Enfield Heights Academy

Inspection of Enfield Heights Academy Pitfield Way, Enfield Highway, Enfield, Middlesex EN3 5BY

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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 Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Justyna Powrie. This school is part of the North Star Community Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Marino Charalambous, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Donald Graham.

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Overall effectiveness Good

Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since April 2016. The school received an ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Act on 16 and 17 November 2021. 6 and 7 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do well at this school. They are happy and typically feel part of a school family. The school is calm and purposeful. Pupils are safe and feel valued. The school’s agreed values of respect, kindness, resilience and bravery underpin the work of the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well behaved. They are polite, friendly and respectful towards others. Incidents of bullying are rare. Pupils are confident of adult help with any problems that they may face. They know that their views are important to staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have high aspirations for all pupils. Pupils are given a range of opportunities to broaden their experiences. This includes building pupils’ confidence and independence. The strong team spirit which exists within the school supports this well. Pupils make gains in their achievements and receive much support for their well-being.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A sense of pride permeates the school’s community, including parents and carers, who are full of praise for this school.

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better?

The school, supported by the trust, has carefully designed a sequenced curriculum to meet all pupils’ needs. It sets out the knowledge and skills that they will teach pupils at each stage, including in the early years. Thorough consideration is given to support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to access the curriculum successfully. Staff reap the benefits of being in the trust, including the valuable training that they receive. They are overwhelmingly positive about the support they receive for their well-being and workload. Parental engagement is strong. The school organises workshops which cover issues such as e-safety and on how to support their children’s learning at home.

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better?

From the time pupils start school, they learn to use phonics to help them to read and write. Teachers are suitably trained in methods that support pupils to catch up quickly should they fall behind in their reading. Teachers choose appropriate books for individuals which match their phonics knowledge. Reading spaces are colourful, calm and inviting, so pupils enjoy their reading. Pupils read books that reflect the local community and worldwide issues and captivate their interests. Pupils particularly enjoy listening to their teachers reading to them. As a result, pupils become confident and fluent readers.

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better?

Pupils develop secure knowledge and skills across the curriculum. This is because teachers have strong subject-specific knowledge and teaching expertise. In some subjects, such as mathematics, pupils talk excitedly about what they have learned and are learning. This shows that they have committed their knowledge to their long-term memories. Regular opportunities for pupils to revise what they have learned previously in mathematics help pupils to recall key learning. In early years, 6 and 7 December 2023

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adults engage children in positive and effective speaking and listening interactions. These support children’s communication skills development well. Also, the children, along with staff, enjoy reciting poems, for example.

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Curriculum thinking is typically strong. Where changes to the curriculum in a few subjects are at the early stages of implementation, pupils’ recall of key knowledge taught previously in these subjects is not as secure as in other subjects. Children’s achievement in the early years is strong overall. Occasionally, aspects of their understanding are less secure. This means that they are not equally well prepared for entry in Year 1 across all areas of learning as they could be.

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The school uses effective initiatives and clear strategies to encourage pupils to attend school regularly. Pupils enjoy being at school and attendance rates have risen and reflect this. Pupils’ attitudes towards their learning are positive. They try hard and low-level disruption is a rarity. Children in the early years maintain high levels of concentration. They learn to share and collaborate well with each other.

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There is a strong emphasis on promoting pupils’ character, individuality and their personal development. Pupils are taught how to lead healthy lifestyles. The many clubs on offer, such as debating, drama and journalism, help pupils to nurture and showcase their talents. Pupils, including those in the early years, appreciate the praise they receive; it boosts their self-esteem.

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The school’s work to promote fundamental British values is woven into all areas of school life. Pupils are encouraged to be good citizens. They take up opportunities to make contributions to the school, such as being school councillors and playground leaders. Pupils’ charitable activities support worldwide causes. This encourages their strong moral sense of duty towards others in the school and the local and wider community. The curriculum enables all pupils to explore different cultures and faiths. Pupils enjoy themed cultural lunches and visits to places of worship.

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Trustees and members of the academy advisory committee make effective use of their experience and skills. They challenge, support and check all aspects of the school’s work. Governance structures are effective. Leaders from the trust and school ensure that pupils and staff achieve ambitious goals. Pupils’ strong academic outcomes and their positive behaviours reflect this.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 6 and 7 December 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In the few subjects that have recently been refined, there has not been enough emphasis on ensuring that pupils revise their prior subject knowledge. This limits pupils from deepening their knowledge as they lack the essential foundational information and skills they need to draw upon. The school should ensure that teachers routinely enable pupils to remember key knowledge long term.  Occasionally in the early years, children do not build on what they know and can do equally well across all areas of learning. This means children are not as fully prepared as they could be for future learning. The school should improve the early years provision further so that all children deepen their knowledge equally across all areas of learning to prepare them for future learning in Year 1.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 6 and 7 December 2023

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School details

Website www.enfieldheightsacademy.org.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 November 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up her post in September 2022.  The school is one of three primary schools and one secondary school in the North Star Community Trust.  The school organises and manages a before- and after-school club.  The school does not make use of any 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders. The lead inspector met with representatives of the local authority. She also met with the chief executive 6 and 7 December 2023

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officer, other members of the board of trustees, including the chair of the trust, and separately with members of the academy advisory committee, including the chair.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to children read. Inspectors also considered other areas of the curriculum.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school. They also

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met with groups of pupils and spoke with them formally and informally during break and lunchtimes.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentation, including that relating to behaviour, attendance and personal development. Inspectors also examined the school’s self-evaluation document and the school improvement plan.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. Inspectors also spoke with parents at the end of the school day. They also took account of the responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss their experiences at the school.

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Inspection team

Rosemarie Kennedy, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Helena Mills Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 December 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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