Blair Peach Primary School

Blair Peach Primary School Inspection report

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101892 Unique Reference Number Ealing Local Authority 307840 Inspection number 31 January °1 February 2008 Inspection dates Sue Vale 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 494 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Madhav Patil Chair Mrs Anita Puri Headteacher 23 June 2003 Date of previous school inspection Beaconsfield Road School address Southall UB1 1DR 020 8571 9947 Telephone number 020 8574 0683 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 31 January °1 February 2008 Inspection dates 307840 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

Blair Peach Primary is located in West London, in an area of significant economic deprivation. The school's clientele is changing and there is an increasing influx of Somalian and Tamil families to the area. Over the last few years the school has greatly increased in size. Over a third of pupils are entitled to free school meals, a high proportion. More than three quarters of pupils are new to or speak little English when they join the school. The school has the international schools award, Healthy schools status and the ICT mark.

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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: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2008

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Grade: 1

Blair Peach is an outstanding school. The majority of children start school in Nursery speaking little or no English. Their skills and understanding are well below those expected for children of this age. They make good progress during their time in the Foundation Stage so that, by the time they enter the National Curriculum in Year 1, around half have reached the expected learning goals. By the age of eleven, pupils reach above average standards in their work in English and mathematics and their achievement is outstanding. This, together with their outstanding personal development, means that the pupils are extremely well prepared to move on to their next school and continue to learn. As one parent commented, 'Our son loves the school and we, as parents, are very happy.' Senior leaders and governors give strong direction to the school's work. The school has a clear vision to ensure that pupils are given the opportunity to achieve to the best of their abilities.

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Grade: 1

This shows in the high expectations that the school has both of the staff and the pupils. Consistency is the school's strength and pupils know exactly what is expected of them. This ensures that the school has outstanding capacity to improve further. The school is particularly competent at dealing with large numbers of movement amongst pupils, who start and leave the school other than at expected times. For example, in the current Year 6, more than half the cohort were not at the school in Year 2. The pupils behave very well. There is great mutual respect between pupils and between pupils and adults. As one Governor commented, 'Children really respect each other's beliefs and cultures, this is a strength of the school.' Attitudes to learning are excellent and pupils want to learn. This is a significant contributory factor to their excellent progress. Pupils are fully committed to healthy living. The quality of teaching and learning is excellent. Teaching is consistently very good with a

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Grade: 1

number of the lessons being outstanding. Teachers always expect the best from their class and, in return, the pupils work hard and take care, presenting their work beautifully. The teachers check each pupil's progress meticulously and set challenging targets that are discussed and agreed with the pupils. Despite the hard work of the school to encourage attendance, levels are below the national figure. A significant number of families take extended holidays to visit homes and families abroad. The outstanding curriculum makes a strong contribution to the development of pupils' skills in English, mathematics and science. There is very good provision for the large numbers of pupils who are new to learning English. Induction procedures are excellent for pupils when they start school. The school cares a good deal about the pupils' academic progress and takes extremely effective steps to ensure their welfare is promoted.

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Grade: 2

The majority of children start in Nursery with skills and personal development well below that expected for their age. Well over three quarters of the children start with little or no English. They make good progress in the Foundation Stage and by the time they start in Year 1, around half have achieved the goals that are expected for their age. This is because teaching is consistently good and the staff have a very good understanding of the best ways to promote the children's learning and their personal development. There is an appropriate balance between 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2008 carefully planned and structured activities and those that allow children to make decisions for themselves.

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Grade: 1

Pupils in Years 1 to 6 make excellent progress. This includes those who have learning difficulties and disabilities (mainly in developing spoken language) the high proportion who join the school during Years 1 to 6, and those who are new to learning English. This is because of the very effective support systems such as induction programmes for newly arrived pupils, ability group teaching and booster clubs. Standards in English, mathematics and science, by the end of Year 2, are broadly average, albeit lower in English as many of the pupils are still new to learning English. Standards of current Year 6 pupils are above the national average in English and mathematics and this is similar to test results in 2007. Standards in science were lower in the previous year but now show an improvement and are around the national average. The number of pupils attaining the higher level 5 in English, mathematics and science, is above the national

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Grade: 1

The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is excellent. Pupils sensitively celebrate different faiths and cultures. Pupils show great respect and tolerance towards the needs of others and they fully embrace the values and ethos promoted by the school. Pupils have a clear understanding of right and wrong and this is seen in their very good behaviour in and around the school. Attendance, however, is only satisfactory owing to families taking extended holidays overseas. Pupils are extremely polite, helpful and well mannered. They work very well co-operatively and are keen to learn from each other. Pupils have a very secure understanding of the need to eat healthy meals and to take regular exercise. They thoroughly enjoy the wide range of extra-curricular activities offered by the school. Pupils are prepared extremely well for their future economic well-being because they make very good progress in

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Grade: 1

English, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT) as well as in the social and personal skills needed for their adult life.

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Grade: 1

Particular strengths in teaching lie in staff's high expectations of their pupils' learning, and behaviour. Relationships between everyone are excellent and lessons progress at a very good pace. Well-trained teaching assistants make a significant contribution to pupils' learning. Teachers make excellent use of assessments when planning lessons to meet the different needs of their pupils. Teachers give clear explanations so that pupils understand what they are learning. They set realistic and challenging learning targets for pupils. Staff provide frequent opportunities for discussions and paired work. This means that all pupils are involved and engaged, and have opportunities to clarify their thinking and share their ideas. This gives particularly good support 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2008 to those who are new to learning English. In an outstanding lesson in Year 5, for example, the

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Grade: 1

pupils set a court scene for the 'Highwayman's Court Hearing' with pupils dressed as characters. This provided excellent opportunities for them to improve their speaking and listening skills as well as to enjoy learning. Staff have high expectations of pupils' handwriting skills and it is a pleasure to see pupils' books, as the work is neatly and beautifully presented. Marking is regular and provides pupils with excellent feedback on how to improve their work.

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Grade: 1

The school provides a broad, rich and stimulating curriculum, which engages the interest of all pupils. All statutory requirements are met and the curriculum is fully responsive to the diverse needs of pupils in this international community. For example, in geography, pupils have thoroughly enjoyed exploring African culture through music, dance, and art. Additionally, they have formed links with Africa through sponsoring an African child from Malawi. The curriculum is greatly enriched by visits to local places of interest as well as receiving many visitors to school. Year 5 pupils take part in a residential visit to Somerset, where they learn about a contrasting environment and develop personal skills such as teamwork and co-operation. Pupils have very good opportunities within school to take on responsibilities and are particularly proud of the playground buddies where they are able to help younger and more vulnerable pupils.

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Grade: 1

The school provides a very high level of care for all pupils. This is reflected in the school's rigorous approach to all aspects of the health, safety, enjoyment and achievement for pupils. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils are secure and clear procedures for Child Protection are understood by all staff. Thorough risk assessments are carried out for all off-site visits as well as for the school internal and external premises to ensure that pupils are well looked after. A stimulating and attractive learning environment support pupils' academic and social development. Pupils have a secure understanding of the progress they are making because teachers mark and assess their work constructively and consistently. They provide written guidance on what pupils have done well and what they need to learn next. Teachers set challenging targets for pupils and review these regularly to ensure that all pupils make good progress.

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Grade: 1

The school's leaders have very high expectations of what they expect pupils to achieve. These high expectations, along with a clear vision for the expanding school, are why pupils achieve as well as they do. The school's results highlight how successful it has been in ensuring that this happens. The school has improved, grown in size and developed a good deal since it was last inspected, and leaders are always working for the pursuit of excellence. The school's successes so far indicate that there is excellent capacity for further improvement. All members of staff are highly committed to the school and this shows itself in the consistency with which the school's policies and procedures are implemented. The approach to self-evaluation is rigorous, albeit too modest. The assessment procedures and the induction and support arrangements for new pupils are outstanding. Governors actively support the school and help

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Grade: 1

6 of 11 Inspection Report: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2008 shape its direction. They act as critical friends and are not afraid to challenge the school in its decisions. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2008 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 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 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 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 1 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 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: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

14 February 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Blair Peach Primary School,Southall,UB1 1DR Thank you very much for the warm welcome that you gave me and the other inspectors when we came to your school recently. We really enjoyed seeing you at work and play and we were glad to talk to you about what it is like at Blair Peach Primary School. We found that your school is outstanding. This means that it does many things very well indeed. For example:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you make excellent progress right from the start. This means that when you leave school, you have reached very good standards in your work ■ your behaviour is very good. We also thought that you work very hard and present your work beautifully ■ your headteacher and all the staff are always working to make sure that you achieve as well as you can. Part of an inspector's job is to find things that could be done better. This is what we have asked the teachers to do:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ make sure that everyone comes to school as often as possible. You can help by asking your parents to take you to school every day when you are not ill. Even though you are already doing very well, we think that if you continue to behave well, work hard and come to school every day, you could do even better. With best wishes Sue Vale Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Blair Peach Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2008

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