- They have worked with other senior and middle leaders, including the governing body to inspire staff. The headteachers have gained their commitment to developing a new culture of high expectations and achievement.
- Senior leaders are forward-looking. Their planning is calculated to build capacity and sustain improvement. As a result, the school is used as a beacon of excellence, locally and nationally.
- The governing body is formidable. They know the strengths and relative weaknesses of the school and do not allow it to slide.
- Exemplary systems have been introduced and developed to ensure that the school's improvement continues.
- As a result, the quality of teaching is exemplary and pupils make outstanding progress from a low base.
- Professional development, action research and extensive monitoring means that teachers are progressive in supporting and developing pupils' learning.
- Highly effective procedures for assessing pupils' progress means that work and resources are consistently tailored to the needs of individuals and groups.
- A deliberately designed curriculum that is rich and innovative stimulates pupils to learn very well.
- The school community is strong, and the work with parents and other partners to promote learning is outstanding.
- Pupils are confident beyond their years because of the outstandingly good provision for personal development, behaviour and welfare.
- The school's approach to safeguarding pupils and preparing them for life in modern Britain is highly effective. These strengths are reflected in the school's values and reinforce the outstanding provision for pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.
- All of the school's provision led to a phenomenal rise in pupils performing extremely well in the 2015 national tests. Pupils from early years through to Key Stages 1 and 2 continue to make rapid progress.
- The emphasis on the Equality Act 2010, and the culture of high expectations, mean that all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, White British pupils, those with special needs, boys and the most able are not allowed to fail. Full report In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures. What does the school need to do to improve further?
- Make sure that the school's culture of high expectations remains an established feature that is consistently sustained so that all pupils make outstanding progress. Inspection judgements Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding
- The executive headteacher and headteacher have turned the school around very quickly. It is now a highly successful school where pupils make and sustain rapid progress. Together with the staff and governors, they have demonstrated a high level of moral commitment. They have achieved this through setting ambitious targets and insisting that the pupils can achieve very well regardless of their circumstances.
- Senior leaders are astute planners; short fixes do not feature in their work. Their highly ambitious vision for school improvement meant that from the outset, they communicated the big picture of high achievement through teamwork and commitment.
- Senior leaders have led the staff through the difficulties of the changes by creating a clear vision of the future which all understand. As a result, changes in staffing have achieved a high level of commitment from those who share the vision of school improvement.
- Transformation of the school from the bottom 10% nationally to being a top-performing school is linked to a range of well-deliberated and well-developed systems for monitoring the school's effectiveness. These are combined with the uncompromising stance of all leaders.
- Teaching is highly effective and teachers know that only the best is good enough. The quality of their work is part of a continuous cycle of professional development. They use and link action research to the needs of the school, individuals and national priorities. Extensive professional development has increasingly led to staff developing their particular strengths as they are equipped with appropriate skills to take on wider roles. For example, teachers at the start of their second year of teaching gained ample experience to begin shadowing the school's leadership programme.
- Exemplary systems for monitoring and evaluating teaching ensure that all leaders, including governors, are involved in regularly reviewing the quality of teaching. Monitoring is extensive; the feedback to staff is thorough and includes clear next steps for improvement.
- Performance management is used very well to ensure that staff do not compromise pupils' achievement. Appraisal is exacting and reflects measurable targets which senior leaders assess regularly. Pupils' achievement is central to staff receiving a pay award.
- The quality and use of assessment to promote learning is outstanding. Leaders maintain a sharp focus on pupils' learning. They analyse assessment information so that work can be personalised and teaching approaches changed and modified. Highly effective systems for tracking pupil progress means that groups and individuals are carefully monitored by ability, gender, ethnicity and specific learning needs. In this way, the school ensures that no child is left behind; all have equal access to support.
- The curriculum provides breadth, balance and depth. For example, pupils in The Harbour are taught a similar range of subjects to other pupils in the school. Throughout the school, the themes and topics covered inspire and challenge pupils to think creatively and give original answers.
- The choice of resources, including, for example, equipment in mathematics and a wide range of texts in English, are some of the strongest aspects of the school's work. Pupils are propelled to learn because there is emphasis on making discoveries and mastering concepts. For example, stretch and challenge dominate the curriculum as pupils in upper Key Stage 2 are taught texts normally reserved for Key Stage 3 work. Similarly, in mathematics, work on equations and interpreting graphs provides pupils with additional challenge. This allows them not only to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics but also to reason mathematically and solve problems by applying mathematical skills with increasing sophistication.
- The school has increased pupils' appetite for learning by taking the curriculum outside of the classroom. Pupils told inspectors that they are not 'simply sitting down and listening?. A range of school trips are
- linked to lessons' and not ?random places'. Pupils have good access to a range of extra?curricular activities, during and after school. These contribute particularly well to their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. For example, assemblies are used as a focal point to explore the school's values, which are integral to the curriculum. Pupils are very well prepared for life in multicultural Britain and beyond.
- The additional funding for the pupil premium, physical education and the sport premium are used very effectively. Tracking and analysis of the funding provide senior leaders with a clear overview of the impact on pupils' learning as well as their well-being. For example, while the pupil premium funding is used extremely well to improve pupils' achievement and provide early help and support, the sport funding ensures that they have good access to a trained PE specialist. Pupils also have opportunities to participate in competitive sport, as well as unusual sports such as fencing, canoeing and taekwondo.
- The leadership and management of safeguarding are exemplary. There is corporate responsibility for securing the well-being of pupils. The school inculcates a culture of vigilance and has ensured that staff are kept well informed about national priorities on, for example, extremism, radicalisation and child sexual exploitation. Pupils are listened to and highly effective systems ensure rapid responses when a pupil needs support. The school works effectively with external partners to support pupils who are at risk. Parents and pupils both say that the school is a secure place. The visibility of staff, and tight security when a child leaves a classroom, reassures them very well. They also know that a member of staff is always available when early help is needed.
- The headteachers have a very clear vision about how the partnership work between Foxfield and Woodhill School is benefiting the pupils and staff. Forward planning reflects how this partnership work will increase opportunities in the future.
- The clarity of the headteachers' vision, and their authoritative stance on school improvement, led to the local authority (LA) reducing its advisory work in the school very early. The LA monitors the school's work from a distance and is well poised strategically to maintain the very good working relationship as the school considers its future. The governance of the school:
- The governing body is effective and all members make an excellent contribution to the school's improvement. While the executive board oversees strategic planning, the full governing body ensures that all statutory requirements are met and the school is highly effective. Individual members oversee different remits such as special educational needs, pupil premium and looked after children.
- Governors are very well informed about the school's work. They are thorough when using their expertise to analyse pupils' progress. They keep a close watch on the performance of groups and are particularly aware of the needs of disadvantaged pupils, including those looked after, those with special educational needs, White British boys and the most able. By regularly checking assessment information, they gain insight into the school's effectiveness and are informed enough to have input into the targets set for year groups and each key stage. Governors are equally well informed about the quality of teaching based on their detailed and routine monitoring of lessons, book scrutiny and conversations with lead practitioners and pupils. They ensure that the appraisal of teachers' work recognises the most effective practice, which is linked to targets.
- The governing body maintains close links with Woodhill Primary School. Having the Chair of the Governing Body from that school as a governor has helped to strengthen the partnership work. The governors are very supportive of the future vision for the school. As guardians of the school, they maintain a protective stance by ensuring that decisions do not impede the rapid progress.
- The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding
- High-quality teaching is the norm found at the school. Teachers are knowledgeable and use their expertise and experience very well to stretch pupils. They take risks by pitching their teaching at a high level because they believe in the pupils. As a result, pupils rise to the challenge and do not give up easily. Teachers have successfully created a ?can do? culture of learning.
- The procedures for assessing pupils' skills when they join the school are very thorough. Teachers are diligent when they collect specific information about each child's needs and use this to select appropriate resources and set targets to match the needs and abilities of each child. Parents spoken to noted that no child is left behind because their needs are well met. Parents very much appreciate the personalised attention given to their children.
- Teachers ensure that pupils make exceptionally good progress by planning well-structured lessons, linked to high expectations of work and behaviour. They are uncompromising and as a result there is a direct impact on pupils thriving and able to achieve their best.
- Typically, classrooms, like the corridors, are inspiring with rich and wonderful displays that support learning and enchant pupils and visitors. The pupils who spoke to inspectors said that their work on display is the best accolade for them; this spurs them on to work even harder. Their work is habitually on show.
- Exemplary teaching is pacy and includes all adults playing equally important roles. Teaching assistants are key to supporting pupils with additional needs to keep up with this pace. It is not unusual for them to be indistinguishable from the actual class teachers. Activities and resources are very well prepared and linked to the mantra 'steps to success'. Pupils and children therefore know what they are expected to achieve, primarily because the teachers regularly recap on their learning at strategic points.
- Across the school, the best features of teaching include teachers methodically demonstrating and modelling the quality of work required; regular feedback from pupils; group and paired work; and the use of in-depth and open-ended questioning.
- Pupils told inspectors that they take ?a piece of the school home? with them ?which helps them to reflect on their learning?. This comment typically illustrates daily teaching which pupils also said includes
- coaching each other?, ?generating questions for hot-seating? and being ?involved in lessons because they are not simply sitting down plonked on a chair?. Teachers provide pupils with the opportunity to tell them what they like and dislike about their teaching. These features are prevalent and contribute to pupils learning extremely well.
- The teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is also excellent. Specialist and highly skilled staff work with these pupils by assessing their needs very carefully and making full use of specialist resources such as tablets, Braille, sign language and visual resources to develop pupils' learning, in particular their communication, personal and social skills.
- Assessment is extremely thorough, as is the quality of marking and pupils' responses to comments about improving their work. Teachers track pupils' progress very well and assess how well they are learning. Characteristically, assessment information is used to provide activities that are increasingly challenging.
- Teachers emphasise mastery of skills being acquired before pupils can move on. Misconceptions are addressed through ?corrective teaching? until pupils are secure. For instance, in mathematics, teachers recap on previous learning before pupils apply the taught skills to real-life applications and move on to more challenging tasks that involve reasoning. Mathematical vocabulary is taught very well.
- The teaching of reading and writing meets the needs of all pupils very well, particularly because of the expectation of them justifying and explaining their answers, as well as writing fluently and accurately. Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding Personal development and welfare
- The school's work to promote pupil's personal development and welfare is outstanding.
- Pupils are confident and extremely positive about their learning. They are also communicative when appropriate but exercise self-discipline very well. These characteristics support them extremely well in their learning and are evident in the way they work for long stretches and are able to make a smooth transition from one subject to the next without losing focus.
- Good-quality nurturing supports pupils to thrive very well at the school. Pupils understand and live the values that the school instils in them. They care for and support each other very well, showing sensitivity and understanding of their peers with special and/or medical needs. Unacceptable name calling is rare. Pupils respect and show kindness and consideration towards each other.
- The strong emphasis on raising aspirations means that Year 5 and 6 pupils are given an early start to thinking about their future. Pupils are highly ambitious and the school encourages them, often as the first generation in their families, to think about higher education. Established links with the University of Greenwich, careers fayre and work shadowing are used effectively to give pupils a sound start to thinking about their lives in the future.
- The school makes sure that parents and pupils know about the importance of attending school regularly and punctually. Attendance during the last school year, previously below average, was above average for primary schools. Rigorous systems and stringent actions, including fines, have contributed to attendance improving significantly. Comments from parents indicate that their children are happy and that they talk incessantly about their teachers and the school. Parents report that their children are keen to attend school even when unwell. Nevertheless, the school knows that a few families are not always punctual and action is taken.
- Pupils know about different forms of bullying and are aware that occasionally silly name calling takes place. Parents told the inspectors that the headteachers provide them with opportunities to express their views, and incidents, if they occur, are dealt with swiftly. Pupils know they can turn to an adult or use the post box to alert their teacher to a worry as well as receive to external support from trained specialists.
- Pupils have a mature understanding of taking on responsibilities as mentors, monitors and as elected ambassadors on the school council and the primary leadership programme. They acquit themselves very well in these roles and use the process to learn about principles of representation and speaking out in a democracy. Behaviour
- The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Behaviour for learning within lessons and around the school is excellent. Students are responsive to the school's high expectations of behaviour and so focus sharply on improving their learning.
- Staff are highly effective in managing pupils' behaviour. The management of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders is exemplary. As a result, pupils are very well supported to remain focused on their learning and make rapid progress in settling and learning new experiences.
- The introduction and development of robust systems to manage behaviour means that lessons are very well managed and routines are well established from the early years through to each key stage. As a result, the transformed school has had very few fixed-term exclusions. The school has not had any permanent exclusion for over four years.
- Relationships are very good throughout the school. Pupils are aware that teaching staff and all support staff work very well together to help them with their learning and to keep them together as a community, where diversity is respected. Outcomes for pupils are outstanding
- Pupils continue to make exceptionally good progress in all areas of their learning. The ethos and values of the school compel pupils to develop a passion for learning. This is combined with exemplary teaching and exciting topics covered in the curriculum, engaging them very well.
- The 2015 national test results in English and mathematics were the best outcomes achieved by pupils in five years in both key stages and early years. In Key Stage 2, virtually all pupils reached the level expected in reading, writing and mathematics. While 40% reached Level 5 in English and mathematics, over one-third achieved Level 6 in mathematics and 12% in writing. This was a significant improvement on the previous year's results, when the school was in the bottom 10% of all schools nationally. There was also a steep rise in the higher levels in Key Stage 1.
- Progress continues to be rapid because there is an unrelenting focus on developing pupils' mastery of a subject, particularly through acquiring good literacy and numeracy skills. These skills are continuously reinforced across subjects to support pupils to move on to more complex learning as they progress through the school. The school prepares pupils very well for the next stage of their education.
- The large majority of children are in line or ahead of the attainment typical for their age in early years and in Key Stages 1 and 2.
- Pupils learn about different art forms because of the specialist teaching provided. They gain a very good understanding of specialist vocabulary in for example, art, science, religious education, physical education, drama and humanities. This is achieved through working with specialists on projects and enjoying opportunities to research and delve into different topics, for example, Tutankhamun and ancient Greece. Work with the artist in residence provides some therapeutic support and develops all pupils' artistic flair, evident in the displays around the school.
- The most-able pupils make exceptional progress. During the inspection, they commented that they are very well challenged in all lessons. They explained that they found work ?most challenging in English and in mathematics where standards are shockingly high?. These pupils described the challenge in other subjects as 'subtle?. The school also nurtures those with particular gifts through supporting them to gain recognition. For example, work is published in the British Library and shared with the University of Greenwich. Discussions with pupils and parents confirmed that the school is preparing pupils extremely well. Letters from parents about their children in the 2014/15 cohort recognise the school's work to prepare their children for being placed in the top sets in secondary schools.
- The achievement of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is excellent. Specialist support and the support of other staff, combined with action research, contribute to them making rapid progress in communicating their thoughts, taking part in cooking, reading and doing basic tasks such as holding a pen and writing. For a few, these are major milestones.
- The progress of disadvantaged pupils and those who are looked after was extremely rapid in 2015. The attainment gap between them and their peers in the school is marginal and there is no evident difference in the quality of work produced. Virtually all are achieving similar outcomes to other pupils in the school.
- Pupils who speak English as an additional language and White British pupils, in particular boys, also made exceptionally good progress. The school's assessment information, validated externally, indicate that the variability between groups is statistically not significant.
- Pupils in all groups are self-assured and very well prepared for the next stage of theopir education. The early years provision is outstanding
- Strong leadership and contributions from all adults in the setting lead to children making excellent progress. The early years setting has improved rapidly since the last inspection. The revised curriculum and learning environment, including the outdoor space, all enable children from all groups to make outstanding progress.
- Children enter the setting with below national average starting points, but outstanding teaching and ongoing observations are used very well to plan the next steps in their learning to move them on rapidly. The culture of high expectations is evident throughout the setting. This is reflected in Reception, where children, because of the exposure to high-quality teaching in 2014/15, achieved better outcomes in the phonics (letters and the sounds they make) screening assessments.
- Children increase their vocabulary and those who speak English as an additional language acquire knowledge of English quickly because adults use opportunities for speaking and listening and encourage children to speak often. In addition, repetition of, for example, key words, phrases, numbers and colours lead to children contextualising and using them correctly.
- Children make outstanding progress in literacy and mathematics. The learning environment is rich in high-quality displays. Every learning area has a wide range of resources to stimulate children to explore, discover and reinforce basic literacy and numeracy skills.
- Communication skills improve quickly when children join the Nursery because teachers model language skills throughout the school day. Teachers and other adults use open-ended questions to engage children very well to explain their ideas. Children begin to learn and identify the most basic skills of writing. They use the writing walls, whiteboards and visual line tables and other resources to begin making marks that increasingly look like letters of the alphabet. Teachers demonstrate and display cursive handwriting, enabling children to begin recognising the school's expectation of handwriting and presentation early. By the end of Reception, written work and handwriting show that children are composing simple stories with conjunctions and spelling simple and some complex words accurately.
- In mathematics, they learn to recognise numbers and count through applying this in different areas of learning, for example, role play. During the inspection, children made very good progress working as treasure hunters digging in the sand. When they found the hidden shapes, they were encouraged to recognise and use the correct term to describe them, their colour and count the number of sides. Additionally, they worked with the teacher on doing basic subtraction by talking about how many they had found and how many more out of the ten shapes they still had to find. Number formation is carefully demonstrated and clear questioning, such as ?Do you know what five looks like??, or ?Let's find a different ways of making ten? one, five, four?? help enable children to think about sequencing numbers.
- Excellent work with parents through phonics workshops is enabling children to make better progress. One parent explained, ?We now have no excuse, because we are shown how to work with our children.?
- The outdoor space provides a wide range of opportunities for children to be immersed in stimulating activities. Through spending time in clearly defined learning zones, they use role-play to rehearse fairy tales. Children use the toys and pretend play-pits to find out more about prehistoric animals. They engage in gardening, building dens and experimenting with water. Children begin to increase and develop their physical control when using the climbing frames, and develop skills of coordination when painting, writing and building.
- Children feel safe and are taught to understand the safety rules when using the outdoor area and using child-size building materials, such as hammers, brick, saws and nails. Routines are very well established. School details Unique reference number 100156 Local authority Greenwich Inspection number 10005869 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3?11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 675 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Irene Morley Executive Headteacher Headteacher Rob Carpenter Rupinder Bansil Telephone number 020 3260 7500 Website www.foxfield.org.uk Email address sao1@foxfield.greenwich.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15?16 May 2014 Information about this school
- With the Nursery and three Reception classes, the school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. The school offers 100 part-time places for children in the Nursery. Since the previous inspection, the number of pupils on roll has increased and the school is oversubscribed. There are now three classes in each year group.
- The school serves an ethnically diverse community. The three largest groups are from White British background, Black African and any other White background. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.
- The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is similar to the national average. The proportion of pupils supported through the Education Health Care Plan is above the national average.
- The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above average. This is additional government funding that is provided for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after.
- When the school was inspected in May 2014, it was judged to require special measures. Inspectors made three monitoring visits in September 2014, February 2015 and September 2015 to evaluate the school's progress in addressing the weaknesses identified in the report.
- Several weeks before the previous inspection, an executive headteacher, a National Leaders of Education from Woodhill Primary, an outstanding school, was appointed to support the school. He remained in post after the inspection. A new head of school, also from an outstanding school, was appointed to the substantive post in June 2014. Key senior staff and governors from Woodhill Primary School joined the executive headteacher to provide additional support. Following the inspection, there was a high turnover of staff. The school now has a stable and experienced group of staff.
- The school's partnership with Woodhill Primary School has led to the formation of Inspire, a network of schools that seek to raise the aspirations of pupils in challenging circumstances.
- The school has a specialist support unit, The Harbour, which caters for the needs of a few pupils with autistic spectrum disorders.
- The school runs a breakfast club and after-school club during term time.
- The school exceeds the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.
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