Five Elms Primary School

Five Elms Primary School Wood Lane, Dagenham, Essex RM9 5TB

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders, including governors, have created a clear vision for raising pupils’ achievements.  Since being appointed, the headteacher has been successful in strengthening the middle leadership team. They provide effective challenge and support to teachers.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s performance. They are clear on the areas for improvement.  Where teaching is strongest, pupils make good progress. Staff provide useful guidance that provides additional challenges, particularly for the lower-ability pupils.  Accurate assessment information is used well to plan effective lessons and inform future learning. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities thrive in a stimulating environment. Skilled staff ensure that these pupils produce good quality work.  The school’s curriculum successfully meets the needs of pupils. Well-planned activities enrich pupils’ learning and stimulate them with high-

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

quality experiences.  Disadvantaged pupils make good progress through effective support in class and in additional teaching groups.  In 2016, standards in writing and mathematics were broadly in line or above national averages by the end of key stage 2.  Systems for reducing persistent absence have been successful. Attendance is now above the national average. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They say teachers make learning fun. They are polite to each other. Behaviour in class is better when teaching is more engaging.  Parents are pleased with the standard of education their children receive. They receive regular newsletters that give them useful information.  Safeguarding is effective and well managed. Pupils feel safe and are confident about using online devices safely.  Reading is an area that leaders have identified as an area for improvement. They know the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standards needs to improve.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Provision in the early years is good. The lead teacher provides strong modelling for less experienced staff.  The outdoor provision could be used more effectively to improve the good standard of education in the early years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teachers consistently challenge the most able pupils, to maximise their rates of progress by: – intervening promptly to provide the appropriate level of challenge in mathematics at key stage 1 and in English at key stage 2 – building on pupils’ prior learning and abilities from the start of activities.  Further improve children’s outcomes in the early years by developing the outdoor provision to successfully reflect the indoor learning in the classroom.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Since the previous inspection, leadership capacity has been strengthened. The headteacher, along with the able deputy headteachers and governors, have developed a cohesive team who share the same high expectations for pupils’ achievement.  The local authority provides good-quality support for school leaders to secure further school improvements. They validate the school’s assessment of pupils’ attainment, and have an accurate overview of the improvements in pupils’ performance.  Leaders have improved the quality of teaching since the last inspection. They have a sharp and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result, little time has been lost in addressing areas to improve pupil progress.  Senior and middle leaders share responsibilities successfully. They all have a focus on developing challenge for the most able pupils. They understand the school’s progress data well. Leaders effectively hold teachers to account through the school’s robust

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

performance management system.  Teachers develop an effective and reflective approach to improving their practice. The overseas-trained teachers receive rigorous induction that prepares them well in their roles to meet the school’s high expectations for safeguarding and pupils’ progress.  Leaders have implemented a successful assessment tracking system that teachers use effectively to monitor pupils’ progress to inform future learning. This enables teachers to swiftly target pupils who are falling behind. As a result, different groups of pupils, including those who have English as an additional language, make good progress.  A well-designed curriculum successfully meets the needs of all pupils. Leaders have ensured that pupils receive high-quality experiences by using a range of external visitors. For example, pupils’ writing is enhanced through work with a drama and music company. Pupils have many opportunities to develop their basic skills across the range

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

of curriculum subjects.  Leaders make sure that teaching is lively and stimulates the pupils’ interest. It prepares them well for life in modern Britain. The school council’s voting process enables pupils to see democracy in action.  The pupils develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education well. For example, Year 6 pupils were observed discussing complicated moral issues through their guided reading sessions. Work is celebrated well in assemblies, where school values are reinforced. Pupils demonstrate these values in their good behaviour towards each other and staff.  Leaders have ensured that the pupil premium funding is used effectively. This ensures that disadvantaged pupils have the same opportunities as their peers. As a result, they make the same or better progress compared to other pupils nationally.  Funding to support pupils with special needs and/or disabilities results in pupils making

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

good progress from their starting points. Accurate assessment and strong relationships with parents ensures that deaf pupils and those with complex needs develop the right skills so that they are well prepared for secondary school.  The sports premium is being used well. For example, the school is responding to local issues around obesity in young people. Pupils’ fitness is monitored regularly. Leaders evaluate sporting activities to assess which ones have the greater impact on improving fitness levels for pupils. Consequently, pupils have a good awareness of how to stay fit and develop a healthy lifestyle.  Parents are mainly positive about the school’s work. Those who spoke to inspectors appreciate the teacher’s presence on the playground so they can speak to them when they hand their children over. They are more engaged with the school’s attendance system. Consequently, attendance has improved and is now above the national

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

average. They say their children are kept safe in school.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have supported the leaders well with the challenge of recruiting staff. They recognise the effective support senior staff give to new teachers. As a result, they talk confidently about the improvements in teaching and the well-considered training these teachers receive. Together with the leadership team, they have created a culture of high aspirations for all the families at Five Elms.  Governors are well trained in the recent safeguarding requirements, which means they have a strong overview of their statutory duties. The safeguarding governor ensures that the school’s safeguarding records are fit for purpose.  Accurate information about the school’s performance from the senior leaders ensures that governors have a detailed knowledge of the strengths and areas for school improvement. They offer appropriate challenge and support to continue the drive to raise standards further.  Regular visits to the school ensure that governors have a real understanding of the

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Governance of the school

pupils’ achievements. They are knowledgeable about how additional government funding is used to improve the progress of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. They have a good awareness of the effect of the good practice in classes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school records are kept up to date and are fit for purpose. Leaders ensure that safeguarding training is part of the robust induction procedure for new staff. Whole- school training, including identifying when pupils may be at risk of radicalisation and female genital mutilation, is relevant and ensures that staff are confident in raising concerns.  Pupils are taught how to keep safe through the curriculum. Younger children show a good awareness of ‘stranger danger’. Older pupils talk confidently about not sharing personal information on social media. The school identified areas of online safety to develop through the process of achieving an award for information technology safety. Leaders have ensured that parents are informed of ways to keep their children safe when using online devices. Parents say their children are safe and appreciate the work

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Safeguarding

the school does in ensuring that the safety of pupils is everyone’s responsibility.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Since the previous inspection, senior leaders have worked effectively with new teachers to set high expectations for classroom practice. More experienced teachers are successfully supporting those who are new to the profession. As a result, teaching across the school is good.  Teachers use questioning to deepen pupils’ understanding of their learning. Where this is most successful, pupils’ responses are more detailed. This ensures that pupils stay focused on their learning.  Accurate assessment information is used well to inform teachers planning, to ensure that pupils apply their skills and develop their reasoning.  Teachers demonstrate high expectations to pupils well. Pupils know what they need to do to be successful in their learning. Where time in lessons is used effectively, pupils progress more quickly.  Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning means they show resilience when grappling with

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

the challenging tasks set by their teachers.  Pupils from the deaf and complex needs provision make good progress from their starting points. Skilled staff have high expectations of what these pupils can achieve. This enables pupils to develop well at their own pace. High-quality support is evident in class when pupils join their mainstream class.  In 2016, an above average proportion of Year 6 pupils achieved expected standards in writing. However, leaders recognised that the most able had not been as successful. As a result of high-quality training, teachers have developed a better understanding of how to develop pupils’ writing skills. This is particularly evident at key stage 1, where work seen showed a greater number of pupils are working at the higher standards.  In 2016, pupils’ results in reading were disappointing. Leaders quickly analysed why the results had not been as high as expected, and swiftly put plans in place to address

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

the identified issues. These included the development of vocabulary and skills that enable pupils to retrieve information from texts and increase their reading stamina. The implemented programmes have been successful. As a result, pupils’ reading skills are improving through regular monitoring of teacher’s delivery of learning and regular assessment.  Good phonics teaching ensures that pupils develop early reading skills well. These skills are built on successfully as the pupils move up through the school. Pupils heard reading during the inspection demonstrated how they gain fluency and confidence in their reading. The work the school has done to develop boys’ reading skills has been successful. Their attainment is rapidly catching up with that of girls. This is the case in year groups where this had previously been a concern.  The introduction of mastery in mathematic lessons has improved the rates of progress,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

particularly for the lower- and middle-ability pupils at key stage 2. Leaders acknowledge more work needs to be done to raise the expectations for the most able, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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Personal development and welfare

 The staff at Five Elms promote a culture where pupils’ well-being has high status. Pupils trust the adults to keep them safe. They know how to assess risks when using the internet. The school’s digital leaders ensure that any information for their peers is up to date.  Pupils know what they are good at and what their next steps are. Pupils use the teacher’s guidance effectively to improve their work.  Parents are more engaged in ensuring that their children attend school regularly. The robust school systems identify when this is not so. The attendance overall has improved and is now above the national average.  The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. The ‘Can-do, resilience, expectation, aspiration and motivation’ (CREAM) school values provide a strong framework for pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning. Pupils are confident in expressing their views. They are polite and eager to share their learning,

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Personal development and welfare

‘We like school because we have new learning.’ This is more evident when teaching is more engaging and sustains pupils’ interest.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Most pupils behave well and play sensibly with the outdoor equipment at breaktimes. The playground is supervised appropriately and pupils respond politely to staff when they need to intervene in the rare occasions of low-level disruption.  Behaviour in class is better when the learning is more engaging. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. When there are incidents of silliness in class, teachers’ instructions put a stop to it. Pupils say that they get on well with each other. They have a good awareness of the types of bullying that can occur. Name-calling is infrequent, and behaviour records show that actions taken have reduced repeat occurrences.  Pupils’ behaviour around the school is calm, and this results in an orderly and smooth- running school day. This is also evident in the pupils’ behaviour in the additional resourced classrooms.  Adults appropriately maintain an overview of the playground. However, sometimes

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Behaviour

behaviour at playtime can be a little boisterous and intervention by the midday supervisors is required.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils’ outcomes are good. Leaders have ensured that standards for younger children have continued to rise from low starting points. In 2016, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of their Reception year was above national averages.  In 2015, leaders identified that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check was below the national average. Effective interventions put in place were successful and the number of pupils reaching the expected standard improved. In 2016, the school’s result was above the national figure. However, this was not the case for pupils eligible for additional funding. Leaders have sharpened their focus on developing the early reading skills for these pupils. Currently, work in books shows that this is being successful, with a greater number of disadvantaged pupils on track to meet the expected standards.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 In the 2016 key stage 1 results, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standards were in line with national averages for reading, writing and mathematics. The number of pupils exceeding these standards was greater than national figures. Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, including the most able, outperformed other pupils when compared to national averages.  Disappointing 2016 results in reading galvanised leaders to improve the teaching of reading across key stage 2. The school’s system to develop pupils’ vocabulary and their stamina in reading texts that are more challenging, has improved reading standards. Pupils read fluently and accurately and they gain confidence as they move through the school. Work seen in books shows that pupils are applying their reading techniques successfully.  The school’s use of the pupil premium ensures that disadvantaged pupils receive the support needed to make good or better progress. The regular tracking of their progress

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Outcomes for pupils Good

ensures that any dips in attainment are tackled quickly.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress from their starting points. Leaders use the additional resource funding well for the deaf and complex needs pupils. The group of highly skilled staff appropriately challenge pupils in class and through their bespoke curriculum to help them achieve well.  Currently, leaders are implementing a programme to develop pupils’ deeper understanding of mathematical concepts across key stage 2. Books, progress information and observations during lessons show that most groups of pupils make good progress. Leaders rightly identify that greater challenge needs to be given to the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, to further improve their rates of progress.

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Early years provision Good

 The early years’ leader is knowledgeable about the strengths of the staff. She provides effective support to teachers to ensure that children get a good start to their education at Five Elms.  Children in the nursery currently make good progress because they are taught well. They have a wide range of stimulating activities that successfully develop their early reading and writing skills.  Teachers plan good-quality activities that are developed from the children’s interests. The staff ensure that a strong focus on early skills prepares them for their transition into the Reception classes.  From their different starting points, children make good progress. The results in 2016 continued to improve, and the proportion of children meeting the expected standards was again above national averages. This prepares them well for the move into Year 1.  Early phonics skills are developed well through effective teaching. This results in the

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Early years provision Good

children rapidly acquiring the necessary skills to support their learning.  The early years additional funding is spent well. By the end of the early years, children from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve above national averages when compared to other children nationally.  Parents are an important part of the assessment process. They are well informed about their children’s learning. This means they can provide effective support to ensure that their children succeed in the setting.  Leaders have rightly identified that to improve outcomes for the children further, the outdoor area needs to successfully reflect the learning challenges in the classroom.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.five-elms.bardag.dbprimary.com/

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School details

Email address office@five-elms.bardaglea.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15–16 March 2012

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school is part of the Primary Alliance for Collaborative Learning (PACE) Federation, which includes a number of local primary schools.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than that seen nationally.  The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups is higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium funding is much higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is in line with the national figures.  The school runs an additional resource provision for pupils who are deaf and have complex needs.  The school meets the government’s floor standard (the minimum expected of pupil attainment and progress).

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was converted from a short inspection to a full section 5 inspection.  Inspectors carried out a series of short, focused visits to classrooms and longer lesson observations in each year group. These were conducted jointly with the senior leaders.  Formal and informal discussions took place with senior leaders, including governors, subject leaders, pupils, parents and a representative from the local authority.  Documentation relating to the school’s website and safeguarding, including the single central record of recruitment checks, was scrutinised.  The schools’ self-evaluation, plans for improvement and analysis of pupils’ attainment and progress were evaluated.  Pupils’ work in different subjects was scrutinised alongside senior and middle leaders.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons, as well as before school and during break and lunchtimes, was observed by inspectors.  Inspectors listened to pupils read individually.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took into account the 13 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, 13 pupil responses and 17 staff responses to the online survey.

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Inspection team

Sara Morgan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Wayne Harris 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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