South Grove Primary School

SEVEN SISTERS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 24 th - 27 th February 2003

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SEVEN SISTERS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Full 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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SEVEN SISTERS 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. Seven Sisters Primary School - 1

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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: Georgia Davis

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: None Seven Sisters Primary School - 2

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responsibilities

20451 Brenda Spencer Registered inspector Foundation Stage Curriculum How high are standards? How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 9079 Ann Moss Lay inspector Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 16773 Raminder Arora Team inspector English as an additional language Art and design

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responsibilities

20963 Judy Keiner Team inspector English Information and communication technology

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responsibilities

22657 Mark Madeley Team inspector Mathematics Physical education Equal opportunities How good are the curriculum and other opportunities offered to pupils? 27301 Cynthia Messom Team inspector Religious education Music Special educational needs 20324 Vera Morris Team inspector Geography History 3574 Kanwaljit Singh Team inspector Science Design and technology

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responsibilities

PPI Group Ltd 7 Hill Street Bristol BS1 5RW

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responsibilities

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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responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Seven Sisters Primary School - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 4 - 7

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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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 8 - 11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Seven Sisters is a very large primary school in Tottenham for pupils aged three to 11 years. The majority of pupils have very low attainment on entry to school and disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. There are 589 pupils attending full time and 43 are part time; 336 are boys and 296 are girls. Eighty-nine pupils left and 140 joined the school last year outside the normal times of transfer . Nearly all the pupils are from ethnic minorities comprising a wide range of Black and Asian heritage. Three hundred and ninety one pupils come from homes where English is an additional language, of whom 208 are at an early stage of learning the language. The pupils speak a total of 33 languages. The most common are English, Turkish, Somali, Bengali and Kurdish. One per cent of pupils have statements of special educational needs. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs, including statements, is 39. Special educational needs are predominantly related to speech and

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

communication and moderate learning difficulties. Fifty-four per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals. This is all well above the national average. The school benefits from New Deals for Communities, Sure Start and Excellence in Cities.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Seven Sisters provides a satisfactory standard of education. The school is rapidly improving. Pupils' have very low starting points indeed. They are achieving satisfactorily overall. The school strives with much success to help the different groups of pupils overcome barriers to their learning. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. Costs are relatively high because of the school's success in raising additional finances. This has particularly benefited the work with families. The school gives satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• There is a strong shared commitment to the belief that all the pupils can and will do well. • Very successfully provides for pupils' moral, social and cultural development so they behave and work together well. • Creates a calm, secure place where pupils and adults show mutual respect and racial harmony and where effective learning can take place particularly for pupils with special educational needs. • Strives successfully to involve families in their children's learning and achieves a high level of parental approval. • The headteacher provides very clear educational direction for school improvement and inspires the pupils, staff and families.

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What could be improved

• Standards and assessment and its use in planning in all subjects. • Consistency in the quality of learning for pupils with English as an additional language. • The levels of attendance and punctuality. • The consistency of leadership and management of subjects. • The governors' contribution to shaping the future of the school. 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

Seven Sisters Primary is a new school formed in September 2000 from the former Infants and Junior schools which occupied the same site. In the last two years a great deal has been achieved. The community is one school, not two and is well organised. Every classroom is a very attractive place to learn. There is a very calm atmosphere and very good relationships. This culture enables pupils to Seven Sisters Primary School - 5 make good progress in developing the attitudes required to secure their future academic success. The school has a good capacity to improve.

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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 N/a E E C well above average above average A B mathematics N/a E E C average below average C D science N/a E E E well below average E

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Key

By the end of Year 2, pupils reached standards in 2002 national tests in the lowest five per cent nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Based on teacher assessments, standards were at a similar level in science. Their results were well below average overall when compared to similar schools in reading, writing and science and in the bottom five per cent nationally in mathematics. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels was below average for reading, mathematics and science and about average for similar schools in writing. By the end of Year 6, pupils reached standards in the 2002 national tests well below the national average in English, mathematics and science. Their results were about average in English and mathematics and well below average in science when compared to similar schools. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels was above average in English and

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Key

mathematics and was below average for science when compared to similar schools. Girls do better than boys. The school sets itself challenging targets for test results at Year 6 and these targets were met in 2002.

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Key

Standards seen were in line with the national average in art and design, design and technology, religious education, personal, social and health education and history at the end of Year 6. Standards are below average in information and communication technology, in history at the end of Year 2, science, physical education and music. Standards were well below average in English, mathematics and geography. Pupils' investigational skills are developing well. They show good understanding of religious knowledge but have weak geographical skills. Overall, pupils' skills in physical education are weak, although swimming progresses well. Literacy and numeracy skills develop satisfactorily. At the end of the reception year, the majority of children will not meet the national targets in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress. Those with English as an additional language make satisfactory progress. Analysis of the

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Key

progress made by pupils of different ethnic groups identifies strengths and weakness in their learning and support is given where necessary. Overall, pupils achieve satisfactorily.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils come to school looking forward to their lessons. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils behave very well as they move around the school. Most behave well in lessons. There were four temporary exclusions in the last year. Personal development and relationships Very good. Racial harmony is strong. Pupils respect one another. They enjoy their work as monitors and school councillors. Seven Sisters Primary School - 6 Attendance Poor, being very low in comparison with other schools. Seven Sisters Primary School - 7

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Good Satisfactory Satisfactory 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

Overall, teaching and learning are satisfactory. The quality of teaching of English and mathematics is satisfactory and pupils' literacy and numeracy skills develop satisfactorily. Strengths in teaching include: positive behaviour management, good use of questions, effective use of resources and books, very good use of visual prompts, simple language structures and extension of vocabulary to support pupils at an early stage of mastering English, clarity of the purpose of lessons supported by good planning and good subject knowledge. These factors helped pupils do well. In a few unsatisfactory lessons pupils did not make sufficient progress. This related to teachers' weak subject knowledge of physical education, a slow pace to the lesson and mismatch of the work to the pupils' capabilities. Consequently, pupils were underperforming or were over challenged. In otherwise satisfactory lessons sometimes explanations were not backed up sufficiently by the use of visual cues to ensure all pupils

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

understood. Overall, the school meets the needs of all pupils satisfactorily. Support staff generally make a good contribution to supporting pupils in lessons. The youngest children are developing positive attitudes to learning. The expectations for behaviour provide a climate in which pupils develop good concentration.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Overall, the quality and range of learning opportunities at all stages is good. Emphasis is placed on English and mathematics leaving too little time for some subjects to be studied in depth. Provision for children in nursery and reception is good.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. All pupils have individual education plans which address their difficulties effectively and set appropriate and clear targets for improvement.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. Pupils' needs are identified well. Where teaching includes visual support, small steps in learning and repeated language they do well. This is not consistent in every lesson. Provision is good in reception and nursery. Specialised support is thinly spread.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development Very good. Pupils are given many opportunities to reflect. 'Let peace reside here' informs the approach to moral development. The organisation of groups in lessons supports social development well and the cultural richness of the school is celebrated well.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Pupils are looked after well. Child protection procedures are strong. Assessment is good for English and mathematics but is not properly in place for other subjects. Links with parents are very good. Seven Sisters Primary School - 8

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory. The headteacher provides very good leadership, ably supported by an effective senior leadership team. Many staff members are new to their subject co-ordinator roles and are at an early stage of influencing improvements in standards.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. The governing body is relatively inexperienced and plays a supportive role to the school rather than shaping its direction of development. Governors have a good knowledge of the school.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Good. Pupils' results are analysed well to identify the progress made by different groups and to identify any weaknesses in teaching and learning. Monitoring of teaching and learning is good in English and mathematics but little evident in other subjects.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good. The budget supports educational priorities. Results are analysed and parents' views are consulted well to improve the school. There is an adequate number of staff overall but there are too few specialist staff for supporting children with English as an additional language. Accommodation is good and resources satisfactory.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• How much their children like school. • High expectations of their children. • The quality of teaching. • The amount of homework their children do. • The information they receive on their children's progress. • How well the school works with parents.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with parents’ positive views. The school works well with parents. Homework is inconsistent between classes. Information about progress is unclear in reports. Seven Sisters Primary School - 9

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. The majority of children enter school with communication, language and literacy skills in English which are very low. This is the most significant factor in explaining why standards are as they are. In addition, in two years there has been a seventy per cent turnover in teaching. The staffing has become stable in the current academic year. There is also a high turnover in the pupil population during each academic year. This affects classes across the school. Many of these pupils enter school with limited understanding of English.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. By the end of reception year, the majority of children will not be able to reach many of the expected standards set out for their learning because of their very low starting points in communication, language and literacy and in mathematical development. In particular, their skills in reading and writing are well below average. They have a limited capacity to use spoken language for a range of purposes. Whilst their ability to count develops well their language skills limit their capacity to use mathematical ideas to solve practical problems. Most will achieve the goals for personal and social and emotional development and physical development. The children's level of English is hampering many from reaching the standards expected for knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. They do well in the non-verbal aspects of these areas, for example in investigating. Children make good progress overall because of good

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

quality teaching. This uses pictures, actions and repeated vocabulary and phrases to help children understand. Approaching learning such as phonics and number through song often captures children's interest. The frequent acting out of learning, for example of stories which are told is particularly beneficial for active children and those who are at an early stage of learning English. Role-play areas are well resourced overall but lack richness in opportunities for writing and reading. This results in missed opportunities for raising standards in these areas.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. By the end of Year 2, pupils reached standards in 2002 national tests in the lowest five per cent nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils reached similar standards, judged by teacher assessment, in science. Their results were well below average overall, when compared to similar schools in reading, writing and science and were in the bottom five per cent nationally in mathematics. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels was below average for reading, mathematics and science and about average for similar schools in writing. Results fell from 2001 to 2002.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. By the end of Year 6, pupils reached standards in the 2002 national tests well below the national average in English, mathematics and science. Their results were about average in English and mathematics but were well below average in science when compared to similar schools. This represents an improvement on results in English and mathematics compared to 2001. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels was above average in English and mathematics and was below average for science when compared to similar schools. The school has set increasingly challenging targets for the percentage of pupils reaching the nationally expected standards which are met.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. In 2002, both boys and girls reached standards below the national average in tests and teacher assessment in Years 2 and 6. Overall, boys show greater difference in their performance compared to the national average for their gender than girls in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 2. In Year 6 boys did less well than girls compared to their gender national average in English and science but their comparative performance was similar to girls in respect to mathematics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Pupils reach standards well below average in all areas of English across the school. This reflects the majority of pupils' very low starting points in speaking, reading and writing English. The high turnover in staff in the last two years was not helpful in addressing this complex challenge. Seven Sisters Primary School - 10 Overall, pupils achieve satisfactorily. There is a high proportion of pupils entering and leaving school during the academic year. This makes a simple comparison between results at Year 2 and Year 6 potentially misleading in judging progress. Tracking assessment outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics from Years 3 to 6 and analysis of assessed writing each half term for each year group show pupils make steady progress. By the end of Year 2, whilst attitudes to reading are positive, a large number of pupils are not fully independent readers. Most pupils write simple words and sentences but many have difficult writing sequences of organised sentences

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

which are correctly punctuated. Few pupils use joined handwriting. By Year 6, pupils engage in debates and explain their views. However, few pupils do so at length. Most pupils read accurately but few with expression. Most pupils can make reference to the text to underpin their views on events or characters. Only the few higher attaining pupils can 'read between the lines' to identify any underlying meaning of the text. In writing pupils use a range of formats, for example poetry and scientific reports. Most pupils write in an organised fashion using paragraphs. Only the few higher attaining pupils write extended pieces with a secure mastery of grammar, punctuation and spelling of common words. A significant number incorrectly include capital letters in the middle of words.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Where pupils make good progress in English this relates to direct and effective support given to pupils at an early stage of learning English. Strategies include using strong, visual prompts, use of repeated language, breaking learning into very small steps and demonstrating simple language structures. The improvements in national test results for pupils in Year 6 reflect careful analysis of strengths and weaknesses in pupils' skills and understanding resulting in a list of priorities for teaching. The strategies identified are very successful. Where teaching employs these strategies consistently, for example teachers providing a model of speaking, reading and writing and pupils working with a partner, pupils make good progress. Knowledge of phonics develops well as do the pupils' library skills because of the emphasis these are given in the curriculum and the range and quality of books. Progress is slowed where the tasks set are not tailored sufficiently closely to

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Standards in mathematics reflect the pupils' very low starting points. Overall, pupils achieve satisfactorily. By the end of Year 2, pupils add numbers in tens and units. Only the higher attaining pupils are confident in calculating which includes 'carrying'. Subtraction beyond single digits is not secure. They do not have a wide knowledge of the vocabulary associated with addition and subtraction. Pupils' recall of number facts is weak. Their knowledge of shapes is satisfactory and most can tell the time 'on the hour' and 'half past'. By the end of Year 6, most pupils understand place value up to thousands. Higher attainers go beyond this. Mental recall of number facts is particularly insecure for multiplication. Pupils work with co-ordinates in one quadrant only. Whilst pupils understand pie charts and bar graphs few have used line graphs or frequency tables.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. Progress in mathematics is better in Years 2 and 6 because of the increased emphasis given to the subject in these year groups. The organisation of these classes allows pupils to work in smaller groups. Teaching is also carefully targeted to those aspects of learning which need to improve. In Year 6, pupils benefit from good quality preparation for the tests both in terms of the content and how to tackle the experience. Standards are improving in problem solving overall because of an increased emphasis in the curriculum on analysing the operations which are required. The good quality and use of mathematical resources is particularly helpful in aiding pupils' understanding in Years 1 and 2. Where standards could be higher in individual lessons this relates to timing of aspects of lessons, for example overlong discussions or too short a mental warm up. Sometimes good planning is not carried out to best effect. This can result in a

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

mismatch of task to the pupils' learning needs.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Whilst still well below the national average in Year 2 and below average in Year 6, standards in science are rising. By the end of Year 2, standards are low primarily because pupils have not acquired a wide enough vocabulary. For example, pupils find it hard to remember the names of parts of the plant. They can identify parts of the human body and have knowledge of their five senses. They can, with support, categorise food into different groups but have difficulty representing data on favourite foods in a graph. Because literacy skills are low, pupils' written Seven Sisters Primary School - 11 work is limited. By the end of Year 6, pupils have a satisfactory understanding that some changes in materials through heating can be reversed and others can not. They understand what a fair test is but are not able to set these up independently. Their skills in recording investigative work are satisfactory overall. This work however does not include a broad range of representing data

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

graphically. Overall, pupils' progress and achievements are satisfactory. Whilst progress is good in some classes in Years 3 to 6, this is not consistently the case. Since the 2002 results, pupils' work has been carefully analysed to identify where improvements are required. This has resulted in effective and targeted teaching. In particular, there is a greater emphasis on investigation and the study of Earth and space. Overall, pupils benefit from a good emphasis on developing scientific vocabulary.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Standards are about average at the end of both Years 2 and 6 in art and design, design and technology, religious education, personal social and health education, and in history by the end of Year 6. Standards are below average at the end of both Years 2 and 6 in physical education, music and information and communication technology and for pupils by the end of Year 2 in history. They are well below average in geography.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. Average standards are associated with use of a plan of work which allows pupils to build on their skills and understanding smoothly year by year. Pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language are helped to reach these standards by the good use of visual stimulus in teaching to develop pupils' designing skills. In art and design the curriculum is limited for three-dimensional work in turn limiting pupils from fully appreciating design and form. Whilst the majority of pupils enter school with well below average communication skills in English, their religious understanding is generally well developed. This has a positive effect on their enthusiasm and interest in religious education. Consequently they reach standards in line with the average and achieve well. History in Year 6 shows a depth of learning. Study of Tudors and Victorians is broadly addressed and focuses on specific questions such as 'how the poorest lived

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

in society' using primary sources such as portraits well. Work such as this carried out in depth which allows pupils to use skills across the curriculum supports good achievement and the attainment of standards close to the national average.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13. Standards in information and communication technology by the end of Year 6 are affected by variability in teachers' subject knowledge. The turnover of staff has diluted the impact of training they have undertaken in the last two years. There is an absence of data logging and data sensing equipment for older pupils. Standards below average by the end of Year 2 in history are associated with work carried out at too little depth and historical skills not being sufficiently well developed. The curriculum for music has only been in place relatively recently. The new plan of work for each year group covers all the required elements of pupils' learning but has yet to influence standards. Inspiring enjoyment of the subject is strong but the development of pupils' appraising skills is insufficient and this will limit their potential achievements to the average. Geography has been and remains a low priority in the school curriculum. The curriculum is

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

covered in insufficient depth and work is sometimes repeated in a pupil's career in school at similar levels to before. Without active leadership and management of the subject standards will not improve. The use of literacy in history and science is satisfactory but in general the application of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology across the curriculum is not strong enough.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

14. Overall, all pupils achieve satisfactorily. Tracking of pupils' progress of different groups including ethnicity has concentrated on literacy and numeracy. This is to identify what needs to be done to raise standards in these areas to provide pupils with tools to access the curriculum now and in the future. African Caribbean boys did well in mathematics. Turkish boys were identified as not making similar progress to their peers and have been given additional support.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

15. The overall achievement of most pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) is satisfactory and generally in line with the pupils' peers. The national test results of 2002 compare positively with similar schools at the age of 11. This is partly due to a range of teaching methods used by some class teachers that effectively support EAL pupils in coping with the language demands of the subject and opportunities afforded for developing their language in context. EAL Seven Sisters Primary School - 12 pupils are disadvantaged initially until they reach a satisfactory level of competence in English and once competent make good gains in line with their peers. In lessons, where class teachers’ planning takes account of their needs and the tasks are well matched, pupils make satisfactory progress.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

16. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. Pupils with SEN are making good progress throughout the school, so that, by the time they leave, they have made good progress towards reaching targets on their individual educational plans. This is due to early identification, appropriate intervention and good teaching and support by class teachers, the coordinator of special educational needs and the learning support assistants. The support is so good that in some cases pupils with special educational needs make better progress than the other pupils in the school.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

17. All groups of pupils, including those in nursery and reception classes, have good attitudes to school and learning. Almost all parents report that pupils enjoy coming to school. When they arrive, most pupils are happy and looking forward to their day. Pupils are polite, cheerful and eager to learn. They have a positive approach to school and try hard to meet their teachers’ expectations. The safe, welcoming and calm atmosphere provides an environment that encourages pupils to do their best and pupils respond well. They develop good habits of working and settle quickly to tasks. Sustained levels of concentration were seen in many lessons, as, for example, in a Year 6 geography lesson when pupils were learning to use correct geographical vocabulary. They worked well independently and were involved in their activities. Some part- time nursery children did not wish to leave at the end of the session.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

18. Behaviour in and around school is good overall. Occasionally there are a few incidents of boisterousness at playtimes, but some examples of excellent behaviour were seen in classes and in assemblies. More generally, when pupils are moving around the school and in lessons they do so with a minimum of fuss without wasting time. There is no evidence of oppressive behaviour, bullying or racism. The school’s caring and supportive climate for learning encourages pupils to get on well together and there is very good racial harmony. Where pupils did not behave well this related to ineffective behaviour management strategies, such as focusing on negative behaviour, or overuse of the adult's voice in lessons.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

19. There are very good relationships amongst pupils and between pupils and adults. Very good levels of co-operation were noted in many lessons, as, for example in a Year 4 music lesson when pupils demonstrated in pairs the mood and use of sound. Higher and lower attaining pupils work well together, readily sharing their knowledge and skills and this helps them learn better. Pupils understand and follow school codes of conduct well and treat each other and adults with courtesy and respect. Teachers use personal, social and health education lessons to help pupils recognise their worth as individuals and to see themselves as other see them. Through these lessons, pupils develop an understanding of the impact of their actions on others and learn to respect each other’s feelings, values and beliefs.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

20. Pupils’ personal development is very good. They readily accept responsibility for performing tasks around the school. For example they act as class monitors and lunchtime supervisors and the school council is now meeting regularly, with representatives from each class, to discuss issues that affect the pupils.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

21. Despite the school’s very good systems for promoting and monitoring attendance, attendance levels are poor. They are very low in comparison with other schools and an unacceptable number of pupils arrive late in the morning. This has a detrimental effect on pupils’ attainment, progress and personal development. The school has many very good strategies to improve attendance and punctuality. The breakfast club is proving very popular and successful. The project development officer and her team, the attendance manager and the learning mentors are now working very closely with parents to help them to appreciate the importance of uninterrupted access to the curriculum. The number of holidays taken in term time has been reduced recently. Seven Sisters Primary School - 13 22. There have been four temporary exclusions in the past year. The inspection team judged that the school’s actions on these occasions had been necessary and effective.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. The overall quality of teaching is satisfactory. Just over half of lessons are good or better; nearly one in six is very good or excellent; in over one in 20 teaching is unsatisfactory. The quality of teaching in nursery and reception classes is good overall.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The following characteristics were found in effective teaching across the school:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• behaviour managed in a positive way which encouraged pupils to follow good examples and created a sunny atmosphere in the classroom; • good use of questions which challenged and reinforced learning; • effective use of resources and books which promoted understanding and engaged pupils' interest; • very good use of visual prompts, simple language structures and extension of vocabulary to support pupils at an early stage of mastering English; • clear explanation of the aims of the lesson and review during and at the end so that pupils had a good understanding of their learning; • effective planning which ensured that the learning of all groups of children regardless of previous experience and knowledge was appropriately extended; and • very good subject knowledge which raised the standards the pupils could reach.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. The overall good behaviour in classes is a reflection of the very good relationships between staff and pupils. It was a marked feature of a Year 2 English lesson, in which pupils read the story of Cinderella, that the teacher smiled warmly at the pupils throughout. In a Year 6 physical education lesson, praise was used well and prompted pupils to copy the behaviour and quality of work which was being encouraged. In a reception class the children were told the puppet was very sad when they did not listen and this had the desired effect. The overall high expectations staff have of pupils' behaviour provides very good foundations for establishing a culture in which pupils can work hard and concentrate.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Effective questioning in lessons had several positive outcomes. Pupils were challenged to think deeply. Their level of understanding was effectively probed so the teaching could build on this and extend it or sort out misunderstandings. Questions provided good starting points for discussion, so important for pupils needing to improve their communication skills in English. In a science lesson in Year 4 pupils were learning how living things were grouped. Open-ended questions such as 'How would you categorise …?' did not limit the potential outcomes of the pupils' answers. Pupils were given time to reflect so they achieved well. In a religious education lesson in Year 5 exploring the beliefs and practices of Islam the questions encouraged pupils to further their understanding of the similarities and differences between their different faiths. The high quality discussion enabled them to unravel the diverse reasons why it is necessary to have rules. In a

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

Year 3 lesson in music, questions were carefully aimed by the teacher at individual pupils to reinforce understanding of rhythm and pulse.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. Resources and books are often used well to secure pupils' understanding. Where this is coupled with the use of visual cues, repeated spoken phrases and vocabulary specific to the subject which are modelled explicitly by the adults, the impact on pupils' learning is very powerful. Learning support assistants in classes make a good contribution to this process. In a lesson in Year 4 where pupils were editing simile poems they had written previously, the overhead projector was used to provide large visual demonstrations of how to use a thesaurus. Pupils with special educational needs were given cards which helped them assemble similes. In a Year 5 mathematics lesson, in which pupils were using kilograms and grams to measure mass, objects were passed around the class for pupils to feel the weight. The pupils' understanding was reinforced by practical use of the scales when converting kilograms to grams. Specific language

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

Seven Sisters Primary School - 14 such as 'equivalent', 'mass' and 'approximate', coupled with practical work were particularly supportive to learners of English who had moved beyond the initial stages. In a design and technology lesson in Year 2, puppets were used well to help pupils consider their own designs. Specific vocabulary for materials was introduced such as 'felt' and 'wool' which pupils were asked to repeat and use. In nursery and reception classes pictures, actions and modelling language is a consistent feature of teaching and supports all the pupils very well in making good progress.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

28. Very effective teaching was planned well for the range of pupils' learning needs. These aims for their learning were clearly shared at the beginning of lessons. The discussions at the end of lessons examined what had been learned. If necessary pupils were also refocused during their activities to ensure they were profitably employed. In a mathematics lesson in Year 3, in which pupils were learning that multiplication was repeated addition, the direction of the work was clearly explained and how it built on previous learning. This gave the pupils a clear sense of purpose. Sometimes the discussions at the end of lessons take the form of presentations. In Year 6 pupils learned from each other that rivers around the world are used for different purposes including travel, commerce and farming. In Year 1 pupils at the end of the lesson talked about their sculptures. They did this with difficulty but were encouraged throughout to use newly acquired vocabulary and

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

to try to evaluate their work. These opportunities give pupils a good understanding of their own learning and provide valuable opportunities to apply their communication skills. Sometimes homework was set which followed up and extended the pupils' learning to good effect, however this was not consistent across classes.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

29. Where teachers' subject knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn was strong pupils achieved very well. For example, children in the nursery are given many opportunities to choose their activities which help them develop their ability to concentrate. Learning is tackled practically and with a multi sensory approach. For example children in reception smelt, examined and cut open a sweet potato before they discussed differences and similarities of the inside and outside. This was then used to compose a piece of writing guided by their teacher. This approach enabled all pupils to achieve well. In a literacy lesson in Year 1, which developed pupils' skills in using reference books on the dispersal of seeds, teaching broke the learning into simple steps, provided clear explanations and gave pupils good opportunities to apply their knowledge. This enabled pupils to make good progress. Subject specialists bring high levels of knowledge to their

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

teaching. This is the case with the use of visiting teachers in music and football. Good coaching points are made which enable pupils to work at levels expected for their age and they are often inspired. This level of expertise is not confined to visitors. It was found amongst staff teaching religious education, mathematics, children in the foundation stage, art and design, geography and science.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

30. All pupils with special educational needs have individual education plans which address pupils’ difficulties effectively and set appropriate and clear targets for improvement. These inform the provision and enable checking on progress to take place. There is careful planning by some class teachers, using observation and assessment and the targets of the individual education plans, to adapt the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties and to make it relevant to their needs. This is not consistent in all classes. Pupils are given good support by learning support assistants to enable them to participate fully in class activities. Pupils are sometimes withdrawn from class to receive extra support on a one to one basis or in a very small group. This work is very carefully planned, focuses on pupils’ targets and is accelerating their progress. It is well timed to coincide with a similar subject being carried out in the classroom. Pupils in nursery and reception classes

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

with limited English are taught well and make good progress. Turkish speakers benefit from mother tongue support. Those who arrive in school in Years 3 to 6 do not receive the same level of support as the younger children and progress slowly. Overall, pupils with English as an additional language make the same progress and achieve as well as their peers.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

31. Overall teaching and learning is satisfactory in English, mathematics in Years 1 to 2, science, art and design, information and communication technology and design and technology in Years 1 to 2 and history and geography in Years 3 to 6. It is good for nursery and reception children, mathematics in Years 3 to 6, music, personal, social and health education and religious Seven Sisters Primary School - 15 education. Teaching and learning are unsatisfactory in physical education because of weak subject knowledge. No teaching was observed for Years 1 and 2 in history and geography.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

32. In the small number of unsatisfactory lessons the following weaknesses were evident:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• weak subject knowledge leading to incorrect teaching points; • mismatch of work to the pupils' attainment so the demands on them were too great or too little; and • slow pace so the progress in learning was insufficient.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

33. Overall, teachers' subject knowledge is weak for physical education. As a consequence pupils are sometimes not well organised to move equipment and the lesson starts very slowly. Teaching points do not help pupils to make progress as demonstrations sometimes provide incorrect examples of techniques. The level of activity in the lesson is too low so pupils do not make sufficient progress. 34. In other lessons, whilst there had been clear assessment of pupils' attainment, outcomes were not used to ensure the teaching was appropriately matched to pupils' prior attainment. For example, pupils who had limited knowledge of letters and sounds were expected to learn all the letters of the alphabet. This was too much for them to cope with. In a physical education lesson pupils were not given scope to devise their own sequence of movements and performed at a lower level than they should. In both cases pupils made unsatisfactory progress.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

35. Weaknesses in otherwise satisfactory lessons included:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• time management of beginnings and endings of lessons so that pupils became restless or had too little opportunity to review their learning; • weak behaviour management, so that pupils were not attentive enough to their lessons; and • insufficient use of visual cues and resources, small steps in learning and rehearsal of vocabulary.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

36. There are examples of best practice of all these features in teaching. Given that so many pupils have needs related to improving their competence in the use of English at a range of levels it is important that all lessons without exception provide practical and visual prompts. Where teaching relied only on verbal instructions and explanations these pupils required individual help to understand the tasks set.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

37. Some useful examples were seen in lessons where gifted and talented pupils were given more challenging work to extend their capabilities. This is not consistent across the school and in many instances the nature of the ‘gifted’ or ‘talented’ is not sufficiently sharply identified so that teachers could take account of this in their planning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

38. Seventy per cent of the teaching staff has changed since the school was established. This high turnover of teaching staff partly explains the inconsistencies in aspects of the quality of teaching. The staffing has been stable in this academic year. As a consequence the school is well placed to build on the good practice which exists.

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PUPILS?

39. Overall, the quality and range of learning opportunities at all stages is good. The breadth and balance of the curriculum, overall, is satisfactory. The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 complies with statutory requirements, and the curriculum for children in nursery and reception classes reflects the Government guidelines for children of this age. The requirements of the locally agreed syllabus for religious education are being met and parents are informed of their right to withdraw their children from religious education. Seven Sisters Primary School - 16 40. Overall, the provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is good. The good support which SEN pupils receive in the classroom means that they have the same access to all aspects of the curriculum, as all other pupils. They are well integrated into the school and the very good pastoral care which the school provides for all its pupils, including those with special educational

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needs, has a positive effect on their attainment.

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41. The children in nursery and reception classes enjoy the breadth of learning recommended for them. Good provision is made in particular to improve their verbal communication skills through the use of pictures, gesture and bilingual support. All children have some access to the outside to explore their learning. For reception children this needs development to allow more areas of the curriculum to be followed in large and active ways, for example by doing huge paintings on the ground.

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42. In Years 1 to 6 the curriculum has satisfactory breadth in that all the required subjects are taught. There is a lack of balance in the amount of time spent teaching English and mathematics at the expense of time for history, geography and design and technology. This imbalance is particularly impacting on standards in geography, where pupils have very limited mapping skills in Years 3 to 6 and little knowledge of the world around them in Years 1 and 2. The school has adopted this strategy because it feels the need to ensure that pupils have the literacy and numeracy skills to access the other areas of the curriculum. Whilst this is appropriate to a degree pupils do miss out on opportunities to use their skills in context, which often improves their understanding of them. Parents were consulted about the curriculum and their views concerning the emphasis on English and mathematics were taken into account. Policy statements for English, mathematics and

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PUPILS?

science are good and give appropriate emphasis to strategies for teaching all pupils, including those with English as an additional language and special educational needs. The setting of pupils in Years 3 to 6 for English and mathematics is a positive reflection of the school’s active pursuit of high achievement. The school works hard to make learning relevant to the pupils and a very good example of this was the ‘Black History’ week.

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PUPILS?

43. The school has implemented the National Literacy Strategy quite successfully, and there is some evidence of improving standards in English. The way literacy skills are taught in the school is appropriate, but there is little evidence of extended writing in some other subjects, such as geography. The school has implemented the National Numeracy Strategy successfully but it is not used consistently well enough to make a significant impact on standards yet. Numeracy skills are taught satisfactorily, but there is little evidence of their use in other subjects, other than some simple graph work in science.

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44. Provision for extra-curricular activities is good. Breakfast club and lunchtime and after-school clubs are an integral part of school life. Pupils’ attendance at these clubs is sometimes limited because of the cost of the sessions but the school is working hard, through its project development officer, to gain the funding which will make all clubs free to everyone. The school also offers pupils many sporting activities outside formal lessons. In addition, many pupils participate in extra curricular sporting events, such as soccer competitions and swimming galas. The school provides a good range of opportunities for pupils to appreciate music from different parts of the world and different periods of time. Many pupils talk excitedly about the Mexican dance music and the steel drums event. Drama events are well supported with pupils enjoying the fun of the staff pantomime as well as the more serious work of visiting theatre groups and

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storytellers. Visiting artists also make a significant impact on pupils’ understanding of techniques and styles of art. The school makes educational visits a priority. It arranges for Year 6 pupils to go on a week long residential visit to Wales, which combines physical education and geography work as well as opportunities to build character and improve social skills. Other year groups have at least one visit a year often to a museum, a place of worship or site of historical interest.

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45. The school is very effective in ensuring that its curriculum is socially inclusive. Teachers promote equality in all that they do and the school’s ‘Race Equality Rainbow’ sets out clearly what the school stands for. Staff, who are from a range of ethnic backgrounds similar to the school’s pupils, are very strong role models. Good provision for special educational needs, setting arrangements and booster groups all demonstrate that the school tries to take account of pupils’ Seven Sisters Primary School - 17 capabilities when planning their teaching. The school is working hard to address the very varied needs of pupils with English as an additional language. This is particularly successful in nursery and reception classes. The EAL teachers carefully analyse the language demands of the curriculum for targeted pupils and some support is also given in other subjects as appropriate, particularly in developing the new subject related vocabulary. In Years 3 to 6 there is not enough

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support of early stage English speakers to acquire the technical vocabulary needed to succeed in school, partly because there are insufficient staff with specific expertise. All pupils have equality of access to the curriculum offered by the school.

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46. Provision for pupils' personal, social and health education is good. Specific lessons in personal, social and health education regularly feature within the curriculum of every class. Provision for pupils' health education is well established, mostly through the science units on growth. Educating pupils on the dangers of drug misuse is a high priority in the personal education programme and very good use is made of the local authority support unit to help provide this programme. The governing body is committed to the provision for sex education. Appropriate policies are in place for both sex and drug education and consultation with parents about sex education takes place before lessons are taught. The school nurse teaches lessons in older classes, with some teacher support through the science unit on ‘growth’. Parents are informed of their right to withdraw their children from sex education, though very few take up this option.

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PUPILS?

47. The school's links with the local community enhance pupils' academic progress and their personal development very significantly. The effect of community links on pupils' awareness of society is very significant. One aspect of this is reflected in a growing awareness amongst pupils that the police support the community and make it a safer place. The school makes good use of local resources and grants are used to fund the clubs. The community makes good use of the school. Parents and the community are welcomed into the school to attend English classes and ‘mother and toddler’ groups. Plans, in response to requests, to open the gymnasium to the community will go ahead when funding is secured. The school very regularly uses the experiences and skills of visitors to broaden the pupils' experiences. It works extremely hard to encourage visits from representatives of the range of cultures and religions that make up the school community. There

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are some useful links with commerce for example in promoting healthy eating. The school is very committed to participation in local community events.

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48. Overall, relationships with local schools are satisfactory. There is regular contact with parents and children before they start school and some contact with local providers of early years' education. The school quite regularly plays sports against other local schools and this enhances the quality of its sporting provision. The subject coordinators make good use of the local authority expertise to help improve teaching and learning in their subjects. There are positive relationships with local secondary schools, which have, in particular, improved some teachers’ expertise in the use of information and communication technology, though this link has yet to impact fully on pupils’ attainment.

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49. Overall, the provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good.

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PUPILS?

50. The provision for pupils’ spiritual development is good. The development of pupils’ self-esteem is central to the school’s ethos and is firmly embedded in the teaching. Everyone is included and each individual is valued. Pupils’ self-esteem is raised when they sing the school song ‘Little light of mine’ in assemblies and see their own work on display. They experience a sense of joy when they sing with a visitor who makes a strong contribution to the music curriculum. Art plays a strong part in providing good opportunities for pupils’ self-expression and for reflecting on the work of others. Religious education gives good opportunities to consider personal beliefs and those of others. In a Year 2 class assembly, pupils had a good opportunity to think about their inner voice and reflect on it. In one assembly, pupils were asked to pray to God the way they want to and if they have no religious belief they can plan to do good. This supports pupils’ spiritual development

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well. Celebration of achievement is well used to praise each other’s efforts. Daily Acts of Worship meet statutory requirements. Seven Sisters Primary School - 18 51. The very good provision for moral development is supported well by the personal, social and health education programme and is also evident in the very strong caring ethos of the school. There are very clear structures for behaviour management and an effective system of rewards to promote good behaviour. All staff provide positive role models that give pupils insight into what is wrong and right. Any incident of bad behaviour is dealt with immediately and fairly. Clear messages are given to the children about how to treat property and each other. Those children whose behaviour is sometimes challenging are usually managed skilfully and sympathetically. An assembly story was well used to promote telling the truth and to live at ease with your conscience. The school

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belief ‘Let peace reside here…’ gives a strong moral message of peaceful co-existence.

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52. Provision for pupils’ social development is very good. Teachers encourage and provide good opportunities for pupils to work in collaboration with each other. They are encouraged to take up responsibility in their classroom and around the school. Year 6 pupils help younger pupils during lunchtimes and work as monitors in Reception classes. Staff set good examples in their relationships with each other and the pupils. Pupils respect each other’s opinions, listen and give their views confidently as was seen in a personal, social and health education lesson. Many displays of notices around such as ‘Happiness comes from kindness and does not come from hatred’ promote pupils’ social development. The extra curricular provision makes a very good contribution to pupils’ social development.

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53. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is very good. The school provides a broad curriculum which supports pupils in developing their understanding of culture through art, religious education, geography, music, history and literature. The school community is rich in diversity and there is an emphasis on the appreciation of pupils’ cultural and linguistic background. Display of pupils’ writing, about famous black people in history and celebrations of Black History Month, promote positive attitudes to their own and others’ cultures. Pupils’ writings about their religious beliefs promote confidence in their own religion and respect for others’ cultures. Pupils have visited places of worship and the school has successfully promoted a respectful attitude to other religions. Pupils were observed answering registers in other languages and there are many notices, labels and bilingual textbooks that appreciate and value pupils' knowledge of home

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languages. Displays around the school celebrate the school's rich cultural diversity. Visits to museums, art galleries and other places of interest further promote pupils’ cultural development.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

54. Pupils are very well cared for by the staff. Parents and pupils appreciate this very good provision. All pupils are valued and the school’s good ethos promotes very good racial harmony. There are very good procedures for monitoring and promoting good behaviour and for monitoring and eliminating oppressive behaviour. The senior leadership team ensures that there is a shared understanding by all members of staff of the necessity to promote consistently the guidance given in the school’s clear behaviour policy. All staff make a significant contribution to providing a caring atmosphere and a safe and calm environment for all pupils, both in and out of lessons. Good behaviour is encouraged in ways that make sense to the children. Playtimes and lunchtimes are well supervised. The children, whose behaviour sometimes proves challenging, are generally handled very well. The learning mentors, funded through Excellence in Cities, give very good

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

support to children who need their help. These children are regularly assessed and evaluated and rigorous records are kept. The project development officer and her team is very involved with parents and pupils and parents know that they are welcome to see any member of staff if there are any particular needs or concerns.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

55. Procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development are good. Although no formal profiles for the personal development of each pupil are kept, pupils’ personal development is monitored effectively. Staff know pupils well and respond sympathetically to them individually, taking good account of any personal circumstances that may affect their learning and general well- being. Pupils are becoming confident in their dealings with each other and with all members of staff. Teachers give good praise and encouragement during lessons, and achievements – large and small – are all celebrated. Personal, social and health education lessons are being used well Seven Sisters Primary School - 19 to help pupils express their thoughts and feelings and to learn to understand about themselves and others.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

56. Procedures for monitoring and improving attendance are very good. The school is very aware of the importance of high attendance and punctuality and has put many new initiatives into place. The breakfast club is proving very popular and successful in making sure that many of the pupils now arrive at school in good time. The project development officer and her team, the attendance manager and the learning mentors are now working very closely with parents to help them to appreciate the importance of regular attendance. The school follows stringent and appropriate procedures for registering pupils each day. There are clear procedures for following up any absences and the headteacher makes sure that parents fill in the appropriate application forms for holidays in term time. Such holidays are now actively discouraged as they often adversely affect pupils’ learning.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

57. There are very good procedures in place for child protection. A teacher is named as the designated person in charge. Pupils currently at the school who are being ‘looked after’ by the local authority are carefully monitored for their personal and academic progress. The pupil care assistant and other members of staff are receiving appropriate training to enable them to keep up to date with aspects of first aid. There is a comprehensive health and safety policy and regular risk assessments are carried out.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

58. The records of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) are well kept and up to date. Information gathered from all sources is shared at regular meetings between staff and external support agencies. The eight pupils who have statements of special educational needs are well provided for, all records and related actions are up to date and pupils receive all the support required as detailed in their statement. The school is aware of, and uses well, the support available for SEN within Haringey local education authority and other agencies. Good links are established for these pupils with the local secondary school to enable those in Year 6 to transfer with ease, ensuring their continuing progress.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

59. Work on assessment has been given a lot of attention recently and a large amount of data has been built up for English and mathematics. Good systems are now in place for these subjects. However, the outcomes from the analysis of this data are not consistently applied in every lesson. The school carries out its own baseline assessment, the statutory National Curriculum tests in English, mathematics and science in Years 2 and 6, and non-statutory tests in English and mathematics in Years 3, 4 and 5. Science assessment is carried out at the end of units of study. Pupils’ reading ages are also tested regularly using a recognised reading test. Individual pupils’ results in all these assessment systems are then recorded and the results of tests are analysed by senior management, so that pupils can be targeted for extra help in their weak areas of learning. Extra help is given to pupils in special groups for literacy and numeracy and in booster

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

classes, as a result of information from assessment, and this is beginning to have a positive impact on standards. The use of observation, in assessing nursery and reception children, is good and informs planning for their learning well. Results are also analysed to compare performance with other schools, including data from the Haringey Education Authority analysis of results.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

60. Too few co-ordinators of subjects and class teachers are involved in this analytical process. As a result, the use of assessment outcomes to plan work and adapt the curriculum to the individual learning needs of pupils and to strengthen weaknesses in knowledge and skills in all subjects, is inconsistent across the school. The progress of individual pupils in each subject is not yet tracked consistently to ensure that the next steps in their learning can be planned and targets for improvement set, to maximise learning. As a result, the opportunity to raise standards in this way is lost. The school does track the attainment of different groups of pupils to identify if any groups are not doing sufficiently well. This has resulted in appropriate intervention to improve the progress made by Turkish boys.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

61. The school has developed a satisfactory marking policy, but it is not yet consistently based on learning objectives, or carried out in a uniform way throughout the school, so that teachers can give useful indications to pupils, in their marking, about how they can improve. The staff are Seven Sisters Primary School - 20 planning to collect together samples of moderated work in portfolios, in the foundation subjects, which can be used to guide teachers about standards to be expected from pupils. This will be particularly helpful in assisting teachers develop their understanding of what constitutes a particular level of achievement so that accurate teacher assessment may be carried out and pupils may be guided as to what they must do to achieve the next level in their learning in all subjects.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

62. The school is working very hard at fostering good relationships with parents. The vast majority of parents have very positive views and warmly praise the headteacher and the impact she is having on the school. She is committed to developing this partnership with parents and has introduced many new initiatives, for example, the learning mentors and the project development officer who, with her team are working hard to involve parents more in the life of the school and in their children’s learning. They organise parents’ health awareness meetings, ‘drop in’ clubs for parents and carers and younger children, games and a book lending library and a breakfast club. The school is now very much a part of the wider Seven Sisters community and the links are very strong. Parents have been consulted about their views of the curriculum. There are plans to start a mosaic workshop for parents and a project called ‘Weaving Together’ where the school will

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

create a piece of cloth woven by parents and children. A minority of parents do not feel well informed about how their child is getting on and a few feel that the school does not work closely with them. The inspection team found that the school is trying hard to work closely with parents.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

63. Parents value the school’s caring attitudes and are satisfied that their children make good progress. They believe teachers know their children well and that such secure personal relationships help pupils to succeed. The vast majority of parents responding to the questionnaire stated their children like school and those seen during the inspection said their children are eager to come. They say that the school expects their children to work hard and achieve their best and is helping them to become more mature and responsible.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

64. Parents are happy with the support and progress made by pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and communication with parents is good, both by letter and in meetings. Arrangements for parental involvement for pupils on higher stages of SEN, including statemented pupils, are good and parents receive good information. Annual reviews are organised well, the appropriate people are invited and the necessary paperwork is completed very well. The headteacher is very committed to ensuring that there is high quality SEN provision in the school and takes a strong lead in this area, seeking out extra funding wherever she can. Parental support of pupils with English as an additional language is effectively sought. Translators and translations can be arranged if and when needed. The ongoing interaction between school and home in supporting pupils’ learning, is suitably developed.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

65. There are regular parents’ meetings and an open door policy whereby parents can approach members of staff at any appropriate time if they would like to discuss their child. However, the end of year reports to parents, although they do provide information on curriculum coverage, do not give parents sufficient indication of attainment and progress in relation to national standards. Future targets for the children's learning need to be consistently more specific.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

66. Some parents were dissatisfied with the amount of homework that their children receive but the inspection team found that the homework given across the school was generally satisfactory. However, it was not consistent across all year groups and classes.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

67. The inspection team agrees with the positive views of the vast majority of parents. Parents speak very highly of the good, informal links with the headteacher and staff and they see these links as a two-way process ensuring pupils’ interests are to the fore. The quality of information provided to parents is good. There are regular newsletters and information is given on topics and curriculum areas to be studied. The school prospectus and the governors’ annual report to parents are informative, but the annual report does not meet statutory requirements because there are a few omissions regarding the accessibility of the school for pupils with disabilities. Seven Sisters Primary School - 21 68. Parents’ involvement in the work of the school is good and is improving. A few parents come in to help, for example, with reading, cooking and swimming. Many parents are keen to volunteer to help on school visits. There is no formal parent-teachers’ association at present. Parents are

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

keen to be involved in events but do not want to be involved in the organisation of such events. The parent governors make a valued contribution to school life and are an important source of information to the body on the parents' views of the school.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

69. Induction procedures for children entering the nursery class are good and they are also good for pupils entering school at times other than at the beginning of the school year. Parents are pleased at how their children settle in and enjoy school. They also like the care taken when the oldest pupils transfer to secondary school.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

70. In the two years since the school was established a great deal has been achieved. One school has been successfully created out of two. Parents report that their children are much happier and better behaved. There is a very calm atmosphere and very good relationships. The environment is well organised to enable effective learning. All this has happened in seemingly unpromising circumstances of very low attainment on entry to school and large turnover of staff and pupils.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

71. The headteacher provides very good leadership informed by a clear sense of the mission, 'achievement for all'. The senior leadership team is organised in innovative ways. This focuses on pupil care, achievement for all pupils, modelling good practice in education, co-ordination of English and mathematics and project development. The outcomes have been very positive. Pupils' welfare is looked after very well, teaching is satisfactory overall, with several good and very good features and results in national tests in English and mathematics in Year 6 improved significantly in 2002 as compared to 2001. Pupils are happy and enthusiastic about their work. Projects have been developed which support families to understand the curriculum and the school's aspirations for their children. The building blocks are being put carefully and systematically in place one by one to ensure that the pupils are successful. An environment and

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

culture have been created in which success can happen.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

72. Seventy per cent of the staff have changed since the school opened. A period of stability has been established in this academic year. This provides circumstances which allow the school to build on its successes. However it does mean that some staff are very inexperienced in their roles, particularly relating to management of some subjects of the National Curriculum. The innovative approach to setting up the culture of the school has meant that history, geography and design and technology have not been a focus of attention. Whilst the focus on literacy and numeracy is appropriate, given the starting points of the pupils, it is timely to ensure that all subjects are fully led and managed. Responsibilities are widely spread overall. This reflects the school belief 'many hearts build a school'. In practice the whole community has a stake in developing the school. Task groups of teachers and teaching assistants are allocated

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

responsibility for current development priorities. This very good level of involvement of staff from every part of the school community contributes significantly to the very strong shared sense of purpose.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

73. The SEN co-ordinator makes a very effective contribution to the management of the SEN policy, procedures and support for pupils with SEN. She manages well a team of learning support teachers and assistants, SEN resources and the process for the early identification of pupils with SEN and appropriate intervention to ensure progress. She is well qualified and continues to attend courses and keep up to date with new developments herself, as well as ensuring the continuing professional development in SEN by other teachers and learning support assistants. The school is already implementing well the new Code of Practice for SEN pupils. A strength of the provision is the care taken by the school to provide an appropriate range of specialist equipment to support specific learning needs, such as widget symbols and visual timetables for autistic pupils, sound field amplification for hard of hearing pupils, special glasses, sloping boards, hand lenses and

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

enlarged print for visually impaired pupils, makaton and visual symbols for pupils with speech and Seven Sisters Primary School - 22 language difficulties and special computer programs to help pupils with specific learning difficulties. This equipment enables pupils to participate fully in all lessons.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

74. The Ethnic Minority Achievement co-ordinator has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the provision for children with EAL. She is aware of the need for all teachers to think ‘English as an additional language’ (EAL) in all their plans, of the need to improve teachers' skills in providing specific EAL support in the lessons and to increase the extent of EAL support within school. This is necessary to tackle the inconsistencies in the quality of provision. There are appropriate priorities outlined in the action plan as part of the whole school improvement plan to bring this about. Home languages are given high status particularly in the consistently high quality of display around the school.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

75. Evaluation and development of teaching is satisfactory overall. It is better for English and mathematics than the other subjects. This reflects the priority given to raising pupils' literacy and numeracy skills. For these subjects the evaluation of teaching and analysis of results and work result in very effective action plans. At present aspects of these action plans are not consistently implemented in all classes. More regular checking by the co-ordinators on the plans' application in lessons is required to rectify this. Consistency in the provision and teaching of other subjects is achieved chiefly through joint planning and year group discussions. This is partially successful. There are examples of informal observation of teaching by co-ordinators, for example of the reception classes which have led to appropriate planning for improvement. Coordinators of all subjects need the opportunity to learn from the best practice in school to take their subjects

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

76. The rapid improvement in the ethos of the school has only been possible because all adults in the school are valued and inspired to give of their best and a high priority is given to the professional development of all staff. There are good procedures for the appraisal of teachers and this is beginning to have an impact on school growth now the staff situation has been stabilised. A cycle of performance targets and professional development interviews are managed well and are based on school priorities and staff development needs. The commitment shown by the headteacher to develop teachers through training, including temporary teachers and several from overseas, is beginning to benefit the school.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

77. There are good systems for managing the performance of support staff and providing for their training needs. Support staff work well as a team and with their linked teachers. They have provided security for pupils in times of considerable change and are a strength of the school, making a good contribution to pupils’ progress in all areas of their development. Teaching staff work well together, even though the current team has only recently been fully established. Documentation has been developed to ease the induction of newly qualified teachers and those new to the school and they receive good support from tutors and mentors on the staff.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

78. School improvement planning is clearly effective. This is achieved through the school growth plan, with a vision of ten years. The vision is explored in five key areas: resourcing education; staff skills and competencies; developing a learning community rather than a school; the curriculum; and equity for all pupils. These areas have a particular focus in the next three to five years and include the pressing priorities for raising the pupils' attainment, namely literacy and numeracy and also building up the leadership skills in school necessary to support the many newly appointed staff in recently acquired subject leadership roles. Each task and subject leader has specific and relevant targets to be achieved in one to two years. Success criteria and strategies for reaching them underpin these targets. At present the components which form the school growth plan as a whole are not drawn together in one document. This hampers efficient reference and its use as a

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

universal tool for anyone involved in keeping the school under review. For example, the success criteria in co-ordinators' action plans could serve as a constructive focus for attention when governors make their visits to school.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

79. The governing body has not been immune to the wind of change which has blown through the school. Many of its members are recently appointed including the chair and the governor with responsibility for SEN. Those who failed to attend meetings have been encouraged to leave. In Seven Sisters Primary School - 23 past years the committees were not effective enough. There was insufficient focus on curriculum and the finance committee was not active enough. These faults have been recently rectified. The present body is enthusiastic. It has a clear understanding of the strengths of the school and the challenges it faces. At present this derives from good quality information provided by the school, talking to parents and newsletters. Governors see as a major priority the need to develop their own skills in keeping the school under review through focused visits. This is necessary to enable governors to improve their ability to shape the direction of the school. Governors meet their

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

80. Day-to-day management of finances is good. The recent appointment of an experienced bursar has resulted in improved systems for monitoring spending and appropriate planning for future financial security. Good systems for bidding for resources by co-ordinators mean that the budget is well managed and focused on priorities for development. Funds are spent on the purposes for which they are intended. The school benefits from a number of regeneration programmes. These include New Deals for Communities, Sure Start and Excellence in Cities. The funds are used well to aid families. Seven Sisters is becoming a place of learning for the community rather than a school just for pupils, for example by providing language classes and curriculum workshops.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

81. The school has an adequate number of teachers for each class, although two classes are covered by temporary teachers. There is a satisfactory range of teacher expertise overall, including music, design and technology and SEN. However, expertise in physical education is not widespread enough. In appointing new staff, the school uses the opportunity well to bring in expertise in areas of need, for example religious education. There are adequate numbers of support staff to help pupils in classrooms and with their special educational needs, but pupils with English as an additional language do not receive the same level of support. Pupils are suitably assessed for their EAL needs, but the specialised support to meet their needs is spread thinly. In-class support during literacy sessions is allocated to some classes and not others. Other pupils on early stages of learning English elsewhere in the school, are supported as part of the whole class by the

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

class teachers only. This lack of expert support affects pupils’ rate of progress.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

82. Administrative, supervisory, catering and maintenance staff provide an efficient service of support for the teachers and pupils. Duties are carried out efficiently, promptly and pleasantly, and they contribute to the smooth running of the school.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

83. The accommodation provides a good environment for learning. It is very well maintained by the site manager and cleaning staff. The school has many rooms designated for specific use such as team meeting rooms, a large and airy library, a medical room, a large gymnasium, study rooms and an ICT suite. There is also an indoor swimming pool. Outside, there are two playgrounds, which are a little small for the number of pupils. The nursery class has a secure, designated outside playground with a covered play area for wet weather. Whilst arrangements are made for reception children to work outside there is no designated area in which they can keep a wide range of resources securely.

p.25

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

84. Learning resources are satisfactory overall. For English and physical education they are good. There are too few tuned instruments for composition in music. For information and communication technology there is a lack of software to enable pupils to attain national expectations in some aspects of their learning. There are too few resources to develop mapping skills in geography.

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

85. To improve the school further, the governors, headteacher and staff should:

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve standards, assessment and its use in planning in all subjects by:

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• improving teachers' subject knowledge, particularly in physical education and information and communication technology; • better and consistent planning and teaching to meet the needs of the range of prior attainment; Seven Sisters Primary School - 24 • putting in place manageable systems of assessment; and • using assessment data to support planning for the next steps in learning.

p.25

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 101, 110, 123, 124, 133, 134, 138, 139, 143, 144, 148, 149, 153, 154, 160, 161, 167, 174, 175 and 180)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve learning of pupils with English as an additional language by consistently:

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• using visual prompts and resources in lessons to support understanding; • planning shorter steps in learning; • modelling language using language structures at an appropriate level; • increasing opportunities for speaking and listening; and • sharing the best practice in school.

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 15, 27, 30, 35, 74, 104 and 105)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Raising levels of attendance and punctuality by:

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• persevering with the very good procedures to promote good attendance and punctuality already in place.

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) Improve the consistency in subject co-ordination by:

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• providing co-ordinators with regular opportunities to monitor teaching and learning; and • sharing the best practice in school in subject leadership .

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 72, 75, 108, 123, 133, 138, 143, 148, 153, 159, 167, 174 and 180)

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(5) Improve the governors' contribution to shaping the future of the school by using:

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• the school growth plan as a tool for keeping the school under review during school visits; and • the information gained on school visits to inform decisions on the future direction of the school.

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In addition to the key issues above, the following less important weaknesses should be addressed in the plan:

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• provision of more opportunities for nursery and reception children to make choices within the activities on offer; and

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• the need for consistent use of the school's handwriting style by teachers to improve pupils' presentation and handwriting.

p.26

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraph 106) Seven Sisters Primary School - 25

p.26

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 38

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very poor

p.27

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.

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 40 571

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 307

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 8

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 3 234

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 391

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 140

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 89

p.27

Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 Seven Sisters Primary School - 26 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Seven Sisters Primary School - 27

p.27

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 47 40 87

p.29

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.29

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

Boys 20 15 26 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 28 21 30

p.29

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

Percentage of pupils School 55 (64) 41 (56) 64 (83) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

p.29

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.29

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

Boys 19 29 25 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 25 30 27

p.29

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

Percentage of pupils School 51 (63) 68 (71) 60 (64) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

p.29

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

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

p.29

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 37 36 73

p.29

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.29

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

Boys 20 23 26 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 28 22 28

p.29

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

Percentage of pupils School 66 (45) 62 (51) 74 (63) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

p.29

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.29

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

Boys 14 14 12 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 23 16 20

p.29

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

Percentage of pupils School 51 (32) 41 (46) 44 (43) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

p.29

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Seven Sisters Primary School - 28

p.29

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

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 27 0 0

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 14 0 0

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 13 0 0

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 10 0 0

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 33 0 0

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 39 0 0

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 134 2 0

p.30

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 51 0 0

p.30

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.

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 27.4 Financial year 2001-2002

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21.6

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 1794,946

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 15 Total expenditure 1826,554

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 280 Expenditure per pupil 2,904

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 41,198

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2 Balance carried forward to next year -31,608

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 5

p.30

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 163 Seven Sisters Primary School - 29 Number of pupils per FTE adult 9.9

p.30

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 22

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 19

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 2

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.31

Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Seven Sisters Primary School - 30

p.31

Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 48 43 5 2 2

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 52 35 6 1 4

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 39 33 18 7 2

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 44 40 11 2 2

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 56 30 4 3 5

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 58 29 5 1 5

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 46 36 9 4 5

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 53 32 5 2 6

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 49 37 7 1 4

p.32

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 46 36 7 2 9 Seven Sisters Primary School - 31

p.32

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

86. Children in the Foundation Stage are admitted into a nursery class and three reception classes. Assessments carried out at the beginning of reception year show children's attainment to be well below average. Children's skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening are very low. Some enter the nursery class needing basic help such as with going to the toilet. They find it difficult to settle to activities. By the end of reception year, the majority of children will not reach many of the expected standards set out for their learning because of their very low starting points in communication, language and literacy and in mathematical development. Standards for these areas are well below average. Most will achieve the goals for personal and social and emotional development and physical development and standards are average. The children's limited language skills are hampering many from reaching the standards expected for knowledge and

p.33

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

understanding of the world and creative development overall, although they do well in the non-verbal aspects of these areas. Standards are below average overall for these areas of learning. Overall, children achieve well.

p.33

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

87. Overall, the provision, teaching and quality of learning are good with important aspects which are very good. In particular, there is good support of children at an early stage of learning English. This is achieved through the use of pictures, repeated vocabulary and language structures and actions linked with the learning. In the nursery children who speak Turkish are given good support in their Mother Tongue. The classrooms are well organised and pupils' work is attractively displayed. The relationships between adults and children are very warm. This enables a growth in children's confidence and enjoyment of the learning. Adults show a good understanding of the needs of young children. The curriculum is strongly practical. Children have lots of opportunities to investigate. Understanding of mathematics is developed through song and work with resources rather than through worksheets. Occasionally the beginning of sessions was too long which

p.33

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

resulted in some children losing interest. The size of groups in the nursery is sometimes too large which prevents adults from responding to the individual needs of children. The quality of teaching for personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world is good. It is satisfactory for physical and creative development.

p.33

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

88. The co-ordination of this stage of the children's learning is good. Planning for improvement and the action taken are responsive to national initiatives and to the needs of children in the school. Much has been done to put in place the recommendations of national guidance for children in nursery and reception classes. Planning procedures have been improved. Systems for observing children, to inform the content of future, activities are good. These systems will support teachers well as they carry out the new requirements for assessing reception children at the end of the year.

p.33

Personal, social and emotional development

89. Children settle to their new experience of school well. There are good arrangements to inform parents about school, seek information about the children and to give them introductions to the life in nursery. Children are happy to come to school. They have made good progress since they started nursery in September. All are able to make choices of the activities on offer but some still need help to settle. These children are identified on the special needs register. Adults provide good support to develop the necessary concentration skills by encouraging them to extend activities they enjoy. There are occasions when some children find it difficult to share resources and need help from adults to resolve their conflict. Children also prefer to cycle alone rather than share the two person bikes. Shy children are reluctant to talk in large groups. The organisation of the sessions includes two large group activities. This does not allow teachers to focus their

p.33

Personal, social and emotional development

attention sufficiently on the needs of individuals and needs review. Seven Sisters Primary School - 32 90. In reception classes, whilst there are some very active children, most are well behaved. They show enjoyment of their work. Relationships are very good. Concentration skills have improved. Children show a respect for individual differences such as when they look carefully at one another to draw portraits. They benefit from the constant celebration in the school of the diversity of their cultures. At present, there are too few opportunities for children in nursery and reception classes to make choices within the activities on offer. This puts a ceiling on the level of initiative they can exercise.

p.33

Communication, language and literacy

91. Many of the children enter nursery with limited skills in English. Those who are fluent and articulate have basic skills in conversing with one another. They find it difficult to listen to one another and talk over each other. The teaching employs several successful strategies to develop children's skills. These include good bilingual support for Turkish speakers, challenging questions for articulate speakers, which require complex answers, and providing examples of new vocabulary and phrases in discussions. Children begin the day in the nursery by self-registering using personal photographs annotated with their names. The daily use of the alphabet song, which gives the initial sound of activities available to the children, provides regular practice in learning phonics. This continues in reception classes. Adults introduce children to books related to topics of interest, for example on sunflowers to a girl who was arranging them in the home corner.

p.34

Communication, language and literacy

Consequently, children listen to stories well and clearly enjoy them. There is a writing table and sometimes opportunities to write are included in role-play. These opportunities should be extended so nursery and reception children are encouraged to carry out their own personal recording very frequently.

p.34

Communication, language and literacy

92. There are still many children in reception classes who have very limited communication skills in English. This is partly due to the constant influx of new pupils and because the starting points of others were so low. Teaching across the curriculum provides children with lots of visual material to support their understanding. Action rhymes are popular and strategies such as acting out for example, the story of Baa Baa Black Sheep help to ensure all the class can understand. Children know that books are read from front to back. The vast majority know few words by sight or how to use their limited phonic knowledge to unravel the meaning of print. Most 'read' books by interpreting the illustrations. The very accomplished reader can identify favourite books and has very positive attitudes to reading. Less than a third of children enter reception class able to record their personal thoughts using a string of recognisable letters. Most use marks. Very few can

p.34

Communication, language and literacy

write their name and hardly any can write any other words. Very good lessons in which children are guided in how to write by demonstration have a good impact on their understanding. With this direct support higher attainers begin to use their phonic knowledge to identify the initial and final letters of words and where capital letters and full stops should be used. There are regular opportunities for children to copy writing but too few for children to experiment with their developing knowledge independently.

p.34

Mathematical development

93. Children in the nursery meet a range of mathematical ideas incidentally in their learning. They play numeral matching games on the computer and sing number songs with actions to support their knowledge of number. They experience capacity in filling containers with water and sand. They meet the concepts of 'small' and 'big' and know for example that some plants grow tall and others do not. Some children are aware there are seven days in the week. However, some of the work on display is at a level too advanced for the children to understand, for example the recording of their birthday dates and the addition of morning and afternoon children's preferences in cereal. This does not advance children's learning successfully.

p.34

Mathematical development

94. Less than a third of children enter reception able to recognise numerals to 10. Their knowledge of number progresses well from a low starting point because of the emphasis given to this in songs and action rhymes. Recording of numbers is weak but in action songs higher attaining children are able to carry out addition and subtraction and identify one less than. For example, supported by adults using folded down fingers, they count down as a bunch of bananas decreases following Seven Sisters Primary School - 33 the interest of a very hungry monkey. All of this is acted out in song using children at the centre of the circle and helps children with little English to understand. Children have measured their individual heights using hand prints and some can name the shapes they have used in designs. The emphasis in the curriculum is on developing fundamentals in knowledge of number and as yet few are on track to use their developing knowledge to solve problems.

p.34

Knowledge and understanding of the world

95. There are lots of practical experiences for children to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world and these provide a good context to develop the children's vocabulary. It also motivates well the children with weaker concentration skills who make up the special needs register. In the nursery they planted cress seeds and the following day several children went straight to the seedlings holding magnifiers to see if they had grown. The computer is used for example, to reinforce learning of numbers and create designs. The adult led sessions are helpful in developing children's skills. When working independently, and things go wrong, the children try strategies such as readjusting the position of the mouse or using the keyboard. This indicates that they are confident and prepared to experiment for themselves. The children learn to use a range of tools in construction and designing but to reach the higher levels of attainment in nursery and reception

p.35

Knowledge and understanding of the world

classes they require more opportunities to choose the tools for their purpose rather than have them provided for them.

p.35

Knowledge and understanding of the world

96. Role-play is used very well in reception classes to develop children's understanding of the different ways people can earn a living. During the inspection the three classes had a Chinese restaurant, hairdresser and baby clinic. Where these were very well resourced it made a very good contribution to several areas of the children's learning, for example through the price list in the restaurant and the choice of tools and equipment in the hairdressers. In discussions about a sweet potato, the children gradually deduced that it had mud on it because it grew underground rather than in a tree. They showed great interest in comparing the inside and outside and smelling and feeling it. This provided a very good starting point for the teacher to give a short lesson on writing a sentence. When talking about their daily lives children show an awareness of past and present using words such as 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow'. Although children are not familiar with all

p.35

Knowledge and understanding of the world

the software available on their computers they do know how to exit a program and to select another.

p.35

Physical development

97. Boys favour the activities on offer outside in the nursery. They show good control of the trikes and know how to reverse out of trouble when two vehicles become entangled. Higher attainers throw balls well and make reasonable if not always successful attempts to score at the basketball net. Where light balls are attached to string on a line most children are generally accurate at hitting them with a tennis style bat. They use the adventure equipment confidently with balance and enjoyment. Children use a wide variety of small tools to develop finer control of their muscles. These include glue sticks, pencils and felt tips, paint brushes and scissors.

p.35

Physical development

98. In reception classes these skills develop satisfactorily. Children have better control of small tools. In dance they respond to pictures and the music to move like different animals. They clearly enjoy this active work and are eager to get started. This is reinforced well by considering which parts of the body are being used to create different movements. Teaching introduces specific vocabulary to describe the movements, for example 'galloping', 'slithering', 'hopping' and 'marching'. In response to national guidance and despite the fact that two reception classes do not open onto the playground, efforts are being made for children to explore their learning outside. The lack of resources is presently making it difficult for children to explore their learning across the curriculum in ways which are sufficiently active and large scale. Improvements would particularly benefit well meaning but very active boys in reception classes.

p.35

Creative development

99. Children in the nursery have a good range of ways to explore their thoughts and ideas. Girls prefer to use the homecorner for role-play, boys prefer to play with railway construction. Many of the Seven Sisters Primary School - 34 children carry out this play in an isolated way rather than socialising as they do it. Teaching is very successful when it includes questions such as 'Are you going to make dinner for us?'. This encourages a social dimension to the children's play and thereby encourages them to practise their communication skills. Children learn that they can express themselves with paint in different ways, for example by using a roller, or car wheels or even a paint brush. Paints are usually prepared so it is not possible to reach higher levels of attainment by choosing to mix personal colours. In the same way, whilst children complete effective collage work it is usually from the

p.35

Creative development

materials which have been provided. 100. In reception the provision for role-play supports children's creative development well. However, some children need more guidance for example, by an adult playing alongside them to realise the full potential. Without that they use for example, the baby clinic as a home corner. Children enjoy the opportunities they have to explore the sensory experience of different materials, for example the wet inside compared to the dry outside of a sweet potato or the feel of flour and water mixtures. Song is used very well to support other areas of learning. The enthusiasm with which children sing and act out actions is impressive. In dance children are expressive in capturing the movements of different animals.

p.36

ENGLISH

101. Standards in English are well below average overall at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. The gap between girls’ and boys’ performance was greater than the national average, with a noticeably wider gap between girls’ and boys’ performance in writing.

p.36

ENGLISH

102. Pupils' language development is very low when they start school. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 learn to listen and take turns in discussion in small groups and pair discussions and problem-solving activities. They become familiar with books and the school library and most learn basic letter- sound combinations. By the end of Year 2, a large proportion of pupils are not yet fully independent readers. Many pupils begin school with very low writing skills. By the end of Year 2, most pupils write some very simple words and sentences. However, many pupils are still at the very early stages of writing sequences of sentences that make sense and of learning to use full stops and commas correctly. Their handwriting is legible and usually follows the correct letter forms, but few regularly join their writing. These low achievements reflect the very high proportions of the pupils who have special educational needs and who are at an early stage of learning

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ENGLISH

English. The pupils with special educational needs achieve well in reaching the learning targets they are set. Pupils who are new to learning English achieve satisfactorily overall. Where these pupils are directly supported by specialists or by specialist learning programmes, they achieve well. Overall, pupils’ achievement over time in speaking, listening, reading and writing is satisfactory.

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ENGLISH

103. By the end of Year 6, pupils take part in debates, for example, about whether there should be more controls on the environment and about the topics they wish to discuss in the school council. They readily explain their likes and dislikes to visitors, although only the few higher attainers talk at length. They read fiction and non-fiction books, though very few choose to read poetry or a good range of non fiction books. This is partly because, although the school devotes much teaching time to reading and understanding extracts from stories and non-fiction texts, emphasis is not placed on expanding pupils' knowledge of the range of literature available. Most pupils read aloud with reasonable accuracy. The few higher attaining pupils read with expression. They use the school’s simplified Dewey classification system to find books on chosen topics. Most can select a sentence or phrase in a text they are studying that supports a view they have of a

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ENGLISH

character or an argument. The higher attaining pupils can draw out underlying meanings, such as what authors hint at when they use particular phrases about characters.

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ENGLISH

104. By the end of Year 6, pupils write in a variety of formats, including stories, biographies, poems and accounts of topics and investigations they do at home and school. Pupils make good progress in becoming familiar with the basic specialist literacy demands for some of the subjects they study, such as how to write an account of a science experiment. Most pupils write in logical sequence and use paragraphs correctly. Only the minority of higher attaining pupils write at length or without major errors in punctuation, grammar or the spelling of common words. Although a minority of Seven Sisters Primary School - 35 pupils have well formed, joined handwriting, a large number still do not consistently use joined writing by the end of Year 6. A significant number habitually use capital letter forms for some letters, even when these are in the middle of words. Pupils with special educational needs

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ENGLISH

continue to make good progress in Years 3 to 6 in relation to the targets they are set. Pupils who are learning English as another language achieve satisfactorily overall. However, where those who are at the early stages do not directly receive targeted support in their English lessons, they make less progress than they should.

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ENGLISH

105. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. The most effective teaching was seen where teachers closely followed the school’s good policy on English teaching. This includes the need to use lots of visual support to help the many pupils who are at the early stages of learning English and to break the sequence of learning into small steps with lots of demonstration. They also provide pupils with lots of examples of phrases and handwriting formats they can use, together with opportunities for them to discuss their ideas in pairs or small groups. In Year 1, successful support from a teaching assistant using an ICT program backed up with visual images paired with captions, puppets and lively gestures, enabled pupils who were at the earliest stages of learning English to read and understand a book on how seeds spread and grow. In a Year 6 booster class for lower attaining pupils, very clear teacher demonstrations, well presented text and explanations,

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ENGLISH

with opportunities for pupils to share their ideas in pairs, enabled them to offer good interpretations of the motives of characters in a story they were reading.

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ENGLISH

106. Typical features of weaker or unsuccessful teaching seen included insufficient planning for the specific needs of the pupils at the early stages of learning English. In some lessons, teachers gave lengthy verbal instructions to pupils at the start of lessons and did not provide any visual support or write up and explain keywords. In addition, only a minority of teachers used the school handwriting style in their board writing or displayed examples of it as reminders and support to pupils. This resulted in low standards of handwriting and presentation. Sometimes pupils work with too little guidance on how to bridge the gap from the example used in the lesson, such as a poem, to composing their own work in a similar poetical format. In these cases the good information of pupils' prior attainment is not used sufficiently well to inform planning for their learning.

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ENGLISH

107. Most teachers give good encouragement and helpful oral feedback to pupils in lessons. There were also some good examples of written feedback provided in pupils’ workbooks which provided clear guidance on how the pupils could improve their work. This is not consistently the case. Sometimes pupils with very low attainment are given advice that is difficult for them to understand, such as 'we need to make sure your ideas follow one another in a logical sequence'. The highest attaining readers are reading books at school which are much less interesting and challenging than those they read at home. Targets are set for pupils, but in some cases these are primarily about personal learning styles, such as “I must work harder in class”. The difference between teacher assessment and test results reflect the impact of booster classes which take place after the teacher assessment is complete.

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ENGLISH

108. Leadership and management are very good overall. Some very insightful and well-focused work has been done on setting up systems of checking pupils’ progress in writing, through setting and analysing pieces of extended writing. The co-ordinator has provided a very good analysis of actions which need to be taken by teaching staff to make sure they carry out the English policies. Lack of consistency in the implementation of these policies is partly explained by the high turnover of staff in the recent past. The most recent test results have also been analysed and groups, such as Turkish boys, who are doing less well than their classmates, identified and targeted for more support. Pupils are now grouped into sets based on prior attainment and this is helping teachers target learning better. The school is also making effective use of national initiatives, such as the Early Literacy Strategy and booster classes to improve teaching and learning. However, the

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ENGLISH

implementation of these good policies and recommended improvements in their teaching is not consistent across classes. This includes the use of homework, which is not consistently set across classes, to consolidate and extend the work pupils do in lessons. Literacy is used well to support some subjects such as history and science but is not used sufficiently in geography. Seven Sisters Primary School - 36 109. The co-ordinator recognises that a strong focus needs to be brought to improving attainment in reading and has outlined plans for improvement. Still more is required to improve pupils’ knowledge of and enthusiasm for good fiction and non-fiction writers. Although the school follows recommended national guidance for teaching English, it has not yet been adapted well enough for the pupils in the school. Pupils are not being given enough opportunities to use word processors to draft and improve their work. The library and the school’s book stocks have been recently

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ENGLISH

updated and include a good range of high quality texts which also reflect well the rich diversity of the school’s communities and cultures. Seven Sisters Primary School - 37

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MATHEMATICS

110. Standards achieved by pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 are well below the national average. National test scores confirm this, though pupils’ scores have improved year on year. The school reached its Year 6 examination target last year. It is unlikely to do so this year, unless the ‘booster’ classes are very successful, because the target of 60 per cent of pupils reaching the average grade is so very high compared to the pupils' starting points. The major difference between pupils’ test scores and teacher assessment is because teacher assessments take place in January, before ‘booster’ classes and examination preparation have had an impact and thus show attainment to be much lower than in the tests four months later.

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MATHEMATICS

111. Girls consistently outperform boys in both age groups in the test. The school has identified this and is working with certain groups of boys to raise their achievement. Teachers are very aware, through good analysis of data, that the performance of some groups is less than that of others. The performance of Afro-Caribbean boys last year however was much better than that found nationally. Overall pupils achievements are satisfactory.

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MATHEMATICS

112. Pupils in Year 2 successfully add easier tens and units numbers but only higher attaining pupils are comfortable ‘carrying’ into the tens column. Subtraction, other than of single digits, is much less secure. Mental recall of counting and number facts is weak. Most pupils understand how to read a clock whose hands are indicating ‘o’clock’ or ‘half past’ and their knowledge of simple flat and solid shapes is satisfactory. They have tried some very simple number investigation work and higher attaining pupils were successful. Their knowledge of mathematical vocabulary is weak, with many pupils unclear on more than two words for addition or subtraction. Presentation of work is weak for most pupils and the work of lower attaining pupils is regularly unfinished.

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MATHEMATICS

113. In Year 6 pupils have an understanding of place value to thousands but only higher attaining pupils understand beyond this. Quick recall of number facts in any operation is not secure for most pupils. This is especially true of multiplication tables. All pupils work with coordinates in one quadrant creating simple pictures by joining given points but to obtain the higher grade pupils should be working in all four quadrants. Higher attaining pupils are quite successful at sorting flat shapes by symmetry but most pupils only count corners and sides. Most pupils have a basic understanding of simple probability like “50, 50” but few express the probability of an event as a fraction. Simple tallies, graphs and pie charts are understood but very few pupils have used line graphs or frequency tables. Presentation has improved over the year and the 'working out' margin has been successful in getting Year 6 pupils to record their methods.

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MATHEMATICS

114. Progress, from extremely low starting points, through the school is satisfactory. Two of the factors, which have kept progress down, are the extremely high mobility of teaching staff with resulting inconsistency in the way in which the numeracy strategy has been implemented. The strategy is used excellently by a few teachers but much less well by others. Pupil progress is considerably better in Years 2 and 6 than in the rest of the school because the school puts extra teachers into these two year groups. This makes groups smaller and means more teacher time for every pupil and work more closely related to each pupil’s ability.

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MATHEMATICS

115. Few pupils with special educational needs have specific mathematics targets. Those who do, make good progress towards them because of the additional support they receive from class teachers and assistants. Those with literacy targets benefit from the teachers speaking clearly and usually explaining technical vocabulary carefully. Pupils with hearing disorders benefit substantially from assistants who, for instance, use a white board well to illustrate key aspects of the lesson for them.

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MATHEMATICS

116. The school has identified some pupils who they consider to be gifted and talented, though this recognition may not relate to mathematics. Setting by prior attainment in the older classes helps challenge these pupils and occasionally teachers specifically prepare extension work for them. This is not consistent across the school and, thus, these pupils only make similar progress to other pupils. Seven Sisters Primary School - 38 117. Pupils with English as an additional language start school without the language of mathematics and make quite rapid progress initially. This progress slows to satisfactory when they no longer receive substantial additional support. Also teachers do not consistently use sufficient diagrams, resources and repetition of key vocabulary to help these pupils understand the main ideas and concepts.

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MATHEMATICS

118. Teaching and learning are satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 and good in Years 3 to 6. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed. In some, mostly junior, classes high quality teaching was observed and the subject coordinator’s lesson was excellent. The management of pupils was consistently good across all classes. Lesson objectives were shared with the pupils so that they knew what they would be learning. Occasionally, as in Year 2, they decided whether or not they had achieved the objective. All teachers planned appropriately for the lesson, though some did not use the planning well. Support staff were sensibly and effective deployed, generally to work with the weakest pupils, and teachers normally had useful resources to hand to help explain concepts to the class.

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MATHEMATICS

119. Where teaching was strongest teachers used questioning well to give pupils a chance to think through and explain their own methods. Pupils welcomed this and confidently and enthusiastically spoke to the class about ‘their way’ of completing the homework whilst the others paid careful attention. Mental warm ups were lively, purposeful and challenging, with pupils relishing the task of doubling and halving quite rapidly in Year 4. Tasks, like creating shapes in Year 6, challenged pupils and encouraged them to experiment and discuss their reasoning with friends. They stuck purposefully to their task. Homework was set regularly and constructively marked. It extended learning from the lesson.

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MATHEMATICS

120. In less successful lessons teachers deviated from their planning which meant that in Year 2 one solid shape that the pupils needed to know for their exercise was not explained well. This slowed the pace of the lesson as the teacher needed to go to each table to explain its properties. Teachers were insufficiently aware of time and completely missed out the plenary session, leaving the pupils unsure whether or not they had achieved the objective. Occasionally tasks were too difficult, as in a Year 1 lesson on counting. Pupils were confused about when to count in tens and when in units. The teacher recognised this and successfully modified her approach and the task to start to improve their understanding. Similarly in a Year 6 lesson on shape the teacher had not realised that pupils were unsure of a right angle and asked them to classify shapes using that criterion. This they could not do. Confusion led to some ‘off task’ behaviour, even in this very

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MATHEMATICS

121. Teachers mark pupils’ work in a satisfactory manner indicating achievement of the learning objectives, offering praise and, especially for weaker pupils, pointers to improve presentation and accuracy. Teachers rarely indicate how pupils can improve or what is the next stage in pupils’ learning.

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MATHEMATICS

122. The school currently makes very little use of computers to enhance pupils’ understanding of mathematics, while some technical problems with software are being addressed. Programs about shape or graphs are enjoyed by the few pairs of pupils who have a turn on their class computers. Numeracy is not exploited enough across the curriculum, for example in science pupils meet only a narrow range of ways to present data.

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MATHEMATICS

123. The management of the subject is high quality. The coordinator is very experienced and has received a considerable amount of training in the numeracy strategy and management, which he has shared with colleagues. Sufficient non-contact time is allocated so that teaching and learning are closely and accurately monitored. The subject action plan is appropriate and the work that has taken place so far has improved standards in using and applying mathematics. There is currently insufficient emphasis on raising the quality of teaching by sharing expertise within the school. Assessment activities are very detailed and data is thoroughly analysed by ethnicity and gender, including the analysis of every single examination question. The data was used last year to identify pupils for extra help and this was very successful because almost all of them reached the appropriate grade. However, generally the information gathered has yet to influence teaching

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MATHEMATICS

Seven Sisters Primary School - 39 and learning across the school consistently. The school has a strong desire for all pupils to succeed and the collective ability to improve. Seven Sisters Primary School - 40

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SCIENCE

124. Pupils achieve standards that are well below the national average by the end of Year 2 and below by the end of Year 6. However, pupils make satisfactory progress in Years 1 and 2 and good progress in some Year 5 and 6 classes because of the good teaching they receive. Progress is not consistent in all classes and the achievement of the majority of pupils remains satisfactory.

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SCIENCE

125. By the end of Year 2, pupils’ attainment is well below the expected levels. This is because of the low level of attainment on entry to school and a high proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties. A high proportion of pupils in the school is still at the early stages of learning English. By the time they are assessed, many of these pupils are still on the lower levels of fluency in English and their vocabulary and writing skills are not sufficiently developed to enable them to attain the national standards. This is a similar picture to that evident from assessment results at age seven in 2002.

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SCIENCE

126. Pupils’ overall attainment by the end of Year 6 is below national expectations. However, about seven out of ten pupils achieve standards that are in line with national expectations and some higher attaining pupils attain at the higher Level 5. In 2002 overall test results were well below the national average and were below those of similar schools. The improvement in standards is because the school has used the information from analysis of test data and has started to implement strategies to raise standards. For example, monitoring of pupils’ work and analysis of National Curriculum Year 6 test results indicated that the areas such as investigations and experiments, use of scientific vocabulary, collecting and interpreting data and teaching of physical sciences needed greater emphasis. The teaching has started to focus on these areas.

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SCIENCE

127. By the end of Year 2, pupils can accurately label a diagram of the human body identifying for example the hands, feet and head. They know about skeletons and bones and have some knowledge of the five senses. In Year 1 pupils were learning names of parts of a plant such as flower, stem, bud, petal and roots. Pupils had one plant between two to study but found it hard to remember these names, although the teacher had introduced some words in the previous week. Even the higher attaining pupils found it hard to remember petal and stem, the two new words introduced. Pupils’ retention and recall memory is poor. Year 2 pupils, with support from the teacher, could categorise food into groups of meat, fruit and vegetables but had great difficulty in making a graph of their favourite foods. There are a high number of pupils who speak English as an additional language and need to learn more vocabulary before they can proceed further. In

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SCIENCE

Years 1 and 2 the amount of pupils’ written work is limited; this is because of weaknesses in pupils’ literacy skills. Pupils who have learning difficulties and those who speak English as an additional language make satisfactory progress with support from teaching assistants and specialist staff.

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SCIENCE

128. By the end of Year 6, the pupils are developing their knowledge and understanding of the science content in national guidance material. In one lesson, Year 6 pupils learned that heating and cooling can change materials and that some of these changes are reversible and some are irreversible. Pupils have a satisfactory understanding of a fair test but are not yet able to set up their tests without support. Pupils who speak English as an additional language with good support from the additional teacher were able to understand the scientific vocabulary and made good progress. Pupils who have learning difficulties also made good progress as result of good support. In Year 5 pupils as part of their study of the life cycle of a tree found it hard to label the different stages of growth of a tree and only a few higher attainers could talk about seed dispersal. Year 4 pupils could group living things such as spider, butterfly, worm and centipede according to number

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SCIENCE

of legs. They made satisfactory progress but the standards were well below the expected levels for their age.

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SCIENCE

129. The presentation of pupils’ work and the amount of written work in Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory giving pupils' satisfactory opportunities to apply their literacy skills. This work shows that some pupils are beginning to make good progress particularly in Years 5 and 6 classes. However, progress is varied within classes of the same year groups depending on the staff expertise. Samples of work indicate that throughout the school in too many lessons all pupils work at the Seven Sisters Primary School - 41 same tasks and there is little indication of challenging or independent work. Teachers are mindful that a significant proportion of pupils in all classes need support with writing. They need also to let the potentially higher attaining pupils write for themselves and carry out independent research. By the end of Year 6, pupils are being given useful opportunities to use numeracy skills by drawing

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SCIENCE

their own charts, diagrams and graphs though the range does not include line graphs and frequency charts. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ presentation and the development of their scientific knowledge.

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SCIENCE

130. Throughout the school the overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory with one good and two very good lessons seen. Teachers’ planning is good, they manage their pupils well and use support staff and resources well. In a very good lesson in Year 6, balance of direct teaching and practical activities was achieved well. An appropriate worksheet was well graded to develop pupils’ use of scientific vocabulary taking into account variations in pupils’ writing skills. The lesson was well planned and objectives were shared and referred to during the lesson to ensure that pupils were successfully achieving them. Scientific vocabulary such as reversible, heating, cooling and irreversible was emphasised and pupils were expected to use this appropriately in their questions and replies. The additional teacher was used very well for the benefit of pupils who had learning difficulties and pupils who speak English as an additional language. Pupils understood the

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SCIENCE

vocabulary well and this enabled them to understand the concept. The teacher had a range of different materials to mix and see the changes happening. This had a good impact on all pupils’ learning. The teacher’s very good demonstration of what a raw egg looks like and then throwing an egg to the support teacher who caught it created great excitement. When the egg was not caught on the second throw, pupils’ nervousness turned to pleasure when they realised that the egg was boiled and was not liquid anymore as a result of heating. Pupils were given opportunity to use the Internet for research. As a result of very good teaching, pupils throughout the lesson were well behaved, concentrated and persevered with their work and achieved good results.

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SCIENCE

131. In most satisfactory lessons there were some weaknesses, such as missed opportunities to use and emphasise correct vocabulary. Sometimes work is not presented in smaller steps as was the case in Year 2 classes where a high proportion of pupils are still at early stages of learning English. Some teachers are not secure in their subject knowledge and this hinders progress. In one Year 1 lesson, some learning opportunities were lost, because of some boisterous behaviour and high noise levels indicating those pupils are not skilled in working independently on practical tasks.

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SCIENCE

132. In most classes, pupils with special educational needs and those who learn English as an additional language make satisfactory progress, often with individual support from the class teacher or from learning assistants. In some lessons, pupils who have special needs are well supported. For example an autistic pupil received individual support from an assistant and made good progress. Pupils’ personal development is supported well by positive relationships with class teachers and support staff and relationships between pupils. Pupils work well together in pairs and in-groups. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and although some encouraging comments are used effectively, there need to be more constructive comments to take pupils’ learning forward. Teachers use displays of pupils’ work well to support learning. The curriculum is also well supported by educational visits and visitors to school.

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SCIENCE

133. There is an effective science scheme. Teachers plan together across year groups, which provides support for less experienced teachers. Developing more practical and investigative skills is a current whole school priority. This is appropriate, as currently pupils’ work is too heavily teacher directed. The co-ordinator has sampled pupils’ work and information is being used well to develop teaching and learning. Analysis of Year 6 National Curriculum test results is used well to develop and implement strategies to improve standards. However, whilst there is some assessment after units of study are completed this is not sufficient to identify strengths and weaknesses in the attainment of individual pupils. There is, however lack of release time for the co-ordinator to both support and monitor the teaching and learning in lessons. There are adequate resources for science and the school has a good science resource room that is well used. However, sometimes

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SCIENCE

when two parallel classes are teaching science at the same time, there is a strain on resources. Seven Sisters Primary School - 42 Seven Sisters Primary School - 43

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ART AND DESIGN

134. By the end of Years 2 and 6 pupils reach average standards. This judgement is based on one lesson, the scrutiny of pupils’ work and the displays around the school, as well as discussions with pupils and members of staff. Most pupils including those with special educational needs and pupils learning English as an additional language, show satisfactory progress in the basic skills of collage, drawing and painting. Pupils' achievements are satisfactory.

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ART AND DESIGN

135. Several displays show that art is used well to extend pupils’ basic skills of drawing, painting and collage work. Pupils’ work in drawing is of a satisfactory quality, for example, in Year 6 pupils completed half a photograph of a face experimenting with line, texture and shade. Pupils are beginning to gain understanding of famous artists’ work and how to use their different styles as a way of expressing their own experience. For example, the artwork inspired by Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ by Year 3 is of good quality and well finished. Year 6 pupils demonstrate good powers of observation and accuracy of detail in drawing and colouring with different media such as oil based pastels and pencils. They discuss and compare ideas, methods and approaches in famous artists’ work on ‘landscape’. Pupils’ artwork of colour wash pictures, a ‘personal response to landscape’ is very impressive. The younger pupils are confidently developing an understanding

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ART AND DESIGN

of some of the aesthetic elements of art. They mix colours carefully and use different shades in their drawings and paintings. Year 2 have worked with designs to decorate their very attractive models of masks made out of clay.

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ART AND DESIGN

136. Although most pupils show satisfactory progress, the breadth of their experiences in art and design is limited. There is a lack of three-dimensional work, using a range of modelling materials such as wood or plaster. As a result, pupils’ skills and knowledge of shape, texture and form are not fully developed. Also, the ‘design’ element of art is given insufficient consideration. This is mainly due to the amount of time allocated to art as part of the whole curriculum. Teachers make suitable attempts to link art to other subjects such as history and design and technology. The examples include a Roman mosaic in history, the use of different media to paint a picture using ‘sound’ in science and a collage of ‘Mercedes Ice’, a story much enjoyed as part of literacy lessons.

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ART AND DESIGN

137. Pupils are not sufficiently encouraged to evaluate and make improvements to further develop their own work. The use of sketchbooks to record their work of observational drawings or experiment with line and tone is consistently developed. There is insufficient emphasis on developing computer-aided art and design.

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ART AND DESIGN

138. The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. The teachers have satisfactory subject knowledge and prepare effectively. The lessons provide suitable challenge to develop pupils’ art skills and ability to explore with imagination. As a result, pupils show good attitudes to learning. Most pupils show enjoyment, application and involvement. They listen intently, follow instructions well and are considerate towards others. Pupils are enthusiastic about artwork. Most show pride in their efforts and react well to praise. The available resources are satisfactory and suitably organised for ease of access centrally and in classrooms. The co-ordinator has satisfactory expertise in the subject and awareness of what needs to be done to develop it further, this includes the use of manageable assessment systems and their use to plan further work.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

139. Standards are average by the end of Year 2. No secure judgements on standards by the end of Year 6 can be made as the school has made a decision to teach the subject in a block after the National Curriculum tests are over. Overall pupils achievements are satisfactory. There was no work for scrutiny and discussion with pupils indicated that they did not remember much about the work on making musical instruments in Year 5. However, work on display and recorded in books for Year 3, photographic evidence in Year 5 and teaching in Year 4 indicates that the standards for these pupils are average and they make satisfactory progress. Seven Sisters Primary School - 44 140. The pupils in Year 1 had made fruit salad and coleslaw in their food technology lessons. They designed their own fruit salad, made choices as to the fruit they liked, discussed the need for cleanliness and appreciated each other’s designs. In a lesson, they were finding out the

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

operational function of levers. They learnt that in pop up books a part of the picture moves when a tab is pushed or pulled. However, they did not get any opportunities to design and make their own tabs. Year 2 pupils produce a variety of work linked to their topics, for example colourful masks made of clay. In a lesson, they were designing their individual puppets after examining different types of puppets. They designed and labelled the parts of the puppets and the materials to be used for those parts. All pupils made satisfactory progress. Pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language made progress similar to their peers with good questioning from teachers and additional support from assistants.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

141. In Year 4 pupils were designing and making pop up books using mechanisms such as levers. The photographic evidence indicates that Year 5 pupils had used wood to build a frame for their model of a castle. They made pulleys and used rotating mechanisms to lift objects.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

142. Teaching and learning are satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 and pupils make satisfactory progress. Teachers made good use of the resources to demonstrate and stimulate pupils’ interest. Teachers’ explanations of vocabulary and good questioning enabled pupils to understand what they needed to make their puppets. However, in some classes teachers do not give enough opportunities to pupils to design and make their own models, this does not extend their learning. Only one lesson in Year 4 was observed. Because of the insufficient opportunity to observe direct teaching in Years 3, 5, and 6 judgements about its quality cannot be made. The work on display however shows that pupils are given satisfactory opportunities to extend skills in design and technology. The subject contributes well to the pupils’ spiritual and social development through group work in classrooms.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

143. There is no co-ordinator for the subject and the headteacher is keeping an overview of the curriculum. Resources are satisfactory in number and range. There is a good supply of materials and tools. As yet information and communication technology is not used sufficiently in the curriculum. There is a good scheme of work for all classes that is effectively linked to other aspects of the curriculum. Monitoring teaching has not been a development priority in the first two years of the school. Assessment and record keeping systems are not yet developed.

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GEOGRAPHY

144. Standards are well below the national average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Pupils' progress and achievement are poor primarily because of the limited amount of curriculum time allocated to geography. The curriculum plan is also recent and has not had an impact on standards.

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GEOGRAPHY

145. In Years 1 and 2 pupils learn to use their own experience to trace the travels of Barnaby Bear around the world. They know a little about islands which 'are surrounded by water' and some pupils could distinguish land from the sea on maps. Year 2 pupils can state a few of the main continents on a world map. Pupils could not recall early development of map work skills such as drawing their route to school and identifying key landmarks. They have limited knowledge of the local area surrounding the school.

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GEOGRAPHY

146. Scrutiny of recent written work by older pupils, in the current study of rivers, showed several examples of satisfactory work by higher attaining pupils but most pupils' range of knowledge and understanding lacks depth and content. In discussion with Year 6 pupils none were able to recall any independent research or investigation; they had little understanding of how graphs or charts might be used in a geography survey. Their knowledge of human and physical geography was limited. They could not explain how physical features might impact on people’s lives.

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GEOGRAPHY

147. The quality of teaching in the three Year 6 lessons seen was satisfactory or better, with satisfactorily planned lessons, clear explanations and learning targets. Pace and questioning were well matched to pupils' needs and their level of attainment. As a result pupils made Seven Sisters Primary School - 45 satisfactory progress in lessons. However, opportunities for higher attaining pupils lacked sufficient challenge. Evidence from pupils' written work indicates very slow development of pupils' geographic knowledge and skills because of geography's low priority in the school curriculum. In the lessons pupils' attitudes and behaviour were very good. They listened carefully, responded enthusiastically to questioning and worked very hard. However, pupils who were interviewed did not display enthusiasm for the subject

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GEOGRAPHY

148. Management of the subject is poor. There is no policy and no action plan. However these are in place for environmental studies. There is no assessment strategy. Resources are insufficient to teach some areas of the curriculum such as map work. The curriculum benefits from a field trip to Pendarron. The Internet is used for research, for example on the Water Cycle. The focus on raising standards in English and mathematics because of the pupils' low starting points has led to a limited allocation of time for geography. This has a negative impact on standards in the subject.

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HISTORY

149. Standards are below average at the end of Year 2. They are average at the end of Year 6. Pupils' progress is unsatisfactory through Years 1 to 2, but it is good from Years 3 to 6. Pupils with special education needs made good progress.

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HISTORY

150. By the end of Year 2 pupils have learnt about the Fire of London and higher attaining pupils were able to explain how the fire was started, why it spread so quickly and how people tried to save their lives and homes. In Year 1 some pupils were able to label an old and new teddy bear. Overall, however the majority of pupils have a weak understanding of past and present and what is new and old. Pupils' achievement is unsatisfactory.

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HISTORY

151. At the end of Year 6 pupils have made good progress in their understanding of historical development through the events and periods of history that they study. They acquire sound skills in observation and investigation which enable them to interpret evidence and make comparisons between the way people live. Pupils are enthusiastic and have very positive attitudes to history, are well motivated and enjoy their lessons.

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HISTORY

152. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. No lessons were observed in Years 1 and 2. Features of effective teaching included a brisk pace, sustained by careful questioning and appropriate selection of activities. This resulted in pupils enjoying a good learning experience and making sound progress. Overall, planning did not set challenging enough tasks for high attainers, gifted and talented pupils. Literacy skills were developed well through use of specialist vocabulary. Teachers have good subject knowledge which raises pupils' attainment from a very low level when they first enter Year 3 to average at the end of Year 6. In Year 5 pupils were comparing the experience of school in Victorian and modern Britain. They were taught to use a range of sources, written and pictorial. With appropriate teaching of historical skills they were able to interpret the evidence, make deductions and explain their conclusions in the discussion at the end of the

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HISTORY

lesson. They worked hard and cooperatively in groups.

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HISTORY

153. Management of the subject is unsatisfactory. There is no coordinator in post. A new curriculum map is in place but still needs to be fully developed into detailed plans for each year group. There is no policy for history and no assessment strategy so teachers do not track pupils' learning and progress in the subject. Resources are sufficient for the curriculum. The Internet is used to support learning.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

154. Standards are below national averages at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Pupils enjoy using computers and working in partnership with their peers.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

155. By the end of Year 2, pupils word-process simple sentences and phrases. They create images using a paint program. They use simulation programs to solve simple problems or to program a Seven Sisters Primary School - 46 simple route round a track. They make picture graphs of objects they are counting. They use a CD-ROM to find information or play back a 'talking book'. However, a large proportion of pupils in Year 2 lack basic keyboard skills so that they require adult support to log onto the network and find the programs and icons they need in their work.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

156. By the end of Year 6, pupils use word processing and desktop publishing facilities to create newspaper and magazine style reports, inserting images and clip art. They use spreadsheets for calculating and the Internet for research purposes. They use simple programming tools to make a robot toy draw a complex pattern. However, the school does not have equipment for sensing and logging data, such as investigating changes in temperature.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

157. Pupils achieve satisfactorily by the end of Year 2, beginning from very low levels of ICT. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress in learning to use programs which are designed to help them learn. Pupils who speak little English achieve satisfactorily overall and progress well when they have opportunities to use talking word bank programs. By the end of Year 6, pupils have not made satisfactory progress because teaching concentrates on introducing new ways to use programs, rather than reviewing and improving the quality of pupils’ work.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

158. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Teachers use software which is well suited to pupils’ needs. They are beginning to make good use of recently acquired 'talking' word bank programs to enable pupils who have special educational needs and those who are at the early stages of learning English as another language to make good progress. This enables them to do writing tasks at the right level for their needs. However, most teachers’ plans do not provide tasks which meet the wide range of needs arising from the differences in pupils’ skills. Most teachers have satisfactory knowledge of the main programs the pupils learn. Good teaching techniques were seen where teachers used whiteboards to demonstrate what program icons to choose and how to set out data. Effective teaching also included the work pupils did in the classroom - based session as part of their end of lesson review. Weaknesses in teaching were seen where staff did

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

not know the programs well enough. Consequently, they were not able to anticipate the difficulties that pupils would have. In lessons where teachers rely too much on verbal instructions, without using visual cues, many pupils, particularly those with the least experience of using computers, could not proceed without direct adult help. This sometimes led to bad behaviour or pupils becoming uninvolved.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

159. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The joint co-ordinators have only recently taken up their responsibilities, after a history of changes in the leadership of the subject and technical setbacks. They have energy and enthusiasm and are effective in selecting and promoting the use of good software for younger pupils, those with special educational needs and those who speak little English. Although staff have completed the national training programme for teachers on ICT use, there have subsequently been many staff changes.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

160. Whilst ICT is used across the curriculum its use is not frequent enough. The school is not yet using an effective assessment system which accurately records what National Curriculum levels each pupil has attained and what ICT skills and experience they have learnt out of school.

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MUSIC

161. Overall, standards are below average at the end of Years 2 and 6 because there has not been enough time yet for the new curriculum plans to take full effect. Pupils' progress and achievements are consequently unsatisfactory overall. However, in lessons observed, standards were average for the particular aspect of music being taught at the time.

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MUSIC

162. All pupils have experience of singing a range of songs, of accompanying their singing with unpitched percussion instruments, of performing music and of listening to music from a wide range of composers, music styles and cultures, such as rap music and jazz. Seven Sisters Primary School - 47 163. Opportunities for composition are more limited, although good examples were seen in Year 6 where pupils composed their own songs and then worked in a local music studio, with a musician from the community to arrange and perfect their work.

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MUSIC

164. The youngest pupils in Years 1 and 2 have been introduced to a variety of rhythm, pitch and tempo activities. They use their voices and body parts to sing and clap very simple repeated patterns. They know a very small repertoire of songs, which they can sing from memory, observing the correct pitch and tempo of the song. They can recognise high and low sounds, soft and loud timbre, and fast and slow tempo, and can move in time with the music. However, they are not confident about using this knowledge to appraise music that they hear. Their compositional skills are at a basic level. They can rehearse and perform with others very simple rhythms following the teacher as conductor and create the mood of a ‘dark, dark night’ using pitched and unpitched instruments, such as maracas, tambourines and a glockenspiel. The recent introduction of the curriculum plan means that all these musical skills are at an early stage of development.

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MUSIC

165. Throughout the school, pupils experience singing with a community musician who teaches them voice warm-ups and singing techniques. They sing and do actions to a small range of songs played and sung with the guitar, piano and on CDs, including jazz music. They also learn to clap sequences of rhythms from a simple score, which vary in difficulty according to the age group, consisting of crotchets, quavers, minims and rests. The musician places an emphasis on teaching them the correct musical vocabulary. The pupils sing with warmth and rhythm.

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MUSIC

166. Pupils sing with verve and enthusiasm in assembly when the headteacher plays jazz piano and in all lessons show their enjoyment and enthusiasm for rhythm and music. They listen with respect to the music played in assemblies and the dining hall.

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MUSIC

167. Teaching and learning is usually good and a number of staff have good expertise. However, some staff would benefit from further training in musical knowledge, from the spread of good practice which already exists and from help to teach the music curriculum to pupils. Assessment systems also need to be developed and used to inform planning. There has however been rapid progress in the subject since the new headteacher came to the school and appointed the music co-ordinator, who has put an effective music curriculum in place.

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MUSIC

168. Overall, resources for music are satisfactory, with a box of unpitched instruments, CDs and music books for each class. However, the limited range of pitched instruments and lack of electronic equipment do not allow pupils to meet the composition requirements of the National Curriculum to high enough standards.

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MUSIC

169. Music in school is enhanced by opportunities for pupils to learn the piano and steel pans. The steel band takes part in school and local concerts and some older pupils take part in singing a wide range of songs in the South Tottenham Music Festival with other schools. Community music in school includes, the gospel music of musicians from South Africa at St Ann’s Church, followed by the whole school dancing and singing gospel music in the playground. Pupils have the opportunity to listen to parents with musical skills playing instruments, a teacher’s child playing saxophone and clarinet, an African drumming group, a brass quartet and the Ugandan Children's Choir.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

170. Overall, standards are below average at the end of Years 2 and 6, primarily because teachers’ subject knowledge is weak. In Year 2 pupils swim with growing confidence and they move with control in and around the hall. Their ability to devise and repeat a simple set of movements is below the standard expected and their knowledge of the effect of exercise on their bodies is also weak. In Year 6 pupils’ swimming ability is satisfactory and their experiences of outdoor and adventurous activities during a residential visit to Wales significantly enhance skills in canoeing, climbing and pony trekking. In discussion it is clear that their ability to develop and perform gymnastic and dance sequences is below the standard expected of this age group. Certain games skills, like soccer, are developed to a suitable level because the school uses outside Seven Sisters Primary School - 48 coaches, but other games skills are weak. Pupils' understanding of the effect of exercise on their

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

bodies and its usefulness as part of a healthy regime are also unsatisfactory.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

171. The progress of all pupils and their achievement are unsatisfactory. What is to be learned is clearly set out but some lessons do not cover the correct techniques and coaching points. This means that pupils learn incorrect techniques or do not have the opportunity to learn how to develop and perform a sequence of movements. Too little emphasis is given to pupils understanding the benefits and effects of exercise.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

172. Teaching and learning are unsatisfactory. Coaches in swimming and soccer make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning because they are well organised and have good subject knowledge. Pupils really enjoy swimming and younger ones are beginning to show much greater confidence in entering the water and playing swimming games. During soccer lessons pupils work hard, learn the technical names of stretches and muscle groups and improve their skills. There is good cooperation between genders and skilled players support weaker players, thus helping pupils’ personal development. Teachers, during gymnastics and games sessions, manage pupils quite well and show good awareness of potential health and safety issues. They do not challenge the pupils sufficiently with the tasks they offer, for example in a Year 2 lesson the pupils were asked to repeat a short hopping sequence to music. The sequence was too easy for them and the

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

music was difficult to follow. Some of the coaching points that were offered in a Year 5 cricket lesson were incorrect and the organisation of practices was weak, leaving pupils inactive for too long.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

173. Extra curricular clubs and team games, such as soccer, dance, basketball and kung fu enhance the provision for those pupils who attend.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

174. The recently appointed coordinator has appropriate plans for the subject. Her energy and enthusiasm transmit themselves to her colleagues. The local authority advisor will visit soon to help improve teacher expertise and further equipment will be purchased to help improve games provision. There is currently no assessment of pupils’ learning and this is part of the development plan. Monitoring of planning is unsatisfactory. Greater time should be spent on reviewing colleagues' planning and talking to pupils about their physical education lessons.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

175. Pupils make satisfactory progress throughout the school and by the end of Year 2 and Year 6, attainment is in line with the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is good. They enjoy hearing stories from a range of different faiths and are interested to hear about the religious practices of their own and other religions. They are respectful as they explore. The majority of pupils have their own personal religion and this deeper knowledge helps to raise standards; pupils' achievement is satisfactory.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

176. The youngest pupils in Years 1 and 2, learn about religious symbols connected with major religions such as the cross in Christianity and the moon and star for Islam. They discuss the importance of signs in everyday life, such as shop signs and road signs and how they help people, and relate this to signs in religion. They write with enthusiasm about their own celebration of Diwali, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Eid and Ramadan and describe the special food, clothes and ceremonies of the celebrations. They are interested to discover the similarities and differences that exist between the major religions, for example that Christians and Muslims both fast to enhance their religious experience. They can talk with respect about how religion helps people and makes people act in certain ways by, for example, being kind or giving money to charity.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

177. Year 6 develop the meanings of religious symbols, such as the Menorah in Judaism and the lotus flower in Buddhism, which is white to symbolise purity. Pupils are able to name the leaders of the main world religions and describe the good works of people such as Ghandi and Mary Seacole who were motivated by their religious beliefs to do things which benefited the human race. They are able to describe beliefs, ceremonies and practices in the main world religions and talk about how people of different religions pray in different ways and in different buildings. They know that Seven Sisters Primary School - 49 people get help from their religion to make the world a better place. They also know that some people who are not religious also want to achieve the same aim because of their own personal code of ethics.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

178. The quality of teaching and learning is generally good and excellent in lessons where teacher’s subject knowledge is extensive. Occasionally also teachers’ subject knowledge is weak and the full impact of the subject material is lost. Teachers plan their lessons in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus and are careful to teach the meaning of specialist vocabulary and symbols. They enliven the subject by the skilful use of artefacts and using pupils to demonstrate religious practices.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

179. There are good links with local places of worship, which enhance the subject further, for example pupils have visited St Ann’s Church of England Church in Seven Sisters, the Swami Nerayan Hindu Temple in Neasden, the Regents Park Mosque and the Hendon Synagogue. Religious education is making an important contribution towards developing an understanding for the pupils of other ways of life, both in other parts of the world and multicultural Britain. It is giving pupils the opportunity to reflect on their own and other peoples’ beliefs and to examine how this might impact on their own behaviour and attitudes.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

180. There has been rapid improvement since the arrival of the new co-ordinator, who has given good leadership. He has put the new curriculum plans in place, promoted the subject enthusiastically and improved the range of curriculum materials, visits and religious artefacts to support pupils’ learning. He monitors teachers’ planning and gives effective advice to colleagues on curriculum delivery, but as yet has not received time to monitor teaching in the subject. Resources are satisfactory, accessible and generally well used in lessons. Assessment procedures and the use of ICT are not yet developed to support pupils' learning.

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