Oakhill Primary School

Inspection Report Oakhill Primary School

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103069 Unique Reference Number Waltham Forest LEA LEA 276829 Inspection number 10 July 2006 to 11 July 2006 Inspection dates Andrew Howe AI Reporting inspector

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

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Alders Avenue School address Primary Type of school Woodford Green Community School category IG8 9PY 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 02085273309 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02085233854 Fax number 233 Number on roll Ms Debbie Strowbridge Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Opal Brown Headteacher 3 April 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276829 10 July 2006 - 3 to 11 11 July 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

Oakhill Primary School serves a suburban area of north-east London. It is of average size. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is average. About a third of pupils come from minority ethnic groups which is higher than average and increasing, but no single group predominates. An above average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language, but very few are at the early stages of learning English. About a fifth of pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities, which is broadly average. The school has Investors in People status and has achieved a Healthy School award. The school has had difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers since the last inspection.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Oakhill Primary School, 10 July 2006 to 11 July 2006

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Grade: 3

Oakhill Primary School rates its effectiveness as good. However, inspection evidence indicates it is a satisfactory school that is improving and has some important strengths. One parent told inspectors, 'No stone has been left unturned in an effort to improve the school'. The school provides satisfactory value for money. Children make a good start to school in the Nursery and achieve well in their personal, social and emotional development. Standards and quality in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory overall. Pupils continue to behave well, enjoy school and have positive attitudes to learning throughout the school. The curriculum is good, with recent significant improvements to extra-curricular provision, arrangements for homework and music teaching. Pupils are well cared for, feel safe and secure and are given good guidance through constructive targets. Their progress is carefully tracked. Provision

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Grade: 3

for pupils with learning difficulties has improved, is effective, and helps them to make good progress. Achievement and standards in English are good. However, pupils do not make enough progress in mathematics and standards are below average. Although teaching is satisfactory overall it varies in quality. Too often, teachers do not ensure they make provision for more able pupils who sometimes get bored and underachieve. There has been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection. Although standards are lower now, this is due to a legacy of underachievement caused by many disruptions to teaching in the last few years. Staffing is now more stable. The school's leadership has a clear understanding of how to raise standards. There have been many improvements to premises and provision, and standards are rising. The school has a good capacity to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Raise standards in mathematics. * Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good and meets the needs of more able pupils.

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Grade: 3

The school rates pupils' achievement and standards as good, but inspection evidence indicates they are satisfactory. Children's attainment on entry is about the level expected for their age. They make a good start in the Nursery and continue to make good progress in their creative, personal, social and emotional development and their knowledge and understanding of the world. However, they make slower progress in some basic skills, such as linking sounds and letters, writing and calculating. Their overall attainment is in line with expectations for their age by the end of the Foundation Stage. 2 Inspection Report: Oakhill Primary School, 10 July 2006 to 11 July 2006 Pupils make satisfactory progress in Years 1 and 2. By the end of Year 6 standards are average overall, above average in English where there have been improvements in both reading and writing, but below average in mathematics. Pupils make good progress

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Grade: 3

in Year 6 and standards are higher this year than in 2005. One boy told inspectors, 'I have learned a lot this year!' However, progress in other classes is more varied, particularly where staffing has been disrupted, so that pupils' achievement is at best satisfactory. The school met its challenging targets for 2006 in English and science, but not in mathematics. A few more able pupils underachieve. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress, often meeting the targets in their individual plans, because they are well supported.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils behave well and they told inspectors there has been an improvement in everyone's conduct. They enjoy school, particularly the very good range of extra-curricular activities, and feel safe and well-cared for. They say there is little bullying or racism and staff are approachable if they have a problem. Pupils' attendance is broadly average. The school takes satisfactory measures to monitor and encourage better attendance, but too many parents take their children on holiday during term time. This slows the learning of some pupils. Pupils confirm that they know about healthy living. They say, 'We are not allowed chocolate in our lunchboxes!' The school works successfully to provide clear moral guidance, lots of activities that promote co-operation and a good understanding of other cultures and faiths. This is reflected in pupils' polite, tolerant and co-operative

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Grade: 2

attitudes. They reflect on spiritual issues, for example writing and saying their own prayers in assemblies. The school council provides pupils with a good opportunity to have a say in the school community. The pupils feel they are listened to and they have seen improvements to the condition of the toilets, as a result. They enjoy raising funds for good causes and visiting the local community to enhance their learning. They are attaining satisfactory standards in basic skills which support their future economic well-being appropriately.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. It is consistently good in the Nursery where the quality of assessment is high and the balance of adult-led activities and learning through play ensures children make a good start to school. After considerable staffing disruption, greater stability has been achieved in most classes. In most lessons, teachers' planning is of good quality and they set clear targets and employ a range of strategies to meet individual pupil needs. 3 Inspection Report: Oakhill Primary School, 10 July 2006 to 11 July 2006 However, in some lessons tasks are not pitched at the right level for all pupils and do not provide the more able pupils with sufficient challenge. Pupils' behaviour is generally well managed and relationships in lessons are good. However, in some lessons teachers talk for too long so that the pace of learning is slow. In a few cases, teachers lack confidence in mathematics and their explanations

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Grade: 3

are not sufficiently clear and pupils do not make enough progress. Teachers make accurate assessments and are beginning to use this information in their planning. Support staff are generally deployed effectively and the pupils they work with make good progress.

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Grade: 2

There have been significant improvements to the curriculum and it is now good. A new scheme for mathematics has been introduced but has not yet had a positive impact on standards. There is a very good range of extra-curricular activities available, which pupils greatly appreciate. The school has been particularly successful in developing pupils' musical skills through a music charity. One parent wrote, 'The music project has been a huge success and really gives the children confidence to participate'. Information and communication technology (ICT) is beginning to support learning in other subjects. The curriculum is extended and enhanced through activity days, workshops and school visits. The good identification and support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and for those for whom English is an additional language enables them to make good progress. The school has introduced pupil improvement portfolios for

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Grade: 2

homework and these are helping pupils and parents to understand how improvements can be made. One parent commented, 'I think the PIP folders are a very good idea.......which will help our children improve where they have weaknesses'.

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Grade: 2

The care of pupils is good and contributes to their enjoyment and positive attitudes towards school. Pupils are well known as individuals and looked after so that they feel safe and well supported. Child protection and health and safety procedures are clear, well managed and understood by all staff. Arrangements for the induction of children into the Nursery are effective in promoting children's confidence when they start school. There are also good procedures for transition to secondary school. Pupils' progress is now very carefully tracked and monitored so that underachievement can be identified and dealt with. This works particularly well for pupils with learning difficulties. However, this system is not yet fully effective in ensuring better progress in mathematics and for some more able pupils. Teachers set constructive targets which are shared with parents as part of the homework arrangements and in most classes

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Grade: 2

this system provides pupils with good guidance. 4 Inspection Report: Oakhill Primary School, 10 July 2006 to 11 July 2006

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Grade: 3

The school's leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The headteacher has had to confront many challenges, particularly difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff. She has been purposeful, principled and effective in making significant improvements, and her aim is clearly to raise standards. Senior staff have worked hard to improve behaviour, make the curriculum more stimulating and ensure pupils are well looked after. However, the high turnover of staff has meant disrupted teaching which has had a detrimental impact on standards, particularly in mathematics. The situation is now more stable and there is an effective leadership team. The majority of parents have positive views of the school's work, noting recent improvements. One says, 'The culture in the school has totally changed.....the atmosphere is very positive...'. However, a few parents rightly express concerns about the impact on their children's

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Grade: 3

learning of a lack of continuity in teaching. The school's leadership has introduced some effective systems for monitoring pupils' performance and the quality of teaching. These are accurate and inform the school's priorities for development. However, they have not yet been fully successful in producing consistently good teaching. School self-evaluation is satisfactory. The school improvement plan is a comprehensive document which is underpinned by a focus on raising standards. All members of the school community have an opportunity to contribute to its priorities. The governing body is increasingly effective. Governors are active, well-informed, and visit the school to discuss and monitor its performance. They are able to question and challenge the school's leadership and are very committed to raising standards. During the six years since the last inspection the school has faced many challenges which resulted in standards dipping and behaviour deteriorating. These issues have

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Grade: 3

been addressed and there have been recent improvements in pupils' personal development, the curriculum and the progress made in English and science. The issues identified at the last inspection, and many more besides, have been addressed. The school is moving towards stronger and better founded performance and is well-placed to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Oakhill Primary School, 10 July 2006 to 11 July 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: Oakhill Primary School, 10 July 2006 to 11 July 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 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 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 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 2 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 3 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 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 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

Pupils Thank you for helping us when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed our time with you, and we promised to let you know what we decided after our visit.Yours is a satisfactory school with some real strengths. These are some of the best things about it. * The school looks after you well. Teachers keep a good check on how well you are learning.* You make good progress in English. * You enjoy school and behave well. * Your teaching assistants give you lots of help, especially those of you who find learning hard or who do not speak English at home.* The headteacher and the other staff work hard together to make the school better and so it is improving. The governors are good; they know exactly what goes on in school and work hard to make sure everyone does their best. There are some things that could be better.* Standards in mathematics are not high enough.* Some teachers know exactly how to help you learn and they all plan their lessons carefully.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

However, they don't always make sure there are the right activities for the most able pupils.Oakhill Primary School is a satisfactory and improving school. If you work really hard, it could become even better. Good wishes for the future Andrew Howe Lead Inspector

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