Setting

Ms Von Smith The Headteacher John Perryn Primary School Long Drive Acton London W3 7PD

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

Following my visit to your school on 3 and 4 March 2008, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to confirm the inspection findings.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

The visit was the fourth monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures in July 2006. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

Progress since previous monitoring inspection – satisfactory

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

Newly qualified teachers may be appointed.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. Please inform the Regional Inspection Service Provider of any factual inaccuracies within 24 hours of the receipt of this letter.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL

I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the chair of governors and the Director of Schools Service for Ealing.

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H M Inspector

Prospects Learning Services Ltd 132-138 High Street Bromley Kent BR1 1EZ T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 020 8313 7760 Direct F 020 8464 3393

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Evidence

I observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher and assistant headteachers, the subject leader for physical education, the chair of governors and a representative of the local authority.

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Context

There have been no significant changes in staffing since the last monitoring inspection. There is not a corresponding stability in the school’s roll, however. Mobility continues to be high; almost half of the pupils on roll started at John Perryn after the Reception year. Many of the new admissions arrive speaking very little English. A new chair of governors has been elected. Work on building the new school is about to start; completion is planned for the end of the spring term next year.

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Achievement and standards

Overall, standards are still very low in all year groups when compared to what is expected nationally. However, more pupils are now making at least satisfactory progress from their starting points. For example, in Year 2 nearly every pupil has made at least one sub-level of progress in reading and writing. In mathematics, more than half of the pupils have made two sub-levels of progress; this is the amount of progress that is usually expected over the course of a year. This shows that some ground is being made up. Pupils in Year 6 are also making better progress in mathematics; four fifths have made two sub-levels of progress already this year. Their progress in English is not so swift, however. As noted at the last monitoring inspection, pupils in the current Year 6 have so much ground to make up that it is unlikely that the results of the forthcoming national tests will improve on last year’s very low figures. The removal of special measures will depend to a large extent on

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Achievement and standards

the school’s ability to demonstrate that the proportion of pupils working at the level expected for their age is steadily increasing and that rates of progress are accelerating.

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Achievement and standards

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in July 2006:  Raise pupils’ achievement, particularly in mathematics – satisfactory

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Personal development and well-being

From the Foundation Stage upwards, it is clear that pupils thoroughly enjoy many of their lessons. The youngest pupils are well behaved and eager to please. For example, Reception class pupils took great delight in what they were doing in a physical education lesson in the large hall. They responded enthusiastically to directions and suggestions from the teacher and nursery nurse and behaved impeccably. Older pupils also demonstrate a thirst for learning. In Years 5 and 6, pupils responded with interest and confidence to good teaching in mathematics. They were keen to share what they knew and showed pleasure in their achievements in the lesson. Staff rarely have to use the school’s policy for managing behaviour, because it is not necessary.

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Personal development and well-being

The school is continuing its battle to improve attendance, but is making little headway in improving the overall rate. The school uses a wide range of incentives to encourage better attendance and pursues the reasons for absence with parents. Nevertheless, there have been successes with individual pupils and a quarter of pupils achieved 100% attendance last term. Pupils from the Traveller community also attend well.

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Quality of provision

The impact of better teaching is showing in the improved rates of progress for many pupils. There are growing strengths, for example, in how phonics is taught in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, and in the teaching of mathematics across the school. Teachers are confident in following the national strategies for literacy and numeracy. Lessons are increasingly lively and stimulating. There is a good degree of consistency across the year groups, particularly in the way behaviour is managed and how classrooms are organised to support pupils’ independent learning. Teachers have warm and supportive relationships with their pupils. Nursery nurses and teaching assistants work well with groups of pupils and complement the teachers’ work, although in some lessons with older pupils, it is not always clear what the assistant is expected to do during whole-class discussions or teaching sessions. Teachers’ expectations of what the pupils should achieve are rising. One of the

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Quality of provision

assistant headteachers summed up this change aptly as ‘they (the teachers) are talking about national expectations, not John Perryn expectations’.

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Quality of provision

Although teaching in English and mathematics is securely satisfactory and a growing proportion is good, there are still weaknesses in teaching in the foundation subjects and personal social and health education. This stems partly from insecure subject knowledge and partly from a lack of resources. In a geography lesson, for example, the teacher was hard pushed to explain to pupils how water erodes the land because of a complete absence of text books or other visual aids. To her credit, she had found video extracts on the internet but the lack of blinds at the windows meant the pupils were unable to see the pictures on the screen.

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Quality of provision

Good progress has been made over the last term in improving assessment procedures. The school’s assessment cycle is now well established. Every half term, assessments of pupils’ attainment in reading, writing, mathematics and science are entered onto a database. This enables teachers to see at a glance how pupils are doing and how far they have progressed this academic year. The system is not yet as robust as it should be because the accuracy of some of the earlier assessment information is not assured. Nevertheless, the school is now in a position to demonstrate where progress is being made and to identify those pupils in need of additional support.

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Quality of provision

The results of recent assessments have brought home to teachers the difference between national expectations and the levels that many pupils are working at. With this understanding has come an increased desire to close the gap. The improvements in assessment mean that the school is better placed to guide the pupils’ academic progress by setting challenging targets for individuals as well as the whole class. The school now plans to hold regular meetings with individual teachers to discuss pupils’ attainment and to identify the steps that need to be taken to ensure that all make the progress expected of them. At the moment, tracking systems do not have the facility to show the progress bilingual learners are making through the stages of learning English. The school is working with a consultant to put this in place.

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Quality of provision

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in July 2006:  Improve the assessment of pupils’ performance and its effective use by teachers in planning challenging work for more able pupils – satisfactory  Ensure there is adequate support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities – not inspected on this visit  and for those who do not have English as their home language – not inspected on this visit

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Leadership and management

The good improvements noted at the last monitoring inspection have been built upon. The headteacher and assistant headteachers work very well together and their confidence and enthusiasm are inspiring others. The assistant headteachers now play an important part in the life of the school and deputise confidently and readily for the headteacher. They have undertaken observations of lessons alongside the school improvement partner. They also give a good lead on improvements in assessment and the provision for pupils who are learning English as an additional language and for those who have learning difficulties. Team leaders and subject leaders are taking increasing responsibility for the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress in their areas of responsibility. The headteacher, together with the head of another primary school in the borough, organised two successful training sessions for the leadership teams of both schools. The sessions helped members of the wider

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Leadership and management

senior leadership team to see that they have an important role to play in helping manage the process of change. While still welcoming a high degree of support from the local authority, the school is playing a stronger and more proactive part in deciding what it needs for itself.

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Leadership and management

The new chair of governors is determined to improve the work of the governing body and to bring a sharper edge. She understands that the removal of special measures is not the end of the journey. She sees that a longer-term, strategic view of the school’s growth and development is crucial, especially in the light of the move to a new building and the school’s enhanced role in the community. In the short term, she is setting about making sure that the governing body is confident that it fulfils its statutory responsibilities.

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Leadership and management

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in July 2006:  Ensure that staff are able to contribute effectively to the management of the school, including their responsibility for leading subjects – satisfactory

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External support

Since the last monitoring inspection, support for the school has been organised into a more coherent package. The positive impact of the work of consultants for literacy and numeracy is clearly visible in the consistent methods teachers use in their lessons and in how they organise their classrooms The local authority’s consultants are working closely with subject and team leaders to help extend the school’s capacity to improve from within. The school improvement partner is making a valuable contribution to the school’s progress.

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Priorities for further improvement

 No additional priorities were identified.

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