Walker Primary School

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

p.1

Ms Frances Warhurst Headteacher Walker Primary School Waterfall Road Southgate London N14 7EG

p.1

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 14 November 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.

p.1

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

p.1

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

Your skilful and effective leadership, supported by a strong and determined leadership team, has raised the quality of provision to meet the school’s high aspirations for all pupils. Together, you have developed an innovative and challenging curriculum. Your focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning has resulted in improved progress across year groups. This has had a marked improvement on pupils’ outcomes.

p.1

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

You are well supported by knowledgeable and active governors who know their school well. Governors have worked in full partnership with senior leaders to address the recommendations from the last inspection report.

p.1

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

Children’s attainment is high and well above the national average at the end of the Reception year. In key stage 1, pupils make strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics and attain highly at the end of the key stage. In key stage 2, the proportions of pupils attaining the high or greater depth standard in reading, writing, mathematics, and spelling, punctuation and grammar are well above the national average. Parents value the school’s ethos, which is based on family and community. Pupils are polite, curious and highly motivated. They behave well in lessons and around the school. Mentor support is available, both in the playground and the classrooms, to support pupils’ resilience, self-confidence and well-being. Pupils demonstrate a mature understanding of the rights of others and speak confidently in their belief that everyone has a right to learn without interruption and a right to feel safe.

p.1

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

Pupils display empathy for and sensitivity towards the individual learning needs of others. Pupils demonstrate a level of care towards other pupils that is both nurturing and inclusive.

p.2

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

The school is outward-looking and works with local and national organisations to deepen the learning opportunities available to pupils. For example, links with The Young Shakespeare Company, visits from local artists and musicians, the formation of a school orchestra and the teaching of French and Mandarin all add breadth and relevance to the learning. School leaders also work in close partnership with local schools to share best practice and to moderate and compare standards of achievement across schools.

p.2

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

Staff have made classrooms and corridors bright, attractive and stimulating learning spaces. Even so, there is a clear sense of excitement and anticipation for the building of the new school, which is to commence shortly.

p.2

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The school has a strong safeguarding culture. The designated safeguarding lead and deputy leads are well known to all staff and the procedures for reporting initial concerns and referrals are clearly understood. The school works closely with the local safeguarding board, and training has been given to all staff in line with the most recent guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’. This training is regularly updated to ensure that all staff have a thorough understanding of potential safeguarding risks.

p.2

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

The governor responsible for safeguarding works closely with the designated safeguarding lead to quality-assure all procedures. Records are detailed and stored securely. Leaders have reflected on the wider needs of the community and have worked alongside the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children to raise pupils’ awareness of the dangers of gangs, knife crime and keeping safe online.

p.2

Short inspection of Walker Primary School

Pupils report that they feel safe in school and are well looked after. Pupils know who to approach for help in the playground and report that incidents of bullying and/or name calling are rare and dealt with effectively.

p.2

Inspection findings

 We agreed that our first line of enquiry for the inspection would be the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. This included evaluation of the effectiveness of the school’s use of additional pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).  Leaders have used the pupil premium effectively and offer a wide range of teaching interventions for those eligible pupils who need additional support. These include one-to-one literacy and numeracy teaching, pre-teaching to introduce specific vocabulary, phonics, and extra reading comprehension support.  Particularly effective support is provided for disadvantaged pupils with SEND. The teaching is highly personalised to their individual needs, including a range of therapies, and funding has been used wisely to support accelerated progress, independence and socialisation. Enrichment opportunities are also built into the

p.3

Inspection findings

curriculum with access to after-school activities and educational visits.  The impact of the interventions on pupils’ progress is analysed carefully. The school’s assessments and pupils’ work show that disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to their peers and attain as well as other pupils nationally.  Our second line of enquiry focused on how effective leaders are in meeting the needs of most-able pupils. The school has considered ways in which their learning can be supported. As a result, emphasis is given by teachers to the use and application of prior learning in new activities so that pupils deepen their understanding. The curriculum builds over key stage 2 to promote independence, resilience, problem-solving and reasoning skills.  Additionally, the most able pupils are taught in small focus groups, and questioning was observed to be highly effective in ensuring that pupils have sufficient challenge

p.3

Inspection findings

and ownership of their learning.  Outcomes across the school are strong. Most-able children make exceptional progress in the early years, with the proportion exceeding the expected standard being well above the national average. In key stage 1, outcomes for the most able pupils are well above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. In key stage 2, the proportion of pupils attaining the greater depth standards is very high for reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders’ actions have brought about strong improvement in writing over the last two years.  Our final line of enquiry was to evaluate the effectiveness of the wider curriculum in providing pupils with a balanced and exciting educational provision. You and your leadership team have given the curriculum much thought. Your intent has been to nurture pupils’ personal development and well-being through enrichment opportunities while maintaining high attainment across the curriculum.

p.3

Inspection findings

 Standards in pupils’ books reflect the high expectations that are evident across the curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to apply their thinking and their skills in a wide range of subjects. For example, a focus on the arts, including drama, music, performance, sports and languages, brings creativity and purpose into the heart of pupils’ learning experience. Skilful links are made between subjects to add relevance and meaning to pupils’ understanding.  You are keen for pupils to view themselves as global learners. The school’s engagement with the ‘rights respecting schools’ award programme enables pupils to become active both in school life and the wider world. The rights of the child are central to the ethos of the school. Pupils respect and acknowledge differences and are prepared well for secondary school and for life in modern Britain.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 the school’s marked improvement in writing development is sustained over time.

p.4

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.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I met with senior leaders alongside the chair and vice-chair of governors to discuss the key lines of enquiry. I visited all classrooms with senior leaders and I spoke to pupils about their work. I met with senior and middle leaders to discuss the curriculum and to view progression in pupils’ books. I met with governors, including the chair of governors to discuss the school’s key priorities, and with the school improvement partner from the local authority. I also met with representatives from the school council to hear their views. I listened to pupils read from Year 2 and Year 6. I looked at a wide range of documents relating to safeguarding, school development planning, teaching and learning and pupils’ progress. I spoke with parents informally at the start of the day. I considered the views of eight responses to the staff survey, 197 responses to the online survey, Parent View, and 159 free-text comments.

p.4