William Patten Primary School

William Patten Primary School Inspection report

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130932 Unique Reference Number Hackney Local Authority 315663 Inspection number 11 °12 June 2008 Inspection dates Alison Thomson 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 453 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms A Walker Chair Ms K Kyle Headteacher 17 May 2004 Date of previous school inspection Church Street School address Stoke Newington London N16 0NX 020 7254 4014 Telephone number 020 7241 4090 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 11 °12 June 2008 Inspection dates 315663 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

William Patten is a larger than average primary school. The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is higher than average. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who do not have English as their first language is very high. A significant proportion of these pupils are at an early stage of learning English. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is average. This includes a group of pupils who have speech, language and communication difficulties. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is lower than average.

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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: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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Grade: 2

William Patten is an improving school that provides a good standard of education. Parents consider that it is a focal point in the area and reflects the diverse nature of the community well. The curriculum is outstanding. Care, guidance and support are excellent and teaching is good. This together has led to the pupils achieving well and their personal development being excellent. Parental comments are mainly very positive and captured by views such as, 'The school's attention to the individual needs of the child has certainly made my children happy, confident and see education as a positive thing' and 'I would highly recommend William Patten to other parents.' The school has a diverse mix of pupils, including a significant number who arrive during the year speaking little or no English. Parents appreciate the school's careful attention to their needs, 'for being the eye, ear and tongue in a foreign country'. From starting points that are

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Grade: 2

very variable, but below those typically expected overall, pupils reach standards that are securely in line with those seen nationally at the end of Year 6. All pupils make good progress, regardless of background and ability, because of the excellent focused support they receive from teachers and teaching assistants and the outstanding curriculum. Parents feel this too and say that they are impressed with the extra effort and imagination that the children's teachers put in to their classes and other activities, such as 'passport day' and 'international evenings'. Pupils say their lessons are interesting and fun. Because they have such a positive attitude, this has a very good effect on their achievement. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve their work. They are confident, articulate and very respectful to adults and to each other. They support each other extremely well. One pupil commented,

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Grade: 2

'We don't get humiliated when we get something wrong'. They understand very well what it means to be healthy and to be safe. They rate behaviour accurately as, '10 out of 10'. They value the excellent range of enrichment activities and feel that the school values them. The dedication and hard work of the headteacher is central to the success of the school. Along with her senior leadership team, she has raised standards by focusing on individual pupil performance and development. Middle leaders work well together as a team and appreciate the support that they receive. There is a common purpose amongst all the staff of self-reflection and responsibility for ensuring pupils make good progress. Increasingly, data are used well to identify underachievement of individual pupils. The school acknowledges that they could produce clearer overviews of how well strategies are working to accelerate the raising of

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Grade: 2

standards. For example, it has not evaluated the overall impact of strategies to raise the attainment of those who enter the school during the year. The school is aware of what it needs to do to improve in areas such as writing. Whilst there is evidence that strategies are bringing about some improvement, the school is aware that a wider range of approaches could bring about further improvements. Governors know and challenge the school well. The school places a strong emphasis on the social and emotional welfare of its pupils. This, along with the recent academic improvements, means that the school has a good capacity to improve even further.

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Grade: 2

The Foundation Stage is a happy, friendly and safe place where children flourish well. Attainment on entry to the Nursery is low overall because many pupils have difficulties with communication when they first come to school. By the end of the Foundation Stage, the attainment of most 4 of 11 Inspection Report: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008 children is still below that expected, although they make good progress. There have been rapid strides in children's progress recently, aided by the newly appointed Foundation Stage leader, although it is too early yet to see the full impact of the improved provision. The good teaching, good relationships and a high-quality learning environment, which stimulates, motivates and engages the diverse intake of the children, contribute well to their achievement. Clear labelling of resources, key vocabulary and activities ensure that everyone can understand what is being

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Grade: 2

taught and contribute appropriately to it. Good use of assessment to plan the children's learning and a wide range of activities that interest the children help to take their learning forward. Children behave very well and are aware of their own and each other's safety. They understand the need to eat healthily and take regular exercise. Staff work hard to engage parents as partners in their children's education and to overcome language barriers, by, for example, using interpreters. This typical comment from a parent illustrates just how much they value the Foundation Stage, 'My son loves school and I can honestly say he has had the best start at William Patten.'

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Refine the use of data to accelerate the raising of standards, by having clearer overviews of how well strategies are working. ■ Build on the existing strategies to raise further achievement in writing across the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress throughout their time in school. This includes pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, a group of whom have speech, language and communication difficulties, and pupils for whom English is not their first language. Pupils make good progress in Years 1 and 2 and by the end of Year 2, standards are in line with those seen nationally in reading, writing and in mathematics. Standards are relatively higher in reading and mathematics compared to writing, although there are signs that intervention strategies in writing are beginning to have an impact in raising attainment there. Progress in all areas has improved this year compared to last year. Progress from Year 2 to Year 6 is also good and standards at the end of Year 6 are securely in line with the national average in English, mathematics and science. Progress in science and mathematics is particularly good because of the strong emphasis on

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Grade: 2

problem solving and investigative work. Standards throughout the school in physical education, music, art and dance are high. The school has good tracking systems to identify any pupil who is underachieving and is increasingly addressing this with some well thought out strategies that involve working closely with the pupils and their parents. Sometimes, however, not having a clear overview of the effectiveness of the strategies limits the acceleration of the pupils' progress.

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Grade: 1

Pupils greatly enjoy their school, feel very safe and want to do well. This is reflected in improvements in attendance that is now well above the national average. Pupils are proud of their school and speak enthusiastically about what it provides. 'It's a fun school, where we get lots of exciting events like international evenings to learn about other cultures', said one pupil when asked to describe their school. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. They are thoughtful and have particularly good relationships with their teachers 5 of 11 Inspection Report: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008 and with each other. They accurately rate their behaviour as excellent. They understand very well what it means to have a healthy lifestyle and the benefits of taking on responsibilities, such as acting as 'buddies' for younger children or interpreters for children as they learn English.

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Grade: 1

They have strong links with the local community through environmental projects and raising money for charities. This, along with their good achievement in all basic skills and independence in learning, prepares them very well for their future. By the time they leave school they are developing into mature, considerate young citizens.

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Grade: 2

The combination of enthusiastic and effective teaching, along with pupils' readiness to learn, results in teaching and learning that is good. Pupils listen carefully to instructions from the teacher and to the views of other pupils so that they achieve well. Good lesson planning and pro-active support from teaching assistants ensures that the needs of pupils are met well, although sometimes the work is a little too easy for some and a little too hard for others. Lessons generally have good pace, but occasionally pupils get restless when a task goes on too long when they are not actively involved. As one pupil said, 'we learn better when we get to do things ourselves'. Literacy is used well to support learning in other areas, such as the emphasis on using correct scientific terminology. Teachers share well with the pupils what they should be learning and encourage them to assess their own learning and that of their peers. In an

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Grade: 2

outstanding lesson on problem solving in mathematics, the teacher carefully guided the pupils to assess sensitively how well others had achieved. Books are marked frequently and in many instances, comments inform pupils very clearly of the next steps they need to take in their learning.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an exciting, well thought out and stimulating curriculum that reflects the cultural diversity of the school and the needs of the pupils extremely well. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, higher-attaining pupils and pupils with English as an additional language is excellent. Additional staff are employed in each of these areas to ensure the needs of these pupils are met to a very high standard. All statutory requirements are met well and there are increasingly innovative links between subjects to reflect the needs of the learners well. There is an exceptional range of interesting activities and clubs for pupils of all ages, including Flamenco dancing, steel pans and Turkish homework. The school simply buzzes with these clubs after lessons have finished. Pupils speak with enthusiasm about what they do in school and how this helps them to achieve well. 'We are so lucky to be here', said

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Grade: 1

one pupil, 'It is such fun'. Parents also appreciate what is on offer and describe the school as 'truly vibrant, inclusive and creative'.

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Grade: 1

Care and support for children are outstanding. The school provides an extremely safe, healthy and inclusive learning environment, which is particularly well looked after by all the staff. Procedures for safeguarding children are well established and risk assessments are very thorough. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008 Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, and those whose first language is not English, receive exceptionally good support. Pupils' needs are identified early and support strategies are swiftly put into place. Individual education plans are clear and provide children with appropriate, attainable targets. The contribution made by specialist teachers, learning assistants and mentors to children's learning is outstanding. Excellent links with external agencies ensure pupils receive appropriate interventions when needed. Assessment information is used to set

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Grade: 1

challenging targets. While there is exemplary practice in the school, not all pupils are consistently given clear guidance on how to achieve next steps in learning, which limits their rate of progress.

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Grade: 2

The school has moved forward under the strong leadership of the headteacher and the senior staff and it is in a good position to improve further. Along with her senior leadership team, she has instilled a common purpose amongst all the staff to raise standards. She is not afraid to make difficult decisions and puts the needs and welfare of the pupils first at all times. Parents greatly appreciate all the clubs, special events and trips and one comment, typical of many, says, 'The school is particularly successful in creating a thriving community atmosphere'. Many parents welcome their increasing involvement with the school, although a minority feel that the school does not always seek their views and address their concerns as fully as they would like. Tracking systems to check pupils' progress and evaluate teaching and learning have improved achievement in many areas. The school is increasingly using data effectively in lesson

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Grade: 2

planning, although it acknowledges that this could be more incisive to bring about improvements in standards faster. The school has recognised areas where they need to make improvements, such as improving standards in writing and the quality of provision in the Foundation Stage. Already there are signs that strategies to bring about improvement there are having a positive effect. Governors are very supportive, offer constructive criticism and challenge the school appropriately and effectively. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 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? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 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?

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 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 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: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

25 June 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of William Patten Primary School,London,N16 0NX Thank you very much for the very warm welcome you gave us when we inspected your school. We enjoyed talking to you and seeing all the interesting and exciting work that you do. Here are some of the things that we liked best.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You enjoy school very much and you behave very well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You work well with each other and help to do things for your community.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are developing excellent personal skills for you to have a very successful adult life.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You know how to be healthy by eating the right food and by exercising.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Adults in school ensure that you are very safe and well cared for.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You have interesting lessons and many exciting opportunities for clubs and visits.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Here are some of the things that we have asked your headteacher and teachers to improve.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make more use of the information about how well you are doing to help you do even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Think of ways to make writing more enjoyable to help you getter better marks in your writing.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can help by working with your teachers to see how you can do even better work. You can share with them things you like writing about. We enjoyed our visit to your school. Thank you once again. Yours sincerely Alison Thomson Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: William Patten Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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