Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs B Nasir CBE Headteacher Plashet School Plashet Grove East Ham London E6 1DG

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development

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff, students and parents, during my visit on 11 November 2009.

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development

As outlined in my initial letter, the visit had a particular focus on how the school’s work with parents and carers affects a range of outcomes for students.

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development

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text. All feedback letters will be published on the Ofsted website at the end of each half term.

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development

The evidence used to inform the judgements included interviews with school staff, governors, parents and students, and scrutiny of relevant documentation.

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development

The overall effectiveness of the school’s engagement with parents and carers is outstanding.

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The impact of parental involvement on outcomes

The impact of parental involvement on outcomes is outstanding.

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The impact of parental involvement on outcomes

 You and your staff are able to provide many very striking examples of how work with parents has led to rapid improvement in outcomes for students, both in terms of their achievement and well-being. Where there have been gaps in performance, these have been effectively narrowed and, in a number of instances, closed entirely.  This is supported fully by parents who rightly identify, in particular, the impact of clear and personalised advice, guidance and action on their children’s progress, attendance, safety, health and career prospects.  Parents are very clear about the role they play in their children’s education. They know that they make a difference and have justified confidence that your school keeps them well-informed at all times about the attainment and progress that their daughters are making.  Parents and students value highly the prompt way your school follows up their concerns and are exceptionally positive about the quality of face-to-

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The impact of parental involvement on outcomes

face communication with your staff.  Attendance at the many parents’ evenings and very well-devised information events is consistently high. Parents say these are extremely helpful and appreciate the often personalised support they receive from school staff. Support for homework is also high and parents are clear about what is set and what is expected.  The school planner is used very well, monitored regularly and forms an important part of the daily communication between school and home.  Your school uses a wide range of the most appropriate means of communication to provide parents with the information they need. You regularly survey parents to find out their preferred means of communication and are constantly looking to improve this.

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The impact of the involvement of parents on the quality of provision

The impact of the involvement of parents on the quality of provision is outstanding.

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The impact of the involvement of parents on the quality of provision

 Your school is very successful in informing parents about ways in which they can help their children. Consequently, all students interviewed said that their parents were interested and fully involved in their learning at home.  Parents say they feel involved in the assessment of their children and understand very clearly the progress they are making.  The curriculum reflects the diverse backgrounds of students and their families. It is tuned sensitively on the basis of their changing needs. Parents contribute meaningfully to this through their high attendance at, and strong involvement in, the many religious and cultural celebrations. These events continue to grow.  The impact of parental involvement in supporting teaching is good. Parental skills and expertise are valued and used effectively, for example, to support students’ reading and through contributing to the science and engineering club. Nevertheless, you astutely recognise that this is an area

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The impact of the involvement of parents on the quality of provision

of the school’s work that could be developed further.  The school, supported by parents, was able to provide wide-ranging examples of the highly coordinated care and guidance on offer for all students, including the most vulnerable. These examples were underpinned by extremely close working with parents and external agencies.  Your school is highly successful in providing very well-tailored extended services to its local families. It listens closely to what families want and adapts programmes responsively.

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The impact of the involvement of parents on inclusion

The impact of the involvement of parents on inclusion is outstanding.

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The impact of the involvement of parents on inclusion

 Your school’s work involving parents and students is very well-targeted and the highly personalised range of support that is on offer is exemplary. Consequently, parents say they feel fully involved and have become much better placed to support their children’s learning.  In essence, your school is a champion of inclusion and staff are resilient in their determination to work with parents to ensure that every child has the best possible opportunities to succeed.

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parents

The impact of leadership and management on the involvement of parents is outstanding.

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parents

 Your leadership is rightly recognised by parents as playing a central role in the school’s continuing success. They say that you are clearly committed to involving them in the work of your school and that this can also be seen through your high profile in the local community.  Parents are central to your school’s vision and improving parental engagement remains a priority in the school development plan. All stakeholders, including parents, have the opportunity to evaluate how effectively key objectives have been met and to identify new priorities for the future.  As a result of incisive monitoring and evaluation, you and your staff are able to identify accurately those groups of students and parents who need additional support to become more involved in the school. Judicious action has resolved these issues successfully, supported strongly by timely appointments to the wider workforce.  Parental complaints, which are rare, are dealt with quickly and very

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parents

thoroughly. The governing body actively challenges the school to make further improvements to parental engagement. Nevertheless, they can play an even better role in this. They have wisely identified a strategy for gathering parental views more regularly through attendance at parents’ evenings and information events.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 developing further the role that parents can play in supporting teaching and learning in school by making even better and more regular use of their skills and expertise  using governor attendance at parents’ evenings and information events to gather the views of parents so that these can be acted upon even more promptly. I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop the impact of the work of parents and carers in the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

As I explained in my previous letter, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority and will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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