The Winns Primary School

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

p.1

Mr Paul Ryan Headteacher The Winns Primary School Fleeming Road Walthamstow London E17 5ET

p.1

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 28 March 2017 with Martin Roberts, Ofsted Inspector, 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 February 2012.

p.1

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and other leaders work closely together so there is consistency in the drive to improve the school. Together, you are achieving your vision that the school should be a ‘safe and happy learning environment which develops and nurtures the whole child’.

p.1

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

Leaders’ teamwork and drive have resulted in improving performance since the last inspection. You all reacted quickly to a dip in pupils’ progress in 2016. You identified that staff had not fully prepared pupils for the rigours of the new national assessment tests. Through robust action to improve teaching, pupils’ strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics has now returned.

p.1

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

Senior, subject and year leaders have a clear strategy for driving improvement. Together, you identify carefully where action is needed and rigorously check its impact. This enables you to refine and target your energies where they are needed most. You successfully support teachers in meeting the challenges you set, particularly ensuring that they address different pupil needs. You continually focus teachers on identifying the impact of their teaching on pupils’ progress.

p.1

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

Governors have a very clear understanding of the school. They have developed the expertise to question school leaders incisively over the school’s performance. They check carefully that the action taken to reverse the dip in performance in 2016 is effective. They work closely with senior leaders to develop the school’s strategic direction. Governors are determined to keep the school’s values of ‘Learning, Achieving, Caring and Sharing’ intact, regardless of whatever changes are needed.

p.1

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are detailed and of high quality. You regularly review and update procedures in response to changes in national guidance. Regular training ensures that all members of staff remain vigilant to the possible dangers facing pupils. Governors share your vigilance in checking that your staff implement policy rigorously.

p.2

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

Teachers help pupils understand how to keep themselves safe. They are aware that a major risk that pupils face is from the unsuitable use of devices and social media and when using the internet. For this reason, e-safety training is thorough and pupils are regularly reminded how to avoid dangers. They are also made fully aware of the dangers of slipping into gang culture or of becoming radicalised.

p.2

Short inspection of The Winns Primary School

The leadership team makes sure that the whereabouts of pupils who leave the school to move elsewhere are known, by checking carefully that they have not gone missing. Vigilance over this and rigorous attention to reducing absence have led to improved attendance and a reduction in the number of pupils who are persistently absent.

p.2

Inspection findings

 During our visit, we explored whether the action taken by leaders has reversed the decline in outcomes in mathematics in 2016. Our conclusion is that progress is now strong in mathematics across the school. Attainment is rising sharply, particularly in Year 6. More pupils are now working securely at standards expected for their age than in the past. Considerably more pupils are exceeding this standard.  You identified carefully why pupils did not perform as well as previously. This enabled you to target action precisely where it was needed. Leaders have worked successfully to improve teaching by developing the subject expertise and confidence of teachers across the school. Subject and year leaders ensure that pupils are better prepared in the techniques needed in national tests than was the case last year. You also adjusted the timetable so that pupils have additional time to develop greater accuracy in their number skills.

p.2

Inspection findings

 This action is proving very effective. Pupils become fluent and accurate when calculating mentally or when using written methods. Pupils also develop their skills in science and physical education by taking and recording measurements. However, at times, pupils do not progress quickly enough to tasks that extend their reasoning and deepen understanding. This can include some most-able pupils who have high prior attainment.  Relatively few pupils exceeded expectations for their age in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 2 or Year 6 in 2016. We checked to see whether you and your staff are doing enough to remedy this. Our judgement is that the most able pupils now make strong and improved progress. Many are now working securely at greater depth in each subject.  Leaders ensure that teachers challenge all pupils and particularly the most able. Pupils are rising to the challenge of their teachers’ higher expectations and

p.2

Inspection findings

probing questioning. Leaders check carefully that teachers identify the most able pupils clearly and the precise next learning for these pupils.  The most able pupils produce written work of high quality. It is imaginative and uses ambitious vocabulary appropriately. Teachers ensure that pupils continually check their writing to make sure that they have applied grammar, spelling and punctuation rules correctly. We observed Year 5 pupils writing their own inventive Greek myths, based on ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’. The most able pupils develop very secure wider reading skills. They can extract meaning from texts thoughtfully. More pupils than previously are at a high standard in reading, particularly in Years 5 and 6.  During our visit, we also wanted to check how well your redesigned curriculum supports the learning of different groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils. Our assessment is that the curriculum meets pupils’ needs well. This is

p.3

Inspection findings

evident through the strong progress now made by disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  You have developed a rich curriculum. It meets the school’s aim well to provide pupils with a wide range of experiences that are carefully balanced with developing pupils’ key skills. Pupils greatly enjoy learning. They speak with passion about their experiences, such as going to the British Museum in Year 3 when studying Ancient Egypt. Careful planning and reviewing ensure that subjects are taught in depth. Pupils explore concepts such as democracy at a level appropriate for their age. However, some opportunities are missed for the most able pupils to explore ideas themselves and investigate their own lines of enquiry.  The curriculum is imaginative and creative with a strong emphasis on art, music and drama. You make sure that there are many opportunities to extend and

p.3

Inspection findings

enliven the pupils’ experiences. For example, participation in the ‘E17 art trail’ resulted in a ‘spaceship’ adorning the roof of the school with ‘aliens’ making an appearance. All pupils learn to play musical instruments, including wind instruments in Year 4.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.3

Next steps for the school

 pupils have the opportunity to apply their mathematical skills more frequently so they deepen their understanding of new ideas  the most able pupils have the opportunity across subjects to undertake more tasks where they have to take greater responsibility for planning and investigating lines of enquiry.

p.3

Next steps for the school

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

p.4

Information about the inspection

We carried out the following activities during the inspection:

p.4

Information about the inspection

 we met you and your deputy headteachers, as well as other members of staff with leadership responsibilities. I met the chair of the governing body and one other governor. I also had a telephone conversation with a local authority adviser  you and other senior leaders accompanied us when we visited parts of lessons. We also observed pupils as they moved around the school. We conducted a scrutiny of pupils’ books. We met with two groups of pupils and heard four of them read. We took account of the 37 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire  we considered the school’s analysis of pupils’ recent performance. We evaluated safeguarding procedures, including policies to keep children safe and records of training and safeguarding checks.

p.4