Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Princess Frederica CofE Primary School

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101535 Unique Reference Number Brent Local Authority 286102 Inspection number 29 °30 January 2007 Inspection dates Rob Crompton 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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College Road School address Primary Type of school London Voluntary aided School category NW10 5TP 3 °11 Age range of pupils 02089697756 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02089645372 Fax number 422 Number on roll (school) Mrs Pippa Thiede-Palmer Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs S Nettey Headteacher 1 November 2004 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 286102 29 °30 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school serves a very mixed area. Some pupils are from comparatively advantaged backgrounds and a minority come from less affluent and overcrowded homes. About two-thirds of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, the largest of which are Black Caribbean and British Asian. A quarter of pupils speak English as an additional language but very few are at an early stage of acquiring fluency in English. Half of the children in the Foundation Stage come into the Nursery class and half join in Reception. The school recently gained the Active Mark in recognition of its provision for sport and exercise. The inspection in June 2005 found that good progress had been made in addressing the serious weaknesses indicated by the previous inspection in November 2004.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 January 2007

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Grade: 2

A remarkable turnaround has been achieved over a short time. The school's previous designation of having serious weaknesses no longer applies. Indeed, it is now providing a good education with some outstanding features. This has been achieved by the dedication and determination of staff and governors, with help from the local authority. Under the excellent leadership of the headteacher and deputy, and with the overwhelming support of parents, the school is a different place from that described by the last inspection report. The quality of teaching and learning are now good and standards have improved dramatically. Two years ago pupils' progress in the juniors was inadequate but now theyare achieving well throughout the school and reaching above average standards. Pupils from Black Caribbean backgrounds do particularly well in the juniors. Within this positive picture standards in writing are below average

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Grade: 2

and pupils, particularly those with very good reading skills, are not making sufficient progress. The school has identified writing as an area for further development and increased opportunities for writing across the curriculum are already having a positive impact. Pupils themselves have contributed to the school's increased success. Their exemplary attitudes and behaviour, coupled with an eagerness to learn is evident in lessons and around the school. They know that they are valued as individuals and respond accordingly. As one parent commented, 'My three daughters are proud members of the school community and value teachers and the environment'. Outstanding care and guidance support pupils' academic and personal development. This commences in the Foundation Stage, where the provision is good, children's progress is carefully assessed and they achieve well. Their subsequent achievement is tracked meticulously and

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Grade: 2

challenging targets are set. Lessons and extra activities combine to provide a rich curriculum. Pupils enjoy many residential trips and learning is enhanced extremely well through physical and creative pursuits. Such activities also make a strong contribution to pupils' outstanding personal development and well-being. Through this diverse programme, pupils learn how to stay safe and avoid potential hazards extremely well. Their understanding of a healthy life style is exceptionally clear from the participation rates in sporting activities and not least from the popularity of the nutritional lunches. Pupils readily contribute to school life by acting as house captains and through membership of the school council. Their concern for people less fortunate is evident from their passionate support of charities. The respect that pupils show for each other, their confidence and willingness to work independently and cooperatively, together with their good basic skills, provide

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Grade: 2

a very secure foundation for their future education and well being.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Give pupils more opportunities to write in different subjects in order to improve standards in writing 2 Inspection Report: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well and reach above average standards by the time they leave, reflecting the school's success in helping pupils from a wide range of backgrounds to flourish. Although children make good progress in the Foundation Stage, by the end of the Reception year, standards are a little below those expected in the key areas of literacy and numeracy, reflecting their generally low starting points. Because pupils make good headway in the infants, they reach average standards in reading, mathematics and science. They do not do as well in writing where pupils' attainment is not as good as it is in other areas. This is also the case, to a lesser extent, in the juniors. Pupils reach above average standards in English, mathematics and science by Year 6. They do very well in reading but their writing skills are much weaker. Due to the school's efforts, the gap is narrowing and pupils in the current Year 6 are on track to meet the

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Grade: 2

challenging targets set for them. This improving picture indicates how well previous weaknesses have been tackled.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. They know about their own religious traditions and respect those of others. Parents are very appreciative of this and one remarked, 'The school teaches Christianity and other faiths. My son who is not a Christian benefits from this.' Pupils love coming to school. One parent reported that her son 'bounces into school every morning and gives his teacher 10 out of 10.' Relationships are excellent and pupils know that they can talk to staff if they have any personal concerns. All pupils get on very well together and there is a high level of racial harmony. Pupils are well aware of the risks involved in the abuse of drugs and know that if on a rare occasion any bullyng occurs, staff are there to support them. Pupils' good skills in literacy and numeracy prepare them well for their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well because of the consistently good teaching which leads to high levels of motivation. Pupils see the value of education and work hard. Underpinned by excellent relationships, lessons are challenging and interesting. Teachers, according to the pupils, 'make learning fun'. They use questions skilfully to find out what pupils already know and to build on it. Lessons are well structured and teachers clarify what pupils are meant to learn from the outset. This enables pupils, to an increasing extent, to reflect on their own progress. Because the working atmosphere in classrooms is so positive, they are not afraid to ask for help when they are stuck. This was seen in two 3 Inspection Report: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 January 2007 outstanding lessons in Year 6, where the teachers leapt to the support of those pupils having difficulty. This approach is welcomed by the pupils and contributes significantly

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Grade: 2

to their achievement. Pupils are keen to develop their writing skills and teachers are increasingly encouraging them to find ways of using interesting vocabulary to interest the reader. This approach is not yet fully embedded, however. Teaching assistants, some of whom gained teaching qualifications overseas, are deployed effectively; an improvement on a previously identified weakness. Sometimes, the introductions to lessons are too long which leaves little time for pupils to work independently. Although teaching in the Foundation Stage is good, adults do not always fully support children's learning outdoors by engaging them in conversations to draw out and extend their skills in speaking and counting.

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Grade: 2

The good curriculum captures pupils' interest and meets their varying needs very well. Pupils' understanding of environmental issues is developed successfully through the school's commitment to ecology and particularly by its innovative use of the 'Embankment', an outside classroom consisting of pond, garden, woodland and recreational areas funded by parents in partnership with a local business. Work in the Foundation Stage is well planned and an extensive range of good quality resources supports children's learning both indoors and outside. Good use of information and communication technology adds an exciting dimension to many subjects. A well equipped computer suite, interactive whiteboards, laptops, digital cameras and an informative website enhance the curriculum. There are a wide range of enrichment activities and participation rates are high. For example, pupils made great progress and thoroughly enjoyed themselves during a

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Grade: 2

recent successful production of the opera Il Travatore - a collaborative project with neighbouring primary schools and an educational trust.

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Grade: 1

Rigorous monitoring and tracking ensure that excellent academic and personal guidance go hand in hand. Staff respond to pupils' concerns extremely well and parents are confident that their children are safe; as one parent commented, 'The school has a happy and caring environment.' Child protection procedures are firmly established and all staff have received training. The needs of pupils who have learning difficulties are identified early before becoming major hurdles and excellent intervention supports their learning extremely well. Carefully targeted support for pupils who need extra help in learning English means they achieve as well as other pupils and reach similar standards. 4 Inspection Report: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 January 2007

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding. The headteacher and deputy form a strong partnership and are both determined to secure the best possible provision for the school. They are well supported by a very able team of senior leaders, whose roles are focussed on raising achievement and improving teaching and learning. Lessons are regularly monitored and work is sampled to identify what works best in the classroom and how this helps pupils to achieve. Governors and the leadership team know the school's strengths and weaknesses well and this is evident in the high quality of the school's self evaluation. The commitment of all staff is reflected in the way they have loyally supported the school through a difficult period. There is a very strong resolve to value every pupil and many recent innovations have had a significant impact on pupils' attitudes and achievement. The opinions of parents and pupils are welcomed and most concerns are swiftly resolved. Governors take an

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Grade: 1

increasingly active role in planning improvement and assist the school in making useful links with a wide range of partners. One parent's comment, that there had been 'great advancement since the last inspection' reflected the views of the vast majority. The school's track record in raising standards shows that it has a good capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 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: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 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? 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

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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 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: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 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: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making the inspectors so welcome. We agree with you that this is a good school and we were very pleased to see how everyone gets on so well together. You told us that teachers make learning fun and we saw this was the case. It was good to see how hard you work in lessons and the way you feel confident enough to seek help when you are stuck. Most children are making good progress in the key subjects of English, mathematics and science but many of you don't do nearly as well in writing as you do in reading. Teachers are working hard to help you improve and you can also do your bit. Try to think about the 'audience' for your writing. Consider how you can structure a piece to provide an appealing opening and how you might engage the reader by using interesting vocabulary. We were delighted to see how proud you are of the school. This shows in your willingness to help the school run smoothly by being school councillors or house captains. You must be pleased

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that your suggestions for the lunch menu were taken up and we were impressed by the healthy choices you made at lunch and break times. Your support for charitable events shows how keen you are to help less fortunate people. It was good to see how many of you take part in the wide range of extra activities. Your enthusiasm for sporting activities shows that you realise the importance of regular exercise. Some of you may remember the last inspection when some improvement was needed. The headteacher and all staff have worked hard to ensure that everyone is back on track to do as well as they can and we are confident that you will continue to enjoy school life and do well at Princess Frederica. With best wishes, Rob CromptonLead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Princess Frederica CofE Primary School, 29 °30 January 2007

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