Perivale Primary School

Perivale Primary School Inspection report

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101906 Unique Reference Number Ealing Local Authority 298519 Inspection number 19 °20 September 2007 Inspection dates Steven Hill 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 453 School Interim executive Appropriate authority Mr A Bickley Chair board Mr A Reynolds Headteacher 21 June 2006 Date of previous school inspection Federal Road School address Perivale Greenford UB6 7AF 020 8997 0619 Telephone number 020 8810 5267 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 19 °20 September 2007 Inspection dates 298519 Inspection number .

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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 is a large primary school with a Nursery. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and most speak English as an additional language. A very high proportion of younger pupils are at the early stages of learning English. Mobility is high and many of the new arrivals are new to this country and to the English language. The last report, in June 2006, gave the school a notice to improve, because of ineffective leadership and management. The school was required to make governance effective, to strengthen senior management, and to use monitoring more effectively to drive improvement. Since then, the local authority has replaced the governing body by an Interim Executive Body (IEB), and a headteacher has been seconded from another school. He has agreed to continue at Perivale at least until the new building is completed in 2009, providing some continuity after a succession of heads in a short time. A

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Description of the school

monitoring visit by Ofsted in January said the school had made satisfactory improvement overall, and good progress in improving leadership and management. The school is in the process of being completely rebuilt, and half the classes are now housed in temporary buildings.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 2007

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Grade: 3

In accordance with section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement. The school is improving steadily and its effectiveness is now satisfactory. The most important weaknesses in management from the last inspection have been dealt with well. The new headteacher and his deputy provide good leadership to colleagues. They have established a strong ethos of teamwork within an improved staffing structure, despite a good number of staff changes in the last year. Staff are working together well to improve provision. Governors are providing good leadership and holding the school to account well. The school's self-evaluation is now good. The school has established effective monitoring of the quality of teaching. This is done by the headteacher and deputy and has provided an accurate view, which is used to help colleagues improve their practice. However, subject

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Grade: 3

coordinators and other team leaders are not sufficiently involved in this, which limits the extent to which they can help colleagues to raise standards. Good systems have also been set up to track pupils' progress. Data from these are being used increasingly effectively to match work to pupils' needs on a day-to-day basis, although there are inconsistencies between classes in how well this is done. Because the system is new, there is not yet enough reliable data available to measure progress right across the school. A continuing strength of the school from the last inspection is pupils' good personal development. Their behaviour is excellent and they have very positive attitudes to learning. They have very good relationships with their teachers, and are keen to please them by working hard. They thoroughly enjoy learning and are keen to succeed. They know about healthy lifestyles and keeping safe, and are good at putting what they have learned into practice. The

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Grade: 3

school's good provision for pupils' care, guidance and support makes a strong contribution to their personal development. Teaching is satisfactory but varies from outstanding to inadequate. There is an increasing amount of good teaching that, together with pupils' very positive approach to learning, and the good support they get from home, means they achieve well. Classroom management and positive relationships are consistent strengths. Better lessons often have a good pace, and work is matched well to the needs of different pupils. The active involvement of all pupils, particularly through giving them chances to discuss things together, is also feature of better lessons. The absence of some of these elements is why other lessons are sometimes weaker. The curriculum is satisfactory and the school is successfully working towards making it more exciting and wide ranging. Achievement in the school is good, although progress varies from class to class. The improved

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Grade: 3

provision for academic guidance is helping to make this more consistent. Children start in the Foundation Stage with standards that are well below average and by Year 6 attain standards that are average or slightly above. Pupils do particularly well in English, despite many starting school with little knowledge of the language. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, despite having been disrupted recently by a move into temporary buildings, and by changes in teaching staff. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 2007

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Grade: 3

Children come into the Foundation Stage with low standards overall, particularly in communication, language and literacy skills. Many are just starting to speak English. Standards at the end of the Reception Year were well below average in 2007. Provision in the Nursery and Reception classes is improving, despite recent disruptions, under the effective leadership of the deputy head. At this early stage in the term, children are making satisfactory progress. They are happy and most cope well with the transition from home to school. The school has made good provision for concerned parents to remain with their child until they settle, although there is no identified structure for parental involvement. Interesting activities are enhancing children's basic skills and personal development. However, there is inconsistency in how planning and daily assessments are used to match activities to children's different needs. Relationships

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Grade: 3

are strong and the new staff have quickly gelled into a supportive team. A lack of resources, aspects of the classroom layout and limited play space restrict learning at present, but recently allocated funding has enabled the department to plan exciting improvements.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Make teaching more consistent, particularly in the match of work to the varying needs of different pupils. ■ Involve subject leaders and team leaders more fully in monitoring practice, so they are better able to help their colleagues to raise standards. ■ Improve provision in the Foundation Stage, particularly in the consistency of planning and assessment. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Standards are average overall, but vary from year to year because of the different abilities in each year group. Children start in the school with much lower standards than are usually found at their age. Standards at the end of Year 6 are average overall and in some years, including 2007, are above average. Standards in English have been a consistent strength from year to year, boosted by the good progress that bilingual pupils make in learning the language. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress, particularly in the various support groups that the school provides. Their progress in class is more variable, depending on the extent to which their specific needs are met. They are doing particularly well at the moment in the new 'sets' for literacy and numeracy for older pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy school, particularly when lessons are practical and they can find things out for themselves. One Year 5 pupil said 'Science is full of surprises when we investigate!' Attendance has improved and was slightly above average last year. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 2007 The school is a thriving and harmonious multi-cultural community. Pupils are confident of their good contribution to the school community through the school council. Members have a mature outlook and understand the issues put forward by their friends. Pupils' contribution to the wider community is satisfactory. Their spiritual, moral, social development is particularly good, although there are gaps in pupils' understanding of cultural issues. Pupils' secure basic skills and their extremely positive attitudes prepare them very well for their future lives.

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Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory but is too variable between classes. Practice is improving, following effective monitoring and support from the headteacher and deputy. However, there are still inconsistencies to iron out, and the school currently has a number of new staff, several of them relatively inexperienced. Good relationships and high expectations of behaviour are consistent strengths that mean pupils work hard, are keen to succeed and behave well. Improvements have been made in how well work is matched to the needs of different groups, although this is still weak in some lessons. Teachers generally give good explanations, making increasingly effective use of the interactive whiteboards to clarify things and to generate interest. There is some very effective use of discussion to improve pupils' learning, as was seen in a lesson with Year 6 about the environment. However, in other lessons, such opportunities are missed.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is improving and the use of new strategies for literacy and numeracy is helping pupils to achieve better. Pupils enjoy a range of programmes that enrich the curriculum, such as the art and activities weeks, after school clubs and visits. However, the use of information and communication technology (ICT), particularly for research and independent learning, is restricted because of a lack of equipment in classes and the library. Work in personal, social and health education helps pupils to understand their rights and responsibilities within the community, and the quadrangle provides a quiet place where pupils can reflect and learn about the environment. Curriculum planning is improving, but the school has accurately identified the need for it to meet the varied needs of individuals and groups more closely.

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Grade: 2

Pastoral provision continues to be very strong. Procedures to safeguard learners are securely in place. There is a strong and successful emphasis on keeping safe and healthy. Pupils trust their teachers and know they can approach adults in the school to help solve any problems. Pupils at risk are monitored and supported well. Academic support and guidance are satisfactory, and are improving rapidly. The school works well with outside agencies from the local authority, the health services and, in particular, the ethnic minorities' team to support pupils' literacy. A good start has been made to using the increasingly effective assessment systems to plan work for individuals. Pupils are given individual targets to aim for, but these vary in quality, and some pupils find them difficult to understand. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 2007

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Grade: 3

The headteacher, deputy and governors have a clear vision for the school and their first task was to build staff morale and '...put a smile on everyone's face'. This achieved, there is now an appropriate focus on standards and progress, particularly for those pupils for whom English is an additional language, which has led to improvement in outcomes for pupils. Great strides have been made in monitoring provision and tracking pupils' progress, although there is still a lot to do. The school has raised attendance through a rigorous and systematic approach and the involvement of parents. The management team has been restructured to mirror the school's priorities. Middle managers, some of whom are new to their responsibilities, are beginning to take on a greater monitoring role. Systems for school self-evaluation are good and beginning to take account of the views of parents and pupils. The school is in a sound position to continue

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Grade: 3

to improve. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 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 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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?

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

28 September 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Perivale Primary School,Greenford,UB6 7AF Thank you so much for your warm welcome when we visited your school. We really enjoyed meeting you and watching you at work in lessons. We thought that your school had improved a lot since the last inspection. It is satisfactory in what it does. It now does lots more things well. We were very impressed by how well you behave, how well you get on with each other and by your hard work in lessons. This is helping you to make good progress during your time in school. You do especially well in English. Your teachers help you a lot in your learning and make sure that lessons are well organised, and they explain things to you well. Some of them are particularly good at giving different children work that is just right for them, and we have asked them to work together so that they all do this all the time. Last year, the headteacher and deputy spent a lot of time in teachers' classes so they could

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

give them tips in how they could help you learn better. We have asked them to organise things so that all teachers have the chance to do this next year, so that they can all help each other with ideas. The youngest children are settling in very well into school, but the teachers have found it a bit chaotic with the building changes, and haven't had much chance to sort out their planning. We have agreed with the staff that they are going to do this as soon as they can. The headteacher, governors, teachers and all the other staff are very keen to work together to make your school even better. You can help them by carrying on working hard in class, behaving well, and helping each other. Thank you again for all your help. Best wishes, Steven Hill Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Perivale Primary School, 19 °20 September 2007

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