Heston Primary School

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

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Mrs Chandip Behar Headteacher Heston Primary School Heston Road Hounslow TW5 0QR

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 12 June 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 September 2014.

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. Since your appointment in September 2017, you have worked hard to strengthen leadership. You have created a clear plan for school improvement with well-focused priorities. Leaders have established a positive learning culture in the school, where staff are encouraged to develop and implement new approaches in the classroom to raise standards.

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

The previous inspection report recommended that leaders ensure that pupils, especially the most able, have more challenge in their learning. You have made progress with this recommendation. Teachers now use assessment information to plan sufficiently demanding work for their pupils. In addition, when pupils finish work, they are provided with more difficult activities. Pupils are supported effectively through probing questioning by adults and are encouraged to explain their thinking to peers and teachers. The curriculum has ample opportunities for pupils to improve and refine their work, which enables them to consolidate their learning.

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

In addition, the previous inspection report recommended that school leaders ensure that teachers check on pupils’ progress in lessons and adapt their teaching so that more pupils make stronger progress. Teachers now check on pupils’ understanding throughout lessons. Further work is needed to address misconceptions more swiftly in lessons to increase pupils’ progress further. A further recommendation from the previous inspection report was to ensure that pupils have more opportunities to apply their literacy and mathematical skills across a range of subjects. You have since prioritised developing the curriculum to engage pupils and increase their opportunities in literacy and numeracy to good effect.

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

You have implemented high-quality training to develop teachers’ skills. As a result, pupils engage well in planned discussions with peers to share ideas. One pupil told me that ‘teachers turn learning into fun.’ Pupils have opportunities to write for different purposes, linked to high-quality texts and thought-provoking topics. The ‘learning logs’, where pupils record their work in many subjects, evidence opportunities for pupils to apply their knowledge and skills in a range of contexts.

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

In the survey and during informal discussions, parents and carers agreed that the school has a warm and inviting ethos. They reported that staff are helpful and friendly.

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

Governors know the school well and are committed to driving improvement. They make visits to the school to meet leaders, review work and conduct walks around the school to review learning. They work effectively with school leaders and support the school values and ethos.

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Short inspection of Heston Primary School

There is an established culture of safeguarding that protects pupils well. The leadership team has ensured that safeguarding arrangements are robust and fit for purpose. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe and know where they can seek help if needed. Leaders ensure that staff receive regular training and timely advice. Statutory risk assessments are carried out so that pupils’ safety is managed on and off the school site.

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Inspection findings

 A focus of the inspection was to investigate how effectively leaders monitor the impact of the additional funding for pupils eligible for the pupil premium grant and for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. You have identified the need to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils as a priority and have taken actions to improve their outcomes.  Established systems to track the progress and attainment of pupils are used effectively to target additional support for those pupils who need it most. Leaders regularly evaluate additional interventions to ensure that they successfully improve pupils’ progress. Monies allocated to pupils eligible for the pupil premium grant are used to fund these interventions.  I considered the impact of leaders’ action to improve attendance. Governors report that they monitor pupils’ attendance at meetings. Leaders constantly review their actions to raise attendance and report the impact of these actions to

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Inspection findings

governors. Parents I spoke to appreciate the importance of good attendance and understand the reward systems in place, such as the ‘family voucher’ for full attendance. Leaders track attendance robustly and report their findings regularly to parents through the school’s weekly newsletters. However, attendance remains below the national average, and further work is needed to ensure that all members of the school community understand the impact of low attendance on pupils’ progress.  You have ensured that the curriculum incorporates a range of opportunities for pupils to discuss their ideas. This enables pupils to develop and extend their thinking. Pupils enjoy learning, and leaders have worked hard to ensure that their contributions to lessons are valued. Some attention has been given to extending pupils’ vocabulary during discussion in lessons; however, this needs to be embedded to ensure a consistent approach across the school.

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Inspection findings

 You have made sure that children in Reception have plenty of opportunities to develop a range of skills, and their ideas are captured well by staff. The range of activities available to them is rich and varied. Staff interact well with children to move their learning forward.

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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 address misconceptions swiftly to strengthen pupils’ progress  attendance is improved through further work with the school community  work to improve the curriculum is embedded so that pupils deepen their knowledge and extend their vocabulary further.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, the deputy headteacher, the attendance officer, the administrator responsible for updating the single central record and four middle leaders. I met with five members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. I visited classes from Reception to Year 6 together with you and the deputy headteacher to observe teaching and to look at pupils’ work. I met with a group of pupils and reviewed a selection of pupils’ work.

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Information about the inspection

I reviewed the responses from parents, staff and pupils to the Ofsted online surveys. I analysed seven responses from parents to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey. Together with this, I considered questionnaire responses from nine staff and 81 pupils. I also talked to 10 parents in the playground.

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Information about the inspection

I evaluated a range of documentation related to safeguarding and the school’s website. I also considered school attendance information and pupil progress information.

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