Brettenham Primary School

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

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Mr Stewart Humphreys Headteacher Brettenham Primary School Brettenham Road London N18 2ET

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 3 October 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 October 2014.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as headteacher in March 2016, you have continued to improve standards in the school. You and your new senior leadership team have high aspirations for the pupils in the school. As a result, the large majority of pupils make excellent progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2. Progress in mathematics is particularly strong.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

You have recently appointed a team of senior leaders with key responsibilities for the delivery of a broad, balanced and creative curriculum. Leaders are keen to ensure that pupils enjoy learning and benefit from interesting and well-planned lessons. Your evaluation of the performance of the school is accurate.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

You and your staff team ensure that the school is calm and orderly. Pupils are eager to learn in lessons. Pupils work well together and support each other during their lessons and in the playground. Pupils I spoke with are enthusiastic about the opportunities for learning within the wider creative curriculum; this is a strength of the school. Pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding are developed well across a range of subjects. Parents and carers are positive about the school and your leadership. Parents whom I spoke to and those who responded to the online survey said that the school manages the behaviour of pupils effectively.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

Governors are committed to the values and ethos of the school. Governors know the school well and are clear about the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They provide a good level of challenge and support for leaders. Areas for improvement from the previous inspection have been successfully addressed. Pupils at the end of key stage 1 are now being well challenged in lessons and outcomes are rising for the most able pupils. New leaders have set clear targets on how they will monitor and measure school improvement.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

By the end of Reception Year, a below-average proportion of children achieve a good level of development. Leaders recognise the need to improve this by developing further the skills in early writing and phonics.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

School leaders and governors have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Leaders have made sure that all required checks on the suitability of staff to work with children are completed and recorded.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

The single central record is compliant with statutory requirements. Staff training is thorough and is kept up to date. The safeguarding team has set up a weekly review group to monitor any concerns that the school may have for vulnerable pupils. Records show that swift action is taken to protect children should the need arise. Leaders know families and individual pupils very well. Staff and governors have a good understanding of safeguarding issues in the local community, such as gang violence and knife crime.

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Short inspection of Brettenham Primary School

The pupils I spoke to all report that they feel safe in school. They can all identify an adult in school whom they can talk to if they have a concern. Pupils are aware of how to keep themselves safe online. For example, Year 6 pupils explained clearly what steps they would take when conducting research online. Parents are kept well informed to help them keep their children safe when online at home.

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Inspection findings

 We agreed at the start of the inspection to review the provision in Reception Year. You had identified this as a priority for improvement in your own school self- evaluation. For the last four years, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception Year has been below the national average.  Attainment on entry to the school shows that children start with a wide range of abilities. Overall, children are below age expectations on entry. This is mainly because of difficulties with communication and language. You appointed a new early years leader at the start of the academic year. The early years environment is bright and attractive for children to develop early learning, both indoors and outdoors. The school has introduced a more systematic approach to the teaching of phonics. Children now start to learn phonics in Nursery. Leaders made engagement with parents a key priority. Workshops to support parents in helping their children

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Inspection findings

learn to read are now regularly provided.  Training for staff is helping to raise expectations of the quality of children’s work. In Reception Year, we saw groups of children learning initial letters and sounds. We also looked at children’s writing on display and in learning journals. We agreed, after further scrutiny, that early phonics and writing skills needed further improvement.  For the second line of enquiry, we agreed to look at the actions leaders take to increase the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1. The attainment and progress of the most able pupils have not matched the national average for the last few years at the end of key stage 1.  You and senior leaders recognised this as an area that needed improving from the previous inspection report and from your own monitoring systems. Leaders have developed an action plan that is being implemented across key stage 1. Pupils’

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Inspection findings

assessment and progress information is used to plan targeted interventions for the most able pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. The attainment and progress of pupils are regularly assessed by leaders.  Leaders have recently introduced a range of new initiatives and programmes to develop reading and higher comprehension skills in key stage 1. All classes have access to a central library and high-quality books. Reading records are well maintained, and encourage pupils to read in depth. You have provided training for teachers and support staff to develop their skills in the teaching of reading. In mathematics, pupils are provided with increasing levels of challenge in their daily lessons. Pupils are encouraged to challenge their partners in lessons and support each other in their learning. Outcomes in 2018 show a sharp rise in the number of pupils achieving the higher standards in both reading and writing.

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Inspection findings

 For our third line of enquiry, we agreed to evaluate teaching in the wider curriculum in key stage 2, particularly in science. A scrutiny of work showed that science work is of a high standard in all classes. Coverage of science topics is extensive and pupils are making consistently good or better progress over time. Teachers give pupils effective opportunities to do practical work and to carry out investigations. Pupils are able to apply their skills in creative writing, mathematics and information technology to science. Work is well presented and shows a good level of challenge. The review of pupils’ work shows that a high proportion of pupils are at age- expected levels in science.  Your commitment to a creative curriculum encourages pupils to use their literacy and numeracy skills across a wide range of subject areas. Creativity is promoted through technology, art and design, and the humanities. We looked at topic books

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Inspection findings

where pupils had opportunities to write and investigate topics in depth in drama, history and geography. These books are well maintained and pupils take pride and care in their presentation and design their own covers. Pupils are encouraged to reflect and write about what they have learned.  Outcomes from the creative curriculum are most evident in the displays of pupils’ work around the school. Examples on display included clay models, paintings and computer-aided design. Pupils have the opportunity to learn Spanish and to make links to artists such as Picasso. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through their learning about other faiths and British values.  Finally, we agreed to look at what action leaders are taking to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence in the school. Persistent absence has been high for some years. This was the case for a wide variety of pupils and groups in the school.

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Inspection findings

You and the governing body identified this as a key area for development.  A detailed attendance action plan is now in place and is proving to be effective. Leaders regularly review and monitor attendance records. The school has adopted a range of rewards and sanctions, which includes a merit system, class rewards and recognition in assemblies. Leaders have made parents aware of the importance of attendance and the school has taken action where necessary. A detailed study of records showed a significant reduction in persistent absence over the last academic year. The school is still below the national average for attendance.

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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

 more children achieve a good level of development at the end of Reception Year  persistent absence continues to decline, so that attendance is at least in line with the national average.

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

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I held discussions with you and other senior and middle leaders. I spoke with a representative from the local authority and held a meeting with the chair of governors. I spoke with pupils in class, in structured settings and informally. I also spoke to parents. I observed pupils’ behaviour in class, in the playgrounds and as they moved around the school. I scrutinised pupils’ work in a wide range of subjects. I heard readers across the school and spoke with pupils about the books they are reading. I also visited the Nursery provision. I made visits to all classes alongside senior leaders. I examined the school’s progress-tracking information and assessment records. I scrutinised a wide range of documentation related to safeguarding, welfare and attendance. I looked at behaviour and bullying incident logs. I considered the responses of 10 parents to Parent View, and the responses of

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Information about the inspection

pupils and staff to Ofsted’s online surveys and the school’s own internal surveys.

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