Earlham Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Earlham Primary School Earlham Grove, Wood Green, London, Middlesex N22 5HJ

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Outcome

Earlham Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the moment children join the school in the early years, caring staff set clear routines. Staff make their high expectations for behaviour plain. This gives pupils a strong sense of security and belonging and they behave well. They are kind and befriend new arrivals, making them feel welcome. Pupils are happy and safe. Parents and carers said that their children love coming to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders also have high expectations for pupils’ academic achievement. This is reflected in their ongoing work to improve the curriculum and strengthen how well pupils learn in all subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils share positive working relationships. There is a strong ethos of open dialogue and communication. This gives pupils the confidence to tell adults about any worries they have. Should bullying occur, leaders deal with it straight away and effectively. They speak with all parties concerned. Staff help pupils to reflect on their actions and support them in repairing their relationships.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy working with pupils in some of the local secondary schools. These include carrying out scientific experiments and performing music together. They can also choose to collaborate in a joint gardening club. Leaders encourage pupils to support wider society. For example, pupils organise charitable fund-raising events. Recently, a group of pupils relished working with police officers in clocking speeding motorists.

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

Leaders place the teaching of reading at the top of their agenda. They know that the ability to read opens pupils’ access to the entire curriculum. Staff are well trained in the teaching of phonics, which begins in Nursery. Pupils practise their reading with books that are well matched to the sounds they learn. Staff assess pupils’ progression in reading often. They give daily extra support to those who fall behind. This helps those pupils to 29 and 30 June 2022

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catch up. Adults read to pupils every day and staff choose books that cover a range of genres. Around the school, reading corners are well resourced and inviting. The libraries stock a range of quality texts. Pupils borrow books regularly and read at home. Pupils learn to read with confidence and fluency. They love reading for pleasure and for expanding their knowledge across a range of disciplines.

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Over the past few years, leaders have given much attention to refining the curriculum. Staff have expanded their subject knowledge, and teachers have the expertise to impart new knowledge clearly and coherently. Leaders have thought about what pupils need to know and when. Subject leaders and early years staff liaise closely. They ensure that children gain the knowledge and vocabulary to prepare them well for entry to Year 1. For example, children in Reception experiment with different materials. Children tried to build a tower with tissues but were unsuccessful. They understood it cannot work as tissues are not sturdy enough. Trying again, they found that using cardboard does work, as it is stronger. This scientific knowledge prepares children well for deeper learning about materials in Year 1.

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Staff help pupils revise and remember long-term, key subject-specific knowledge. Pupils make connections and apply their knowledge across different subjects. Staff check pupils’ understanding. They identify gaps in their knowledge and any misconceptions, which they then address effectively. As a result, pupils achieve well across a range of subjects. However, owing to pandemic-related staffing difficulties, computing is not currently being taught. This means that pupils are not developing and deepening their knowledge effectively. Leaders have taken some initial steps to rectify this situation.

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There are strong systems in place to identify and assess the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Working with parents, and therapists if needed, leaders create personalised support plans for pupils with SEND. Leaders ensure that staff are well trained in a range of strategies to meet pupils’ needs. They review the plans and support strategies regularly to check their effectiveness, making adaptations as required. In these ways, pupils with SEND are enabled to access the full curriculum. They also take part in all enrichment and extra-curricular activities.

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Children in the early years are attentive and engaged. They are supported to concentrate and persevere. Across the school, there is a calm purposeful atmosphere in classrooms. Pupils are keen to learn. Disruption is rare. These positive attitudes support pupils to gain knowledge and deepen their understanding.

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Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment activities. These include visits to museums, geography field trips and a residential activity centre. Working with an external provider, children in the early years and their parents composed and performed songs. The lyrics reflected the unique attributes of each child. Staff encourage pupils to respect all people, including those with different characteristics. They teach them about fundamental British values. They also explain to pupils how to form healthy relationships and how to stay safe. 29 and 30 June 2022

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Leaders support staff well-being and are considerate of their needs. Staff said they appreciate the consultation and resulting changes to the school’s marking policy, which has reduced their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Well-trained vigilant staff know pupils and their families well. They are alert to any physical or emotional changes that pupils may display. They report their concerns to leaders who quickly arrange help to support pupils’ safety and welfare. Leaders follow up persistently with external agencies to ensure that pupils get timely and suitable support.

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Safeguarding

Through the curriculum, pupils learn about risk and how to stay safe, such as when using the internet. Staff also arrange workshops for parents so they too can understand potential risks their children may face.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have suitable arrangements in place for vetting candidates’ suitability to work with pupils.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Owing to pandemic-related difficulties, leaders have not established and implemented a curriculum in computing. This means that pupils are not gaining the full knowledge and understanding of the national curriculum. Drawing on their successes in improving the curriculum in other subjects, leaders should ensure that they design and implement an ambitious computing curriculum across the year groups.

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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 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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 26 and 27 April 2017. 29 and 30 June 2022

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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. 29 and 30 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241844 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 26 – 27 April 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been several changes in staff since the time of the previous inspection. The headteacher took up her post in September 2018. The chair of the governing body was appointed in September 2020. There have also been various other changes in leadership and staffing.  The school moved to its new purpose-built site during autumn 2020.  Owing to several factors, the number of pupils on roll has declined since the previous inspection.  Leaders do not make use of any 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 his evaluation. 29 and 30 June 2022

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 The inspector met with the headteacher, senior leaders, and other leaders. He met with the chair and vice-chair of the governing body and had a telephone conversation with a local authority representative.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, science and history. For each deep dive, he 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. He also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  The inspector checked the school’s policies and records and spoke with the designated safeguarding lead, senior leaders, governors, pupils, staff and parents to check on the school’s culture of safeguarding.  The inspector had formal meetings with staff and with pupils. He spoke with some parents at the school gate. He took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey,

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Parent View, which included some written comments. He also considered the responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector Her Majesty’s 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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