Ascot Road Primary School

Inspection of Ascot Road Primary School Ascot Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 8AD

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 May 2024, and 11 October 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 Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Natalie Beere. This school is part of Danes Educational Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Josephine Valentine, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Martin Day. 14 and 15 May 2024, and 11 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Ascot Road are enthusiastic and happy learners. They are considerate towards others, for example holding doors open for people. In the playground, older pupils play well together and are caring to their younger peers. They know that adults will always try to help and protect them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high standards and supports its staff to meet these. Pupils respond well to this by behaving sensibly and working hard. They are keen to try their best and make the most of their school experiences. Educational standards are now significantly rising in the school, particularly for younger pupils. This is enabling more pupils to secure the foundational skills they need in English and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to take on extra responsibilities. The pupils in the ‘learning voice council’ are passionate about making the school even better. In classes, pupils act responsibly as monitors. They value these roles and are proud to complete them. Pupils develop their sense of community and the role they play in this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to celebrate differences. They are tolerant and respectful to others. They also like the clubs and trips the school provides. The school works hard on developing pupils’ talents and interests.

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better?

Since the last inspection, the trust has quickly reversed the decline in standards at Ascot Road. A knowledgeable and dedicated team has lifted academic belief in what pupils can do. The trust’s strategic actions have brought widespread change for the better and trustees robustly hold the new school leadership team to account. As a result, the trust is crystal clear about what is working well and where greater consistency in practice is needed.

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better?

Many pupils stay at Ascot Road for a short period of time. Furthermore, many do not speak English when they join. This has meant that the trust’s impact on improving the quality of education is not yet reflected in end of key stage 2 published outcomes.

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better?

Trust leaders have actively supported new subject leaders in effecting change and ensuring effective teaching of the planned curriculum. This has been impressive in the teaching of early reading and writing. Children in the Reception Year learn phonics promptly and staff ensure that children have as much practice as they need. Staff demonstrate expertise in their application of the school’s phonics programme. A key strength is the one-to-one tutoring sessions for pupils struggling to read. Every day, skilled staff lead short bursts of highly effective teaching that are rapidly closing the gap for vulnerable pupils. As a result, outcomes in phonics are now broadly in line with the national average. 14 and 15 May 2024, and 11 October 2024

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Building on the design of a well-planned curriculum, the trust’s current priorities are on how best teachers teach this to pupils. In lessons, teachers explain concepts clearly. Generally, teachers identify where pupils may be unsure of something. However, the school has rightly spotted that some pupils can move through the curriculum with existing gaps in their knowledge left unaddressed. Therefore, staff training is currently focused on how well staff check what pupils know and remember over time.

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Improvements are evident in the work that pupils do. This includes providing pupils with more opportunities to write. Consequently, pupils now show better technical accuracy in their spelling and sentence structures. Across subjects, some well- chosen tasks help pupils learn deeper knowledge and make meaningful connections to what they already know. Nevertheless, the trust recognises it needs to further train staff to consistently set ambitious tasks and how best to adapt these for some pupils.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Personal learning plans help teachers know the key targets and strategies for each pupil with SEND. For example, this is skilfully achieved for pupils who are not yet able to communicate well. The school works effectively with external advisers to make sure provision fully meets the needs of pupils with SEND.

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Pupils behave well. They understand that listening carefully to adults and their fellow classmates is important for their learning and achievement. Pupils recognise that the school applies rules fairly. In early years, staff teach children important attributes such as developing good manners. Where pupils may find it harder to manage their behaviour, the school acts fast to put in the right support. Most pupils attend school regularly. The school takes appropriate and timely action to support and help improve the attendance of pupils where this is necessary.

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Pupils enjoy the interesting trips they participate in and the visitors that come into school. For example, pupils eagerly listened to a talk about the Second World War. This helped them learn more about this period in history. Pupils are knowledgeable about keeping safe online and how to stay healthy.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, the tasks that teachers set do not enable pupils to securely learn what they need. This hinders pupils from achieving highly across the curriculum. The trust should continue to support the school in helping teachers choose the most appropriate tasks to ensure that pupils achieve the highest of outcomes. 14 and 15 May 2024, and 11 October 2024

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 Teachers are not always precisely noticing where pupils might have knowledge gaps. This impacts on pupils’ progress through the curriculum and how well teachers use adaptive teaching strategies. The trust should build on its comprehensive professional development programme so that teachers consistently spot gaps in pupils’ knowledge and effectively adapt their lessons accordingly.

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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 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). 14 and 15 May 2024, and 11 October 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 February 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In September 2023, a new headteacher and assistant headteacher, who is also the SEND coordinator, joined the school’s senior leadership team. The headteacher was promoted internally and began as interim headteacher. She then became substantive headteacher in April 2024.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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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

 Inspectors initially inspected the school on 14 and 15 May 2024. On 11 October 2024, one of His Majesty’s Inspectors returned to the school to gather further evidence. The evidence gathered from all three days was used to inform the final judgements. 14 and 15 May 2024, and 11 October 2024

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 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, the two assistant headteachers and other staff. The lead inspectors also met with the CEO and other representatives from the trust. This also included meeting with some trustees, including the chair, and governors of the school board.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, art and design, geography and history. To do this, they met with teachers, looked at curriculum plans, had discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons, listened to pupils read and looked at pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The views of staff and parents were gathered through discussions and Ofsted’s online surveys.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation and school improvement priorities, policies, curriculum documents, behaviour and attendance records, and published outcomes.

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Inspection team

James Broadbridge, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stuart Pope Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 May 2024, and 11 October 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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