Clarendon Primary School

Inspection Report Clarendon Primary School

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125088 Unique Reference Number Surrey LEA LEA 281881 Inspection number 11 July 2006 to 12 July 2006 Inspection dates Nicola Davies AI Reporting inspector

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

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Knapp Road School address Primary Type of school Ashford Community School category TW15 2HZ 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01784 253379 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01784 421745 Fax number 206 Number on roll Mr Brian Sansom Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Peter Smyth Headteacher 27 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281881 11 July 2006 - 4 to 11 12 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

This is a one form entry primary school in Ashford in Middlesex. Most pupils are of White British heritage although the school includes a number of pupils from other, mostly Asian, ethnic backgrounds and a few pupils who are at early stages of learning English as an additional language. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Clarendon Primary School, 11 July 2006 to 12 July 2006

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Grade: 2

Although the school modestly judges its overall effectiveness as satisfactory, inspectors agree with parents that pupils thrive within this inclusive and caring school which provides a good quality of education and good value for money. The committed staff ensure that all pupils are well cared for, and they respond well to their individual needs. This combined with good teaching, means that pupils make good progress and achieve well overall. Quality and standards are good in the Foundation Stage where children get a good start to their education. The school has correctly identified that progress in writing and mathematics is inconsistent and intervenes very well to help individual pupils improve their writing and number skills. However, it does not yet make the most of information from its thorough tracking system to help it focus on monitoring and improving teaching in weaker areas or aspects. The good curriculum includes a wide range of interesting

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Grade: 2

activities which add to pupils' learning and enjoyment. However, pupils do not yet have planned opportunities to use and improve their writing and mathematical skills in other subjects. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide a clear and thoughtful direction to the work of the school. They have successfully developed a happy and inclusive school ethos which is popular with parents, pupils and staff. As one parent wrote, 'I have never seen so many happy and polite children. Even the teachers look happy to be there!' The school has a clear view of its strengths and weaknesses and has made many improvements since its last inspection and particularly in the behaviour of pupils. Such successes indicate that 'Team Clarendon', which includes staff, parents, governors and pupils, is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Make better use of information on pupils' progress to plan whole school improvements to teaching, and in particular to improve the consistency of progress in writing and mathematics • Ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to use and improve their writing and mathematical skills across all curriculum areas.

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Grade: 2

Children join the Foundation Stage with a variety of experiences and strengths but generally have the skills and knowledge expected for their age. They make good progress which means that most meet the expected learning goals by the end of their time in the Reception class. Recent improvements to the way that the youngest children are taught about sounds and letters have helped them to make good progress in developing early literacy skills. 2 Inspection Report: Clarendon Primary School, 11 July 2006 to 12 July 2006 Pupils continue to make good progress through the school. The standards they achieve in national tests at the end of Year 6 are above average and have improved in recent years to meet challenging targets. The school tracks pupils' progress very carefully. This has highlighted areas where pupils can achieve more. For example, although progress is good overall, the school has identified that not all pupils make consistently

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Grade: 2

good progress in writing and in mathematics. Effective teaching assistants work well with teachers to meet the individual needs of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. As a result, these pupils make good progress in relation to their starting points. There are no significant differences between how well different groups of pupils achieve overall.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal and social development is good. Pupils behave sensibly, enjoy their lessons, and can discuss their learning and achievements in a mature way. Pupils feel safe in school and know how to keep safe when walking or cycling. Playground buddies help younger pupils to find friends, and older pupils enjoy taking the lead in organising playground games for younger pupils. The school council takes an active role in promoting safety by regularly identifying any potential dangers around school. Pupils are proud that the school has gained an award for healthy lifestyles and they participate regularly in opportunities for physical exercise. The successful strong focus on pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development means that pupils are thoughtful and have a growing awareness of the feelings of others. As one pupil recorded, 'a new person to a school may be nervous, and afraid to speak up when in difficulty.' The school council raises funds for local charities and

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Grade: 2

those further afield. A Buddhist monk recently visited the school to explain to pupils how the money they had raised in response to the Tsunami had been spent in a Sri Lankan fishing village. The school's successful actions to promote pupils' personal skills and self confidence mean they value their own work and that of others. This prepares them well for their next school. A recent 'job swap' day gave pupils an introduction to the world of work including the chance for one of the pupils to swap roles with the headteacher. Older pupils develop a good understanding of what is involved in starting a business through a partnership project with a local secondary school. Attendance is satisfactory and most pupils attend regularly.

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Grade: 2

Good relationships between adults and pupils, good attitudes to learning and teachers' clear expectations of behaviour mean that pupils work hard and behave well in lessons. Pupils evaluate their progress maturely and have good opportunities to identify how 3 Inspection Report: Clarendon Primary School, 11 July 2006 to 12 July 2006 they can improve their work to meet their targets. Teachers use resources, including interactive white boards, well to explain tasks and to help pupils clarify their thinking. Thorough assessment procedures help teachers plan to cater for the needs of different groups of pupils. However the school has correctly identified that they do not consistently ensure that activities for the most-able are challenging enough. Pupils sometimes say that their work could be harder, for example when their writing is limited by the use of worksheets. Good teamwork between teachers and support staff means pupils with learning

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Grade: 2

difficulties or disabilities benefit from additional opportunities to discuss and develop their ideas and skills in small groups with adult help. This enables these pupils to make good progress across all subjects relative to their starting points.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum covers all subjects, is well balanced and enables pupils to progress well. Regular school visits, visitors and special weeks add interest to the work that pupils do and provide them with opportunities to apply their skills in unfamiliar areas. Pupils enjoy a wide range of lunchtime and after school activities which include French, cookery, a seasonal range of sports activities and a gardening club where pupils grow food on the school grounds. Teams of pupils benefit from regularly joining with other local schools in a range of stimulating educational events and competitions. Teachers plan well to develop pupils' skills and knowledge in particular subjects as well as pupils' personal, social and emotional skills. However, the school does not yet systematically plan opportunities for pupils to use and improve their writing and mathematical skills across all curriculum areas.

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support of pupils are good. Staff, governors and the school council are keenly aware of health and safety issues. There are robust procedures for child protection and for assessing and dealing with risks. This ensures that pupils, including those who are more vulnerable, feel secure and are ready to learn. The school works hard to involve all parents in their children's education by being approachable, providing good information and offering workshops to help parents support their children at home. This is wholeheartedly welcomed by parents, who praise the school's open and effective communication and value highly the careful support that staff provide for individual pupils. 'The care, understanding and support my son has received has been outstanding' is typical of their comments. Good relationships with local specialist agencies ensure that pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, and those who are learning English as an additional

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Grade: 2

language, have good support and their individual needs are well met. The school works well with an education welfare officer and parents to support good attendance and 4 Inspection Report: Clarendon Primary School, 11 July 2006 to 12 July 2006 punctuality. Teachers use information about pupils' progress to set targets for improvement jointly with pupils.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher and deputy provide effective leadership focused on promoting good standards of education and care for pupils. For example, the school has taken particularly effective steps to improve behaviour which was an issue at the last inspection. They improved the way that teachers managed more difficult behaviour and introduced a variety of initiatives to support pupils' emotional and social development. As a result, pupils' behaviour improved significantly and is now good. Similarly, the school has made many improvements to the school's facilities and the use of its grounds which mean that the environment in which pupils learn is much improved. Effective governors provide good support and challenge to the school and ensure it makes effective use of its resources. Such successes indicate that the school is well placed to continue to improve. The school evaluates its strengths and weaknesses accurately and includes the

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Grade: 2

perspectives not only of teachers, support staff and governors, but also of parents and pupils. It has developed a detailed tracking system which helps it to quickly identify pupils who are making less progress than they should. This information is put to very good use to organise effective support programmes for individual pupils. However, it is not yet used sharply enough by senior staff to monitor and improve teaching and learning in areas which the school has identified as being weaker overall. For example, the school has identified a need to improve the progress that pupils make in writing but expectations of handwriting and presentation are not consistent across the school and across subjects. 5 Inspection Report: Clarendon Primary School, 11 July 2006 to 12 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: Clarendon Primary School, 11 July 2006 to 12 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 2 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 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 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 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 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 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

Pupils Thank you for welcoming us to your school recently. We enjoyed seeing how you worked and talking to you. All the opportunities you have had to think about your lessons and your own learning meant you were a great help to us. We agree with you and your parents that you go to a good school. We were pleased to see the good standards that you reach in your work. We were especially pleased to see that you behave well, as this wasn't the case when inspectors visited your school six years ago. Like your parents, we were impressed with the happy atmosphere at the school and the way the school takes good care of each of you. In fact, some of you told us about how well you got on at the school compared to other schools you had been to. Just as when you think about what you do well and what you need to improve, there are, of course, things the school could do better. As you know, teachers track how each of you are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

doing very carefully. If they think you need extra help (or extra difficult challenges) they try to make sure that you get them. We have suggested to the school that they use all this information to help them understand why some of you make more progress in your reading than your writing. Best wishes Nicola Davies Lead Inspector

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