Lathom Junior School

102728 Unique Reference Number Newham LEA LEA 276759 Inspection number 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005 Inspection dates Lyn Riley AI Reporting inspector

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

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Lathom Road School address Junior Type of school East Ham Community School category London E6 2DU 7 to 11 Age range of pupils 020 8472 0386 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8470 1937 Fax number 454 Number on roll Mrs V. Malik Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs J. Tritton Headteacher 9 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276759 29 November 2005 - 7 to 11 30 November 2005 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 three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Lathom is a large junior school in East Ham, in the London Borough of Newham. The school provides for boys and girls from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Over three-quarters of pupils are of Asian heritage and over 30 languages are spoken in the school. The percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL) is very high at over 90 per cent. Around a quarter of pupils are asylum seekers or refugees. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is above the national average. The number of children who join or leave the school mid-term is high.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Lathom Junior School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005

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Grade: 2

The inspection team and the school agree that Lathom Junior School provides a good standard of education for its pupils and provides good value for money. The only aspect where inspectors disagreed with the school's judgement was on Care, Guidance and Support where inspectors felt the school had been modest in its assessment of good and judged the school's work in this area to be outstanding. There have been significant improvements since the last inspection with all key issues being successfully addressed. Pupils' attainment on entry is below national expectations and pupils make good progress in all subjects to achieve standards in line with national averages by the time they leave the school.Teaching and learning are good overall with some outstanding features. Lessons are well planned, organised and structured to ensure that pupils make good progress and achieve well, though higher attaining pupils do

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Grade: 2

not always reach higher levels in tests in English. Pupils' behaviour and attitudes in lessons are very good and teachers have high expectations of pupils' work and behaviour, enabling them to learn well. Pupils are cared for very well, and all of them, including the most vulnerable, feel safe and secure in the school. The curriculum is enhanced by a good range of additional activities and covers all subjects well. The leadership and management of the school are good with some outstanding features. The very experienced headteacher provides purposeful leadership and clear direction for the school and is very ably supported by the deputy head and the senior management team. The governing body fulfil their statutory responsibilities well and provide good support and challenge for the school. The school's capacity to improve is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Continue to focus on raising the standards of higher attaining pupils, particularly in English.

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Grade: 2

Inspection findings confirm the school's judgements that pupils achieve well and make good progress. Pupils enter the school with standards that are below the national average. They make good progress across the school and attain standards in line with the national average by the end of Year 6.The school experienced a dip in mathematics results in 2004. The reasons behind this were carefully analysed and successfully addressed. The results attained in mathematics and science in 2005 were above the national average and results in English were in line. Pupils' knowledge and skills in information and communication technology are in line with the levels expected for their age.The school has very effective systems for tracking pupils' progress and identifying where additional support and teaching programmes will have the most benefit. Pupils with learning difficulties, and those at an early stage of learning English

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Grade: 2

as an additional language, are very well supported by skilful, often bilingual, teaching 2 Inspection Report: Lathom Junior School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005 assistants and make good progress. Higher attaining pupils reach high standards in mathematics and science but as a large number are still acquiring English language skills they do not consistently attain the higher levels in English.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good with some outstanding features. The pupils enjoy coming to school and are happy in lessons. Relationships with other children and with adults are very positive. The pupils play happily together in the limited space available and their behaviour is consistently good both in lessons and at play. Attendance is good and the school has a good range of strategies to ensure that figures are consistently above the national average.The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Their moral and social development is excellent, enabling pupils to use their very strong social skills and clear appreciation of right and wrong. The school also provides well to ensure that the pupils' cultural development is good. There are good arrangements to promote the arts and sports and the school is particularly successful in ensuring that the cultural diversity of the

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Grade: 2

many ethnic groups present in the school is recognised, promoted and celebrated. The school promotes the pupils' health and safety very well and has achieved the Healthy Schools award. The good range of after school activities, promoting physical activity, are well supported. The pupils are wholehearted in confirming that they feel very secure at school.

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Grade: 2

The school considers teaching and learning to be good with some outstanding features and inspectors agree. The school's monitoring of teaching and learning is very effective. This has helped to ensure that teaching is consistently good across the school. Teachers use a good variety of strategies and resources to ensure that pupils enjoy their lessons and achieve well. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and pupils respond very positively, resulting in very good behaviour in lessons. In the very best lessons, pace is good, activities are constantly interesting and engaging, and work is suitably challenging for all pupils. In a philosophy lesson in Year 6 relationships between pupils and teachers were consistently good, pupils listened attentively and responded in a mature and thoughtful manner when offering their answers, ideas and opinions. The high quality displays in classrooms and around the school celebrate pupils'

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Grade: 2

achievements. Pupils' work is carefully marked, in accordance with the school's marking policy, and gives pupils good guidance for improvement. 3 Inspection Report: Lathom Junior School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005

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Grade: 2

The school's curriculum and other activities are good with some outstanding features, such as the support for learners with difficulties and disabilities. The individual needs of pupils are being increasingly well met through the school's new approach to curriculum planning. In mathematics, science and English, work that matches the ages and abilities of all pupils is planned well, though higher attaining pupils do not always reach the higher levels in English tests. The curriculum is made interesting and exciting for pupils through a wide range of activities, including multi-cultural dance and music sessions, dedicated art lessons, visits from poets and theatre groups, and many other exciting projects. The school has recently introduced Philosophy lessons and these are effectively broadening pupils thinking and communication skills. There is a good range of after-school sports clubs and pupils enjoy a wide range of visits to museums

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Grade: 2

and places of interest. The school organises two residential visits per year. These all contribute well to pupils' development and to the positive environment in the school.

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Grade: 1

The care, guidance and support provided by the school are outstanding. Excellent relationships and the attention paid to pupils' welfare contribute significantly to the school's caring ethos and to pupils' enjoyment of school. Pupils enjoy a good range of curriculum activities which enable them to develop a good understanding about how to be safe and make healthy choices in life. There is a school council through which pupils' views are actively sought, for example, in the development of the anti-bullying policy. The school ensures that any concerns raised by the pupils are met. For example, pupils have been involved in purchasing games to make the playground fun at lunchtime when older pupils enjoy taking responsibility for younger pupils and act as 'play leaders'. Child protection arrangements are very effective. The arrangements for the guidance of pupils are excellent. Pupils' progress is carefully

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Grade: 1

tracked and targets for improvement are set, enabling pupils to make good progress. Pupils have a clear understanding of their targets and what they need to do to improve their work. The arrangements for the identification, support and guidance for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are exemplary, which helps them to make good progress and achieve well.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good and contribute significantly to the good achievement in the school. The very experienced headteacher provides an excellent role model and successfully promotes effective teamwork amongst her staff, ensuring consistency in the quality of education provided. Senior managers carefully monitor their areas of responsibility and take appropriate action to address any areas of concern. The monitoring of planning, together with lesson observations, helps to ensure that 4 Inspection Report: Lathom Junior School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005 all pupils have equal access to the curriculum and achieve well. Monitoring outcomes are shared with teachers and emerging patterns influence staff training and performance management. The whole-school performance development target is very effective in focusing the attention of all staff on one particular issue, such as effective EAL

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Grade: 2

teaching, and has a positive effect on standards. The monitoring of the whole-school performance is rigorous and the school's self evaluation is good. Parents', carers' and pupils' views are sought and acted upon. Parental support for the school is overwhelming and almost all parents feel that the school is caring and approachable. Governors give good support and ensure that all statutory requirements are met even though the retention and recruitment of governors is not easy. The governor's policy to allocate substantial funding to in-class support has paid dividends in raising standards. The higher standards attained in mathematics is one area of improvement that reflects a good capacity to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Lathom Junior School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005 .

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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: Lathom Junior School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005

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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 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA 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 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 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 1 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 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’ 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

Thank you for welcoming us into your school. We enjoyed spending time in your school and would like to thank you for taking time to talk to us in lessons, in the dining room and in the playground. We would especially like to thank the School Council for their very helpful contribution to the inspection. We were very pleased to hear how much you enjoy your learning and we were impressed by your attendance records. Keep up the good work!Our inspection found that Lathom Juniors is a good school with some outstanding features. We think your headteacher is very good at her job and that all the teachers work hard to make sure you learn well. We were very impressed by your very good behaviour and your positive attitudes. We think your school does an outstanding job in caring for you and guiding your learning.The very good relationships you have with each other, and your positive attitudes towards learning, help you all to do well and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to achieve good standards in English, mathematics and science by the time you leave the school. Our job as inspectors is to help schools to get even better and we have asked your school to work on helping more of you to reach the higher levels in English by the end of Year 6 and to make sure that your work, in all subjects, is as well matched to your own level of ability as your work is in English, mathematics and science.

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