Farnham Green Primary School

Inspection of Farnham Green Primary School Royal Close, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3 8UY

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected 3–4 December 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like coming here. They feel special and happy because adults show real interest in them. Leaders and staff make sure that pupils are safe. They have high expectations of pupils. Pupils enjoy learning and they achieve well. Their work is displayed beautifully around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils treat each other kindly. They are friendly and polite. Bullying hardly ever happens. When it does, staff deal with it well. Pupils and staff, from diverse backgrounds and faiths, get on very well together. There is a lot of mutual respect. Whenever new pupils join, they are made welcome and make a good start.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils take part in the wide range of sports clubs. They are enthusiastic about the new activities in other areas, for example in art, which leaders are setting up. There is a fabulous programme of regular visits out. Activity pledges designed by pupils in each year group ensure they all do exciting things, such as a theatre visit or cable car ride.

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better?

Lessons are exciting and fun in all year groups because teachers provide interesting activities. Pupils learn particularly quickly in the early years and in Years 5 and 6. Children in the early years discover how to concentrate, persevere and share. They love talking about their learning, indoors and out. Parents and carers correctly say that occasionally the work set in Years 3 and 4 is not explained clearly enough for pupils to understand it well. This happens when activities do not build well on what pupils already know and can do. For example, in mathematics, some pupils found work on telling the time too easy, while others were muddled by it.

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better?

In Nursery, staff are very skilled in helping children understand new words. This is built on well in Reception. Pupils become well practised English speakers. Leaders have reviewed the way in which phonics is taught. This has resulted in significant improvement and now most pupils become good readers by the end of Year 2. Teachers deliver phonics and reading sessions that build on what pupils know already. Any pupils who fall behind get help and catch up. However, pupils in Reception and Year 1 would benefit from further opportunities to practise their phonics knowledge through writing activities.

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better?

Leaders’ actions to develop ambitious plans in many subjects are effective. Some subjects, from Years 1 to 6, are organised better than others. In English, mathematics, religious education, history and physical education (PE), for example, subject plans are logical and coherent. In geography, design technology and music, subject content is not well planned in a careful sequence. Because of this, there are gaps in pupils’ understanding and knowledge in these three subjects. Pupils enjoy their music lessons. However, their opportunities to learn and play musical 3–4 December 2019

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instruments are limited. Leaders have clear plans to improve these subjects. This work and the staff training needed for it to be successful have started.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. Leaders and staff make sure these pupils get good support. Disadvantaged pupils also thrive. Their needs are carefully met. They take a full part in the varied school activities.

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Pupils respect each other and adults in school. They are keen to learn, so lessons are rarely interrupted by poor behaviour.

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The school is led well. Parents, pupils and staff know that the school has improved a lot in the last few years. They are pleased. Trustees and governors contribute to this usefully. They ask challenging questions and carefully check on the school. Senior leaders know what is working well and what needs to be better. They plan carefully, making sure that improvements take root and do not fall away again. They take care of their staff.

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Leaders and staff keep in regular touch with parents. This supports parents to help their children to learn. However, a few parents are concerned that when their child has a problem, leaders and staff do not communicate with them quickly enough.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders prioritise pupils’ safety. The trustees also make sure that school leaders do the right things to keep pupils safe. Pupils feel confident and well looked after. The school site is secure. Staff complete thorough risk assessments for the many visits that pupils make out of school. Staff are carefully trained in child protection and safeguarding procedures. They identify pupils who are at risk, reporting any concerns correctly. Leaders ensure that these pupils get the help they need.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In most subjects, leaders’ plans are well sequenced and thought through. However, in geography, music and design and technology, the curriculum is not as well planned. Groups of lessons do not build on what pupils already know and can do. This means that pupils do not achieve as well in these subjects as they do in others. It is clear from the actions that leaders have already taken that they are in the process of bringing this about. For this reason, the transition arrangement has been applied in this case.  Leaders’ plans for the curriculum are not always delivered well. For example, in Years 3 and 4, pupils are sometimes given work that does not build on what they have learned before. In Reception and Year 1, pupils would benefit from more 3–4 December 2019

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opportunities to practise using their knowledge of phonics. This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently in these year groups.  A few parents who raise concerns with the school feel that their questions are not dealt with promptly or fully. This affects their confidence in the school. Leaders should make sure that parents always receive a timely and full response when they have concerns.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 3–4 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10128886 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This school became an academy in September 2017. This is its first inspection since then. When its predecessor school, also called Farnham Green Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted in 2016, it was judged to require improvement.  It is a large suburban primary school with a part-time nursery. Pupils come from many cultural and religious backgrounds. Many pupils speak English as an additional language.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the executive headteacher, head of school, deputy headteacher, other school leaders, trustees from the academy trust, and members of the local governing body. We also met with a senior representative of the local authority, who works with the school.  We met with several groups of staff and pupils. We also talked with pupils informally around the school. 3–4 December 2019

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 We looked closely at the school’s policies, documents and procedures on safeguarding. These included the single central record, which shows the checks made on adults working in the school. We looked at child protection records and details of staff training. We met with staff, including the designated safeguarding lead, and pupils to talk about safeguarding.  We took account of the comments from 45 parents on Parent View, and from five staff members who completed an online questionnaire. There were no responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for pupils.  We observed pupils’ behaviour around the school at playtimes, lunchtimes and in an assembly. We also observed pupils at the beginning and end of the school day.  We did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, geography, music and PE. This involved visiting lessons, looking at pupils’ work, talking to staff and the subject leaders, looking at subject plans, and meeting with pupils to find out what

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they think about the subjects and how much they have learned. We also considered other subjects carefully, including history, religious education and design technology.

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Inspection team

Robin Hammerton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tom Canning Ofsted Inspector 3–4 December 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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