Oakdale Junior School

133931 Unique Reference Number Redbridge LEA LEA 282392 Inspection number 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005 Inspection dates Gordon Ewing AI Reporting inspector

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

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Oakdale Road School address Junior Type of school Redbridge Community School category South Woodford E18 1JX 7 to 11 Age range of pupils 020 8989 7471 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8530 2377 Fax number 336 Number on roll Derek Mullett Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Linda Snow Headteacher 9 July 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282392 12 December 2005 - 7 to 11 13 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 is larger than average. Pupils' ages range from 7 to 11 years and there are slightly more boys than girls. Pupils start school with standards in line with those expected for their age. Around 50 percent of pupils are from minority ethnic groups from a broad range of cultural heritages. The number of pupils with learning difficulties, though low, is increasing. Pupil mobility is lower than average but is also increasing. The percentage of pupils known to be entitled to free school meals is below the national average. School data shows that pupils come from a broad range of social backgrounds and 6% from one-parent families. The school has gained a range of national and local awards in recent years, including Healthy Schools and Arts Mark Gold.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Oakdale Junior School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005

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Grade: 3

Oakdale Junior School provides pupils with a satisfactory education. In its evaluation, the school judged itself to be better than this. However, to justify this view standards need to be higher, particularly for higher attaining pupils.Parents and pupils think the school is doing well and this reflects the positive outcomes of pupils' personal development. Staff work hard to make every pupil feel valued and parents' and pupils' views are listened to and acted on. Teaching is satisfactory overall, although inspectors did see good teaching in a number of lessons. When teaching was less effective pupils' work was not always matched closely enough to their level of ability. Pupils with learning difficulties are well supported and make good progress. The progress of higher attaining pupils is not effectively tracked or supported and, consequently, they do not make adequate progress.The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher and her leadership team have a clear vision for the future and are committed to raising standards further. They are aware of the school's strengths and weaknesses and of the actions necessary to bring about improvement. Satisfactory progress has been made with the two areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. The implementation of recent initiatives, combined with the support of the committed Governing Body, demonstrate that the school is well placed to improve. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

* improve the systems for checking how well pupils are learning to ensure that all pupils, especially high attainers, are effectively challenged* involve pupils more in understanding and evaluating how well they are doing through more effective individual target setting.

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Grade: 3

The school judges that its pupils make satisfactory progress overall and inspectors agree.Pupils enter the school with average standards. By the end of Year 6 standards in English, mathematics and science are close to the national average and pupils therefore make broadly satisfactory progress. However, pupils do relatively less well in science and the school has identified why this was so and has recently taken effective steps to address this. Some high attaining pupils do not achieve as well as they can in lessons and in national tests. They are not identified soon enough or provided with suitably challenging activities and guidance.Pupils with learning difficulties make good progress because of the focussed support they receive, and because they have access to a rich curriculum which helps them to achieve well. Pupils identified at the early stages of learning to speak English as an additional language make effective progress

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Grade: 3

as they move through the school.Pupils achieve well in sport, music, art and drama because the school provides them with a range of suitable and interesting activities. 2 Inspection Report: Oakdale Junior School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005

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Grade: 2

The school judges pupils' personal development and well-being as good. Inspectors agree. The school is successful in promoting a healthy lifestyle for its pupils and holds both local and national Healthy Schools' awards.Pupils respond well to the school's good provision for their spiritual, moral social and cultural development. A strength across the school is the way in which pupils support each other in their learning, using personal reflection and discussions. This mutual support helps pupils to make progress.Pupils are involved in maintaining the school organic garden and orchard and purchase healthy snacks from the tuck shop. Personal, social and health education (PSHE) is well taught through a clear structured curriculum, which includes subjects such as sex education, drug and alcohol addiction.Regular visitors to the school include the police liaison officer, health service professionals and other speakers. Pupils benefit

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Grade: 2

from a number of sports clubs and extra-curricular activities covering sport, music, drama and leisure pursuits.Pupils behave well, help each other in lessons and show respect for each other and adults. Staff act promptly to deal with bullying and any incidents are dealt with swiftly and effectively. The school has arranged a special consequences room where offending pupils discuss their behaviour with an adult and plan how to make amends.The class and school councils are effective avenues for pupils to express their views, which are considered carefully by staff. Pupils like school and are keen to take an active part in the community for example, in links with the infant school and through the school's Creativity Week.Pupils feel safe and secure at school and are encouraged to think carefully about safety through lesson activities, for example in science, and in their behaviour around the school. Attendance matches

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall. In most lessons teachers make clear to pupils their expectations of behaviour and attitude to work. They plan a good variety of activities to catch the interest of pupils, keep them involved in the lesson and help them make progress. Pupils are encouraged to work co-operatively and to respect each other and most lessons take place in a calm and supportive atmosphere. Teachers help pupils to think about what they have learnt and support them in expressing that verbally. Marking of work is regular and accurate but pupils are not always given appropriate written feedback to help them reflect on, and improve, their work. As individual target setting is not consistently established for all pupils, some do not know the next steps they need to take to advance their learning. In a good Year 3 numeracy lesson, pupils solved a problem on how to read data from a

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Grade: 3

pictogram. Pupils confidently tackled the task using vocabulary such as 'prediction' and 'interpret'. The teacher ably extended their understanding through questioning and by guiding pupils' thinking. They discussed the nature of the activity with 3 Inspection Report: Oakdale Junior School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005 perseverance and determination.Teaching assistants provide good support particularly when children are working independently and in groups. Planning of lessons does not consistently address the needs of different groups. As a consequence, high attaining pupils are not sufficiently challenged and do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. Effective links are planned between subjects to make the curriculum more meaningful to pupils. Numeracy, literacy and Information Communication Technology (ICT) support all areas well. Pupils are encouraged to undertake research in different subjects, which helps them to work independently and to develop enquiry skills.The school broadens the pupils' experience through visits to places linked to the curriculum and by bringing visitors into school to share their expertise and skills. Year 6 are taught French by a teacher from a local secondary school and a French club is available to all pupils. There is a good range of opportunities at lunchtime and after school clubs including sports activities, knitting, ICT, film editing, art and music. These contribute well to the personal, social, cultural and emotional development of pupils. The breakfast and after school care clubs provide good social

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Grade: 2

and educational opportunities for pupils and parents.

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Grade: 2

Pupils receive a good standard of care, guidance and support.All requirements for child protection are met and all staff know and understand the procedures. Health and safety procedures are securely in place and the policy is comprehensive. A recent audit by the local authority judged procedures as satisfactory.Pupils are aware of who to go to if they need help or advice. They feel very well supported by staff. Several pupils have been trained as peer mediators to help fellow pupils if they have problems or difficulties.The school works well with outside agencies. Specialist help is used, for example, to facilitate friendship groups and to ensure that transition to secondary school occurs smoothly.Systems for tracking pupils' progress are effective but pupils are not given clear enough guidance on how they can improve. The school's support for pupils with physical disabilities and with learning difficulties is good. Pupils who

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Grade: 2

speak English as an additional language have full access to the curriculum.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher is committed to raising standards and to ensuring pupils' personal development and well-being. Other members of the leadership team give her effective support and contribute to a clear vision for the school.The headteacher has taken effective action to address concerns over the quality of the science curriculum. By restructuring the timetable and reviewing teaching 4 Inspection Report: Oakdale Junior School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005 resources there are clear signs that pupils are receiving regular access to science and that teaching is focussed on raising standards.Senior leaders have established a programme of regular checking to improve consistency in teaching. However, the quality of this monitoring is variable and lacks sufficient rigour to have a sustained impact on standards and achievement. Feedback on lesson observations lacks guidance

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Grade: 3

on how to improve teaching further. Although subject leaders work hard to ensure that staff are well informed of new developments in their subjects, they do not observe lessons systematically or regularly scrutinise pupils' work. The tracking of pupils' progress is effective in highlighting the needs of pupils with learning difficulties. Consequently, they are very well supported and make good progress. The progress of high attaining pupils is less closely monitored and lessons are not planned to adequately meet their needs. As a result, they do not achieve as well as they can in lessons and in national tests. Governors are committed to and supportive of the school's work. For example, each governor has a strong link with each subject area and regular contact is made to identify areas for improvement. This is evident in Information Communication Technology (ICT) where the link governor has been closely involved in improving access

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Grade: 3

to ICT for all pupils. However, governors do not have a clear strategic view of how well the school is performing. As a result, they are not providing sufficient challenge to the school leadership. 5 Inspection Report: Oakdale Junior School, 12 December 2005 to 13 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. 6 Inspection Report: Oakdale Junior School, 12 December 2005 to 13 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 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA 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 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 1 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 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

You will remember that we visited your school recently. I am writing, on behalf of the inspectors, to tell you what we found out about your school. We talked to some of you, and we would like to thank you for making us feel welcome and for talking to us about your school and the interesting things that you do there. We also really enjoyed watching some of your Christmas performances. The things we think are good about your school are:* Your headteacher and the staff are working hard to make your school even better* Your school provides you with lots of interesting things to do, including after-school clubs, concerts and sports fixtures.* The staff look after you and help and support you as you learn. You told us that you feel safe and happy in school and that you know the adults will always help you if you are upset or worried* You get on well with each other and do not tolerate bullying* This is a happy school and your parents and carers

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

speak well of it We think your school could be even better if your teachers: * improve the ways of checking how well you are doing and helped you all to achieve as well as you can* involve you more in understanding how well you progress by setting learning targets for you on a more regular basisWe are confident that you will continue to enjoy your school and that you will help your teachers as much as you can.

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