Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

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

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Mrs Merryl Roberson Headteacher Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School Sheephouse Way New Malden Surrey KT3 5PF

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Short inspection of Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 6 March 2018, 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 May 2014.

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Short inspection of Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since the previous inspection, published test results confirm that there have been improvements in learning in the early years and Years 1 and 2. However, rates of progress from Years 3 to 6 have not always been as good. Inspection evidence shows that outcomes are now stronger for these older pupils. You have taken a range of clear actions to improve the quality of teaching. Leaders use a wider range of assessment information and analyse it in more detail. Teachers use this information in a more timely manner, and with more precision, to provide more support or challenge for those pupils who need it. Consequently, an increasing number of pupils make good or better progress.

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Short inspection of Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

You have increased the rigour and frequency of the checks on learning that senior and subject leaders carry out. You hold teachers and other leaders more closely accountable for the progress pupils make by holding monthly meetings that help staff to identify any underachievement. These checks on learning and discussions have raised teachers’ expectations, skills and confidence to match their teaching more closely to pupils’ needs. Pupils with different abilities and starting points increasingly make better progress in reading, writing and mathematics than in previous years. Still, improvements in pupils’ progress are not as strong as they should be because the quality of teaching is not always judged by its effect on pupils’ progress.

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Short inspection of Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

The school has a welcoming and inclusive ethos. You have a specific focus on promoting the well-being of pupils and teachers. This helps pupils settle into school quickly, gain confidence to learn and begin to develop personal ambition for their future. The number of pupils joining this school part-way though their education has increased recently. A significant number of these pupils join this school from countries where they have faced difficulties related to their personal safety. Whatever the pupils need, the school has in place timely and well-planned support for their social, emotional and physical well-being. As a result, particularly in Years 3 to 6, fewer pupils are falling behind in their learning and those who need to are able to catch up with ease.

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Short inspection of Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

Children in the early years and pupils in Years 1 and 2 make good progress. These strong foundations are increasingly evident in pupils’ learning in Years 3 to 6 because the quality of teaching is gaining greater consistency. You recognise that there is more to do to strengthen the impact of the actions you and leaders are taking. For example, progress and learning in subjects other than in English and mathematics are not always as strong. This is particularly true for science, where pupils are not challenged enough to write precisely, to use their mathematics skills effectively, or to discuss more complex ideas in greater detail.

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Short inspection of Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Regular training ensures that staff have an up-to-date understanding of potential risks pupils may face. For example, they help pupils understand how they can be exploited by strangers or through the internet. Staff model the importance of respecting the views of others so that pupils can understand and appreciate that people around us have a range of opinions and lifestyles. Staff understand the school’s rigorous procedures for reporting concerns about pupils’ safety. Detailed records, timely responses and partnerships with external organisations ensure that any referrals and concerns are resolved as quickly as possible. Governors have a secure understanding of safeguarding issues based on reports from the school and their own visits. They check that staff continue to develop their understanding and are confident to act as

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Short inspection of Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School

necessary. This collaborative focus on safeguarding contributes to a secure culture of vigilance and safety. Pupils say that they feel safe in school because they always have someone to turn to for help. Parents agree that their children are kept safe in school. Cases of bullying are rare and pupils say that any incidents are dealt with promptly and effectively, further underpinning pupils’ welfare.

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Inspection findings

 A focus for the inspection was the progress made by disadvantaged pupils, those who speak English as their first language and the most able pupils in reading. In 2017, not enough of these pupils were making good progress in reading.  Teachers identify these pupils’ needs earlier and a stronger partnership between support teachers and class teachers ensures that extra help is provided as and when necessary. This help is closely checked to make sure that any pupils falling behind catch up in good time. These groups of pupils are reading with more confidence and are better able to understand ideas at a deeper level.  The school has implemented a structured approach to reading. This is being consistently applied across the school. It is providing effective support for pupils to understand the key ideas they are reading about. Equally, it is providing opportunities for extended and more complex texts to be accessed by pupils who

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Inspection findings

are ready for more challenge. Inspection evidence confirms the accuracy of your assessments. Pupils who speak English as their first language, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who can already read well are making good progress in reading. They read unfamiliar and subject-specific vocabulary more easily and can speak with confidence about what they have understood from their reading.  A further focus for the inspection investigated progress in writing for the same three groups of pupils. This is because their progress in writing had been particularly slow for at least the previous two years.  Work in books indicates that there are regular opportunities for pupils to write at length and about ideas that interest them. Inspection observations indicate that your assessments are accurate. The quality of writing typically produced by these groups of pupils shows stronger progress than indicated by published information

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Inspection findings

in 2017.  Pupils who started Year 3 already able to write confidently can, by the end of Year 6, describe and explain complex ideas in some detail and demonstrate a wider use of rich vocabulary, argument and emotive language. These pupils with higher starting points make good progress in their writing skills.  The third focus of the inspection looked at the progress these three groups make in mathematics across Years 3 to 6. It is clear that the improvements in the teaching of mathematics have benefited all three groups of pupils. Inspection evidence supports your own information that these pupils are making better progress in mathematics than in previous years.  This is the result of the school’s focus on developing reasoning and problem- solving abilities. Increased opportunities to practise mental arithmetic have strengthened confidence and fluency in the use of mathematics. Pupils’ books typically show a clear building of mathematical ideas and procedures.

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Inspection findings

 Both disadvantaged pupils and those who speak English as a first language are able to work at a similar pace to their peers. Most-able pupils work more independently and demonstrate learning such as a deeper understanding of algebra.  Teachers recognise, and pupils also indicate, that they would like even more challenge built into what is being learned. For example there are not enough opportunities to use mathematics in science.

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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 quality of learning in the wider curriculum, particularly science, matches the quality of the best teaching and learning in the school  leaders use the progress pupils make to more accurately assess the quality of teaching so that improvements are secured more quickly.

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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 Kingston upon Thames. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and the senior leadership team and three governors, including the chair of the governing body. I spoke with a representative of the local authority. I also considered the 75 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and examined 20 pupil responses and 29 staff responses to Ofsted’s online surveys. I visited lessons, with your senior leaders, to observe learning and scrutinise pupils’ work. I also jointly examined pupils’ work with your subject and phase leaders. I evaluated a range of documentation in relation to safeguarding and the school’s website. I reviewed additional documentation related to leaders’ monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning, the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, procedures for safeguarding and information about pupils’ academic performance.

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