Hambrough Primary School

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

p.1

Mrs Louise Singleton Headteacher Hambrough Primary School South Road Southall UB1 1SF

p.1

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 27 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 February 2013.

p.1

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have successfully created a culture in which pupils and adults all work well together. Pupils talk about their learning enthusiastically and confidently. They know where their strengths and weaknesses are, guided by the ‘Hambrough worlds’, a visual reminder of their curriculum targets. Inspired and reflective teachers see themselves as learners, engaging in studies where they inquire about their pupils’ learning journeys. Your colleagues say they are inspired by your vision and they talk fondly about the effective support you give them, including the professional development opportunities.

p.1

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

You and other leaders have worked hard to design a curriculum which allows pupils to deepen their understanding of the subjects they are learning. You collaborated with other schools and developed a common approach to assessment procedures. This has improved the quality of teaching and learning across the school.

p.1

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

Mathematics, which was an area for improvement at the previous inspection, is now a strength of the school. Teachers plan for pupils’ needs well. They provide effective support for pupils to develop their understanding of numbers and calculations. Teachers work well together to ensure that there are regular and effective opportunities to improve pupils’ mathematical reasoning. This starts from the early years foundation stage and key stage 1 where pupils learn mathematics with the use of practical resources. Throughout the school, teachers provide pupils with a wide range of age-appropriate challenges in mathematics. By the end of key stage 2, the proportion of pupils achieving and exceeding expected standards matches the national averages. The strong relationships, and the commitment by all staff to support pupils’ well-being, create a positive and harmonious school ethos. Pupils are highly respectful of each other.

p.1

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

They understand and appreciate differences between people, including those from different faiths and cultures. All staff work effectively to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development.

p.2

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

You, together with other leaders, have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Rightly, you identify that the attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities needs to improve. You also acknowledge that there is still work to do to provide pupils with appropriate levels of challenge, particularly in writing.

p.2

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

Parents and pupils feel that the school is a safe place to be. Leaders, including governors, ensure that staff receive appropriate training related to safeguarding. Staff are clear about the school’s procedures for reporting and recording any concerns they have about a pupil’s welfare. Safeguarding records are detailed, up to date and accurate. Leaders and governors ensure that the pre-employment checks are completed for all new staff and meet requirements.

p.2

Short inspection of Hambrough Primary School

Pupils are taught about how to stay safe online. Pupils understand the dangers associated with internet use and know how to report concerns to staff. Leaders use strategies, including internet filtering, to ensure pupils’ safety when using the internet in school. Recently, members of the school council produced a leaflet for other pupils, informing them of the potential dangers of the internet. These leaflets also provided information on what to do if they find themselves a victim of cyber bullying.

p.2

Inspection findings

 In our initial discussion, we identified reading as one of our key lines of enquiry. Following the disappointing Year 6 results in reading last year, school leaders wasted no time in analysing the test outcomes to identify which parts pupils found difficult. As a result, leaders have made changes in their approach to the teaching of reading.  The teaching of phonics is consistent and effective in developing pupils’ understanding of joining letters together to make sounds. From my visits to lessons and hearing pupils read, I could see the impact of this. Younger pupils are confident in using a range of decoding strategies in their reading. The most able readers display good expression, intonation and understanding of texts. Across all year groups, there is a wide range of reading activities that successfully support the development of pupils’ comprehension skills.  Pupils have access to high-quality reading materials. These materials are introduced

p.2

Inspection findings

skilfully to extend pupils’ reading choices over time. In teacher-led reading sessions, pupils further develop their reading skills well, responding to challenging questions that probe their understanding. Pupils regularly engage in activities that involve practising their reading skills, including opportunities to retrieve information and to make inferences. Your assessment information shows that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, make strong progress in reading from their starting points.  We also identified writing as a key line of enquiry, particularly the progress of disadvantaged pupils in this subject. Last year, pupils’ progress in writing by the end of key stage 2 was lower than the national average.  Leaders ensure that the learning environments in key stage 1 provide pupils with a range of tools for writing. For example, we saw pupils making good use of tabletop resources and information, such as key words, on the classroom walls. Teachers plan writing

p.2

Inspection findings

activities effectively so that pupils have good opportunities to talk about their ideas and prepare their work before they write. Teachers also ensure that pupils have access to a range of good-quality texts that support pupils’ ideas and imaginations in readiness for writing. In Year 2, pupils showed high levels of engagement with their topic on space. Consequently, their writing was extensive and imaginative and the work in their books demonstrates good progress.  In key stage 2, pupils are ambitious in their writing. Pupils develop a wide vocabulary and use grammar accurately. They respond positively to adults’ guidance and improve their writing over time. The school’s assessment information shows that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are making good progress in writing across the school.  We also agreed to look at the progress and attainment of the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, in reading and writing in key stage 2. This was

p.3

Inspection findings

because in 2016, only a few of your most-able pupils achieved the greater depth standards in these subjects.  Our visits to classrooms emphasised the ways in which you have refreshed the reading curriculum to support pupils’ reading and writing skills, particularly to address the greater depth standards. Teachers demonstrate a strong focus on the key areas of inference, deduction, mastery of vocabulary, rehearsal and pupils’ responses to text. Most-able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, demonstrate a deep understanding of what they read. Adults probe pupils’ understanding effectively and challenge them to analyse authors’ decisions on choices of words. I also saw good examples where pupils demonstrated a secure understanding of characters’ intentions in the texts they were reading.  Overall, pupils make good progress in writing. Work in pupils’ books shows that they spell words accurately. However, the most able pupils, including the most able

p.3

Inspection findings

disadvantaged pupils, do not receive the same level of challenge in writing as they do in reading. Teachers do not have equally high expectations of pupils’ writing in all classes. As a result, in all year groups, too few pupils exceed the expected standards in writing.  I also looked at pupils’ attendance. The school has strong and effective strategies in place to monitor and improve pupils’ attendance. The school community is unified in delivering a strong message about the importance of coming to school every day. You use many incentives to improve attendance. For example, pupils who arrive in school on time, all the time, receive a raffle ticket and prizes are awarded weekly. Leaders’ efforts are having a positive impact. Overall, current attendance is above the national average.  The school’s most recent attendance information suggests that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have higher-than-average absence and persistent

p.3

Inspection findings

absence. You are aware of this and you have worked with families and external agencies to address this. Your work with community care nurses and occupational health workers, for example, ensures that pupils with medical needs are supported effectively when they return to school after a period of absence. The attendance of these pupils has improved, but remains below average.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 teachers challenge all pupils, particularly the most able and most-able disadvantaged pupils, to make strong and sustained progress in writing so that a greater proportion exceed the expected standards  the attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities improves still further so that it is at least in line with the national average.

p.4

Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body and the director of children’s services for Ealing. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.4

Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I held meetings with you, the deputy headteacher and with middle leaders. I also met with the school business manager and looked at staff recruitment files. I considered responses to Parent View and the staff survey. I met with a group of pupils to discuss their experiences in lessons, the extent to which they feel safe, and also their views on learning and behaviour. I held discussions with a representative from the local authority. I met with four governors. I also considered documentation provided by the school and information published on the school’s website. I looked at the single central record, and the analysis of pupils’ attendance. Together with school leaders, I visited classes to observe learning and I looked at samples of pupils’ work in reading, writing and mathematics. I listened to pupils reading.

p.4