Barclay Primary School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Barclay Primary School 155 Canterbury Road, Leyton, London E10 6EJ

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Outcome

Barclay Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Barclay Primary School is a friendly school where pupils and staff know one another well. Working relationships are very positive. Adults and pupils treat each other with kindness and respect. This makes pupils feel safe and confident to share with adults if they feel uncomfortable. Pupils understand what bullying is and say that although it is very rare, they know staff would sort it out if it did happen. Pupils enact the ‘Barclay Way’ in lessons, around the building and in the playground. They demonstrate responsibility, respect, honesty, aspiration and kindness because that is what they are expected to do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like coming to school and working hard. The curriculum is well designed and organised to ensure that pupils learn an ambitious range of knowledge and skills. This supports pupils to achieve well and produce work of a high quality in different subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum supports pupils’ wider development. Pupils understand the importance of being environmentally aware. For example, pupils explained the value of walking to school and increasing the number of plants around the site as part of a greener air project. Pupils are knowledgeable about their community through raising money for the local homeless shelter or learning about local people from different backgrounds. For example, pupils shared their ‘human library’, focusing on the life stories of local families.

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

Staff have a shared ambition to develop pupils into competent, confident and motivated readers. By the end of their time at Barclay, pupils read well. They listen attentively to the stories they hear and join in enthusiastically with reading activities. Curriculum plans outline the sounds and reading skills children should learn from Reception onwards. Teachers are well trained to implement these plans, and this ensures that pupils secure their phonics quickly. This supports pupils to achieve well in reading. Pupils who struggle are quickly identified. They are supported well to practise their early reading skills. This supports the majority of these pupils to catch up with their peers. Pupils told inspectors 6 and 7 October 2021

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that they love to read because it helps them learn new words they can use in different subjects.

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Pupils learn an ambitious curriculum that matches, and in some cases exceeds, the scope and content of the national curriculum. Plans for each subject are structured carefully so that the important knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils need to learn are revisited over time. This allows pupils to practise and embed these ideas, so that they can be applied to other learning. For example, in mathematics, children in Reception practise their counting and matching digits to the correct number of objects. They use these skills confidently when starting to add and subtract larger numbers. Similarly, in art, children practise mixing colours in early years. This helps them to select and mix their own colours when creating pieces of artwork further up the school.

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Pupils are confident and articulate learners who enjoy their work. For example, in history, pupils draw on their understanding of using different sources to explain in detail the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution. Similarly, in computing, pupils demonstrate confidently how to edit film clips because they have practised using different editing tools previously.

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The planned curriculum has been adapted in all subjects to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the knowledge and skills they need. Staff are well trained to support pupils to access the curriculum. For example, in geography, pupils with SEND learn the same vocabulary as their peers and are supported to apply their learning through well-structured writing tasks.

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Pupils behave consistently well in lessons. They work sensibly with their friends and enjoy the range of activities in the playground. Staff are skilled at recognising pupils who may need support in managing their behaviour. They intervene at the right time and support pupils to calm down and refocus.

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Pupils benefit from a range of activities that develop their interests in areas such as sport, gardening, calligraphy and music. Pupils readily take on additional responsibilities in school. They take these roles seriously and are proud to be school councillors or members of the eco-club.

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Staff enjoy being part of the team at Barclay. They are well trained and value the detailed guidance that is available when planning their teaching. Staff appreciate the ways in which leaders support them to manage their workload effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are kept safe because there are clear systems for identifying pupils who might be at risk. Leaders work closely with other agencies to ensure that families receive the support they need. The curriculum teaches pupils how to stay safe in different ways. Pupils have worked with the local community safety team and the police on the risks of gang affiliation and illegal drugs. Pupils feel safe in school. They are knowledgeable about 6 and 7 October 2021

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how to stay safe, including when online. Almost all parents and carers who completed Ofsted’s survey agreed that their children were kept safe at school.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in March 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are 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. 6 and 7 October 2021

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School details

Local authority London Borough of Waltham Forest

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,392

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School details

Chair of parental advisory body Robin Thompson-Clark

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School details

Headteacher Justin James (Executive Headteacher)

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Date of previous inspection

15 to 16 March 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Barclay Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school and is based on two sites.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average. Pupils come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and speak a range of languages.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team completed deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, art, computing and history. To do this, they met with subject leaders, had discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered leaders’ plans for pupils with SEND.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including leaders’ priorities for improvement.  Inspectors spoke with the chair of the parental advisory body. 6 and 7 October 2021

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 The inspection team reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising records and through discussions with staff and pupils.  The views of pupils, parents and staff, as gathered through discussions and Ofsted’s surveys, were considered.

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Inspection team

Nick Turvey, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Lack Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 October 2021

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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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