Edmonton County School

Inspection of Edmonton County School Little Bury Street, Edmonton, London N9 9JZ

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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 Sixth-form provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The head of school is Paul Miller. This school is part of the EdAct Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Susan Tranter, who is also the executive headteacher for this school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Clive Partridge. 23 and 24 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a strong commitment to supporting pupils’ academic success. To achieve this, leaders have designed a curriculum that meets the needs of pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

High academic expectations are well matched by the school’s support for pupils’ well-being. Pupils feel safe and cared for here. They settle quickly in lessons and respond positively to the school’s expectations of conduct, particularly in the primary phase.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the secondary phase, sports clubs are popular and some of the school’s competitive teams are borough champions. Students in the sixth-form leadership team organise various events in school, including charity fundraising. Pupils in the primary phase attend many clubs, including dancercise, computing, choir and athletics. The school involves parents and carers in their children’s learning in the Reception Year through sessions such as ‘stay and read’ and ‘stay and play’. The school also organises educational outings for pupils that deepen pupils’ learning further.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The careers programme across the secondary phase is well organised. Pupils spoke positively about careers days, during which they learn about future career opportunities, which inspire their ambitions. From Year 8 onwards, pupils visit universities across England to raise their aspirations for the future.

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better?

Across the whole school, leaders have designed a curriculum that is comparable with the national curriculum in breadth and ambition. All pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language, build secure foundations in English and mathematics that support their achievement across all subjects. Additional sessions for pupils in Year 11 and in sixth form support pupils’ academic achievement. As a result, in the secondary phase, pupils make strong gains by the end of Year 11, as published outcomes show. Pupils in the primary phase achieve well in primary national assessments in reading and mathematics and in the Year 4 multiplication- tables check. Significantly more students proceed successfully on to further study at the end of the sixth form than is nationally the case.

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better?

Over a number of years, leaders have thought carefully across subjects about what pupils should know, and the order in which they should learn it. In the sixth form, the curriculum is broad and the school ensures that students study for the qualifications they need to support their future career aspirations. In the early years, leaders have ensured that the curriculum supports children’s learning effectively in preparation for Year 1. In the primary phase, there is still some work to do to clarify in detail what pupils should know in a few subjects. This work is supported by a full professional development programme, which many staff, including teachers at the beginning of their career, value highly. 23 and 24 April 2024

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Leaders ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified and that these needs are met in classes across the school. Support for pupils with SEND is well planned and leaders work effectively with external agencies to support pupils with SEND where necessary.

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge. For example, in physical education in the primary phase, specialist teaching supports pupils to learn to throw, move and use different strategies to be successful in team sports competitions. Typically, teaching checks that pupils understand what they have been taught. Sometimes, when teaching moves on to introduce new learning without routinely checking pupils’ recall of prior key knowledge, some pupils cannot recall what they have been taught. Where subjects have less curriculum time allocated in the timetable than others, the time available to revisit and reinforce pupils’ learning is sometimes limited.

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Pupils learning to read are appropriately supported. In the primary phase, leaders assess the impact of the reading curriculum regularly and provide timely and effective support for pupils who need extra practice to improve their fluency. In the secondary phase, support with reading is also provided for pupils who need it. The school seeks to encourage pupils’ love of reading and is taking steps to develop pupils’ positive attitudes to reading further.

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Recent training for those responsible for governance is helping them to support and challenge the schools’ leaders effectively. Some aspects of trustees’ and governors’ engagement with staff, parents and the community are at the early stages of development.

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Throughout the school, pupils’ behaviour is typically calm and respectful during lessons. This enables teachers to focus on teaching the curriculum. In the primary phase, pupils follow routines readily. Children’s attitudes to learning are very positive in the Reception Year. Students in the sixth form are mature and reflective. At times, some staff did not feel as supported as they could be by leaders to uphold the school’s high expectations of pupils’ behaviour.

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The school has successfully worked to improve pupils’ attendance across the school since pupils returned to school after the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, attendance rates are rising to above average.

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Pupils take part in a range of activities outside of classes. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has recently been introduced for pupils in the secondary phase and sixth form. All students in the sixth form take part in volunteering, for example through reading to younger pupils or providing younger pupils with support in curriculum lessons. Pupils in the primary phase are taught about the importance of eating healthy foods. From Year 1, pupils are taught about personal finances.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 23 and 24 April 2024

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Staff are trained to recognise when a pupil may be at risk from harm. They know and follow the processes that they should if they have any concerns. Leaders take action to ensure that pupils are safe. Occasionally, record-keeping does not reflect the full extent of the school’s work when the school does not record some of the actions that it has taken to safeguard pupils’ well-being.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, processes to check the quality of the school’s work, including systems that underpin safeguarding, are not equally rigorous. This limits the ability of senior leaders, members of the local governing body and trustees to identify the impact of actions taken and identify where further improvement is needed. Members of the trust should sharpen the processes of accountability to drive further improvement.  In some foundation subjects, across both phases, teaching does not routinely check how well pupils recall what they have been taught. This sometimes affects how securely pupils connect new knowledge to their prior learning when they have gaps in what they remember. The school should ensure that teaching checks that pupils remember what they have been taught and addresses any gaps or misconceptions that are identified, before introducing new content.

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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).

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,824

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sixth form

Headteacher Susan Tranter (executive headteacher) Paul Miller (head of school) Website www.edmonton.enfield.sch.uk

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 1 November 2018, under Section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the EdAct Trust.  The school uses five registered alternative providers.  The school is situated across two sites. Children in the early years, pupils in Years 1 to 6, half of pupils in Years 7 to 11 and students in Year 12 attend the Bury Campus at Little Bury Street, Edmonton N9 9JZ. The other half of pupils in Years 7 to 11 and students in Year 13 attend the Cambridge Campus at Great Cambridge Road, Enfield EN1 1HQ.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.  The number of pupils in each year group increases considerably from Year 7 in the secondary phase. Approximately 10% of each cohort in the secondary phase is drawn from the primary phase. 23 and 24 April 2024

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 Many of those responsible for governance are new to the school and their roles.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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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. 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 met with the executive headteacher, the head of school, the head of the primary phase and other senior leaders. Inspectors met with leaders with responsibility for pupils with SEND, behaviour and attendance, early reading and pupils’ wider development, early years, careers and sixth form.  Inspectors met with representatives from the local governing body and the board of trustees.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history, English, physical education and art. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers,

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Information about this inspection

spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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.  Inspectors considered the respective responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents, staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Guy Forbat, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sophie Healey-Welch His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Cristalina Fernandes-Bates Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jonathan Newby Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 April 2024

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Jan Shadick Ofsted 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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