Hermitage Primary School

Inspection of Hermitage Primary School Vaughan Way, London E1W 2PT

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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 Previous inspection grade Good 10 and 11 May 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this happy and welcoming school. Pupils behave well here. The school environment is calm and orderly. This is because routines are established, and expectations are clear.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kind and considerate towards others, including those in the early years. For example, older pupils take on the role of ‘play leaders’ and support younger children during breaktimes. Pupils are respectful towards others. This includes those of other faiths and those in different kinds of families. Pupils know who to talk to if they are worried. They know they will be listened to. As a result, they feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and governors are ambitious for pupils to succeed. However, the quality of education, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), is not as effective as it could be.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the early years, children do not develop a wide vocabulary because adults do not model language as effectively as they could across curriculum areas.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide a range of additional activities, including piano lessons, cooking, calligraphy and drama clubs. Pupils are given the opportunity to perform at the Royal Albert Hall and the O2 Arena. These creative activities support pupils to develop their talents and pursue their interests.

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better?

Leaders want every pupil to read fluently and develop a love of reading. Pupils are taught to read from the start of Reception. Books are closely matched to the sounds that pupils know. This means that pupils develop confidence and positive attitudes to reading. Those pupils who find reading difficult receive additional support to catch up. Staff have been trained to implement the agreed phonics programme. However, staff do not consistently model and reinforce the programme’s agreed reading strategies. As a result, pupils do not routinely practise and embed these techniques sufficiently. This limits some pupils’ fluency and accuracy.

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better?

The curriculum meets the requirements of what is expected nationally. In some subjects, leaders have identified what they want pupils to learn, and this is broken down into logical steps from Year 1 to Year 6. This helps pupils to embed important knowledge before applying what they have learned to more complex concepts. For example, in science, pupils in Year 2 can explain the importance of foods from different food groups because they have previously been taught what humans need to survive.

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better?

However, in some subjects, the knowledge pupils need to learn and remember is not clear. This means teachers do not focus sufficiently on ensuring pupils secure important ideas. As a result, pupils do not develop a deep body of knowledge in 10 and 11 May 2023

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these subjects and are not as well prepared as they need to be for the next stage of their education. This includes in the early years, where there are limited opportunities for children to hear and practise new vocabulary because adults do not routinely model language effectively or extend children’s vocabulary or sentence structure.

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Teachers have access to curriculum training. This means that, in some subjects, where the curriculum is well designed, teachers have the subject knowledge to deliver curriculum content clearly and to address pupils’ misconceptions.

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Pupils with SEND are accurately identified. Leaders seek appropriate support and advice from external professionals, such as therapists and educational psychologists. However, leaders and teachers do not use this guidance to make appropriate adaptations to the curriculum. This limits how well some pupils are supported to learn and remember important ideas.

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Pupils collaborate well with each other. They share resources and listen carefully to what their classmates have to say. This includes children in the early years. Leaders have in place effective systems to manage behaviour. Therefore, learning is not interrupted.

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Personal, social, health and economic education is well structured. Leaders aim for pupils to become responsible and respectful citizens. Pupils are taught about democracy and are given opportunities to consider the views of others. For example, pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 formed two political parties. They recorded party political broadcasts, wrote manifestos, canvassed for voters, and ran an election.

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Pupils also learn how to identify risks, both on and offline, and how to recognise healthy and unhealthy relationships. Pupils are taught about consent in an age- appropriate manner. For example, in Reception, children are taught about personal space. In Year 1, pupils are taught to recognise privacy and the importance of seeking permission. In Year 2, pupils are taught about managing secrets and resisting pressure.

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Governors and leaders understand what the school does well and what it needs to do to be even better. Governors fulfil their statutory duties. Staff have mixed views about the support they are given by leaders to manage their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that safeguarding is a key priority. Staff are well trained. Leaders provide regular and relevant training. This helps staff to identify and report any concerns they have swiftly. Leaders respond quickly, working closely with outside agencies to secure the necessary support for pupils and families. 10 and 11 May 2023

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Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to learn about possible risks. Pupils are encouraged to keep safe, including online. They know they should report concerns to an adult and know not to share personal information with strangers.

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Governors understand their statutory duties. For example, they carry out robust pre- employment checks on staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, leaders have not set out what they expect pupils to learn. This means that teachers do not focus sufficiently on important concepts, and pupils do not build a deep body of knowledge in these subjects. Leaders need to ensure that the key vocabulary, knowledge, skills and understanding are identified across the curriculum to enable pupils to know and remember more over time.  Adults do not consistently use the agreed phonic strategies when supporting pupils to read. This limits some pupils’ accuracy. Leaders need to ensure that staff use the agreed reading strategies so that pupils develop as fluent and confident readers.  In the early years, insufficient opportunities are provided to develop children’s language. This means that children do not develop the vocabulary or spoken language they need for the next stage of their education. Leaders should ensure that the language children need is identified and that staff model this language

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

accurately and effectively.  Adaptations to tasks and activities are not effective in helping some pupils with SEND to access the curriculum as well as they could. Leaders should check that teachers are using the information provided by external services to make appropriate adaptations so that pupils with SEND develop the knowledge and skills needed to access the curriculum with increasing independence over time.

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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. 10 and 11 May 2023

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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. 10 and 11 May 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10287182 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 Richard John Tyndall

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School details

Website www.hermitage.towerhamlets.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1 May 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.  The school operates a breakfast and after-school club.

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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.  Inspectors held meetings with members of the senior leadership team to discuss school development, behaviour logs and attendance.  Inspectors met with members of the governing body. They also met with a representative from the local authority. 10 and 11 May 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, computing and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils and looked at samples of their work.  Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  The views of parents/carers and staff were also considered, including through Ofsted’s surveys.  Inspectors reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising records and through discussions with pupils and staff.  Inspectors reviewed a wide variety of documentation provided by the school. This included leaders’ self-evaluation, curriculum information and school policies.

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Inspection team

Deborah Walters, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Helena Mills Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 May 2023

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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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