Farnham Green Primary School

Farnham Green Primary School Royal Close, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3 8UY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Changes introduced over the last year are not yet fully embedded into the work of all staff. As a result, teaching quality is variable and some pupils do not make consistently good progress.  Not all teaching meets the needs of the most able pupils. Work set can be too easy for them at times.  Teachers use several schemes for phonics. Therefore, teaching is not systematic and pupils’ understanding is not secure.  Teachers and support staff working with pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan do not always have the information to plan to meet their specific needs.  Assessment of children on entry to Reception does not accurately identify their strengths and weaknesses. This results in teaching that does not focus quickly enough on gaps in their skills to give them a flying start to learning.  Pupils do not make good progress in their understanding of grammar, punctuation and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

spelling. This is particularly when applying this knowledge to their written work.  The school is not paying enough attention to ensuring that the most able disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to other pupils nationally with similar starting points.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The former executive headteacher and the new headteacher have worked closely to sharpen management systems.  Teaching is improving because leaders have maintained a sharp focus on monitoring teaching and providing individual focused training where needed.  Pupils make good progress in writing.  Pupils behave well and show respect and consideration for others. They work hard and are keen to be successful.  The governing body has become increasingly effective under new leadership and scrutinises the school’s performance carefully.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by: – implementing sharply focused actions rigorously so that they become embedded in the school’s work – identifying and targeting the most able disadvantaged pupils so that their progress improves – ensuring that staff who work with pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan have the information they need to support pupils’ development fully – ensuring that the assessment of children on entry to Reception is accurate and used to plan activities and tasks that support their good learning.  Improve the quality of teaching so that the pupils’ progress is consistently good by: – making sure that the learning of the most able pupils is extended to enable them to reach high standards in their work – bringing clarity to phonics teaching so that the daily lesson follows one clear programme in the early years and at key stage 1

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– ensuring that grammar, punctuation and spelling skills are reinforced by teachers in pupils’ writing across all subject areas.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because new systems and teaching programmes are not yet fully embedded in the school’s work. This means that some variability remains in teaching and in pupils’ progress across the school.  Several subject leaders are new in post. Actions planned are well focused but have not yet been implemented. As a result, there is no single phonics programme. The school is in transition between teaching schemes for reading and mathematics.  Leadership of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities requires improvement following staff changes this term. Leaders have not ensured that all teachers and support staff working with pupils with an education, health and care plan have sufficient information to adjust teaching to support their specific needs.  The new headteacher is providing a clear direction for the school, which builds on work

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

started last year by the former executive headteacher. Foundations are in place to provide greater leadership capacity. There has been a rapid change in culture. Staff morale has improved considerably.  Parents very much support the new headteacher’s vision for the school. Many talk about improvements they have seen. As one parent said, ‘This new headteacher is very approachable. He is much more ambitious for our children. We appreciate that.’  New systems to manage and improve teacher performance are robust. Targets set for teachers are linked closely to further training. This includes leaders observing those with expertise in an area they are seeking to develop. This is leading to improvements in teaching. Outcomes are also rising in mathematics.  Intensive after-school tutoring, Saturday and Easter schools funded through the pupil premium successfully helped to increase the progress of disadvantaged pupils in 2016.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

However, the pupil premium is not always targeted at raising the sights and extending the progress of the most able disadvantaged pupils.  The design of the curriculum ensures that there is a clear focus on literacy and numeracy. However, the impact of new programmes being introduced in both areas is yet to be seen. Other subjects are given due attention including specialist teaching of music, French and physical education. It is too early in the school year to judge the impact on pupils’ progress over time.  Leaders make sure that pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about its institutions and the part they can play in the democratic process. School council members visit the town hall and report their findings back to other pupils. Pupils visit places of worship and visitors to school include faith leaders. This helps pupils learn to respect others.  The range and number of clubs and other additional activities are growing. Several

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

activities such as cookery and sewing are new this year and have yet to realise their full potential. One initiative is the introduction of lunchtime clubs including French for those who travel some distance and are not able to stay for after-school activities.  The partnership with the local authority has proved fruitful over the last year. This has included arranging very effective support from the former executive headteacher and his school. Other action includes support for leadership in mathematics. This has led to tangible improvements in both areas.  Sports premium funding is used well to extend the range and variety of opportunities for pupils. Funding has supported the introduction of dance, tag rugby and girls’ football. Pupils also have access to more competitive sport than previously.

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Governance

 The governing body has become more effective and challenging over the last year. – Governors now base their rigorous questioning of school leaders on a secure understanding of the school. Procedures are in place to enable governors to scrutinise the work of the school closely and check its progress towards targets without delay. – Governors have raised their expectations of the school. They do not tolerate staff reflecting anything other than their own high expectations of the pupils. Governors are aware of the efforts of the leaders to improve teaching and have been actively involved in the identification of priorities for future action. – Governors now check on the impact of the pupil premium on the progress of disadvantaged pupils. They are aware that it led to improved progress last year for some of this group, but not whether it made a difference for the most able. They have also become more searching in scrutinising the impact of sports premium

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Governance

spending, although they recognise some changes are too early to evaluate.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The headteacher has built a culture where all members of staff are vigilant and trained to spot where pupils might be at risk and to follow up concerns. This includes from the dangers of radicalisation, exploitation and female genital mutilation. Careful checks are made of the whereabouts of pupils who might have gone missing through absence or moving to another school.  The school works closely with parents. This enables staff to understand where families might be vulnerable and their children at risk. Parents are helped to keep their children safe when using the internet and to protect them from extreme views.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement as it varies in quality across the school. Consequently, progress is not yet consistently good in all subjects and in each year group.  Not all teachers have consistently high expectations of the pupils. They do not always make sure that the most able pupils are challenged. Some pupils say the work they are given is too easy for them.  Phonics teaching is not consistently good. This is partly because teachers are using different programmes. This leads to variations in approach so that pupils do not become confident and secure in their ability to tackle new and unfamiliar words.  The teaching of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities requires improvement. Teachers and support staff do not fully understand the specific needs of those with a statement of educational needs or an education, health and care plan. Consequently, the pupils’ learning is not always focused on actions that will help them

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

to meet their targets.  Teaching has improved over the course of the last year and contributes to improving progress. This is particularly the case in Years 5 and 6. Here teachers have consistently high expectations. Probing questioning really makes the pupils think hard by teasing out detailed rather than single-word answers.  Most teachers make clear how pupils are expected to behave and respond. They have established classroom routines quickly. This leads to a sense of purpose and pupils feeling confident as they know what their teachers want from them.  Teaching of writing is good and pupils have the opportunity to write in a variety of styles and in other subjects. However, teachers do not always correct grammar, punctuation and spelling so errors are not eliminated. This slows pupils’ otherwise good progress.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils develop a sense of their responsibility as global citizens by showing their care for others. They contribute to charitable causes here and across the world, and sponsor a school in Africa. Pupils of all ages help newcomers settle into school by taking them under their wing.  Pupils generally try hard and are keen to answer questions. Many are particularly attentive of their teachers and each other. This enables them to enter into thoughtful discussions about their learning. On several occasions Year 6 pupils were heard to begin their answers by, ‘I agree partly with what… said and also think that …’  Pupils show how much they value and respect differences between people. They are interested to find out about different customs, which they learn about in part by celebrating the major festivals of different faiths. Parents participate in assemblies and

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Personal development and welfare

workshops sharing their faith, culture and language.  Pupils learn the qualities they need to take on responsibilities. Prefects help to maintain an orderly and harmonious atmosphere around the school. Year 6 pupils applied for and undertook work experience jobs in school and evaluated their performance.  Pupils say they feel safe as they know whom to turn to if they have any worries. Annual training in e-safety helps pupils understand how to keep themselves safe when using the internet and social media.  Pupils are quite clear about the different forms bullying might take. They say bullying is not a problem for them as they know it will be dealt with firmly. This is confirmed by school records. Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agree.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils say behaviour has improved. Their parents agree. Pupils try hard to meet teachers’ expectations and stay on the highest level of the behaviour system.  Pupils are polite and courteous towards adults. They behave sensibly around the school although a few say some behaviour can be boisterous at playtimes. Leaders have recently introduced systematic records of incidents. These show that inappropriate behaviour is decreasing.  Attendance has improved but remains below average. Members of staff quickly check the absence of targeted or vulnerable pupils and escalate procedures if suspicions are aroused. They inform other agencies swiftly so that appropriate action can be taken.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Outcomes require improvement because pupils do not make consistently good progress across the school. Consequently, their attainment is not rising rapidly enough to make up for some past underachievement and weaknesses in skills on entry to the school.  Fewer than half the pupils reached the expected standard in Year 6 tests in 2016 in reading, writing and mathematics combined. Very few exceeded this. This meant that many pupils were not suitably prepared for secondary school. Furthermore, attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been consistently below average in the past.  Pupils do not make sufficient progress in grammar, punctuation and spelling. In addition, pupils’ skills are not always transferred into their writing. This is partly because teachers do not highlight errors and expect their correction.  The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities requires

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

improvement. Their progress by Year 6 has been lower than the national average. Currently, teachers and support staff do not always meet their learning needs.  The progress of the most able pupils requires improvement. A relatively small number work beyond expectations for their age. Furthermore, pupils who have fallen behind these expectations do not always make the progress they need to catch up.  The progress of disadvantaged pupils varies. Through intensive support, several made sufficient progress to reach expectations for their age by the end of Year 6 in 2016. However, few of the most able pupils in this group reached the higher standards.  Progress in phonics varies considerably. Pupils do not always automatically use their skills to support their reading. This is particularly the case for least-able readers not just at key stage 1 but also at key stage 2. These pupils do not use their understanding

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

confidently to break down and make sense of unfamiliar words.  The most able Year 2 pupils read with fluency and expression. They are keen readers. By Year 6 pupils learn how to infer ideas from text, pictures and film. One group was seen applying these skills when looking at a play script as they tried to understand conditions for soldiers during World War 1.  Progress in mathematics had declined but improved last year when it was a focus for improvement. Year 6 pupils made slightly better progress than other pupils nationally and their attainment rose.  Progress in other subjects varies across the school. There are some examples of good progress in history and science in Years 5 and 6. Pupils use their reading and writing skills well in both subjects to enhance their learning.  There are no patterns to any differences in outcomes for pupils from different ethnic backgrounds. They make similar progress to other pupils. Those who speak English as

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

an additional language also make similar progress to their peers.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Children do not make consistently good progress in the early years because teaching requires improvement. Attainment at the end of Reception fell in 2016 having risen the year before. Only half of the children reached a good level of development. This meant that a considerable number were not suitably prepared for key stage 1.  Disadvantaged children also do not make progress that is sufficient to consistently diminish attainment differences with other children nationally. This is partly because leaders have not focused enough pupil premium funding towards the early years.  What children can do when they enter Reception is underestimated at times. Teachers and other adults do not plan work and activities that move their learning forward quickly enough.  Language development is promoted well in the Nursery for those new to learning English and those with weak speaking skills. Effective questioning by adults enables

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Early years provision Requires improvement

children to begin to make decisions about their learning. Adults talk with children in Reception to move their learning forward but do not always explain key vocabulary sufficiently. This slows their progress.  Children have mostly settled in comfortably to their new surroundings at this early stage of the school year. Many can be seen working and playing happily, having already formed trusting relationships with adults and other children.  Learning in the outdoor areas is a great attraction for the children. Activities are interesting and well resourced. They support the children’s physical development well while also encouraging children to work collaboratively.  Leadership of the setting is new. While priorities for action are identified they have yet to be fully implemented. Leaders are developing the partnership with home. Parents receive regular newsletters and are invited to comment on their children’s work. Links

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Early years provision Requires improvement

have helped to smooth this transition period and helped children to feel safe and secure.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address admin.farnhamgreen@redbridge.gov.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15–16 July 2014

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Information about this school

 This school is well above average in size compared with other primary schools. Pupil numbers are rising as it completes its expansion to three forms of entry.  The headteacher has been in the substantive post since the start of term. He was previously head of school for two terms. During this period he was supported by the headteacher of a local outstanding school for two days each week. This followed the retirement of the previous headteacher.  Almost all pupils are from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds. The majority are of various Asian heritages.  Most pupils speak English as an additional language. This figure is high.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.  The proportion of pupils supported by funding through the pupil premium is broadly average.  Children in the early years provision attend the Nursery part time and the three

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Information about this school

Reception classes full time.  The school provides childcare before school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 30 lessons. The headteacher accompanied inspectors to three of these. They looked at work in pupils’ books from this and the last academic year, and listened to the reading of pupils from across the school.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, school staff, two members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 69 responses to Parent View and written contributions from three parents. Inspectors also talked with a small number of parents as they brought their children to school at the start of the 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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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors also took into consideration the 41 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Martin Beale, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

David Lloyd 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

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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, 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.gov.uk/ofsted

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