Mora Primary School

101530 Unique Reference Number Brent Local Authority 286097 Inspection number 12 °13 December 2006 Inspection dates Vanessa Ward 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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Mora Road School address Primary Type of school Cricklewood Community School category London NW2 6TD 3 °11 Age range of pupils 02084522634 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02084525656 Fax number 377 Number on roll (school) Mr Alan Carter Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Sue Stanley Headteacher 29 October 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 286097 12 °13 December 2006 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

Mora Primary School is larger than average. Most of the pupils come from minority ethnic groups, the largest of these being of Black African, Black Caribbean or Pakistani heritage. A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language. Pupils come from a range of social backgrounds. The percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals is well above average, as is the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. A large number of pupils join the school at other than the usual times. The school houses the Brent Education Disabilities of Sight service and often takes visually impaired pupils onto its roll, although none was in school at the time of the inspection. There has been a high turnover of staff in the past two years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006

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Grade: 3

Mora Primary School provides a satisfactory quality of education. The school has been through a period of significant change over the past three years. A new headteacher has been appointed and there have been several changes of staff, and some lengthy periods of staff absence. Throughout this time, the headteacher has remained focused on raising standards and improving teaching and learning. As a result of well considered initiatives to eliminate previous underachievement, standards in the 2006 tests rose significantly in English and science, to slightly below average. Results in mathematics remained well below average and the school is putting strategies in place to rectify this. The pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy being in school and show positive attitudes to learning. The school cares for its pupils well and uses its good links with other agencies to provide specialist help where it is needed. The

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Grade: 3

school has worked hard and successfully to develop its relationship with parents and to involve them in their children's learning. This is reflected in a comment from one parent who wrote, 'If I wish to discuss something, I feel I can approach the teachers without a second thought'. The provision in the Foundation Stage is good and gives the children a good start to their education. Achievement through Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory, and this reflects the satisfactory teaching. Whilst there is some good teaching, there is insufficient to challenge pupils consistently and enable them to achieve well. The marking of pupils' work gives them too little information about how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Pupils do not have enough involvement in understanding their targets and their progress towards them. Leadership and management are satisfactory and have some good elements. The headteacher has a comprehensive understanding of the school's strengths and

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Grade: 3

weaknesses. She is building an effective team of senior staff. A recent whole school focus on improving pupils' behaviour has been very successful, contributing to the pupils' enjoyment of learning. This, combined with the rising standards in English and mathematics, indicates that the school has good capacity to improve. The school's focus on pupils' personal development and well-being has been successful. As a result, pupils eat more healthily in school and take part in a wider range of sporting activities. They know how to keep safe and, as a consequence of the new behaviour code, feel that the playground is safer and that any bullying is dealt with swiftly and effectively. They readily take on responsibilities around the school. The emphasis on teaching basic skills is preparing pupils satisfactorily for life beyond school.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Increase the proportion of good teaching, so that all pupils are challenged to achieve well. • Raise standards in mathematics, especially in Years 3 to 6. • Increase pupils' awareness of, and involvement in, how well they are doing. 2 Inspection Report: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory and standards are below average. Children enter the school with standards that are below average, often being well below in social and language development. A high number of children are at the early stages of learning English. The good provision enables them to make good progress and, by the end of the Foundation Stage, the majority achieve the levels expected and a few exceed these. The school is monitoring pupils' progress systematically through more rigorous tracking and intervention procedures. This shows that all groups of pupils make satisfactory progress overall. However, there is some underachievement in mathematics. Where pupils do not make as much progress as expected, strategies are put in place to accelerate their progress. This is contributing to improvement, but the school is aware that more needs to be done to build on current improvements in English and science

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Cultural development is a particular strength, the school making good use of the many nationalities that make up its population. The raising of pupils' self-esteem has been a priority and is having a good effect on their expectations of themselves as learners. They have good awareness of how rules contribute to their safety and security. Their behaviour is good and exclusions have fallen. Attendance is below average, but procedures put in place this term are bringing about improvements, and the school is continuing this work. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles and they enjoy exercise. They enjoy representing their classmates on the school council and having a say in school development, such as establishing a fruit tuck shop. Pupils carry out a range of jobs conscientiously. They

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Grade: 2

contribute to the wider community through organising fund-raising and taking part in a local music festival, and the school is working to increase these opportunities. Experiences such as applying and being interviewed for jobs in school increase pupils' skills for life beyond school.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory and, as a result, pupils make satisfactory progress. There are some particular features of teaching that increase the pupils' learning, such as the good management of behaviour, thoughtful planning and positive relationships. A lively game at the start of a mathematics lesson in Year 6 helped the pupils to focus on their multiplication tables and enjoy learning. Support staff work 3 Inspection Report: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006 well and successfully with small groups of pupils, often helping those with learning difficulties and disabilities. In some lessons, the sharing with the pupils of what they are to learn, and the way that tasks are matched to pupils' learning needs, are strengths. However, these features are not present in all lessons and their absence dilutes the quality of learning. Assessment procedures are being strengthened and teachers are

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Grade: 3

taking more responsibility for the progress of individual pupils. However, the marking of pupils' work does not provide pupils with sufficient information about how well they are doing and what they need to do next to improve.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. It is being revised and is beginning to develop some good features. The school is working to increase the use of literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects, in order to support its efforts to raise standards. Links are being forged between different subjects with, for example, writing skills being developed in history. The curriculum is broad and balanced and contributes well to pupils' personal and academic development. It is enriched by educational visits, visitors to school and a range of after-school clubs. These add to pupils' personal development and their enjoyment, and the school is seeking to increase the range of clubs available. The new organisation in the Foundation Stage is working successfully to enrich and accelerate pupils' learning. The provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities enables them to participate fully in the school's activities. There is good provision for

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Grade: 3

those at an early stage of learning English as an additional language.

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Grade: 3

Care, support and guidance are satisfactory. There are particular strengths in how the school cares for its pupils and this contributes to their good personal development. The school provides well for pupils when they join the school, and for those who are learning English as an additional language. Procedures to ensure the health, safety and well being of pupils are effective. Careful consideration is given to supporting pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and the school is beginning to develop its provision for higher attaining pupils. Whilst the teachers satisfactorily monitor pupils' progress, the academic guidance they provide for them is unsatisfactory. Pupils are not made sufficiently aware of their targets, nor are they helped to evaluate how well they are progressing towards achieving them.

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Grade: 3

The work of the headteacher is particularly effective. She has successfully raised the awareness of staff and governors regarding the priorities for school development. The newly formed senior leadership team is working well to bring about change, and the 4 Inspection Report: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006 school is rightly monitoring its effectiveness. The governing body fulfils its statutory responsibilities and is successfully increasing its involvement in school. Although recent initiatives are beginning to have a positive impact on standards, the school recognises that there is some way to go before achievement for all pupils is securely and consistently good. Recent and current staff absence and changes of staff have increased the challenge for the school. Subject leader roles are developing well, but as yet leaders do not have sufficient responsibility for standards in their subjects.

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Grade: 3

The processes for self-evaluation are rigorous and accurate, and involve all staff and governors, as well as taking into account the views of parents and pupils. This process has helped the school to identify and prioritise the areas on which it most needs to concentrate. 5 Inspection Report: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006 .

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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: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006

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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 2 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

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?

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 2 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: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006

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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: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making us feel welcome when we visited Mora recently and for talking to us about your school. It was very useful to listen to what you had to say about what you enjoy doing. Your school is a happy place and provides you with a satisfactory education. Your parents and carers speak very well of it. They think that your behaviour is good and we agree with them. You told us that you enjoy being in school and feel safe there. You know that the adults will always help you if you are upset or worried. Although you try hard, your test results are not as good as those in some other schools. We have asked your teachers to help you to do better, especially in mathematics, which is not as good as your English and science. You can help by working hard and trying your best. Your teachers work hard to find better ways to teach you. We have asked them to keep doing this so that they can help you to learn even more. We have also asked your teachers to help

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you to understand how well you are doing when they mark your work. Also, they are going to make sure that you know your targets and understand what you need to do to achieve them. The school is good at helping you to grow up and to take on responsibilities. It is good that you enjoy sharing your ideas for making your school better through your school council. You eat fruit and vegetables in school and are involved in many sports. Keep on doing these things, because they help you to be healthy. We hope you carry on enjoying school and working hard. Yours sincerely Vanessa Ward Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Mora Primary School, 12 °13 December 2006

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