Green Dragon Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Green Dragon Primary School North Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 0BJ

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Outcome

Green Dragon Primary School continues to be a good school. However, the inspector has some concerns that standards may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. They like the clubs and activities that are available. Pupils value adults’ care, support and guidance. Pupils are polite and welcoming.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are unanimous in praising the school’s strong communication systems. Despite changes to the school’s leaders, parents’ experiences remain positive. This is due to the regular interactions with staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils behave well. They enjoy their learning and work well with their peers. Pupils move around the school sensibly. They build trusting relationships with adults. This is evident from the mutual respect between adults and pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour during phonics sessions is not strong. Too many pupils lose focus and do not concentrate on their tasks.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe at the school. They know who to turn to should they have any concerns. Pupils say that bullying happens rarely. They trust adults to deal with this quickly. Pupils say that everyone gets along well. This was evident through the positive interactions of pupils and adults.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The recently appointed headteacher and the leadership team know that in some areas the school’s education is not good enough. The school has suffered from too many changes in leadership and this has affected the quality of the curriculum. Some subjects are not planned effectively or taught well enough.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The headteacher has quickly understood the school’s priorities. Senior leaders are clear on how to improve the school’s subject plans. 24–25 September 2019

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In the past, pupils’ knowledge of phonics has not been good enough. As a result, many pupils in Year 1 are working below where the school expects them to be. Many pupils struggle to recognise previously taught letter sounds. These pupils read books that are not matched to their phonics knowledge. They find it difficult to make sense of what they are reading.

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Sessions to support the weakest readers are not effective. Adults do not support pupils to catch up with their reading well enough. Staff group pupils in phonics sessions according to their ability. However, some pupils in these groups struggle to recall what sounds they should know. Pupils do not concentrate well in these sessions.

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Some adults’ subject knowledge in teaching phonics is stronger. They have higher expectations of what pupils can do and build on their prior knowledge. They help pupils to sound out words with precision. In these sessions, pupils behave well and concentrate on their work.

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Story times are a pleasurable experience. Teachers read stories to pupils with enthusiasm. Pupils concentrate well during these sessions. They enjoy listening to a rich variety of books. This helps pupils to speak confidently about stories and the plots and twists within them.

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In mathematics, subject plans are at an early stage of development. They do not help to build on pupils’ previous learning in a structured way. For example, pupils have daily practice questions. However, too often pupils get the wrong answers and do not understand why. Consequently, they make the same mistakes over and over again.

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Pupils develop strong calculation skills. Adults encourage them to discuss their strategies. In Reception, children learn to use mathematical resources well. This helps them to gain a deeper understanding of numbers.

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In contrast, pupils have a strong understanding of geography. Pupils talk confidently about their learning. For example, pupils shared their knowledge about the Amazon rainforest well. Teachers select key geographical words for pupils to understand and remember. Pupils respond well to this. Leaders have clear plans to develop geography subject plans further.

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Leaders’ support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength. Staff training to recognise how to support pupils with SEND is well structured. As a result, staff are clear on which strategies work for individual pupils. Pupils are encouraged to develop their independence. They are included in the school life and interact positively with their peers.

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Pupils benefit from many experiences, for example through trips, workshops and clubs. The school’s focus on supporting all pupils to learn musical instruments in Years 4 to 6 is liked by pupils. They benefit from opportunities to perform in musical festivals outside the school. 24–25 September 2019

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Staff are committed to make the school succeed. They feel well supported by leaders, including for their work-life balance. They enjoy working at the school and describe it as a ‘happy family’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have a strong understanding of the statutory guidance for safeguarding. They have a comprehensive training programme for all staff. As a result, staff have a well- developed understanding of how to manage concerns, including the school’s whistleblowing procedures.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including online. They know about the potential dangers of using social media. Pupils feel safe in school. Staff develop strong working relationships with pupils. This helps them recognise any concerns quickly. Leaders work well with external agencies to provide support to families when appropriate.

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Safeguarding

During the inspection, leaders made some administrative changes to the single central record of checks carried out on staff. This ensured that the record was compliant with statutory requirements.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Historical weaknesses in the school’s phonics programme have left pupils unable to blend sounds quickly enough to support fluency. The school should address this and ensure that there is a well-structured phonics approach that builds on pupils’ learning throughout the school.  Pupils chosen for phonics sessions are grouped according to the school’s assessment information. However, these assessments are not accurate. Consequently, pupils are required to carry out tasks which do not match their phonics knowledge. This leads to pupils losing concentration and not engaging with their learning. Leaders should ensure that pupils are accurately assessed, and that the work provided for them builds on their previous learning.  Some pupils struggle to read their reading books. They are unable to decode and blend quickly enough. The school should address this by carefully matching books that pupils read to their phonics knowledge. Furthermore, these pupils should be given regular

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

opportunities to practise reading books, so that they can develop fluency.  Leaders are at an early stage of embedding changes in the curriculum. They rightfully identify issues in the sequencing of lessons for different subjects, including in mathematics. Leaders should continue to embed these changes across all subjects and support teachers to develop their subject knowledge further. 24–25 September 2019

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Green Dragon Primary School to be good on 19–20 January 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 24–25 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110445 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19–20 January 2016

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Information about this school

 Green Dragon Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. It is a two-form entry school with a nursery and reception provision.  The school has an above-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above average.  There have been many changes to the school’s leadership since the previous inspection. The school has had three different headteachers over the last three years. The deputy headteacher was the acting headteacher during the previous academic year. The current headteacher started in September 2019. Six new teachers joined the school during this academic year.  The chair of governors was recently appointed.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders to evaluate the school’s quality of education.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, including a telephone conversation with the former chair of governors. I also met with a local authority 24–25 September 2019

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adviser.  I considered the school’s effectiveness in developing the curriculum areas of: reading, mathematics and geography.  I reviewed a range of documentation, including that related to safeguarding.  I observed pupils in lessons and around the school.  I met formally with groups of pupils to gather their views about their learning and safety. I also met with a range of staff to gather their views.

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Inspection team

Noeman Anwar, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 24–25 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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