Tufnell Park Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Tufnell Park Primary School 31 Carleton Road, London N7 0HJ

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Outcome

Tufnell Park Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. They think teachers explain things clearly in lessons and provide help when it is needed. They love their new school building. Parents and carers are particularly positive about the strong sense of community leaders and governors have created.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and governors have high expectations for what they want pupils to achieve. The curriculum has been thought through skilfully. It is well suited to the community the school serves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Opportunities for pupils to enrich and acquire interests beyond their academic curriculum abound here and are really enjoyed by pupils. There is a wide range of clubs on many themes, including gardening and juggling. Leaders keep their ‘Tufnell Park promise’, which outlines the range of enrichment activities all pupils are entitled to.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do not feel at risk from bullying. Staff oversight of the risks posed by discriminatory behaviour has led to pupils feeling confident that staff will tackle any incidents of this head on.

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

Leaders and governors have invested in developing subject leadership. Some subject leaders have transferable skills, which means they have a rapid impact on improving the curriculum as soon as they take over leadership of a different subject. Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses in the quality of education.

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

The curriculum is well designed overall. Pupils receive a good education across the whole range of subjects. Staff use assessment well to identify and tackle gaps and misconceptions in pupils’ learning. Children in the early years get off to a good start. Staff know what they want to find out about children’s starting points and have a well- 5 and 6 October 2022

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organised way of doing so. They provide a stimulating and purposeful range of activities for children to learn and develop their skills.

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In a few subjects, however, leaders have not considered carefully what pupils should be learning and when. Some guidance provided to teachers is vague about the specific skills pupils need to build on and apply as they progress through the curriculum. When this is the case pupils are asked to attempt work before they and their teachers are clear enough about what they are aiming to achieve.

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Leaders have high expectations of what pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can achieve. However, in subjects where curriculum thinking is less successful staff find it harder to adapt lessons to ensure that any barriers posed by these pupils’ needs are overcome.

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Reading is given a high priority as soon as pupils start school. Teachers ensure books match pupils’ abilities. They teach letters and sounds accurately and are effective in quickly picking up on pupils’ mistakes. Leaders know precisely which pupils have fallen behind and make sure staff are equipped to help them catch up with learning to read. In the early years, children are offered opportunities to learn about rhyme and repetition through careful choice of class books.

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The mathematics curriculum is well established and understood by staff. Children in the early years enjoy using all kinds of equipment and activities to learn about numbers. Older pupils can explain and use the calculation and problem-solving techniques they have learned over time.

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Leaders and governors are very mindful of the need to consider staff well-being and their workload. Staff say it helps that leaders communicate their expectations very clearly. Staff new to the school appreciate the attention senior leaders give them when settling into their roles.

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Pupils’ behaviour in lessons supports learning well. Pupils are interested and engaged, so disruption is rare. Staff can refocus pupils when necessary with a few encouraging words.

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Pupils feel strongly involved in the life of the school and the wider community. The school council has recently taken the lead in broadening the menu of school meals to include halal food, for example. Pupils’ cultural development is enriched well by lots of visits to museums and events, which leaders have chosen with care.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Strong levels of trust and good communication with parents support effective identification of any safeguarding risks. 5 and 6 October 2022

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Leaders work with external professionals to provide the help pupils need when a concern is identified. They involve pupils and use their views when deciding how to teach them about staying safe from sexual abuse, including when this occurs online.

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Leaders make sure that training enables staff to identify signs of concern about pupils’ well-being. Leaders scrutinise their records of concerns to determine how they can get even better at keeping children safe.

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Staff, including those new to the school, feel confident and well informed about how to report and record concerns. Pupils say they are encouraged by staff to follow their instinct and ask for help if something does not feel right.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are inconsistencies in how well leaders set out what is to be learned and in what order across the range of subjects taught. Where this is weaker, teachers find it hard to set lessons which build on prior learning and provide opportunities for pupils to learn the skills they will need in future learning. Leaders should review the content and structure of the curriculum to ensure it sets out clearly exactly what should be taught and when in every subject.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2013.

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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. 5 and 6 October 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. 5 and 6 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10240583 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Kate Grange and Dimitrios Tourountsis (co-chairs) Headteacher Martin Scarborough

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School details

Website www.tufnellpark.islington.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 June 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Tufnell Park Primary School is larger than the average primary school.  The school does not make use of alternative providers.

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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 of the school.  The inspector met with senior leaders, subject leaders and other staff. He held meetings with members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. During each deep dive the inspector discussed the curriculum content with subject leaders, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work, spoke to pupils and met with teachers. He also observed pupils reading to an adult in the school. 5 and 6 October 2022

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 The inspector spoke to pupils about their experiences of school. He visited pupils as they were eating lunch.  The inspector looked at a wide range of documents about school improvement, the curriculum and safeguarding. He took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and the staff survey. The inspector held a telephone conversation with a parent who asked to speak to him.

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Inspection team

Andrew Wright, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 5 and 6 October 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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