Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School

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

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Mr Allan McLean Headteacher Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School Holly Bush Vale London NW3 6TX

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Short inspection of Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 18 June 2019, 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 second short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in June 2012.

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Short inspection of Hampstead Parochial Church of England 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. You, your leadership team and governors have developed a culture of high expectations with a strong sense of community. This has resulted in a school where staff are highly motivated, pupils are happy and they achieve exceptionally well. Parents, carers, pupils and staff all recognise the effectiveness of the leadership you provide. Two typical comments placed on the online survey, Parent View, were that pupils ‘are taken care of academically and emotionally’ and that you have ‘created a

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Short inspection of Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School

nurturing environment for our children to grow and flourish in’. Pupils report that they are proud to come to this school. They understand the school’s values and ‘golden rules’ which help them to feel safe and to achieve well. Pupils are articulate, polite and well mannered. They listen well and respect other people’s ideas. This means pupils are able to learn effectively from each other. They are encouraged to build on each other’s answers and are shown how to disagree in a respectful manner. All the staff who completed Ofsted’s survey said they are proud to work at the school. Staff and pupils show a strong connection with the school’s values of ‘Friendship, Compassion, Forgiveness, Respect, Responsibility and Koinonia’ – which pupils explained as being trusted and encouraged to jointly resolve conflict. You have a clear and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. You have supported and developed an effective team of middle and

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Short inspection of Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School

senior leaders. Leaders and governors are reflective and strategic, detailing both how previous improvements have been made and maintained and their ambitions for the school to continue to improve. Governors are provided with evidence from a range of sources including data and presentations from middle leaders, as well as their regular visits to the school. As a result, their discussions and decisions in meetings are based on a deep understanding of the school. You have been successful in addressing the recommendations made at the previous inspection. There is evidence in classrooms and in pupils’ books of opportunities for pupils to develop their comprehension and reasoning skills in reading and mathematics. This has significantly improved the progress made by all pupils.

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Short inspection of Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The single central record is well maintained. Recruitment checks on staff are thorough and recorded in line with statutory requirements. Staff training is kept up to date and is effective. You keep meticulous records on child protection issues and work effectively with families and external agencies. Every parent and member of staff who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire agreed that children feel safe. Pupils who I spoke with during the inspection were confident that the school keeps them safe at all times. They said that bullying is not an issue at the school but pupils know who they can speak to for help. Pupils know about how to keep themselves safe, including when online. You provide regular safety lessons to pupils, through personal, health and social education lessons and through visitors to the school. Recent events have

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Short inspection of Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School

included fire safety, online safety and using the London Underground safely. You and your leaders track pupils who arrive late or who have lower attendance. You work with parents by holding meetings and through initiatives in school such as certificates and assemblies to try and improve attendance and punctuality. You have had some success with this.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection, we agreed key areas where inspection activity would be focused. We agreed that I would explore reading in key stage 2. This is because it was identified at the time of the last short inspection as a ‘next step’.  The leadership team is reflective, as shown by the changes made following evaluation of the school’s group approach to reading. As this was not having the desired impact, you made changes to introduce whole-class reading sessions. You then monitored this approach to ensure better progress. Leaders have a clear understanding about effective teaching of reading and how to support and develop teachers further. There is a focus on broadening vocabulary and on word meaning.  You have arranged the curriculum so that there are strong links between the books pupils read and the topics which they learn about. This helps them to deepen their reading comprehension. For example, a Year 5 reading book is linked to their topic

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Inspection findings

about ancient Egypt. This advances their reading skills and helps them to understand ancient Egyptians’ belief in different gods and their stories about creation. The types of questions which teachers ask of pupils encourage deeper thinking and reasoning. Pupils enjoy reading, have access to a range of texts and can summarise well.  As a result of the school’s actions, pupils’ progress in reading has improved; over the last three years, the school has consistently achieved progress in the top 20% of all schools; last year, it was in the top 10%.  I also focused on the progress of pupils in mathematics at key stage 2. This, too, was identified at the time of the last short inspection as a ‘next step’. Leaders have responded by providing professional development for staff. They have also made sure that appropriate resources are always available so that pupils have regular access to them to support their mathematical learning. There is a culture where

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Inspection findings

staff will ask for support and feedback so that they can continue to improve.  The school’s focus on securing strong progress for every pupil is based on teachers’ accurate understanding of individual needs, as discussed at regular ‘pupil progress meetings’. The ‘mastery’ approach used by the school begins with the development of conceptual understanding, followed by reasoning questions to provide stretch and deepen understanding. Teachers ensure that different levels of mathematical challenge are available so that all pupils, including the most able, are making strong progress. Any pupil who requires extra help is given it rapidly.  The successful outcome of the school’s work is seen in the significant gains in pupils’ progress in mathematics. As with reading, over the last three years the school has consistently achieved progress in the top 20% of all schools; last year, it was in the top 10%.  Finally, I looked at how middle leaders have been developed to lead on aspects of

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Inspection findings

the school’s work, including the teaching of phonics and a range of other subjects.  Your support for middle leaders has been strong and, as a result, they are reflective about their areas of responsibility. They have an accurate understanding of strengths and next steps. Good use is made of their professional development. There is an expectation that, when staff attend courses, they return to school with a plan to show the actions they intend to take and the impact this will have on their work. This is then evaluated at a later date, with plans for further improvements.  The leadership of phonics has brought about consistency in approach, with effective teaching across the early years and key stage 1. Well-established routines help to maximise teaching time and promote strong progress. As a result, the proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in the 2018 phonics screening check was significantly higher than that found nationally.

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Inspection findings

 Middle leaders with subject responsibility have worked well together to provide strong links within a broad curriculum. Good examples were seen of pupils’ work demonstrating meaningful links. For example, English, science and technology were brought together in pupils’ work on the heart. This included writing stimulated by the visit of a cardiologist, and the building of a model of a heart. Similarly, constructive links were seen between pupils’ study of Ernest Shackleton’s exploration, their descriptive writing about Antarctica, and their knowledge and understanding of geographical terminology.  Middle leaders also provide support to staff in a range of ways, including planning, in-class support and provision of resources. The ongoing evaluations by leaders at all levels have ensured that improvements have been made in all aspects of the curriculum.

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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 curriculum continues to be developed and enriched so that pupils are given more opportunities to flourish in all that they do.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the director of education for the Diocese of London, and the director of children’s services for the London Borough of Camden. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I spoke with you, leaders, governors and representatives from the Diocese of London, and children’s services for the London Borough of Camden. With you and your senior leaders, I observed pupils’ learning when I visited classrooms and scrutinised pupils’ work. I listened to some pupils read, and talked to pupils in classrooms and in a formal meeting, where I gathered their views of the school.

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Information about the inspection

I considered a range of documentary evidence. This included the school’s self- evaluation and evidence of progress on the next steps identified at the time of the previous inspection. I looked at the school development plan and information from the school about pupils’ performance. I looked at your records for teaching, learning and assessment, and documents of the governing body. I reviewed the responses to the staff survey and all of the 124 responses to the Parent View online survey, including the free-text comments. I scrutinised the single central record of recruitment checks, looked at documentation relating to safeguarding and discussed the school’s safeguarding procedures with you and members of staff. I looked at the school’s analysis of attendance and the evidence of the actions taken by the school to improve attendance.

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