John Perry Primary School

Inspection Report John Perry Primary School

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101232 Unique Reference Number Barking and Dagenham Local Authority 286000 Inspection number 7 °8 February 2007 Inspection dates Judith Dawson 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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Charles Road School address Primary Type of school Dagenham, Essex Community School category Dagenham RM10 8UR 3 °11 Age range of pupils 020 8270 4622 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8270 4625 Fax number 442 Number on roll (school) Mr E McCarthy Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs M A Carnelley Teacher in charge 23 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 286000 7 °8 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 large primary school serves pupils from families where few adults have had higher education. More pupils than average have English as an additional language but few are at the early stages of learning English. Fewer pupils than average have learning difficulties, disabilities or statements of special needs. Attainment on entry to the nursery is below average. The headteacher was appointed in September 2006. The school holds the Healthy Schools Award and provides swimming for all pupils. A Children's Centre is in the school grounds.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 February 2007

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Grade: 3

John Perry Primary School provides a satisfactory education for its pupils. The new headteacher has been successful in not only maintaining but adding to an enthusiastic management team that has worked with her to accurately evaluate the school's strengths and weaknesses. This informed the school's plans for development and provides a secure foundation for further improvement. Achievement is satisfactory and standards are generally average by the time pupils leave school in Year 6. Although children make good progress in the Foundation Stage, most still have poor communication, language and literacy skills by the time they join Year 1. Pupils' reading, writing and mathematics improve by Year 2 and standards are average. Although pupils' skills and experiences are somewhat limited, their achievements in the junior classes in English, mathematics and science are satisfactory. Pupils enjoy school. One parent says, 'Our son is always keen to talk about his day'.

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Grade: 3

In lessons, pupils are attentive and work hard. Behaviour is good. The school council takes its responsibilities seriously. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. They know how to take care of themselves but have less understanding about how to improve their work. Pupils make satisfactory use of their literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills to help prepare them for their futures. Teaching and learning are satisfactory, although there are significant variations from class to class. All teachers have good relationships with their pupils. This generates a good climate for learning. In the Nursery, adults provide a rich environment that enables children to make good progress, especially in developing personal, social and creative skills. Provision in the reception classes is satisfactory, but lacks the same stimulating learning opportunities. The curriculum across the rest of the school is also

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Grade: 3

satisfactory. Some teachers plan interesting work, providing opportunities for pupils to develop their own ideas. While all teachers follow the curriculum, some do not make enough use of assessment to adapt their planning to cater for the needs of different group of pupils. Marking often does not give pupils enough information to help them improve. Several members of the school council said their lessons were too easy. Teaching assistants support pupils with specific needs well but lesson plans rarely include their targets for learning. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language is unsatisfactory but the school has already started to address this. The school provides good pastoral care for the pupils. The effective behaviour and anti-bullying policies have generated an orderly community. Child protection and safety procedures meet national requirements. Academic guidance is satisfactory

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Grade: 3

overall. The school has good systems for tracking pupils' progress and some teachers set group targets for English and mathematics. However, pupils do not have individual targets and are rarely involved in evaluating their performance or deciding how to improve for themselves. 2 Inspection Report: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 February 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the consistency of teaching, in particular by using assessment more effectively to plan work and set targets to show pupils, especially the more able, how they can improve. • Establish systems to provide adequately for pupils with English as an additional language. • Ensure the good teaching and learning in the nursery is continued throughout the Foundation Stage.

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Grade: 3

Children achieve well in the Nursery. The practical and visual environment supports all children's learning and they rapidly develop good personal and social skills. Many children are not ready for the less practical learning in the Reception classes and by the end of the Foundation Stage few achieve the expected learning goals in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. By Year 2, pupils have made good progress and standards are average. Although expectations of the curriculum become more challenging, pupils make satisfactory progress and standards in English, mathematics and science remain average by Year 6. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities make satisfactory progress towards their targets. Some more able pupils do not achieve as well as they could because they are not challenged sufficiently. Pupils with English as an additional language, including those in the early stages of learning English, struggle to maintain satisfactory progress

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Grade: 3

because of the lack of provision to meet their needs accurately. Pupils achieve well in sport, especially swimming.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development and well being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are satisfactory. They have a satisfactory understanding of different cultures and the beliefs of others but there is little in school to support and celebrate the diversity of pupils' backgrounds. They like coming to school and attendance is average. Pupils are friendly and sociable and understand the need for rules and generally abide by them. They respond well to encouragement and have good relationships with each other and with their teachers. They enjoy their lessons, particularly physical education and art. They collaborate well in lessons and in team games. Through the school council, pupils take responsibility for fund raising and are involved in making changes to school life. They commented, 'School dinners have improved, but need to get even better.' They understand the importance of a healthy

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Grade: 3

lifestyle and how to keep themselves safe. Pupils know they can trust staff to deal effectively with any incidents of bullying and rough play. 3 Inspection Report: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 February 2007

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Grade: 3

While the quality of teaching in the school is satisfactory, there are inconsistencies in teaching throughout the school. In some classes lessons are imaginative and challenging. For example Year 5 pupils exploring the effectiveness of different brands of air freshener, worked in small groups to plan their experiments. Their difficult task was to identify the factors that might make the results unreliable. The work captured the pupils' interest, and encouraged independence and collaborative learning. Because the pupils committed themselves so enthusiastically to the work, they made rapid progress. In many lessons though, teachers do not plan suitable work to meet the varied needs and abilities of the pupils in their classes. More able pupils are not extended sufficiently, and those new to English do not receive the carefully targeted teaching they need to learn as quickly as they could. While there is some very good practice, several teachers

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Grade: 3

rarely use marking to indicate how pupils could improve their work. The dynamic and effective teaching in the Nursery is not echoed in the Reception classes and teaching, although satisfactory, is not sufficiently adapted to reflect the way young children learn.

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Grade: 3

The school's curriculum is satisfactory. It acknowledges the importance of essential English and mathematics skills. The lively Nursery curriculum extends children's understanding of the world about them through engaging practical tasks. These stimulate children's language development and encourage their curiosity. This is far less effective in the Reception classes. The curriculum in the Infant and Junior classes is thorough, but seldom allows enough opportunity for pupils to develop in independence, and show initiative. There are strengths in the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, but class lessons are seldom well-tailored to their needs. The same is true for more able pupils. Those new to learning English do not progress as quickly as they could, because there is no appropriately planned provision for them. There are few books in school written in pupils' home languages. There is a good programme of personal and social

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Grade: 3

education, provision for learning French and excellent facilities for swimming. A good range of extracurricular clubs enriches the curriculum well.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. The school makes good provision for pupils' pastoral care. All requirements regarding health and safety and risk assessment 4 Inspection Report: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 February 2007 are in place and there are robust procedures for child protection and checking staff. Parents trust the staff to take care of their children. There are good procedures to follow-up absence and to encourage regular attendance. The good personal, social and health education curriculum, supported by visits and visitors to school provides pupils with a good understanding of healthy eating, how to keep safe and the need to recycle materials. Both pupils and parents receive support from external agencies if pupils experience behavioural or social difficulties. The school has a useful system to track how well pupils make progress. However, this is not consistently used in all classes to identify the next steps in learning for pupils

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Grade: 3

with differing needs. Marking does not always give pupils sufficient guidance on how to improve their work and, because their targets are quite general, pupils often forget what they are.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher has made a good start to her leadership. She has accurately evaluated the school's strengths and areas for development. The school's plans for improvement reflect the inspections findings and clearly identify sensible measures for implementing them. The school has made satisfactory improvement since the last inspection in the monitoring of teaching and planning to improve pupils' speaking skills. Some teachers still do not have high enough expectations of the more able pupils. The school's capacity for further improvement is satisfactory. Subject leaders and other managers have sound knowledge to support their roles but several have limited management experience. The school is putting measures in place to develop their role in order to help them make a greater impact on school development and raising standards. Governors are very supportive and carry out their duties conscientiously. Their role in monitoring school performance is in an early stage

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Grade: 3

of development. The school maintains good links with parents and links with the community are satisfactory. 5 Inspection Report: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 February 2007 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 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? 3 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 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

3 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 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

3 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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?

3 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: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 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: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for your friendliness and support during our visit to your school. A special thanks to the school council who spoke to Mrs Willman. You told us you enjoy school and that your teachers take good care of you. We agree with you. We saw how well-behaved you are in your lessons and on the playground, even in the snow. It was a shame that Year 4 pupils missed their visit to Colchester castle because of the weather. You carry out your duties in school well. We were impressed by the way the school council is working to make your school lunches even healthier. You work hard and your teachers make sure that you make steady progress through the school. You are working at the same level as most other pupils. Some of you told us that sometimes your work is too easy. We have asked your teachers to make sure you have plenty of challenge, and give you advice in their marking and targets to help you improve your work. The teaching

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

assistants are good at helping those of you who find your work difficult or who speak a language other than English at home. We want your teachers to make sure they set you work to meet your needs more accurately so that you can work more independently. Your school needs to plan a programme of support to help those of you who are learning to speak and understand English. Children in the Nursery are taught well. You have lots of interesting things to do and soon learn how to work and play together well. You are good at deciding how you will do things. We have asked your teachers in the Reception classes to make sure they give you plenty of opportunities to carry on learning in the same way. Your new headteacher has already started to plan to do the things we ask. She knows your school well and makes sure that the school is led and managed efficiently. Your school gives you a satisfactory education. Best wishes

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Mrs Judy Dawson, Lead inspector. 9 Inspection Report: John Perry Primary School, 7 °8 February 2007

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