Dawlish Primary School

Inspection Report Dawlish Primary School

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103073 Unique Reference Number Waltham Forest LEA LEA 276830 Inspection number 3 October 2005 to 4 October 2005 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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Jesse Road School address Primary Type of school London Community School category E10 6NN 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 02085581566 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 00 Fax number 234 Number on roll Mr M Perry Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr M B Reader Headteacher 28 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276830 3 October 2005 - 3 to 11 4 October 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

Dawlish Primary School is an average size primary school with a nursery. It serves a diverse community in north east London and is oversubscribed. A high proportion of the pupils have a first language other than English. Twenty-two languages are currently spoken in the school and many pupils are at the early stages of learning English. Nearly a third of the pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is above average. An above average percentage have learning difficulties. A significant number of pupils join or leave the school mid year. It is part of the Excellence in Cities initiative. The leadership team has changed recently, following the retirement of the previous long-serving headteacher.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Dawlish Primary School, 3 October 2005 to 4 October 2005

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Grade: 2

The school rates its own effectiveness as good. Inspectors agree. It enables pupils from diverse backgrounds to achieve well and, in spite of many barriers to learning, to feel happy, secure and valued. It gives good value for money. The school has many strengths. Pupils make good progress in the Foundation Stage. Pupils in Key Stage 2 often make very good progress, achieving broadly satisfactory standards, despite entering school with well below average skills and understanding. The curriculum is broad and interesting. Effective links are made between subjects so that pupils can see their relevance and enjoy lessons. The high level of support offered to pupils with learning difficulties is very successful in promoting good learning for this significant group. The school is a very caring and inclusive community where every child really does matter. Parents feel sure that children are very well looked after as does the

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Grade: 2

inspection team. The new leadership team has been effective in maintaining the positive school ethos. There has not yet been sufficient focus on developing the quality of teaching. Teachers do not always use the information that they have to ensure that lessons are planned to meet all pupils' needs. Although governors are supportive and informed, they are not sufficiently involved in determining the school's long term development or evaluating its performance. The school has good capacity to improve. There are plans in place which reflect a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. There has been sound improvement since the previous inspection. In particular, standards and progress in mathematics are better. Provision for information and communication technology (ICT) has improved, but the school is aware of the need to develop resources further.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Improve the quality of teaching through monitoring and professional development. * Extend the role of the governors in planning the strategic development of the school and evaluating its performance. * Ensure that all curriculum co-ordinators monitor teaching and learning effectively in order to raise standards.

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Grade: 2

The school and the inspection team agree that, despite significant barriers to achievement, pupils make good progress overall. Many children enter the nursery with standards that are much lower than those expected for their age, particularly in language and communication. A significant number of pupils begin school at the early stages of learning English.Pupils make good progress in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Standards at age 7 are below average in reading, writing and mathematics. At 11 pupils do better than this and reach standards that are broadly average in English, mathematics and science. The national test results in 2005 were lower than the exceptionally good results in 2004. This reflects a higher percentage of pupils with learning difficulties in the cohort. Nevertheless, they had made good progress. The 2 Inspection Report: Dawlish Primary School, 3 October 2005 to 4 October 2005

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Grade: 2

school is successful in achieving its targets, which are challenging but realistic. Pupils make good progress in ICT and achieve sound standards.Learners of all capabilities make good progress and achieve very well, including pupils with learning difficulties, and those whose first language is not English.

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Grade: 2

The personal development of the pupils is good. Attendance is satisfactory. Pupils enjoy school very much. 'This school is perfect!' said one girl. They feel secure. Behaviour is good throughout the school, due to high expectations and very good relationships between all members of its community. Pupils make a good contribution to the school community through the school council, where their views are taken seriously. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Moral and social issues are taught particularly well so that pupils develop a good sense of right and wrong, and demonstrate respect for their own and others' cultural traditions, values and beliefs. They are able to reflect on spiritual ideas in assemblies and lessons.The school actively promotes healthy living and is aiming to achieve the 'Healthy Schools' award. Pupils are conscious of the need for a healthy diet. They are very active

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Grade: 2

at break times because of the provision of a wide range of games activities. They also enjoy the extra-curricular sporting clubs. They are well supported in the development of skills and qualities that will eventually equip them for work. They co-operate well and are developing satisfactory basic skills.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learningOverall, inspection evidence indicated that teaching is good. The additional support provided both in class and when pupils are withdrawn for extra help is a very significant part of the teaching as well, and this is very good. Staff know the pupils well. They have very good relationships with pupils so that they are ready and willing to learn. Teachers' high expectations and encouragement ensure good behaviour. Pupils with learning difficulties and those learning English as a new language are very well taught. The effective use of assessment information has a positive impact on the teaching of these pupils. Good assessment also ensures that the work is well matched to those identified as gifted and talented. Individual and group targets help to drive up standards. Pupils are encouraged to think for themselves and reflect on their learning and as a result they do well and have positive attitudes. The quality of

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Grade: 2

teachers' marking, although regular and encouraging, does not consistently support pupils in improving their work. In a few lessons, the activities planned do not build successfully on pupils' previous learning. 3 Inspection Report: Dawlish Primary School, 3 October 2005 to 4 October 2005

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is broad and stimulating. Carefully planned links are made between subjects so that pupils see the relevance of what they are studying and enjoy their learning. For instance in one English lesson observed, pupils wrote about their own religious faiths. The lesson taught pupils to value and respect each other's religious customs very effectively. At the same time improvement in the use of connectives in the pupils' writing remained central to the lesson and good progress was made. There is a good range of extra-curricular activity, including clubs such as the homework club which support pupils' learning. Pupils learn to play musical instruments, take part in several sports and enjoy visits to museums and places of local interest such as Walthamstow market.

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Grade: 1

The school judges this aspect as good; inspectors found it to be outstanding. All staff know the pupils well, support them and their families and are trusted to look after them. Induction to the school is enhanced by home visiting and the excellent toy library initiative for pre-school children. This helps parents and children start to feel at home in school. Child protection and health and safety procedures ensure pupils are kept safe. Vulnerable children are carefully monitored and support for pupils with physical disabilities is exemplary. The theme 'care and respect' permeates all the relationships in the school and ensures that pupils are happy and ready to learn. The monitoring of pupils' progress is detailed and helps staff to set appropriate targets. The learning mentor helps many pupils achieve well.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school's view that leadership and management are good. The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a clear view of the priorities for development in the school, expressed in the school improvement plan. This is a useful working document that draws on parents' and pupils' views. The school is aware of the need to find better ways of checking the impact of their improvement plans on pupils learning and achievement.Senior staff track pupil progress and analyse results. Their evaluation of the school is accurate. However, there has been insufficient monitoring of the quality of teaching recently. This extends to the amount and quality of monitoring undertaken by curriculum co-ordinators who are not fully aware of how well teaching and learning in their subjects are progressing. The governing body is very supportive and has a sound understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. However, they are insufficiently involved in setting the long term goals

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Grade: 2

for the school or evaluating plans for improvement. Overall, the particular strength of the leadership of the school lies in the excellent example set by the school's senior staff. They are outstanding role models who personify high expectations for the way 4 Inspection Report: Dawlish Primary School, 3 October 2005 to 4 October 2005 pupils should be treated and what they can achieve. The school has good capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Dawlish Primary School, 3 October 2005 to 4 October 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: Dawlish Primary School, 3 October 2005 to 4 October 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 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 3 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 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 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 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 3 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 your help during the inspection. We really enjoyed finding out about your school. Everyone was very friendly and made it easy for us to do our job. We think your school is good. Here are some of the things it does well:* The school helps you to learn well.* The extra help you get makes a big difference, especially if you find learning hard or you are only just learning to speak English.* All the adults in the school take excellent care of you. They keep you safe and teach you how to be healthy. * You all work together very well, because you show care and respect for each other.* You enjoy coming to school.* Teachers plan interesting lessons that make you think. We think there are some things that the school needs to do better:* Teachers need to make sure all of you get the right work and that their marking always helps you to make your work better.* All teachers need to help one another to try and improve their teaching.* Governors

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

need to help the headteacher more with planning for the future and checking how well the school is doing. Yours sincerely, Andrew Howe, Lead Inspector

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