Malorees Primary School

Inspection Report Malorees Infant School

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101507 Unique Reference Number Brent LEA LEA 276526 Inspection number 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 Inspection dates Keith Williams AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Christchurch Avenue School address Infant Type of school London Community School category NW6 7PB 3 to 7 Age range of pupils 02084593038 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02084593038 Fax number 216 Number on roll Ms R Heath Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms S Davies Headteacher 8 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276526 20 June 2006 - 3 to 7 21 June 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Malorees is a smaller than average infant school with a Nursery. About a third of the pupils are from White backgrounds. The remainder are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, with no particular group predominating. About a half of the pupils speak English as an additional language; almost a fifth are at the early stages of learning the language. A higher than average proportion of pupils has been identified with learning difficulties, one of whom has a statement of special educational need. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. The school has the Healthy Schools, Artsmark and Quality Basic Skills awards.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Malorees Infant School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school that it provides a good standard of education and gives good value for money. It has some outstanding features, including its broad, interesting and exciting curriculum and the high levels of care and support given to pupils. Pupils' attainment when they join the school covers a very wide range but, overall, it is about average. They achieve well, regardless of gender, background or ability. Good provision in the Foundation Stage means that children get off to a good start and most reach the goals expected of them by the end of Reception. They are well prepared for Years 1 and 2, where they continue to make good progress and achieve above average standards. This good achievement is a direct result of good teaching, the pupils' positive attitudes and their excellent behaviour. The school ensures that pupils of all abilities and backgrounds are able to play a full part in school life and achieve their potential. Very

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Grade: 2

thorough assessments ensure that work is well matched to their differing needs. Pupils are well aware of their personal targets, but do not always understand how they might improve their work. This is because, as the school has recognised, there are inconsistencies in the way that pupils' work is marked. Most parents strongly agree that their children enjoy the excellent range of opportunities provided for them but, despite this, attendance rates, although rising, remain just below the national average. The school is well led and managed. Excellent leadership from the head and deputy, very well supported by staff and governors, has ensured that standards have risen since the last inspection and weaknesses have been dealt with. Given this track record, the school has good capacity to secure further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the pupils' rate of attendance. • Ensure that pupils have a clear understanding of how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 2

Pupils join the school with a very wide range of skills but, overall, their starting points are about average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or those capable of reaching the higher levels varies from year-to-year. In addition, many pupils are at an early stage of learning English when they first start school. A strong emphasis on identifying and meeting the pupils' differing needs means that pupils of all backgrounds and abilities achieve well to reach above average standards. This is reflected in the national test results which have improved since the time of the last inspection and, in recent years, have been consistently above average, sometimes significantly so. A good proportion of the pupils reach the higher levels. Challenging targets are set, 2 Inspection Report: Malorees Infant School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 usually met and sometimes exceeded. Standards have risen because weaknesses, such

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Grade: 2

as that found in reading in the last inspection, have been tackled successfully. Improved teaching, planning and support in the Nursery mean that these youngest children now achieve well and, by the end of Reception, most reach and some exceed the goals expected of them. Across the school, every opportunity is taken to develop speaking and listening so that pupils at the early stages of learning English soon gain confidence and achieve as well as their classmates. Those with learning difficulties make good progress towards their particular targets because of the very good support they receive, both in and out of lessons.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Some aspects, including their spiritual, moral, social and culture development, are outstanding. Consequently, pupils are confident, articulate and work and play very well together. They show a clear regard for each other's views and feelings and have a very good awareness of cultures other than their own. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. 'This is a great school where everyone is friendly', was a common refrain heard during the inspection. Parents are very supportive, appreciate what the school achieves and say that their children enjoy school. Attendance rates are rising but they remain just below average. This is despite the introduction of new procedures for monitoring absence, and the school stressing to parents the importance of sending their children to school regularly. Pupils willingly accept responsibility, raise funds for charity and, through the school council, voice

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Grade: 2

their views and opinions. They have a very clear understanding of how to stay safe, healthy and fit and are well prepared for their future economic well-being. Pupils have positive attitudes, exercise initiative, are able to concentrate for extended periods of time and are keen to find things out for themselves.

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Grade: 2

Consistently good teaching has a positive impact on the pupils' learning, progress and the standards they reach. Improved teaching in the Nursery means that children now make a good start to their education and achieve well. Teachers plan interesting and challenging lessons. Typically, lessons are well organised, calm and purposeful. Very effective teamwork between teachers and support staff means that those with particular needs get the extra help or harder work that they need. Pupils appreciate this, particularly the adults' patience when they find work difficult. 'We learn a lot' and 'the teachers are quite calm and happy' are just two of the many positive comments from pupils. As a result, pupils work hard and are eager to learn. 3 Inspection Report: Malorees Infant School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 All staff have high expectations of the pupils' capabilities and how they should behave. Pupils generally have a good understanding of their personal targets but are not always

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Grade: 2

sure about how they should improve their work. The school has rightly identified the need to gain greater consistency in its approach to marking pupils' work.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding and is enriched by an excellent range of activities. Very good provision for literacy and numeracy has contributed to the rising standards. The Foundation Stage curriculum now covers all of the required areas. Pupils in all year groups benefit enormously from the very well structured and effective use made of the exciting outdoor learning areas. Pupils value and respect 'The Orchard' which provides magical areas to stimulate their imagination and offers first hand experience of wildlife and trees. As a parent remarked, 'the grounds are unique and 'The Orchard' is a fantastic place for children to learn about nature'. Very good use is made of community resources, visiting speakers and workshops to extend the curriculum. Personal, social and health education lessons develop pupils' awareness and understanding about how to be responsible citizens and respectful of other faiths and

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Grade: 1

cultures. The rich range of additional activities promotes pupils' physical and creative development, extends their interests and increases their eagerness to learn. For example, the recent 'arts week' has resulted in displays of high quality artwork.

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Grade: 1

The school provides outstanding care, guidance and support. All adults are committed to pupils' welfare and to helping them develop into confident young people. Support staff play a major role in ensuring they are happy and have someone, as well as their teacher, with whom they can talk if they have a problem. The school works closely with a range of external agencies to safeguard pupils' welfare. Rigorous risk assessments, particularly for out-of-school visits, show a strong commitment to pupils' safety. Child protection procedures are well established and secure. Healthy lunchtime menus are popular and pupils' health is also promoted by the excellent refurbished playground. The school has very good systems for tracking pupils' progress and they are used very well to identify those needing additional support. A very close check is kept on the performance of different groups of pupils and any areas of potential underachievement

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Grade: 1

are tackled systematically and successfully. Pupils who have difficulty learning, or are at an early stage of learning English, are very well supported by staff.

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Grade: 2

Overall, leadership and management are good. The headteacher and deputy provide excellent leadership that is focused determinedly on raising standards and providing 4 Inspection Report: Malorees Infant School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 pupils with an exciting, challenging and supportive environment. They are highly successful in ensuring that all pupils, regardless of ability or background, are fully included in school life and able to fulfil their potential. Governors and staff, including other members of the senior leadership team, provide very strong support. There is a very clear emphasis on teamwork and a widespread understanding of how each individual contributes to sustaining continued improvement. Consequently, pupils achieve well, standards have risen since the last inspection and the school leaders have good capacity to secure further improvement. In its drive for continued improvement,

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Grade: 2

the school has rightly recognised the need to improve the pupils' rate of attendance. Procedures for checking on teaching and learning are well established. This information, together with a detailed analysis of test results and other assessments, information gathered from governors' visits and consultation with parents and pupils, means that the school leaders have a clear view of what is working well and what needs to improve. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive: one wrote, 'Malorees Infants is a happy and exciting place to learn,' while another commented, 'As parents, we've always felt thoroughly included in school life.' Weaknesses are identified and tackled thoroughly. For example, Nursery provision has improved due, in no small part, to the excellent leadership of the Foundation Stage coordinator, in collaboration with a strong Foundation Stage team. 5 Inspection Report: Malorees Infant School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Malorees Infant School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners µ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Pupils I am writing to thank you for the very friendly way that you welcomed us to your school and to tell you about what we found out. We enjoyed talking to you and what you told us has given us a lot of helpful information.Many of you told us how much you enjoy school and how well you think you are doing. We agree with you, your parents and teachers that yours is a good school and you are right to be proud of it. Your headteacher and staff work very hard to make your school an exciting place to be and to make sure that you are safe, happy and able to do your best. Your behaviour in lessons is excellent. This means that your teachers are able to teach you lots of new things. You are learning well and your work is much better than the last time inspectors visited, particularly your reading. The children in the Nursery are also doing much better. Your work from ´arts weekµ is much better than we see in many schools. We are pleased that you know your targets

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and we have asked your teachers to make sure that you know how you can improve your work, so that you can continue to get better.Your behaviour is just as good out on the playground and we saw how much you enjoy using the exciting equipment. The Orchard is delightful. You told us how friendly other children are. This has helped those of you who are new to the school, and those of you who are just starting to learn English, to settle quickly and do well. Although many of you told us how much you enjoy school, some of you need to come to school more often and we have asked your teachers to work with your parents to make sure this happens. We know that you will continue to work hard and we are sure that you will help your teachers to make your school even better. We enjoyed being in your school and wish you good luck for the future. Yours sincerely, Keith Williams Lead Inspector

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