Gwyn Jones Primary School

Inspection Report Gwyn Jones Primary School

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103074 Unique Reference Number Waltham Forest LEA LEA 276831 Inspection number 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 Inspection dates Gulshanbir Kayembe AI Reporting inspector

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

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Hainault Road School address Primary Type of school London Community School category E11 1EU 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 02085567904 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02085565564 Fax number 230 Number on roll Alison Shepard Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Christine Bott Headteacher 12 June 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276831 28 June 2006 - 3 to 11 29 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

Gwyn Jones is situated in Waltham Forest and serves an ethnically diverse community. Just over half of the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, most of Indian or Pakistani extraction. A high proportion speaks English as an additional language but relatively few are complete beginners. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is above average. The school has received the Healthy Schools and Eco Schools awards.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Gwyn Jones Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Gwyn Jones is a satisfactory school. This confirms the school's view of its effectiveness. Teaching is satisfactory, which leads to satisfactory learning and achievement. Whilst there are good features in teaching, planning takes too little account of pupils' differing needs. Consequently, the pace of some lessons is too slow and tasks not challenging enough. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Whilst a range of activities are provided for these children, they have too few opportunities to work by themselves, make decisions and take part in creative and imaginative activities. The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 provides appropriate coverage of subjects but there are too few opportunities for independent learning and acquiring skills such as enquiry and problem solving. Although pupils' personal development is otherwise good, some pupils, and their parents, say that they do not always find lessons enjoyable, especially in English,

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Grade: 3

mathematics and science. The range of after school activities, trips, visits and visitors is good and a strength of the school. The headteacher provides a clear direction for development, keeps a close check on the quality of lessons and has secured good improvements in teaching and learning over the last few months. Teachers mark pupils' work conscientiously, but do not provide pupils with enough information about their progress and what needs to improve. Whilst subject co-ordinators are involved in checking the work in their areas, they have yet to have enough impact on standards. The school makes sound use of its resources and provides satisfactory value for money. Successes such as recent improvements in teaching, improved achievement in Year 6 and developments in information and communication technology (ICT) indicate that the school has the capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Ensure that work is planned to meet pupils' individual needs, promote skills such as enquiry and problem solving and enable all pupils to enjoy learning. * Provide opportunities in the Foundation Stage for more investigative, creative and imaginative work so that children develop their skills of independent learning. * Develop the monitoring roles of subject co-ordinators so that they have a greater impact on improving the quality of work in their areas of responsibility. * Improve the quality of marking so that it informs pupils about how well they are doing and how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Attainment on entry is average although in some years it is below that level. Standards are average and achievement is satisfactory but the school recognises they could be much better. Challenging targets are set, but weaknesses in planning mean that pupils do not always achieve them. Moving through the school, many pupils have made uneven progress. However, progress is now consistently satisfactory because of 2 Inspection Report: Gwyn Jones Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 improvements in teaching. It is better in Year 6, where pupils have achieved results in English and mathematics that exceed those predicted by their prior attainment, due to effective teaching and use of support. There are no significant differences in the achievement of different groups of pupils. Beginners in English make good progress in learning to understand others and make simple responses. More fluent speakers

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Grade: 3

make satisfactory progress. The recent focus on speaking and listening is helping to raise standards, particularly amongst those still learning English, and is having a good impact on improving pupils' writing. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make at least satisfactory and they often make good progress towards their set targets.

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Grade: 2

Personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Children are well behaved, polite and courteous. The school council hold firm views about justice and fair play and contribute well to creating a harmonious and safe community. It has played an active role in helping staff improve the behaviour of some pupils by introducing the 'bully box'. As one child said, 'it makes me very unhappy to see someone has been unkind to my school friends, so we did something about it'. Pupils are proud of the work on display but the high quality seen here is not reflected in their books which are often carelessly presented. Pupils know the importance of a healthy lifestyle and staying safe. The school council speaks enthusiastically about their research project on healthy diet and lifestyles, when they achieved an award for their work. Older pupils are proud of their contribution to the community, for example,

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Grade: 2

working with a local school for pupils with learning and physical difficulties to make and perform music together. Most pupils have a good awareness of environmental issues and are fully involved in raising funds for charities. Pupils' achievement in basic skills, their mature and responsible attitudes and their ability to work well with others prepare them well for the next stage of education. Attendance is good. There have been no exclusions.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory with some good features. Behaviour management and relationships are consistently good. Support staff make a significant contribution to pupils' learning. Where lessons are good, pupils are confident, eagerly asking questions, making suggestions and solving problems. Teachers explain clearly what they expect pupils to learn, and use a wide range of methods and resources to engage them. In some lessons, however, the work is insufficiently matched to pupils' individual needs, resulting in too little challenge for higher attainers. The pace of learning at times is slow because pupils are kept too long on the carpet and do not have time to complete 3 Inspection Report: Gwyn Jones Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 the tasks set. Many lessons, including in the Foundation Stage, give pupils too few opportunities to think for themselves, to explore and investigate or to be creative. 'I

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Grade: 3

wish we did more experiments in science' said one child. In some instances the over-reliance on worksheets inhibits the 'fun' of learning.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory overall. Basic skills are suitably developed and there are increasing opportunities for pupils to apply their English and mathematics skills in other subjects. Pupils' personal development is promoted well through the personal, social, health and citizenship programme and the good range of after school activities, trips, visits and visitors to the school. Pupils enjoy these greatly. Extensive links with other schools, parental contributions to the curriculum and visits to local places of worship enhance pupils' awareness of the community. Though French is taught, the overall curriculum is not varied enough to fully engage the interests of all pupils or meet their varying needs. As a result, pupils find some of their work, especially in English, mathematics and science, uninteresting and lacking in challenge. There is too little emphasis on developing investigative and thinking skills, which hinders pupils'

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Grade: 3

progress. The Foundation Stage curriculum lacks sufficient opportunities for the children to work independently or make decisions about their learning. There is too little emphasis on creative play and open-ended exploration. One parent summed it up by saying 'there is too much emphasis on sitting down and working quietly'.

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Grade: 3

The school has good systems for the safety and protection of pupils and procedures are monitored effectively. Hence, pupils feel safe and secure. Outside agencies are effectively used to support the needs of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and those at the early stages of learning English. Good progress is being made in establishing rigorous assessment procedures. Teachers regularly asses pupils and keep useful records. Individual pupil targets are set in pupils' portfolios. However, the results of assessments are not used sufficiently well to ensure that the work planned for pupils meets their particular needs. Marking does not provide enough guidance to help pupils to improve or indicate to pupils how well they are doing against the targets set for them. Parents are suitably informed of their children's academic and social progress. The school has good systems in place to support pupils when they transfer between schools.

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Grade: 3

4 Inspection Report: Gwyn Jones Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. There is a relatively new senior leadership team that has set the right tone for the future work of the school. The headteacher, though in post as substantive head for only two terms had been in an acting capacity for about a year prior to her appointment. She provides good leadership. This, coupled with the good support she receives from the senior leadership team, contributes well to the school's capacity to improve. Whilst processes for monitoring the school's effectiveness are satisfactory overall, an increasing range of activities is used and this ensures that the headteacher has a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. For example, she has made good use of a teaching and learning review earlier this year to identify what must improve. Teaching has improved as a result, although work needs to continue to secure further improvement. Communication with

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Grade: 3

parents is regular and they and their children are included in consultation surveys. Many useful initiatives are being put in place and staff training is closely linked to these. Regular monitoring of work and tracking of data by the headteacher is helping to challenge weaker practice and set higher standards. The roles of subject coordinators are improving but have yet to be fully developed so that they have a big enough influence on standards and progress. The chair of governors is actively involved in the work of the school but others governors less so. Governors provide a satisfactory steer to the overall direction of development. Good attention is being paid to remodelling the open-plan accommodation so that it has less of an adverse impact on teaching and learning. ICT resources have improved considerably over recent times and staff are developing their expertise in using them. 5 Inspection Report: Gwyn Jones Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 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: Gwyn Jones Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 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 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 3 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 2 The attendance of learners NA 3 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 3 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 3 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 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

Pupils We enjoyed visiting your school and most of all we enjoyed talking to you and visiting your classrooms. We would like to thank you very much for making us feel welcome. In particular, we were very impressed with how polite and helpful you were. We are pleased to say the school provides a satisfactory education for you.We saw a number of things that were good about the school including the following: * You speak well and with confidence and have positive attitudes to school;* Behaviour is good and teachers and pupils treat one another with respect;* There are lots of interesting after school clubs, visits and trips and visitors to the school which you enjoy immensely;* Your headteacher is working hard to keep improving the school and wants to make sure that you have the best education possible;* The support staff give pupils who need it useful help in lessons;* You do a lot to help your local community and have an active school council.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

There are, as is the case in all places, a number of things that could be better. These include the following:* Making learning more fun and interesting especially in English, mathematics and science;* Providing more opportunities for children in the Nursery and Reception classes to explore and to have work that is more creative and imaginative;* Developing the roles of teachers who are in charge of different subjects;* Getting more feedback from teachers on how you could improve your work.We are sure that you will want to help the school to improve, for example by being more careful how you present your work in your books. Yours sincerely Gulshan Kayembe Lead Inspector

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