St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • teachers have high expectations for all pupils, particularly in writing.
• Further improve outcomes by ensuring that:
  • the most able pupils are routinely challenged so that more can reach the higher standards.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The executive headteacher, head of school and leaders have established a dedicated staff team. Leaders, governors and staff share a vision for achieving the best in all aspects of the school. All staff are proud to be part of the school and appreciate the support they receive from leaders. A typical view was that the school ‘has a real family feel’.
• Leaders at all levels, including governors, mostly have high expectations. They are ambitious for the academic success of pupils, as well as for their social and emotional well-being. Strong direction ensures that they accurately evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the school. This has ensured that plans are in place for further improvements, particularly in teaching and learning.
• Middle leaders are highly committed to the school and have relished the opportunity to develop their roles. They are knowledgeable about pupils and focused on ensuring that they achieve their full potential. Leaders make careful checks on the quality of teaching and learning. They provide valuable training and support for colleagues and influence the quality of teaching in their respective subjects.
• Leaders have made recent changes to the curriculum. They have designed a curriculum that offers breadth and balance, building on pupils’ prior knowledge and skills. Leaders have ensured that the curriculum meets the many needs of the pupils at St Andrew’s. Opportunities for home learning and visits to places of interest are interwoven through the curriculum.
• Leaders’ investment in staff development and training is greatly valued by staff. They identify training that enables staff to develop their skills and knowledge. Leaders have opportunities to develop their own leadership skills through high-quality programmes. Support staff receive regular training through a bespoke programme for teaching assistants. This has ensured that they have been equipped with the skills to deliver a range of additional interventions which impact positively on pupils’ learning.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Leaders promote the school’s values and an understanding of British values extremely well. Pupils have a sound understanding of different faiths and visit local places of worship and other faith schools to deepen this knowledge. As a result, they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENCo) is highly knowledgeable. She reviews assessment information in detail, and has a comprehensive understanding of the progress pupils make. She ensures that pupils with SEND receive additional help promptly, and that it is of high quality. As a result, pupils with SEND make strong progress from their starting points.
• Leaders have ensured that well-defined approaches exist for using the additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Their use of tracking information ensures that support successfully targets this group of pupils. Disadvantaged pupils receive strong pastoral and additional learning support. As a result, leaders have used the pupil premium funding effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make progress.
• Leaders have used the sport funding premium effectively to enhance sports and physical education (PE) at the school. A comprehensive programme of enrichment activities provides pupils with opportunities to experience different sports and develop a range of skills. Sports coaches provide high-quality sports provision at lunchtimes, engaging pupils and encouraging their participation in after-school activities.

Governance of the school

• Governors are committed to the school. They demonstrate a thorough understanding of the school community. Using their relevant expertise and skills, they provide leaders with a balance of challenge and support.
• Records from governing body meetings show that they ask leaders challenging questions, ensuring that leaders are using the additional funding effectively for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Governors are each allocated a monitoring responsibility for a year group, and an identified area of school improvement, such as safeguarding or pupil premium funding. For each meeting, governors select an aspect of leadership, and leaders prepare a high-quality presentation to governors about their work. This ensures that governors have a precise grasp of the impact of leaders’ work.
• Governors have a very good understanding of pupils’ outcomes because they ask for the right information from leaders and offer challenge when required.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders and governors have established a team approach, which ensures that all staff are vigilant and alert to pupils’ safeguarding needs. Leaders are meticulous in ensuring that systems and procedures are in place for keeping pupils safe from harm. Pupils’ safeguarding files are well organised and are kept up to date. Rigorous pre-employment checks on staff are carried out, and detailed records of these are maintained.
• Senior leaders and governors are highly knowledgeable about the risks pupils face in the local community. They are tenacious in ensuring that vulnerable pupils receive the required support from outside agencies, and that it is timely.
• The school has an embedded safeguarding culture where pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is nurtured and protected. Pupils said they feel safe at school and know who to speak to if they are worried. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers agree that this is the case.
• Leaders ensure that staff and governors receive up-to-date and comprehensive training. All members of the safeguarding team are knowledgeable and well trained to support the most vulnerable pupils.
• Leaders ensure that exceptional high-quality pastoral support and early help procedures are used effectively. The welfare and care of pupils are of utmost importance. The parent partnership leader and pupil guidance and support leader provide an effective range of interventions and therapies, meeting the emotional and psychological needs of pupils. As part of the wider safeguarding team, they ensure that pupils’ needs are closely monitored and tracked.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Most pupils at the school learn well because they benefit from good teaching across the curriculum. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and use questioning skilfully to assess pupils’ understanding and help pupils to think more deeply. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to work together. Pupils collaborate well, and are keen to learn.
• The majority of teachers have high expectations of what most pupils can achieve, and learning is pitched at an appropriate level. However, a small amount of teaching does not reflect high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly in writing. As a result, pupils do not always achieve as well as they could in this aspect of their work.
• Teachers provide regular opportunities for pupils to practise their number skills and problem solving in mathematics. They develop pupils’ reasoning skills well. Teachers plan sequences of lessons that build effectively on what pupils know and can do. Pupils are provided with regular opportunities to deepen their understanding of the concepts being taught.
• Reading is taught well. Leaders introduced a new approach for teaching reading, as they recognised that pupils needed more opportunities to develop and strengthen their reading skills. Teachers promote the broadening of pupils’ vocabulary, alongside their inference, prediction and comprehension skills. Pupils use their skills to enable them to interpret and understand the high-quality texts they read. Pupils said they enjoy reading, and are encouraged to read frequently. The teaching of phonics is effective, and pupils use the sounds they have learned to read unfamiliar words.
• Additional adults are deployed well and provide appropriate support for all pupils. They are skilled and make a considerable contribution to ensuring that teaching is good.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are polite, courteous and well-mannered. There is a deep mutual respect between adults and pupils, and between pupils and their peers. Pupils said they are safe, as did all staff and most parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.
• The school has a well-established and strongly positive ethos. Leaders and teachers ensure that the school is a calm and purposeful learning environment. Pupils are proud of their school and are keen to share their achievements. For example, pupils proudly showed inspectors the star awards which had been presented to them.
• Pupils are appreciative of the opportunities to develop their leadership skills, for example as elected members of the school council or by being a ‘digital learning leader’. Pupils are encouraged to be good citizens. One pupil commented that ‘differences are fine, we’re all different – it’s about respect.’ Personal, social, health, cultural and economic (PSHCE) education lessons regularly focus on areas such as promoting diversity and challenging stereotypes.
• Pupils are fully aware of the potential dangers when using the internet and are taught online safety. Through their ‘Internet Safety Week’, and in computing lessons, they are able to explore online safety in depth. Pupils have opportunities to learn about different aspects of safety through the school’s curriculum, external speakers and assemblies. This includes personal space safety, gang culture and knife crime awareness. As a result, they have a thorough understanding of how to stay safe.
• Pupils have a very mature understanding of bullying. They understand the different forms it may take, including cyber bullying. Those who spoke to inspectors, or completed Ofsted’s pupil survey, said that bullying was rare. When it does happen, it is resolved promptly and in an appropriate way.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Leaders and teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Leadership of behaviour is strong and monitoring shows that incidents are infrequent. Teachers apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently and, as a result, pupils conduct themselves extremely well. They settle promptly to their learning and follow adults’ instructions well.
• Pupils are enthusiastic and keen to achieve well. As a result, they demonstrate excellent attitudes to their learning. They discuss learning with each other sensibly, to compare answers and consult each other’s views. They are almost always well-focused and instances of low-level disruption are rare.
• Pupils are aware of the incentives to behave well and of the consequences of any behaviour that is less than good. At lunchtimes, pupils are polite and show respect to adults and each other in the dining room. On the playground, they make the most of the different activities and equipment available, playing happily together.
• Leaders have ensured that attendance is a high priority for the school. A robust and rigorous system for monitoring attendance is in place. As a result, attendance is above the national average and persistent absence is below the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2018, progress for all pupils at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was average. Progress for disadvantaged pupils was below the national average, compared to non-disadvantaged pupils, in reading and mathematics, but above in writing. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was above the national average. However, the proportion of pupils achieving the higher standards or greater depth was below the national average in all subjects.
• In 2018, Year 2 pupils achieved above the national average at the expected standard and greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics.
• As a result of strong phonics teaching, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard the Year 1 phonics screening check was above the national average in 2018.
• Children enter the early years with abilities that are below those typically seen for their age. However, with excellent teaching, they make strong progress. This ensures that they are ready for Year 1.
• Pupils’ work in books shows variability across the school of current pupils’ progress. Most pupils are working at the expected standards for their age, including those who are disadvantaged.
• Pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Teaching assistants provide appropriate additional support in lessons and at other times to enable them to learn well.
• Some of the most able pupils do not make as much progress as they could. Evidence seen in lessons and in pupils’ books shows that, although these pupils have opportunities to extend their learning, they are not consistently challenged by teachers.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The early years leader has an accurate understanding of the effectiveness of the setting and is committed to ensuring that children get the best start they can. Strong transition arrangements into school ensure that children and families get appropriate support from the beginning. Careful assessment of children’s starting points ensures that all children’s needs are well met.
• Children enter the Reception class from a range of nursery providers with skills that are below those typical for their age, and sometimes well below. As a result of excellent teaching, by the end of the early years, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is above that seen nationally.
• The early years environment is vibrant and well organised. Children flourish in a well-resourced classroom and an outside area that motivates and inspires them across all areas of learning. Teachers plan learning that is carefully matched to children’s abilities. As a result, they are able to sustain their interest for long periods of time. For example, two children were using ‘lolly stick puppets’ to retell and act out the whole story of ‘The tiger who came to tea’.
• The environment is language-rich. There is an explicit focus on language and communication across the setting. Specialist support from a speech and language therapist and high-quality intervention ensure that children with low language acquisition are well supported. Adults model standard English well, and skilfully question children to extend learning. Children were observed working together, developing their social and language skills well. For instance, in the outside area, children were making cups of tea, exploring how the sugar dissolved and discussing the changes to the water.
• Phonics in the Reception class is taught very well. Children have opportunities routinely to apply their phonics knowledge to writing. Teachers have high expectations, and provide the right challenge for children. Inspectors observed children pronouncing their sounds correctly and forming the corresponding letters with accuracy when writing.
• The outside area promotes children’s growth and independence highly effectively. Well-organised and high-quality resources have been deliberately included to develop children’s physical development. For example, activities such as riding tricycles and climbing through the trim trail develop strength, balance and spatial awareness.
• All adults understand the importance of partnership with parents in children’s early education. Parents are engaged through a number of workshops that help them understand how to support their children at home. Parents are able to contribute to and share in their children’s learning assessment through their ‘interactive learning diary’. For example, parents share videos and photographs from home to exemplify learning.
• Children are safe, happy and well looked after in Reception. All safeguarding and statutory welfare requirements are fully met. Children are well prepared for Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100613 Lambeth 10058836 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 195 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Andrew Brookes Executive Headteacher Miss Jayne Mitchell Telephone number 020 7274 7012 Website Email address www.standrewsprimaryschoolstockwell.org admin@standrewsce.lambeth.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5 to 6 February 2014

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The school is federated with Christchurch Primary SW9, with which it shares an executive headteacher.
• Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, with the largest group being Black or Black British–Caribbean.
• The school is in the top 20% of all schools nationally for the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is in the top 20% of schools nationally.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.
• The school is in the top 20% of all schools nationally for the proportion of disadvantaged pupils.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes, jointly with members of the senior leadership team.
• Inspectors observed phonics lessons with pupils from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
• Together with leaders, inspectors scrutinised pupils’ books from all year groups. Inspectors discussed and analysed a range of information about pupils’ progress.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read from Year 1 to Year 6. They spoke to pupils while visiting classrooms, in the dining hall and at playtimes. In addition, inspectors met with a group of pupils formally to find out their views of the school.
• The lead inspector met with the chair of governors, a group of governors and a representative from the local authority.
• A range of meetings was held with the executive headteacher, head of school, senior leaders, middle leaders, parent partnership leader, teachers and support staff.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in assemblies, lessons, at playtimes and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors reviewed various documents provided by the school. These included the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, the pupil premium statement, sports funding, external reviews of the school, and governing body minutes.
• Inspectors reviewed documents relating to safeguarding, attendance and behaviour. These included the school’s single central record, staff/human resources files, all behaviour incidents and exclusion records, first aid records, and child protection and safeguarding files.
• The views of some parents were collected at the beginning and end of the school day. Inspectors took account of the 16 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. They also considered the 14 responses to the staff survey.
• Inspectors observed some extra-curricular activities during lunchtime.

Inspection team

Andrew Hook, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Sheila Cohring

Ofsted Inspector