Wormholt Park Primary School

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

p.1

Julie James Headteacher Wormholt Park Primary School Bryony Road London W12 0SR

p.1

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 21 February 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 Wormholt Park School was judged to be good in May 2013.

p.1

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as headteacher in 2012, you have established a concrete vision and consolidated the school’s strengths. You have invested in professional development for all staff. As a result, teaching has continued to improve. Collaboration with other schools has further raised aspirations for pupils’ achievement. Staff morale is high. They are motivated to match your expectations and ambition for the pupils. Communication and relationships with parents are effective. They recognise the significant contribution you make to the school and the community it serves.

p.1

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

Pupils’ progress and personal development really matter in this school. You have ensured that any extra support needed is prompt, precise and effective, enabling pupils to catch up with their peers. For example, disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive focused attention and carefully tailored support both in class and out of lessons. This enables them to achieve well.

p.1

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. The school has created a successful culture of rights and responsibility, which permeates all aspects of school life. Pupils articulate this eloquently. For example, pupils are proud to talk about their right to a good education and their right to shelter and play. They enjoy attending school and take great pride in their work.

p.1

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

The previous inspection identified the need to improve the impact of leadership by increasing the amount of good and outstanding teaching. You and your leaders have tackled these areas effectively. Improvements in teaching have resulted in accelerated progress for most pupils currently at the school. For example, the most able pupils are challenged to apply their skills and improve their work so that a greater proportion achieve the higher standards. Teachers’ assessment is accurate and is used to inform future learning. Leaders at all levels work to broaden the learning experiences of pupils. Consequently, pupils benefit from a balanced curriculum that is designed to meets their needs.

p.1

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

You and your leaders, including governors, have not been complacent. You have identified the key priorities for further school improvement, and are taking the right actions to address them. You know that pupils will make rapid progress in lessons if they are challenged more, and senior leaders are providing teachers with effective support to achieve this.

p.2

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

Governors effectively hold leaders to account for the school’s performance. They have a sharp focus on how the school is accelerating pupils’ progress in reading, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Work to improve outcomes at key stage 1 has resulted in teachers providing more focused guidance to pupils. You and your leaders’ work to raise pupils’ attendance has led to improvements overall. However, you have accurately identified that there are still groups of pupils who do not attend regularly enough.

p.2

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Pupils’ safety is of paramount importance to everyone at the school. Pupils feel safe and parents are satisfied with how the school cares for their children. Pupils articulate how to keep themselves safe, including using online devices. Parents are highly engaged in the school’s focus on safeguarding. For example, they understand that one of the key aspects of the ‘Rights Respecting’ school is that pupils have the right to feel safe. Children behave sensibly around the school. They are supervised well during break and lunchtimes. They play happily, often energetically but safely.

p.2

Short inspection of Wormholt Park Primary School

Staff receive regular and appropriate training about safeguarding, including the recent government guidelines on female genital mutilation and keeping children safe from extremist views. Pupils’ safety is discussed regularly with staff at meetings, and any necessary actions are taken without delay. The school works effectively with external agencies and ensures that a collaborative approach is cultivated to help keep children safe.

p.2

Inspection findings

 My first key line of enquiry focused on the impact of leaders’ actions to ensure improvements in the early years. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standards by the end of the reception year in 2016 was below the national averages.  The school has invested in good quality professional development and training. As a result, teachers feel confident in their use of assessment and feedback to diminish differences between groups of pupils. Children in the early years now make good progress from their starting points. The Nursery class provides children with a strong foundation in communication and language. Regular and effective progress meetings mean that staff are effectively held to account for pupils’ outcomes.  I looked at how the school allocates the pupil premium funding to raise attainment for the group of disadvantaged pupils by the end of key stage 1. Additional help is tailored to support pupils’ individual needs. Leaders’ effective

p.2

Inspection findings

actions have led to improvements at key stage 1 across reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders have rightly identified that key stage 1 remains an area for improvement. However, they are taking effective action and there is clear evidence to show that this is already improving current pupils’ learning and progress.  School leaders recognised that attendance and persistent absenteeism were areas for improvement. Leaders at all levels, including governors, have invested a good deal of time and effort in ensuring that the link between attendance and attainment is clear to pupils and parents alike.  The school makes effective use of the local authority’s services to improve pupils’ attendance, and this is having a positive and effective impact on reducing persistent absence. As a result, attendance is improving for all pupils, particularly those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. However,

p.3

Inspection findings

persistent absenteeism remains too high and needs to be a continuous focus.  My final line of enquiry looked at the school’s actions to improve pupils’ progress in reading. The school has invested in training staff to focus on improving the way reading is taught across the school. This has resulted in pupils developing better inference, deduction and retrieval skills and they have opportunities to apply them across a range of subjects. Consequently, there are improved outcomes for pupils, particularly in key stage 1.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:  the recent improvements in reading and writing outcomes in key stage 1 are consolidated further to increase the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standards in key stage 1  regular and sharp evaluation of the school’s actions to improve pupils’ attendance continues to reduce persistent absence for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. I am copying this letter to the chair of governors, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hammersmith and Fulham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3

Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you regularly throughout the day. We agreed the key lines of enquiry with the senior leadership team in the morning. I spoke to parents in the playground and spoke to children in class to gather their views. I also met with the chair of governors and the governor responsible for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. I heard a range of children in Years 2 and 6 read.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I carried out learning walks with the early years leader, in Year 1 with the deputy headteacher, in Years 2 and 3 with the headteacher and in Years 5 and 6 with the assistant headteacher. I scrutinised pupils’ work across the school and spoke to senior leaders about pupils’ progress over time evidenced in the books. I met with the business manager to look at checks on the suitability of staff to work at the school. I interviewed the attendance officer. I had a telephone conversation with your local authority school improvement partner.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I took into account the 31 responses by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and in the playground at the beginning of the school day. I analysed a range of documentation, including information about pupils’ achievement, records on attendance, the school improvement plan, safeguarding checks, policies and procedures. We discussed the school’s self-evaluation.

p.4