The Mawney Foundation School

131426 Unique Reference Number Havering Local Authority 315807 Inspection number 28 °29 February 2008 Inspection dates Mary Summers 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 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 152 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Steve Bennigsen Chair Mr Craige Brown Headteacher 31 March 2003 Date of previous school inspection Mawney Road School address Romford RM7 7HR 01708 741612 Telephone number 01708 760380 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 28 °29 February 2008 Inspection dates 315807 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This small school serves a socially diverse area with a higher than average proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals. Most pupils come from White British backgrounds, although a significant minority are from Eastern European families. Most other minority ethnic groups are represented in smaller numbers. The proportion of pupils joining or leaving the school at other than the usual times is much higher than average. A significant number of new arrivals have had little previous schooling. The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is higher than in most schools. The proportion identified with additional difficulties is also above average. The school roll has declined recently in line with the pattern in the authority. The school has been through a turbulent period in terms of leadership and staffing. A new headteacher started in January 2008. The school is part of the North Romford Consortium and is involved in a sports

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Description of the school

partnership with local primary and secondary schools.

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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: The Mawney School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 3

This school provides a satisfactory education for its pupils. The new leadership team has identified the school's strengths and weaknesses effectively. Morale is high with staff welcoming the recent changes and anticipating the future enthusiastically. Changes are already apparent around the school. Playground improvements, planned some time ago by the school council, are now taking place. Pupils who attend regularly enjoy coming to school. They know how to keep safe, fit and healthy and are involved well in their school and local community. They show good attitudes and are prepared appropriately for the future. A significant number of pupils do not attend regularly or punctually, however, and this affects their progress and the standards they reach. Standards are below average by the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6, although the school's good tracking procedures show that achievement is satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory overall and some is good, especially in Year 6, where pupils, after a disrupted start to the year, are now making rapid progress. Relationships are strong throughout the school and contribute much to the pleasant atmosphere for learning. Pupils with behavioural and emotional difficulties are well supported and achieve satisfactorily. However, not all pupils are aware of their learning goals or receive enough advice about how to reach them. This hinders their motivation and progress. More able pupils often find the work too easy and do not achieve as well as they should. The curriculum provides a sound range of experiences for pupils to develop their knowledge and skills. Pupils appreciate the satisfactory range of out of school activities, which helps to make their learning relevant and interesting. Pupils' performance in literacy and numeracy is tracked systematically and this helps to identify individuals who are underachieving. These

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Grade: 3

pupils receive additional support in class and in small groups. The leadership team is approaching the task ahead with real enthusiasm. However, it is early days and the full impact of their work has yet to be seen in pupils' achievements. Although the leaders have a satisfactory understanding of strengths and weaknesses, the current monitoring procedures are not rigorous enough to check the quality of teaching and learning in lessons and in support groups. The school shows a satisfactory capacity to improve in the future.

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Grade: 3

Children enjoy a well-balanced range of activities across all the areas of learning and good use is made of the outdoor environment to extend learning opportunities. There is an effective balance between practical learning experiences and the direct teaching of key skills. Children used magnifiers for example, to examine the plants in the garden and wrote labels to identify them. Adults model language well to extend children's speaking skills and provide a sound range of opportunities for children to practice new words and phrases. Children co-operate well and share equipment successfully. Occasionally, the involvement of too many adults restricts children's independence in the classroom.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Work with parents to improve their children's attendance and punctuality. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: The Mawney School, 28 °29 February 2008 ■ Improve the progress of more able pupils by providing work that challenges them in lessons so that a greater proportion reach higher levels in national tests. ■ Establish more rigorous monitoring systems to check that improvement strategies are being implemented consistently across the school and that pupils are making enough progress. 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

Children get off to a sound start in the Reception class with girls especially making good strides in their learning. Boys do not make as much progress and, by the time they start in Year 1, many are still below expected levels. Standards fell in 2007. They were below national expectations at the end of Years 2 and 6. An unusually high number of new admissions, many of whom were in the early stages of learning English, affected standards in Year 2. A large number of Year 6 pupils had significant learning and emotional needs and this contributed to the lower standards achieved last year. However, the school's good tracking and assessment systems show that the majority of pupils made steady progress. After a shaky start to the year because of staffing changes, pupils in Year 6 are currently making good gains in their learning. Year 2 standards are set to rise, especially in reading and writing. Throughout the school, the levels of challenge for the most able pupils are not always high

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Grade: 3

enough and this hinders their progress. There is little difference in the achievement of pupils from different backgrounds. Pupils learning English as an additional language are making satisfactory progress because teachers are taking account of their needs appropriately in lessons.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are satisfactory. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and healthy. Most behave well and racist incidents are rare. The behaviour of a small number of older pupils has caused problems in the past and the rate of exclusions has been high. Sensitive behaviour management has reduced this and pupils' behaviour is now satisfactory. Pupils contribute well to the school community through the school council and appreciate the responsibility of becoming play leaders and house captains. They contribute well to the local community, for example, planting trees and wild flowers in the park to improve the environment. They are prepared adequately for the future in terms of their confidence and maturity although their levels of basic skills are not up to the levels expected for their age. Those who attend

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Grade: 3

regularly enjoy school but a significant number have poor attendance and punctuality, which inhibits their progress. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: The Mawney School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 3

Teachers enjoy warm relationships with their pupils and this makes for a pleasant learning atmosphere in classrooms. Pupils feel secure and ready to take the next steps in their learning. Teachers manage pupils' behaviour carefully, yet ensure that they understand the boundaries and expectations. They plan lessons well and this helps them move on at a good pace, which in turn maintains pupils' motivation and interest. Effective group work in a Year 6 literacy lesson for example, focused pupils' attention on the task in hand. They responded extremely well to the levels of responsibility offered, coming up with a clear plan for a report about Aztec settlements. Teachers track pupils' progress carefully, but do not always use this information well enough to plan activities that meet the needs of more able pupils.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. Literacy and numeracy have a suitably high profile on the timetable. However, the use of too many worksheets hinders pupils' opportunities to practise and develop their writing in other subjects. Displays around the school, visits to different places of worship and stories representing different cultures help pupils develop good levels of respect for each other's beliefs and backgrounds. Parents appreciate this, one saying, 'Children are taught to be kind and caring to all regardless of race, religion or social standing.' Pupils use information technology appropriately to support their work in other subjects but they are hampered by aging computers, which frequently break down, causing problems for pupils and staff. The school works well with the police and other organisations to provide a good range of opportunities to help pupils value and work within their local community.

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Grade: 3

The school is a happy, friendly place where pupils feel safe and the pastoral care is good. Adults know pupils well and are quick to offer support if necessary. Effective links with the on-site pre-school group enables a smooth induction into Reception for the youngest children. Safeguarding procedures meet requirements. Health and safety systems are thorough with risk assessments being carried out carefully. Academic guidance is satisfactory. New arrivals are welcomed warmly and are quickly assessed to find out their levels of achievement and their proficiency in English. Pupils in Year 6 are encouraged to assess their own progress against clear learning outcomes. Progress is monitored and pupils are aware of how well they are doing. However, not all pupils have targets for improvement and, although teachers mark work regularly, they do not always inform pupils of how they can get better. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: The Mawney School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 3

School leaders' analysis of standards and achievement along with the results of external monitoring, have given a broad picture of performance. This has informed the development plan which is progressing well although it is too early to assess its impact. Certainly, staff morale and pupils' behaviour have improved. 'The school is now united and has started going forwards again,' was a comment made by one parent and echoed the views of many. Targets for improvement are challenging, especially for the current Year 6 pupils, many of whom have emotional and learning difficulties. Monitoring procedures are being developed but are not yet rigorous enough to check that improvement strategies are being implemented in classrooms or that pupils are making sufficient progress. The headteacher has worked well with the local authority to agree on a strategy to repay the budget overspend over three years. Governance is satisfactory. Governors have set up some

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Grade: 3

useful structures to help them monitor the school's work effectively. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: The Mawney School, 28 °29 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: The Mawney School, 28 °29 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? 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 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

3 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 3 How well learners enjoy their education 4 The attendance of learners 3 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?

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: The Mawney School, 28 °29 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 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: The Mawney School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 March 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of The Mawney School,Romford,RM7 7HR We enjoyed visiting your school last week. Thank you for being so polite and friendly and telling us about what you do at school. Now it is my turn to write and tell you what we found out. The Mawney Primary is a satisfactory school. It is clear that all the adults look after you carefully so that you feel happy and secure. I was especially happy to find out that they had some good ideas about what else they need to do to make things even better. We were pleased that you understood how to keep fit and healthy by eating the right food and taking enough exercise. You reassured us that although bullying is rare, you knew what to do if it happened to you. We liked the way that you help out in the local community and that you value one another's backgrounds and beliefs. We were pleased you find your lessons interesting. Occasionally they are too easy for some of

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you and we have asked teachers to use the information about how well you are doing to make sure the work is just right for all of you. We have also asked the people in charge to check more carefully on what is happening in classrooms to make sure you are all making enough progress. We know that most of you attend regularly and punctually but some of you are absent too often and some regularly arrive late. These children miss important parts of their education and will find it difficult when they move to the next school. I know you will want to play your part in helping the school to improve by continuing to work hard and behave well. I wish you every success in the future. It was a pleasure to meet you. Mary Summers Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: The Mawney School, 28 °29 February 2008

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