West Acton Primary School

Inspection of West Acton Primary School Noel Road, Acton, London W3 0JL

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 February 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 22 and 23 February 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy coming to school and are polite and welcoming. They help those who are new to the school to settle in quickly. Pupils are safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders place great importance on pupils’ physical and mental health and emotional well-being. Leaders expect pupils to be kind and considerate towards each other. Pupils are encouraged to speak out if there is anything that makes them feel unhappy or uncomfortable, or if they are worried about a friend. Pupils make use of the school’s ‘SafeTTSpot’ locations and class ‘calm boxes’ to alert staff if they have any concerns. Teachers are quick to put things right if there is ever any poor behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities. They elect school councillors, who then select charities to support through fundraising. Pupil ‘champions’ promote environmental awareness and the importance of being physically active and of eating healthily.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy educational excursions. A recent outing helped pupils in Year 1 to learn about capital cities and landmarks. Pupils in Year 5 visited a mosque as part of their learning in history and religious education. Pupils in Year 6 look forward to a residential trip planned for later in the year.

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better?

Senior leaders have swiftly addressed the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. They have strengthened subject leadership and launched a new and effective behaviour policy.

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better?

Senior and subject leaders have thought carefully about the key content they expect pupils to learn and the sequence in which this should be taught. They ensure that their curriculum design reflects the breadth and depth of the national curriculum. Leaders ensure that pupils recognise the relevance of curriculum subjects to their lives and the local community. This helps pupils to be motivated and attentive and to learn well.

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better?

Teachers follow leaders’ curriculum thinking carefully and teach subject content in the order leaders have decided. Teachers encourage pupils to learn and use key technical vocabulary. Teaching enables pupils to make links between the knowledge and skills that pupils learn across subjects.

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better?

Leaders have clear systems for checking for gaps in pupils’ learning. Teachers spot pupils who need extra help and support them to catch up. From the early years onwards, staff are quick to identify any pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Support for pupils with SEND is very carefully tailored to their needs, including for pupils who attend the additional resource provision. Staff 22 and 23 February 2023

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skilfully adapt their teaching and resources and ensure that all pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers.

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Leaders have developed a range of strategies to help pupils recall key facts from their prior learning before moving on to new learning. In a few subjects, teachers’ use of these strategies is not an established routine, and pupils’ recall of prior learning is not as strong as in other subjects.

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All teachers and teaching assistants have been trained in the teaching of early reading. Leaders ensure there are consistent and well-established routines so that pupils develop their use of phonics and reading fluency. Staff provide strong support for targeted pupils to meet their individual needs, including pupils who speak English as an additional language and those who join the school with little prior knowledge of phonics. Leaders organise a range of activities to encourage pupils’ interest in reading. Pupils have access to high-quality books in the classroom collections and school library.

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Personal, social, health and economics education, assemblies, special events and taking on responsibilities all help pupils to be well prepared for their next stages of learning and life beyond school. Pupils are taught about and discuss current issues, including issues in relation to the environment. They hear from visitors about different career choices. Through relationships and health education, pupils are taught about different types of families and the importance of protected characteristics. Pupils in all phases are introduced in an age-appropriate way to concepts such as consent and how to recognise safe and unsafe situations.

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Leaders, including the governing body, regularly consult with staff, parents and pupils about all aspects of life in the school, including curriculum development. Leaders work closely with families when pupils are persistently absent from school to help improve their attendance.

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Staff are well supported by leaders in managing their workload and work-life balance. Leaders, including the governing body, take purposeful steps to support staff well-being.

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The governing body plays an active role in the school. It checks regularly on the effectiveness and quality of the school’s provision.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are thoroughly committed to promoting a culture of safeguarding across the school. They ensure that staff are suitably trained and up to date with the latest requirements and are alert to any sign that a child might be at risk. Leaders give staff regular safeguarding reminders and check on the impact of safeguarding training. Staff know and follow correct referral processes. Leaders maintain oversight 22 and 23 February 2023

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of the quality and accuracy of reporting and respond swiftly when any concerns are raised.

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Leaders maintain purposeful communication with outside agencies to source the right support for pupils and their families.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, routines to help pupils recall prior learning are not as well established as in most other subjects. This means that pupils do not remember key facts from their prior learning as well in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that strategies to support pupils’ recall of key facts are fully established in all subjects.

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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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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. 22 and 23 February 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10255303 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 William Rollason

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 and 29 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there have been several changes to the senior leadership team. A new deputy headteacher was appointed in September 2022.  The chair of governors took up this role in September 2020.  The school has an additional resourced provision on site. This caters for up to 21 pupils with autism spectrum disorder from Reception to Year 6.  The school uses alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 22 and 23 February 2023

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 Inspectors met with school leaders, the chair of the governing body and three other members of the governing body. A telephone call was held with a representative of the local authority and with the headteacher of the alternative provision used by the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, art and design, history, religious education and science. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered some other subjects through a range of inspection activities.  To inspect safeguarding, a meeting was held with the leader with responsibility for safeguarding, the inspectors looked at records of leaders’ communications with outside agencies, and they considered relevant aspects of the curriculum.  Inspectors looked at the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys completed by

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parents, staff and pupils. Inspectors also looked at responses to surveys carried out by the school. Inspectors spoke to parents at the school gate and considered correspondence received by Ofsted from parents.

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Inspection team

Amanda Carter-Fraser, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rutinderjit Mahil-Pooni Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rosemarie Kennedy Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 February 2023

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