Ashmead Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ashmead Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school and are enthusiastic about learning.

Pupils are proud of their achievements. Many pupils said that everyone is accepted at the school. Pupils who join the school other than at the usual start times said that it is easy to make new friends here.

Pupils behave calmly in class and around the school. This is because pupils know what leaders expect. School staff have consistent and high expectations of pupils' behaviour.

Pupils know to report any concerns that may arise. If any bullying occurs, staff address it and get it to stop. Safeguarding is e...ffective.

Leaders are equally ambitious for pupils' personal and academic development. Many parents and carers said that this is why their children enjoy being part of the school. Leaders provide pupils with a range of wider opportunities.

This includes making sure that pupils are able to attend educational visits and work with visiting authors and musicians. Pupils talked enthusiastically about visiting a village outside London, learning how to play the ukulele and participating in multisports and gymnastics clubs.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum.

They have thought carefully about how the knowledge that they want pupils to learn is sequenced from early years onwards. This is so that pupils build on what they have learned before and already know. Typically, pupils are helped to connect learning and remember more over time.

For example, in geography, pupils learn about migration in Year 4. Later, they build on this knowledge when learning about global inequality and population growth in Years 5 and 6. Leaders provide guidance and training for teachers.

This is to ensure that teachers know what to teach and when. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. Pupils are attentive in lessons.

Teachers have consistently high expectations. As a result, low-level disruption is dealt with swiftly so that it does not interrupt learning.

In some subjects for which leaders have not identified clearly the most important knowledge for pupils to know and remember, the curriculum sometimes covers too much content.

Where this is the case, pupils are not helped as successfully to build cumulative knowledge. Leaders are taking action to change parts of the subject curriculum in order to address this.

In most lessons, teachers successfully adapt their teaching and tasks.

This is so that all pupils access the same curriculum, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Additional adults who work with pupils provide effective support. This is because they know pupils' needs well.

Leaders work with teachers and external professionals to identify pupils with SEND and ensure they receive appropriate help.

Leaders prioritise reading to develop strong reading skills from early years. This is because teachers follow a consistent and systematic approach to teaching phonics.

Pupils have lots of opportunities to practise reading daily. Pupils enjoy reading a wide range of books and stories. These help pupils get better at reading.

They also enjoy adults reading stories to them. Leaders provide training so that teaching staff have the right skills to support pupils. Teachers regularly check how well pupils learn to read.

Pupils have additional reading lessons if they need these.

Teachers routinely check on pupils' understanding of key content in the curriculum. Where they identify gaps, they provide pupils with extra help or adapt lessons so that pupils can revisit this content.

Mathematics is taught consistently across classes. Pupils build a good understanding of knowledge from year to year. Pupils learn to use number operations fluently alongside solving worded problems.

They give credible reasons for their answers. In early years, teachers think carefully about how to help children gain a secure knowledge of number.

Pupils take on responsibilities in school, such as supporting younger pupils in the playground and working with leaders to develop the school's behaviour policy.

Pupils are taught about healthy relationships and how to stay safe. Pupils said that they know what to do if they come across inappropriate content online.

Leaders work with school staff to ensure that their workload is manageable.

Many members of school staff said that they feel confident to raise any concerns with leaders about their workload and well-being. Governors know the school well and have a good understanding of the school's strengths and priorities. They use their meetings to both challenge and support school leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders prioritise pupils' safety. They make sure that all staff know their safeguarding responsibilities.

Staff know how to spot that a pupil may need help. They report any concerns that may arise. Leaders take appropriate action when necessary.

Leaders work closely with pupils and their families to ensure that they get the right support when it is needed. Leaders work with outside safeguarding agencies to make sure that families have access to specialist help and support.

Leaders provide training for staff and governors.

This is so that they know the risks children may experience, including locally. Governors fulfil their statutory duties to safeguard pupils' welfare.

Staff have positive relationships with pupils.

Pupils trust school staff to help them sort out anything they are worried about.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not identified the most important knowledge that pupils should know and remember. As a result, teaching does not make important knowledge explicit and tries to cover too much.

This means that not all pupils in these subjects are learning well enough. Leaders should continue their work in developing the curriculum so that it identifies the most important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember in all subjects. Leaders should make this knowledge explicit to teachers.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection.

However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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