Emmanuel Church of England Primary School

Emmanuel Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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100030 Unique Reference Number Camden Local Authority 285705 Inspection number 14 June 2007 Inspection date Glynis Bradley-Peat Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 105 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Dr P Galloway Chair Ms P Burgess Headteacher 11 November 2002 Date of previous school inspection 101 Mill Lane School address London NW6 1NA

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020 7435 2971 Telephone number 020 7431 5068 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 14 June 2007 Inspection date 285705 Inspection number .

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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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

The school is smaller than average. Pupils come from a range of social and economic backgrounds. A much higher than average proportion of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and just over half of these have English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is just above average. The percentage of pupils identified with learning difficulties and those with a statement of educational need is higher than the national average. The school has achieved the National Healthy School Award and is an Investor in People.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007

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Grade: 1

In the words of a parent, 'Emmanuel is a fantastic school and we feel very privileged that our daughter attends such a fine school.' Inspection evidence certainly shows this to be true. Emmanuel provides an outstanding standard of education for its pupils. The key to the school's success is the headteacher's great ability to facilitate and develop team working skills amongst all her staff. Every teacher is expected to be a leader and they carry out their work with enthusiasm and commitment. Governors play an active role in the school and challenge its performance well. During the inspection one was observed supporting reading in Reception. Although the school knows itself very well, it took too modest a view about its effectiveness partly because of the high expectations it has of its staff and pupils and its unremitting drive for excellence. Because there is a continual focus on improvement, pupils reach high standards in their work

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Grade: 1

and their achievement is outstanding. Relatively speaking, they have performed less well in mathematics than English and science in national tests. Plans are already in place to remedy this and are already bearing fruit. Children typically enter Reception with skills below those expected for their age. They receive an excellent start to their education and make super progress. Consistently high quality teaching ensures that pupils continue to make outstanding progress throughout the rest of their time in the school. Detailed and meticulous lesson planning caters exceedingly well for the needs of every pupil, contributing much to the progress they make. Teachers make competent use of electronic whiteboards to help enliven learning, and they direct teaching assistants very well to ensure good quality support for pupils who need extra help or challenge. There is a huge variety of clubs for such a small school! These enrich

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Grade: 1

learning and help to contribute towards an outstanding curriculum. Pupils also participate in some special themed weeks such as 'Health Week', 'Arts Week' and 'maths week' which they thoroughly enjoy. Personal development and well being are outstanding as a result of the excellent provision the school makes, particularly in the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its pupils. Even the youngest are articulate, polite and display excellent behaviour at all times. They thoroughly enjoy school which is demonstrated by their good attendance and their enthusiasm in lessons. Their contribution to both their local and wider community is excellent and they are excellently prepared for life in their next school and beyond. The school's highly successful track record, particularly over the last three years, and the improvements which have been made since the last inspection, demonstrate an outstanding

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that the impact of measures put in place to raise standards in mathematics are monitored and evaluated regularly.

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Grade: 1

Standards have been above average across the school for a number of years and all indicators point to this continuing in the future. The skills and abilities of pupils entering Reception are below average but because of consistently good teaching most children reach or exceed the 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007 early learning goals. Throughout Years 1 and 2 pupils' progress continues to accelerate and standards are above average in national tests at the end of Year 2. Performance in mathematics is relatively weaker, but the school has a comprehensive plan in place which is beginning to have a good impact on improving pupils' mathematical skills. Overall, pupils make outstanding progress and by the time they leave Year 6 standards are high in English and science and above average in mathematics. Pupils meet highly challenging targets. Those with learning difficulties and disabilities receive excellent support from highly competent

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Grade: 1

teaching assistants. This enables them to make tremendous strides towards achieving their targets. No groups of pupils underachieve.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils feel safe and secure and adopt healthy lifestyles, they talked happily about the food they eat in school and how they have had a real influence on packed lunches. Pupils are keen to be rewarded for choosing the healthy option and one said excitedly, 'We get certificates for choosing the healthy food.' They also spoke about being able to approach adults in the school confidently if anything does go wrong. A 'bully box' enables pupils to write their thoughts and feelings in case of problems which they say are dealt with effectively. Pupils carry out their many responsibilities very conscientiously and take a particular pride in their 'school council'. Members of the council spoke of the 'friendship stop' they have set up and younger pupils about 'playground pals'. They explained how they help others to make friends and feel happy

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Grade: 1

in school, especially those who are new. Contributions to the school and local community are numerous. Links with an old people's home have developed to serve both the school and the residents. The pupils spoke happily about entertaining the residents by singing Christmas carols. In exchange, the residents have provided valuable first hand knowledge of historical information and events which have enhanced the curriculum. The school has regular contact with the local vets, a pizza parlour, police station and fire station, amongst others. These links enable the pupils to learn about business and finance, and how communities work together to provide services and help to each other. This, along with above average basic skills equips them extremely well for the future.

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Grade: 1

Teaching overall is outstanding. A real strength is the way teachers plan their lessons so thoroughly and take great pride in their work and the successes of their pupils. Planning takes the abilities of each individual pupil into account. Questioning reflects the serious thought that has been given to directing the correct level of question to each particular pupil. High quality group and paired work features in all lessons and is carefully planned for. In an outstanding literacy lesson pupils enthusiastically assessed their own progress by looking at 'child friendly' success criteria and then discussed what they had achieved in the lesson. Pupils also commented, 'If we don't understand at first, we don't put our hands up straight away for help, we ask our talking partners.' 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007 Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities learn very effectively because teachers and

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Grade: 1

teaching assistants spend time boosting their progress through well designed support programmes. This ensures that they make as much progress as possible.

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Grade: 1

The very well planned curriculum gives pupils a multitude of opportunities to achieve as well as possible. One parent wrote, 'Teachers take the curriculum seriously ensuring pupils are well taught.' There is a two-year rolling programme to cater for mixed age groups. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used well to link subjects together and pupils spoke about using these skills in history. French is taught and is very successful. The school employs a specialist music teacher to deliver a creative music curriculum. Pupils were keen to tell the inspector about their participation in the choir and how they had been able to sing at the 'Royal Albert Hall'. Extra curricular activities are many and varied and attended well. Special projects such as 'Junior Citizen's Day' serve well to motivate pupils and focus their attention, contributing very well to their personal development. A high number of excellent visits are organised

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Grade: 1

throughout the school year which enhance learning well, including an annual residential stay. This gives pupils the opportunity to take part in outdoor adventure and team building activities. Visitors to school are valued and comment on how well the pupils behave.

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Grade: 1

The provision for care, guidance and support is outstanding with assessment and academic guidance being a real strength. The tracking system is clear and very effective. Risk assessments, and the checks performed on adults who have contact with pupils, are rigorous and ensure that pupils are safe. Pupils are looked after very well and the school has the confidence of parents. One commented, 'Most importantly, my daughter is off to a great start in her educational journey in a school where she feels safe and cared for.' Pupils know who to come to if they have any problems and are confident that things will be effectively dealt with. Learners who are identified as being at risk are cared for well. Most pupils know their targets and understand what they need to do to reach the next level of learning. Assessment systems and data are used well by all teachers, marking is thorough and pupils appreciate the comments teachers make

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Grade: 1

in their books. They are given time to reflect on these comments so that they can put them into action the next time they tackle a piece of work. In the words of one pupil, 'We have to look at what our teacher has written'. They report that this practice helps them to improve their work.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding, and the vast majority of parents agree. Excellent teamwork amongst staff means that there is always a focus on raising standards and making sure that all pupils achieve as well as they possibly can. All teachers are leaders and managers and all have a firm grip on what they need to do to raise standards even further, particularly in mathematics. Self evaluation is effective and accurate but over cautious. Everyone, including governors, has a good understanding of how they can maximise achievement for the pupils. Governors are fully involved in all the school does and have an understanding of what the 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007 performance data shows. The track record of improvement over the last three years is outstanding, demonstrated by the pupils' consistently outstanding progress and achievement.

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Grade: 1

Monitoring and evaluation processes are robust and the school has plans in place to check the progress made in mathematics. The quality of teaching is regularly monitored and areas for improvement link well into further training for teachers. The vast majority of parents support the school. They feel that they are involved well with what the school does, that they are listened to, and that their views are taken into account. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

25 June 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Emmanuel Church of England Primary School,London,NW6 1NA I was really delighted to visit your school recently. What a warm welcome I received! Thank you very much for spending time talking to me about what you do in your school. You certainly know lots of things about healthy eating and taking exercise. You all said how much you like your school and that the adults there care for you very much and want you to do as well as you can. I agree with you and most of your parents and think that your school is outstanding. You were keen to let me know how you help other children in your school by being 'playground pals'. You are very caring and considerate. It was good to see that even the youngest children in the school are able to voice their opinions about things so very well! Your headteacher leads the school very well indeed. All the teachers do a super job and teach

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you really well and give you lots of different things to do. They have helped you to reach high standards and achieve very well. Both they and I have noticed that you don't do quite as well in mathematics as you do in English and science. Your headteacher has already put some ideas into place to make this better. I have asked that she keeps a close eye on how you do in mathematics from now on. You can help too by always doing your best work and thinking hard. Once again, thank you for having me in your school. Kind regards Glynis Bradley-PeatAdditional Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Emmanuel Church of England Primary School, 14 June 2007

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