Cavendish Primary School

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

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Mr Murrell Executive Headteacher Cavendish Primary School Edensor Road Chiswick London W4 2RG

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Short inspection of Cavendish Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 20 June 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 March 2013.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You became the executive headteacher in October 2016. The school community welcomes both the stability and the important changes that you have brought. Overwhelming support is expressed in the views of staff, parents, governors and pupils. For example, parents gave their view that the school ‘is a wonderful community’ with a ‘well rounded approach to my child’s education’.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Primary School

In a relatively short space of time, you have encouraged a sense of shared leadership across the school which has created a sharper focus on school priorities. For example, engaging governors directly in shaping the school improvement plan has had a positive influence on their understanding of school priorities. Leaders have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. You have led an effective training plan to develop the skills and knowledge of your leadership team. This includes using leadership expertise from other local schools. This is helping to secure good teaching and good outcomes for pupils. You have also developed the skills of middle leaders and involved them in planning. This has helped create a coherent approach to the development and assessment of pupils’ writing. The impact of this approach is evident in the improved progress seen in written work in Year 6, for example. Leaders rightly identify that there is more work

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Short inspection of Cavendish Primary School

to be done to ensure that such impact is fully embedded and sustained. The school provides a safe, ordered and harmonious environment. Pupils across year groups behave well during lessons and overwhelmingly report that they feel safe at school. Pupils’ positive attitudes support their learning in class and they make good progress as a result. School leaders at all levels share the desire to provide pupils with a ‘well-rounded’ education. This is in line with the school’s aim to prepare pupils to be ‘academically, physically and emotionally ready to succeed at secondary school and in their future lives’.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Primary School

The school’s accurate self-evaluation recognises strengths as well as areas identified for further improvement. You recognise that progress made by higher-attaining pupils is still a focus for improvement, particularly in writing. Although strategies for improving pupils’ reading have led to improved progress among disadvantaged pupils through key stage 1, their progress still lags behind that of other pupils. Together with your leadership team, and supported by governors, you have rightly prioritised ensuring that any remaining differences between how well different groups of pupils achieve diminish rapidly.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose, and that records are suitably detailed. You, together with your staff and governors, ensure that the safety and well-being of pupils are priorities. Leaders put safeguarding at the heart of day-to-day school life. Staff and parents value this approach. For example, the overwhelming majority of parents who replied to Parent View, Ofsted’s survey for parents, agree that their children are safe at school.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Primary School

Staff and governors are clear about their roles, and work effectively with parents and external agencies to safeguard pupils. Staff have received appropriate information and training, informed by statutory guidance. Pupils report that they see the school as a safe place and that any rare instance of bullying which might occur is dealt with swiftly. One Year 5 pupil, whose view was shared by other pupils, expressed this as, ‘I’d go to any adult if I was worried. I trust my teachers.’

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Inspection findings

 We agreed to evaluate the impact of leaders’ actions to improve outcomes for girls, including the most able girls, in key stage 2. This was because in 2016, boys made better progress than girls in writing. Leaders responded by reviewing the teaching of writing skills and developing a more coherent approach across the key stages. Leaders also introduced a new assessment system to capture the performance of pupils more regularly and accurately. Teaching is now more focused on purposeful interventions for individual pupils. Reviews of pupils’ books confirmed that girls are making good progress. However, there was less frequent evidence of boys and girls exceeding age-related expectations. Leaders and governors are clear that developing the skills of the most able is a key focus for future development along with embedding the new approach to writing across the curriculum.  We also agreed to evaluate how leaders’ actions were improving the writing of

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Inspection findings

most-able boys in key stage 1. This led us to explore how the early years foundation stage was preparing pupils to ensure good progress in writing in key stage 1. You identified that early years was a priority following the lower-than- expected outcomes at the end of the Reception Year in 2016. Leaders have worked with the local authority to review teaching and implement a plan to accelerate pupils’ progress, particularly with writing. School assessment information, moderated by the local authority, shows that the number of boys attaining a good level of development has risen sharply this year. The difference between boys’ and girls’ attainment has reduced considerably. Leaders are confident that the use of the strategies employed will lead to boys making better progress in writing by the end of key stage 1. School assessment information, supported by inspection evidence, shows that boys are making more rapid

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Inspection findings

progress in their writing. For example, a greater proportion of boys in Year 1 are now working at age-related expectations compared with last year.  A further area we agreed to evaluate was how leaders have extended the strong progress of disadvantaged pupils in reading to their other subjects. Evidence from visits to classrooms confirmed that disadvantaged pupils have made better progress in all core subjects at key stage 2 this year. While the number of disadvantaged children in Reception is small, leaders have introduced effective strategies to reduce differences between their attainment and that of other children.  We also agreed to check how effectively leaders’ actions are improving attendance, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. While attendance was above the national average for most groups in 2016, it was well below for a significant minority of

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Inspection findings

pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have reviewed the systems for following up attendance and have taken more robust action. This includes using available legal routes to challenge those families who do not ensure that their child attends school regularly. As a result, the attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has improved. You are aware that the attendance of disadvantaged pupils has not improved as rapidly as for other groups in the school.

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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 consistently challenge pupils, especially the most able, so that even more pupils attain at a greater depth by the end of key stage 2  they continue with their actions to improve disadvantaged pupils’ writing skills, particularly in the wider curriculum  attendance improves for disadvantaged pupils. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hounslow. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I carried out the following activities during the inspection:

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Information about the inspection

 held meetings with you, and senior and middle leaders to discuss the work of the school  held separate meetings with representatives of the governing body and a representative from the local authority  visited six classes jointly with a member of the senior team across all key stages  held informal conversations with pupils  heard pupils reading  analysed a range of documentation including: the school’s self-evaluation, its improvement plan, pupils’ assessment and attendance information; safeguarding information; information related to the work of the governors; and school policies and procedures  considered the views of 63 parents who replied to Parent View, as well as the views of 22 pupils and 18 staff who responded to the Ofsted questionnaires.

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