Stanley Primary School

102898 Unique Reference Number Richmond Upon Thames Local Authority 308154 Inspection number 5 June 2008 Inspection date Kathryn Taylor 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 351 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr A Fahey Chair Mr I Dickinson Headteacher 18 April 2005 Date of previous school inspection Stanley Road School address Teddington TW11 8UE 020 8977 4858 Telephone number 020 8977 6937 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 5 June 2008 Inspection date 308154 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 who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following:

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Introduction

■ whether the teaching is consistent and how successfully teachers guide pupils about how they might improve their learning ■ the impact of recent improvements to mathematics provision

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Introduction

■ the effectiveness of systems for monitoring and evaluating the school's work.

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Introduction

Evidence was gained from observing parts of lessons and pupils' work and a scrutiny of the school's documentation and progress data. The inspector also analysed the parent questionnaires and met with senior leaders, pupils, staff and governors. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation form, were not justified and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

Stanley Juniors is larger than average. Three quarters of pupils are from White British families. Other pupils come from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds. Few pupils are at the early stages of learning English. The proportions of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is average, but a higher percentage than usual have statements of special educational need. Learning difficulties mainly relate to speech, language and communication, autism and behaviour, emotional and social needs. Take up of free school meals is below average. The school has gained the Eco Green Flag and Activemark Gold awards. It was awarded Extended School Status in Autumn 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: Stanley Junior School, 5 June 2008

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Grade: 2

Stanley Juniors is a good school, which pupils and parents are rightly proud of. It has a very welcoming, inclusive ethos and works exceptionally well with the local community and other schools. Staff and governors ensure parents are fully involved and can therefore make a strong contribution to the school and their children's education. From a reasonably good starting point on entry to school, pupils of all abilities and backgrounds make good progress and achieve well. By the end of Year 6 pupils consistently attain standards in English, mathematics and science that are above and sometimes well above average. Mathematics standards, however, have tended to lag behind those in English and science and in 2007 mathematics test results indicated there was some underachievement. Since then the school has successfully tackled weaknesses in pupils' attainments by reviewing and strengthening the mathematics provision. Pupils say they really like the changes, especially the increase in

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Grade: 2

practical work and mental calculations. Teachers are now more confident in teaching a wider range of strategies so that pupils' learning is lively and varied. Pupils' progress has accelerated and the gap between mathematics and English standards is closing. Pupils currently in Year 6 are set to attain well above average standards in both English and mathematics and are therefore well-prepared for future learning in secondary school. Overall teaching and learning are good and are now more consistent than at the time of the last inspection. General strengths in the teaching include good subject knowledge, organization, explanations, questioning and delivery. Teachers also make good use of learning support assistants, information and communication technology and visits to make learning interesting and fun. Improved teacher assessments were established quickly following the last inspection. These are used effectively to highlight any weaknesses in pupils' attainments and identify

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Grade: 2

pupils who need extra support or challenge. More recently individual learning targets have been introduced and pupils and their parents are made aware of these. Weaker elements of teaching relate to some missed opportunities for pupils to learn through group or paired discussions and the quality of marking. Although there are some examples of developmental marking in English and mathematics, practice is not consistent and marking in the foundation subjects is irregular. This limits the feedback to pupils about what they are doing well and what they might do to improve and reach even higher standards, especially in some of the foundation subjects. It is because of this weakness in academic guidance that care guidance and support overall are judged satisfactory, rather than good, despite the good pastoral care. Parents rightly believe that pastoral care is strong, noting for example; 'My children thrive in

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Grade: 2

this happy, caring environment' and, 'The excellent buddy system, enables seamless transition into the junior school.' Parents and pupils alike say that staff are very approachable and are quick to respond to any concerns. Therefore pupils feel safe and secure in school. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are supported very well. Staff work very closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that pupils' needs are identified promptly. Good support programmes ensure pupils receive the extra support they need, are fully included and achieve well. The school offers a good curriculum. Particular strengths lie in the extensive after-school and community activities and the provision for drama, singing, instrumental music and sport. The school's excellent sports facilities, combined with some specialist teaching, help pupils to attain high standards in physical education, as is evident in their outstanding success in competitive

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Stanley Junior School, 5 June 2008 sports. The school is also renowned for the quality of its music and drama productions. These outstanding features of the curriculum make a strong contribution to pupils' excellent understanding of healthy lifestyles, their thorough enjoyment of school, consistently good attendance rates and outstanding participation in local and community events. Pupils are exceptionally good ambassadors for their school. They are very mature and responsible, take really good care of one another, behave well and are extremely polite and friendly. Pupils are keen to help the school run smoothly and willingly undertake tasks, for example as buddies at the friendship stop and as school councillors. They are sensitive to the needs of others beyond school, regularly raising funds for various charities. Their awareness of 'green issues' is very well developed as a result of the school's long established and extensive work in this area.

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Grade: 2

Continued good leadership has helped the school to maintain its existing strengths, its commitment to raising standards, providing a good all-round education and ensuring it meets the needs of pupils with a wide range of abilities and talents. Leadership is also outward looking and readily embraces change. The headteacher has the full confidence of pupils and parents and provides a firm steer. Since the last inspection he has provided support and training to improve the contribution that other staff make to leading the school. Subject leaders and those with other responsibilities make a good contribution to supporting staff and developing work in their subjects. However, not all are sufficiently involved in monitoring and evaluating lessons and pupils' finished work. As a result weaknesses, such as those in marking, are not picked up quickly enough. School self-evaluation and planning for the future have brought improvements in many areas but

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Grade: 2

neither monitoring or evaluation are incisive enough to move achievement to the highest level. Consequently, the capacity to improve is satisfactory rather than good. Governors make a good contribution to leadership. They bring a wide range of skills to the task, are very supportive, proactive and fully involved.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that marking is both regular and of sufficient quality to ensure that the strengths in pupils' work and the areas that might be improved, are pinpointed clearly. ■ Bring greater precision to school self-evaluation and planning for the future by ensuring that the school's work is frequently and incisively monitored and evaluated. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Stanley Junior School, 5 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. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Stanley Junior School, 5 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? 3 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?

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 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 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?

3 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: Stanley Junior School, 5 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 3 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: Stanley Junior School, 5 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

17 June 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Stanley Junior School,Teddington,TW11 8UE Thank you very much for making me welcome when I visited. I really enjoyed talking to you and finding out about your school. I think that Stanley Juniors provides a good all-round education and enables you to achieve well. It was good to see that you really enjoy school, listen well and work hard. You are very sensible, polite and well-behaved, which helps ensure that your school is a happy place which runs smoothly. Staff teach you well. I was pleased to see that the hard work the school has put into improving mathematics progress and teaching has been successful and that you are really enjoying your mathematics lessons. Everyone who is involved in the school works hard to find lots of really interesting things for you to do. For example they take you on visits, provide many opportunities for you to work with pupils and staff in other schools and ensure you take part in productions and an exceptional

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

number of competitive sports. This helps to ensure that you enjoy very good relationships with one another, thoroughly enjoy school and develop an excellent understanding of how to stay fit and healthy. The staff look after you well and listen and respond to your views and concerns. Your headteacher and the staff are always keen to find ways to make things even better for you. I have asked your teachers to improve their marking so that you have more information about how you can improve your work. I have also asked the staff to get better at checking how well the school is doing so that you can reach even higher standards. You can help by continuing to work hard and make good use of the many opportunities that the school provides. Yours sincerely, Kathryn Taylor Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Stanley Junior School, 5 June 2008

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