Belmont Primary School

Belmont Primary School Inspection report

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102470 Unique Reference Number Hounslow Local Authority 308018 Inspection number 28 November 2007 Inspection date Brian Evans 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 467 School The governing body Appropriate authority Dr Alison Baker Chair Mrs Anne Williams Headteacher 29 September 2003 Date of previous school inspection Belmont Road School address Chiswick London W4 5UL 020 8994 7677 Telephone number 020 8742 7866 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 28 November 2007 Inspection date 308018 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 gathered evidence from lesson observations, looking at pupils' work, assessment information, documents, interviews and discussions. He evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following aspects: standards and achievement, teaching and learning and pupils' personal development and well-being. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail but the inspector found much evidence to confirm that the school's own evaluations are justified, and these have been included.

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Description of the school

Belmont School is larger than most primary schools and housed in a three storey Victorian building. The school is over subscribed. The nursery has 52 children and they all attend part-time. The school has a high number of pupils, some 23 per cent, whose mother tongue is not English. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The percentage of pupils identified as having special educational needs is broadly in line with the national average. The school gained the Healthy School Award and the Inclusion Quality Mark in 2007.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Belmont Primary School, 28 November 2007

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Grade: 1

Belmont Primary is an outstanding school. Pupils make significantly better progress than expected in Years 1 and 2 and acquire well above average skills in reading, writing and numeracy and in information and communication technology (ICT). Standards in national tests by the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science have been consistently well above average, and remain so. In the 2007 tests, results show that the progress made by pupils between Years 2 and 6 placed the school in the top five per cent of all primary schools nationally. Challenging targets are consistently exceeded and pupils currently in Year 2 and Year 6 are on course to reach their targets this year. This consistent success is built upon a team of talented, hard working teachers, support assistants and administrative staff superbly led by an innovative headteacher with the full support of parents. The school provides a secure, positive learning

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Grade: 1

environment. All adults in the school model very high expectations of themselves and of others. They show outstanding levels of care and concern for the personal development and well-being of each individual pupil. Teaching and learning are excellent. Six leading teachers on the staff have an impressive impact on performance both of each other and of colleagues. Leading teachers and the leadership team keep excellent records of pupils' work. These are collected into a portfolio, representing levelled samples of pupils' recorded work. It effectively guides all teachers in maintaining the highest standards. The pupils have their own learning targets that the staff have devised following thorough and accurate assessments of their progress and performance. One-to-one support for pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities is very effective. Pupils at the early stages of English language acquisition make outstanding progress because they benefit

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Grade: 1

from the close partnership between class teachers and the local authority's language service. One high attaining pupil happily commented that 'There is always more to do if we finish the set work early.' Support assistants work effectively in partnership with teachers. Exemplary work on display in classrooms and around the school on a number of projects illustrates an innovative topic approach within an excellent curriculum that links areas of learning. For example, Year 3 pupils arrived at school in togas for a Roman feast, and later visited Fishbourne. They and their parents confirmed that this made the research, preparation and follow-up of this topic a very memorable learning experience. This topic-based approach to learning is new this term and the school has not yet had time to assess its impact carefully and check, for example, that children develop appropriate knowledge and skills in all curriculum

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Grade: 1

areas. Music, drama and art are strengths that extend pupils' learning outside the classroom. The large school choir performs in numerous community events. Sport is popular although some parents would like to see the school participate more in competition against other schools. Impressive progress in information and communication technology (ICT) has been made since the last inspection when it was the only key issue. Teachers have very good ICT skills and pupils are skilful in using a wide range of computer software. This has helped teachers to extend the range and variety of learning styles. The sheer enjoyment on the faces of Year 2 pupils as they strode up to an interactive whiteboard to investigate multiplication problems epitomised the view of one girl that 'learning was fun'. The school lives up to its belief that pupils who are keen to come to school, who enjoy happy relationships with their peers and adults and who have high self-esteem are much more likely

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Grade: 1

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Belmont Primary School, 28 November 2007 to achieve their personal and academic potential. School councillors feel that they are consulted well on a range of issues that affect them. For example, a working group of all stakeholders including pupils played a full part in shaping the school's policies on food and travel. 'Canteen buddies' survey pupils' views and have met with the caterers with the result that there has been an increased take-up of school dinners. Birthday treats in the school are now also linked to healthy foods such as special fruits. The school is very good at seeking the views of parents. Annually an independent body is commissioned to survey parents and pupils on their views of the school. Its most recent survey showed that 99 per cent of parents responded positively to the statement that 'my child likes school' and that 97 per cent responded positively to the statement that 'most days I enjoy

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Grade: 1

being at school'. The overwhelming majority of parents who returned inspection questionnaires confirm these findings. Pupils' personal development and well-being is outstanding. Attendance is above average and behaviour is excellent. Pupils confirm that they feel safe and secure in school. No pupils reported that they had been physically bullied or received racist remarks. Exclusions are extremely rare. Occasional disagreements between pupils are resolved very quickly by the pupils themselves or by teachers. Older pupils aspire to be 'Belmont Buddies', and younger pupils were full of praise for the way 'buddies' carried out their responsibilities to ensure that no-one was left out or felt unhappy during play times. Pupils involve themselves extensively in the life of the school and the wider community. Groups of children take the initiative to raise funds for various causes out of school hours. Good work habits in school and high academic standards give pupils confidence in their

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Grade: 1

approach to everyday economics. For example, pupils across the school all now cost one of their design and technology projects and work out how much they must sell them for to make a profit. Care, support and guidance are outstanding. Leadership and management at all levels work brilliantly with all staff to sustain a continuing rise in standards based on accurate assessment and self-assessment procedures. The headteacher, with the full support of her governors and deputy, expertly combines great professional support for teaching and support staff with very high expectations of them. As a result, all feel valued and eager to respond ever more fully to the needs of the pupils. It is a significant element that ensures the school has excellent capacity for yet more improvement in standards from an already very high base.

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Grade: 1

The Foundation Stage provides a very effective start to children's start at school. A parent commented 'I am delighted with the Belmont nursery; children are stimulated and learn while playing.' From starting points that are typical for their age the children move on at a rapid pace to exceed the levels expected in all areas of learning by the time they start Year1. All reception pupils make excellent progress in their all-round development because staff are constantly seeking to ensure good transition for pupils into the Revised Primary Strategy for teaching phonics and early reading skills.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that the balance of work in topic work includes knowledge, understanding and skills relevant to the full range of subjects in the primary curriculum. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Belmont Primary School, 28 November 2007 .

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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. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Belmont Primary School, 28 November 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? 1 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? 1 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 1 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Belmont Primary School, 28 November 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 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Belmont Primary School, 28 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

6 December 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Belmont Primary School,London,W4 5UL I am writing to let you know how much I enjoyed my visit to your school. Thank you for being so friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed talking to you and appreciated the help you gave me during the day. You will be pleased to hear that I think that Belmont is an outstanding school and that you are making very good progress in your lessons. Here are a number of things I like about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You get an excellent start to school life in the Nursery and in Reception classes. I was very impressed with your lovely outside play areas. ■ You are keen to come to school, work hard for your teachers and enjoy learning.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are keen to follow a healthy lifestyle and make an excellent contribution to the life of the school. ■ You take on responsibilities very well and in a mature manner. For example, younger children especially appreciate the work of older pupils who act as 'buddies'. I was very impressed with your enthusiasm for topic work. I have asked your teachers, with your help, to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ check that you are making good progress in all subjects included in your topic work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Once again, my thanks to all of you for making my day at the school so enjoyable. Yours sincerely Brian Evans Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Belmont Primary School, 28 November 2007

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