All Saints' CofE Nursery and Primary School N20

All Saints' CofE Primary School Inspection report

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101329 Unique Reference Number Barnet Local Authority 307651 Inspection number 17 June 2008 Inspection date Glynis Bradley-Peat 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 Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 257 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Linda Turner Chair Mrs Christine Read Headteacher 11 October 2004 Date of previous school inspection 116 Oakleigh Road North School address Whetstone London N20 9EZ 020 8445 2951 Telephone number 020 8446 2871 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 17 June 2008 Inspection date 307651 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 an Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues.

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Introduction

■ What impact are senior leaders having on raising standards in KS1?

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Introduction

■ What impact is teaching having on raising overall standards in KS1 and in mathematics in KS2? ■ How well are senior and middle leaders working together to bring about improvement and drive up standards? Evidence was gathered from the analysis of school documentation, observation of lessons, conversations with learners, questionnaires returned by parents and discussions with teachers, senior staff and governors. Other aspects of the school's work were not inspected in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This popular primary school is of average size. A much lower than average proportion of pupils is eligible for free school meals. Over half of the pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds. Almost half the pupils have English is an additional language. The proportion identified with moderate learning difficulties, speech and language difficulties and behavioural and emotional needs is above average but the proportion with a statement of educational need is below average. The school has Investors in People, Healthy Schools status, Activemark, Bronze Eco School award and International Schools Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008

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Grade: 2

One parent wrote, 'The school is very active and forward looking. We believe the school is an exciting and creative place for our children.' This is absolutely correct. Currently there are many developments taking place, which are having a good impact on the pupils' education. Good leadership and management ensure that pupils receive a good education. The dedicated and talented headteacher is highly regarded by both parents and staff. She provides excellent leadership because she recognises people's strengths and builds upon them. The deputy headteacher encapsulated the views of many of the staff when she said, 'In the short time I've been here, I feel I have learnt such a lot.' The relatively new senior leadership team work well together and share the vision for the future of the school. They and the headteacher have effectively focused on raising standards and the impact is evident in improved results at Key

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Grade: 2

Stage 1. Middle managers are effective and work well with senior leaders. All clearly understand the next steps they need to take to improve their own areas. Self-evaluation is accurate and effective. Governors now understand their role as critical friends better and challenge the headteacher effectively. Parents are fully involved in the education of their children and praise the school highly. The track record of improvement is good, as shown by improved Year 2 results, which indicates a good capacity for further improvements. Standards are significantly above average and achievement is good. Pupils enter the school with average skills in most areas of learning and most leave with well above average attainment. Learners meet challenging targets and according to the school's statistical data, no groups of pupils perform less well than others. Provisional results for 2008 in Year 2 show that a decline

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Grade: 2

in attainment has been successfully halted. This is because of the successful strategies, such as the new phonics programme, which have been put in place to raise standards. Reading, writing and mathematics standards have improved greatly. Reading and writing have improved considerably at the higher level 3. This is a direct result of interventions put into place to challenge the higher attainers. Predictions for the Year 6 targets indicate an improvement in results at Key Stage 2. These are based on the school's data which demonstrates that pupils are on track to meet their targets. Behaviour is exemplary. Attendance is well above average. Pupils say that they know what to do in order to keep themselves safe. They praised the 'worry boxes' in their classrooms and say 'The teacher reads the worry and decides whether it is good for circle time or a private chat.' The school's provision for educating pupils about healthy eating is good but, by their own

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Grade: 2

admission, pupils don't always choose the healthy option. If chips were still on the school menu they would still elect to eat them rather than jacket potatoes. There is an active school council, which has begun to effect change. Pupils are delighted with the mirrors in the toilets so that 'If your hair gets messy you can sort it out.' Pupils are provided with good opportunities to take on responsibility and enjoy working as classroom monitors. They also said how much they like helping the pupils from a nearby special school when they come to visit. They look forward to all the enrichment activities and after school clubs and appreciate the visits and visitors in school very much. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. The school has excellent links with the church. The local vicar plays an active role and has led assemblies, helped with special events and has even conducted a funeral for the Reception class goldfish.

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Grade: 2

Teaching overall is good and standards are being raised because teachers make the learning interesting by regularly organising activities such as investigations in mathematics and experiments in science. During these, teachers' good questioning skills encourage pupils to 4 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008 hypothesise, test and draw conclusions. Relationships between teachers and pupils are excellent. Pupils enjoy their lessons because 'Teachers make us laugh!' Pupils say how much they enjoy a more independent approach to their learning. One boy said excitedly, 'We went out with our magnets and tried everything out to see if it was magnetic!' Another said, 'In maths we do maths puzzles and play games.' This was seen first hand by the inspector when visiting an outstanding mathematics lesson in Year 6. Pupils explained how they were finding strategies to win a game. Because the teacher acted as a facilitator and asked probing questions to make

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Grade: 2

pupils think, they made excellent progress in their learning. This approach is ensuring that standards rise in mathematics in Key Stage 2. The new electronic whiteboards are being used effectively. In Year 2, a literacy lesson about 'Narnia' was brought to life by use of a film clip. This ensured that pupils were engaged well. Marking is regular and teachers provide pupils with clear comments about how they can improve their work. Pupils particularly liked it when the teacher clearly stated whether they had achieved their learning objective. There is particularly good practice evident in some classrooms where teachers use 'must, could, should' activities, but this is inconsistent. The good curriculum ensures that pupils are provided with a variety of opportunities to enrich their education. Information and communication technology (ICT) across the curriculum is of high quality and the school has successfully developed ICT as a tool to support learning and

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Grade: 2

teaching. Cross-curricular working is good as the recent whole school theme of 'journeys' shows. Within this theme, displays in corridors demonstrate the celebration of different cultures, geography, literacy and personal, health and social education. Extra-curricular activities are many and the school has a history of winning many competitions as the trophy table clearly shows, and pupils are proud of these. Many pupils excel in music and drama. A group of pupils were seen practising for their performance and the quality of their presentation was excellent. A significant number of parents expressed concerns over homework. This is not set consistently across the school and is not a feature of some pupils' learning. The provision for care, guidance and support is good with pastoral care being a real strength. The new tracking system is effective and gathering in momentum. Pupils' progress is now beginning to be systematically monitored. Although targets are set informally in classes, there

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Grade: 2

is not yet a system in place which is linked to national curriculum targets. The school has plans in place to introduce this at the beginning of the next academic year. Safeguarding is good. Pupils are looked after well and the school has the confidence of parents. Pupils know who to come to if they have any problems and are confident that things would be effectively dealt with. Learners who are identified as being at risk are cared for well.

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Grade: 2

Children enter Reception with expected level of skills for their age and make good progress because of good teaching. The school has identified that boys' communication, language and literacy skills are less well developed than those of the girls. Therefore teachers begin work to engage boys in their learning straight away. A literacy activity used football programmes to stimulate discussion and boys recorded facts in their diaries. Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage are good. Assessment is a real strength. It ensures that children's achievements are recorded systematically, so that activities provided always build on their prior learning. Classroom routines are well established and children happily and confidently play together. Because of the good curriculum, children are able to choose activities sensibly from the huge range offered to them. Outdoor and indoor provision is well organised and planned.

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Grade: 2

5 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008 In the water area some children were 'fishing for money' which they then spent, in the shop staffed by another child. Such activities have a good impact on children's understanding of the wider world. Personal development is good. Foundation Stage staff have put activities in place to channel the rather boisterous behaviour of some boys into games to expend their energy. This is beginning to work well.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that pupils know their targets, and what they need to do to achieve them.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Make sure that homework is set consistently across the school. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008

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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? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 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 1 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008

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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 2 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 June 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of All Saints' CofE Primary School,London,N20 9EZ Many thanks for the warm welcome you all gave to me during my recent visit to your school. It was good to meet you all and to talk to so many of you. I found you to be polite and very well behaved. You spoke to me about many interesting things. I was pleased to hear that you enjoy attending and that there are many different things to do in lessons and after school. Thank you to those children who performed for me in your show rehearsal; I was delighted to listen to such wonderful singing and see such good acting. You understand how to eat sensibly, but there are still some of you who would like to eat less healthy options. You know how to keep yourselves safe and I was very interested to hear about the worry boxes in your classrooms. They seem to be very useful. You told me about how you enjoy your friendship with children

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

from a nearby special school when they visit you, and this is highly commendable. I am pleased to see that you do well in national tests and well done to those of you in Year 2 who have done so well this year. That is great! All Saints is a good school. Your headteacher and her staff are doing a good job and ensure that you are taught well and that there are lots of different things to do in school both in and out of lessons. Your teachers work hard and prepare interesting lessons. I'm pleased you get on with them so well and that they help you to enjoy school. I have asked them to do a couple of things to make the school even better. Some of you told me that you get lots of homework but others said they didn't get much at all. I have asked that your school makes sure that you all get homework regularly. I have also asked them to make sure that you have targets to work towards which will include knowing what level you are working at and ensuring that you know

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

how to get to the next level. I wish you all success at All Saints and once again thank you for making my visit so enjoyable. Yours sincerely, Glynis Bradley-Peat Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: All Saints' CofE Primary School, 17 June 2008

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