The Edward Betham Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Edward Betham Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 5 December 2018, 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 February 2015.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and your leadership team make sure that staff take good care of pupils' welfare and have high ambitions for their academic success.

Senior leaders provide staff with effective training and hold them to account ...for their pupils' progress. There is a strong culture of teachers and teaching assistants working closely with other colleagues to share best teaching practice. As a result, pupils flourish socially and make good and sometimes substantial progress from their starting points.

Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy learning and taking part in the range of enrichment activities on offer. Their attendance rates are consistently high, and persistent absenteeism is low. Senior leaders and governors have effective systems in place to check on all aspects of the school's work.

You tackle the weaknesses that you identify through a series of well-thought-out action plans. Pupils make good progress across key stage 1. In 2018, the proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check was significantly above average.

At the end of Year 2, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected or greater depth standard was at or above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Since the previous inspection, there has been a steady overall improvement in pupils' attainment by the end of Year 6. In 2018, the school worked successfully to improve pupils' writing.

Leaders explained the range of teaching strategies which had been researched and adopted to support this improvement. However, pupils' progress was not as strong in reading and mathematics as in previous years, and only an average proportion reached the higher standard. We explored the action the school has taken to address this, and a decline in outcomes for children in the early years, as the lines of enquiry for this inspection.

Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding leaders make sure that all members of staff are kept up to date with the latest guidance. They are well aware of the current safeguarding issues in the local area and of the potential vulnerabilities of pupils in the school.

Members of staff are vigilant and immediately report any concerns. Leaders meet frequently with groups of staff to check on the safety and well-being of pupils whom they consider as possibly vulnerable. Leaders work closely with a range of external agencies and with parents and carers to make sure that pupils are safe.

Through lessons and workshops, pupils gain a strong understanding of danger and how to keep themselves safe in different situations. Leaders provide regular information for parents on how they can keep their children safe, especially when using the internet. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

Records are detailed and of high quality. Inspection findings ? My first line of enquiry was on pupils' progress in key stage 2 in reading and mathematics. In 2018, this was average, representing a fall in performance since 2017.

This was particularly the case for pupils with high prior attainment in reading and middle and high prior attainment in mathematics. ? Leaders' analysis of tests revealed the need to develop pupils' skills in using accurate evidence from texts to support their answers. As a consequence, teachers were trained to focus more deeply on pupils' thinking and evaluation skills.

In addition, leaders changed some of the core texts, selecting those most likely to interest the pupils. They also introduced competitions to encourage pupils to read more for pleasure. Extra support to develop reading is provided across the range of attainment to help pupils reach the high standards of which they are capable.

• These strategies have begun to have a positive effect in deepening current pupils' reading skills. High-attaining pupils in Year 6 confirm that work is more challenging and that they are learning to analyse texts with greater depth than they did in the past. Even so, it remains a school priority to ensure that pupils routinely reach their potential in reading across the year groups.

• In mathematics, leaders identified that pupils' number work was stronger than their ability to reason mathematically and solve problems. The curriculum was revised to focus on these weaker areas and supported with new resources, staff training and checks on teaching quality. ? As a result, current pupils are progressively developing the skills to tackle increasingly challenging problems and can explain their mathematical reasoning.

As with reading, this remains at an early stage of development and continues to be a school priority. ? Secondly, we looked at the progress being made by children in Reception. This was because the proportion of children leaving Reception in 2018 who achieved a good level of development had fallen from being well above national average at the time of the previous inspection to just below average.

• The school's analysis shows that children made good progress overall, but that some of the cohort who were at an early stage of speaking English as an additional language did not achieve a good level of development in reading and writing. Given that more children in this group are entering the school, leaders have implemented a number of strategies to meet their needs. ? The school has introduced more adult-led teaching to create a rich environment for speaking and listening, and writing which particularly meets the needs of pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Particular emphasis has been given to the teaching of reading. Leaders make sure that all children regularly read to an adult. Leaders arranged phonics workshops for parents so that they can support their children at home.

Evidence in children's writing books, and in the new 'Special Books' that record evidence of children's own initiated learning, demonstrates that current children are making good progress in reading and writing. ? The early years indoor and outdoor provision is good. Resources cover all areas of learning and make a positive contribution to developing children's inquisitiveness.

Children behave well, greet visitors confidently and share equipment willingly with their classmates. Adults model good spoken English and challenge children effectively to deepen their thinking. There is a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning.

As a consequence, children are now making good progress in all areas of learning. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they: ? build on their work to deepen pupils' understanding and skills in reading and mathematics, so that pupils routinely make substantial and sustained progress ? continue to help children in the early years who speak English as an additional language to catch up with their peers by the time they enter Year 1. 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 Ealing.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely David Radomsky Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection The inspector carried out a range of activities during the inspection. He held meetings with senior leaders, the leaders of literacy, mathematics and the early years, as well as the chair of the governing body and five other governors.

Joint visits were made to classrooms and the early years provision with senior leaders, and they also undertook a scrutiny of pupils' work. He scrutinised a range of documentation, including information about outcomes for groups of pupils, policy documentation and information about safeguarding. He considered the 133 responses to Ofsted's online survey, Parent View, and the 22 responses to Ofsted's questionnaire for staff.

Also at this postcode