Rushmore Primary School

Rushmore Primary School Inspection report

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130302 Unique Reference Number Hackney Local Authority 315609 Inspection number 31 October °1 November 2007 Inspection dates Steven Hill 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 445 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Stephen Cook Chair Mrs Anna Susianta Headteacher 17 November 2003 Date of previous school inspection Elderfield Road School address Hackney London E5 0LE 0208 985 3175 Telephone number 0208 986 5645 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 31 October °1 November 2007 Inspection dates 315609 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

This is a large primary school with a Nursery serving a relatively deprived, multi-cultural area in Hackney. Pupils' social and economic circumstances cover a very wide range, as does their attainment when they start school. Just over a third of pupils speak English as an additional language and 70% of pupils are from a variety of minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is above average. There have been a large number of staff changes or long-term absences in the last two years, and the current headteacher was appointed in January 2007, following a period of instability in leadership.

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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: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Grade: 3

Rushmore provides a satisfactory and improving standard of education, with some significant strengths. Good pastoral care and an interesting and exciting curriculum ensure that pupils' personal development is good. Pupils are particularly keen on the very wide range of extra-curricular activities, and the many 'extras' that enhance the curriculum. Pupils are well behaved, enjoy school and form very good relationships with each other and with staff. Boys and girls from different ethnic groups play and work together happily. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles, and join in physical activities with particular enthusiasm. There are good links with parents, who are very positive about the school and the way it supports their children. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Standards are below average overall when pupils start in the school, and broadly average by the end of Years 2 and Year 6. A drop in standards at each key stage during the recent disruption

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Grade: 3

to staffing was largely reversed last year. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory. Many pupils make good progress in their time in the school. However, pupils for whom English is an additional language make just satisfactory progress. During Key Stage 2, their overall progress is less than the national average. The school does not have sufficient provision in place to address their specific language needs, particularly the more able. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities achieve well because of the good range of extra support the school provides. Progress in most lessons is satisfactory because teaching is satisfactory. Teachers have good relationships with pupils, manage classes well and provide interesting activities that generate enthusiasm. Many pupils achieve well as a result. However, there are inconsistencies in teaching, particularly in how well teachers match work to the different needs of pupils. Too often, everyone

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Grade: 3

is given the same task, which can be too hard for some pupils or too easy for others. Pupils who struggle with their work generally cope because they get effective help from the skilled teaching assistants. However, pupils that are more able do not always make the progress they should. The academic support and guidance provided for pupils is satisfactory, with some strengths. Individuals' progress in English and mathematics is monitored carefully and a wide range of support is used to help those who fall behind. However, the setting of individual targets for pupils is only just beginning, and marking is inconsistent. Management is satisfactory. The headteacher provides strong leadership and a clear sense of direction to the school. Self-evaluation is good because her monitoring of provision is accurate and thorough. With the support of a committed staff team, she succeeded in reversing the recent fall in standards. Governors understand the school well and provide good support.

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Grade: 3

However, the senior leadership team is new, and other leaders, including subject coordinators, have not had enough opportunities to identify strengths and weaknesses in their areas of responsibility. This limits the effectiveness of the support they are able to offer to colleagues.

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Grade: 3

Children's attainment on entry to school is often below that expected for their age. They make satisfactory progress in the Nursery and Reception classes but many are still at below average levels when they transfer to Year 1, especially in communication, language and literacy. They make good progress in personal, social and emotional development. They share books and 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007 equipment well, take turns on the climbing frame, and chat and play happily together in the playground. Teaching is satisfactory and engages children's interest. Teachers plan and provide a sound range of activities that enable children to develop in most aspects of their learning. However, not all adults are secure in teaching early literacy skills, and this hinders children's progress. Opportunities are often missed to engage children in discussion through their play

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Grade: 3

to develop specific vocabulary and help them become more confident and fluent in their speech. Children's progress is tracked to form a picture of their achievement over the year, but teachers do not make enough use of their day-to-day assessments to plan activities that meet the needs of different groups of children.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Remove inconsistencies in teaching in order to improve its quality, particularly in matching work to pupils' individual needs. ■ Improve provision in the Foundation Stage, particularly in using day-to-day assessment to guide planning. ■ Make better provision to address the specific language needs of bilingual pupils.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Provide more opportunities for middle managers to identify strengths and weaknesses within their areas of responsibility. 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 are average and achievement is satisfactory. A fall in standards during recent staffing changes was reversed last year. There were particularly good improvements in mathematics, following a concentration on the subject by the school. However, there are still relatively few pupils attaining high standards in writing at Key Stage 1, or in science at Key Stage 2. Many pupils achieve well, particularly those with learning difficulties or disabilities. However, the large number of pupils for whom English is an additional language do not always progress as well their classmates, particularly at Key Stage 2.

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Grade: 2

Pupils show real consideration and courtesy to each other and to adults, as was seen clearly during the inspection. Behaviour is good and has improved further in the last year. Rules have been reviewed and pupils are clear that the rewards and sanctions are fair. Attendance is above the national average and this due to the school's robust systems for dealing with absence and poor punctuality. Incidents of bullying are rare and pupils feel safe and secure. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils respect each other's view and appreciate each other's differences. They conscientiously undertake responsibilities, such as being buddies, running a tuck shop or reading to younger pupils. Pupils welcome the chance to play a major part in decision-making through the school council. They are proud of their part in the improvements made to the playground. 'We make the school a better place', commented one.

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Grade: 2

'And we are like a mini government', said another. They contribute to the wider community through activities such as playing steel pans at the local hospital. Pupils adopt healthy lifestyles for example in eating more healthy foods, including the improved school meals. They participate 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007 enthusiastically in the wide variety of sports available. Pupils develop the skills and qualities that prepare them well for later life. Their secure basic skills, their good skills in using modern technology, and their strong interpersonal skills and ability to work well in teams all contribute to this.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory, with a significant proportion of good lessons taught. Classrooms are orderly and well organised. Pupils work hard and behave well in response to teachers' high expectations and well-established routines. Pupils stressed that teachers are good at making lessons 'fun' so that they sometimes learn 'without realising it'. Teachers make increasingly good use of interactive whiteboards to clarify explanations and enthuse pupils. However, there are inconsistencies in some aspects of practice. The most important is that in too many lessons teachers do not match work closely enough to the different needs of their pupils. Marking is inconsistent, and does not always show pupils how they can do better. Some good use is made of discussion in pairs for pupils to sort out their ideas but, in other lessons, opportunities for this are missed. The better lessons have a good pace and cover a lot of ground

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Grade: 3

but, in others, the pace slows at times so that not enough is achieved in the time available.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy a broad range of interesting and relevant experiences that enable them to develop sound academic and good personal skills. They appreciate the wide variety of extra-curricular clubs and activities offered, including roller-blading, art and drama. Many race eagerly into school each morning to attend the booster classes arranged to help them catch up in English and mathematics. Music and sport have a high profile. Swimming, football and athletics teams all do exceptionally well in borough competitions and musicians achieve high standards in choral singing and in playing guitar and steel pans. Older classes are arranged in ability sets for mathematics and this contributed to the rise in standards in Year 6 last year. The school has correctly identified a need to develop further links between subjects to make learning even more relevant and interesting for pupils.

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Grade: 2

Good pastoral care for pupils underpins many of the school's successes. There is a high level of commitment to pupils' welfare and safety. Any inappropriate behaviour is identified quickly, and is dealt with firmly but sensitively. The provision to support pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is good. Members of staff know the circumstances of the pupils well and work hard to meet their individual needs. This is valued by pupils and parents, who talk warmly about the support received from the teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils learning English as an additional language receive satisfactory support. They are given a lot of help when they start, but their specific language needs are not always met as they become more fluent. Child protection arrangements are good and regularly reviewed, as are risk assessment procedures. The systems to carefully track and monitor pupils' progress are improving. They are starting to

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Grade: 2

make a greater impact on pupils' knowledge of how well they are doing in different subjects, 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007 and what they need to do to improve. There is a real sense of every individual child being important.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher has an accurate picture of the school's strengths and weaknesses gained through very rigorous monitoring of standards and teaching. The new senior staff team and subject coordinators are enthusiastic and work hard to support their colleagues. However, they are still developing their monitoring roles, so they lack information on strengths and weaknesses in their areas of responsibility. This makes it harder to target their help and advice accurately. The school sets targets for pupils' achievement but these provide only moderate levels of challenge and are usually exceeded in national tests. Governors know the school well and support its work successfully by providing advice about, for example, personnel and premises issues. They have had a direct impact upon improving school meals and in raising awareness of healthy eating issues. Parents are supportive of the headteacher and of the school's work

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Grade: 3

with their children. One parent described the school as having '...an excellent ethos'. Another said it had '...a real sense of community and the children are at the heart of everything that is done'. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007 .

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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: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 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? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 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 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 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 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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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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 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 3 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 November 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Rushmore Primary School,London,E5 0LE Thank you for all your help when we visited Rushmore. We enjoyed talking to you, and watching you at work. We think that your school gives you a satisfactory education with some things that are particularly good. We were very impressed by how well you all get on together. Your behaviour is good and you work hard. We thought you were friendly, polite and sensible, and a great credit to your school and your parents. Many of you make good progress, and pupils who struggle with their work get lots of help and do particularly well. Pupils who speak different languages at home learn English quickly, but we think that some of you need extra help with English when you have to tackle really complicated ideas. Your teachers are going to see how they can help you with this. The youngest children settle very happily into the Nursery and Reception classes, because the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

adults are so kind to them and give them plenty of interesting things to do. We have suggested that they keep a more careful eye on what children are learning each day, so they can plan how to help them learn even more. You told us that lessons are fun, and that you really like your teachers. They give you exciting things to do so that lessons are interesting. We thought there were lots of good things about your lessons, and we could see you enjoyed them. We have asked your teachers to help you make even better progress by always checking that the work they give to different pupils is just right for them - not too hard and not too easy. The adults in school are good at looking after you and are keen for you to do well. The headteacher is good at organising things, and all the teachers work hard to help her. We have suggested that they spend more time visiting each other's lessons, so they can give each other

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

tips about how to help you learn even more. Thank you again for all your help, and we hope you keep on enjoying school and working hard. Best wishes Steven Hill Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Rushmore Primary School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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