Setting

Mrs J Dolan Headteacher Kingsbury Green Primary School Old Kenton Lane Kingsbury London NW9 9ND

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 8 July 2009, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during my visit.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

As a result of the inspection on 26 and 27 June 2008, the school was asked to:

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

 raise standards throughout the school, especially in English  improve teachers’ planning and marking  ensure assessment data are consistently used within the classroom, so that work matches the needs of more able pupils and enables them to reach challenging targets.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

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.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Standards in writing, mathematics and science have risen and the number of pupils achieving higher levels has increased, but the proportion of pupils achieving the expectations for their age overall remains below average. The unvalidated results of the national tests taken by pupils in Year 6 indicate that standards in writing have risen considerably, compared to last year. In Year 2, standards in reading, writing and mathematics remain well below average. In the current cohort, only two pupils attained a higher level. Raising standards in reading and writing has been a priority for the school and the impact of the work is reflected in the greater proportion of pupils achieving higher levels in English. The emphasis on helping pupils to write at length is showing signs of a sustained impact in all year groups and is raising pupils’ progress and standards. Standards in science, although below average, show an

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

improvement on last year’s results. The school’s tracking and assessment data are much improved and indicate, accurately, that progress is better across Key Stage 2 than across Key Stage 1. Overall, pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1. Prospects Learning Services Ltd Prospects House 19 Elmfield Road Bromley, Kent BR1 1LT T 08456 40 40 40 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 020 8315 1250 Direct F 020 8315 1279 Page 2 The low standards are partly because of a legacy of inadequate teaching and partly due to previous inaccurate assessment of pupils’ starting points.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Rigorous monitoring has been undertaken by the senior management team and the local authority. The teachers’ assessments and their understanding of the levels pupils should be working at are now much more accurate, which provides a solid base from which to move forward. These more accurate and secure assessments are correctly informing the school’s priorities to raise standards. In addition to the work to improve standards in writing, a greater emphasis on the teaching of letters and sounds from Reception to Year 3 is having a positive impact on boosting pupils’ progress in their English work. The impact of this is not fully evident in the results reached by pupils in Year 2 this year, but standards across the Reception classes are higher than they were at the time of the previous inspection. This gives this cohort of children a stronger foundation on which to build as they move through the school.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

The school has recognised, clearly, the need to improve the quality of teaching and learning as the single most important driver for raising standards and achievement and increasing pupils’ engagement in learning. Regular and robust monitoring by the headteacher and the local authority has provided an accurate view of what needs to improve. Consequently, there is a more consistent approach to the planning of work by teachers. In lessons, work is more closely matched to the needs of pupils. Specific intervention groups to support the pupils who need more help to make progress in their learning, and the ever-changing large groups of pupils who are new to learning English, are having a positive effect on the progress pupils make. The quality of marking, however, remains inconsistent. Written feedback is better in English than in mathematics. Overall, marking is perfunctory and, while it often provides praise, it does not consistently provide individual pupils with advice on what

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

they need to do to improve their work. Since the last inspection, the school introduced a system of setting generic targets for classes but, on reviewing the impact of this initiative, found that it was not satisfactorily supporting teachers or pupils in helping them to improve their work. Subsequently, and rightly, this was abandoned. A new system for setting more challenging targets which will be of benefit to individual pupils has been agreed. It will help them and their parents to know what they need to do next in order to improve their work. There are plans to introduce this at the start of the academic year.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

I hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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