Plaistow Primary School

Inspection of Plaistow Primary School Junction Road, Plaistow, London E13 9DQ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 23 and 24 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, safe and enjoy their learning. The school has created an ambitious and interesting curriculum to ensure that all pupils can learn and succeed, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. They are kind to each other and listen well to staff and to each other. Discrimination is never tolerated.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy lots of activities to enrich their learning. For example, musical theatre lessons and inter-school debating competitions develop pupils’ confidence to speak and perform to an audience. Pupils take up after-school clubs widely, including cookery, cricket and street dance. Pupils benefit from a range of visits, including to museums and parks in the capital.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school encourages pupils to take on responsibilities, including as lunchtime play leaders or as members of the eco-action team and growing vegetables in the school’s garden. Pupils contribute to their local area by litter-picking and collecting items for local food banks.

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better?

The curriculum matches the scope of the national curriculum and has high expectations for all pupils. Typically, the curriculum is clearly sequenced and ambitious. For instance, in mathematics there is an emphasis on problem-solving and reasoning skills. Pupils readily recall previous learning and use it to help them understand new content. In art, pupils learn about a range of techniques, materials and styles and use them to create their own pieces. The early years curriculum is carefully designed with high-quality texts at its centre.

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better?

In some other subjects, where the curriculum has been more recently developed, the content is newer and pupils have had less opportunity to learn it. As a result, some pupils are sometimes less secure in remembering important ideas, making links to prior learning or discussing more complex concepts.

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better?

Leaders provide training and mentoring to support staff in delivering the curriculum effectively. Typically, teachers present information clearly, they check pupils’ learning and correct any misconceptions. Beginning in the early years, pupils benefit from a focus on learning vocabulary. This supports pupils in talking about key concepts with accuracy. The needs of pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and teaching is adapted to enable all pupils to learn the school’s curriculum.

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better?

Reading is treated as a priority in the school and leaders provide all staff with training in the chosen phonics programme. Children start learning phonics in early years and routinely practise the sounds they are learning with carefully matched books. Leaders identify pupils throughout the school who would benefit from 23 and 24 April 2024

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additional help with reading and provide support to ensure that they catch up quickly.

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Pupils’ attitudes to their education are positive. They participate in the classroom enthusiastically. Any minor disturbances to learning are addressed quickly and effectively by staff. Pupils can identify members of staff who they would talk to if they were worried about anything.

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The school has robust processes to improve attendance rates. They identify pupils whose attendance is at risk of becoming a concern and take action to improve it. Where absence becomes persistent, the school puts in place additional targeted support to remove any barriers to regular attendance. Pupils understand the importance of being at school and appreciate the rewards they receive for good attendance, such as certificates and medals.

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Pupils are aware of commonalities between different communities as well as fundamental British values and what they mean. The school has ensured that many different backgrounds are represented in its curriculum. Pupils are taught about different kinds of discrimination and have routine opportunities to discuss these. Pupils also learn about the rule of law and the important mechanisms of democracy, such as parliament and voting. They learn to understand and respect the importance of treating everyone equally and with respect in school and the wider community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In areas where the curriculum has recently been refreshed, the content is newer and pupils have had less opportunity to learn it. As a result, pupils sometimes struggle to remember important ideas, make links to prior learning or to discuss more complex ideas. Changes are not fully embedded. Leaders need to continue to develop staff expertise, ensure key knowledge and skills are identified and ensure that new developments are in place securely across the curriculum.

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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. 23 and 24 April 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). 23 and 24 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 October 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision for its pupils.

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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.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors spoke with the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders. They also held meetings with members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and computing. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with 23 and 24 April 2024

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pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. The inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  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.  The inspectors also reviewed documentation related to pupils’ behaviour and welfare.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys completed by pupils, parents and staff.

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Inspection team

Eleanor Ross, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rebecca Iles-Smith His Majesty’s Inspector 23 and 24 April 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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