Cherry Lane Primary School

Inspection Report Cherry Lane Primary School

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131638 Unique Reference Number Hillingdon LEA LEA 282240 Inspection number 15 November 2005 to 16 November 2005 Inspection dates Barry Jones AI Reporting inspector

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

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Sipson Road School address Primary Type of school West Drayton Community School category Middlesex UB7 9DL 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01895444480 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01895430296 Fax number 416 Number on roll Mr A Reed Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr S Whitehouse Headteacher 22 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282240 15 November 2005 - 3 to 11 16 November 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 has a maintained nursery and a reception class. It serves a community with high levels of deprivation. It has more pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and more pupils with learning difficulties than most schools.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Cherry Lane Primary School, 15 November 2005 to 16 November 2005

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Grade: 3

Cherry Lane primary school is satisfactory with good features and has improved rapidly in the last two years. The school judges itself to be good. The inspectors do not agree because pupils do not consistently make good progress in all their subjects and this is partly explained by some subjects receiving too little time in Years 3 to 6. The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are good.Leadership and management are satisfactory overall with some strengths. The leadership for inclusion is good and results in a good quality of care for pupils and those with learning difficulties make good progress. This is aided by the strong partnership with other agencies. Recent initiatives have raised standards, particularly in science. The school's self evaluation is satisfactory generally but the monitoring of the curriculum is not sufficiently rigorous. The curriculum is broad but arts and humanities subjects do not all receive enough

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Grade: 3

time. The teaching is good. The result is that most pupils make good progress in English, mathematics and science but less consistently in other subjects. Pupils enjoy school, feel safe and behave well. They are developing healthy lifestyles satisfactorily. Although parents speak well of it, few are involved in the life of the school.There was a decline in performance following the previous inspection. Progress is satisfactory overall but with rapid progress in raising achievement in the last two years. The school is financially sound and gives satisfactory value for money. Given the rising trend in pupils' achievements, an able senior management team and the planned changes to monitoring work in the school, there is good capacity to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Allocate sufficient time to each of the subjects* Consult with parents to strengthen their involvement in the work of the school* Improve the procedures for checking the progress that pupils make in subjects other than English, mathematics and science.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory and good in some respects which means that standards in English, mathematics and science have improved markedly in the last two years. Attainment on entry to the Foundation Stage is below average and, in some years, well below average. Progress is good in the Foundation Stage and is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2. Standards in Year 2 were significantly below the national average in 2004 but there were marked improvements in 2005 in the standards of reading and writing. Progress in Years 3 to 6 has improved from below average in 2003 to being above average in 2005. Standards in national Year 6 tests in English, mathematics and science are now close to national averages which is good given the starting points of the pupils. However, progress in other subjects is very variable. It is the inconsistency between subjects that means the achievement cannot yet be judged to be good overall.

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Grade: 3

The improvement in results does mean that there are now no groups that are underachieving and pupils with a statement of special educational need make good 2 Inspection Report: Cherry Lane Primary School, 15 November 2005 to 16 November 2005 progress. Higher attaining pupils make satisfactory progress and the school has made it a priority to improve their test results further. The school exceeds most of its targets but they are not all challenging enough.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development and well-being are satisfactory. The school judges this aspect to be good. The inspectors recognise that there are several strengths but pupils' spiritual and cultural development, healthy lifestyles and contributions to the community are satisfactory rather than good. This is partly explained by the limited time given to these aspects in the curriculum. For instance, the time allocated to physical education is well below the recommended time. For some pupils this is supplemented by the good range of sporting clubs but not all pupils participate in these.Pupils enjoy school. There are occasions when a small number of pupils show a lack of cooperation and disrespect to others but the majority behave well. Attendance has improved and is now closer to the national average. Pupils on the school council take their responsibilities seriously. They decide which charities to support and take

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Grade: 3

the initiative to follow up incidents of bullying with their classmates and with senior members of staff. As a result pupils feel safe. Economic well-being is good and most pupils are making good progress in literacy, numeracy and information technology skills. Pupils' development of creative skills varies but is just satisfactory overall.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is good throughout the school but particularly in the Foundation Stage and in Year 6. Pupils in these year groups make the most rapid progress. There is no inadequate teaching. Teachers' planning is thorough and tasks are appropriately matched to the learners' needs. These objectives are shared with the pupils so that they are clear about the purpose of the lesson and this helps to create a good atmosphere for learning. The teachers use effective questioning techniques and have good behaviour management skills. Teaching assistants and support staff work well the teachers and it is their combined efforts that result in the good provision. The school uses assessment data well in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT) to identify underachievement. Additional support is then allocated and which leads to improvements. Data are also being increasingly

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Grade: 2

well used to provide challenging work for higher attaining pupils. Teachers do record assessments for other subjects in reports to parents. These assessments are less well used and are not collated and so the school does not have an overview of pupils' progress in these subjects. 3 Inspection Report: Cherry Lane Primary School, 15 November 2005 to 16 November 2005

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Grade: 3

The school judges the curriculum to be good but the inspectors judge it to be satisfactory. The curriculum covers all the subjects of the National Curriculum but not in sufficient detail for all subjects. There are strengths, for instance, the school is piloting a new approach to reading that is successful. In the last year there has been a sharper focus on practical and investigative work in science and this resulted in very substantial improvements in the 2005 Year 6 national test results. In numeracy, pupils are now given more opportunities to develop mental strategies for calculations but investigative work is not yet well established in all classes. The previous inspection identified the need to reduce the time for numeracy and literacy and to increase the time for other subjects including art. This is still the case, particularly in Years 3 to 6, and standards in art are still low. Opportunities are being missed to develop literacy

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Grade: 3

and numeracy through other areas of the curriculum. The school is promoting pupils' personal development in lessons including specific initiatives. The curriculum is enhanced by a good range of visits and extra-curricular activities.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Throughout the school, staff are committed to ensuring that pupils feel safe and well cared for. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils are good. Staff are well trained and have good expertise. Partnerships with other agencies are good and the effective working arrangements with the school means that the support for vulnerable pupils is very good. There is also a willingness on the part of the school to involve parents more but with mixed success. There is good leadership from the special needs coordinator and the effective deployment of staff means that pupils with learning difficulties make good progress. There is also good support for those pupils for whom English is not their first language and this enables them to participate fully in their lessons. Information is usefully available to parents in different languages.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory while the school judges itself to be good. However, this was a finely balanced decision. There are good features and the leadership has successfully promoted a high level of care and marked improvements in national test results over the last two years. However, there are inconsistencies in pupils' achievements and the curriculum needs some further development.The leadership sets a clear direction to the school which is leading to rapid improvements. Management of the Foundation Stage is good. The deputy headteacher is a strong driving force and has established a robust pupil-tracking system which is used effectively. However, the school is at an early stage in evaluating the progress of particular groups. Self-evaluation is less strong in other areas. For instance, there is only a partial 4 Inspection Report: Cherry Lane Primary School, 15 November 2005 to 16 November 2005

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Grade: 3

evaluation of the implementation of the school improvement plan. Teachers received extensive training for their monitoring role and this was well managed. However, there are weaknesses in the way the monitoring is carried out with the result that the school does not have a clear picture of the progress made by pupils in all subjects. The governing body is supportive and the school has plans to strengthen the effectiveness of its monitoring role. Few parents respond to invitations to participate in the school's decision-making.The school is well resourced. It is generously staffed and they are well deployed. The school has a high budget carry forward but this has been sensibly accrued in order to pay for an Early Years Centre to replace the existing old accommodation. The school gives satisfactory value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Cherry Lane Primary School, 15 November 2005 to 16 November 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: Cherry Lane Primary School, 15 November 2005 to 16 November 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 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 3 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 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 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

Thank you for your help when we inspected your school. We spoke to your school council members and they represent you well. We also spoke to other pupils in small groups, in classrooms and around the school. Most of you told us that you enjoy school and feel safe. We think that your school is satisfactory in all respects and there are things that it does particularly well. The school is rightly proud of the improvements in its test results in the last two years and there are reasons to believe that the school will continue to improve. The school provides a high level of care to all pupils but especially to those with particular learning or language difficulties. You are taught well and that helps you to do well in your studies. Both you and your parents told us that you think highly of the staff in the school. This makes for a happy school. There are some ways in which we feel the school can improve further. We would like to see

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your parents become more involved in the life of the school. You do well in your mathematics, English and science subjects. We would like to see more time given to other subjects so that you improve in these too and for the teachers to check how much you then improve in these subjects.Once again, thank you for your help. Barry Jones, Lead Inspector

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