Wessex Gardens Primary School

Inspection Report Wessex Gardens Primary School

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131617 Unique Reference Number Barnet LEA LEA 282236 Inspection number 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 Inspection dates Andrew Marfleet AI Reporting inspector

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

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Wessex Gardens School address Primary Type of school London Community School category NW11 9RR 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 02084559572 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02089055139 Fax number 387 Number on roll Mrs Jill Summers Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Sue Brown Headteacher 15 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282236 7 December 2005 - 3 to 11 8 December 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

The school, with 387 pupils on roll, is larger than average. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic groups, the largest being black African and various white groups. Almost 80% speak English as an additional language and many of them know no English when they join the school. Throughout the school there are many at an early stage of learning English. There are 45 pupils from asylum seeking or refugee families, and seven from traveller families. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is higher than average. Many pupils leave and join the school at other than the usual times. Attainment on entry is low. In terms of factors affecting achievement, few schools in the borough are recognised as having a more challenging situation.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Wessex Gardens Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features. It provides good value for money. Very effective leadership and management and good teaching and learning enable the pupils to make good progress.Pupils join the school with standards that are low. Relatively few speak English as their first language. Good provision in the Foundation Stage helps pupils to overcome many barriers to learning, although not many reach the national goals set for them at age five. This good start is built on in Years 1 to 6 so that by the time pupils leave the school standards overall are broadly in line with the national picture. Standards in science have risen significantly. In addition, pupils' personal development is good so they have positive attitudes to learning. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Although attendance has improved and is satisfactory overall, a small number of pupils still do not attend

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Grade: 2

regularly enough.Good teaching motivates the pupils to want to learn. There is high quality support for pupils with learning difficulties and for those at an early stage of learning English. A good curriculum that is relevant to the needs and interests of all the pupils, enriched by a programme of clubs and activities, adds to pupils' enjoyment of learning. The pupils are given excellent care, support and guidance in all aspects of their life at school.There has been good improvement since the last inspection, in the quality of teaching and in overall standards. The school knows itself very well indeed and is building on its strengths. Its capacity to improve further is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Continue to raise standards, in English and mathematics in particular.* Work with parents to improve pupils' attendance.

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Grade: 2

The overall achievement of pupils is good. When pupils enter the school, their attainment is low. Pupils' progress in the Foundation Stage is good, so that standards improve, but are below average at the end of the reception year. In Years 1 and 2, pupils continue to make good progress. Results of the 2005 national assessments for pupils in Year 2 indicate that standards are in line with national averages. They have improved steadily over the past three years in reading, writing and mathematics. Sound progress from Year 3 onwards means that pupils in Year 6 reach standards that are typical of those found in most schools. Many pupils join the school after Year 2 and some of the higher attaining pupils leave, but the progress made by those who continue their education here from reception to Year 6 is in line with expectations and with the challenging targets set by the school. Standards improved overall in the 2005 tests,

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Grade: 2

and rose significantly in science. All groups of pupils make good progress, including those who join the school at later stages and do not have time to reach the same standards as others. Pupils with learning difficulties and those for whom English is an 2 Inspection Report: Wessex Gardens Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 additional language progress well because of the excellent levels of support that they are given.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development is good overall, with outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They respond extremely well to the school's celebration of its rich cultural diversity. The pupil who told us 'we are all equal here' summed up the school's ethos well. Attendance is satisfactory, but too many pupils miss school because of family holidays, visits abroad and for religious festivals. Behaviour is good and pupils enjoy school, supporting one another very well both inside and outside lessons. They show respect to adults and each other.Pupils have a good understanding of safe practices and are developing a good awareness of healthy living. They feel safe and are confident about seeking help. They use the many opportunities they are given to take responsibility, including serving enthusiastically as monitors or on the school council. Progress in key skills, involvement in decision making, team work and

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Grade: 2

developing good work routines all contribute to their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers make lessons interesting and encourage pupils to investigate and be creative. They set challenging targets for pupils, based on rigorous assessment. Assessment is also used well to adapt tasks in lessons to match the different needs of pupils.Pupils work well in small groups and independently, are attentive and are very aware of what they need to do to improve. Year 2 pupils, for example, use checklists to assess their own progress in literacy. Parents appreciate being involved in their children's learning; the school guides as well as encourages them in this.The progress of pupils with learning difficulties is enhanced by carefully planned programmes and well targeted support from a number of experienced staff. Similar support enables the majority of pupils who speak English as an additional language to achieve well.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. The school matches it closely to the individual needs of the pupils. They are also developing an approach that links subjects together to make the curriculum relevant and stimulating. This promotes enjoyment and positive attitudes to learning - a pupil, having described the things he found interesting, added 'and one more really good thing is the music'. The school emphasises creativity as a way to engage pupils in learning; pupils enthusiastically describe art activities and participate well in productions and workshops.Pupils learn the value of healthy living, hygiene 3 Inspection Report: Wessex Gardens Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 and exercise; sex and drugs awareness is addressed. The curriculum is greatly enriched by stimulating visitors to the school, visits made and a good range of out of lesson activities. There has been a good improvement in the planning and provision for

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Grade: 2

information and communication technology since the last inspection and pupils relate how facilities in school now help them with their learning.

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Grade: 1

The school provides outstanding care, guidance and support. A particular strength is the way in which new pupils from very different backgrounds are accepted, at whatever time in the year they arrive, by both staff and other pupils. They settle in and make friends quickly: this is a community where every child matters.Arrangements to safeguard pupils are secure. The school works very closely with parents and other agencies to ensure pupils are happy and make good progress. The learning mentors provide very good support both formally in structured activities and informally, for instance when pupils want to discuss a problem privately. The excellent network of support that is available to help pupils is maintained by very good liaison between highly committed staff and through the careful monitoring of progress. All pupils are assessed when they join the school and excellent systems are in place to ensure that

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good with some outstanding features and are having a significant impact. This has resulted in improved standards, achievement and provision, including the outstanding levels of care. The headteacher has an excellent understanding of the school and how it can develop. She is well supported by a strong team, including the deputy and senior co-ordinators. There is very good management of special educational needs and of provision for pupils for whom English is an additional language. The staff who make up the achievement team are focused on raising achievement, which happens because of the frequent and rigorous checks made on the quality of teaching, assessment and planning, and through an effective system of induction. Middle managers share effectively in the monitoring processes.The headteacher and her senior colleagues are thorough in collecting and analysing data, so that they know how well pupils are progressing and can remove potential barriers

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Grade: 2

to learning. They involve parents as fully as possible. They work with other bodies to improve the quality of learning; innovative and creative teaching methods have grown out of action research projects and these have led to higher standards. The school has also provided good training for new teachers, some from overseas, in order to enhance provision.Governors know the school well and fulfil their role as critical friends admirably. The governors' committees are able to draw on a wealth of relevant experience and are effective both in deploying resources and monitoring provision.The progress made since the last inspection is good. The school gives good value for money. With this strong leadership team, there is good capacity for even further improvement. 4 Inspection Report: Wessex Gardens Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 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. 5 Inspection Report: Wessex Gardens Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 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 1 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 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 1 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 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

I want to thank you for the very friendly welcome you gave us when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you and seeing your work. We also enjoyed talking to your teachers and to some of your parents. We were very impressed with your school. What we liked most about your school * you enjoy going to school and are looked after extremely well * you are taught well and are making good progress* your teachers, and others who help them, work hard to make your lessons interesting and enjoyable* you are given useful things to learn and to do in lessons and in other school activities* you behave well and are developing very well as young people* your school has a very good headteacher; she and the other senior teachers understand extremely well how the school works and are doing the right things to make it even better* your parents are very happy with the school.What we have asked the school to do now* help you to do as

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

well as you can, especially in English and mathematics* work with your parents to make sure you don't miss any days at school. We hope that you will continue to do your best and wish you every success in the future.

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