Woolmore Primary School

WOOLMORE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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WOOLMORE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Woolmore Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr D Lawrence

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 2 - 6 June 1997 Woolmore Primary School - 4

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Team members

2153 Jane Lamb Registered inspector 9405 Josephine Philbey Lay inspector 8696 Abul Maula Team inspector

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Team members

Demeter House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2RS

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Woolmore Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Woolmore Primary School is an average sized school situated in the Poplar district of east London. It serves an area of extreme social deprivation and well above the national average numbers of pupils are eligible for free school meals. There are 231 pupils on roll, 122 boys and 104 girls, including the equivalent of 27 full-time children in the nursery. On entry to the school, most pupils show very low attainment in English language development, which also affects other aspects of their learning. The school has identified 56 pupils as having special educational needs, a proportion broadly in line with the national average. The number of pupils with statements of special educational needs is also about average. The school has a very high number of pupils with English as an additional language and most of these pupils enter school at a very early stage of learning English. The main languages spoken are

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Sylheti, Chinese, Somali and Panjabi. The school is an associate member of the Isle of Dogs Education Action Zone and is also part of the Excellence in Cities project. The school finds it difficult to recruit and retain teaching staff but has only one vacancy at the moment, which will be filled by September.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very good school which is constantly improving and which has some excellent features. It is particularly good in providing for the diverse needs of its pupils and including them in all school activities. Woolmore offers a very broad, rich and stimulating curriculum throughout. By Year 6 standards in English and mathematics are generally in line with expected levels and pupils’ achievement and progress throughout are very good. Teaching is extremely good and the leadership and management of the school are excellent. Relationships throughout the school are a major strength and encourage harmony and mutual respect. Taking all these factors into account, the school offers very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are excellent and they are well supported by governors and staff. • Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact on pupils’ learning and behaviour. • The school’s partnership with parents is excellent. • The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. • The curricular opportunities throughout the school are particularly good. • The school building is particularly well refurbished and maintained to offer a very attractive learning environment.

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What could be improved

• There are no issues of substantial importance for the school to improve. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was inspected last in June 1997, when it was found to have many good features. Since then it has continued to improve, in some areas very well, and has dealt with all the issues identified in the last inspection fully. Standards in National Curriculum tests have improved and pupils’ achievement and progress are also better. The quality of teaching has improved well and consequently pupils’ learning and attitudes are also better. The support for pupils with English as an additional language and special educational needs has shown very good improvement. Pupils’ attendance is now much better and relationships with parents have also improved well. The monitoring of standards of pupils’ work and teaching and the roles of curriculum co-ordinators have improved well also. There are significant improvements in the leadership and management of the school and the curricular planning and in the

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

high quality of refurbishment, redecoration and maintenance of the school accommodation, which is now used very well. This includes the new computer suite and the outside facilities for the youngest children and the play areas for the whole school. Woolmore Primary School - 7

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

English D E C A well above average above average A B Mathematics E D E C Average Below average C D Science E* A B A well below average E

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Key

The table shows that Year 6 pupils’ attainment in the 2001 national tests was in line with the national average in English, above the national average in science but well below average in mathematics. When compared with schools with similar intakes, the school was well above average in English and science and average in mathematics. Over the last three years, results in English, mathematics and science were below the national average but the school’s results are generally improving at a rate above the national trend. These results represent particularly good achievement in English and science from pupils’ attainment when they come into school. Compared with their results in the national tests at Year 2, the 2001 Year 6 pupils showed well above average improvement in English and science and average improvement in mathematics. Boys attained slightly higher results than girls over the last three

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Key

years. The school received a School Achievement Award for the substantial improvement in its results from 1997 to 2000. The standards of work in Year 6 seen during the inspection show a good improvement, particularly in mathematics, and standards in both English and mathematics are close to national expected levels, which represents very good progress and achievement for the pupils. Standards in art and music seen were particularly good and the quality and range of pupils’ writing is also a particular strength. There was no significant difference in the achievement of boys and girls. The targets set for English and mathematics for 2001 were challenging and were exceeded in English but not in mathematics.

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Key

Pupils in Year 2 attained results in the 2001 tests which were well below average in reading, writing and mathematics. When compared with schools with similar intakes, the results were average in reading and writing and below average in mathematics. Provisional results for tests in 2002 show a good improvement in results in mathematics. Over the last three years, the results at Year 2 have been below the national average, but have been better in mathematics than in reading and writing. Girls have attained higher results than boys in mathematics over three years, but in reading and writing there is no significant difference. In the current Year 2, standards of work in reading, writing and mathematics are just below national averages, particularly in the numbers of pupils attaining Level 3, but have improved since last years’ tests, particularly in mathematics. Boys and girls show similar standards and all

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Key

pupils achieve particularly well in relation to their previous attainment. Particular strengths are the quality and expressiveness of pupils’ writing and their very good singing and art work. Children in the reception year do not reach the early learning goals in their language and literacy, mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world by the time they enter Year 1, but have made very good progress from starting school.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils are extremely interested, hard working, respectful and enthusiastic.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of Very good. Both within lessons and around the school pupils are Woolmore Primary School - 8 classrooms cooperative, polite, happy and courteous. Woolmore Primary School - 9 Personal development and relationships Very good. Pupils generally understand the impact of their behaviour on others and show very good independence and maturity.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Satisfactory. Attendance is broadly in line with the national average. The school has worked very hard to improve this.

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Aspect Comment

The pupils’ very good attitudes and enthusiasm, the very good relationships and harmony within the school and their particularly good personal development make a positive contribution to their achievement. Attendance has improved particularly well.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Very good Very good Very good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

The quality of teaching and learning is at least good in all lessons and a high proportion of lessons in each part of the school were very good or excellent, from the nursery to Year 6. This is a significant improvement from the previous inspection, particularly in the consistency of very good or better teaching throughout the school. The school meets the needs of its pupils particularly well and outside agencies are used well to offer specific support; for example for pupils with special educational needs. The teaching of English is extremely strong, with a particularly high proportion of very good and excellent lessons seen. This reflects the very considerable expertise of teachers and support staff and the very good teaching and support by specialists in teaching English as an additional language. Teaching of mathematics is very good, with some excellent teaching seen in Year 6. Both the literacy and

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

numeracy strategies have been adopted particularly well by the school and have had a very good impact on teaching. Staff also have extremely high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and learning. A particular strength of the teaching is the high quality of partnership between teachers and very skilful support staff. This also ensures that all pupils are very well supported and included, with work being well matched to pupils’ particular needs. There are many good extension lessons and activities, particularly in mathematics, in the school’s drive to raise standards.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Because of the consistency of very good teaching, pupils’ learning is also consistently very good and reflects their particularly good attitudes, hard work and enthusiasm for school. Teachers and support staff help pupils to understand the relevance of what they are doing by sharing learning objectives for lessons with them and referring back to them to see what progress has been made. The school targets well the additional support for pupils with special educational needs and for the pupils who speak English as an additional language, who are the majority. These pupils are very well supported within lessons. Early stage English learners also have good opportunities to work with support staff who speak their home languages, which results in them making extremely rapid progress. Teachers manage pupils particularly well and have very good classroom organisational skills. Many lessons are very lively and

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

stimulating and capture the pupils’ interest to enhance their learning. This results in pupils being confident, keen to respond and able to offer suggestions, even when their English skills are at an early stage. Pupils are good at using their previous skills in tackling new learning and use their emerging literacy and numeracy skills well. Very good marking of pupils’ work by teachers gives pupils a clear idea of how they can improve and improves their confidence and learning.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. The school offers a rich and stimulating curriculum and is particularly strong in its nursery provision and in teaching English, while Woolmore Primary School - 10 also offering broad provision in other areas, including creative arts. Woolmore Primary School - 11 Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. These pupils receive very good support and are particularly well included. They make very good progress towards their targets. The very good support staff make a strong contribution.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good. The majority of pupils have English as an additional language and the very high quality of support ensures that they make extremely good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Excellent. The school makes excellent provision for pupils’ social and cultural development and very good provision is made for their spiritual and moral development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. The school makes very good provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety and staff have very good knowledge and understanding of the pupils’ specific needs.

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Aspect Comment

The school works very hard to provide a broad and rich curriculum throughout and meets all statutory requirements including provision for religious education. Care of the pupils is of high quality and is particularly strong in working alongside parents for pupils’ best welfare, by for example, providing the breakfast club, which both parents and pupils support very well.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Excellent. The headteacher, deputy head and senior staff, very well supported by staff and governors, have an excellent vision and strong partnership and constantly seek to improve provision and raise standards.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. The governors fulfill their roles well and now meet all statutory requirements. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and relative weaknesses.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Very good. The school closely analyses its strengths and weaknesses and monitors standards and provision very well to decide what needs to be improved.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Excellent. The school uses its available resources extremely well and finances priorities for development very effectively. It is also particularly good in getting support from local projects and businesses to improve provision further.

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Aspect Comment

The success of the school stems from the commitment, hard work and vision of the headteacher and senior management team, very well supported by a lively and cohesive staff. Their energetic involvement with the community, parents and local projects and businesses is also a major strength. Governors support the school well and the principles of best value are applied particularly effectively.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school. • The teaching is good. • The school expects children to work hard and achieve their best. • The school works closely with parents. • None Woolmore Primary School - 12 • Children are making good progress. • The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. The inspectors agree fully with the parents’ excellent view of the school. Parents are extremely supportive and very happy with all aspects of the school and there are no significant areas that parents would like to see improved. Woolmore Primary School - 13

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

excellent and they are well supported by governors and staff.

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

1. This is the major factor in the effectiveness of the school and its very good improvement since the last inspection. The leadership of the headteacher is outstanding and she has appointed staff of a very high calibre to form a very strong senior management team and to co-ordinate the curriculum. The headteacher, deputy head and senior staff have an excellent shared vision, high levels of energy and commitment and maintain a very clear overview of the school. They are well supported by the governors, who are involved in determining the school’s educational priorities related to the needs of the pupils. The senior management team have forged a strong and effective partnership with the staff in promoting the school’s aims and values and seeking constant improvement and there is a strong team spirit. The ethos and relationships within the school are particularly caring and respectful and also reflect the cultural traditions of the

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

community. The school is a multi-racial community and both pupils and staff represent a wide variety of cultures within our society and work together in harmony.

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

2. Particular areas of excellence include the management of the provision in the nursery, the partnership with parents and the support and inclusion of all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and those who have English as an additional language. A major strength is the excellent focus and determination with which projects are conceived and seen through to completion. An example is the extremely good improvements which have been made to the school building, grounds and facilities over the last few years. This improvement to the building and facilities has been very effectively managed and the resulting improvements provide a high quality learning environment for the pupils. The school has also established very good strategies for improving standards in mathematics, which were below other subjects in National Curriculum test results. The co-ordinator has initiated a system of very clear tracking of pupils’ progress and

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

also additional mathematics lessons and support in every class. This has resulted in a good improvement in standards and accelerated progress.

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

3. The school has successfully dealt with all the key issues from the last inspection and has shown very good improvement in many other areas. There are improved management systems, governors comply fully with legal requirements and all staff are clearly aware of their roles and responsibilities. There are very good systems in place for co-ordinators to monitor teaching and standards of pupils’ work. There are significant improvements in the curricular planning and the leadership of curriculum co-ordinators. Requirements for the Act of Worship and teaching religious education are now well implemented. Standards in national tests have improved and pupils’ achievement and progress are also better. The quality of teaching has improved further and support for pupils with English as an additional language and special educational needs has also shown very good improvement. Pupils’ attendance is now much better and relationships with

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

parents have also improved particularly well.

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

4. Governors give good support to the school and are clear about the areas for future development within the constraints of the budget. They have good levels of knowledge and are well informed, which enables their participation in discussions and developments. Governors have good levels of trust in the headteacher and staff and all involved in the school show a clear commitment to constant improvement. The development plan is clear, focused and concise and is implemented and monitored well. This keeps the school moving constantly towards its targets and aims. Governors have good control over expenditure, ensuring that funding needed for any further improvements is available. They ensure that the school gets best value for money from spending, which results in the school providing very good value for money in terms of the budget it receives and the very high quality of education provided.

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

5. The co-ordinators for special educational needs and inclusion have high levels of expertise and many improvements have been made to the management of this provision, which includes the many pupils who have English as an additional language. Teaching English as an additional Woolmore Primary School - 14 language is very well managed and all staff have high levels of expertise and are very ably supported by specialist teachers and support staff. This is a key factor in raising standards and the school focuses very well on the rapid acquisition of English needed by the pupils, particularly when they arrive in school at a very early stage of speaking English. There has been good development also towards the revised Code of Practice for special educational needs. There is early identification of concerns and support from the nursery onwards and pupils’ individual plans have clear and appropriate targets that are monitored well. Statemented pupils in the school are

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The leadership and management of the headteacher and senior staff are

very well included and receive a modified curriculum appropriate to their needs. The school uses the Reading Recovery programme to boost reading skills in Year 1. There is a particularly high level of commitment to inclusion for all pupils,including the higher attaining gifted and talented pupils, whose needs are met through many extension activities and the broad and diverse curriculum taught.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

6. There has been further good improvement in the quality of teaching since the last inspection, when it was found to be good. It is now consistently very good across the school, including the nursery and reception classes and excellent teaching was seen in each age range. This has a major impact on the pupils’ particularly positive attitudes and enthusiasm for their work and the very good learning and behaviour seen throughout the school. These contribute to the very good progress achieved by many pupils.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

7. Teachers are very confident in sharing and developing the learning objectives for lessons with their pupils. Consequently, pupils understand well what they will learn and have the opportunity at the end of the lesson to think about the progress they have made. The very good marking of pupils’ work by teachers has a similarly good impact on pupils’ understanding of their own learning and the ways in which they can improve. The particularly good use of classroom assistants, many of whom have very high levels of expertise, including some who are bilingual, was also a feature of many very good lessons. This gave high levels of support to pupils with special educational needs and to those for whom English is an additional language. A very good example was seen in the nursery, where a very skilful member of staff supported a group of very early stage English learners in both their home language and English. The children were learning sounds using the

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

Mr Gumpy book as a model and made particularly good progress.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

8. Teachers have very good subject knowledge in literacy and numeracy and the two strategies are very well implemented. They use different sections of the sessions well to develop and consolidate pupils’ skills and knowledge and modify work well to meet the particular needs of the pupils. Teachers’ planning is linked particularly well to the different levels of pupils’ attainment and the support needed. Teachers who are new to the school have good subject expertise and, when necessary, are well supported by more experienced staff.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

9. Teachers’ subject knowledge is particularly good in developing English and literacy skills for the majority of pupils who have English as an additional language and in extending pupils’ writing and expression in English. Almost all English teaching was very good or excellent in each age range, including the nursery. In an excellent Year 6 lesson, pupils were using the text from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to prepare for a dramatic performance with professional actors a week later. The particular strengths of this lesson were the clear structure, the highly productive relationships between pupils and the teacher and the very high expectations with which the teacher guided the lesson to allow pupils to progress very well in their knowledge of the play and their understanding of Shakespeare’s poetry. Younger pupils in Year 2 were taught about the purposes and planning of story writing in another excellent and lively lesson, where pupils were

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

enthused by the stimulating teaching. Work seen displayed around the school also shows a very high quality of teaching in art and design and high standards of work, with excellent displays of a wide range of pupils’ work. Pupils sing and perform particularly well in music, owing to the high expectations of the two music teachers, who also lead their singing in assemblies. This was seen during the school assemblies and in a very good music lesson for younger pupils. Pupils are encouraged to take part in dramatic productions and by Year 6, many have developed good dramatic skills, seen when they acted parts of Shakespeare. Woolmore Primary School - 15 10. The teaching in mathematics and numeracy is particularly good, with all lessons being at least good and a good proportion of very good lessons and an excellent lesson seen. Teachers have strong expertise in teaching mathematics and are able to develop the problem solving and

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

investigative aspects of this subject particularly well. For example, a very good Year 4 lesson was observed in which pupils were learning about the characteristics of right angles and making two-dimensional shapes with a variety of angle sizes, and finding right angles in the classroom. There has been a drive to raise standards in mathematics through the school and teachers have focused on using numeracy skills in investigations and problem solving, as this was identified as a weakness. This has started to raise standards, which are improving. Tasks and activities are very well matched to the pupils’ different levels of attainment in planning and teaching and there is a good focus on teaching a wide range of methods to support both written and mental calculations. Teachers constantly consolidate and extend learning in lessons. This provides pupils with good opportunities to use and extend their existing skills and pose and answer their

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

own problems. The structure of the National Numeracy Strategy is very well adhered to and the balance of work provides a suitable focus on all elements of the mathematics curriculum. The impact of this on pupils’ learning and standards of work has ensured that these are now improving. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported by setting and specific support from a range of school-based and external support staff.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

11. Pupils’ learning and behaviour are consistently very good and sometimes excellent and reflect the pupils’ very good attitudes, hard work, the high quality of teaching and the very good support given by support staff and nursery nurses. This is reflected in the particularly good progress made by pupils and younger children and their very good achievement in terms of their previous levels of attainment when they start school. This applies to all groups of pupils including higher attainers, pupils with special educational needs and pupils who have English as an additional language. Many lessons are very lively and stimulating and capture the pupils’ interest very well to enhance and reinforce their learning. Expectations of pupils’ behaviour are consistently very good by all staff and pupils are encouraged to do their best. Particularly effective is the high quality of support given by nursery nurses and support staff, who work in a very focused way with specific

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

12. Teachers also enhance pupils’ inclusion in lessons by carefully modifying the learning intentions to provide work well matched to pupils’ individual needs. Pupils respond particularly well to this, achieve very well and show a strong sense of personal achievement which enhances their confidence. The school also takes great care to praise and congratulate pupils. For example, the celebration assembly drew attention to the good work done by a variety of pupils and the way they had tried their very best. A particular strength in the best lessons is the clarity and depth of explanations given to the pupils and the thorough way in which work is developed, supported and discussed. This results in pupils being independent and confident, accurate in their responses and able to offer suggestions and put forward their own views in a calm and respectful atmosphere where their viewpoints are taken seriously. Even pupils at an early stage of acquiring English are

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

confident to make a contribution. This was seen in a very good Year 5 literacy lesson, where the teacher focused particularly well on this group of pupils in class questioning to ensure that they were fully included in the discussion. Homework is set appropriately and is often followed up in lessons.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

13. Teachers, nursery nurses and support staff work very well together as a team and take a pride in their pupils’ achievements shown in the high quality of pupils’ displayed work. This also contributes positively to the pupils’ self-esteem and creates an aesthetically pleasing and stimulating learning environment; consequently learning is enhanced. Pupils make very good progress because of the high expectations of the staff, the provision of a broad, balanced and stimulating curriculum and their own hard work, and very good behaviour and attitudes to learning.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

The school’s partnership with parents is excellent.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

14. The response from the meeting with parents and the pre-inspection questionnaire was excellent, with parents making great efforts to respond and attend and translation and interpretation being used well to ensure that parents’ views were fully heard. The parents show almost unanimous and very positive support for the school and are very appreciative of its provision for their children. They are very happy with all aspects of the provision and there are no areas which significant Woolmore Primary School - 16 numbers of parents wish to see improved. There is a very strong trust in the headteacher, staff and governors and their commitment and concern for the children. The administrative staff are welcoming and friendly to parents and visitors also.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

15. This aspect of the school has improved considerably since the last inspection. The school has worked particularly hard to ensure that there is a two-way dialogue with parents, that they are supported and involved fully and that important information is translated and interpreted to ensure that it reaches all parents. It also provides many ways in which staff and governors can be contacted if there is a concern and has a very open and welcoming aspect to parents, some of whom are reticent in approaching the school or lack confidence in their own English skills. During the inspection it was observed that many parents and carers accompany their children to the school, that staff are very welcoming and available to see parents and that there is a friendly and open ethos for parents. For example, the breakfast club provides many parents with a relaxed venue to talk to others, have a cup of tea or approach members of the school staff, and this is

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

highly appreciated by the parents. The school uses the translation and interpretation skills of its own staff and governors very extensively and buys in additional services if needed. The governors’ annual report to parents and pupils’ reports are well structured and translated to be easily accessible and attractive to parents. As well as the more formal methods of communication, there are also some informal social events and parents often help in school. The parents’ notice board in the playground is kept up to date with current information that could affect parents and carers, often in translation. Another particular strength is the very good support given to parents by the home-school worker.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

16. The school uses the local authority ‘s Strategy for Parental Involvement in Children’s Learning as its model, which includes parents as partners in their children’s learning and in the life of the school and also parents as learners. There is a highly committed co-ordinator for this, who is also a member of the senior management team and the school believes passionately in the importance of the home-school partnership. There is a parents’ handbook, new parents are welcomed to the school and each class holds a coffee morning for parents new to the classes in the autumn term as an opportunity to talk about what will be happening. Each class has an information board about the curriculum that term and a half-termly overview is sent home by each teacher. The regular school newsletter is very attractive and concise and is translated into Bengali so that it is accessible to parents. Bilingual support is offered to parents who lack

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

confidence in English and this helps discussion in the spring term open evening and summer term parents’ consultation day. These are very well attended, with an average attendance of 80 to 90 per cent.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

17. At the beginning and end of each day the headteacher, learning mentor and home-school worker are available on the playground to talk to parents informally and this was seen to work very well during the inspection, when a good number of parents talked to staff and the inspectors. There is a useful home-school contract and very good induction for new children and new parents, whether to the nursery or at other times of admission. Regular workshops are held for parents, (a recent one was on mathematics) and the school follows these up by seeking feedback from the parents. There is a regular Thursday Club for parents and staff, when education and the curriculum are discussed. A recent development from this was the introduction of a more parent-friendly version of the school’s homework policy.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

18. Parents are invited to special assemblies and celebrations and often contribute food and other items. There is a summer fair, the emphasis for this being on fun rather than fundraising and at harvest time a collection of food was made and given to local families. The school employs a full- time home-school worker who supports families, and parents are able to attend English and parenting classes on request. Each week a keep-fit class for women takes place in the school with an accredited instructor. Some parents help in school and this supports teaching and learning well. The parents’ room is well used and will be extended and refurbished this year.

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

19. As well as involving parents in the life of the school, the school receives excellent support and involvement from a nearby major financial company situated in Docklands. This provides additional funding for the school, sponsors and supports the breakfast club and provides a high number of learning partners who work one to one with individual pupils in reading, numeracy and information technology. This has been in place for over two years and has provided great benefits Woolmore Primary School - 17 to the school. A co-opted member of the governors is a representative of the company and is highly enthusiastic and supportive of the school. The school is an associate member of the Isle of Dogs Education Action Zone and learning mentors are provided by the local Excellence in Cities project. The headteacher and governors are very committed to ensuring that all parents and the local community feel involved as partners in their children’s education and are very open

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Teaching is particularly good throughout the school and has a positive impact

to any additional ways in which this can be improved. Woolmore Primary School - 18

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

20. This has been very well improved since the previous inspection and is now excellent overall. The school focuses very strongly on the personal development and support of the pupils as young people and this emphasis is incorporated into the curriculum from the nursery onwards. The ethos of the school and relationships throughout are particularly good and there is a very strong feeling that the school is a focus and support for the local community. The provision for spiritual and moral education is very good and that for social and cultural education is excellent.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

21. Spiritual development is particularly well provided for in school assemblies, religious education lessons and in many other aspects of the curriculum such as art, music, literature and science. During the inspection, a particularly good religious education lesson was seen in Year 5, dealing very sensitively with the problem of suffering in our lives and referring to Buddhist teachings about suffering and compassion. The class teacher and support teacher were confident and thoughtful in sharing their own feelings and experiences and pupils responded particularly well in their discussion of this and its relevance to their own life and world religions. Pupils at Woolmore sing particularly well and this aspect of their work is well used to raise their spiritual awareness and co-operation with others when they sing together as a whole-school community. The celebration assembly seen praised the work of many pupils but also lifted the pupils’ awareness of the joy of

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

learning in the time given for reflection and personal prayer. The whole school singing ‘Father Thames’ together was also a very uplifting experience for all concerned, including the inspectors. The school assemblies finish with the question ‘ What have you done today to make you feel proud?’ This sums up the school’s concern to develop pupils’ self esteem and confidence and bring them together as a community.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

22. Moral development is constantly reinforced through the discussion of rules and behaviour and staff emphasise the impact of one person’s behaviour on others in the community. This is well developed in the day-to-day relationships between staff and pupils and emphasised in ‘circle’ time and personal and social development from the nursery onwards. The precepts of major world faiths in developing personal morality are well used also in religious education. All pupils and adults in the school treat each other with a high degree of respect and concern. An excellent example was seen in a support group, or ‘Circle of Friends’, organised by the co-ordinator for special educational needs, for a pupil who needed support in controlling his own behaviour. All pupils concerned talked with insight and sensitivity about the impact of behaviour on others and how particular direct support from other pupils can help to modify behaviour and change it for the

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

better. The pupils are very well aware of the school rules, which they have negotiated, and comply very well with them. Their behaviour is particularly good at all times and no examples of unkind or aggressive behaviour were seen. Many pupils showed particular kindness and courtesy in many minor incidents during the inspection and are very interested in and sociable with visitors.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

23. There is a particularly strong sense of racial harmony and social cohesion throughout the school. It is present among the many parents who visit, help or take adult classes in the school during the day. Many adults support the social development of the pupils, which is excellent, including learning mentors, lunchtime supervisors, parents and support staff. The school aims to support parents and the community and also to use the skills and strengths of the local community. Work on citizenship is well planned and pupils visit many other areas and communities to gain a knowledge of our broader society. Many of these locations are in direct contrast with the pupils’ own locality. The school council is a representative group of pupils who discuss and make recommendations about whole-school issues such as extra-curricular activities. The school is very focused on the need to raise pupils’ confidence and self esteem and this is highly

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

successful, in that pupils are very forthcoming and open in their opinions and feel very well valued and secure within the school. Pupils also make contributions to the wider community in harvest collections and distribution and in the many performances and concerts undertaken. For example, a group of Year 4 pupils learned the song ‘Father Thames’ at an inter-schools music session and then taught it to the whole school so that every pupil benefited and learned.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

24. Many different races and nationalities are represented within the school population and among the staff. The school community is harmonious and all are treated with respect, their diversity being Woolmore Primary School - 19 valued and celebrated. Particularly good emphasis is placed on provision for cultural development, which is excellent. This is seen particularly in English, art, music, history, geography and religious education and in resources and displays that reflect our multi-racial society. The school celebrates cultural diversity with initiatives such as using a Black History unit in Year 5, and developing aspects of art and literature from many different cultures. Religious education teaches the beliefs of the world’s major faiths but is also sensitive to the religious beliefs of the pupils. European culture is also celebrated in art, music and literature. The literature of many cultures, including British, is well celebrated and represented in books, displays

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

and inspiration for pupils’ writing. On entering the school one is immediately conscious of the diversity of our society in the languages used, the high quality displays of pupils’ work and photographs and artefacts from many cultures. There is a very good balance between celebrating multi-cultural diversity and teaching about European culture. This aspect of the provision is excellent in its planning, focus and constant reinforcement.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

The curricular opportunities throughout the school are particularly good.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

25. The school has continued to improve its curricular provision since the last inspection and this is now very good at all stages and is a significant strength. The weaknesses identified in the provision for religious education in the previous report have been rectified and provision is now good. The school provides a particularly broad, relevant and stimulating curriculum that offers very good opportunities for pupils to extend their learning and is extremely strong in teaching English and in the creative arts. The school also meets all the requirements of the National Curriculum. The youngest children are very well provided for by a curriculum that meets their English language, developmental and emotional needs, as well as covering the requirements of the Foundation Stage of learning. There are good facilities for outdoor learning and the staff use both play situations and direct adult teaching well to allow the children to develop within a context that

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

is interesting and stimulating. Very good attention is also paid to the development of children’s social and emotional growth and learning skills. Particular strengths are the high level of organisation in the excellent nursery and the provision of high quality support staff, often bilingual, to support the developing language of the children, most of whom speak no English on admission.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

26. Older pupils in Year 1 to Year 6 are provided with a rich range of curricular activities that are now very well planned and carefully taught. Resources for all subjects have been improved, the learning environment in classrooms and around the school is very attractive, well resourced, well cared for and relevant to pupils’ language needs. Teachers take great pleasure in devising interesting and stimulating ways of teaching subjects and are highly enthusiastic themselves. Curriculum co-ordinators lead their subjects particularly well and are well involved in monitoring teaching and standards of work to find areas that need improvement to raise standards. They are given time away from their classes to develop their leadership and support colleagues. New co- ordinators are given time to visit their more experienced colleagues in other schools. All staff are supported well in their professional training and regularly attend relevant courses that also benefit

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

27. The core curricular purpose of the school is for pupils to become literate and numerate and the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy are embedded extremely well into the work of the school. National developments in the teaching of science and information and communication technology have also been adopted well. Resources have been significantly enhanced to support these initiatives, for example, in the good quality of English and mathematics resources, the library zones in each class, the outside area and well-equipped computer suite.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

28. The breadth of provision is also effective in including the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs, pupils with English as an additional language who are the majority, and in extending higher attainers and gifted and talented pupils. Extension activities for the highest attainers allow them to work at an appropriate pace and there are high expectations of these pupils which encourages their achievement. For example, Year 6 pupils were working on a local project, bridging work between Year 6 and Year 7, to prepare them for transfer to secondary school. The class teacher had extended and modified the work set to challenge the higher attainers in the Year 6 class. Pupils with special educational needs are particularly well supported and the curriculum is modified for them when appropriate, to ensure that they are included and that the targets in their individual plans are met. There is very good support from

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

Woolmore Primary School - 20 teachers, support assistants and specialist external support for those with more specific needs. The Reading Recovery programme is used very well to raise reading standards for younger pupils and additional funding to boost achievement is particularly well allocated and organised.

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

29. Pupils’ learning and their social development are enriched through a good range of activities outside school time, which is very appropriate for the ages of the pupils. Current activities include a Robot club for information and communication technology work, Spanish lessons, a Chatterbox club for drama, story tent making, a gardening club at lunchtime and over the school year art, music, knitting, speakeasy and homework clubs. The school arranges a residential visit for pupils in Year 6 to Arundel, and a variety of visits out and visitors into school extend the breadth of provision. For example, visits are made to Balliol College, Oxford, the seaside, concerts, galleries and museums. There is also a very good emphasis on pupils’ personal development through the provision for their personal, social and health education and through class discussions in ‘circle’ time. During some lunchtimes there is a school council meeting in

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The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is

which pupils are involved to discuss issues relevant to school improvement and their own learning. Currently they are reviewing and discussing new extra-curricular activities for next term.

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The school building is particularly well refurbished and maintained to offer a

30. The school occupies a two-storey building built in the late 1890s, part of which was destroyed in the Second World War and later rebuilt. It is situated very close to the entrance to the Blackwall tunnel, which is an inner city area with few grassed areas or open spaces. Most of the pupils come from large blocks of local authority flats with very small balconies and limited outside facilities, so the school environment is often their only opportunity to work and play in a large space. The school accommodation is ample and there are good sized outside areas. The last inspection found that the space was not always well used, that parts of the school were in a poor state of repair and decoration and that repairs were needed. Since then, very good improvements have been made to the decorative order of the school, the outside facilities and in the overall maintenance and refurbishment of the building.

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The school building is particularly well refurbished and maintained to offer a

31. Over the last five years, the space has been reorganised so that it is used more effectively for learning. The school is now a bright, attractive, pleasing and stimulating environment for learning. Particularly good areas of improvement are the overall condition and decorative order of the interior, a new study room for groups, a Reading Recovery room, a well-furnished computer suite, and additional administrative and office space. There are toilet, shower and training facilities for the disabled and an ouside access ramp is being intalled soon. The outside areas are very effectively used and now provide a large and well-marked playground, an enclosed ball games pitch funded by a local company at Canary Wharf, a large outside play area for the nursery and a smaller outside area for the reception class. There is a new playground shelter, new planting, new water fountains and new school signs in two languages. During the inspection, work was in

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The school building is particularly well refurbished and maintained to offer a

progress on landscaping the garden area, which again was funded externally. There is a rolling programme of redecoration and the school is painted in bright, vibrant colours and very well maintained and cleaned by the site manager and cleaning staff.

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The school building is particularly well refurbished and maintained to offer a

32. There are future plans for a covered area for the nursery and a new school entrance. New facilities for parents are also being developed through local Sure Start funding. The school has been very good in seeking out and bidding for additional funding to improve the building and environment, using its own resources prudently and making good relationships with local Docklands companies who have supported it particularly well. This is a reflection of the excellent energy and vision of the headteacher.

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The school building is particularly well refurbished and maintained to offer a

33. The interior and exterior spaces are now very well used. Classrooms are very well resourced, particularly clean, tidy and bright. They are well organised into different areas of learning and have excellent displays of pupils’ work. Shared spaces in corridors and the halls are also used as part of the learning environment and again, excellent displays of work, reflecting the curriculum, pupils’ work, and community and English languages, are apparent in every space. This high quality of care reflects the respect and concern of the school for property as well as people and provides an excellent and aesthetically pleasing environment for pupils to learn in. This has a major impact on learning, pupils’ self esteem and their respect for the environment as they also treat property Woolmore Primary School - 21 and learning materials with great respect and care. This enhances also the excellent support of

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The school building is particularly well refurbished and maintained to offer a

the school by parents, who constantly see improvements being made for the benefit of their children’s education and welfare. Woolmore Primary School - 22

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The inspection identified no issues of substantial importance for the school to improve further. Any minor weaknesses have already been identified by the school for improvement. Woolmore Primary School - 23

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 14

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching... Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than three percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 27 204

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 17 142

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 5

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 8 48

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 176

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 15

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 20

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Attendance 2000/2001

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance 2000/2001

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Woolmore Primary School - 24

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 18 12 30

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 12 12 12 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 11 9

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 73 (80) 77 (77) 70 (90) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 12 12 12 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 9 9

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 73 (80) 70 (90) 70 (77) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 18 10 28

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 16 11 17 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 86 (55) 50 (66) 93 (86) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 11 11 14 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 50 (54) 50 (68) 71 (79) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79) Woolmore Primary School - 25 Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Woolmore Primary School - 26

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 7 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 7 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 9.6 Financial year 2000/2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23.7

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 951626

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 12 Total expenditure 943209

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 264 Expenditure per pupil 4014

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 48462

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1.0 Balance carried forward to next year 56879

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 27

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 68

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 14

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 14

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Woolmore Primary School - 27

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 79 19 1 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 76 21 2 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 74 21 2 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 74 23 0 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 71 22 2 0 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 85 12 1 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 84 15 0 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 76 21 1 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 71 26 0 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 79 17 1 0 3

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