Thomas Arnold Primary School, Rowdowns Road

Inspection of a good school: Thomas Arnold Primary School Rowdowns Road, Dagenham, Essex RM9 6NH

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Outcome

Thomas Arnold Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Thomas Arnold is a warm and welcoming school. Pupils are friendly to staff and visitors alike. They are polite and behave well in lessons and at playtimes. Staff encourage pupils to appreciate and value the diversity of the school’s local community. Pupils are happy and kept safe at this inclusive primary school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

School leaders are ambitious for what they believe pupils can achieve. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) also benefit from these high expectations, and their needs are carefully provided for.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide range of visits and visitors. For example, during the inspection, Year 4 pupils went to the theatre to see ‘The Lion King’. Year 5 pupils eagerly look forward to their upcoming residential week in Wales. The school ensures that the programme of extra-curricular activities contributes to pupils’ wider personal development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the opportunities they have to develop as young leaders. E-safety ambassadors speak at assemblies and give guidance to their fellow pupils about how to stay safe when online. Pupils elect school council members and are consulted regularly on their views to improve the school. As a result of their suggestions, pupils have made school lunches healthier and have also managed to increase portion sizes.

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

School leaders are ambitious, and strive for pupils to become aspirational, happy, lifelong learners. Many leaders are new to the school, and also new to their areas of responsibility. The school has recently developed a well-considered curriculum. In most subjects, the important ideas pupils need to secure are identified and sequenced. This enables pupils to practise and embed their knowledge before tackling more complex ideas.

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

For example, in mathematics, children in early years quickly learn to count and add objects together. This supports them to tackle a range of mathematical problems later on. 13 and 14 March 2024

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The curriculum is deliberately designed to help pupils make links between subjects. For example, pupils learn about complex shapes in mathematics and learn how to draw, design and shade them. Similarly, in science, pupils use art to learn about evolution by drawing the finches observed on Charles Darwin’s journeys.

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However, in a few subjects, the school has not identified in sufficient detail the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn and the order in which they learn them. Other subjects need further time to embed so that assessment is consistently well used to gauge what pupils have learned. In these instances, some pupils do not secure as deep a body of knowledge or understanding.

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The school makes effective provision for pupils with SEND. In the additionally resourced provision, pupils’ needs are carefully identified, and extra support is well targeted. Parents and carers greatly appreciate the wider support and care that the school offers in this provision. Pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of school life. Staff training ensures appropriate adaptations are made so that pupils with SEND achieve well and learn alongside their peers, wherever this is possible.

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Leaders place a high priority on reading. In early years, children experience a wealth of classic stories and rhymes. A well-developed and effective phonics programme supports early reading across the school. Pupils read books that are closely matched to the letters and sounds they know. Staff ensure that any pupil who is struggling with their reading is given extra support to catch up. This helps pupils to read with increasing fluency and confidence. Reading for pleasure is promoted through regular visits by all pupils to the well-resourced school library.

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In early years, children quickly learn to play together and to share. Older pupils listen attentively and respond enthusiastically in lessons. They are kind to each other and speak with respect when discussing differences and diversity. Attendance and persistent absence are well managed. The school tracks and promotes attendance rigorously.

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The school provides pupils with many wider opportunities to develop beyond the academic curriculum. Pupils’ emotional well-being is supported effectively. For example, pupils know how to use the ‘worry boxes’ around the school if they would like to talk to adults about any concerns. After-school clubs promote a range of activities, including netball, music and the arts.

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Staff are well supported. School leaders are mindful of workload and ensure that new initiatives are carefully considered. Governors are experienced and forward thinking. They are equally ready to challenge and support school leaders where necessary. Parents are typically supportive of the school and its ongoing development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 13 and 14 March 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the knowledge pupils need to learn has not been as precisely identified and sequenced. As a result, some pupils do not build knowledge and deepen their understanding as well as they could. The school needs to make sure that the important knowledge that pupils need to learn, and when they need to learn it, is clearly identified across the curriculum.  Some subjects are still at an early stage of implementation and some subject leaders are new in their role. This means that some of the strong practice across the school is not yet fully secure in a small number of subjects. The school needs to check that the curriculum is implemented consistently well. The school must also ensure that assessment is used to check what pupils have learned in these subjects effectively.

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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 July 2014.

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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. 13 and 14 March 2024

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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). 13 and 14 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Jeffery Stafford

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School details

Headteacher Paramjit Roopra (Executive Headteacher)

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School details

Website www.thomasarnold.bardaglea.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been significant changes of leadership since the last inspection. The executive headteacher has been in post since September 2022.  The executive headteacher currently oversees another local primary school.  Thomas Arnold Primary School is larger than the average primary school.  The school has specially resourced provision for up to 30 pupils with autism.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.  The school currently uses one alternative provider.

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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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school. 13 and 14 March 2024

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 The inspector met with the executive headteacher, the deputy headteachers, the assistant headteachers, other leaders and teachers. He spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, science and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, considered the curriculum, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector considered the curriculum in other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of school 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.  The inspector met with parents at the start of the school day and considered the views

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of parents, staff and pupils, including their responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Sean Flood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 March 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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