Roxeth Mead School

Inspection of Roxeth Mead School 25 Middle Road, Harrow HA2 0HW

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Inspection dates: 28 to 30 September 2021

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and welcoming school. The calm atmosphere supports pupils in feeling and keeping safe. Ambitions for pupils’ reading fluency are high. Reading is fully established and sits at the heart of the school’s curriculum. Leaders are working on strengthening the curriculum. In other subjects, curriculum planning is insufficiently organised to ensure that all learning is coherently structured and builds on what pupils already know and can do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils are inquisitive, concentrate and are well mannered. They enjoy school and said that other pupils are kind. Staff are positive role models for good behaviour and deal with the rare instances of bullying swiftly. Pupils’ personal development is supported well. Children settle in quickly, right from the start of pre-school. During their time at the school, pupils are taught about being respectful and to be mindful of the needs of others and the environment. They enjoy taking part in all activities. Parents and carers typically commented, ‘There is lovely attention and focus on our child.’

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better?

The curriculum has suitable breadth and covers all subjects. Planning in early reading helps all pupils to learn to read fluently and with confidence. Leaders are aware that the curriculum is not developed well enough. Learning is most successful in reading, where each stage of the curriculum is carefully mapped out. Staff across the school are trained well and develop pupils’ love of reading. There is a wide range of good-quality books and staff read books to pupils with good expression and enthusiasm. Children start learning phonics straight away and enjoy phonics sessions. There is a clear structure for learning and practising sounds. Staff are careful to ensure that all children are given books to read by themselves that match the phonics they know.

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better?

Leaders are redesigning curriculum planning in other subjects. They have a clear view of what they want all pupils to know and be able to do by the end of each year. Leaders have started to break subject content down into smaller steps. Progress in curriculum planning beyond reading has been hindered partly by interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and partly because the headteachers have been carrying out the bulk of this work themselves, alongside their other responsibilities.

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better?

Small class sizes enable staff to be flexible in the use of assessments. Pupils of differing needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, develop knowledge and skills during their time at the school . However, when staff are not clear about the precise subject content pupils should know, learning is sometimes insufficiently ambitious. At other times, it is not organised in a logical sequence to help pupils to remember what they have learned.

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better?

Pupils have good attitudes to learning and behave sensibly so that learning is not interrupted. They attend regularly and arrive punctually. Pupils move around the 28 to 30 September 2021 school calmly and show respect for others. Staff are caring and encouraging and provide opportunities for pupils to talk about their emotions and feelings. Staff ensure that issues about relationships are dealt with sensitively. For example, in the Nursery, the three-year-olds learn about same-sex relationships through age- appropriate stories.

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better?

The school provides pupils with opportunities to understand about responsibility. For example, children’s writing in the Reception class showed they have thought hard about looking after the environment. Their suggestions included ‘not putting rubbish in the pond’ and ‘growing more trees’. Pupils are taught about different faiths and cultures. They benefit from visits and various visitors to broaden their knowledge and skills. They are encouraged to treat all people equally.

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better?

Leaders, including the proprietors, provide staff with a reasonable workload. They ensure that there are plenty of good-quality resources to support pupils’ learning. The proprietors comply with all legal requirements including the independent school standards, the early years curriculum and schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. Leaders have a clear vision for the future of the school. They are developing systems for holding themselves to account for their actions, but these are not rigorous in securing swift developments.

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better?

Leaders work closely with parents. Many parents mentioned that communication between the school and home is a particular strength. They value these links and said that leaders keep them informed and support them in helping their children’s learning at home.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All required policies are in place and put into practice across the school, including in the early years. Staff are trained in keeping pupils safe and know what the school expects them to do should any concerns arise. They are kept up to date with current safeguarding requirements and recent changes to any legislation. They bring safety matters to pupils’ attention as and when they arise during the working day. Leaders carry out frequent risk assessments and ensure that the premises are kept safe. Leaders and staff organise specific events and assemblies to help pupils understand potential risks to their safety and how to keep themselves safe, such as when using equipment including information and communication technology.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Leaders, including the proprietors, have not acted quickly to ensure that the school’s overall curriculum is well organised. They have not thought through what pupils need to learn and in what order in all subjects in sufficient detail. The curriculum does not help pupils to build their knowledge and skills, remember 28 to 30 September 2021 what they have been taught or understand the purpose of what they have learned. Leaders need to carry out their intended improvements to curriculum planning to ensure that there is a coherently sequenced and structured curriculum in all subjects, including in the early years.  The proprietors have not put strategic systems in place to check the quality of all aspects of the school’s work. This means that some priorities for improvement are not addressed quickly. The proprietors need to improve systems for challenging leaders and holding them to account for their actions to secure swift

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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 provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 28 to 30 September 2021

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £10,800 to £11,400

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 June 2009 28 to 30 September 2021

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Information about this school

 The two headteachers joined the school in April 2018.  There is a breakfast and after-school club managed by the proprietor body, run by staff for children attending the school.  The school uses no alternative provision.  The school was previously inspected by Ofsted in July 2009.  The school has provision for two-year-olds.  There is an additional class for children aged up to two years. Provision for these children is the subject of a separate inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held meetings with the headteachers, the proprietors and other staff.  The inspection focused deeply on reading, mathematics, physical education and geography. When looking at these subjects, inspectors spoke with leaders, teachers and pupils. They heard pupils read. Inspectors visited lessons, looked at curriculum planning and at examples of pupils’ work.  When looking at safeguarding, inspectors considered the school’s documentation, the school’s website and the premises. They spoke with the proprietors, leaders, pupils, parents, teachers and other staff.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey for parents and responses to the online survey for members of staff.

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Information about this inspection

Alison Cartlidge, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Information about this inspection

Sue Cox Ofsted Inspector 28 to 30 September 2021 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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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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