New End Primary School

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

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Ms Karyn Ray Headteacher New End Primary School Streatley Place Hampstead London NW3 1HU

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 12 December 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 September 2012.

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

You and your colleagues have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

The previous inspection highlighted strengths in teaching, leadership, behaviour, and relationships with the community and parents. These aspects remain strong. Parents and staff are complimentary in their praise of all aspects of the school’s work. Staff are proud to be part of the school and enjoy working here. The culture of the school is very positive and underpinned by strong, shared values. Relationships are warm and respectful.

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

At the time of the last inspection, leaders were asked to improve the effectiveness of middle leaders in the school. You have swiftly identified teachers with significant strengths in their subject areas and promoted them to middle leadership roles. They have formed what you have called an extended leadership team and regularly meet to evaluate the effectiveness of their subject areas. They support other teachers effectively to improve their practice. For example, during the regular ‘mini- moderation’ sessions, teachers look at others’ planning and work in books to identify strengths and areas for improvement. All staff could lead in some way and develop their leadership skills. As a result, the capacity of the leadership team to secure further improvement has improved greatly.

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

Leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness is accurate. The actions identified in the school’s plans for further improvement are appropriate. However, the plans do not contain precise targets by which governors can measure the effectiveness of actions undertaken, especially the progress made by your disadvantaged pupils and boys.

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

Governors are committed, ambitious and determined to see the school do even better. They have a good understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas to improve. They provide a good blend of challenge and support and are not afraid to ask difficult questions of leaders. Governors are keen to improve and develop their own skills. They recognise that they need to ensure that the review of the impact of pupil premium funding is published on the school’s website. Consequently, the school’s website does not fully comply with the statutory requirements regarding what schools should publish on their website.

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

Parents hold the school in high regard. At the start of the inspection, all those who had responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, agreed that they would recommend the school to others, and that the school was well led and managed. Parents also submitted very positive text responses. One parent summed up the views of others by writing: ‘My child is now in Year 6 and has thoroughly enjoyed his time at primary school. I feel this is a very special school where children are nurtured to reach their full potential and are treated with respect, and as individuals.’

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

You, as the designated safeguarding leader, ensure that your staff are well trained in identifying and reporting any concerns about the well-being of pupils. Written records are kept studiously. These act as a good record of the actions taken by you and others in keeping children and pupils safe over the course of time.

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Short inspection of New End Primary School

Due to positive relationships, teachers know pupils well and understand their needs. Pupils say they feel safe in school because they understand adults’ expectations. Pupils are confident that there is no bullying in school. They feel cared for and supported well by staff. They are proud that they can sort out minor fallings-out for themselves as anti-bullying champions. One parent commented: ‘Staff go out of their way to make sure children are happy and well looked after.’

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Inspection findings

 To check whether the school remains good, I followed three lines of enquiry. First, I looked at whether current pupils are making good progress in writing, with a focus on disadvantaged pupils. I chose to look at this area because published data shows that, for the last two years, disadvantaged pupils’ progress by the end of key stage 2 has been low.  Leaders and governors have already identified writing as the school’s main priority for improvement. A number of actions have been carried out to improve the quality of pupils’ writing. For example, pupils have been given more regular opportunities to write at length to build up their writing stamina. This has worked well, and pupils now write at much greater length than previously and are making better progress throughout the school.  There is clearly a consistent approach to the teaching and learning of writing across all year groups, as seen in visits to classrooms and in pupils’ work.

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Inspection findings

Teachers are enthused by this new approach because of the positive impact it is having on pupils’ writing, regardless of their different starting points. Other actions have also been effective in improving the quality of pupils’ writing. For example, teachers have used high-quality books and other texts as stimuli to encourage pupils to want to write. This has worked well, and pupils are now much more interested in writing and are keen to be authors. Consequently, the quality of teaching and learning of writing is improving.  We next looked at the impact of leaders’ actions to accelerate children’s progress in the early years. This is because the outcomes at the end of Reception had been variable over the last three years and, in 2016, were below the national averages. In 2017, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of Reception was just above the national average. Boys

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Inspection findings

are also now performing in line with their peers due to the determined action of leaders to provide opportunities to engage and excite learners. During the inspection, there was a wealth of opportunities for children to develop their writing and mark-making skills, both inside and outside the classroom. One boy was observed excitedly writing a chapter book with lots of episodes based on a film he had recently seen.  Finally, we explored why persistent absence rates for pupils who are eligible for free school meals have been higher than national figures. Scrutiny of individual case studies clearly showed that there were circumstances that made some absenteeism unavoidable. You are in close communication with parents of children whose attendance is not as good as it could be, and are providing effective support to improve this situation.  Leaders have implemented strategies which have been partially successful in

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Inspection findings

improving pupils’ attendance. Clear procedures are in place to support pupils who are persistently absent, including home visits and support for families. A rewards system has also been successful in promoting good attendance. Even so, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils remains too low.

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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

 the school’s website complies with statutory requirements by including a strategy for the school’s use of the pupil premium  boy’s progress continues to improve and that this focus is detailed in school improvement planning to aid governors and leaders to track the impact of their work better  the school continues to work on the rates of persistent absence for pupils who are eligible for free school meals so that they are in line with national figures.

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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 Camden. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I visited all classes with you and your deputy headteacher to observe teaching and learning. I spoke with pupils about their work and looked at their books while visiting their classrooms. I also looked separately at a sample of pupils’ work and discussed pupils’ progress with your extended leadership team. I reviewed the school’s website and considered a range of documents, including your summary of the school’s effectiveness and the school improvement plan. I also looked at documents relating to safeguarding and attendance.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, your deputy headteacher, the extended leadership team and a group of pupils. I held meetings with eight governors and a representative from the local authority. I considered 97 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and spoke informally with parents at the start of the school day.

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