Fox Primary School

FOX PRIMARY SCHOOL

LEA area: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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FOX PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 9 - 10 December 2002

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FOX 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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FOX 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. Fox Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Kensington Place London W8 7PP

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Robert Clamp

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 02 February 1998 Fox Primary School - 4

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Team members

15162 David James Registered inspector 9519 Sue Pritchard Lay inspector 20457 Brian Fletcher 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 Fox 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

Fox Primary is a school for 264 boys and girls aged four to eleven. Pupils join the reception class in the term they become five. The school is very successful and heavily oversubscribed. The annual intake of 45 pupils results in three classes of mixed ages. For 27 per cent of pupils English is an additional language and between them they speak 23 different languages. These are much higher than for most schools. Of these pupils, 46 of them are at an early stage in acquiring fluency in English. Twenty-one per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals; this is close to the national average. The 18 per cent of pupils identified as having special educational needs is in line with the national average; of these almost half need help for their emotional and behavioural development. The 3.4 per cent of pupils who have statements of special educational needs is above the national average. Pupils come from a rich

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

and diverse range of socio-economic, ethnic and cultural groups; the largest group is the 40 per cent from white British ethnic backgrounds. Last year 33 pupils left and 25 joined the school other than at the usual times. This turnover of pupils is higher than for most schools. Overall pupils’ attainment on entry to the school is above average, but this varies considerably from year to year. The great diversity of the school community is the key feature that best describes the school.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very good school. Pupils achieve very well and reach very high standards. The school has maintained very high standards for the past five years. Teaching is good and the high expectations by teachers and parents result in pupils’ learning being very good. The very good leadership of the school, its inclusive nature and strong community result in very good attitudes to school by pupils and their very good personal development. The school is outward looking, it is involved in local and national projects and enhances the curriculum very well to provide relevant and interesting learning for its pupils. It is constantly looking for ways to ensure all of its pupils learn as well as they can and to maintain its high standards. The school provides very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very favourably with similar schools. • The leadership and management of the school are both very good. • The great diversity of the school community is recognised, welcomed and used positively to promote very good progress and attitudes. • Pupils’ personal development, relationships and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are all very good. • The teaching is good; high expectations of pupils and effective assessment of their needs result in very good learning. • The curriculum is very good; pupils have many opportunities to use the skills they learn in interesting and relevant ways. • The school’s very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to the pupils’ progress.

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What could be improved

• The attendance of pupils. 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 has made very good improvements since the previous inspection in February 1998. Effective management and teaching have resulted in an improvement in standards by the end of Year 6 and the library has been re-organised. All the minor issues for improvement raised in the previous report have also been successfully implemented, for example the resources for information and communications technology was then judged to be barely adequate and now there is a computer suite and a set of laptop computers. Fox Primary School - 7 Fox Primary School - 8

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

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Key

Pupils’ achievements are very good and are reflected in these impressive results. By the end of Year 6 the school is achieving well above the national average and when compared to similar schools it is in the top five per cent nationally. The school meets its demanding targets. The results by the end of Year 2 are also impressive. Pupils achieve well above the national average for reading and mathematics and at the national average level for writing. When compared with similar schools these results are well above them for writing and are in the top five per cent nationally for reading and mathematics. The standards of work seen during the inspection were good in reception and in Key Stage 1 and very good by the end of Year 6. The school is on course to achieve well above the national average in 2003. The progress made by pupils who have special educational needs and those not fluent in English is very good. More able

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Key

pupils also make very good progress and achieve very high standards.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Attitudes are very good throughout the school.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Pupils’ behaviour is good in classrooms, in the playground and in the public areas of the school.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils’ personal development is very good; relationships between pupils and with teachers and other adults are very good.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Pupils’ attendance is unsatisfactory. It falls well below the national average because some parents take their children on holiday during term time.

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Aspect Comment

Pupils are keen to learn, usually concentrate hard in lessons, co-operate well and work hard. Older pupils take their responsibilities seriously, often set good examples for younger ones and help them. Behaviour is good overall, it is often very good, but there are a few instances when it is poor. Almost half of the pupils on the school’s register of special needs have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Attendance is unsatisfactory, the school is acutely aware of the need for it to improve and has included its improvement as a high priority in its school development plan for 2003. The school works with the Education Welfare Service, has set itself targets and gives rewards for good attendance. Nevertheless, attendance remains stubbornly well below the national average and below the LEA average. Fox Primary School - 9

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Teaching of pupils in: reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Good Good 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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Teaching of pupils in: reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Of the teaching seen much was very good, some good and none less than satisfactory. Teachers’ plans show they know their pupils well, make careful assessment of the progress they make and normally match work very well to pupils’ needs and set challenging targets for them. Pupils who have special educational needs and those not fluent in English have their needs very carefully assessed and are given very good help so they learn well and make very good progress. Pupils who are more able are given demanding work and make very good progress. Teachers all expect pupils to behave well, to work hard and try their best. Most teachers also have high expectations of pupils to think and learn as much as they can and present them with demanding activities and difficult questions. As a result pupils’ learning is very good overall. Literacy and numeracy are well taught, pupils acquire the basic skills very well and

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Teaching of pupils in: reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

are often given opportunities to apply them in other subjects in interesting and relevant ways. Specialist teachers and classroom support staff make an important contribution to pupils’ learning and particularly to the progress made by those with special needs and pupils not fluent in English. In the best lessons seen, pupils responded to their teachers’ very high expectations and enthusiasm and produced high quality work. Some teachers do not make enough use of the computers in their classrooms. Homework is regularly set. Most parents ensure it is completed and the work done makes a positive contribution to pupils’ progress. High expectations by parents reinforce those of teachers and play an important part in pupils’ very good attitudes to learning.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The statutory curriculum is well covered. In addition there are many extended opportunities for pupils through clubs, school events, visitors to the school, visits and the use made of the local community. Music, taught mainly by a specialist teacher and instrumental tuition, is a school tradition and strength.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. The pupils’ needs are very effectively assessed and their progress regularly reviewed. As a result, pupils make very good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good. The pupils’ level of fluency and understanding is very effectively assessed. The specialist help they receive results in their making very good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development The celebration of diversity and respect for others underpin the very good and effective provision made for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school’s care for its pupils is good. Monitoring of pupils’ academic progress is very good. Targets are set and regularly checked. Pupils’ personal development is monitored well.

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Aspect Comment

The curriculum is enhanced and extended to provide additional opportunities for pupils’ learning and their personal development. There are many clubs for pupils in both key stages and the local community is Fox Primary School - 10 extensively used. There are many examples in music and science of pupils being involved in projects and events and the school has a float in the Notting Hill Carnival each year.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides very good leadership and manages the school very well. She is ably supported by the deputy headteacher, key staff and governors. There is no hint of complacency in this successful school.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body fulfils its responsibilities well. It is very supportive of the school, but at the same time carefully reviews its progress and use of resources.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance There are very good and effective systems that compare the school’s performance with other schools and ensure that all staff give of their best.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Planning for the future is detailed. The school constantly strives to get the best value possible from its resources and is successful. It provides very good value for money.

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Aspect Comment

The implementation of the school’s aims for recognition and use of the great diversity of the school community is a distinctive feature of the school and contributes greatly to its success. All those with leadership and management responsibilities contribute.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• They would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. • The school is well led and managed. • Their children like school. • The school is helping their children to become mature and responsible. • The school expects their children to work hard and to achieve their best. • The teaching is good. • Their children are making good progress. • The range of activities outside of lessons. • Behaviour, especially in the playground at lunchtime.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Parents at the meeting and in their response to the questionnaires were almost all very positive about the school and supportive of it. Inspection agrees with all the positive points made and recognises the very important part parents play in the success of the school. Inspection does not agree with the two negative points. During the inspection behaviour was seen to be good and pupils were well supervised at lunchtime. However, the playground at the front of the building is cramped and this contributes to occasional incidents of unsatisfactory behaviour. The range of extra curricular activities and clubs is greater than for most schools. They are deliberately organised to include younger pupils and make a positive contribution to the opportunities for pupils to learn. Fox Primary School - 11

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

1. By the end of Year 6 standards achieved are consistently high. To maintain such high standards is an achievement in itself. The results of the National Tests for English have been either above the national average or well above it for the past five years. When compared to those of similar schools the results for English in 2001 were well above them and for 2002 were in the top five per cent nationally. The results for mathematics and science have been consistently high. Over the past five years they have been well above the national average. When the aggregate score for all three subjects is used the school’s results have been in the top five per cent nationally for the past two years. The school exceeded the challenging targets for English and mathematics set for it with the Local Education Authority (LEA) in 2001 and for 2002 exceeded its target for mathematics and met the one for English. The number of pupils who attain higher levels in the

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

National Tests for English and mathematics is well above the national average and for science is particularly high. The trend in the school’s results over the past five years is in line with the improvements made nationally. LEA statistical data shows that pupils at Fox Primary make better progress between the end of reception and the end of Year 6 than any other school in the LEA. Inspection finds standards to be high by the end of Year 6 and that the school is on course to be well above the national average for 2003.

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

2. Standards of literacy and numeracy are high and pupils apply their skills well in other subjects. Pupils who are not fluent in English receive very good help and make very good progress. For example, a pupil with no English who had been in school for a very short time worked with a specialist teacher and three other pupils during an English lesson, all four had specific tasks and were helped to make good progress. Pupils with special educational needs have individual education plans that are detailed and specific to their needs. The special educational needs co- ordinator and support staff work with individuals and groups of pupils in classrooms to provide help, ensure they participate in lessons and assess the progress they make. As a result pupils with special educational needs make very good progress. More able pupils are given challenging work to do, they make very good progress and achieve very well. By the end of Year 6, pupils’

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

written work is expressive and appropriate for different purposes and audiences; good examples were seen of concise writing and character studies. Pupils are articulate and work very well together to understand difficult texts such as the use of metaphor and simile in Shakespeare’s ballroom scene from Romeo and Juliet . Their next tasks were to be rewriting the scene in their own words and then acting it out. This is an example of how pupils’ interest is sustained by the relevance of their work. Pupils apply their mathematical skills well. Examples from Year 6 are a mathematics lesson when most pupils were able to understand a formula for arriving at the perimeter of composite shapes; and a science lesson when pupils were able to distinguish between different types of data and decide the best way to represent the information from their science experiment.

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

3. By the end of Key Stage 1 standards in the National Tests are also high. Over the past five years results for reading and mathematics have improved from average or above the national average and have been well above it for the past two years. When compared with similar schools they have been in top five per cent nationally for the past two years. Standards in writing vary, mostly according to the pattern of pupils’ fluency in English in particular cohorts. The 2002 results were an improvement over 2001from below the national average to above it. When compared to similar schools these results for writing have been well above the national average for the last two years. The number of pupils attaining higher levels in the National Tests for reading and mathematics is well above the national average. For writing, fewer pupils attained the higher grades than nationally. In a Year 1/ 2 lesson pupils enjoyed the game of helping the teacher who had

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

forgotten how to spell and revised their knowledge of spelling rules very well. Year 2 pupils are able explain the meaning of their stories well. Most handwriting is well formed although not all is properly joined. Pupils’ spellings are almost all either correct or easily recognisable and many Fox Primary School - 12 use capital letters and full stops accurately. In a Year 2 mathematics lesson pupils distinguished between horizontal and vertical and most used tallying accurately to produce a graph. As in Key Stage 2, pupils with special educational needs and those not fluent in English receive good help and support, are involved in lessons and make very good progress. Inspection finds that standards are high and the school is on course to maintain its high standards.

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

4. Children make good progress in reception and are well prepared for the National Curriculum in Year 1. Pupils’ physical development is good; in the hall they moved with confidence and enjoyed playing with balls, practising their skills safely and showing good awareness of others. Children achieve well in mathematics, for example they concentrated hard to recognise and recreate repeating patterns involving two and three colours and a variety of hand squeezes around their circle. Children enjoyed making a programmable robot follow their instructions and were confident in counting and describing direction and developed their skills for solving problems.

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

The leadership and management of the school are both very good.

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

5. The leadership by the headteacher is very good. She is totally committed to the value of the school’s diverse community and insists it is used positively. She has very high expectations of pupils to learn as well as possible and ensures this is a focus of teaching. An example is the weekly meeting between the headteacher and the special educational needs co-ordinator that ensures resources are continually refocused on the areas of greatest need. Delegation is effective, new staff are expected to play a full part in the leadership and management of the school as quickly as possible. The administrative staff are very effective in helping the school to run smoothly. They know pupils and parents by name and enhance the good relationships as they interact with them when they enter and leave the building.

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

6. The school development plan is a thorough and detailed document that guides the work of the school. It looks ahead to 2005, has detailed plans with costs, actions to be taken and provides a very good basis for the regular monitoring of its successful implementation by governors. It also includes individual targets for all pupils. The extent and thoroughness of the plan are based upon careful analysis of the school’s performance and shows the determination to maintain success and improve wherever possible. There is no complacency by this very successful school.

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

7. There is very good and effective monitoring of all aspects of the school’s work. Teaching and learning are monitored in classrooms by the headteacher, deputy headteacher and subject co- ordinators. Feedback is given and good training and support are overseen by the deputy headteacher, who also ensures new staff quickly become effective members of the team. Governors have a long established sub-committee structure and meet twice a term; they fulfil their statutory responsibilities well. Governors also visit classrooms as well as monitoring the school’s success in relation to schools locally and nationally. They ensure that resources are well used and they receive good value for money. The school’s financial and administration manager produces monthly financial reports and data that track the progress of pupils. This information is used extensively and effectively to support the monitoring process. New software packages and

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The standards achieved by pupils are consistently high and compare very

training in their use are being considered to further improve the quality of this data. Governors are very well informed about the school through the results of the monitoring, but also less formally through the views of parents.

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The great diversity of the school community is recognised, welcomed and used

positively to promote very good progress and attitudes.

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The great diversity of the school community is recognised, welcomed and used

8. The school aims for all of its pupils to become valued members of society. It also aims to empower them through their success and prepare them for the future. Its draft inclusion policy refers to the school’s mission statement about valuing the individuality of all children and giving them every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards and lists the attention paid to the different groups of children that comprise the school. These aims and principles are evident in all of the school’s work. The rich diversity of the different ethnic groups, religions, cultures and languages spoken in the school community are actively valued and positively used as a part of pupils’ learning. Governors and parents emphasised the value of the school’s diversity. Following Fox Primary School - 13 a recent visit one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools complimented the school on the way all pupils are included and the effectiveness of how the progress of the different groups of pupils is

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The great diversity of the school community is recognised, welcomed and used

monitored and tracked. An example of the school’s inclusive principles in practice is that it accepts pupils excluded from other schools and gives them a fresh start. The successful implementation of the school’s aims and in particular the value given to the diversity of the school’s community underpins its success.

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Pupils’ personal development, relationships and their spiritual, moral, social

and cultural development are all very good.

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Pupils’ personal development, relationships and their spiritual, moral, social

9. Pupils know they are valued and a part of a strong and diverse community. They listen carefully and respect each other’s views. For example in an assembly two pupils and their mothers explained the significance of Hanukah for Jews and a Muslim boy explained the festival of Id-ul-Ftr after Ramadan and pupils listened with interest and respect. Many examples were seen of pupils knowing the right thing to do. In lessons pupils are well behaved, often they are very well behaved, concentrate and work hard. Pupils co-operate well in lessons, for example as ‘whispering groups’ in Year 2 to help those who do not know an answer. Parents in their questionnaire responses rated highly that the school was helping their children to become mature and responsible An example from Year 5/6 shows pupils’ maturity: when working on interpretations of Shakespeare they said that Juliet was flirting with Romeo and enjoyed the kiss,

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Pupils’ personal development, relationships and their spiritual, moral, social

but did so in an adult manner with no embarrassment. Personal, social and health education lessons and class councils provide good opportunities for pupils to discuss moral and social issues. They are able to talk about sensitive issues, consider points of view different to their own and respect the needs of others. In a Year 6 lesson pupils spoke very well about their feelings and those of others and everyone participated. In a Year 4 lesson pupils had an animated discussion and talked knowledgably about the end of term celebrations, lunchtimes and healthy snacks in a very co-operative manner.

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Pupils’ personal development, relationships and their spiritual, moral, social

10. Almost half of pupils on the register of special educational needs have emotional and behavioural needs, but any instances of poor behaviour are dealt with quickly and effectively and there is no disruption to pupils’ learning or adverse effects on relationships. The school acknowledges that behaviour is a continuous issue and takes effective measures to promote good behaviour. It reviews the behaviour policy annually and buys in specialist help from an LEA service. Some support staff were not clear enough about what to do if they had any concerns about issues of child protection. The headteacher produced a booklet for midday supervisors and works with them on their role. Issues of child protection are planned to be included. Older pupils take responsibilities in the school. For example they show visitors around and help look after younger pupils by playing with them at lunchtime. Parents at the meeting commented, “How incredibly

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Pupils’ personal development, relationships and their spiritual, moral, social

nice the older pupils are to the younger ones and they know their names.”

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The teaching is good, high expectations of pupils and effective assessment of

their needs result in very good learning.

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The teaching is good, high expectations of pupils and effective assessment of

11. Teaching is good overall and often it is very good. Learning is very good. In addition to observation of lessons inspectors judge the quality of teaching and learning from scrutiny of pupils’ work, teachers’ plans and records. This explains why pupils’ learning is judged as very good overall, whereas teaching seen during the inspection was judged to be good. Teachers all have very high expectations of pupils to behave well and to work hard. They also have high expectations of pupils to do as well as they can and make the maximum possible progress. Teachers often give pupils demanding work and present them with difficult ideas. Examples were seen in a Year 5/6 science lesson when skilful questioning helped pupils to understand how different forces act upon moving objects and in a Year 5 religious education lesson where pupils thought about the differences between art in Christianity and Hinduism. Again, in a Year 3 class

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The teaching is good, high expectations of pupils and effective assessment of

were expected to be able to send e-mails and add attachments.

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The teaching is good, high expectations of pupils and effective assessment of

12. Teachers plan carefully and match work well to pupils’ different needs. Work is generally prepared for three levels of ability, often with additional work for the more able. Pupils with special educational needs and those not fluent in English are given specific work to help them. Normally Fox Primary School - 14 they are supported by classroom assistants and specialist teachers. Additional staff work very well with class teachers in lessons and make an important contribution to pupils’ progress. Teachers carefully assess pupils’ learning and marking is up to date, accurate and helps pupils to move on. Teachers base their lessons and targets for pupils on very effective assessments of what the pupils already know. Teachers of mixed age classes have a wide range of pupils in terms of age, ability, special needs and fluency in English and have very large demands made upon their planning of lessons. Much very good practice was seen, but on a few occasions there

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The teaching is good, high expectations of pupils and effective assessment of

was not enough support for some pupils. Teachers use resources well, but although computers were seen to be very well used in some lessons, as in a Year 3/4 science lesson, there are occasions when teachers do not use the computers in classrooms as much as they could. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is well taught and the ICT suite is effectively used to develop pupils’ skills and enable them to use computers to support their learning in different subjects. The technician gives teachers and pupils very good support.

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The teaching is good, high expectations of pupils and effective assessment of

13. Literacy and numeracy are taught very well. Pupils acquire good skills which they apply to other lessons, notably science, history, religious education, ICT and design technology. Very good relationships between teachers, classroom support staff and pupils are strengths of teaching. Pupils are eager to answer questions and put forward their points of view. They know they will be taken seriously and are able learn from their mistakes. Teachers often use their knowledge of pupils to ask appropriate questions of individual pupils and maintain their confidence. There is much good whole class teaching with questioning that helps pupils to understand as well as testing their knowledge. Sometimes teachers’ own enthusiasm becomes infectious and inspires pupils. In a Year 2 lesson that used music and dance on the story of Rama and Sita, pupils became highly enthusiastic and concentrated very hard and this helped them to understand the

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The curriculum is very good, pupils have many opportunities to use the skills

they learn in interesting and relevant ways.

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The curriculum is very good, pupils have many opportunities to use the skills

14. The early learning goals in the Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2 are covered very well. The school provides specialist teaching music teaching and instrumental tuition and until recently there was specialist teaching of dance. There are eight different clubs that meet on 11 occasions; three are only for older pupils, but all the others cater for younger pupils as well. The school is involved in four national and three local projects and is the only primary school locally to design, make and enter a float in the Notting Hill Carnival. Pupils make many trips and visits and the school has many visitors. All of these help to extend and enhance the opportunities for pupils and reinforce the school’s commitment to the local community. They also enable pupils to work together, to apply their skills and increase their understanding. A few examples will show the range; pupils from Year 5 worked with a

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The curriculum is very good, pupils have many opportunities to use the skills

professional composer, instrumentalists and sound technicians to compose, rehearse, perform and record their own CD; during Science Week a group of civil engineers came to the school and worked with pupils on water power; pupils visit the Science Museum and environmental centres in Holland Park and Hyde Park as well as longer residential trips. Pupils enjoy performing to the whole school in their class assemblies and these give a focus to their work. For example an excellent Year 6 assembly involved music, dance and narrative about the ancient Greeks, in particular Alexander the Great.

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The school’s very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to

15. Parents were very positive and supportive of the school in their responses to the questionnaire and at the meeting. There were some criticisms and a few parents were anxious about specific issues, but overall the response was very good. It is no surprise that so successful a school should be rated highly by parents, who are pleased that their children are making good progress. The very good relationships are shown by the very many parents who feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or problems. Inspection agrees with these positive views. The accord between the values of home and school, parents’ help for their children and their high Fox Primary School - 15 expectations of the school all help pupils to make very good progress. Parents also run social events and raise funds for the school, for example the recent Christmas Fair raised £1,200.

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The school’s very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to

16. A minority of parents did not think that the school provides a good range of interesting activities outside of school. The inspection does not agree with this criticism. There are clubs for drama, chess, French, sports and art that cater for pupils from Key Stages 1 and 2 and in addition there are clubs for ICT, creative writing and an orchestra for pupils from Key Stage 2. Over 200 pupils attend. There is also a breakfast club before school and a play centre after school. These activities are more than for most schools and when taken with the range of visits made they amount to a very good provision for out of school activities. The response to the questionnaire was positive about behaviour in the school, but at the parents’ meeting a minority were concerned about instances of poor behaviour and were particularly anxious about supervision at lunchtime. During the inspection behaviour was seen to be good in classrooms, in the public areas of the

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The school’s very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to

school and in the playgrounds. Pupils are well supervised during playtimes and at lunchtime. Pupils confirmed the view of the majority of parents at the meeting that occasional instances of bad behaviour are dealt with quickly and effectively.

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The school’s very good partnership with parents contributes significantly to

17. At the meeting parents said they knew the rules about attendance and punctuality, received telephone calls and letters as necessary and knew that rewards are given for good attendance and punctuality. However, the view was also expressed that taking children away from school on a holiday abroad during school time gives them valuable experiences. Nevertheless, this practice puts an avoidable burden on pupils who have to catch up and the teachers who have to help them.

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Attendance

18. Attendance is well below the national average and below the LEA average. It has remained too low for too long despite the efforts made by the school working with the local Education Welfare Service. The school has set itself targets for improvement and included better attendance as a high priority in its development plan for 2003. In so successful a school the adverse effects of poor attendance are masked. For some pupils, poor attendance limits their understanding and progress. Where teachers are successful at helping them to catch up this effort is at the expense of other work. Governors, parents and the headteacher and staff must all work together with external specialist help to bring about improvements. The school community is so strong and successful in other areas and should be able to bring attendance up to at least average levels.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

19. Attendance is the only unsatisfactory aspect in this very successful school. Almost everything else about it is good or very good. The school is acutely aware of the problem and has plans for improvement. It is not just an issue for the headteacher and the management of the school working with the LEA specialist service. It is an issue that requires the whole school to work together to bring about improvement; that is governors, parents, headteacher and staff. The school community should review its practices for promoting good attendance, especially in relation to holidays in term time. It should also frequently inform parents of the adverse effects of poor attendance and of the avoidable extra work caused to the school and pupils. Fox Primary School - 16

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 8

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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 four percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 264

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 55

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 9

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 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 72

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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 25

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 33

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Attendance

School data 8.5 School data 0.1 Fox Primary School - 17 National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Fox Primary School - 18

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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 2002 22 16 38

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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 18 18 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 16 15 15

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

Percentage of pupils School 89 (89) 87 (87) 92 (98) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

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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 18 20 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 16 16 16

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

Percentage of pupils School 89 (89) 95 (98) 95 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

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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 2002 22 19 41

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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 19 17 21 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 18 17 18

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

Percentage of pupils School 90 (78) 83 (75) 95 (92) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

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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 14 17 21 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 17 17 17

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

Percentage of pupils School 78 (83) 85 (78) 95 (89) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Fox Primary School - 19 Fox Primary School - 20

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 51 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 12 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 18 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 3 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 2 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 3 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 16 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, 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) 15.21 Financial year 2001/2002

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 17.35

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR –Y6 Total income 1,003,649

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 13 Total expenditure 1,041,443

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 293 Expenditure per pupil 3,483

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 53,051

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) Balance carried forward to next year 15,257

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week Fox Primary School - 21 Number of pupils per FTE adult

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 10

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 7

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

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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

8.7 FTE left and 7 appointed, another will begin in reception at the beginning of 2003 Fox Primary School - 22

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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. 66 30 3 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 58 40 1 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 59 30 7 2 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 56 36 8 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 79 20 0 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 71 26 2 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 58 38 4 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 78 17 2 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 73 25 2 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 49 34 10 1 6

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