Wolfson Hillel Primary School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Wolfson Hillel Primary School 154 Chase Road, Southgate, London N14 4LG

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Outcome

Wolfson Hillel Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this warm and friendly school. Pupils, from Nursery to Year 6 are safe, settled, confident and happy. Pupils are extremely proud of their school and take every opportunity to talk about all they enjoy. Parents are also overwhelmingly positive. One summed up the views of many by saying, ‘It’s a fabulous school, with a strong sense of community.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious. They constantly review their work to ensure that the very best education is provided for the pupils they serve. Pupils receive an exceptional education. They achieve highly, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Pupils are polite and respectful of adults and each other. They learn how to be a good friend and strive to do this. One pupil told me it’s about, ‘behaving politely, helping if they are upset and being a buddy.’ Bullying is not tolerated. On the rare occasions that bullying happens, adults deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being active and responsible citizens. Pupils were keen to talk about the money the Tzedakah Squad raised for charity. Others described the intensive training they received to become peer mentors. Applying for roles on the school council, or indeed to be head girl and boy, enables pupils to understand democracy and practise applying for positions of responsibility.

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

Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. It is contextualised to meet the needs of pupils and the community the school serves. Leaders have identified the essential knowledge that pupils need to know and remember. This starts in Nursery and develops to ensure that pupils are well prepared for secondary school. 29 and 30 June 2022

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Curriculum subjects are coherently planned and sequenced. Learning builds on what has been taught before. For example, in art, pupils can explain how one lesson fits into the series of lessons to create a finished piece. Opportunities for repetition and retrieval are skilfully woven through units of work. For example, in history pupils compare their earlier learning about stone age homes with Roman villas.

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Leaders have ensured that subjects leaders are experts. They in turn have ensured that teachers have strong subject knowledge. For example, in mathematics, teachers know what pupils might struggle with and address this quickly. In art, teachers break down techniques, so pupils build skills step by step.

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Teachers use every opportunity to widen pupils’ vocabulary. As a result, pupils use sophisticated language for their age. A pupil in Year 5 said, ‘I’m going to paint it red because red is vibrant’.

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Adult interactions with children in the early years are skilful. Teachers use assessment well to check understanding and address misconceptions. They are selective in their questioning to draw out pupil knowledge and check understanding.

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Teachers ensure that pupils with SEND are either able to learn the same as their peers or have a well-matched, bespoke curriculum. Leaders make effective use of external expertise to ensure that pupils receive the support they need.

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Leaders ensure that all pupils read with fluency and comprehension. They have built on the already strong reading culture from pupils’ homes by providing a diverse range of engaging texts. Pupils read widely and often. They talk with enthusiasm about books they are currently reading. Books are well-matched so pupils read with fluency and expression.

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Leaders have recently changed to a more structured approach to teaching phonics. Teachers are experts in this approach and pupils achieve highly. For example, in the Reception Year children can identify and explain trigraphs. Any pupils who do begin to fall behind are supported to catch up.

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Pupils value the extensive enrichment opportunities which run every day after school. All pupils can play a range of sports, as well as joining other popular clubs such as orchestra. Pupils in the playground were very keen to tell me about their school values. They told me they learn about them in assembly and PSHE lessons. They could name and explain some they had already learnt, such as global awareness and responsibility. Pupils’ excellent behaviour means that learning in classrooms can take place without interruption.

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Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They feel part of a community and value the school’s inclusivity. One staff member said, ‘everyone is super friendly here.’ Staff say leaders are mindful of workload. They appreciate the many opportunities to develop professionally. 29 and 30 June 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn about healthy relationships, including consent, and how to keep safe when using the internet. Parents believe their children to be safe and happy at school.

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Safeguarding

Leaders constantly seek ways to improve safeguarding practice. For example, they recently commissioned an external review. Staff receive regular training and feel confident in identifying concerns. A new reporting and record keeping system helps leaders to evaluate and track even the smallest concerns.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work as a team and meet regularly to support pupils’ well-being. Leaders have built strong links with external agencies, such as social workers, to ensure that pupils get the help they need.

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Background

When we have judged 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 as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in March 2017.

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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 . 29 and 30 June 2022

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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. 29 and 30 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10229080 Type of school Primary

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School details

Chair of governing body Michael Goldstein

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School details

Website www.wolfsonhillel.enfield.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 07 March 2017

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Information about this school

 Wolfson Hillel Primary school is part of the Jewish Community Academy Trust, a multi- academy trust.  The last statutory inspection under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 took place in February 2013.  The school has a nursery.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation.  This is also the first inspection the school has received since it converted to an academy in March 2019. 29 and 30 June 2022

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 The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers and other leaders. She met with a trustee as well as four other members of the local governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, she met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also looked at curriculum plans, samples of work and spoke to children in other subjects.  The inspector checked the school’s policies and records and spoke with the designated safeguarding lead, senior leaders, governors, pupils, staff, parents, and carers to check on the school’s culture of safeguarding.  The inspector had formal meetings with staff and with pupils. She spoke with parents in the playground. She took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent

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View, including written comments. The inspector also considered the responses to the staff survey and responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Helen Morrison, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 June 2022

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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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