St Andrew’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of St Andrew's CofE Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 26 February 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in April 2015. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders are uncompromising in their desire for improvement and inspire everyone to be part of this work. Your leadership team shares your determination to strengthen pupils' achievement.

Together, you have prioritised actions effec...tively, and introduced important changes to improve standards of teaching and learning. Consequently, attainment and progress at the end of key stage 2 in the last two years have been above national averages. In addition, you have worked hard with your team to close the gap between disadvantaged pupils at the end of key stage 2 and others nationally.

The school's positive climate ensures that children value their education. The school's core values include love, courage and friendship, and provide a strong foundation for this work. Pupils are proud of their school.

They work well in lessons, and do so with enthusiasm. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. For example, they go on walks locally and visit London museums to extend their cultural understanding.

A wide range of activities within the school and the community ensure that pupils are ready for life in modern Britain; they have strong links with St Andrew's Church and visit the local synagogue. Governors know the school well and are proud of what has been achieved for the pupils. They monitor leaders' actions, and hold them to account effectively.

Together with the diocese and the local authority, governors support the headteacher fully. As a result, issues have been tackled with urgency and a sense of purpose. This is particularly the case with the recent improvements in early years and the curriculum, although more needs to be done to build on these improvements.

Parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire have confidence that the school is moving in the right direction. They value the strong sense of community and belonging, and nearly all would recommend the school to others. Safeguarding is effective.

Leaders ensure that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Staff are vigilant, and ensure that pupils are kept safe and secure. Staff training is up to date, and safeguarding records are kept in good order.

Leaders and staff deal with safeguarding concerns in a timely and appropriate manner. Leaders share information effectively with parents and appropriate external agencies to ensure that pupils receive extra help when they need it. Pupils say that they feel safe and know who to speak to if they have any worries.

The great majority of parents report that their children are safe at school. They agree that leaders and staff address concerns promptly. The governing body oversees all safeguarding procedures, and checks that leaders are effective in promoting pupils' welfare.

Inspection findings ? My first line of enquiry was to explore actions taken by leaders to close the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others at the school, and nationally, at the end of key stage 1. This is because in 2018, the relatively small number of disadvantaged pupils did not achieve as well as their peers. ? I found that leaders are taking effective action to promote improvement for disadvantaged pupils in key stage 1.

They monitor progress closely, and use a range of interventions to close the gaps. Disadvantaged pupils read with increasing fluency and confidence, and they have systematic approaches to tackling unfamiliar words. ? Work in pupils' books and visits to lessons show teachers typically plan activities to help pupils build progressively on their prior knowledge and skills.

In most cases, teachers use questions well to probe pupils' understanding. However, where this does not happen, pupils' thinking is not challenged and this slows their progress. ? My second line of enquiry focused on leaders' actions to improve the quality of teaching in the early years to ensure that a greater proportion of children develop age-related skills and knowledge.

• I found that leaders and governors have invested resources to improve outdoor provision. They have developed the curriculum so that it is better matched to children's needs and interests. Teachers ensure that recent changes help children get off to a stronger start at school.

• As part of your effort to improve children's outcomes, you have increased the emphasis teachers place on developing early reading, writing and mathematics. Well-chosen books motivate children to practise and apply their reading skills regularly. This helps children to make good gains in reading.

As a result, they are increasingly imaginative in their play, and explore the world around them with greater confidence. Mathematics activities are not always as clear as they could be, but leaders have put effective plans in place. Children are now better prepared for learning in Year 1.

• Leaders have improved the outdoor area so that the quality of children's learning is equally strong in all areas of the curriculum. Teaching supports children to acquire new skills. Children engage in open-ended activities and explore the world around them.

For example, in sessions seen, children were pretending objects were things from their experience, taking on roles in their play and acting out experiences with other children. ? My final line of enquiry focused on the quality of the curriculum, and whether it offers pupils a deep and broad educational experience. We visited lessons together and looked at a range of pupils' work.

We agreed that leaders make sure that the curriculum provides exciting opportunities for pupils to study a range of subjects, including science, history and geography. They visit places such as Tate Modern, The Apple Store and The Discovery Story Centre. These experiences improve their understanding in a wide range of subjects.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? teachers challenge pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding across all subjects of the curriculum. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of London, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Enfield. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Maureen Okoye Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection I met with you and your deputy headteacher to discuss leaders' work to maintain the good quality of education. I met with four governors, including the chair of governing body. I met with representatives of the local authority and the diocese.

I visited lessons together with senior leaders, and looked at samples of pupils' work. I talked informally to pupils about their experiences of school. I reviewed a range of documents, including leaders' evaluation of the school's current performance, their plans for further improvement and information on pupils' progress.

I considered a number of policy documents and records, including safeguarding. The views of parents were considered through the 114 responses to Ofsted's questionnaire (Parent View), including written comments. I considered the 32 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire for staff, and the 174 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire for pupils.