Mayflower Primary School

Inspection Report Mayflower Primary School

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100913 Unique Reference Number Tower Hamlets Local Authority 285917 Inspection number 18 January 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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Upper North Street School address Primary Type of school London Community School category E14 6DU 3 °11 Age range of pupils 020 7987 2782 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 7538 3792 Fax number 366 Number on roll (school) Mr Malcolm Key Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Lisa Zychowicz Headteacher 12 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 285917 18 January 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

The school is larger than average and serves an area of high deprivation. Almost all of the pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds, the vast majority from Bangladesh. Ninety-seven percent of pupils have English as an additional language and almost all of these enter the school at an early stage of language acquisition. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is higher than usually found. The proportion of pupils identified with learning difficulties and those with a statement of educational need is above the national average. The proportion of pupils joining or leaving the school at other than the usual times is also higher than average. Children start school with levels of attainment and skills that are significantly below those expected for their age.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 2007

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Grade: 1

Mayflower Primary is an outstanding school. This is far different from its own modest self-evaluation. The headteacher's inspirational leadership underpins the school's great success and pupils thrive in a challenging, enriched and fast-moving environment. The senior and middle management teams are rightly proud of what they have achieved but are certainly not complacent. They, along with the governing body, support the headteacher well. Pupils' achievement is outstanding and standards are above average and rising. Pupils enter the school with significantly below average skills, but the high quality education they receive in the Foundation Stage helps them to make a flying start to their learning. The whole school focus on speaking and listening has helped the large numbers of pupils with English as an additional language achieve well. The quality of teaching is consistently high because teachers are never satisfied with

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Grade: 1

second best and have the pupils' best interests at heart. It is also rigorously monitored by managers. Lesson planning is effective and caters for the needs of all pupils which facilitates their excellent progress. However, the use of the interactive whiteboards in lessons is rather limited. Teachers give up their own time willingly to enrich learning by providing a huge variety of unusual and stimulating activities after school. This in turn helps to create the outstanding curriculum where pupils have access to some super projects and activities which they thoroughly enjoy. The personal development and well-being of pupils is outstanding, which is the result of the excellent care, guidance and support they receive in school and highly creative curriculum. The behaviour of pupils is exemplary and they show genuine respect for each other and adults, evidenced by the positive comments made by visitors to the

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Grade: 1

school, of which there are many. Pupils have the opportunity to really involve themselves in the school and wider community because of the excellent links which exist between the school and local businesses. Visits also give pupils a real grasp about what happens in the world of work. The previous inspection found this to be a good school. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength. All the issues from the previous inspection have been tackled well and some, such as the raising of standards, are still being relentlessly pursued by the school leadership. This bodes well for the future and capacity to improve is excellent.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that teachers are trained effectively in the use of electronic whiteboards.

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Grade: 1

Standards have been rising steadily year by year and are now above average. All indicators point to a continuing trend in improvement. Achievement is outstanding. Pupils enter the school with significantly below average skills, particularly in language 2 Inspection Report: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 2007 and communication. They get off to a good start in the Nursery and improve well in the Reception year. Throughout Years 1 and 2 pupils' progress really begins to accelerate, but standards are still below average in national tests at the end of Year 2. The school is striving hard to improve results and has a comprehensive plan in place which is having a good impact on pupils' skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Between Years 3 and 6, progress is particularly impressive and pupils meet challenging targets. This exceptional progress is reflected by the school's consistent appearance in the top five percent of schools nationally for achievement in English, mathematics

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Grade: 1

and science. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities receive highly focused support, which enables them to take great strides towards their targets. No groups of pupils underachieve. Those starting school with little English make exceptional gains in their learning.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' enthusiasm and praise for their school is evident in all that they do. Children enjoy school very much, feel safe and secure and are highly appreciative of teachers, who put a great deal of their time into organising extra-curricular clubs and activities. One said, 'In this school there are a lot of great projects going on.' Pupils spoke excitedly about their participation in opera, history, art and science work, to mention only a few, some of which can be seen on the school website. Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils are polite and courteous at all times, greeting everyone with a smile. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. An assembly linked the journey of a river to the journey of life. Attendance is satisfactory and the school has worked very hard on this. Pupils are delighted with the prizes given to improve this. However, there are still a number of parents who take their children

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Grade: 1

on extended leave during term time. Pupils remarked upon events such as healthy eating week and said it helped them to make better choices about what they eat. The parents were also invited to talks on healthy packed lunches. Pupils quite clearly appreciate the benefits of exercise. Contributions to the school and local community are varied and children thoroughly enjoy them. There is a highly effective school council which is allocated a small budget of its own. Pupils commented that the school listens to them and acts on their suggestions. Year 6 pupils are part of the 'Poplar Parliament' which involves them more widely in decision making. Pupils have visited local businesses as representatives of the school and have been involved in projects with Leaside Regeneration to promote the local market and an art project to enhance the Canary Wharf environment. Pupils take an active part in organising fundraising for different causes. Along with their

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Grade: 1

good basic skills, they are prepared outstandingly well for their future. 3 Inspection Report: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 2007

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding because of meticulous lesson planning and the exceptional support strategies which have been put into place. A particular strength is the way that teachers ensure that all pupils succeed. Work is matched exactly to their needs. The well-developed questioning skills of teachers probe pupils' understanding, enabling them to make excellent progress. A significant factor in raising achievement is the thorough marking of books which pupils say, 'Tells us how to make our work better.' Expectations of what pupils can do are high. Mathematics lessons challenge pupils' thinking and quality paired and group discussion work facilitates the solving of problems. Teachers use a variety of approaches and resources to ensure that pupils enjoy their lessons, but the new electronic whiteboards are not being used effectively to enhance learning. Because of the whole school approach to speaking

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Grade: 1

and listening, pupils with little or no English make excellent progress. This approach was consistently used in all lessons observed and teachers modelled speaking skills extremely well. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities learn effectively because teachers, teaching assistants and support staff design individual programmes to ensure that pupils make as much progress as possible.

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Grade: 1

A rich and varied curriculum completely meets the needs of its pupils. Creative and sporting extra-curricular activities offer something for everyone, whatever their interests. The curriculum is augmented and enriched by visits and visitors such as writers, poets, artists and musicians who bring their expertise to support learning. Some pupils have had their poems and other written work published. Special events such as photography, book-making, digital animation, science and drama also inspire pupils to achieve more. Gifted and talented children have been involved in activities in art, music, history through the E-learning project and a 'Maths Challenge workshop'. All pupils in Year 6 are given the chance to attend a week's school journey which promotes team work, independence and self-esteem. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 are taught French. Pupils' personal development is excellent because of the school's outstanding

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Grade: 1

curriculum. Local business partners have been set up as 'Reading Partners' to give children extra one-to-one enriched reading opportunities which helps to raise standards. A recent link with a multi-national company has seen the introduction of lunchtime 'Maths and information and communication technology Partners'.

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support are outstanding because in Mayflower Primary every child really does matter. Assessment and academic guidance are real strengths which 4 Inspection Report: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 2007 contribute to the exceptional progress pupils make. The method of tracking pupils' progress is an example of a simple but very effective system. Those who are at risk of underachieving are identified early and support programmes are quickly put into place which cater for pupils well. Risk assessments and the checks performed on adults to ensure that pupils are safe are in place. The school works exceptionally well with outside agencies and the local community to promote the well being of pupils.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding and the vast majority of parents agree. One made the comment, 'All I can say as a parent is that I have seen great improvement to this school since Lisa has come ... now it's the best!' High quality teamwork between senior and middle managers means that there is a very clear understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas which need improvement. Although very modest, the school's self-evaluation is highly effective and clearly demonstrates its drive to raise standards. The track record of improvement over the last three years is outstanding, demonstrated by the pupils' excellent progress and achievement. The school has outstanding capacity to improve. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation cycles are in place, ensuring that pupils continue to achieve as well as they can and that teachers deliver high quality lessons. Governors know their school well and hold the school to account. They are fully involved in the

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Grade: 1

school's self evaluation processes and are familiar with what the performance information shows about the school's work. Parents are also fully involved with the school and have praised the recent 'Family Learning Week' where they joined their children both in school and on trips. They feel part of the school community and say they are listened to and their views taken into account. 5 Inspection Report: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 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: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 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? 2 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 3 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: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 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: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you so much for making my day when I visited your school recently. You were so helpful, polite and friendly that I felt quite at home! Also, I must thank you for answering my questions and showing me your exercise books, which were beautifully presented. You told me that you really enjoy all the special projects that the school involves you in and some of you told me that you have had your writing published in real books! What an achievement! Others talked to me about all the interesting clubs you can go to and how super they are. I agree! I think your school is an outstanding school. That means it helps you all to do as well as you possibly can and cares for you a great deal. Your headteacher does an excellent job! Along with her deputy, she leads the school very well and watches carefully how you are all doing. She makes sure that no-one falls behind. Your teachers teach you really well by preparing interesting activities for you to do in your lessons.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I have asked them to make sure that they use the new interactive whiteboards more in future and have some lessons on how they can do that really well. They have promised to do that. You can do your part too. Missing school stops you from learning, so perhaps some of you can persuade your parents to see that you miss as little as possible by taking you away during school holiday time. Once again, thank you for having me in your school and I look forwards to seeing how well you do in the future. Kind regards Glynis Bradley-PeatLead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Mayflower Primary School, 18 January 2007

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