Ray Lodge Primary School

Ray Lodge Primary School Inspection report

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131305 Unique Reference Number Redbridge Local Authority 315775 Inspection number 27 °28 February 2008 Inspection dates Judith Dawson 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 614 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Andrew Dann Chair Ms Jas Leverton (interim headteacher) Headteacher 20 October 2003 Date of previous school inspection Snakes Lane East School address Woodford Green IG8 7JQ 020 8504 7301 Telephone number 020 8504 7199 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 27 °28 February 2008 Inspection dates 315775 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 four Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This large primary school serves a diverse community with an above average number of pupils entitled to free school meals. Three quarters of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. Well over half the pupils do not speak English as their first language and about a third are in the early stages of learning English. There is significant mobility with a least a third of the pupils joining or leaving the school during each year. About 10% of pupils have refugee status. A quarter of the pupils travel some distance to school, many changing public transport on their journeys. There is a nursery and the school provides a parent-toddler group, a breakfast club and family literacy and numeracy. Teacher mobility has been very high over the last 3 years. The previous headteacher retired in December and there is in interim headteacher until April when the new headteacher arrives.

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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: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 February 2008

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Grade: 3

Ray Lodge Primary School provides a satisfactory education and there have been improvements in several aspects of its work in recent months. The interim headteacher, working closely with the senior management team, has successfully generated enthusiasm and a desire to provide the best for the pupils amongst the staff. The new leadership team is dedicated to school improvement, based on a good understanding of what needs to be done, although they still lack the expertise to fine-tune their monitoring and analysis to fully support teachers. The capacity for further improvement is satisfactory. Governance is good. The governors have both supported and challenged the leadership during the recent changes. Pupils make satisfactory progress from Year 1 to Year 6. Standards are generally below average on entry to the nursery and, although there have been some improvements in standards at age 7 and 11 recently, they remain below average overall. Pupils with English as an additional

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Grade: 3

language soon acquire the language skills they need to make similar progress to their peers in Key Stage 2. Almost all pupils enjoy their lessons and work hard, even though, on a few occasions, they lack the challenge or opportunity to have the satisfaction of a task well done. Some parents have expressed concern about pupils' behaviour. Over the past two terms the school has established good systems for improving this and almost all pupils now behave well. One parent wrote, 'I had heard that the children in school are not very well behaved but I have been proved wrong.' The overall quality of teaching and learning, while satisfactory, has also improved in recent months. Teachers manage behaviour well and pupils are eager to learn. Many teachers plan work to meet the needs and interests of the diversity of pupils. This is still not happening consistently throughout the school. Teachers set general targets for the class or groups of

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Grade: 3

pupils but few pupils know what they are, so are unable to take responsibility for improving their work. The school takes good care of the pupils. The good personal, social and health education curriculum provides pupils with strong values and an understanding of how to keep healthy and safe. Pupils with specific needs have appropriate support and new pupils, including those with little English language, are made welcome. Pupils' progress is tracked but the systems do not yet easily identify any pockets of underachievement. Teachers set targets for pupils based on steady progress from year to year rather than aspiring to the good progress needed to raise attainment. This means that teachers do not expect enough of their pupils.

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Grade: 1

Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is outstanding. Many children enter the Nursery class with skills below those expected for their age. They achieve very well because they have opportunities to explore and investigate their surroundings and time to practise and repeat what interests them. Activities, planned around themes such as 'shopping', are stimulating, practical and engaging. Adults support learning very well in all classes and there is a commendable emphasis on language acquisition and personal development and wellbeing. As a result, children, including those with limited English language skills, learn to communicate and socialise effectively. In Reception classes, very good adult-led sessions develop early reading, writing and number skills extremely well and children write and count throughout the 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 February 2008 day as part of their role-play. Leadership and management are outstanding. There is a very

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Grade: 1

good team spirit amongst all staff. They are committed to providing high quality care within a very safe and stimulating learning environment, making the best of the limited outdoor space available. Planning is exemplary which leads to consistency across the classes. Very good records of children's progress enable staff to challenge children of all abilities to build on their learning. Parents and carers are very pleased with what goes on in the Foundation Stage.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Further develop the roles and expertise of all leaders and managers in monitoring teaching and learning to ensure pupils make more rapid progress. ■ Improve teachers' understanding of what their pupils should achieve and ensure their lessons meet the needs of all groups. ■ Refine and make better use of assessment information to inform pupils of what they need to learn next and involve them in setting their own targets. A small proportion of 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

The achievement of pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 is satisfactory. By the end of the Foundation Stage, children attain the expected levels for their age in all aspects of learning. Standards are below the national average by Year 2. This is largely because of the high number of pupils joining the school after their Reception year, often with little or no English. Standards improved slightly in 2007 and there are indications that they are continuing to improve, especially in reading. The below average standards in English , mathematics and science in Year 6 are also influenced by the high mobility although they were close to the national average in 2007 national tests for mathematics. Present standards in English show some improvement on the 2007 national tests.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They are aware of cultural differences and support each other well. Most pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They have good attitudes to learning and relationships are positive. Attendance, although lower than in many schools, is improving and pupils enjoy coming to school. They feel safe and free from bullying and harassment because any poor behaviour is dealt with quickly. They know how to stay safe and have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. The school council carries out its duties with pride. It has held fundraising events to raise money for new playground equipment. Pupils make a satisfactory contribution to the community, regularly supporting local and national charities. Some pupils are play leaders, run the book club or are junior road safety officers. Pupils have satisfactory literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology

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Grade: 3

(ICT) skills to prepare them for their futures. They have limited opportunities to take responsibility for improving their learning. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 February 2008

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Grade: 3

Almost all teaching is at least satisfactory and many lessons observed during the inspection were good and, in the Foundation Stage, outstanding. Many lessons capture pupils' interests and are taught at a brisk pace, enabling them to make good progress. Pupils get down to independent work speedily. Relationships between pupils and teachers are good and founded on mutual respect. There are weaknesses in some teachers' planning in Key Stages 1 and 2 where the needs of pupils with differing abilities or needs are not sufficiently catered for. Although all pupils are told what they will learn in each lesson, some teachers do not expect enough of their pupils, especially in the early part of Key Stage 2. Here, in a small minority of lessons, teaching and learning were inadequate because the teacher talked to the class for far too long or the lesson content did not meet the needs of the majority of pupils. Some teachers

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Grade: 3

do not use their assessment of pupils' learning sufficiently to adapt their lessons or give pupils sufficient advice about how to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

There is a broad and balanced curriculum. Provision for English, mathematics, science and ICT is satisfactory but not always fine-tuned to meet pupils' diverse needs. The school works well with other agencies to increase learning opportunities for pupils. There is some specialist teaching, for example, for art. The art project generates stimulating activities that pupils enjoy. Themed weeks, with links between subjects, provide good opportunities for the development of speaking and listening skills, drama and problem solving. The curriculum is enriched by school trips such as visits to museums and the local park. Visitors to the school support pupils' learning, such as parents who visit to tell stories in their own language. Pupils enjoy a satisfactory range of extra curricular activities and some pupils learn French. Gifted and talented pupils have their learning enriched by additional activities each half term.

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Grade: 3

The staff work well as a team and with outside agencies to provide good care, pastoral guidance and support. There are effective arrangements to support pupils new to the school. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet requirements. Risk assessments and the school's child protection procedures are thorough. The school seeks pupils' and parents' views and responds to them. The learning mentor and parent support worker coordinate support for vulnerable pupils and those who are hard to reach. The school is working hard to improve attendance but very high numbers of pupils moving in and out of the school makes this more difficult. There is good support for pupils with limited English language, or other specific needs. Academic guidance is satisfactory. The school has an emergent tracking system for monitoring pupils' progress and setting educational targets. Pupils do not generally know what these are, which hinders their

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Grade: 3

clear understanding of what they need to do to improve further. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 February 2008

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Grade: 3

The interim headteacher swiftly identified the schools strengths, the improvements already made and the areas for further improvement. She has successfully generated a strong sense of teamwork amongst the staff. The new senior management team are becoming increasingly effective in their roles and are now well placed to support other leaders and managers in school. Subject leaders, while very enthusiastic and eager to develop their skills, do not yet have the expertise to use the tracking data to work with teachers to set challenging targets. The senior management team have identified the need to develop both leaders' skills and the use of tracking data to accelerate progress. Resources, including personnel, are deployed effectively although teaching assistants are still not used to full effect throughout each lesson. Governors are ambitious for their school and have a very clear and realistic vision for the future.

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Grade: 3

7 of 11 Inspection Report: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 February 2008 .

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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: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 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? 1 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 3 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 3 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 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 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: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 February 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 March 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Ray Lodge Primary School,Woodford Green,IG8 7JQ Thank you very much for making us so welcome during our visit to your school. We really enjoyed talking to you and hearing your views about your school. We can see how much you enjoy your lessons and we were very impressed by your good behaviour in lessons and on the playground. You know how good exercise is for you and were pleased to see you enjoying all the playground activities. Your teachers and some of your parents tell us how much your behaviour has improved. Well done. Keep up the good work! Your Nursery and Reception classes are fantastic. Children who join them have an excellent start to their school life because their teachers give them all they need to enable them to learn really well while enjoying themselves hugely. All your teachers take good care of you and you are good at taking care of each other. We know how well you help new children, especially

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

those who do not understand much English. Most of you make satisfactory progress through the school. We want your teachers to be more ambitious for you and to plan lessons that give you all plenty of challenge. We are sure that you would like to achieve well so that, by the time you leave school, your work is of a high standard. We have asked the teachers to make sure that, whatever your needs are, they plan work to meet them. They will need help from the teachers who are leaders in school. We would like teachers in charge of subjects to learn how to help your teachers to make better use of the information they have about your progress. We want you all to know what you need to learn next and to set your own targets with your teachers' help. This will enable you to take responsibility for improving your work yourselves. You will then be able to impress your teachers with your improvement! You and your teachers should be proud of the way things have improved recently and be

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

especially proud of the flying start the youngest children have. The teachers and governors in charge of the school know exactly what needs to be done to make your whole school as good as the Foundation Stage. We are sure you will give them all the help you can. Best wishes, Mrs Judy Dawson (Lead Inspector) 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Ray Lodge Primary School, 27 °28 February 2008

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