Greenwood Primary School

GREENWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 16 – 17 October 2002

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GREENWOOD 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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GREENWOOD 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. Greenwood Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Wood End Way Northolt Middlesex

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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: Mrs E Boggust

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 8 December 1997 Greenwood Primary School - 4

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Team members

24326 Moira Fitzpatrick Registered inspector 9334 Jenny Mynett Lay inspector 15236 Morag Thorpe Team inspector 13805 Lynn Lowery Team inspector

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Team members

Cambridge Education Associates Ltd 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 Greenwood 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

Greenwood School is much bigger than the average primary. There are 423 pupils on roll, with 47 children attending the nursery part time. The school has a high ethnic mix, with about 20 per cent of pupils from Asian and black Caribbean heritages, 40 per cent from white British heritage and the remainder from African, Chinese and other European heritages. There are currently 30 refugee pupils in the school. Thirty per cent of pupils have English as an additional language and about one third of these are at an early stage of learning the language. These figures are very high compared with the national average and have implications for the school’s performance in national tests. The percentage of pupils who have special educational needs is about average, as is the percentage of pupils who have statements of special educational need. The majority of these pupils have special needs associated with literacy. While the school benefits from a stable and committed staff, the community which it

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

serves is changing. The proportion of ethnic minority pupils in the school has risen significantly since the previous inspection. The school is also beginning to see a higher level of pupil turnover, now running at about 30 pupils each year. These factors are producing new challenges for the school as it tries to maintain the high standards it has sustained since the previous inspection. The school also faces challenges from the condition of its buildings, which are in urgent need of repair and redecoration. The attainment of pupils on entry to the school has fallen since the previous inspection and is now well below average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very good school with many strengths. The very good quality of teaching and the excellent use of assessment data produce high standards across the school. Pupils are enthusiastic learners because of the varied and exciting opportunities they have and because teachers are concerned with the development of the whole child. The breadth and richness of the curriculum is just what children should experience to foster all round development. They are expected to work hard and they do. The headteacher provides excellent leadership for the development of the school. His ambitious vision for the school is fully supported by the outstanding work of the senior management team, which is sharply focussed on raising standards for every pupil. The school’s ability to sustain good performance in national tests, as the nature of its intake changes, demonstrates how well the leadership team is able to

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

manage change and overcome barriers to learning. The school gives very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards are high and pupils achieve very well in their learning. • Leadership and management are excellent. • Teaching is of a very high quality, reflecting the commitment of teachers continually to improve their skills; learning support assistants make a very good contribution to the standards pupils achieve. • There is very good provision for children in the Foundation Stage (nursery and Reception classes). • Pupils’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour are very good; relationships are excellent. • There is a rich and stimulating curriculum with outstanding extra-curricular provision.

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What could be improved

• The school’s environment, including some aspects of health and safety. • Lunchtime supervision and provision for play. 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 improvement since it was last inspected in December 1997. It has made very significant improvement in the standards pupils achieve in mathematics and in their performance in national tests. These are now well above those of similar schools by the time pupils are 11. The policy for homework is firmly established and provision for homework in the juniors (Years 3 to 6) is now good. Attendance has improved and is now about the same as most schools of this type. This is in part a result of the headteacher convincing parents of the damage done to their children’s learning by taking family holidays in term time. Since the previous inspection, the school’s performance in national tests, when pupils are 11, has improved faster than the national average. This has been Greenwood Primary School - 7 recognised in the past two years by the Achievement Award from the Department for Education and

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Skills. The quality of teaching has improved further and is now very good. The school has thorough and very effective systems for monitoring teaching, learning and pupils’ progress. Standards and provision for information and communication have both improved since the previous inspection. Given the quality of leadership from the headteacher, the very good teamwork that exists in the school and the very effective partnership with governors and parents, the school is in a very good position to sustain further improvement and to continue to raise standards.

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

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Key

At the end of Year 6, pupils’ performance in national tests continues to rise. Their performance in the tests taken in 2002 showed an improvement on the scores achieved the previous year. Teachers expect their pupils to perform well in English, mathematics and science. In all other subjects they do well because teachers plan thoroughly and have the same high expectations. All pupils are very well supported to make good progress and achieve good standards. They rise enthusiastically to the challenges set by teachers and work hard. Pupils do notably well in art, where skills are progressively taught and where they are given good opportunities to practise them. A similar picture exists in the infants (Years 1 and 2). In 2001 pupils’ performance in national tests was above that of similar schools in reading and writing and about the same as similar schools in mathematics. There has been an improvement in reading and mathematics in this year’s tests. Standards in other subjects are good and

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Key

are particularly so in physical education and art, because the skills are well taught and pupils have plenty of opportunity to practise and refine them. The majority of children in the Foundation Stage are on course to reach the expected standard in all their areas of learning, except communication, language and literacy. This is because of the increasing number of children joining the school who do not speak English at home. Despite very good support to develop their English, not all children are able to make enough gains during their time in the Foundation Stage to become fluent. Their creative and social skills are particularly well developed as is their knowledge and understanding of the world. The school has set ambitious targets, based on a detailed knowledge of pupils’ achievements, for the national tests in 2003.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils of all ages show a sense of excitement about their learning. They are enthusiastic and enjoy working hard.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good in class and excellent during assemblies. Pupils show high levels of respect for each other, for adults and for the rights of everyone to learn.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils’ independence and awareness of the needs of others are noteworthy. They form excellent relationships, are tolerant of differences

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Aspect Comment

1 Schools in the same free school meals category. Greenwood Primary School - 8 and support each other very well.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance At the national average and above the local average for similar schools.

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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

Teaching is a strength of the school. Teaching in English and mathematics is very strong, with a very good emphasis on basic skills. The result is that pupils have good reading strategies, very good knowledge of number and are confident in applying their skills to other areas of learning. Pupils achieve well because their teachers have high expectations of them, set interesting and challenging tasks and have a very good knowledge of their needs. The close involvement of the senior management team in monitoring and assessing pupils’ progress gives very good support to pupils’ learning. This is because the teachers make very good use of the information they have to identify where pupils need extra support with their learning, or where they need to be more fully challenged to ensure they are learning at a good rate. This ensures that pupils with special needs, pupils who are learning English as an additional

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

language, or pupils who are particularly able all have their needs met. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is very successful because of the detailed planning and assessment used by teachers. They have a very good knowledge of the children and a very good understanding of how young children learn. The support provided by adults is very well managed. The children are assisted to learn, while, at the same time, they develop independence as learners. All teachers form good relationships with parents and this makes a significant contribution to pupils’ learning.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. Pupils speak highly of the range of exciting learning opportunities they enjoy. Thorough planning by teachers extends learning through a very good range of visits and visitors. The provision for extra-curricular activities is outstanding.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. Pupils’ learning is very well monitored and any learning difficulties are detected early. The school’s very effective use of support staff ensures that pupils make at least the same progress as others. Their performance in national tests is noteworthy.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good use is made of existing provision and pupils who remain in the school achieve good standards by the end of Year 6. The increased number of pupils who have English as an additional language is now stretching to the limit the school’s resources for this provision.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Pupils have many opportunities to experience joy and wonder in their learning. They value the customs and culture of others and, through good teaching about different faiths and beliefs, have a very well-developed tolerance of diversity. Moral values are very well taught and pupils have plenty of opportunity to discuss and practise these.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Procedures for ensuring pupils’ welfare are sound. Those for monitoring pupils’ progress are very good and excellent use is made of them to ensure that pupils achieve well.

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Aspect Comment

The school has a very good partnership with parents who are encouraged to be fully involved in their children’s learning. There are a number of health and safety concerns connected with the condition of Greenwood Primary School - 9 the buildings and the surface of the playground, which were also raised by parents. Governors are fully aware of these and have plans in hand for improvements to the school site.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides an excellent example for staff in all areas of his work. He has very good professional knowledge and skill and high professional expectations of colleagues. The leadership team is outstanding in its impact on pupils’ learning. All teachers are involved in the management of improvement and discharge these duties very well.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors have a good knowledge and understanding of the school. All statutory requirements are met.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Excellent. The headteacher, deputies, Foundation Stage co-ordinator and the assessment co-ordinator all analyse pupils’ performance in tests and assessments. They track pupils’ progress to ensure that the school compares well with similar schools. All staff are made aware of the outcomes of this analysis.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good. The skilful use of teachers and learning support assistants plays a significant part in the standards that the school achieves. The school is very good at securing best value in what it buys and in its use of resources.

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Aspect Comment

Very good staffing overall, although, due to the increasing numbers of children who have English as an additional language, support for these should ideally be increased in order to maintain high standards. The school site is in urgent need of repair and refurbishment and the large surplus, which the school has accrued, has been earmarked for this purpose. It is a credit to the teachers’ professionalism that they achieve the standards they do in such a bleak environment.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• That their children like school and make good progress. • That behaviour in the school is good. • That the teaching is good. • That the school is well led and managed. • That they would feel comfortable about approaching the school. • The amount of homework their children are set. • The information they receive about their children’s progress.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors fully agree with parents’ positive views of the school. Inspection findings show that there is good provision for homework and that the information that parents receive about their children’s progress is better than in most schools. Greenwood Primary School - 10

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Standards are high and pupils achieve very well

1. Standards achieved by pupils aged 11 in the national tests have improved faster than the national trend in the last five years and have been broadly in line with national averages in English and above the national average in mathematics and science during that time. Overall, the school’s performance in these tests has been well above the performance of similar schools. Results for the 2002 tests show a further improvement in the proportion of pupils achieving the expected level in mathematics and science and at the higher level in English and science. In the national tests for seven year olds, the school’s performance has kept pace with the national trend of improvement, with pupils achieving about the national average. In 2001, test results in reading were above those of similar schools. In writing they were well above similar schools, while in mathematics they were about the same as similar schools. Results for 2002 show a further

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Standards are high and pupils achieve very well

improvement in the proportion of pupils achieving the higher level in reading and mathematics. This sustained good performance in the tests reflects the quality of teaching that pupils receive, as well as the pupils’ own enthusiasm for learning. There are no significant differences in the results of boys and girls in the tests. These results reflect good progress for pupils from the time they joined the school. The school’s data on pupils’ progress from the end of the infants shows that all groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language, make at least the expected rate of progress and that the vast majority make better than expected progress.

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Standards are high and pupils achieve very well

2. Standards in English, mathematics and science are high in all classes. The national literacy and numeracy strategies are well implemented and ensure that basic skills are very well taught. The provision for information and communication technology is good and ensures that pupils are taught the necessary skills as well as given a wide range of opportunities to use and develop them. The acquisition of these skills provides a very strong foundation for all other learning and enables pupils to learn independently from an early age. In all other subjects pupils achieve high standards. Their achievement is good because their teachers have very high expectations of what they can do and how they will apply themselves to tasks. Achievement is very high in art and physical education where there is good progression in the teaching of skills, which, combined with challenging tasks, fires pupils with enthusiasm to improve and do well in the subjects. In a

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Standards are high and pupils achieve very well

very good lesson in Year 5, the teachers combined the classes to share their complementary expertise with all sixty pupils. Their brisk pace of explanation and questioning and excellent use of demonstration led to very good learning for all pupils. Pupils worked extremely hard to complete patterns based on the designs of William Morris and were delighted with their results. In all subjects the school ensures good standards for its pupils through the very effective use of learning support assistants who work very closely with class teachers to promote good learning for all pupils.

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Leadership and management are excellent

3. The headteacher has a clear educational vision which is very well communicated to all who work in the school. His commitment to high achievement for every pupil is apparent in the highly effective systems that he has devised to monitor and improve teaching and learning. The continuous refinement of these systems and the care with which they are applied have ensured that standards continue to rise year on year. The impact of them is seen in the high quality of teaching and learning and in the government Achievement Awards that the school has received for the last two years. The stability of staffing, which is a strength of the school, is due in part to the headteacher’s skill in involving all teachers in school improvement. This gives staff very good professional development and, because their teamwork is so effective in raising standards, the status of highly successful professionals. The strength of the team built by the headteacher is

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Leadership and management are excellent

evident in the consistently high quality management found in all departments of the school. Teachers’ commitment to high educational standards and the school’s ethos are reflected in the number and range of additional responsibilities undertaken by staff and in their outstanding commitment to extra-curricular activities. The headteacher has ensured that whenever staff join Greenwood Primary School - 11 the school, they are very well supported to meet the high expectations that he has of all who work in the school. This is achieved through very good mentoring procedures and the provision of specific training, for example for teachers from overseas, to ensure that they are able to teach the curriculum effectively. Newly qualified teachers are very well supported. They are partnered by experienced teachers who support their planning and give advice on general classroom management.

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Leadership and management are excellent

4. In all of his work, the headteacher is very well supported by his two very able deputies. Each has specific responsibility for the oversight of the work in either the infants (Nursery, Reception and Years 1 and 2) or the juniors (Years 3 to 6) and both are fully aware of the priorities for each department through their rigorous monitoring activities. Both deputies support teaching and learning directly, by working alongside teachers or by teaching specific groups of pupils. For example, the deputy in the juniors teaches mathematics to higher ability pupils in Year 6, while the infants’ deputy works with groups of lower and higher attaining pupils to improve their language, literacy and mathematics. From all of this work, the deputies have a very good knowledge of the school and are able to anticipate likely challenges which will impact on standards. Together with the headteacher, they form an outstanding leadership team which has

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Leadership and management are excellent

the knowledge and expertise to continually move the school forward. The work of other senior managers also makes a very strong contribution to the high standards found in all aspects of the school’s work. The high quality provision in the Foundation Stage is due to the very good leadership of the co-ordinator. Her very good knowledge of how young children learn ensures that planning in all classes is designed to meet their needs very well. She also appreciates the importance of monitoring children’s learning so that they are continually challenged in the activities they do. Other management responsibilities are equally well discharged, as teachers follow the very good example set by all members of the senior management team and benefit from the shadowing system, which allows them to learn from an experienced co-ordinator.

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Leadership and management are excellent

5. The school makes very good use of all its resources. The deployment of learning support assistants is very effective because of the care given to deciding which individual or groups of pupils have the greatest need of support. This is done by the headteacher working on sharp assessment data supplied by the deputies and classroom teachers. The result is a flexible and very effective level of support for pupils’ learning and a highly efficient use of learning support assistants. The focus of financial management is similarly geared to getting the best value for pupils. Decisions, based on detailed knowledge of the school’s changing population, and hence changing needs, are made with a view to ensuring that every pupil makes at least the expected rate of progress over time. Because the school is so effective in its use of resources and in retaining high quality staff, most pupils make better than expected progress during their time in

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Teaching is of a very high quality

6. The quality of teaching is high throughout the school. The proportion of good and very good teaching is very high, exceeding the national average for primary schools. All teachers show a strong commitment to making learning accessible, interesting and fun for the learner. They are able to do this because they have good subject knowledge, expertise and plan lessons very carefully. A strength of the planning process is the use that teachers make of their assessment of pupils’ prior learning, taking care to build upon this while presenting a good level of challenge for new learning. Another strength comes from the careful matching of teachers into pairs for each year group. The senior management team strive to pair teachers with complementary strengths, so that pupils benefit from two sets of expertise in the planning of their learning. The basic skills in numeracy and literacy as well as the key skills of information and communication technology

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Teaching is of a very high quality

are all very well taught, giving pupils a very good start to becoming independent learners. In Year 6, pupils wrote well about the pros and cons of a child’s rucksack, because the teacher had provided them with a very effective planning frame for their writing and had allowed the pupils to examine and discuss the bag in detail. This very good preparation led to good writing by pupils who were very clear about what their task was and how to do it.

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Teaching is of a very high quality

7. Teachers are inventive in the methods they use to enthuse pupils about their learning. For example, a Year 2 class spent part of their literacy lesson making onion bhajis. They were introduced to new words and encouraged to become familiar with them by repeating them after Greenwood Primary School - 12 the teacher. Their involvement in the food preparation led to much discussion about ingredients and where they came from, giving pupils very good opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills. The teacher’s constant recapitulation of the process into a step-by-step explanation built naturally into a list of instructions for preparing the food. At the end of the activity, every child was able to write a clear set of instructions for others to follow. Throughout this activity pupils were fully engaged, learning at a very good rate and supported to achieve higher standards than would have otherwise been expected. Such methods abound in the

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Teaching is of a very high quality

learning of pupils in the infants’ department and they make a very significant contribution to the standards that are achieved, as well as giving pupils high levels of confidence and pleasure in their learning.

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Teaching is of a very high quality

8. Teachers make very good use of resources to enhance learning for pupils. Pupils in a Year 3 mathematics lesson made rapid progress in their understanding of symmetry because the teacher had supplied well-designed resources which encouraged them to discover lines of symmetry for themselves. Pupils were able to work quickly because the resources had been well thought out and no time was lost as they folded, cut, then identified the line of symmetry. In a Year 5 science lesson, pupils learnt at a similar rate when investigating how light makes objects visible. The teacher had produced very simple resources from shoeboxes, which enabled the pupils to experiment with different degrees of light falling onto the object and allowed them to discover the way in which light illuminated objects. Higher attaining pupils were able to use the same resources to discover that light travelled in straight lines. In art lessons, teachers make

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Teaching is of a very high quality

good use of visual resources and the work of other artists to illustrate style and technique and to support their own explanations. This works very well in assisting pupils to understand what is required, as well as giving them examples on which to model their own work. In Year 4, pupils worked with great enthusiasm to produce observational drawings of the features of faces. The teacher then made very good use of pupils’ work to emphasise certain effects and technique, which led to a further development in the quality of their work.

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Teaching is of a very high quality

9. The school makes very effective use of learning support assistants through carefully planned support for all classes. They move from class to class at pre-arranged times and, in this way, are able to give well-targeted support to pupils in more than one class during a single lesson. Learning support assistants make a very good contribution to pupils’ learning. They work very closely with teachers in planning the work the pupils are to do and are fully aware of pupils’ needs through the careful assessments that they make of their learning. They form very good relationships with pupils and manage their learning well by ensuring that pupils remain on task and by emphasising the correct use of language. This very efficient use of support assistants is one of the strengths of the teaching provision.

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Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good and relationships are excellent

10. Pupils’ attitudes to learning, which, at the previous inspection, were judged to be good overall, are now very good, with some examples of excellent response to learning by pupils of all ages. Parents agree that their children enjoy coming to school and say that they are very reluctant to stay away even when they are poorly. They attribute this to the enthusiasm of the teachers. A group of Year 6 pupils spoke enthusiastically to inspectors about their learning both in and out of the classroom. They were clearly very proud of their school and what it offers.

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Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good and relationships are excellent

11. Good attitudes to learning begin in the nursery, where children become enthusiastically involved in a wide range of interesting activities. Throughout the Foundation Stage classes (nursery and Reception), well-established routines help children to feel secure. Six weeks into the term children in the nursery have settled in very well. They choose activities sensibly, become absorbed in what they are doing, play co-operatively and listen attentively to the teacher. Children in the Reception class are equally responsive and show very good levels of independence as they organise themselves for outdoor play, choosing to play with different equipment or busily painting the paths with water.

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Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good and relationships are excellent

12. In all lessons, in both the infants and the juniors, pupils are seen listening very closely and joining in very confidently to answer or ask questions. A notable feature of their learning is their ability to take part in discussion. From the earliest age, pupils are encouraged to express opinions and develop ideas through talk. They do this frequently and naturally, showing high levels of respect Greenwood Primary School - 13 for speakers and showing that they are following closely by adding to the ideas of others. This is particularly beneficial to pupils who have English as an additional language or special educational needs relating to literacy. These pupils are given very good opportunities to learn through listening, as well as developing confidence through having their own responses respected. In a Year 4 English lesson, pupils explored in depth the different aspects of a gas explosion in their

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Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good and relationships are excellent

teacher’s street. All pupils entered into a lively and extended discussion about the impact of the event. The result was that they could all visualise what happened and writing their own vivid versions was straightforward after being so well engaged in the preparation. The independence seen amongst children in the Foundation Stage is developed further as pupils mature and this becomes a strength of their learning. They enjoy being set challenges and then being left to find solutions or information, or to apply their skills to a new situation. Examples of enthusiasm for this kind of learning are seen again and again in art, ICT, history and physical education lessons, with pupils concentrating hard to meet the challenge and please their teachers.

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Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good and relationships are excellent

13. The school places a very strong emphasis on mutual respect, tolerance and a love of learning. Teachers have very high expectations of pupils with regard to these aspects of their development and give very clear guidance and very good support to help them meet these expectations. The result is that pupils have a strong focus on learning and their very good behaviour flows from this. Many examples were seen of pupils giving way to each other in class discussion or the sharing of materials. Similarly, at the end of lessons, pupils accept their part in clearing up and do this quickly and efficiently so they can move on to the next activity. Behaviour in assemblies is exemplary, with pupils sustaining their listening, joining in with responses promptly and showing respect for those pupils who had written prayers to share with them. Teachers, pupils and support staff all hold each other in high regard and they are led in this by the excellent example of

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Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good and relationships are excellent

the headteacher. The school’s rich cultural diversity is celebrated through the acknowledgement of differences between pupils; teachers encourage them to learn from each other and they do. The result is a harmonious community where pupils mix freely, where there is no sense of racial tension or aggressive behaviour and where pupils feel equally valued and respected.

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Reception classes)

14. The provision for children in the nursery and Reception classes is very good and gives them a very good start to their education. The atmosphere in the nursery and Reception classes is vibrant and purposeful and this produces a very good climate for learning. Teachers, nursery nurses and learning support assistants all work closely with parents and make them very welcome in the school. The very good relationships between parents and teachers give the children a strong sense of security, which supports good learning. They quickly become independent learners as a result of this and take advantage of the many opportunities that are provided for them to make choices about their learning.

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Reception classes)

15. Children achieve high standards and progress at a good rate because of the teachers’ careful planning which ensures that there are plenty of focussed activities in which they can engage. This, together with the excellent assessments that teachers make when monitoring their learning, ensures that children are presented with challenges that are appropriate to their stage of development. This, in turn, leads to success for children and quickly develops their confidence and self -esteem. The well-planned use of adults is another strength of provision which ensures that children are supported and encouraged to persevere with their learning. Children develop good social skills through the opportunities they have to work together. For example, a group making sandwiches were able to give each other advice about how to cut the bread and spread the butter. Throughout this session they were developing sharing skills as well as adding to their

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Reception classes)

vocabulary as they listened to each other’s ways of expressing ideas and learned the names of all the ingredients. During their time in the Foundation Stage, children learn a good deal about the world around them because teachers plan so many activities in and out of the classroom. They learn about other cultures through playing with dolls from a wide range of cultures and by helping to make food from other cultures. They learn about the celebrations and customs surrounding Divali, Eid and the Chinese New Year. They take part in the presentation of fairy tales when a theatre group visits the school and learn about the work of the police and the fire brigade when they visit. Children who do not have English as their first language are given high quality support by a visiting specialist, who also advises teachers on appropriate strategies to help children learn Greenwood Primary School - 14 the language. The amount of this support is less than is needed as more pupils are joining the

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Reception classes)

school with English as an additional language. Teachers work very hard to compensate for the lack of specialist support to ensure that children expand their knowledge and understanding of the language. Greenwood Primary School - 15

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outstanding

16. There is a rich and well-planned curriculum for pupils of all ages, which contributes very strongly to pupils’ breadth of learning. The breadth and balance of the curriculum are exemplary and reflect what all children should experience. Teachers plan and seize many opportunities to extend pupils’ learning and provide them with memorable experiences. The organisation of visits is particularly strong and pupils have very good recall of their learning as a result of these visits. For instance, Year 6 pupils could explain in some detail what they had learned during a visit to the Natural History Museum. They talked about exhibits they had found interesting and how these had related to what they were studying in science and geography. Other memorable visits were discussed with the same high levels of enthusiasm and recall, demonstrating how well the school provides for the wide range of interests among its pupils. Some pupils spoke highly of the

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outstanding

opportunities to learn in more detail about the past during a visit to Gunnersbury House, while others became very animated when recalling a visit to the British Library to make Javanese masks and learn traditional dances; others again could recall much from their visit to Odds Farm, which provided a very strong contrast to their own locality. The preparation for, and the range and quality of, these visits consolidate pupils’ love of learning and emphasise to them the many ways in which they can learn from the world around them. The photographic evidence of these visits reflects the enthusiasm shown by pupils in discussion. Pupils also enjoy the anticipation of these visits and the current Year 6 are already looking forward to their residential trip in the week before they sit their statutory tests in the summer term. The main focus of this visit is to develop independence and personal skills through a series of adventure activities, as well as to convince

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outstanding

pupils that they are as well prepared as they can be for their statutory tests.

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outstanding

17. The provision for learning outside of lessons through clubs at lunchtime and after school is outstanding. There are numerous clubs, which support and develop pupils’ interests in a wide range of topics. Year 6 pupils spoke with great enthusiasm of the pleasure they derived from membership of the various clubs and were eager to demonstrate some of the skills they had mastered over time. A wide variety of sports, line dancing, bridge, gardening, art, dance and drama all feature in the clubs and members of the bridge club came second in a national competition for junior school pupils in the last school year. The school is very successful in sporting activities, especially in the many netball and football rallies and competitions they join. In the summer, pupils take part in cross-country running, athletics, cricket and tennis. All of these activities add to the already rich learning experience that pupils enjoy and help them to

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outstanding

develop good social skills and mature attitudes.

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The school environment, including aspects of health and safety

18. The school is housed in three buildings, separated by a considerable expanse of playground. There are also two mobile classrooms which house all Year 2 pupils. Many of the buildings have defects, or are in a poor state of repair and decoration. Despite this, teachers have made valiant, and successful, efforts to create a stimulating and cheerful learning environment. The whole of the infants’ school is a bright and welcoming place, with corridors rich in learning displays and samples of children’s work. In the juniors, classroom display is engaging, informative and challenges pupils to think. However, the present state of the buildings and the playground gives rise to many concerns, which have been shared with the school’s governors in detail. The infants’ playground is currently reduced to half its size; large sections have been fenced off because of the many trees that are growing through its surface. This creates considerable risks to the health

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The school environment, including aspects of health and safety

and safety of pupils and places a considerable strain on those supervising children at play. While the school is currently considering plans to improve the facilities, the delays to these improvements are not conducive to good staff morale. Governors should continue to press the local education authority to act quickly to address the most urgent needs for improving the school environment, ensuring the safety of children and maintaining good staff morale. Greenwood Primary School - 16 19. While the school considers how best to improve the environment, governors are rightly cautious about spending money on developments that may be only short-term solutions. However, the difficulty of access to a secure outdoor play area for children in the Reception classes is an issue which requires urgent attention. This would allow Reception children to enjoy the benefits of all resources available for Foundation Stage children.

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The use of lunchtime supervision and provision for play

20. Although the school has more than the statutory minimum lunchtime supervisors for the number of pupils who remain on site, a number of improvements are needed in the use that is made of supervisors and in the level of their skills for managing pupils at play. The school site is large and difficult to oversee because of the layout of buildings. Besides this, there are few play facilities available for pupils, especially in the juniors. Finally, lunchtime supervisors have not been trained in the school’s behaviour management programme and consequently they do not all apply the school rules as consistently as they could, thus reducing the impact they have on pupils’ behaviour. The provision for play should be enhanced to bring this area of pupils’ learning up to the standard they enjoy in the classroom.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

21. In order to raise standards further, the headteacher, staff and governors should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve the school’s environment by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• rigorously pursuing the plans already in hand to develop the school site and making early decisions about how these will be financed. • improving the safety of the site in the short term, in those areas where it currently causes concern. • improving access to the secure play area for pupils in the Reception classes. (paragraph 19)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve lunchtime supervision and the provision for play by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• establishing a core team of supervisors. • providing training for lunchtime supervisors so that they all use the same behaviour management strategies as teachers do. • reviewing routines with a view to supporting better oversight of the playground and the dining hall. • providing small game facilities to help pupils learn from their play. • encouraging older pupils to take responsibility for resources for play. (paragraph 20) Greenwood Primary School - 17

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 13

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of the sources of evidence for 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 point[s].

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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) 24 399

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/a 109

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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 6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 80

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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 124

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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 36

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 31

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Greenwood Primary School - 18 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Greenwood Primary School - 19

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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 24 31 55

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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 16 21 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 27 30 29

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

Percentage of pupils School 82 (91) 84 (91) 91 (91) 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 19 21 21 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 29 29 29

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

Percentage of pupils School 87 (91) 91 (93) 91 (93) 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 1 (Year 2)

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

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 32 26 58

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 26 28 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 24 23 24

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

Percentage of pupils School 86 (85) 88 (81) 95 (89) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

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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 19 22 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 31 29 30

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

Percentage of pupils School 74 (81) 86 (82) 86 (81) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

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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. Greenwood 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 15 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 8 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 4 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 3 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 13 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 43 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 3 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) 15.6 Financial year 2001-2002

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25.6

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 1,154,925

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 13 Total expenditure 1,138,737

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 279 Expenditure per pupil 2,530

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 105,154

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 121,342

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 60

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 12.5 Greenwood Primary School - 21 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 3

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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) 2

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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. Greenwood 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. 58 37 1 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 53 38 3 0 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 41 41 14 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 49 38 10 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 68 25 4 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 59 36 1 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 44 41 7 0 8

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 63 29 0 0 8

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 56 30 5 0 8

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 36 32 4 3 26

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