Sparrow Farm Primary School

Inspection of Sparrow Farm Primary School Sparrow Farm Primary School, Sparrow Farm Drive, Feltham, Middlesex TW14 0DG

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 January 2024

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 25 and 26 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of what pupils can achieve at Sparrow Farm School. The school is welcoming and inclusive. All pupils follow the ambitious curriculum, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils enjoy coming to school. They feel safe and know who to talk to if they have a concern.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They understand the school’s values and appreciate the support they get from staff if they struggle. Children in early years settle quickly into the school’s routines and learn well together. Pupils value the help the school provides for their mental and physical health. Pupils understand what bullying is. Staff take swift and effective action if it occurs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are positive about recent changes in the school that have increased the number of opportunities available. They appreciate the school’s expansion of the sports clubs and creative activities on offer. Pupils are motivated by the rewards given for good work and their contributions to school life. They enjoy taking up leadership responsibilities such as those of peer mediators and eco-warriors. All members of the Sparrow Farm community celebrate the diversity of the school. Pupils get the opportunity to visit many different places of worship. They understand why it is so important to respect different ways of life.

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better?

The school has designed a curriculum that is broad and ambitious right from the start. For example, in music, pupils get the opportunity to learn to play three instruments. Children in the early years grasp ideas securely and develop the foundational knowledge they need to start Year 1. They are also encouraged to take risks in a safe and interactive environment. This allows them to build confidence and resilience. Pupils build on their knowledge as they move through the school. For example, they revisit mathematical concepts and vocabulary, enabling them to tackle more difficult tasks in older year groups. The school focuses on widening pupils’ vocabulary. This results in improvements in their writing, especially in the older years. For example, in English, Year 6 pupils confidently talk about and use complex techniques such as ‘ellipsis’ and ‘metaphor’.

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better?

In most subjects, teachers have good subject knowledge. They explain ideas clearly. They design activities that help pupils to remember and practise what they have learned. In a few subjects, the curriculum is at an earlier stage of development. Sometimes pupils’ misconceptions are not swiftly identified and addressed. Where this is the case, pupils do not consistently develop a deep understanding and apply their learning in different contexts.

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better?

The school promotes a love of reading in all year groups and plans regular visits to the library. Leaders ensure that the books pupils read have a rich range of 25 and 26 January 2024

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vocabulary and reflect the diversity of the school community. A significant proportion of pupils join the school later than would usually be expected and are often new to English. The school identified this change in their cohort and adapted the phonics programme accordingly. This is now starting to have an impact on published outcomes. The curriculum is designed so that pupils develop the phonics knowledge they need to become fluent and accurate readers. Effective training has ensured that phonics is taught in a logical order. Staff ensure that books are matched to the sounds that pupils have been learning. Pupils continue to develop reading skills as they move through school. Pupils who need extra support in their reading, particularly those who join the school later in the academic year, receive targeted help so that they can catch up with their peers.

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The school has ensured that there are effective systems for identifying pupils with SEND. The school works well with external agencies to ensure that specialist advice is sought and acted upon. On occasion, teachers do not use information about pupils’ needs to make suitable adaptations to tasks and activities. This means that pupils with SEND can sometimes struggle to access the same curriculum as their peers.

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Most staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. The school has increased the support available to help pupils manage their own behaviour if they struggle. Relationships at the school are positive and respectful.

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Pupils enjoy learning about difference and diversity. They are keen to help others, for example, as ‘play leaders’, who check that pupils have friends to talk to at breaktimes. The curriculum helps pupils to learn about keeping themselves safe, including online, and the importance of respectful behaviour towards their peers and staff.

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The school emphasises the importance of high attendance. As a result, attendance is improving. Staff are swift in identifying any concerns. They work closely with external agencies to support pupils’ well-being if they identify a concern.

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The school has ensured that there are good-quality opportunities for staff’s professional development. Staff appreciate the focus on developing their practice. Governors have received effective training to support them in their roles. They share leaders’ high ambitions. They know the school well and hold leaders to account effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 25 and 26 January 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasion, pupils’ misconceptions are not identified and addressed with enough rigour and accuracy. This limits pupils’ understanding and means they are not well prepared for future learning. The school should ensure that checks on pupils’ learning are used routinely and purposefully to plug any gaps in their knowledge and deepen their understanding.  Sometimes, information about the needs of pupils with SEND is not used well to adapt teaching activities. This means that these pupils sometimes struggle to access the full curriculum. The school should ensure that teaching is consistently and suitably adapted so that these pupils are able to access the same curriculum as their peers.

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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). 25 and 26 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision for pupils.  Sparrow Farm Nursery and Infant School and Sparrow Farm Junior School amalgamated in January 2021, forming Sparrow Farm Primary School.  The school offers nursery provision for two- and three-year-olds.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other senior leaders. Inspectors met with members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science, geography and physical education. They met with subject leaders to discuss the 25 and 26 January 2024

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curriculum, visited lessons, and spoke with teachers and pupils. Inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work. The curriculum in other subjects was also considered as part of the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the 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 gathered the views of pupils, parents and carers, and staff through both discussion and responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Susan Maguire, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Guy Forbat His Majesty’s Inspector 25 and 26 January 2024

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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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