Allenby Primary School

Allenby Primary School Inspection report

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101891 Unique Reference Number Ealing Local Authority 323546 Inspection number 16–17 March 2009 Inspection dates Joy Considine Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 264 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Daljit Sehmbi Chair Ms Gillian Borg Headteacher 17 January 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Allenby Road School address Southall UB1 2HX 020 8578 6636 Telephone number 020 8578 2232 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 16–17 March 2009 Inspection dates 323546 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Allenby is a larger-than-average primary school with provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage for children in the Nursery and Reception classes. Pupils come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, the largest of which are Indian, Pakistani and Somali. The proportion of pupils who have English as an additional language is higher than average. A high number of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. These pupils have moderate learning difficulties, communication and language difficulties or emotional and behavioural difficulties. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is well above average. The school has a unit for pupils who have severe learning difficulties such as autism and complex learning needs. The school has received a number of awards including Healthy School and Investors in People.

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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: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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Grade: 2

The headteacher leads a dedicated team of teachers and support staff who have established a culture in which every pupil has the opportunity to thrive and flourish. The school is welcoming, and from an early age pupils love coming to school. There is a strong community spirit in which pupils from all backgrounds and faiths take pride in their school, which enjoys a good reputation within the local area. Staff work hard to overcome the significant barriers to pupils' learning and this is reflected in rising standards and the improving quality of pupils' work. Because teaching is good and well focused, pupils quickly develop confidence in speaking and listening and develop outstanding personal skills. Standards have continued to rise year on year so that by the time they leave Year 6, pupils are reaching standards in English and mathematics which are broadly in line with those expected nationally. This reflects the good progress made by pupils from well below

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Grade: 2

expected starting points for their age. Pupils who have English as an additional language and those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities make outstanding progress. The school places great importance on helping pupils to feel safe, to live a healthy lifestyle and to develop a sense of responsibility for themselves and those around them. Behaviour of pupils is excellent. They feel safe in school because they know that, if an incident does arise, adults will deal with it promptly. The school values its links with the local community and actively takes part in local inter-schools sporting activities. Pupils are well prepared for their future economic well-being. A good example of their preparation is when pupils in Year 6 take the opportunity to work in teams through projects initiated by the Ealing and Hillingdon Business Enterprise Scheme. Teachers capture pupils' interest by choosing imaginative methods to present their lessons.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good because teachers make effective use of assessment information to plan lessons that are well matched to pupils' needs and interests. However, pupils' knowledge and understanding could be developed further if teachers consistently asked probing questions which were more challenging and called for more intellectual effort. The curriculum is well planned with an interesting range of activities to respond to pupils' needs. The school provides excellent pastoral care and guidance for pupils. Academic guidance provides pupils with clear information about what they need to do to improve their work further. The headteacher provides strong leadership. She has a strong commitment to teamwork, which has been acknowledged through the Investors in People award. Although school leaders evaluate the quality of provision and identify appropriate priorities for development, the success criteria are not robust enough to secure the quality of the improvements they have planned. Community

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Grade: 2

cohesion is a strength of the school. Pupils visit local places of interest within the community and visitors come into school to talk about their work and how their particular faith celebrates events such as weddings. The school understand the needs of the local community and provide pupils with opportunities to consider the culture, faiths and beliefs from their local community as well as from the wider world beyond. Governors have a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses and provide appropriate monitoring and support. The school has made good progress since the last inspection and is well placed to bring about further improvement. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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Grade: 2

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides a stimulating and well-resourced environment both indoors and outside with opportunities for children to explore and develop lively and enquiring minds. Many children enter with skills well below those expected for their age and a significant proportion have very little English. From this low starting point they make good progress in all aspects of learning. In both the Nursery and Reception classes adults have established warm relationships with children and this fosters a strong sense of security. Although teaching is good throughout, there is a need to provide more focused adult intervention to develop children's knowledge, understanding and speech through improved questioning and modelling vocabulary. The personal development of children is outstanding. Children show confidence and independence. They get on well with each other and are able to share and take turns. The

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Grade: 2

Team Leader provides clear direction and has a good idea of the improvements she wishes to make. She has established good links with parents, carers and outside agencies. She has run workshops for parents to help them to understand how children learn through activities and play. Excellent arrangements exist for the welfare of children and all legal requirements are met.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching by developing teachers' skills so that they ask pupils questions that call for them to use thinking skills such as analysis, hypothesis and reasoning. ■ Identify specific success criteria for improvement priorities so that they can drive developments more robustly.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enter Key Stage 1 with skills significantly below those expected for their age. They make good progress so that by the end of Year 6, standards in English and mathematics are in line with those expected nationally. Standards show year on year improvement in English, mathematics and science subjects. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 make good progress in reading and mathematics and reach standards appropriate for their age. Progress in writing has been slower with fewer pupils reaching higher levels. Although pupils make good progress as they move up the school, it is sometimes uneven between years. Standards in writing throughout the school are improving as a result of initiatives introduced by teachers. There is now a more systematic approach to teaching phonics (linking sounds and letters). Scrutiny of pupils' current work shows that they are making good progress and are in line to meet or exceed their challenging

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Grade: 2

targets. Pupils who are at an early stage of learning English and those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities make outstanding progress because they receive well-focused support.

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Grade: 1

Pupils love coming to school and this is reflected in their positive attitudes and the excellent behaviour they show in and around the school. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Relationships are a strength of the school. Pupils from different backgrounds get on well together and racial harmony permeates every aspect of the school. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009 Within this culturally diverse community, pupils have respect for the rights and values of others. They feel safe in school because there is always someone they can talk to if problems arise. Bullying is said to be rare, but if an incident does occur, it is dealt with promptly. Pupils have a great awareness of the need to eat healthy foods and they enjoy participating in the wide range of sporting activities available to them. The school has achieved Healthy School Award

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Grade: 1

and Activemark in recognition of its work. Attendance continues to improve because the school actively promotes the need for good attendance. Pupils take pride in their school and their community. They take responsibilities in school, such as acting as Allenby Owls when they help younger and more vulnerable pupils in the playground. The School Council plays a key role within the school community by listening to the views of other pupils before taking decisions. Pupils in Year 6 participate in a local business enterprise scheme and this gives them an excellent insight into the world of work and prepares them well for their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Teachers know pupils well and they plan lessons which are well matched to their needs and interests. Lessons are well organised and teachers prepare interesting activities to capture pupils imagination. For example, in a history lesson the teacher used a specific internet resource to identify the school and the local area on a map to show how the area had changed since Victorian times. Good use is made of 'talk partners' so that pupils can share their ideas with each other. In some lessons teachers miss opportunities to challenge pupils by asking open-ended questions that call for pupils to apply their thinking skills to solve problems. Teachers make good use of assessment information. They mark pupils work and make helpful comments on how to improve their work but these are not always followed up by pupils. Skilled teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to pupils' learning by offering good support to those

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Grade: 2

needing additional help. Staff in the severe learning difficulties unit provide excellent one-to-one support for pupils. Their timely and sensitive help ensures that these pupils progress extremely well towards their individual learning targets.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a broad, balanced curriculum which is well planned and which meets the needs and interests of pupils. It makes good provision for pupils' personal development so they can practise their skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) in other subjects. For example, in one lesson pupils had used computers to research the background to Comic Relief and were using their notes to write an account of the activities they had undertaken to raise funds for the charity. This made a valuable contribution to community cohesion, as pupils developed their understanding of issues such as malnutrition and the way in which children in different parts of the world lived. The school is keen to expand the range of experiences for pupils and makes good use of the local and wider community to support learning. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the visits to local places of interest such

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Grade: 2

as Windsor Castle and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to take part in a residential journey to Somerset. French is taught throughout Key Stage 2. The school is now planning to take a more creative approach to developing the curriculum by identifying subject-specific skills that will ensure greater continuity and progression between subjects. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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Grade: 1

Outstanding care, guidance and support enable all pupils to take part actively in all aspects of school life. Inclusion is central to the ethos of the school, so that no pupil is disadvantaged. Pupils feel valued and secure because their efforts are acknowledged and celebrated. There are extremely good arrangements for child protection and for safeguarding pupils. Risk assessments are carried out rigorously to ensure that pupils are healthy and safe in school. Pastoral care is a strength of the school. Pupils who have problems or those who are vulnerable are given outstanding support to help them to overcome difficulties. There are good procedures to encourage good attendance. The school has thorough systems for tracking pupils' progress. This enables them to identify potential underachievement and to put into place actions to remedy problems. Targets for pupils in English and mathematics are consistently used to help

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Grade: 1

pupils understand how they can improve their work. The unit for pupils with severe learning difficulties provides an excellent resource for pupils and staff throughout the school.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, together with her skilled deputy, lead a dedicated team of teachers who provide a good quality of education for pupils. They have successfully managed the smooth transition from infant to primary school. This has resulted in year on year improvement in standards. All school staff are fully committed to inclusion and value for the unique contribution each child makes to the school. Their self-evaluation is good and used to determine future priorities. Although these priorities are well documented in the school improvement plan, the success criteria are not rigorous enough to bring about the developments they require. Monitoring arrangements are well established and used to develop skills of teachers through coaching and mentoring. This was acknowledged by the award of Investors in People. The school has an excellent understanding of the diverse nature of the local community and is able

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Grade: 2

to draw upon the wide range of skills available to support its work. This ensures that the school makes an excellent contribution to community cohesion. Relationships with parents and outside agencies are very good and are used effectively to support pupils' learning needs. Governors' skills in monitoring and supporting the school are good, but they rely on data provided by the school which means they are not always in a secure position to challenge the school as rigorously as they might. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009 .

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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: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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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 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

27 March 2009 Dear Children Inspection of Allenby Primary School,Southall,UB1 2HX Thank you very much for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed the opportunity to meet so many of you and to see how much you enjoy your school. We like the way that your teachers try to make your lessons interesting by asking you to act out stories and by giving you plenty of opportunities to visit museums and castles. From what you say, teachers are very kind and they help you to feel well cared for because they look after you so well. We were delighted to see how well you behave in lessons and in the playground. It helps to make the school a happy and friendly community. We were pleased to see how well you are able to learn about your own and other pupils' culture and how well you all get on together. Allenby Primary is a good school. Most of your lessons are interesting and the classrooms are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

bright and attractive. Most of you work hard and make good progress in your lessons. You are well cared for and your headteacher has some exciting plans to make your school even better. We have asked your teachers to make the school even better by:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ asking you challenging questions in lessons to make you think hard about your work

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ when making plans to improve your school, teachers need to use success criteria more clearly so that they will know exactly what they want to develop. Yours faithfully Joy Considine Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Allenby Primary School, 16–17 March 2009

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