Flora Gardens Primary School

Flora Gardens Primary School Inspection report

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100328 Unique Reference Number Hammersmith and Fulham Local Authority 285768 Inspection number 18 °19 June 2007 Inspection dates John Earish 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 Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 234 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr J Althaus Chair Mrs S Birch-Woodcock Headteacher 12 February 2001 Date of previous school inspection Dalling Road School address London W6 0UD

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020 8748 2566 Telephone number 020 8748 1451 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 18 °19 June 2007 Inspection dates 285768 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This average sized school is situated in a mostly disadvantaged area. The school admits pupils from a wide variety of social backgrounds. About three quarters of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups and almost all are at the very early stages of learning English. This number is increasing year-on-year. The mobility of pupils is high with an increasing number of refugees and asylum seekers. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well above that found nationally. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is also well above average. A new headteacher has been in post since the start of the academic year.

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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: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 June 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school which provides a good quality of education. Pupils achieve well. Their care, support and guidance are outstanding. Parents agree and are overwhelmingly positive in their views of the school. One parent, representing the views of many, said, 'I'm very pleased with the way the school is being managed and my children have enjoyed their time there and have lots of friends'. Leadership and management are good. The outstanding leadership skills of the new headteacher have brought about a rapid change to the climate for learning and have successfully addressed underachievement. Accurate and outstanding evaluation of the school's effectiveness has involved wide ranging consultations with pupils, parents, teachers and governors. They now share a clear vision for improving effectiveness based upon teamwork, shared responsibilities and mutual respect. This is illustrated effectively by the very warm and trusting relationships

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Grade: 2

that have been established between the children and their teachers. Achievement is good. Attainment when children start school, whether in Nursery or Reception, is low. Pupils make good. Good provision in the Foundation Stage helps young children settle quickly and effortlessly into school life. This good progress continues as they move through the school. Pupils currently in Year 6 are likely to achieve above average standards in mathematic, science and English. This represents an improvement overall in the standards achieved last year. This is further evidence that changes made to the systems for identifying and addressing underachievement are effective. In addition, a good start has been made in raising the levels of challenge for more able pupils by increasing the opportunities for them to work independently on tasks that extend their reasoning and thinking skills. However, this is not consistent across

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Grade: 2

all classes. Personal development is good. Pupils are very proud of their school, behave well and respect each other. They enjoy learning because the curriculum is of good quality and teachers provide interesting work for them. Pupils are very clear their work is usually exciting and challenging and that 'it's a great school to be in as they teach us exciting subjects'. However, the school recognises the need to increase opportunities for pupils to develop their skills of problem-solving in mathematics and science. The school has made a good start at increasing the links between subjects so that activities are relevant and challenging for all pupils. For example, opportunities for pupils to use information and communication technology [ICT] across the curriculum have improved since the last inspection and are now good. Care, guidance and support are outstanding. Pupils are extremely well cared for and feel secure

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Grade: 2

and happy. There are very strong partnerships with the community and with outside agencies to promote learners' well-being. The school is good at welcoming the high numbers of new pupils, often from abroad and with very little English, and quickly identifies their learning needs and supports them effectively. The school's track record in rigorously evaluating its performance and the clear shared view of what needs to be done next means that it has good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Increase the level of challenge by providing more opportunities for pupils to become active and independent learners, especially for the more able. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 June 2007 • Increase the opportunities for pupils to develop their skills in problem-solving in mathematics and science.

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Grade: 2

All groups of pupils achieve well during their time at school. Inspection evidence confirms that standards are broadly average by the end of Year 2 and above average at the end of Year 6. This is an improvement overall on the standards attained last year and is the result of the positive impact of the changes to the climate for learning and to the systems for tracking and identifying underachievement. Pupils from the minority ethnic groups, who are the overwhelming majority, settle well into school life and achieve well. Those with learning difficulties or disabilities receive well focused support and also make good progress. Children typically start school with skills and abilities that are very much lower than those normally expected of four year olds. They make good progress in the Foundation Stage but few reach the expected levels for their age by the time they move into Year 1, because most start with low level skills in English.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils enjoy school and show enthusiasm for their class work. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. A few pupils can be lively and easily distracted from their class work but their behaviour is well managed and does not affect the learning of others. Levels of attendance are broadly average although a few families do not recognise the importance of prompt and regular attendance at school. Pupils show great kindness and care for each other and are sensitive to the many cultures represented within their school community. One pupil said, 'children from many countries get on well together.' Respect is evident at every level and outstandingly positive relationships are a feature of the school. Pupils particularly enjoy participating in the very influential school council which plays an active part in making decisions and suggesting improvements. They

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Grade: 2

consult widely and share with the rest of the school a very well developed sense of their rights and responsibilities as good citizens. Pupils contribute excellently and with enthusiasm to the local community and show, by this and their support of charities, that they are very aware of the needs of others beyond their own school. They have a clear understanding of healthy lifestyle and staying safe and speak enthusiastically about eating healthily and taking regular exercise. Pupils quickly acquire literacy, numeracy and ICT skills that will equip them well for later life and learning.

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Grade: 2

The quality of the teaching and learning is good. Pupils feel that they are well taught. One said, 'teachers sit with you and help you so no one is left behind and they teach you in a way that you get it'. Lessons are well paced with a variety of activities which pupils enjoy which encourages them to do their very best. Lessons are well planned to meet the needs of the 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 June 2007 different ability groups within each class. However, whilst most activities provide good challenge for those who find learning difficult, there are missed opportunities for the more able to work independently at challenging activities. On a few occasions, introductions to lessons are overlong which causes some pupils to become distracted and they make less progress. Learning support assistants work in close partnership with class teachers to provide good support for those who

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Grade: 2

are new to learning English or have learning difficulties or disabilities.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum provides well for pupils' personal, social and health education and makes a positive contribution to their personal development. Enrichment of the curriculum is very good. Visitors, and other activities help to capture the interest of pupils such as visits to outdoor residential centres and French, Spanish and German lessons for pupils in Key Stage 2. A good range of after-school clubs, including sporting, artistic and cultural experiences enhance pupils' learning and add much to their enjoyment of school. However, there are areas that require further development. The school is aware of the need to increase the opportunities for pupils to apply their skills to investigative work and problem-solving in mathematics and science. Some links are being made between subjects to make learning more interesting and purposeful, drawing on pupils' different skills, particularly in information and communication technology.

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Grade: 2

The quality and range of the activities in the Foundation Stage are very good and prepare children well for their work in Year 1

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support provided for pupils are outstanding. Staff know pupils very well and assign a high priority to their care. Parents recognise that their children are happy and secure. Rigorous procedures for child protection and all aspects of health and safety are in place. There are very effective methods for keeping track of pupils' progress and these are used very effectively to put in place a range of individual programmes of work and interventions to help them to improve. Pupils know their targets in English and mathematics and they find it helps them gauge their own progress and understand what they need to do next to improve. Those with learning difficulties or disabilities have clear education plans with achievable, regularly monitored targets. Support for pupils who speak English as an additional language is very well judged so they make good, and sometimes very good progress. The school also

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Grade: 1

makes excellent use of a range of agencies to support pupils.

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Grade: 2

The new headteacher has shown outstanding leadership skills. She leads from the front and in a very short time has won the admiration and respect of staff, pupils and parents. She has set about the task of building a new climate for learning with passion and determination. She has been ably supported in these endeavours by her new senior management team who have high expectations of what can be achieved, and show a strong determination to ensure that all pupils reach their potential. For example, teaching has been strengthened and tracking information is now being used well to identify and address any underachievement. This clearly demonstrates the school's capacity to improve. However, there are still areas for improvement. The school is 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 June 2007 right that some managers need to have a greater influence on the quality of teaching and

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Grade: 2

learning across the school to ensure greater consistency in pupils' progress. The governors steer the work of the school effectively. They work successfully with the headteacher and act as effective 'critical friends'. Statutory requirements are fully met and the school is well placed to improve further. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 June 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 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: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 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: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

28 June 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Flora Gardens Primary School,London,W6 0UD Thank you very much for making us so welcome when we visited your school recently. We were really impressed with your friendliness and good behaviour and your very sensible and helpful attitudes towards each other. We think that you are given a good education which prepares you well for the next stage of your learning. We liked your school because it is a happy place to be where everyone is friendly and welcoming. You get on with each other and you behave well. Your teachers work hard to make your lessons enjoyable and you always try hard to do your best work. We were particularly impressed with the way that adults care for you and are always there whenever you need help or advice. However, there are some things we think will make your school even better. We have asked your teachers to think about ways of giving you more opportunities to become active and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

independent learners. We also want you to have more opportunities to improve your problem-solving skills during lessons such as science and mathematics. The school is very well led by your new headteacher and she gets lots of help from all the staff. Together they are working hard to make things even better for you. You can all help by continuing to work hard and to meet the targets set for you. I'm sure that you are ready for this challenge! I know that you will continue to work hard and I am sure that you will help your teachers to make your school even better. I hope that you have great success in the future. Best wishes, John Earish,Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Flora Gardens Primary School, 18 °19 June 2007

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