Stanborough Primary School

Inspection of Stanborough Primary School Appletree Walk, Watford, Hertfordshire WD25 0DQ

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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 Inadequate

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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?

Pupils are happy and well behaved. From the start of early years, they develop trusting relationships with each other and staff. Pupils benefit from the fact that they are well known by staff. Pupils grow in confidence the longer they are at school. They are increasingly well prepared for life at secondary school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils strive for excellence. Their good behaviour is shaped by the school’s values. On the odd occasion that pupils forget the rules, adults remind them and pupils quickly return to their work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like what they study. They learn from a broad curriculum. Topics, such as climate change, enthuse them. However, the quality of education they receive could be better, including in the early years, and is not consistently good. More academic rigour is needed in a small number of subjects especially for younger pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Incidents of bullying are few and far between and rarely reoccur. Pupils work through any friendship differences with the help of their teachers. Pupils feel and are safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are cared for well. Through leaders’ effective use of ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’, Saffy the school dog, and the calm of the wellbeing room, pupils gain a sense of security.

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better?

Leaders, with the support of the board of governors, continue to build on the improvements noted at the time of the last progress monitoring visit. They remain true to their commitment to provide pupils with an ambitious, creative curriculum. While independent school standards are met, the quality with which parts of the curriculum are designed and delivered is uneven in one or two classes. This includes in the early years.

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better?

Pupils learn to read fluently. They like to read too. Leaders have changed the programme for how phonics is taught. Most staff have got to grips with this approach. Children in the Nursery class learn to read very well. However, in some year groups there is not a good enough balance between developing younger pupils’ love of reading and teaching them to be accurate and fluent readers. In key stage 2, teachers ensure pupils are equipped with the knowledge they need to become fluent readers while sustaining a thirst for reading a wide range of texts.

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better?

Leaders recognise that the school’s approach to identifying if a pupil may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) could be improved. Some teachers are not trained well enough to spot the signs that indicate a pupil may have SEND. However, when a pupil’s needs are identified, leaders support teachers to adapt learning and make sure pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their classmates. 28 and 30 June 2022 Leaders provide teachers with suitable schemes of work which help them to teach most subjects well. Most teachers generally remain faithful to these schemes. They regularly check what pupils know and understand. They then use this information to adapt further teaching.

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better?

Leaders are carefully ensuring that curriculum improvements are engrained and sustained. Aspects of the curriculum are better established than at the time of the progress monitoring visit. However, some foundation subjects are not delivered to a consistently good standard over time. The same is true for leaders’ curriculum design through the early years. Children receive a firm grounding in personal, social and emotional development. However, the curriculum they experience in Reception does not prepare them consistently well enough for learning in key stage 1. The curriculum links between early years and Year 1 are not consistently secure.

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better?

The school values have real meaning for pupils and staff. Leaders use these values as the framework to develop pupils’ knowledge of their place in modern society. Pupils’ behaviour is respectful and often courteous. They develop a strength of character so that if, ‘something goes wrong we do not give up’. Pupils develop an impressive understanding of the diverse nature of life in Britain. They grow to be reflective, supportive members of the school community. Pupils make important contributions to school life through their roles on the school council and as digital or wellbeing leaders

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better?

Leaders have put in place rigorous and systematic approaches to lead and review many aspects of the school’s work. Some of this work is not informing leaders well enough about what they need to do to further improve the areas they are focusing upon. For example, leaders’ systems for spotting trends in pupils’ absence are underdeveloped. So, leaders are not as well-placed as they could be to reduce the number of pupils for whom attendance is too low over time.

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better?

Parents and staff share pupils’ positive views about the school and its staff. Parents are warm in their praise of the inclusive culture and sense of community that the headteacher and her staff have created. Staff are proud to work at Stanborough Primary School.

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better?

The proprietor body and governors have a good understanding of the independent schools standards. The proprietor and governing bodies seek and act upon advice from external agencies and other schools in holding leaders to account. The proprietor body, governors and the headteacher know what needs to be improved to provide pupils with a good quality of education.

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better?

The relevant policies are on the school’s website. They are made available to parents who ask for them. The proprietor body ensures that the school complies with the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 28 and 30 June 2022 Leaders provide staff with the knowledge needed to carry out their duties to keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

Staff know and follow school’s procedures to report safeguarding concerns. Leaders take appropriate action when they receive a concern about a pupil’s wellbeing or safety. Leaders keep detailed records of the actions that they take. The proprietor body and governors make appropriate checks to assure themselves that staff and leaders are keeping pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught strategies to help them to stay safe, including when online. Pupils know who to turn to in school if they have a concern.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The proprietor body and leaders have made sure that pupils study an ambitious, creative curriculum. There is an unevenness with which the curriculum is taught in one or two classes. Leaders need to make sure that all teachers have the training and knowledge to teach the curriculum, including in early reading and early years, to an equally high standard.  The proprietor body and leaders should accelerate their work to make the links between the curriculum in the early years and that in key stage 1 clearer so children are consistently well prepared for Year 1.  The proprietor body and leaders have put in place many effective systems to lead and assess the impact of their work. More needs to be done. Leaders should ensure that: there are commonly understood and effective systems to identify pupils with SEND; and also, to spot and respond to trends in pupils’ absence.

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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 and 30 June 2022

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School details

Unique reference number 135596 DfE registration number 919/6261

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School details

Inspection number 10230310 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

Proprietor British Union Conference of Seventh Day Adventists Chair Pastor Eglan Brooks

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School details

Email address info@stanboroughprimary.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 and 14 March 2019 28 and 30 June 2022

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Information about this school

 Stanborough Primary School is a smaller-than-average size primary school.  The proprietor body has established a board of governors that provides governance of the school.  Leaders do not make use of alternative provision.  The school was last inspected in May 2019 when the overall quality of education was judged as inadequate, and 26 of the independent school standards were unmet.

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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

 The standard inspection was carried out at the request of the Department for Education (DfE).  During the inspection, inspectors met with the headteacher and other school leaders, including the special educational needs co-ordinator. Inspectors also met with teachers and support staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the proprietor body, including the chair of the proprietor body and the education director.  The lead inspector also met with seven members of the board of governors, some of whom are also on the proprietor body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in art, early reading, geography and mathematics. Inspectors met with the curriculum leaders for these subjects, visited lessons, looked at a range of pupils’ work and spoke with teaching staff and pupils.  The lead inspector also explored the quality of education offered in a small number of other subjects. In doing so, the lead inspector analysed curriculum

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Information about this inspection

documentation, spoke with subject leaders and with pupils and looked at some pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke with pupils in lessons and around the school at breaktime. Inspectors also spoke with small groups of pupils to seek their views about the school.  Inspectors examined a range of school documents, including the school’s own self-evaluation and improvement plans, school policies, child protection and 28 and 30 June 2022 safeguarding information, curriculum documentation and attendance and admissions information.  Inspectors considered the views of parents in the 25 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire.  Inspectors took account of the pupils’ views expressed in 50 responses to the online Ofsted pupil questionnaire and staff views expressed in 12 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.

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Inspection team

John Lucas, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kim Hall Her Majesty’s Inspector 28 and 30 June 2022 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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