Bush Hill Park Primary School

Bush Hill Park Primary School

Dates of inspection: 25 th - 27 th April 2005

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Bush Hill Park Primary School

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Bush Hill Park Primary School 2 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 on condition that the source date thereof are stated.

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Bush Hill Park 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/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. Bush Hill Park Primary School 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 3 – 11 years Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 582

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Main Avenue Enfield Middlesex Postcode: EN1 1DS

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 020 8366 0521 Fax number: 020 8366 0420

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Brian Grayston

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 9 th November 1998

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Bush Hill Park is much bigger than other primary schools with 582 children on roll, including 60 who attend the nursery part-time. At present the post of head teacher is shared. The substantive headteacher works two and a half days a week. The headteacher for the other two and a half days is also the deputy headteacher and there is an assistant headteacher. The school is organised into 21 classes from Reception to Year 6 plus the nursery. All classes contain single age groups. The school serves a diverse community representing many ethnic minority groups. The largest groups are White British, Any other White, Black or Black British African and any other Black background. Smaller numbers come from Mixed White and Black Caribbean or Black African, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, White and Asian or other mixed backgrounds. 177 come from refugee or asylum seeking families and 18 from Traveller families. Over half the children do not speak English

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

as their first language and 91 are at an early stage of English language acquisition. The main languages are Turkish and Somali. Two children are in public care. Most of the children live within the locality. There are some pockets of social deprivation and temporary housing nearby. Almost half the children are eligible for free school meals. The number of children identified as having special educational needs or requiring a statement of special educational need is similar to other schools. Some of these children have autism or difficulties with speech and communication, learning or social, emotional and behavioural problems. Attainment on entry is very low with many children identified as having poor language and social skills. A very high number of children start and leave the school other than at the usual times and their education has been disrupted. In the past few years, staff turnover has also been very high, especially at senior leadership level where

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

there has been six headteachers and four deputy headteachers. Three teachers are on temporary contracts of one term or more. Two are from abroad and all are unqualified in this country.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school is part of a Behaviour Improvement Programme initiative and Excellence in Cities. It also provides a range of community services. The number of children attending the school has fallen by 50 in recent years. Bush Hill Park Primary School 4

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

10090 Kath Beck Lead inspector Foundation Stage 32670 Graham Saltmarsh Lay inspector 7694 Martyn Richards Team inspector English Religious education English as an additional language 1359 Lyne Lavender Team inspector Mathematics Geography Physical education 32162 Adrienne Beavis Team inspector Science History Special educational needs 33118 Angela Konarzewski Team inspector Art and design Music Physical education 33444 Barbara Saltmarsh Team inspector Information and communication technology Design and technology

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

360 Lee Valley Technopark Ashley Road Tottenham Hale London N17 9LN

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). Bush Hill Park Primary School 5

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 9

Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects courses

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 9

Pupils’ attitudes, values other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 13

Teaching learning The curriculum Care, guidance support Partnership with parents, other schools the community

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OVERALL EVALUATION

This school is ineffective in many important aspects. Standards in Years 2 and 6 have fallen sharply since the previous inspection and are now really low. There are pockets of good teaching across the year groups but overall the quality of teaching is poor. Assessment procedures are weak and do not enable teachers to plan work to meet the needs of all children, especially those who speak English as an additional language or have special educational needs. Leadership and management are poor. The school improvement plan not does not have a clear and focused vision for the future. The approach needed to raise standards and achievement as a matter of urgency is not rigorous or coherent enough. The school provides poor value for money.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses

• Leadership, management and governance are not having a significant impact on raising the rates at which children achieve and improve standards. • Overall, standards are very low in Year 2 and Year 6 and very few children are on course to meet the goals set for them nationally at age five. • Teaching and learning are poor, impeding children’s achievements. • Despite the skills of the English as an additional language and special educational needs coordinators, tasks for these children in lessons are not good enough to meet their needs. • Assessment procedures do not do enough to identify the precise needs of all children or track their achievements. • Curriculum planning in the Foundation Stage is weak and significantly hampers children’s learning. In the infants and juniors the curriculum lacks breadth and balance so that it does not promote high enough standards. Programmes of work are not relevant to the children’s lives.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses

Too little provision is made for children’s cultural development. • Unsatisfactory resources in the Foundation Stage, English, science and art and design and hold back learning. • The school cares for its children well. The learning mentor makes a really valuable contribution to children’s lives. • Attendance and punctuality are poor and hold back the achievements of the children concerned. • Governors do not meet their statutory responsibilities in full.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses

Serious disruption, to leadership, management and governance, as well as staffing in the past six years has had a significant impact on the school’s development. As a result, there has been a sharp decline in many important aspects of the school’s work since the last inspection and its overall effectiveness is now poor. Currently, the school does not have the capacity to reverse the situation.

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In accordance with section 13(7) of the School’s Inspection Act 1996, I am of the opinion, and

HMCI agrees, that special measures are required in relation to this school.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2002 2003 2004 2004 English E E E D mathematics E E E D science D E E D Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average Similar schools are those with similar percentages of pupils eligible for free school meals Bush Hill Park Primary School 7 Achievements over time and in a significant number of lessons are poor. The school community has changed considerably since the last inspection and the school faces substantial challenges and barriers to children’s learning that impact standards. These include the very high number of children who start and leave the school at other than the usual times. Many children speak English as an additional language. A high number come from asylum seeking and Traveller families, some with little experience of schooling. Children start school with very low levels of literacy, numeracy and

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

social skills. That said, the school is not making sufficient and successful efforts to manage the changes. Achievements of all children vary according to the quality of teaching they experience as they move through the school. Some who receive very specific help achieve faster than many of their classmates. The high level of staff turnover in some year groups has impacted learning over time so there are gaps in children’s knowledge. However, provision for brighter children, those from Traveller backgrounds, or who speak English as an additional language or have special educational needs is not good enough in lessons so they do not achieve as well as they should.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Standards are very poor in Years 2 and 6. The school’s own targets for the number of children to reach the nationally expected Level 4 are really low indicating that national test results are likely to be worse than in previous years. Since 2001, standards have fallen sharply. The 2004 national test results in Year 6 were poor in English, mathematics and science. The school’s performance when matched to similar schools is slightly better, but the trend in improvement is below that found nationally. In Year 2, also in 2004, national test results in reading, writing and mathematics were very poor. They were in the lowest five per cent in the country. At the end of the Reception year, very few children are on course to meet the early learning goals set for them nationally in all the areas of learning. Children’s competence in information and communication technology is rising and is average in Year 2, but below average in Year 6. There are some examples of good work in

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

art and design. In lessons where religious education is taught well, children are increasing their knowledge of different faiths.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Children’s personal developments, including their attitudes and behaviour, are satisfactory. While their social and moral developments are good, spiritual development is satisfactory. Cultural development is unsatisfactory because too little is done to celebrate the diversity of children’s backgrounds, traditions and multi lingual skills. Attendance and punctuality are poor as too many parents do not ensure their children attend often enough or arrive at school on time. The school is making determined efforts to improve the situation with some success.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education is poor. Teaching, learning and assessment are poor. Examples of good and very good teaching were observed, mostly in Year 6. However, too much of the teaching does not take children’s learning along at a good rate. Teachers in all year groups do not assess how well the children are doing effectively enough. As a result, their expectations of what the children can do are too low. Work is not planned or matched well to children’s particular needs. The curriculum lacks balance and the subject matter is not always relevant or of interest to the different groups within the school. Time is not allocated well between subjects and there are weaknesses in planning that hamper progress, especially in the Foundation Stage. No particular curriculum provision has been made for children from asylum seeking or traveller families and the school has not yet adequately addressed the underachievement of boys. The accommodation is satisfactory,

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

but unsatisfactory resources in the Foundation Stage, English, science and art and design limit achievement. Children are cared for well and helped to develop their personal and social skills successfully. The partnership with parents, the community and other schools is satisfactory.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Overall, leadership and management are poor and governance is unsatisfactory. There has not been enough rigour or urgency in addressing the management of the changing make up of the school community. Efforts have been made to raise teachers’ skills since 2003, but not enough has been done to ensure that all groups of children are provided for well in lessons. The disruption to the leadership and management over the past few years means that governors have not received a coherent picture of how the school is doing. This has hindered opportunities for them to influence Bush Hill Park Primary School 8 the direction of the school. Problems continue because the inequitable distribution of responsibilities among senior staff has hindered school improvement. They have found it difficult to prioritise and focus their efforts. Staff morale is not as high as it should be. Senior staff and subject leaders are not monitoring developments closely enough to evaluate their impact on standards and

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

achievement. The lack of effective strategic planning means that procedures to manage the increasing numbers of children with English as an additional language, or who start and leave the school at other than the usual times or have special educational needs have only recently been implemented. The school has appointed good new staff to lead and manage the provision in these areas but they have not yet had any significant impact on standards. The school development plan is weak. It identifies priorities for improvement but the targets lack rigour and the success criteria are not good enough to give a clear measure of the impact of improvements on standards. It does not provide a clear, sharp vision for the future. Statutory requirements relating to the implementation of a home school agreement and the reporting of the impact of the race relations policy are not met fully.

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PARENTS’ AND STUDENTS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Most parents who responded to the questionnaire or who attended the meeting prior to the inspection are pleased with what the school provides. Some do not feel happy about the behaviour of the children or approaching the school with their concerns. The children state that they feel happy and safe. The school council gives them a clear voice within the school, as well as a vital insight into good citizenship.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are to:-

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Improve significantly the overall leadership, management and governance of the school. • Raise standards and achievement appreciably throughout the school. • Take urgent action to improve the quality of teaching and assessment of children’s needs. • Make better provision for all groups of children. • Put in place rigorous and consistent assessment procedures that identify the needs of all children precisely and track their achievements carefully. • Improve the provision in the Foundation Stage. • Provide a more meaningful, relevant and motivating curriculum that promotes higher standards for all children. • Improve resources in the Foundation Stage, English, science and art and design. • Increase the levels of attendance and punctuality.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

Implement the home school agreement fully and report the impact of the race relations policy to parents. Bush Hill Park Primary School 9

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Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects courses

Standards are very poor at the end of the infants and juniors as well as the Reception Year. Children start school with very low levels of attainment but do not make sufficient headway as they move through the school. Achievement is poor.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards have declined sharply since 2001 and are exceptionally low in English, mathematics and science in Years 2 and 6. • Few children meet the goals set for them nationally at the end of the Reception Year in all the areas of learning. • Achievement is poor because provision is not good enough for all the different groups in the school. • Standards are rising in information and communication technology in the infant stage. • There are some good examples of art work in Year 6 and also some good achievement in religious education.

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Commentary

1. The school faces considerable challenges in enabling children to overcome their barriers to learning. A very high number of children start or leave the school at other than the usual times. Many join unable to speak English and come from refugee or asylum seeking backgrounds. Half the children are eligible for free school meals and a significant number come from Traveller families. A significant number of children do not have English as their first language and some children have learning difficulties. In addition, there has been a high turnover of staff and it is difficult to recruit teachers. However, there has not been enough rigour or urgency in addressing the management of the major issues affecting this changing school community.

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Commentary

2. Children taking the tests are awarded a number of points depending on the National Curriculum level they reach in the tests. These are added up and divided by the number of children. This gives an average points’ score. The tables show that the school’s average points’ score is very low in comparison to all other schools for children in Year 2 and low for children in Year 6.

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Commentary

Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results reading 12.1 (12.0) 15.8 (15.7)

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Commentary

writing 10.7 (11.1) 14.6 (14.6) mathematics 12.9 (12.8) 16.2 (16.3) There were 76 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2004

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results English 24.2 (23.6) 26.9 (26.8) mathematics 24.7 (24.0) 27.0 (26.8) science 26.4 (25.7) 28.6 (28.6) There were 86 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year Bush Hill Park Primary School 10 3. The disruption to leadership and management has had a significant impact on standards which have declined sharply since 2001 and are much worse than at the time of the last inspection. National test results in 2004 in reading, writing and mathematics for children in Year 2 were in the lowest five per cent of all schools nationally. Compared to similar schools the results were low. In all three subjects, too many children did not reach the nationally expected Level 2. Very few children reached the higher Level 3 in reading and mathematics and no child reached this level in writing. Results have declined sharply since 2001. In writing there is little sign that the decline

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Commentary

since then has been halted. The gap between the school’s results and the national picture in reading and mathematics has not been reduced in the last two years. This means that results for this age group over time have not improved.

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Commentary

4. Results in national tests for children Year 6 in 2004 in English, mathematics and science were low. They were slightly better when compared to similar schools but remained below average. A significant number of children were working at a level below the test because they did not have sufficient English to be able to take the tests. In addition, too many other children did not reach the expected Level 4 or the higher Level 5. Results in all three subjects have declined since 2001, with a significant dip in 2003. They rose slightly in Year 6 in English, mathematics and science in 2004. There is evidence that the school is adding good value to the education of a number of its children. However, the gap between the national picture and the school’s performance has not been narrowed appreciably.

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Commentary

5. The lack of strategic planning means that approaches to manage the high number of children starting and leaving the school, improve the provision for children with English as an additional language and special educational needs have only recently been introduced. An inclusion team that comprises a senior manager who oversees the work of the newly appointed coordinators for special educational needs and English as an additional language was established in September 2004. Procedures are being established but they are too new to have had a wider impact on achievement. The senior manager also oversees the personal development of the children, some of whom have experienced the traumas of war. This provision is good and enables children to receive counselling to overcome their anxieties so that they can learn.

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Commentary

6. Good work is going on in supporting a small number of children in withdrawal groups and there is evidence that they make better progress than their classmates. This is because teachers generally do not make sufficient provision for children with special educational needs or English as an additional language in lessons. Individual education plans drawn up for these children are not always sharp enough and teachers do not take sufficient account of them when preparing lessons. In Year 6 English lessons and in Years 2 – 6 mathematics lessons, children are taught in sets according to their ability, but this is not having the desired impact on achievement and standards. Skills in English are rarely taught or reinforced in other subjects and standards remain very low despite the significant amount of time given over to it. In the unsatisfactory and poor literacy lessons observed, too little attention was given to the teaching of specific writing skills.

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Commentary

7. In September 2003, the school identified real difficulties in the quality of teaching and has been working to improve it and the rate of children’s achievements. The school is aware that the level of unsatisfactory and poor teaching is still too high, hindering achievement in lessons and as the children move through the school. However, not enough has been done to ensure that teachers use techniques that enhance learning for children with English as an additional language or special educational needs in all their lessons. While some good teaching was observed in Years 2, 4, 5 and 6, too much of the teaching is only satisfactory and does not take children’s learning along at a good enough rate. In Year 3, teaching is very poor and does not give the children who reached exceptionally low standards in Year 2 the opportunity to make up lost ground.

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Commentary

8. Improved resources and provision are raising standards in information and communication technology, especially in the younger age groups. Very good teaching observed in religious education in Year 4 and Year 6 enhanced children’s achievements in those lessons. In art and design there are examples of good quality work, brought about through an ‘art week’. However, improvements in art and design, science, literacy and the Foundation Stage have been held back by lack of finance for resources. Bush Hill Park Primary School 11 9. Children’s behaviour and attitudes are mostly satisfactory, although more could be done to help them take pride in the presentation of their work. Most listen attentively and are keen to learn, although in the poor lessons observed the children lost interest and behaviour was unsatisfactory interrupting the learning of their classmates.

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Commentary

10. Test results indicate that children from different ethnic minority groups, and those learning English as an additional language, achieve similar standards to others. The school does not have the information necessary to check that each group makes good headway over time. More able children are helped to work at a suitable level by the school’s literacy and numeracy ability grouping, but in most subjects they do not achieve as well as they should. Girls achieve significantly better than boys, and this issue has not yet been addressed rigorously by the school.

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Commentary

11. Achievement for children with special educational needs is unsatisfactory in the Foundation Stage and poor for both infant and junior children. The school has appropriate systems to identify children’s needs but this information is not used correctly to draw up individual education plans that promote achievement. These plans do not include sharp objectives that can be used to track achievement easily. In addition, teachers’ planning does not give sufficient recognition to the needs of individuals to direct adult support to what the children need to learn next.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values other personal qualities

Children’s attitudes and behaviour vary, but they are satisfactory overall. Attendance and punctuality are poor, although strategies to manage and improve the position have been introduced in the past two years. The school places good emphasis on improving children’s social and moral developments. Spiritual development is satisfactory but cultural development is unsatisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school’s behaviour management policy has been implemented and in most classes is having an impact on children’s attitudes and behaviour. • Despite the school’s determined efforts, attendance is poor and many pupils arrive late for school.

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Commentary

12. Children’s attitudes to work and their behaviour vary depending on the quality of teaching and the activities they are involved in. Most staff insist on good standards of behaviour and do their best to implement the school’s behaviour policy. They use effective strategies to help children understand that good behaviour is necessary for them to learn in a conducive atmosphere. During the inspection, behaviour in the ‘circus skills’ sessions led by a visitor to the school was mostly very good. In some lessons observed, however, children’s behaviour deteriorated and was poor as tasks did not engage them and they were not motivated to learn. Five fixed term exclusions have taken place in the past year. Children generally are keen to learn and want to do well, but teachers do not always challenge them enough, nor expect them to take pride in the presentation of their work. Children with special educational needs observed working in small groups mostly had positive

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Commentary

attitudes to learning. However, in group sessions in the classrooms some were too easily distracted and their disruptive behaviour affected the pace of learning for all.

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Commentary

13. Children gain an understanding of what is right or wrong because of the good provision for their moral development. In discussions, children spoke of very little racism occurring and are confident that instances of bullying or other forms of oppressive behaviour are promptly and effectively dealt with. These views were reinforced by the parents spoken to during the inspection. It is made clear that bullying or any form of racist conduct is not tolerated. Children from minority ethnic groups or learning English as an additional language settle well in school and grow in confidence. While they enjoy the harmonious climate of relationships, there is little acknowledgement of their impressive bilingual gifts or varied cultural experience. A number of Bush Hill Park Primary School 12 children have emotional and behavioural problems stemming from traumatic experiences in their homelands. The school makes good provision through counselling services and mentoring support

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Commentary

to help these children. This enhances their personal development so that they can learn.

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Commentary

14. Children’s social development is promoted in lessons when they are encouraged to work together in pairs or small groups. Mostly they co-operate and share ideas sensibly. Children are generally encouraged to develop their confidence and self esteem through a good personal, social and health education programme. For example, in Year 5, children were encouraged to make some sophisticated decisions and discuss opinions regarding smoking. This programme is not implemented consistently throughout the school as time set aside for it is limited. Many teachers offer children the chance to take on individual responsibilities around the classroom. Children from Year 2 upwards take on duties, such as playground friends, in a sensible manner and this contributes towards their social and personal development.

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Commentary

15. Spiritual development is mainly prompted through religious education lessons and assemblies where children are given the opportunity to learn about the beliefs and practices of the major world faiths . For example, on one occasion, an assembly for the infant children was taken by a Jewish parent who had brought in many interesting artefacts. The parent explained how the feast of Passover was linked to freedom. Acts of collective worship enable children to have time for thought and reflection.

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Commentary

16. Children are encouraged to appreciate and develop their knowledge of British culture through stories and visits to places of interest, such as galleries and museums. However, the work of distinguished artists, composers and performers from across the world and times past is not emphasised enough. The school does very little to fully explore and embrace the very wide variety of cultural traditions available to it through its own community of children, parents and staff.

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Commentary

17. Attendance is poor and has an adverse effect on the learning of many children. Levels of attendance have declined significantly since the previous inspection, but current data show some improvement recently. The school’s information shows that the attendance of the settled Traveller children is particularly low. Determined efforts are made to promote better attendance among parents and children, but this is time consuming. A member of the administrative staff has been appointed to work in conjunction with the assistant headteacher and education welfare officer to monitor attendance and punctuality. Every absence is now followed up, explanations are required from parents and carers, but often there is difficulty in obtaining the information requested.

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Commentary

18. In the Foundation Stage, teachers encourage children to work together happily, care for each other and develop their self esteem. However, too little is done to recognise and celebrate children’s different cultural backgrounds. As a result, few children reach the goals set for them in this area of learning. Bush Hill Park Primary School 13

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Commentary

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Commentary

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 130 3 0 White – Irish 11 1 0 White – any other White background 91 0 0 Mixed – White Black Caribbean 4 0 0 Mixed – White Black African 3 0 0 Mixed – White Asian 2 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 12 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Indian 6 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 1 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 17 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 2 0 0 Black or Black British – Caribbean 17 1 0 Black or Black British – African 66 0 0 Black or Black British – any other Black background 27 0 0 Chinese 5 0 0 Any other ethnic group 33 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 0 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Commentary

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 5.5 School data 3.7 National data 5.4 National data 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education provided by the school is poor. Teaching, learning and assessment overall are poor, although there is some high quality teaching in small withdrawal groups of children with English as an additional language. There are weaknesses in the curriculum in the Foundation Stage and Years 1 to 6. Provision for children with English as an additional language or special educational needs is not good enough in lessons. The accommodation is satisfactory and the computer suite is proving to be a valuable resource. Resources in the Foundation Stage, art and design, English and science are unsatisfactory.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage overall are unsatisfactory. They are poor in the infants and juniors. Assessment procedures are also poor throughout the school. Bush Hill Park Primary School 14

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Poor teaching for a significant number of children is impeding learning. • High quality teaching of children at the early stages of learning English by the subject coordinator helps them to achieve rapidly. • Good and very good teaching in Year 6 helps children to achieve well, but they have too much lost ground to make up. • Expectations of what children know and can do are too low. • Unsatisfactory teaching in the Foundation Stage means children are not prepared well enough for their work in Year 1. • Teaching of children with special educational needs in small withdrawal groups is helping them to achieve well for their capabilities, but provision in class lessons is poor. • Assessment procedures are weak and this prevents teachers planning work that meets children’s needs.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 47 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

1 (2%) 3 (6%) 12 (26%) 24 (52%) 3 (6%) 3 (6%) 1 (2%)

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Commentary

The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen.

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Commentary

19. The school evaluates its quality of teaching as unsatisfactory and inspection evidence shows that it is poor overall, representing a significant decline since 1998. The teaching provided by the newly-appointed coordinator for children learning English as an additional language is excellent, and the small groups he works with make speedy progress. Much of the teaching observed in Year 6 was good or very good but children have too much ground to make up to reach nationally expected standards. Examples of good teaching were observed in Years 2, 4 and 5 and in some mathematics, English, science, religious education and information and communication technology lessons. However, unsatisfactory and poor teaching was observed in Reception and in Years 2, 3, 4 and 5, especially in English. Too much of the teaching is only satisfactory and does not take children’s learning forward fast enough. Many children now in Year 3 achieved very low

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Commentary

standards in the national tests when they were in Year 2 in 2004. They are now encountering poor teaching and do not have the opportunity to raise their achievements, leaving them with a lot of work to do in future years. Except in the better lessons, teachers make too little provision for children from minority ethnic groups, Traveller communities or different linguistic backgrounds. Teachers seldom plan ways of adapting lessons to meet individual needs, although they usually arrange for a classroom assistant to be available to help children understand their lessons. In some cases, where work is particularly unsuitable, children flounder.

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Commentary

20. In the good and very good lessons observed, teachers’ presentations were lively and children listened attentively. The content of the lessons was challenging and relevant to children’s lives, enabling them to acquire new skills, knowledge and understanding at a rapid rate. Praise and encouragement motivated children to do their best. Questioning helped to deepen children’s understanding and offered them opportunities to contribute to their lessons. Most teachers have high expectations of children’s behaviour and many respond well to this. However, some children in Reception and the juniors do not always behave as they should and interrupt the learning of their classmates.

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Commentary

21. The main weaknesses in teaching are linked to low expectations and a lack of challenge in the work. Teachers do not use appropriate techniques to ensure that children with English as an additional language or special educational needs are fully involved in lessons. Learning support assistants often spend time listening to long teacher explanations and supporting children in the small amount of time left available for activities. Lessons include opportunities for children to work together collaboratively, but tasks, time and resources are not always appropriate or sufficient for Bush Hill Park Primary School 15 them to do this. In the weakest lessons seen, teachers did not provide children with sufficient information to acquire new knowledge, skills and understanding effectively. This was particularly the case in literacy lessons when children also had little time to write. Homework is not used often

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Commentary

enough to reinforce and extend learning.

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Commentary

22. Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage are unsatisfactory overall. Teachers manage children’s behaviour well in most classes and make the best of the resources available to them. However, teachers’ planning is weak because it takes too little account of children’s prior learning and the knowledge, skills and understanding children are to acquire. In addition, it does not identify the needs of different groups of children and how these are to be met. All children cover the same activities. The balance between teacher led and child initiated activities is uneven so children often spend a great deal of time working on undemanding tasks. There are few opportunities for the children to make choices and express their ideas. As a result, children’s achievements are not fast enough and they are not prepared sufficiently for their work in Year 1.

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Commentary

23. Teaching and learning for children with special educational needs is poor, representing a decline since the last inspection. Some examples of better teaching were observed when children were working in small withdrawal groups with the special educational needs coordinator or teaching assistants. Tasks in these groups are matched well to their needs. Suitable records are used to track the children’s progress, particularly in literacy, to ensure they develop basic reading and writing skills. Teaching for children with special educational needs in classrooms is generally poor. Teachers mostly have very low expectations of what children can do. The broad targets in children’s individual education plans are not broken down sufficiently into small steps so that progress can be monitored carefully. Teachers’ planning does not recognise the needs of these children and what they need to learn next. This means that tasks are not always appropriate and

p.15

Commentary

children do not progress quickly enough. Also the children do not receive sufficient feedback about how well they are doing and how they can improve.

p.15

Commentary

24. Assessment procedures are weak. In the Foundation Stage, staff spend a great deal of time observing the children and making notes. The observations lack a clear focus, but collect a considerable amount of information. This is not used well enough to respond to individual needs. In the infants and juniors, children’s achievements are not checked frequently or carefully enough. This leads to low expectations. Teachers are not sufficiently aware of what children should achieve by the end of each year so do not always plan appropriate work to challenge them to greater achievement. Often children complete low quality worksheets that do little to take their learning forward and give teachers too little information about their achievements. Marking of work is inconsistent. In mathematics, children often mark their own work. Teachers recognise children’s successes but give little guidance about how they can improve their learning and the quality of their

p.15

The curriculum

The curriculum lacks balance and is unsatisfactory. Time is not allocated well between subjects and there are weaknesses in curriculum planning that really hold back achievement, especially in the Foundation Stage. The needs of particular groups of children are not adequately met in classroom lessons. Targets set for them are often too broad to focus intervention effectively. No particular curriculum provision has been made for children from asylum seeking or Traveller families and the school has not yet adequately addressed the underachievement of boys. The accommodation is satisfactory, but resources are unsatisfactory overall.

p.15

Main strengths and weaknesses

• While there are some strong elements, the curriculum overall is not as good as at the time of the last inspection. • Provision for children in the Foundation Stage, for those learning English as an additional language and for those with special educational needs is unsatisfactory. Bush Hill Park Primary School 16 • Except in the very good lessons, the implementation of national programmes in literacy and numeracy in most classes lacks imagination and does not draw out the best from the children. • There is a strong programme of personal, social and health education, but time set aside for it is limited. • The school curriculum programme does little to acknowledge or celebrate its multicultural and multilingual community. • There is a good programme of activity to support learning outside the school day.

p.15

Commentary

25. The school has responded effectively to some, but not all, of the issues raised in its previous inspection. In particular, a thorough programme for personal, social and health education is now in place, although imbalances within the overall timetable have meant that the programme is not fully implemented. Shortcomings in information and communication technology have largely been rectified, although it still does not contribute as much to learning in other subjects as it should. There have also been improvements in whole-school curriculum planning, but inconsistencies in lesson planning, noted in the last report, remain and result in some children not receiving a programme accurately matched to their needs. Provision for children learning English as an additional language and for those with special educational needs is unsatisfactory and was also a concern in 1998. The programme for the Foundation Stage, satisfactory at the last inspection, is

p.16

Commentary

now unsatisfactory because it does not give the children’s learning the early impetus it needs.

p.16

Commentary

26. While all required subjects are taught, the school gives priority to literacy and numeracy and allocates a great deal of time to them. This time is not always well spent because teaching is too often unsatisfactory and the national programmes for these subjects are not implemented in the flexible and imaginative ways necessary to fully engage the children. Strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy also results in imbalance in the time allocated to some other subjects. An over- dependence on narrow, poor quality worksheets in many subjects reduces intellectual challenge for children.

p.16

Commentary

27. The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage does not give the children the really positive start they need because it is not planned well enough to meet their needs. Teachers are not sufficiently clear about what has to be taught and when. As in other year groups, the curriculum takes little account of the rich range of cultures within the school community. Many children start school speaking little English and their needs are not reflected within the curriculum overall or day to day activities. The outside area of the nursery is used appropriately to develop children’s physical and creative skills, but little has been done in the Reception classes to link learning in the classroom with that going on outside. Resources in the Foundation Stage are unsatisfactory as many are old and do not reflect a changing society or the school’s community.

p.16

Commentary

28. Provision for children with special educational needs is unsatisfactory overall. There are some good features in the provision for groups working on special learning programmes in the early year’s social inclusion group and in other withdrawal groups. However, children’s needs are not adequately met in classroom lessons. Targets set for them are often too broad to focus effective intervention and the curriculum is not adapted appropriately. Children are too often given the same worksheet as their peers and work is not matched to individual needs. Teaching assistants support children’s learning in the classroom, but their efforts are not focussed well as teachers’ planning in this respect is mostly inadequate. Children with special educational needs are integrated fully into the life of the school and can take part in all activities.

p.16

Commentary

29. The number of children from minority ethnic communities is high and has grown markedly since the last inspection. Many come to school at short notice, from refugee or asylum-seeking families and move on unpredictably. This high mobility makes it hard for the school to provide a suitable programme, but too little has been done to manage the problem.

p.16

Commentary

30. The school is a racially tolerant and harmonious community. There is little evidence that children from any ethnic group perform better, or less well than others, although the school does not Bush Hill Park Primary School 17 have adequate records to check individuals’ progress over time. A small number of children come from settled Traveller and Roma backgrounds. The school curriculum does little to reflect or celebrate the cultures, experiences or traditions of these varied home communities.

p.16

Commentary

31. Many children joining the school learn English as an additional language. For some, indeed, English is a third or fourth language. Many are still at an early stage in developing fluency and provision for them is unsatisfactory. Teachers’ plans for lessons and teaching strategies seldom make any particular adjustment for them. While often teaching assistants are on hand to help them understand their lessons, children are sometimes left to struggle with work that is wholly inappropriate and demoralising for them. Children joining the school in Year 6 with low levels of English are frequently taught in a group together, but they are not always entered for the national tests at the end of the year because they do not have sufficient English.

p.17

Commentary

32. The very recent appointment of a coordinator for the provision for children with English as an additional language has led to detailed high-quality checks being carried out on new entrants, to ascertain precisely their strengths and weaknesses in English. This allows individual targets to be set for each child. In some cases these targets are too general to accelerate learning and class teachers do not yet pay them sufficient attention in their lesson planning. The skills of most children already in the school have not yet been satisfactorily assessed and lessons at present seldom take their particular needs into account. This too is being addressed by the recently appointed subject leader for English as an additional language and the specialist teaching assistants working in this area. Children at a very early stage in learning English take part in small group lessons run by the new coordinator and this provision is of a very high quality so the children involved achieve very well

p.17

Commentary

33. The school has some additional provision for children it identifies as gifted and talented, but recognises that this is an area in which more development is needed. Too little has been done to investigate and deal with the weak academic performance of boys compared to girls and a wide gap in their achievement remains.

p.17

Commentary

34. A good range of clubs and other activities for learning outside the school day is provided. Many of these also help parents understand how they can best help in their children’s learning. These activities are supported well and enrich the curriculum.

p.17

Commentary

35. The school has a good balance of experienced and less experienced staff, although it has suffered high levels of staff turnover in recent years. This has been especially the case at headteacher level. The destabilising effect of these personnel changes has slowed the process of curriculum renewal and innovation. Teaching assistants receive suitable training. They make an important contribution to the provision for children with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language, although they are not always deployed as effectively as they could be in lessons. Accommodation is satisfactory. Although the school operates in three separate buildings on the site, there is sufficient space for the full curriculum to be taught and additional areas have been put to good use. The new information and communication technology suite is a very good facility and is having a positive impact on raising standards in the infants. The

p.17

Commentary

library was little used during the inspection and does not feature much in teachers’ planning. The fiction stock is mainly in paperback format and much is grubby and worn. The stock of information books needs review since some is in poor condition and seriously out of date. Resources generally are unsatisfactory, but especially in the Foundation Stage, science and art and design.

p.17

Care, guidance support

Provision for children’s care, welfare, health and safety and involvement of children through seeking, valuing and acting on their views is good. The provision of support, advice and guidance based on monitoring is satisfactory. Bush Hill Park Primary School 18

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school provides a safe caring environment. • Effective policies promote children’s welfare well. • The learning mentor and counsellors provide valuable support for those pupils with specific needs. • The school council is particularly successful in enabling the children involved to learn about citizenship. • Assessment procedures are not effective enough for teachers to provide children with clear guidance on how to improve their performance.

p.18

Commentary

36. All adults in the school show concern for the care and welfare of the children. Parents acknowledge the positive way their children are looked after in school. There was strong agreement with this view in their questionnaires and in conversations during the inspection. The warm relationships between most staff and children create a comfortable, cheerful atmosphere were children feel valued and supported, knowing that their views will be taken seriously. The staff involved in children’s welfare, make significant efforts to get to know the children personally. This is a challenging task, given the high rate of pupil mobility in such a large school. Children are encouraged to share their concerns and any child who has learning, personal or medical problems is treated sensitively. The learning mentor is providing highly effective support for children’s social and learning needs, often enabling them to manage their behaviour so they do not need to be

p.18

Commentary

excluded. The learning mentor also helps many children to overcome anxieties so that they can achieve. Where necessary, counsellors working in the school from the support charity The Place2Be provide valuable understanding and help for children with significant difficulties, especially those from war torn areas. They provide an environment where children feel secure in expressing their feelings and give them the confidence to learn.

p.18

Commentary

37. Child protection is taken seriously. The school has adopted local guidelines and has its own policy. There is a close working relationship with other caring agencies. All members of staff are made aware of the school’s procedures should concerns arise and are kept up to date through frequent staff training. A clear structure for health and safety is in place and maintenance of the school building and its environs is of a good standard. Day to day first aid arrangements and care for children who are unwell are fully established with a well-trained welfare assistant on duty throughout the day. All minor injuries and health issues are documented well and where necessary brought to the attention of a member of the senior management team for further investigation.

p.18

Commentary

38. The school seeks children’s views through the school council. A school council meeting observed during the inspection illustrated that children can make insightful and articulate suggestions when given the opportunity. The children involved gain a very good understanding of citizenship and democracy. The children have very clear ideas regarding items such as improvements to the school playground, behaviour and further charity raising projects. In class, children are also encouraged to share their opinions or concerns through Circle Time sessions.

p.18

Commentary

39. Weaknesses in marking and the lack of formal assessment limit teachers’ capacity to provide children with any clear guidance on how they might improve their work. There is no clear system for teachers to track children’s development, personally or academically, carefully as they move through the school.

p.18

Commentary

40. Children from minority ethnic groups, including those from refugee and Traveller backgrounds build good relationships with teachers and the learning mentor. They receive a kindly welcome when they join the school, but the numbers being admitted put pressure on staff who deal with them. The school has not yet developed ways of managing the admission and induction of these children, especially those from asylum-seeking families, in line with published good practice. For instance, the school has not developed sufficient links with local organisations that advise and support asylum seeking families, or sought additional training for teachers in working with children Bush Hill Park Primary School 19 who may have experienced traumatic events. The learning mentor is especially helpful to children from ethnic minority groups, or those new to learning English, in helping them adjust to school, in establishing productive links with their parents. The special educational needs coordinator has

p.18

Commentary

effective links with outside agencies. This means that once children’s special needs are identified the school has access to appropriate guidance support.

p.19

Partnership with parents, other schools the community

The school’s partnership with parents, links with the community, schools and colleges are satisfactory.

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Parents hold generally positive views. • The school tries to involve parents in its work and keep them informed, but some are not very responsive. • Key documents are not simplified or translated in the main home languages.

p.19

Commentary

41. Overall, parents are satisfied with what the school provides for their children. The majority of those who attended the meeting prior to the inspection and completed the questionnaire were generally supportive of the school. However, there were concerns about the achievement and behaviour of some of the children. Some parents also felt uncomfortable about approaching the school. Discussions held with a wider range of parents and carers revealed they had confidence in the staff and they felt that the teaching was good. They also said their children are treated fairly, are cared for well and expected to work hard and do their best. In addition, these parents said they found the school accessible and receptive to any approaches they make. Teachers are available at the start and finish of the day and often give considerable time to individual parents. Inspection evidence shows that parents are right to be concerned about the achievement and behaviour of

p.19

Commentary

some children because teaching is poor overall.

p.19

Commentary

42. For many of the parents spoken to, this is their first experience of the English education system and they are not used to being involved in their child’s education. The school is making attempts to overcome this. Translators are in attendance at all open meetings and personal interviews with parents. However, there are no arrangements in hand to translate, illustrate or simplify any of the school’s key documents, including the school brochure, which comprises of 35 pages of mainly close text in English, or letters to parents. Coffee mornings and First Steps Parenting classes help them to develop friendships and an understanding of the school. A number of parents also benefit from the Family Learning initiative. This provides them with valuable opportunities to understand how their children develop. There is a friends association run by a very small, but dedicated committee of parents that organises both fundraising and social events, that

p.19

Commentary

43. Annual reports to parents about their children are satisfactory. In the best examples, teachers provide helpful targets for the next steps in learning, but not all reports provide guidance for parents on what their child needs to do to improve. Parents and children are invited to write their own comments on the report that gives a complete overview of individual progress, concerns and aspirations.

p.19

Commentary

44. There are some community links that benefit the school, but these are not extensive. There are good links with the local church. Year 6 pupils have received visitors from the local police, fire service and Howard League for Penal Reform, as part of their citizenship studies. The school has struggled unsuccessfully to engage local businesses to support its activities.

p.19

Commentary

45. There are positive productive links with the local cluster of eight primary schools linked to the main secondary school. Many common issues, such as poor attendance, child protection and Bush Hill Park Primary School 20 local needs are collectively addressed. The school also collaborates on a number of initiatives with partnership groups. It supports the work of a number of local colleges as students are welcomed as part of their work experience programme. A number of student teachers are also welcomed every year as part of their training. The transition of children at the end of Year 6 to secondary education is satisfactory. Visits to their new schools are well co-ordinated and pupils are supported effectively at this stage by the learning mentor.

p.19

Commentary

46. Parents of children with special educational needs are invited to attend meetings so they can discuss their child’s progress. The school is a member of a local partnership group that meets to share good practice and discuss special needs issues.

p.20

LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are poor. Governance is unsatisfactory. The inequitable distribution of responsibilities for leadership means the school is not led and managed in a coherent and effective manner.

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school faces many challenges in the significant barriers to children’s learning, but there has not been enough rigour or urgency in addressing the management of the changing make up of the school community. • Lines of responsibility at senior management level are not clear, leading to uncertainty and low morale amongst some of the staff. • The members of the inclusion team are well qualified and very aware of the action needed to raise standards. • Subject leaders are enthusiastic about their roles, but are not always able to implement changes or monitor their impact on standards. • Strategic planning is weak as governors and senior staff do not have a clear vision for the direction of the school. • The school does not analyse data sufficiently well or take effective action to bring about improvement. • Statutory requirements are not met fully.

p.20

Commentary

47. Since the last inspection, there has been serious disruption to the senior leadership and management of the school that has impacted its quality, as well as standards and achievement. As a result, governors have not always received a coherent picture of how well it is doing. This has hampered their ability to influence the school’s educational direction. The changes to the nature of the school community over the past six years are significant and have not been tackled with the urgency and rigour they require. Standards have declined significantly since the last inspection and children staying at the school, even for a short time, do not achieve as well as they should. Complications in the current leadership and management, especially the role of the headteacher, mean these difficulties are still not being tackled with urgency. The substantive headteacher works for two and a half days a week. The deputy headteacher becomes the headteacher for the

p.20

Commentary

remainder of the time. There is also an assistant headteacher. This arrangement is temporary and is due to be reviewed at the end of the summer term. The inequitable distribution of responsibilities across this leadership team means that the school cannot respond to its development needs quickly enough. In addition, too much time is taken during the week in the exchange of information rather than managing and working on more urgent issues. Staff morale is lower than it should be because the very different management approaches of the headteachers are confusing and unsettling. Also staff cannot always gain access to them for urgent decisions. This means, despite the skills of other key staff, the school does not have the capacity to improve

p.20

Commentary

48. The leadership of other key staff shows potential, but is hampered by overall leadership and management decisions. The pastoral needs of the children are met well. The newly appointed Bush Hill Park Primary School 21 coordinators for English as an additional language and special educational needs are beginning to make a very important contribution to the school’s provision. With high numbers of ethnic minority children, and high family mobility, their task is daunting. Good procedures are being put in place to handle some of the issues that arise, although much remains to be done. These posts are too new to have had any real influence on standards. Subject leaders mostly have a clear idea of how they would like their subjects to develop to raise standards, but they do not have enough money to purchase resources to implement their subject action plans or improve resources. Time set aside

p.20

Commentary

for leaders to develop their subject is not always taken up. They do not have a clear enough understanding of overall provision. Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage are unsatisfactory. This is because key decisions to improve curriculum and lesson planning have not been followed up in a rigorous way. The weak planning in the Foundation Stage is having a detrimental impact on standards and achievement for this age group.

p.21

Commentary

49. The school self evaluation is not accurate and the severity of the weaknesses in provision is not recognised. There is little reflection on why leadership and management are not having sufficient impact on raising achievement. The very short school development plan, drawn up to raise standards and achievement is weak. While it identifies clear priorities, the targets lack rigour and urgency. They are not clearly focused on the immediate action required to bring about improvement. The success criteria are not good enough to give a clear idea of the impact of improvements on children’s achievements. Data from national or yearly tests is not analysed in sufficient depth to identify strengths and weakness. Also, there are few procedures for monitoring children’s progress consistently as they move through the school. As a result, the school has not taken the action required to tackle the underperformance of boys and improve the provision in

p.21

Commentary

lessons for children with special educational needs or English as an additional language. The school’s performance management programme is not having the impact it should. While staff are allowed to attend training, some feel there is little encouragement to develop the work of the school on their return.

p.21

Commentary

50. There are some aids to children’s learning, including good teaching that allows children to make up lost ground, especially in Year 6. Effective pastoral care supports refugee children who experience trauma in their homelands to overcome emotional difficulties so they can learn. However, induction arrangements for the high number of children joining the school at short notice are not adequate. The disturbance this causes is one of the main barriers to improvement. Another is the inadequate provision for high numbers of children with English as an additional language or special educational needs in classes. In addition, some children who come to the school have had little experience of education. Non-English speaking parents find it hard to communicate with staff or find out about how their children are progressing because they are not always provided with information in their own language. The recently formed parent groups have started to address this

p.21

Commentary

51. A small nucleus of governors has tried to play a role in shaping the direction of the school, but frequent staff changes has made this hard for them. It has also been difficult to recruit governors who show commitment to the school. The chair of governors meets with the headteachers regularly now to track the progress of the targets in the school improvement plan. Subject leaders are invited to report to the governing body to talk about their action plans. However, governors generally have yet to develop their skills in monitoring the school’s performance, although they are actively involved in the life of the school and take part in events. Provision for remodelling of the work force in the autumn term has been made but its quality is uncertain. Additional teachers, including some observed during the inspection as having weaknesses in management of children’s behaviour, are to provide staff with time for preparation, planning and assessment and to carry out

p.21

Commentary

their leadership and management roles. The governors do not fulfil their statutory responsibilities in full. The home school agreement has not been implemented fully and governors do not report on the impact of their race relations policy to parents.

p.21

Commentary

52. The annual budget is set with regard to the educational priorities established in the school development plan. The organisation for senior leadership and the recent appointments to the inclusion team mean that staffing costs are high. Financial management is satisfactory, but the Bush Hill Park Primary School 22 school has yet to evaluate its spending plans and their impact on educational performance against principles of best value. The school provides poor value for money.

p.21

Commentary

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

p.22

Commentary

Income expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 1,825,626 Balance from previous year 276,884 Total expenditure 1,757,329 Balance carried forward to the next 345,181 Expenditure per pupil 2,998 Bush Hill Park Primary School 23

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

53. Overall provision in the Foundation Stage is unsatisfactory because much of the teaching does not take children’s learning along fast enough. Planning is weak and, as a result, children’s knowledge, skills and understanding are not built on or developed in a coherent way. Much of the planning briefly states the activities all children are to complete with little clarification of what they are to achieve. While teachers often plan together, teaching assistants and nursery nurses are not generally involved in the decisions that are made. This makes it hard for some of them to help children make the most of each activity. Staff spend a considerable amount of time observing children, but the information collected is not used constructively to plan work that meets their needs, especially those with English as an additional language or special educational needs.

p.23

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

54. All children enter the nursery in the September of the academic year in which they become four and move into the Reception classes in the September of the year they become five. Attainment on entry to the nursery is very low, especially in social skills, speaking, listening and numeracy. Staff place emphasis on developing children’s personal, social and emotional development, but generally achievement is unsatisfactory. This is because teachers do not build sufficiently on skills children have learned before so that they are not prepared well enough for their work in Year 1.

p.23

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

55. The accommodation for the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. The outside area for the Reception classes is spacious and a good resource. It is not used effectively to link learning in the classroom to other activities outside. Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage are unsatisfactory because they are not enabling children to make a really effective start to their education. Key decisions relating to the improvement of curriculum planning have not been carried out with sufficient urgency and rigour.

p.23

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social emotional development is satisfactory .

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff encourage children to settle into school and cooperate with their classmates. • The cultural backgrounds of the children are not celebrated well enough.

p.23

Commentary

56. Teaching is satisfactory as staff place emphasis on promoting children’s personal, social and emotional development and provide good role models. Children are praised for their care and kindness to their classmates and thanked when offering to play or share materials with others. Children really enjoy playing ‘parachute games’ that help them tow work together. Staff make sure children have time to develop their interests, playing in the home corner, trying out their developing writing skills or fitting boxes of different sizes into one another. On occasions, children remain engaged on their tasks for a good amount of time. Sometimes when children find it hard to play cooperatively, staff intervene appropriately and show them what they should do.

p.23

Commentary

57. The calm, relaxed atmosphere in the nursery enables children to feel safe so that they move between activities confidently. Children leave their carers happily and choose something to do quickly. In the nursery and Reception classes, children know the routines and tidy up when asked to do so. The culture and languages of the different ethnic groups are not celebrated as well as they should be. This makes it difficult for children to appreciate and value the beliefs of others. Children speaking English as an additional language are often left for too long to play alone. While it is good for children to play with their friends in their own language, interventions by adults do not Bush Hill Park Primary School 24 do enough to help children acquire spoken English. Few children are on course to reach the early learning goals set for them by the end of the Reception year.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is unsatisfactory.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Unsatisfactory teaching means planning methods do not take into account the different needs of the children, especially those who do not speak English as their first language or have special educational needs. • Children’s learning needs are not identified early enough.

p.24

Commentary

58. Very few children are on course to reach the early learning goals set for them nationally at the end of the Reception year because teaching is unsatisfactory. Teachers in the nursery and Reception classes use strategies, such as stories, rhymes, games and role play to help the children develop their speaking skills, but many children start school with very limited English. Their learning needs are not identified quickly enough. Staff lack the knowledge and strategies to help children to acquire the language they need to learn quickly. There are few dual language books or labels around the classroom in the main languages spoken by the children. In the nursery, staff intervene in children’s play. Often the children listen carefully, but do not always comprehend fully what is being said. The lack of clear identification of children’s needs and records of progress makes it hard for Reception teachers to develop children’s language and literacy skills further. In addition,

p.24

Commentary

the needs of children with special educational needs are not identified quickly or sharply enough to ensure they get the specific help they need.

p.24

Commentary

59. Teachers provide opportunities for children to try to record their ideas by making marks on paper, but generally they do not have sufficient spoken English to begin writing it. Children are taught the sounds letters make and how to recognise simple words. Some more able children are beginning to develop their reading skills in guided reading sessions with their teacher. However, most of the work is centred on traditional western culture that does not have sufficient meaning for the children.

p.24

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is unsatisfactory.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Too little is done in the nursery and Reception classes to develop children’s mathematical skills.

p.24

Commentary

60. Teachers’ planning does not take into account the differing needs and abilities of the children. As a result very few are on course to meet the early learning goals set for them at the end of the Reception year. In the nursery, staff used the story of Goldilocks the three bears to help children learn about objects of differing sizes, but did not reinforce the language of small, medium large effectively enough. In Reception, whole class sessions led by the teacher help children to learn to count, but other activities do not always include mathematical tasks to reinforce learning. Games and activities that involve children colouring in poor quality worksheets also do little to extend learning. In the nursery children have more opportunities to thread beads, make models with three dimensional shapes and find out about the capacity of different utensils. Throughout the Foundation Stage, there are few opportunities for children to record what they have learned. This

p.24

Commentary

Bush Hill Park Primary School 25 lack of provision stems from unsatisfactory teaching and poor use of assessment information to match work to need.

p.25

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is unsatisfactory.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The curriculum is not sufficient to give children good understanding of the wider world.

p.25

Commentary

61. Staff provide opportunities for children to learn how plants grow, identify patterns in leaves and take care of the environment. At different times, children have the opportunity to learn about the importance of Divali to followers of the Hindu religion and the nativity to Christians. A recent project helped them to learn about people in the community who help and protect us. A visit to the library promoted an interest in books. Children in Reception use the computer suite, but generally and in the nursery there are few opportunities for children to use computers each day. Also the curriculum does not take into account the broader range of cultures and religions in the school. Except in the nursery, the outside area is not used well enough to extend children’s experiences in this area of learning. Very few children are on course to meet the early learning goals set for them at the end of the Reception year.

p.25

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is satisfactory.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children’s physical development is promoted more strongly in the nursery than in the Reception classes.

p.25

Commentary

62. In the nursery, teachers provide many opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. Children play with malleable materials, thread beads, ride wheeled toys with control, balance and slide on the climbing frame and really enjoy crawling through a tunnel. A new adventure trail also promotes skills in climbing and balancing. Similar activities, that do not present greater challenge to the older children, can be found in the Reception classes. In addition, in Reception, children’s skills are developed in physical education lessons. Teachers’ planning does little to help children develop their skills systematically and so not all children will reach the goals set for them at the end of the Reception year.

p.25

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision in creative development is unsatisfactory.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children do not have sufficient opportunities to develop their creativity and imagination. Bush Hill Park Primary School 26

p.25

Commentary

63. Staff in the nursery and Reception do not promote children’s creativity as well as they should. There are appropriate opportunities for children to experiment with paint and clay. Classroom displays show some good quality portraits where children have done their best to think about different skin tones and the way faces reflect mood. In addition, classrooms are organised appropriately to promote a range of role-play activities, such as the post office or life at home. However, too often the activities do little to take children’s learning forward because they are not sufficiently challenging. These activities are often child led, and adults, especially in Reception, do not intervene enough to extend children’s imagination or understanding of English. Resources, especially in art work, are not always readily available to enable children to make choices about the materials they wish to use and so express their own ideas. There are few opportunities for children

p.26

Commentary

to enjoy a range of musical experiences that reflect the different cultures within the community. Unsatisfactory teaching means that very few children are on course to reach the early learning goals set for them at the end of the Reception year. Bush Hill Park Primary School 27

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are too low. • Teaching overall is poor, limiting opportunities for children to achieve. • Good teaching in Year 6 makes up some lost ground, but it is too little too late • The checking of children’s progress is unsystematic so that work is not matched well enough to their needs. • Provision for groups of pupils, such as those with special educational needs or those learning English as an additional language, is unsatisfactory. • Skills in English are not used often enough in other subjects where work is often untidy and careless. • Overall, leadership and management is unsatisfactory.

p.27

Commentary

64. When the school was last inspected, standards at the end of Year 6 were in line with the national average. Those at the end of Year 2 were below average. Standards have fallen sharply since then. At the end of both Year 6 and Year 2 they are now low. Results from the national tests for children in Year 2 in 2004 were in the lowest five percent in the country when compared to all and similar schools. They were low in Year 6. The school missed its targets for the number of children to reach the nationally expected Level 4 in English that year. The targets have been set even lower for the current Year 6 children. Boys do much less well than girls; the gap is wider than in most schools. There is little clear evidence that the decline in standards has been stemmed, especially in Year 2, and at neither stage do children achieve as well as they should.

p.27

Commentary

65. There are a number of reasons for the fall in standards. While there is some good English teaching, especially in Year 6 classes, too many lessons are unsatisfactory or poor. This hinders children’s progress. The school does not check individual children’s progress over time rigorously enough. This means teachers do not have sufficiently precise information to ensure work accurately matches children’s needs. There has been a sharp increase in the number of children coming to the school with first languages other than English and in the number with special educational needs. Their needs are not identified accurately enough so they do not make the headway they could. The English programme is too often mundane, lacking the dynamism and imagination to fully engage the children’s interest and best efforts. Frequent staff changes have brought instability to the programme and hampered the pace of improvement.

p.27

Commentary

66. Many children lack a fluent or confident command of spoken English. Standards are well below those usually found among children at this age. This acts as a barrier to their learning in general and to reading and writing in particular. Even those who are more articulate find difficulty in putting abstract ideas into words or in explaining and elaborating their views. This said, they usually listen carefully and courteously to their teachers and other adults. While many lessons provide opportunities for children to discuss their work together in small groups, this rarely calls for the more complex uses of speech they need to develop. When given a suitably challenging and exciting task, as in a Year 6 religious education lesson about the origin of our notions of right wrong, they make quick progress in developing these more sophisticated skills.

p.27

Commentary

67. Reading standards are low at the end of Year 2. They are also low at the end of Year 6, although good teaching in Year 6 makes up some of the ground lost earlier. The younger children are confident in handling books, but many find difficulty with even simple texts. They do not all have the knowledge of sounds they need and sometimes read meaningless words because they do not use the context of the story, or the illustrations, to help them. Most older children read simple texts Bush Hill Park Primary School 28 accurately, using a full range of skills to cope with unfamiliar words. Some can retell what they have read, or suggest possible outcomes to their story, but many lack the oral skills for this. Some still read words without expression and have little grasp of the meaning of their texts. They are familiar with some well known children’s authors, but lack enthusiasm in discussing books.

p.27

Commentary

68. Writing presents particular problems in both the infants and juniors and standards are low. Many of the seven year olds still make mistakes in the size and shape of letters. Despite regular handwriting practice, they often do not apply what they have learned in other lessons. While most spell simple regular words correctly and can punctuate simple sentences, writing is laborious for many and it lacks liveliness of tone. Older children have learned about different types of writing, such as autobiography, newspaper articles and short play scripts. Most use a clear script, though not always joined, and spell some common words correctly. However, they only make use of a narrow range of vocabulary. Little of the writing communicates a lively personal tone to a reader and much is in a cramped, angular style of handwriting, lacking fluency of movement.

p.28

Commentary

69. Despite the difficulties many children face, they nearly always behave well in lessons and do their best, even when tasks are dull. They collaborate very well when working in pairs. While there is some good or very good English teaching in Year 6, teaching overall is poor. Two out of every five lessons seen were unsatisfactory and some of these were very poor. The best lessons were marked by teachers’ high expectations; work presented a real challenge to the children and they applied themselves to it with great effort. Questioning required thoughtful extended answers, developing oral skills well. In the unsatisfactory and very poor lessons observed: • work was dull, teachers did not establish a calm, orderly atmosphere allowing for sustained concentration; • children learning English as an additional language, or with special educational needs, struggled with wholly inappropriate tasks, because lessons took little account of their

p.28

Commentary

particular needs; • teachers expected too little of the children and time was wasted; • teachers’ questions were narrow, calling for short factual answers, adding little to children’s skills in spoken English; • opportunities to develop specific literacy language skills were missed. Explanations were too long leaving little time for children to express their ideas; • the possibilities of using information and communication technology were not exploited.

p.28

Commentary

70. The leadership and management of English have some strengths. New programmes have been introduced to help particular groups of children and good quality training has been provided for teachers in some aspects of the subject. Some new materials and equipment have been purchased, although many of the books in the library are grubby and worn, or seriously out of date. Some checks are carried out to ensure that lessons are effective and that children progress satisfactorily, but school arrangements for this are not rigorous or systematic enough to have a strong impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Consequently leadership and management in English are unsatisfactory.

p.28

Language literacy across the curriculum

71. An examination of children’s workbooks over the school year shows that in many instances teachers do not promote literacy skills in other subjects. They are also prepared to accept careless and untidy written work. This is a major weakness in the writing programme since it undermines what has been learned in literacy lessons, as well as hindering progress in other subjects. Bush Hill Park Primary School 29

p.28

MATHEMATICS

Provision in mathematics is unsatisfactory.

p.29

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children show positive attitudes and behaviour in many lessons and, where teaching was observed to be effective, they made good progress. • The recent whole school initiatives to develop teachers’ skills are helping to focus attention on the improvements needed to raise levels of achievement. • Standards in national tests in 2004 were very low at the end of Year 2 and low at the end of Year 6. • Teaching overall is unsatisfactory. • Procedures to assess children’s progress are poor so that work does not move children’s learning forward enough.

p.29

Commentary

72. Results in the national tests in 2004 were poor in mathematics. When prior attainment is taken into account results were not as good as those found in most schools. The school’s own targets for the number of children to reach the nationally expected Level 4 this year are really low indicating that standards are likely to be worse. Few will attain the higher Level 5. In the 2004 tests, results in Year 2 were very low when compared to all schools and well below average when compared to those with children from similar backgrounds. In Year 6, results were low compared to all schools and below average when compared to those with children from similar backgrounds. The trend in improvement over the past five years is slower than that found in most schools. The gap between the achievements of boys and girls is greater than that found nationally at both the infant and junior stages. The reasons for this have not yet been analysed nor has sufficient action

p.29

Commentary

been taken to correct it. Work for children with special educational needs or English as an additional language is not always matched to their needs. Some do not sit the tests because of poor literacy skills.

p.29

Commentary

73. There is considerable movement of children both in and out of the school during term time. They arrive at short notice, often form other countries and have little understanding of basic mathematics or English. Ways of assessing these children quickly to enable work to be matched specifically to their needs have not been developed yet. This has an adverse effect on the standards the school obtains in Years 2 and 6.

p.29

Commentary

74. The quality of teaching in the lessons observed was satisfactory and occasionally good. The best lessons were taken at a good pace and work was matched to children’s different levels of ability. In the juniors, children are taught in sets according to their ability. Children were seen to be enthusiastically involved in practical activities that made learning more meaningful for them. Resources such as calculators and small white boards were used to good effect to provide opportunities for children to try out their ideas.

p.29

Commentary

75. There are several aspects of teaching that have been unsatisfactory over time, which make teaching unsatisfactory overall. Regular assessment of children’s progress is weak with the result that it is difficult to set meaningful individual targets from one year to another. The standard of presentation is inconsistent. Work seen was scrappy, poorly written and contained many crossings out. Sums were not written out clearly so children find it hard to work accurately. Teachers’ marking is not informative enough to help children understand how they can improve. There are also few checks on whether children have marked their own work correctly. Too many undated and poor quality worksheets are used in the infants. This makes it difficult for teachers to track individual progress or for children to see the links between one piece of work and another. Procedures to assess the progress children make are poor and record keeping is at an early stage.

p.29

Commentary

It is only recently that National Curriculum levels for each child have been recorded so that gains made from one term to another can be checked. However, not all the information has been Bush Hill Park Primary School 30 completed satisfactorily so it is difficult for teachers to see whether children are achieving well enough.

p.29

Commentary

76. When practical mathematics is taught, classes are enthusiastic. Children enjoy having equipment to hand and finding things out for themselves. For instance, in Year 6 children used calculators correctly to find percentages of whole numbers, for example, 80% of 115 then, more challenging, 1% of the same number. Those in the lower sets are given additional support from classroom assistants to complete their work. Often equipment, such as an overhead projector, is used effectively as a visual aid in whole class presentations.

p.30

Commentary

77. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory. The subject leader is too newly appointed to have made an impact on raising standards. A more rigorous approach is needed to improve overall provision. There are too few formal lesson observations to check on the quality of teaching and learning for all children and especially whether the needs of particular groups are met. Similarly there are no effective assessment procedures to track children’s progress and raise standards.

p.30

Mathematics across the curriculum

78. Mathematics are not often used in other subjects to make learning really meaningful. There is evidence of data handling in science that involves measuring body parts in centimetres or in hand or foot spans. Children have collected data on their favourite foods and used computer graphics to make a bar chart. Generally, very little use is made of information and communication technology in mathematics. This was the case at the time of the last inspection.

p.30

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards of attainment are very low for children in Year 2 and Year 6. • Children’s achievement is poor because the quality of teaching and learning are poor. • Systems for assessment are rudimentary. Data is not used to set targets to show children how they can improve. • The needs of children with English as an additional language or special educational needs are not adequately met in lessons. • The new enthusiastic subject leader has made a positive start in the role, but as yet has had little impact on raising standards. • Information and communication technology is not used sufficiently to raise standards. • Work is poorly presented in children’s books reflecting low expectations of what children know and can do.

p.30

Commentary

79. Standards have fallen since the time of the previous inspection when they were broadly in line with those nationally for children in Year 6. In 2004, test results for children in Year 6 were below average when compared with all schools nationally and those with children from similar backgrounds. Inspection evidence shows that standards for children currently in Year 2 and Year 6 are well below those expected for children of a similar age.

p.30

Commentary

80. Overall achievement, including that of children with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language, is poor. Children make better progress when teachers have high expectations of what they can do. For example, in Year 1, children have planted seeds and are making careful observational drawings of plant growth for their diaries. This is helping them to acquire knowledge and understanding from real experiences. Achievement is hampered in some lessons by a lack of challenge in the tasks set so children are consequently not enthused to learn. In addition, the behaviour of some children distracts others from their learning. Also, teachers do Bush Hill Park Primary School 31 not take into account the language needs of those children who are at an early stage of learning English.

p.30

Commentary

81. Too much of the science curriculum is taught through the use of poor quality worksheets that hold back the development of children’s thinking skills. In Year 6, some children have made books to illustrate the parts of a plant and their functions. The content reflects low standards of attainment but is generally presented well as teachers insist on children taking some pride in the presentation of their work. In contrast, much of the work in children’s books in the rest of the school is very poorly presented and sometimes incomplete. In some classes, the work shows a marked deterioration in standards of writing and drawing from the beginning of the school year. This indicates that there is no agreed expectation for consistent high standards in all classes.

p.31

Commentary

82. Taking all the evidence into account, teaching is poor across the school, although some examples of good teaching were observed in Years 4 and 6. In the better lessons, children were engaged by enthusiastic teaching and presented with a variety of tasks to suit different learning styles. Practical work was supported by good questioning to find out what children already knew. Children were encouraged to hypothesise and make informed predictions of results of experiments. Teachers had high expectations, for behaviour, presentation and work rate. Where the teaching was poor, too much time was taken up by adults talking and the expectations of what children can do were too low. Activities planned are not always appropriate to the children’s experience, cultural background or educational needs.

p.31

Commentary

83. Teachers’ planning is poor. The needs of children with English as an additional language, or with special educational needs are not planned for consistently in all classes. Previous work shows that throughout the school a lack of investigative work limits children’s opportunity to make hypotheses, investigate and work independently. Worksheets that do not meet the needs of different groups of children are used too often. In addition, some provide an extremely poor model for standards of presentation as they are scruffy and badly written. Teachers’ marking is unsatisfactory. Comments and marks are very often scrawled across children’s efforts without heed to the standards of presentation required for good work. Marking does not show children how well they are doing or what they need to do to improve.

p.31

Commentary

84. Resources are unsatisfactory, despite the subject leader’s efforts to buy new resources. Finances have been restricted. In consequence many books are tattered and out of date. There are insufficient resources to allow children to participate fully in practical activities across the whole subject range. The resources held centrally are organised poorly and are not easily accessible. Too little use is made of information and communication technology to raise standards, although good use is made of visits and visitors to enrich children’s experience.

p.31

Commentary

85. Leadership and management is now satisfactory. The new, enthusiastic subject leader has made a promising start and shows potential. She has already had some impact on the work of the school with the ‘Secret Garden’ project, to provide a learning resource in the school grounds and the introduction of the new science club. The subject leader is knowledgeable, has had recent training and has given positive support to colleagues. There has been some monitoring of teaching and learning, but this has not yet had sufficient impact on standards. A system for assessment has been introduced, but it is not applied consistently across the school. Assessment is not used effectively to monitor children’s progress to set individual targets or to identify strengths and weaknesses in teaching and learning. The science action plan for development shows appropriate targets for improvement, but does not make the link between the uses of assessment data and

p.31

Commentary

tasks so as to raise standards. However, over time, the leadership and management have not impacted standards and new initiatives are not developed quickly enough. Bush Hill Park Primary School 32

p.31

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Provision in information communication technology is satisfactory.

p.32

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards in Year 2 are within expected levels. • The information and communication technology suite is a very good resource and is helping to raise achievement. • In the junior stage, achievement is slower than it should be so that standards are below those normally expected in Year 6. • Assessment and strategic planning lack rigour. • The subject leader is new to the school but has a clear view of the developments required to bring about further improvement.

p.32

Commentary

86. The school has made satisfactory progress in raising standards in the infant stage since the last inspection. The provision of a very good computer suite and skilled learning support assistant as well as training for teachers have assisted in raising standards, especially among the younger children. However, achievement is slower in the junior stage. This is due in part to the high number of children whose experience of education is varied and who leave or join the school at other than the usual times. Teachers’ confidence and subject knowledge have grown, but they are inconsistent across the school. Lunchtime clubs, led by the learning support assistant, are attended well and contribute to improved achievement for the children who attend.

p.32

Commentary

87. During the inspection, children were able to use different computer programmes to create an imaginary garden, draw pictures, make a ‘branching’ data base to organise and divide a category of objects into groups, and use the Internet to find a programme to make a graph. Most were able to log on to their computer individually and save their work. Some used the digital camera confidently. For example, one child acting as a reporter for the school newspaper, preparing an article about the school council took photographs to illustrate the item. At the present time, children do not use e-mail to communicate with others.

p.32

Commentary

88. Most of the lessons observed during the inspection were taught well in the infants and satisfactorily in the juniors. The quality of teaching was enhanced when the teaching assistant and teacher worked together well in promoting specific skills, enabling children to apply them quickly. In all lessons seen, the learning objective was shared with the children, referred to during the lesson and reviewed at the end. This helped children to be very clear about what they were learning and gave them a view of what they had achieved. The lessons where the pace was brisk, yet included time to try out new skills, added to children’s knowledge and achievement. To help them understand new vocabulary, teachers showed them pictures of the appropriate computer icon accompanied by the written word. This gave children the confidence to work independently. However, on occasion, some children at an early stage of learning English were held back as there

p.32

Commentary

was insufficient dual language support to help them acquire the appropriate vocabulary.

p.32

Commentary

89. Good management of children’s behaviour and effective deployment of the teaching assistant and parental help means there is a productive learning atmosphere. The information and communication technology suite contains sufficient computers for each child to work independently. This also contributes to children’s good behaviour and attitudes to learning as they can try out their ideas without waiting for their turn. Children help each other if they get stuck. In discussion, they were happy to talk about their work and explained what they liked to do on their computers at home. Some children said they did not own one, but used the internet at the local library.

p.32

Commentary

90. Assessment procedures are at a very early stage of development and are not linked to National Curriculum levels. This makes it difficult for teachers, especially in the juniors, to identify and build on what children know and can do. The subject leader has been in post for only three Bush Hill Park Primary School 33 weeks and has had little time to develop the role and so impact standards. However, she has audited provision and identified assessment procedures as a priority for development, along with greater use of the subject across the curriculum. The subject features in the school development plan as a key priority for development, but the objectives are not sharp enough. They do not identify the action to be taken, the time scale involved, the financial resources needed or how developments will improve provision and raise standards.

p.32

Commentary

91. The information and computer technology suite and learning support assistant are very good resources, but access to computers at other than the designated time is variable. A number of laptop computers, available on a trolley, are used by the year groups housed on the upper floor of the junior building. Additional time is allocated for other classes to spend in the computer suite. There is some limited provision of computers in classrooms, but these were not seen to be used during the inspection.

p.33

Information communication technology across the curriculum

92. Information and communication technology is hardly used across the curriculum to raise standards, although some staff have used it to aid children’s understanding in religious education. In discussion, some children mentioned using the internet to do further research on class topics, for example to find out more about the Ancient Egyptians. However, there were very few examples of information and communication technology in children’s previous work.

p.33

HUMANITIES

93. No lessons were seen in geography or history during the inspection. Children’s work, in books and on display, lesson plans and informal discussions with staff form the evidence base. It is not possible to judge provision and standards in these subjects.

p.33

HUMANITIES

94. In geography, some displays of good collaborative work, particularly in Year 1, that enabled children to learn more about their local area were observed. Children had watched the traffic flow outside the school and recorded the different types of transport passing by. They painted large road maps, with the school in the centre that included traffic calming measures, central islands, yellow lines and road safety captions, emphasising the need for safety in the local area.

p.33

HUMANITIES

95. In Year 2, the curriculum enables children to make comparisons of their locality with studies of the Isle of Struay in Scotland and Tocuaro in Mexico. In their work, they recorded the physical and human differences on a chart, although some do not have the writing skills or imagination required to complete this well. Children are beginning to develop an understanding about other countries and continents by looking at globes to find places of interest.

p.33

HUMANITIES

96. There is less work at Year 6 as insufficient time has been given to the subject. In the work seen, a topic about China, children have focused on the physical, human and environmental impact of dam building on the River Yangtze. They have debated the pros and cons of the scheme and the impact the dam will have on the lives of Chinese people, particularly farmers. In a drama lesson, children took on the roles of people affected by this to give them more understanding.

p.33

HUMANITIES

97. In history, visits are used appropriately to enrich the curriculum. For example, children in Year 1 have visited Bethnal Green Toy Museum to understand the differences between childhood now and in the past. In one class, their writing about the visit is of real interest and makes a good contribution to a lively display about toys. However, this is not consistent across the infant stage. In Year 2, children use different sources of evidence, photographs and models to draw good pictures of Tudor houses. The final result, portraying the Great Fire of London, forms a colourful background to a class display to remind children about what they have learned.

p.33

HUMANITIES

98. In Year 6 children’s understanding of life in Victorian times, such as working in a coalmine, is depicted in a large picture, made up of contributions by a number of children. Other knowledge and understanding has been recorded through artwork rather than writing. Children have completed pencil drawings of their own Victorian school and compared them with photographs of the time with Bush Hill Park Primary School 34 their schooling today. Resources, especially the range of artefacts, are limited and many of the children’s information books are out of date and scruffy.

p.33

HUMANITIES

Provision in religious education is satisfactory.

p.34

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Despite the changes in the composition of the school’s intake of children since the last inspection, standards have been maintained. • Most children come from an active faith background, bringing knowledge, interest and respect to the work. • There are some examples of good and very good teaching in the junior classes, but this is not consistent.

p.34

Main strengths and weaknesses

99. Standards at the end of Years 2 and 6 are still in line with the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus, as they were at the time of the last inspection. In the few lessons observed, children generally achieved well. The syllabus requires children to learn about world faiths and to deepen their awareness of how religious spiritual values influence our daily lives. Children in the infants have learned about the rituals associated with important religious festivals, including Hanukkah and Eid. They know how important the notion of “family” is in these festivals. They have heard the Easter and Christmas stories and realise why Christians attach so much significance to them. Junior children have learned a lot more about world religions. They know the main festivals of the Jewish year and how Jewish families celebrate Shabbat. They have learned about the life and teaching of Buddha. They understand the importance of sacred texts in different religions,

p.34

Main strengths and weaknesses

including the Torah, the Qu’ran and the Bible. Children’s learning is enriched by the experience of the religious faith they bring from home and share with one another. Discussions and observations in lessons showed that children know far more than their recorded work suggests.

p.34

Main strengths and weaknesses

100. Learning about religions has progressed faster than learning about the impact of religious values on ordinary lives, although the older children have given considerable thought to the nature of rules, to where our notions of right wrong come from. Children discuss the issues that arise seriously and respectfully. However, written work is often of a poor quality. Writing is brief and untidy, giving little insight into what has been learned.

p.34

Main strengths and weaknesses

101. In the few lessons observed, teaching was mostly good and in one case very good. Work was set at a level to challenge the children’s thinking and was taught with a lively enthusiasm by staff with considerable expertise in the subject. They varied their approaches well, making very good use of stories, posters, photographs, internet research and religious artefacts to bring the issues to life. The children’s interest was captured and they concentrated well on the work in hand. Very good questioning by the teachers made them think hard and answer in detail. This gave an additional welcome thrust to their language learning. A Year 6 discussion about where we might look to find authority for judgements of right and wrong, showed how perceptive and maturely thoughtful the children can be when taught well. This is not consistent throughout the school as the scrutiny of children’s books indicates limited recording of learning in religious education.

p.34

Main strengths and weaknesses

102. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory overall. There are important strengths to be noted. The subject leader brings enthusiasm and specialist knowledge to her work. She ensures staff have access to suitable equipment, artefacts and books for their lessons and is extending the school’s use of local religious contacts, for visits to places of worship. However, the school’s arrangements for checking the quality of teaching and children’s learning over time are not systematic. As a result, the subject leader lacks the information that would allow her to be most effective.

p.34

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Bush Hill Park Primary School 35 103. One lesson was seen in each of art and design, music and physical education. None were seen in design and technology. It is not possible to judge provision and overall standards in these subjects. Scrutiny of children’s previous work and discussions with subject leaders added to the evidence.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

104. At the time of the last inspection, children were attaining satisfactory standards in most aspects of art and design, although provision for three dimensional work and textiles was unsatisfactory. There have been some improvements in the quality of children’s work in Years 1, 5 and 6 because of teachers’ good subject knowledge, but this is not consistent across the school.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

105. One good lesson was seen in Year 6, where the class teacher was teaching children about observational drawing using charcoal and white chalk. She had prepared some charcoal drawings herself to demonstrate the various techniques children were to learn. The children were then directed to drawing an alstroemaria lily on a large piece of paper. The task was linked well to an earlier science lesson where children had dissected a lily to identify the different parts of a flower. The children had, therefore, already studied the flowers before drawing them. This enabled them to produce very accurate drawings. At the end of the lesson, one child commented, “I never knew I was so good at drawing”, illustrating a real sense of achievement.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

106. A wide range of displays around the school illustrate some good examples of three dimensional work. For example, in Year 1 natural man-made materials were used to build dramatic collages, linking science with art. Clay sculptures of animals were also made and decorated carefully. In Year 6, hats illustrate creative ideas and close attention to detail. The work of famous artists, including Picasso and Munch, has been used to motivate children to work to a good standard in the style of these artists. In addition, artwork is frequently used to complement learning in other subjects, especially history. For example, children in Year 2 used a combination of paint and collage to illustrate their learning about The Great Fire of London. Careful drawings, based on life in Ancient Greece, were observed in Year 5. However, some of the work seen in other classes was messy and untidy, revealing low expectations and lack of care.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

107. The subject leader has ambitious plans for raising standards in art and design across the school but is hindered by lack of funding to improve the unsatisfactory resources. Opportunities to influence standards in other year groups are limited.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

108. Design and technology does not receive enough time. A few examples of work completed in the past year were on display but generally the profile of the subject within the curriculum is low.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

109. Music provision is improving across the school. A new scheme has been purchased to help teachers who do not have expertise in the subject and this helps to promote continuity in learning. A range of musical instruments has also been purchased to use with the new curriculum. In a Year 1 lesson, the teacher used the music CD from the scheme effectively to teach the children new songs, to play untuned percussion instruments and learn about the concept of dynamics. However, on another occasion in the juniors, poor behaviour management skills led to disruption in learning.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

110. Music does not have a high priority in the school. Few children are learning to play a musical instrument and, while the choir is lively and ambitious, only eight pupils from Years 5 and 6 attended during the inspection. Visitors, such as, African drummers and Bollywood dancers, have extended the children’s musical and cultural experiences in Year 6. In addition, children have explored the history and culture of the Blues. A whole school musical production, based on “Alice in Wonderland”, is planned for the second half of the summer term to entertain parents. However, the extensive time given to literacy means creative subjects do not receive the recommended amount of time. The subject leader is new to her role, but has already begun working with the local authority to raise standards in music. 111. Timetables indicate that time allocated to physical education is below the recommended two hours per week. Swimming is taught in Year 5 and most children swim the required 25metres

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

before they leave the school. All elements of the curriculum are taught and the school takes part in Bush Hill Park Primary School 36 inter-school sports’ leagues, competitions and gymnastics events. Children also take part in the Borough dance festival, performing in a local theatre. There is a range of after-school sports clubs, including football, gymnastics and racquet club that children enjoy, developing their physical skills appropriately.

p.35

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

112. During the inspection, most of the physical education lessons were led by a visitor who developed children’s coordination effectively through circus skills. However, expectations of teaching staff responsible for the children’s participation in these activities were low as they did not give enough attention to important aspects of healthy exercise. The children were not required to change their clothing. They became very hot with the vigorous exercise and were not made aware of what was happening to their bodies. Footwear was also inappropriate. However, the children really enjoyed learning how to spin plates, throwing and catching a diablo, and balancing on pedals, pogo sticks and stilts.

p.36

PERSONAL, SOCIAL HEALTH EDUCATION CITIZENSHIP

113. The school has developed a thorough programme for developing knowledge, skills and understanding in personal, social health education and citizenship. However, the school’s allocation of time to subjects such as English and mathematics leaves little time for its full implementation. Often, lessons in this area of the curriculum are left to the end of the school day so the programme does not always receive the attention it should. Bush Hill Park Primary School 37

p.36

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 6 How inclusive the school is 5 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 7 Value for money provided by the school 6

p.37

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 7 Pupils’ achievement 6

p.37

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 4 Attendance 6 Attitudes 4 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 4 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The quality of education provided by the school 6 The quality of teaching 6 How well pupils learn 6 The quality of assessment 6 How well the curriculum meets pupils needs 5 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 3 Accommodation and resources 4 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 3 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 4 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 3 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 4 The quality of the school’s links with the community 4 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The leadership and management of the school 6 The governance of the school 5 The leadership of the headteacher 6 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 6

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); poor (6); very poor (7).

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