Sandhurst Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • evaluation of provision and outcomes is sharp and provides the necessary information for governors and senior leaders to hold staff to account
  • curriculum planning builds securely and progressively on pupils’ previous learning in all subjects.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, thereby improving pupils’ progress, by:
  • providing more high-quality opportunities for all pupils, especially the most able, to apply their mathematical learning and improve their reasoning skills
  • ensuring that teachers use assessment information to set tasks, activities and targets for improvement that are consistently challenging in all subjects.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and governors have successfully established a culture of high expectations for pupils and staff since this new school was established in April 2018.
• Leaders have promoted consistently strong teaching with a clear commitment to every learner. They have galvanised the staff team so that everyone is working together to achieve the school’s vision.
• Regular monitoring and evaluation of teaching in English and mathematics have ensured that lessons are planned well and staff are increasingly skilled in teaching these subjects. Assessment in these subjects and regular meetings give leaders an oversight of pupils’ progress. More generally, however, leaders’ evaluation of the quality of provision and outcomes is not sufficiently incisive to inform forward planning.
• Newly qualified teachers are very well supported by school leaders, ensuring that they receive targeted training to develop their practice.
• The rich curriculum enables pupils to understand the cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage. Events such as the widely appreciated international evening complement the curriculum and strongly promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As a result, pupils can confidently discuss different faiths and cultures and appreciate diversity and equality and they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum provides pupils with a range of opportunities for learning across different subjects. Pupils spoke to inspectors enthusiastically about their writing, mathematics and science, and said they enjoy learning. A variety of after-school clubs, including football, coding and singing, offer opportunities for pupils to develop their skills and confidence beyond the academic curriculum.
• Subject leaders are enthusiastic about their roles; they show good understanding of the actions that need to be taken to raise standards in their subjects.
• There is strong leadership of provision for special educational needs. Pupils with SEND receive precisely targeted support and make good progress from their starting points.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively to support their academic, emotional and physical well-being. Overall, disadvantaged pupils make good progress; they have positive attitudes to learning and their attendance is improving.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language are assessed so that, where necessary, interventions such as speech and language therapy can be put into place. The school makes good use of specialist support within the school.
• Sport premium funding is used effectively and, as a consequence, staff are becoming increasingly skilled and more confident in teaching high-quality physical education. The sports premium team works enthusiastically to create a whole-school curriculum strategy for pupils’ well-being. This includes emphasis on personal characteristics such as resilience and self-drive.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive and know the school’s strengths well. They recognise that the school has a rich curriculum, there are plenty of enrichment opportunities, and the school focuses on the community it serves. One parent expressed the views of others: ‘I’m very happy with the school, I feel that it’s a community and that, despite being a large school, there is sense of family and belonging. That is important to me as a parent.’
• The local authority has provided appropriate and effective support for the school. It has made a number of monitoring visits to the school and mentored the headteacher well.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school well and are determined to improve outcomes for all pupils. They do this through asking challenging and relevant questions of school leaders to hold them to account.
• Governors are proactive. They try their best to improve the school and are keen to further develop their own skills in order to do this.
• Governors speak knowledgably about the needs of their local community and are determined to improve the life chances of all pupils in the local area.
• Governors do not get the information they need to evaluate quickly or fully enough the impact that strategies are having on improving outcomes for pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is secure practice in the school, with clear procedures to safeguard pupils.
• Leaders and key staff are tenacious in their approach to supporting the children. They ensure that their concerns are followed up quickly so that advice and intervention are in place. In this way, leaders help to support the most vulnerable pupils to keep them safe.
• Training for staff is up to date and thorough. The latest government guidance is used to ensure that staff are kept abreast of new requirements for safeguarding. This is done through annual training, online training and regular update meetings.
• The safeguarding governor visits the school regularly to check safeguarding procedures and records, such as the single central record for the safe recruitment of staff.
• Governors are appropriately trained in safeguarding, including the ‘Prevent’ duty.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is characterised by positive relationships and clear expectations. Teaching mostly builds well on what pupils know and can do. As a result, teaching over time is effective. Pupils engage well in their learning and make good progress.
• Teachers and additional adults often ask searching questions, giving pupils time to consider their answers. Consequently, pupils think about their learning and build their knowledge securely.
• Teachers plan effectively to meet the needs of pupils who speak English as an additional language; these pupils make rapid gains in their learning. Pupils who start school at an early stage of speaking English quickly catch up so that they can make the same good progress as their peers.
• Teachers ensure that pupils develop writing skills well, including punctuation, grammar and spelling. Pupils learn to write for a broad range of purposes. They have good opportunities to develop and apply these skills to writing in other subjects.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. Pupils in key stage 1 apply their knowledge of the sounds that letters make when they are reading and become confident and fluent readers. Teachers ensure that pupils in key stage 2 develop sound comprehension skills. Pupils enjoy reading and can explain their preferences for particular authors and genres.
• The teaching of calculation is consistent across the school. Teachers identify gaps in learning and systematically build pupils’ number skills. However, pupils are not offered sufficient opportunities to develop their mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills.
• In subjects including science and humanities, teachers’ planning for pupils’ progression of knowledge, skills and understanding is not as clearly established as it is in English and mathematics.
• Teaching assistants make a positive difference in lessons. They work well with the teachers to develop pupils’ understanding, working with individual pupils and small groups.
• Occasionally, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding precisely enough in lessons to clarify tasks or to provide additional challenge for the most able pupils

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 very polite and well mannered. They understand and choose the right course of action. Consequently, pupils are settled and very happy at school. Almost all parents who contributed their views through the online questionnaire, Parent View, agreed that their children were happy and well cared for at school.
• Pupils in all year groups demonstrate excellent attitudes to their learning. Pupils take great pride in their handwriting and presentation. Pupils always try their best, applying themselves to their work in lessons with carefulness and maturity.
• Pupils are aware of living a healthy lifestyle through their work in physical education.
• Pupils understand the different forms that bullying can take, including cyber bullying, and are confident in how to stay safe. They say that there are no incidents of bullying, but if they have any concerns they know they would be addressed quickly. The school has very clear guidance about staying safe online, and pupils explained the risks clearly, showing good understanding.
• Pupils take part in an extremely wide range of artistic, cultural and sporting events and competitions.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• In class, pupils show respect towards adults. Guests are welcomed warmly and pupils delight in sharing their work. Pupils work with purpose and ambition, reviewing what they produce to ensure that it matches their teachers’ high expectations. These positive attitudes to learning form the foundation upon which strong progress is built.
• Pupils are well supervised at play and breaktimes and in the breakfast club, where they have opportunities to play and socialise in an extremely safe environment.
• Pupils enjoy taking on additional responsibilities. For example, the school council works to make the school a better place for all pupils.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved significantly. Interventions are strategically planned to support families in need. Case studies reflect the school’s hard work to improve attendance and reduce lateness.
• Parents are pleased with the attitudes, values and behaviour promoted by school staff. One parent’s comment was typical of others: ‘The teachers are caring and kind and are brilliant at teaching the children the values of being kind and respectful. I couldn’t be happier with our choice of school.’

Outcomes for pupils Good

• A great majority of children join the school in Nursery and Reception with knowledge and skills below those that are typical for their age. From these starting points, they make good progress across the school.
• In 2018, the great majority of Year 1 pupils met the expected standard in the phonics screening check. This is because pupils make very strong progress when learning to read throughout Reception and into Year 1.
• The proportion of pupils in Year 2 reaching the expected standard in reading and writing in 2018 was in line with the national average. Their attainment in mathematics was below the national average, but increasing from the previous two years. From their starting points, this represented good progress.
• In key stages 1 and 2, current pupils are making good progress. The observation of lessons and scrutiny of pupils’ writing and mathematics books show that the majority are working at age-related expectations. A good proportion are working towards greater depth in reading and mathematics. As a result, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Currently, pupils make strong progress from their starting points in subjects across the curriculum.
• There is no difference between the progress that disadvantaged pupils make and that of other pupils.

Early years provision Good

• There is strong leadership of the early years, demonstrating high expectations of the children and adults in the setting.
• In the past three years, the proportion of children that reached a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year was above the national average.
• The progress of individual children is monitored well, showing where each child’s strengths and areas for development lie. Tasks and teaching are tailored to meet these needs, offering challenge and support. This leads to good progress for most children.
• The early years curriculum is fun and encouraging. Writing is highly valued, with children applying their developing skills in many areas of their learning, both in the classroom and outdoors. They proudly share with adults the results of their efforts. Children are becoming confident writers in a range of situations, for example making Mother’s Day cards, writing stories, labelling pictures and creating plans at the construction area.
• The teaching of phonics demonstrates good subject knowledge, using a range of strategies and opportunities to encourage children to read and form letters.
• Adults set high expectations for children to be respectful of their environment and of each other. This leads to children who are happy in their setting and who interact with each other well. Consequently, children’s behaviour is good.
• There are strong links with local nurseries and families, including home visits, reading-record books and communication in ‘learning journals’. Adults’ understanding of children’s interests and needs enables them to adapt the curriculum appropriately. Consequently, children settle quickly into the school, enjoy their learning and make good progress.
• Leaders’ feedback to staff is not sufficiently precise, meaning that staff development does lacks focus to improve practice.
• Children leave Reception well prepared for the demands of Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100703 Lewisham 10058973 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 Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 697 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Sophie Smith Rebecca Dove 020 8698 5810 webfronter.com/lewisham/sandhurstprimary Email address admin@sandhurstprimary.lewisham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 7—8 July 2015

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The school was previously and infant and nursery school. In April 2018, the school expanded to include the junior school that previously shared the same site.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is in line with the national average.
• Pupils who attend the school are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, but most are from White British heritage.
• The school was in the top 20% of all schools for the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of children looked after is above average.
• A small number of pupils currently attend off-site provision, either full time or part time. All statutory requirements are met.
• The school runs a breakfast club.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed a range of teaching and learning across the school, mostly jointly with senior leaders. During observations, inspectors sampled pupils’ books and talked with pupils about their learning and their experience of school.
• Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other leaders. Inspectors also met with groups of pupils from key stage 1 and key stage 2, a group of governors, including the chair, and two representatives of the local authority.
• Discussions took place with parents at the start of the school day.
• The inspectors held meetings with group of pupils. Pupils’ views of the school were also gathered through many informal conversations and the pupil survey.
• Inspectors observed playtime and lunchtimes and noted pupils’ conduct around the school.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents including the school’s own evaluation of its effectiveness and improvement plans, policies, assessment information, curriculum planning and records of checks on the quality of teaching. Inspectors also looked at records of attendance and behaviour and safeguarding information.
• Inspectors took account of the views of staff through the 72 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and of the views of pupils through the 76 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. They also considered 116 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 64 free-text comments.

Inspection team

Sean Tobin, lead inspector Clementina Aina Margaret Warner Cathy Tooze Teresa Neary

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector