Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Ms Beatrix Simpson Headteacher Princess Frederica CofE Primary School College Road London NW10 5TP

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Short inspection of Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 24 January 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in Jan 2012.

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Short inspection of Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You joined the school in September 2015 and your high expectations have supported the school’s continuing improvement. Parents, pupils and staff overwhelmingly agree that the school is welcoming and inclusive. You focus strongly on pupils’ well-being as well as their learning. Pupils enjoy school and most pupils learn well . Some pupils make exceptionally good progress. Pupils say this is a welcoming and friendly school. They value the support that teachers provide and the choice of activities and clubs available to help them in order to develop other interests such as sport and music. Two recently appointed deputy headteachers have already helped to bring about further improvements in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

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Short inspection of Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

At the previous inspection the school was asked to improve rates of progress in writing and mathematics and provide more opportunities for pupils to practise these skills across the range of subjects taught in school. Leaders have improved the way that the school records information about how well pupils are learning. They have ensured that teachers have more precise information about how well pupils are doing. They use this information to make sure that pupils do not fall behind in their learning. Senior leaders have worked effectively with teachers to help improve their planning. Leaders ensure that teachers use skilful questioning to challenge pupils in the majority of lessons. As a result, pupils now make strong progress, particularly in mathematics by the end of Year 6. Pupils’ progress is securely good in reading and mathematics. Their progress in writing has improved significantly, but to a lesser extent. Teachers of other subjects

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Short inspection of Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

such as design and technology, humanities and science provide effective opportunities for pupils to practise the important skills of reading and mathematics. However, you are aware that pupils do not have sufficiently challenging opportunities to develop their writing and this is slowing their progress. You are developing these opportunities and providing additional professional development for staff. Many pupils use wider vocabulary and make very few mistakes with how they use punctuation. Your actions, though, have not had sufficient time to have full impact across the school.

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Short inspection of Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

Staff understand what to do if they have any concerns about children’s safety. They receive clear training and have regular discussions about safeguarding issues. For example, they understand the risks associated with the internet, radicalisation and children missing from education.

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Short inspection of Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Staff understand and follow the most up-to-date statutory guidance about child protection. School records are detailed and complete. If any incidents are reported by staff, school leaders make sure that these staff understand what actions have been taken and whether or not the concern has been resolved.

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Short inspection of Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

Pupils say they feel safe in school because staff listen to and act on concerns raised. Frequent sharing of information keeps staff up to date on current guidance. Parents value the specific training they receive to help them understand how to keep their children safe. This collaborative focus on safeguarding contributes to a secure culture of safety.

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Inspection findings

 Published data about the school indicates that by the end of 2016 pupils had not made sufficient progress in writing. Leaders have ensured that moderation activities within and beyond the school have raised staff expectations about what constitutes good-quality writing.  You set challenging targets for pupils from their starting points. As a result, pupils make good progress in reading and mathematics. Progress is improving in writing. Nevertheless, your school self-evaluation confirms that writing is still a priority. Governors have made sure that leaders’ work to support pupils’ rates of progress in writing will continue so that they match those seen in reading.  In 2016, progress in mathematics was less strong for middle-attaining pupils than for other pupils by the end of Year 6. These pupils, as well as others who are currently in the school, now make good progress because senior leaders have

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Inspection findings

worked with teachers to raise the level of challenge in mathematics lessons.  You recognise that disadvantaged pupils did not make as much progress as other pupils nationally last year in reading, writing and mathematics. However, differences between the rates of progress made by disadvantaged pupils in the school and others nationally are diminishing. More detailed and frequent checks enable staff to identify pupils’ needs earlier and act to help them keep up with other pupils. This is a recent development and has already helped improve progress in a number of year groups.  Despite some relatively recent changes in leadership, your self-evaluation shows that leaders know the school well. Middle leaders are becoming more skilled at evaluating the success of their areas of responsibility. As well as addressing the most important issues, your evaluation of the strengths of your school and what more you need to do is accurate and realistic.

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Inspection findings

 The school’s current safeguarding and child protection policy is up to date. Staff training is based on the most current guidance.  The school’s records about exclusions show that these have declined because pupils understand and follow expectations about good behaviour.  The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is improving. Your systems to track progress are enabling teachers to provide earlier and tailored help for those pupils who need it.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 teachers improve pupils’ rates of progress in writing throughout the school and particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of London, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Brent. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and your two deputy headteachers, three governors, four teachers and the senior adviser from the London Diocesan Board for Schools. I also had a discussion with pupils during their lunch break and considered the 174 responses to Ofsted’s online survey Parent View. You and I observed pupils’ learning mostly in key stage 2 classes and also Year 2. During these observations we also examined pupils’ books.

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Information about the inspection

I evaluated the effectiveness of your safeguarding arrangements by checking documentation and information from your school website, and through the discussions that took place during the day.

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Information about the inspection

I examined additional documentation related to your monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning, your self-evaluation, governors’ visits to school, your most recent report to governors, the assessment and tracking of pupils’ progress, and your improvement plans.

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