Setting

Mr R Silverman The Headteacher Honilands Primary School Lovell Road Enfield EN1 4RE

p.1

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 4 June 2008, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during my visit.

p.1

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

This letter 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.

p.1

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

As a result of the inspection in November 2007, the school was asked to:  raise standards and accelerate pupils' achievement in English, mathematics and science  improve the quality of the teaching by ensuring that expectations are high and pupils are challenged in all lessons  ensure that marking and target setting provide all pupils with a clear understanding of how they should improve their work  ensure that leaders are effective in monitoring and supporting teaching and learning to secure and sustain pupils' rapid progress.

p.1

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school is making satisfactory progress in addressing the issues for improvement and in raising the pupils' achievement.

p.1

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

The headteacher and his senior managers are focused strongly on raising standards by improving the skills of teachers. This focus, underpinned by the sound package of support provided by the local authority, has resulted in a gradual improvement in the quality of teaching and in the rates of progress made by pupils. Teachers now routinely ensure that pupils know clearly at the start of each lesson what they are intended to learn. They do this by consistently displaying and discussing the objectives for each lesson. They increasingly provide tasks at varying levels of difficulty to meet the needs of pupils of different abilities. However, on some occasions, all pupils are given the same tasks to do regardless of ability. In these cases, the work is pitched at the average level for the class. While the less able Prospects Learning Services Prospects Services LTD 19 Elmfield Road Bromley Kent BR1 1LT T 08456 40 40 40

p.1

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 020 8315 1250 Direct F 020 8315 1279 pupils often receive help in order to keep up, the more able are not challenged enough in these circumstances. The impact of this is seen in the below average proportions of pupils in all year groups who exceed nationally expected levels. In some lessons teaching is rather directive and consequently pupils do not develop the skills and confidence to work independently. Some progress has been made in ensuring that the teachers make clear to pupils precisely what the success criteria are for the different tasks set. However, too few teachers routinely ensure that these 'steps to success' remain a focus for pupils as they complete their tasks. Throughout the school, not enough attention is paid to modelling the correct use of language, and too often teachers accept grammatically incorrect responses from their pupils. Overall, pupils usually make satisfactory, and sometimes good, gains in their learning

p.1

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

in lessons. The school acknowledges that there is still much to do to achieve its target of two thirds of teaching being good or better. The realisation of this target is essential, in order to make inroads into the low standards that are the legacy of underachievement in previous years.

p.2

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

The school's systems for checking on pupils' progress have become embedded since the last inspection, and enable managers to quickly and accurately identify the pupils in need of extra help. The impact of this is now being seen, for example, in the good progress made by the group of pupils in Year 6 who attended Saturday 'booster' classes. The school now sets ambitious targets for individual pupils' attainment; although at this stage these targets are often unrealistically high.

p.2

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

Not enough progress has been made in improving the consistency of the academic guidance provided for pupils. At an individual level, pupils have targets to achieve in literacy and numeracy. However, the ways in which teachers use these targets in lessons to improve pupils' learning vary considerably. In marking pupils' work, teachers do not always make reference to pupils' targets and, in addition, do not ensure that corrections are used as a tool for improvement.

p.2

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

The headteacher and his senior managers continue to provide the impetus for change. Middle managers do not yet play an active enough role, and are not focusing closely enough on the impact of their work on pupils' progress. Governance is improving, and governors are working closely with the local authority to bring about improvement. Governors are well informed, but need to be more active in monitoring the extent and speed of improvements. The support provided by the local authority has been effective in helping to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The school is working closely with the authority and is fully consulted during the regular meetings at which progress is monitored.

p.2

Ofsted monitoring of schools with a Notice to Improve

I hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school.

p.2