North Ealing Primary School

Inspection Report North Ealing Primary School

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101870 Unique Reference Number Ealing Local Authority 286201 Inspection number 5 March 2007 Inspection date Nicola Davies 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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Pitshanger Lane School address Primary Type of school Ealing Community School category London W5 1RP 3 °11 Age range of pupils 020 8997 2653 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8991 7609 Fax number 464 Number on roll (school) Mrs S Kenworthy-Wright Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr R Fletcher Headteacher 27 February 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 286201 5 March 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This larger than average primary school is situated in a prosperous area of North Ealing. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is increasing but is still below average overall, as is the percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Over half of the pupils are from a variety of minority ethnic backgrounds. The number of pupils who are learning English as an additional language has risen in recent years and around one in 20 pupils is now at early stages in this process. The headteacher took up his post in January 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 2007

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Grade: 2

This inclusive school provides a good education which enables its pupils to make good progress and achieve well in acquiring new knowledge and skills across all areas of their personal and academic learning. Academic standards have been high for many years but the school is committed to continuing to improve the quality of education it provides. Parents and pupils approve of the significant improvements to the school buildings and facilities. These, combined with changes to the curriculum, mean that pupils now benefit from an outstanding range of activities during the school day and outside it. One parent echoed the views of many when she wrote approvingly of the 'breakfast clubs, after-school activities, football, netball, athletics, basketball, running, drama and guitar classes. The list goes on and on!'. Pupils are equally proud of developments at the school and of their own role in securing these. For example, they talk with enthusiasm of their composting scheme which

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Grade: 2

supports the school's environmental garden or the help they provide for younger children as valued 'Playground Friends'. Good personal development means they also speak with maturity about more difficult issues such as bullying or racism. As one commented 'All schools have bullying and racism but our school is firm and copes with it well'. These good levels of social awareness and personal development mean pupils enjoy school, attend regularly and generally feel safe and secure within the environment. Children enter the Foundation Stage with an increasingly wide range of skills and previous experiences but overall their skills are slightly above those expected for their age. Good teaching, combined with engaging activities which are well designed to provide a wide range of experiences, meet the differing needs of children well and lead to the good progress which they make in the Nursery and Reception classes. As

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Grade: 2

a result, children join the school with skills in most areas which are above those expected for children of their age. Across the school, pupils achieve well. The school has rightly identified that whilst teaching is good overall and leads to good progress, there is some variability. For example, in some lessons, opportunities are missed to challenge pupils to be independent in their learning which in other lessons leads to them making very good progress. Many parents and pupils praise the role of the headteacher in bringing about recent improvements. Leadership and management are good overall because all staff are involved well in evaluating and putting changes into place. Senior staff take a clear lead in improving areas for which they are responsible. One successful example is the sustained improvement in provision for the youngest children in the Foundation Stage. Another is the improvement to information and communication technology (ICT) since

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Grade: 2

the time of the previous inspection. Procedures to identify and support the particular needs of pupils through the school's improving tracking system and the role of the 'inclusion' team are proving successful. The school is also extending the ways it communicates with its parents, changes which have been noted approvingly by some, but not yet all, parents. Whilst not all of these developments have yet had a sustained 2 Inspection Report: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 2007 impact, they contribute very well to the school's good capacity to continue to improve with the support and enthusiasm of staff, pupils and parents.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure consistent opportunities for pupils to become independent in their learning.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well throughout the school. The standards that they attain at the end of Year 2 are consistently above average. By the end of Year 6, standards are consistently high. For example, in 2006 they were well above average in English, exceptionally high in mathematics and in science more than 70% of pupils attained at higher levels. This represents good progress from pupils' starting points and there are no significant differences in the achievement of different groups of pupils. The school has identified a need to continue to improve the way that it tracks pupils' attainment to ensure that all pupils make the best possible progress. This is well founded, particularly as an increasing number of older pupils join the school other than at the normal time of admission.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well being, including their spiritual, social, moral and cultural development, are good. Pupils enjoy school a good deal and their attendance is good. Pupils are keen to adopt healthy lifestyles and make the most of the extra opportunities they now have for keeping fit and healthy, whether by joining clubs, selecting popular healthy food options at lunchtimes or developing their awareness through devising spreadsheets comparing levels of fitness. Good opportunities for self expression through art, drama and music contribute well to pupils' self confidence and ability to share their ideas and feelings. As a result, pupils generally show a good awareness of others' needs, although a few pupils find behaving well and considerately more difficult. This concerns some parents and pupils, although the majority understand and are confident in the school's procedures. Pupils

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Grade: 2

contribute maturely to school life through the wide variety of responsibilities they hold and are well prepared for their move to secondary school. However, the school recognises that further opportunities for independent learning would contribute well to pupils' workplace and enterprise skills. 3 Inspection Report: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 2007

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good overall. Relationships are good and interesting shared activities and discussions help children behave well and show concentration and perseverance. Teachers make good use of a wide range of teaching approaches and resources to interest and stimulate pupils. For example, in one session, pupils gained a good understanding of a little known myth by viewing images and listening to a soundtrack through the interactive whiteboard. In another session, pupils undertook their own independent web-based research to come up with enticing ways to advertise items for sale. However, such opportunities for pupils to develop greater independence in their learning are inconsistent across the school. Teaching assistants and other adults with specialist roles help all pupils to take a full part in activities and make good progress. For example, additional staff helped younger children experience and comment on the taste of unusual fruit such as guavas, eliciting

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Grade: 2

useful descriptive words such as 'disgusting'.

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Grade: 1

The outstanding curriculum is reflected in pupils' enjoyment and parents' approving comments that the school has 'put the fun back into learning'. Opportunities for pupils to develop their skills in English, mathematics and ICT across the curriculum are well planned. The school pays particular attention to ensuring that pupils develop their skills well from one year to the next, for example, as the younger children move from the Foundation Stage to Year 1. A focus on speaking and listening, including drama techniques such as role-play, has helped pupils to improve their writing skills and is contributing to the quality of their mathematical talk. It has also helped the school to meet needs of pupils who are at early stages of learning English as an additional language, as has the focus on creativity within the curriculum. Numerous after-school and lunchtime clubs along with 'extra' activities are very well

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Grade: 1

attended and make an excellent contribution to pupils' personal and social skills, their creativity and their fitness. For example, pupils not only speak warmly of the music or drama they create as part of the school choir or in school productions but also of the opportunities for independence and collaboration which such activities provide.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Systems to protect and care for children meet current guidelines and are regularly reviewed. The school provides increasingly good support to pupils facing more challenges, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities and those who are more vulnerable. For example, it has recently been 4 Inspection Report: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 2007 able to provide effective counselling for pupils facing difficult personal or emotional issues. Systems to monitor the progress of all pupils have been improved and the school is currently refining its procedures to identify where pupils may need additional challenge or support and to measure more carefully the impact of its actions. Teachers use progress information well to set targets which are shared with parents and pupils. Pupils contribute well to this by identifying their own personal targets.

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Grade: 2

The motivating headteacher, with the capable support of the deputy headteacher and the new leadership team, has involved staff and pupils well in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the school. As a result, pupils feel they have a real say in how things happen. The school has a thorough system for helping staff to identify and track improvements in subject areas. This means that they have been able to make a significant difference to their particular areas of expertise or interest, which was a weaker aspect of the school's leadership and management at the time of the last inspection. The well informed governors carry out their duties well and provide an effective challenge to the school. The school has introduced a number of initiatives to improve communication with parents, such as the informative school's weekly newsletter, although this is an area it plans to improve further, for example through

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Grade: 2

the expansion of its website. Although it is too early to see the full and sustained impact of all of these changes on provision for pupils, the impact is clearly evident in the sense of shared enthusiasm and vision which pervades the school. 5 Inspection Report: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 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? 1 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 2 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?

2 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: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 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: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for the welcome you gave me when I visited your school recently and particular thanks to those of you who showed me round the school on behalf of you all. As I was walking round I saw some very interesting work happening in your lessons as well as lots of photographs and displays which showed me how much you enjoy your lessons and what a great range of activities you get involved in. This exciting curriculum, along with the way staff at your school teach you and look after you, are some of the reasons why you enjoy school a good deal and do well. The headteacher, teachers and all the other adults in the school work very hard to make sure you are all well cared for and educated. Like them, I judged that you go to a good school. One of the good things about the school is the way that your teachers are always looking for ways to make the school even better. They have listened to the suggestions your school council has

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

made and are trying different ways to give your parents information and to find out what they think too. I have asked them to make sure that all of you have good opportunities to learn about things independently and to challenge yourself to do the best you can. This happens well in some classes but not all of them. I was sorry I couldn't meet all of you and all of your teachers, but you'll be pleased to know that everyone I did talk to was proud of the school and proud of all the things that you achieve. With best wishes for your future Nicola Davies Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: North Ealing Primary School, 5 March 2007

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