Roe Green Junior School

Roe Green Junior School Inspection report

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101511 Unique Reference Number Brent Local Authority 307715 Inspection number 25–26 November 2008 Inspection dates 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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Junior Type of school Community School category 7–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 479 School (total) The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Panna Shah Chair Ms Melissa Loosemore Headteacher 27 September 2004 Date of previous school inspection Princes Avenue School address Kingsbury London NW9 9JL 020 8204 5221 Telephone number 020 8905 0256 Fax number

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7–11 Age group 25–26 November 2008 Inspection dates 307715 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008

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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 junior school in Kingsbury. Many pupils are of Asian heritage, including Gujarati, Tamil and Urdu speakers of Indian, Sri Lankan and Pakistani heritage as well as pupils from Somali and many other diverse backgrounds. Most pupils are bilingual but around one in 20 is at earlier stages of learning English as an additional language when they join the school. The proportion of pupils who are entitled to free school meals is a little above average, as is the proportion who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. These learning difficulties and/or disabilities mostly relate to learning to acquire reading and writing skills.

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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: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008

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Grade: 3

Roe Green Junior is rightly proud of the good contribution it makes to the personal development of every child. Staff develop the personal, emotional, physical and social skills of its young citizens well and provide them with sound academic skills. Parents recognise the good quality of care, guidance and support and the good curriculum, typically commenting that 'My child is happy at school, likes the teachers and enjoys all the activities including the events and trips'. The school has made significant improvements since its previous inspection. For example, academic standards have risen and the building and facilities have been developed well. Teaching is satisfactory overall and much of it is good or better. However, it is not yet consistently good because, on occasions, teachers miss opportunities to ensure that the activities they offer are well matched to pupils' needs, particularly where pupils are able to learn more quickly. This

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Grade: 3

means that pupils' academic progress is satisfactory overall and the standards that they reach at the end of Year 6 are broadly average. Leadership and management are satisfactory with some good features. Coordinators and senior managers thoughtfully examine their specialist areas and come up with good ideas of how to improve these. For example, the school is rightly planning to develop more consistent opportunities for the school's mostly bilingual pupils to enhance their academic English skills across different subjects. In addition, the development of healthy and sustainable lifestyles is excellent, led with enthusiasm and passion by the headteacher. However, there are weaknesses in the way that changes and developments in teaching and learning are monitored to make sure that they result in the consistent outcomes that the school is aiming for. As a result, the school's overall effectiveness and its capacity to improve further are satisfactory.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase the proportion of good or better teaching and accelerate pupils' progress by ensuring lessons are always well matched to pupils' differing needs, especially for the more able. ■ Ensure that monitoring of teaching and learning is consistent and informs school evaluation and future plans. ■ Enhance opportunities for bilingual learners to develop advanced English skills across different subjects. 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: 3

Standards have improved over the last five years at a rate that is faster than the national trend, although the rate of improvement has levelled out over the last three years. The school's own assessment on entry shows that when pupils come into Year 3 they are reaching at least average standards overall. When they leave the school at the end of Year 6, the overall attainments of pupils are broadly average, showing that they make satisfactory progress during Key Stage 2. However, progress is not steady. The school's tracking system shows that progress in Years 3, 4 and 5 has not been as good as in Year 6 and that in both 2007 and 2008 there was a need for pupils to catch up in Year 6. In 2007, the proportions reaching the level expected of the 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008 average Year 6 pupil were above average in English, mathematics and science. However, the

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Grade: 3

proportions reaching the higher level in English and science were below average. In 2008 the proportions of pupils who attained the expected and the higher levels were broadly similar though the final results are not yet fully known because a number of tests are still the subject of an appeal. Pupils with difficulties learning to read and write make progress similar to their peers as a result of the well-organised support that they receive.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy learning and participate enthusiastically in school life. They particularly enjoy the excellent opportunities they have for keeping fit and healthy. Invigorating music echoes across the school at playtimes as pupils all exercise together, following the headteacher's enthusiastic lead. Pupils' excellent participation in healthy activities is enhanced by the very well designed facilities and activities at lunchtimes as well as the wide ranging after-school sports clubs. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils show a good understanding of keeping themselves and others safe. Pupils who have been trained as mentors are proud to help sort out minor playtime disputes. Pupils show a clear awareness of bullying and racism and are keen to show respect towards one another. Their attendance is good and they behave well in lessons and around the school demonstrating positive attitudes towards

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Grade: 2

school and their friends. Pupils are well involved in a wide range of events and activities such as local competitions, dramatic and musical productions and fundraising activities. They are also involved in 'real life' decision-making. One example is the school council's involvement in planning the school's new eco-friendly sustainable building. Similarly, pupils relish the opportunity to see democracy in action by voting in the well-contested elections for school councillors. Their good personal skills and social awareness enhance their sound basic skills and prepare them well for their futures.

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Grade: 3

The strong commitment of teachers and the positive relationships they build with their pupils help to generate the very good attitudes to learning that the children display. The constructive, orderly atmosphere which teachers create in their classrooms leads to pupils concentrating hard and applying themselves well to the task in hand. In the good and outstanding practice seen teachers made good use of talk to help bilingual pupils to further develop their advanced English skills. For example, in a mathematics lesson, pupils estimating and weighing objects were asked to explain their answers and justify the estimates they made. The extent to which teachers plan tasks that closely match the learning needs of different groups of pupils, including the more able, varies. The satisfactory lessons were often conducted at a moderate pace, reducing the excitement of learning, especially for those who learn more quickly. This reduced

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Grade: 3

opportunities for pupils to make better progress. Specialist teaching in a number of subjects helps to boost pupils' achievements and adds to their enjoyment. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008

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Grade: 2

The curriculum makes a strong contribution to pupils' personal, emotional and physical development. The outstanding provision for physical education was recently confirmed in an Ofsted subject survey report. The many opportunities for participation in a wide variety of sports and competitions with other schools have a very positive impact on pupils' personal growth. So too does the residential trip undertaken by Year 5. Opportunities provided in the arts, and the school's involvement in local and national projects such as Black History Week, are also a strength. The curriculum is greatly enriched through a wide range of visitors and visits and resources which reflect and educate children about local and national diversity. The school has identified that the curriculum does not always extend the academic English language skills of bilingual learners, particularly across different subjects. Good gains have been made

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Grade: 2

in improving the investigative aspects of science which are boosting pupils' skills in science and in English. Plans are underway to provide further opportunities for language development across the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

The school provides pupils with a good quality of pastoral and emotional support. Thorough systems for promoting good behaviour and effort mean pupils have positive attitudes to learning and are keen to achieve well. Those who are troubled or find behaving well more difficult are supported well by a specialist teacher. Teachers are quick to spot potential difficulties learning to read and write and specialist teachers and teaching assistants provide good quality support to overcome these. Staff also provide extra help for pupils who join the school at early stages of learning English although this is more focused on pupils' literacy skills than their language skills. There are good links with outside agencies which support pupils' learning. For example, teaching assistants follow up the work of speech and language specialist from the local authority. The school has good links with parents. A notable feature is the use made of pupils' homework

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Grade: 2

diaries. These diaries are effective in providing guidance to pupils. For example, they include the targets pupils need to meet in reading, writing and mathematics. They also provide pupils with very good opportunities to assess their own health and fitness and set their own 'life' targets.

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Grade: 3

The school makes a good contribution to community cohesion and has a strong commitment to equality of opportunity. There are some good examples of realistic and useful self-evaluation, for example in the analysis of progress in different year groups that was made last year, and in the thorough annual reviews undertaken by one of the core subject coordinators. However, self-evaluation is not sufficiently thorough and careful in its use of supporting evidence and therefore presents too rosy a picture. The senior leadership team is in a time of transition, during the temporary absence of the deputy head. Subject coordinators have a clear understanding of their roles. There is, however, no regular, planned programme of lesson observations by the senior leadership team or by coordinators. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008 There are close links with the secondary school and the partnership with the infant school is

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Grade: 3

developing, as coordinators liaise with their counterparts. The two schools are planning to involve junior school staff in the process of assessing the pupils in Year 2 as a useful way to increase continuity when the pupils transfer. Governors are strongly involved in the work of the school. Each governor has a link with two classes. The governing body takes active steps to ensure that it represents the different communities that the school serves. The chair of governors has a clear understanding that to raise achievement the school needs to increase the proportion of pupils reaching higher levels. The school is in the process of setting appropriately challenging targets to help to bring this about. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008 .

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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: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

09 December 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Roe Green Junior School,London,NW9 9JL Thank you so much for helping the inspectors with the inspection of your school. We were really interested to meet so many of you and to hear all about your time at school. We were particularly impressed with how aware you are of keeping fit and healthy. We judged this to be outstanding, so well done to you all. We particularly enjoyed sharing in your daily keep fit sessions and seeing the good use you make of all the excellent facilities to keep you healthy and active. Staff look after and support you well. This helps you develop your good personal skills and your teachers are rightly proud of the way you develop into mature and confident young people. We judged that the overall effectiveness of your school is satisfactory. One aspect of the school that your teachers are keen to further improve is the progress that you make. They have noted

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that not all of you make steady progress and sometimes your work is not hard enough for you. They are working on this and also have plans to make sure that you have good opportunities to develop your English skills in different subjects. These are good ideas and will help you to make good progress through your time at Roe Green Junior. We have asked your school to keep a closer watch on how well their ideas are being put into place. We know that you are looking forward to your school production at the end of term. We are sure you will all enjoy taking part and wish you every success. Yours sincerely Nicola Davies Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Roe Green Junior School, 25–26 November 2008

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