Kentish Town Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Kentish Town Church of England Primary School

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100034 Unique Reference Number Camden Local Authority 285707 Inspection number 13 °14 February 2007 Inspection dates Charalambos Loizou 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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Islip Street School address Primary Type of school London Voluntary aided School category NW5 2TU 3 °11 Age range of pupils 020 7485 1279 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 7485 1280 Fax number 290 Number on roll (school) Father Richard Arnold Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Calvin Henry Headteacher 25 June 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 285707 13 °14 February 2007 3°11 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

This is an average size school serving a very mixed area of social and private housing. The pupils come from a wide variety of backgrounds, the largest groups being of White British, Bangladeshi or African heritage. A significant number of pupils are from asylum-seeker or refugee families. The proportion of pupils joining the school at different times is quite high. The proportion of pupils in the early stages of learning English is larger than that of most schools. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is well above average. This includes those admitted to the school's resource base which provides specialist support and resources for pupils with complex physical disabilities. The school has a Nursery for part-time and full-time three and four year olds. The school has been managed by an acting headteacher for one term. He was appointed to the substantive post just before the inspection.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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Grade: 1

Kentish Town CE Primary is an outstanding school. Pupils achieve extremely well because of excellent teaching and highly effective leadership. Parents are very satisfied with what the school provides for their children. 'The school is brilliantly led and managed and staff are attentive to the children's needs'. This accurate tribute sums up the sentiments of many parents. Pupils are enthusiastic, work hard and enjoy school very much. Their outstanding personal development and well-being enables them to mature into well behaved and courteous young people. The pupils make excellent progress in relation to their low starting points. Standards are average and improving rapidly. Excellent support is provided for those joining the school at different times and for pupils from asylum-seeking and refugee families. Teachers and highly skilled support staff take outstanding care of pupils, including those with complex physical disabilities who are fully integrated and form strong

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Grade: 1

friendships with other pupils. Pupils with learning difficulties and those learning English as an additional language benefit greatly from the high quality care and teaching they receive. The staff ensure that pupils are safe from harm or harassment. One pupil commented, 'We like school because there are lots of people there to help us'. The pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development enables them to respect different races, views and beliefs. They are confident that the staff will act on their ideas like changing lunch time menus or organising class teas for parents. Pupils learn about citizenship and democracy when visiting the local council chambers. They develop a thorough understanding of information and communication technology (ICT) skills that prepares them very well for the future. Pupils regularly visit the local and wider community and thrive on opportunities to represent the views of others as

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Grade: 1

school councillors. Children in the Foundation Stage make excellent progress because of the high quality of provision there. In Years 1 to 6, teaching and learning continue to be excellent. An outstanding curriculum successfully incorporates the creative arts, sport and music, as well as an extensive range of visits and visitors, so that learning is made relevant and stimulating. Whilst the school is highly effective there is scope for improvement. Although pupils achieve very well, progress for some in writing, particularly boys, is relatively slower than that for reading and mathematics. In the most effective lessons, teachers provide tasks that are well matched to the needs and abilities of all pupils. However, in some lessons, tasks are not always as sharply matched to the needs of higher ability pupils. There has been good progress since the school's last inspection. The leadership team and governors set very high expectations which accounts for their modest assessments

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Grade: 1

of the school. Highly effective teamwork, vigilant monitoring and excellent assessment systems are used to monitor pupils' performance. These help to plan intervention programmes aimed at boosting pupils' progress. For example, the staff identified that girls of Bangladeshi heritage were not reaching the standards of other groups. Appropriate intervention and intensive support was put in place, resulting in much 2 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007 improved standards. The staff are innovative and energetic in seeking to improve and the school's capacity to keep on improving is excellent. Governors are highly effective and a credit to the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Accelerate the progress pupils make, particularly boys, in writing to raise standards and bring them more in line with those of reading and mathematics. • Ensure that in all lessons pupils of higher ability are consistently well challenged.

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Grade: 1

Although standards are average, the pupils achieve extremely well in relation to their starting points. The large majority of children entering the Foundation Stage start school with knowledge and skills that are very low for their age. They are provided with excellent care and stimulating teaching so the children make rapid progress even though standards are below those expected by the start of Year 1. In the rest of the school, excellent teaching enables the pupils to reach average standards in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Standards are rising rapidly and the school sets challenging targets, including those for pupils joining the school at different times. Boys achieve very well in most areas but in writing their standards lag behind other subjects. Girls do extremely well and national tests results for Year 6 show that they attain above average standards. Pupils in the early stages of learning

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Grade: 1

English and those with learning difficulties and disabilities make excellent progress towards their learning targets and the majority reach the standards expected for their age.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Relationships and racial harmony are excellent. Lunchtimes and playtimes are social occasions when pupils chat and play together amicably. Pupils love coming to school as one remarked, 'School is fun, we learn new stuff'. This is reflected in good attendance. Pupils feel safe from bullying or harassment. They understand and appreciate other cultures and religious traditions, for example, through the celebrations of festivals and work during black history month. Their excellent cultural development is enriched by music and art from around the world. Pupils eat healthy food and take opportunities to show initiative when, for example, the school council sells healthy snacks in the tuck shop. They adopt active lifestyles through their participation in sports, and children in the Foundation Stage regularly walk a good distance with staff to the local adventure playground.

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Grade: 1

Pupils take full advantage of the excellent opportunities to air their views, for example, by organising a suggestion box. They take a lead in collecting funds for charities and conscientiously take responsibility for preparing class budgets. 3 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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Grade: 1

Pupils make very good progress because of excellent teaching. Teachers plan their lessons meticulously and provide clear objectives that are regularly checked and shared with pupils. Tasks in lessons are broken down into manageable steps so pupils understand how they can improve. Excellent use is made of role play, art and physical play in both indoor and outdoor areas in the Foundation Stage to stimulate learning and develop the children's knowledge of the world around them. Reading, writing, mathematics and ICT skills are well taught and this helps the pupils to research independently. There are good opportunities provided for pupils to extend their writing across subjects, although these are not consistent enough for boys who make relatively slower progress in writing compared with that of girls. Teachers make accurate assessments of the pupils' performance and work. However, in some lessons tasks are

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Grade: 1

not well enough matched to the needs of higher ability pupils.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is excellent. It captures pupils' interest and meets their varying needs extremely well. An attractive computer suite, interactive whiteboards in classes, digital cameras and an informative website, support pupils' learning of ICT very well across subjects and topics. The school has correctly identified writing as an area for further development. Pupils are given many opportunities to plan their own topics at home and in school, for example, when one pupil had made a model of an Egyptian god and filled the body with scrolls giving information about other gods of that period. There is a wide range of enrichment activities during and outside school times and participation rates are high. One pupil correctly remarked that, 'We have lots to do all the time'. The quality and range of work displayed around the school is of very high quality and demonstrates how well the staff value the pupils' efforts. Pupils participate

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Grade: 1

in a large number of visits that enhance their learning and personal development.

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Grade: 1

There is outstanding care and support. Many parents have commented on this very strong aspect of the school's work, 'My children love school and are learning so much', 'The staff offer a very caring environment for the children and they are generous with their time and energy'. Staff are vigilant and keep excellent records of attendance, accidents and medical needs. Racist and bullying incidents are extremely rare and there are very good systems in place to follow these up. Staff work hard to raise pupils' self-esteem and help them become more effective learners. Highly skilled support staff provide very effective assistance for pupils with learning difficulties and for those with complex physical disabilities. Academic support and monitoring are excellent. 4 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007 Excellent assessment systems are used to regularly check pupils' progress and help

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Grade: 1

teachers plan tasks in lessons that build on what the pupils have already learned.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding. The strong leadership and clear vision of the headteacher and assistant headteachers are guiding the school forward extremely well. Self-evaluation and planning for improvement take very good account of pupils', staff and parents' views. Robust analysis of pupils' performance and the development of teaching have improved standards since the last inspection. Subject leaders are diligent and ensure that teachers' planning and pupils' performance are monitored closely. The staff work extremely well as a team and have special 'book look' sessions to check the consistency and quality of pupils' work. Governors hold the school to account extremely well and provide highly effective support. Very good systems are in place to ensure they monitor the school's performance. The staff are energetic and innovative in seeking ways to help pupils and newly qualified staff. Highly skilled

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Grade: 1

support staff are deployed very well. The school's track record of improvement shows that it has excellent capacity to improve and to raise standards further. 5 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 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? 3 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 2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 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? 8 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for welcoming the inspectors to your school. You were all very friendly and helpful. Yours in an excellent school and your parents agree. There are so many good things about your school that it is hard for me to pick out the very best. However, these are what the inspectors were pleased with most: • you are well behaved and try very hard in lessons. • your teachers are helping you to do very well and you learn very well. • you enjoy school and inspectors were really pleased with the quality of your work that is displayed beautifully around the school. Your stories, pictures and models are fantastic, well done. • your parents are very pleased with you and your teachers and many parents like to help in school, we were particularly impressed with your Valentine class tea for parents. • the staff take excellent care of you and make sure you are all safe and happy. • your headteacher, staff and governors manage the school very well and work hard to give

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you extra things to do during and after school, like music, sports and art. I have asked your teachers to: • help you improve your writing so it matches the good standards you reach in reading, mathematics, science and ICT. • make sure that in all lessons your teachers help some of you reach higher levels. Well done, and I wish you all the very best. Yours faithfully Charalambos Loizou Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Kentish Town Church of England Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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