ writing and mathematical skills.  Senior leaders have insisted on well-structured lessons and a close adherence to the school’s policies on marking, assessment and provision of resources. These systems enable teachers to develop a wide range of different strategies and apply accurate assessments of what pupils know and understand to move them on in their learning.  Relationships in lessons are highly positive and ensure that not a moment is wasted in learning new and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

interesting information and knowledge. Teachers remind pupils regularly what they are expected to learn about and accurately assess levels of learning.  Teachers pinpoint where pupils are in their learning. Pupils know and understand what they need to do to improve. There is a less consistent picture for the most-able pupils. In some lessons and work seen, pupils are not challenged soon enough and cover ground already known to them, slowing their progress down.  Pupils enjoy the written conversations they have with teachers in their books about their work. These conversations help pupils think about what they have done well and what they need to do next.  Pupils’ work is well presented and demonstrates huge steps in progress since September 2015. The quality of reading and writing has been a priority for the school and this has paid off. The standards of writing seen in books and in displays around the school are very high.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Pupils’ reading skills have improved significantly. They are able to read a range of texts. In one Year 5 class pupils were seen discussing the characters and settings in a very sophisticated manner.  The subject leader for mathematics influences the quality of teaching of mathematics significantly. Pupils have high levels of confidence and the ability to apply different types of calculation strategies in different contexts.  The teaching of French is of a high quality. Pupils are given regular opportunities to use spoken French in different contexts and read words confidently.

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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 enjoy school and like the adults who teach and look after them.  During lessons, pupils’ enjoyment is visible. They are keen to start on time and become absorbed in their work.  The development of the Nurture Room for those pupils who require additional social and emotional support has been very successful. Pupils make outstanding progress in this environment, to the extent that some pupils no longer require its support.  The breakfast club provides pupils with a friendly welcome and a nurturing start to the day.  Pupils know how to stay safe when using the internet or mobile technology. Pupils told inspectors that bullying is very rare and if it did happen, they had confidence that the adults in the school would deal appropriately with the problem.  Pupils’ understanding of British values is developed through the school’s use of the election of the Pupil

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Personal development and welfare

Learning Committee, and the behaviour policy’s core theme of individual choice, tolerance and mutual respect.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. In lessons, pupils are responsive and keen to learn. They enjoy the opportunities for paired and group discussions to aid their learning and understanding.  The school’s behaviour policy ‘Culture for Learning’ ensures that behaviour management by adults provides pupils with opportunities to improve their behaviour and is focused on good learning habits and positive relationships.  Playtimes are happy and harmonious. Pupils of different ages mingle with each other and interact positively with adults.  During the morning breaktime of the first day of the inspection, soon after arriving on the playground, pupils had to return to the school building because of heavy rain. Inspectors were impressed with the sensible, calm and mature manner in which pupils returned to their classes.  Attendance has risen significantly and is now above average. The school has worked well with the local

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Behaviour

authority’s educational welfare officer to follow up on those families whose children are persistently late or absent. This work has seen an improvement in the attendance and punctuality of most pupils who, in the past, had poor records of attendance.

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 All pupils have made rapid and sustained progress to the point where at the end of early years, key stages 1 and 2 their standards of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics are above average. This progress is notable because of the very low starting points of a significant majority of pupils.  The older pupils whose learning was disrupted at the school before it became an academy have rapidly made up the lost ground and have continued to accelerate their learning. Standards of work seen and the school’s analysis of current progress and attainment indicate a continued steep climb of improvement.  Disadvantaged pupils have made impressive progress, to the point where the gaps in attainment in English and mathematics have almost closed and their attainment is at least in line with their peers.  The excellent provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability has ensured their

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

progress has been consistent and swift. Additional specialist teaching, time and resources have been delivered with precision, ensuring each pupil receives the right support to remove barriers to their learning.  There are no gaps in attainment between those pupils who speak English as an additional language and their peers because of the exemplary work of the inclusion manager.  The majority of the most-able pupils make good progress over their time in the school with regard to reading, writing and mathematics. On a small number of occasions, however, their progress is not as fast as it could be because of a lack of precision in providing them with challenging enough work at the start of some lessons. Pupils who are most-able were seen by inspectors and senior leaders doing the same work as their peers before teachers provided them with more challenging material.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 The leadership of the Nursery and Reception Year classes is outstanding. Children have a secure and happy start to school because of the highly effective communication between the staff and parents. Parents told inspectors that they feel staff are open and receptive to information about their children.  Children’s progress is rapid and they are well placed to start their learning in Year 1. Children enjoy learning to write more formally than typically expected for their age.  Adults provide the right amount of intervention and direction, encouraging children’s independence and ability to learn through play.  Children move easily between the indoor and outdoor learning environments. Their behaviour is excellent. Children respond well to adult instructions and get on well with each other.  Staff are highly accurate in their assessments of children’s learning, asking questions and encouraging children to talk to each other and to adults.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 The teaching of phonics is highly effective and pupils enjoy learning their letters and sounds in a structured setting. Pupils make good progress and their standards of attainment are higher than average.

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School details

Unique reference number 139678 Local authority London Borough of Bromley Inspection number 10011701 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 Academy Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 416 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Susan Head Principal Sam French Telephone number 020 8402 7178 Website www.harrisprimarykenthouse.org.uk Email address info@harrisprimarykenthouse.org.uk Date of previous inspection No previous inspection

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Information about this school

 Harris Primary Academy Kent House is much larger than the average-sized primary school. The school converted to become an academy on 1 September 2013. When its predecessor school, Royston Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be inadequate overall.  The governing body is managed by the Harris Federation.  The early years foundation stage is made up of two part-time Nursery classes and two full-time Reception classes.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is above average. This additional funding is for disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is higher than average.  The number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is higher than average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the current government floor standards.  The school’s website complies with the current government requirements.  The school runs breakfast, lunchtime and after-school clubs for pupils aged five and above.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors carried out a range of classroom observations and a series of short visits to lessons.  Inspectors held formal and informal discussions with senior leaders including the chief executive officer of the Harris federation, the chair of governors, subject and phase leaders.  Discussions took place between inspectors and teaching staff about pupils’ work and assessment strategies.  The documentation regarding the school’s website was scrutinised, as were documents relating to safeguarding arrangements including the single central register.  Other documents were considered including the academy’s scheme of delegation, self-evaluation, plans for improvement and analyses of pupil progress information.  Pupils’ work in a range of subjects was analysed.  The behaviour of pupils before, during and in between lessons was observed, including during lunch and breaktimes.  Inspectors met with small groups of parents informally at the start of the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took into account the 48 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and the nine staff responses.  Inspectors listened to pupils reading.

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Inspection team

John Seal, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Elizabeth Hayward Ofsted Inspector Paula Craigie 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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