Oliver Goldsmith Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching so that it is at least good and ensures that pupils’ progress is consistently good by:
  • ensuring that teachers understand and can skilfully use the assessment policy to make sure pupils are given consistently effective guidance to improve their work
  • checking that teachers accurately and ambitiously decide how much to expect of pupils in lessons
  • ensuring that middle leaders continue to use a broad range of evidence when evaluating the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress
  • developing further the skills and judgement of teachers in providing effective opportunities for pupils to use talk in their learning. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders have strengthened their impact on raising standards since a comprehensive review of the structure of the leadership team took place in 2016. The headteacher has led changes which have transformed the behaviour and attitudes of pupils, so these are now typically good. The school’s plans for improvement focus sharply on eradicating the remaining inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. A suitable sense of urgency is indicated by the short timescales set for checking on the impact of planned improvements. As a result, pupils’ progress in the current school year is rapidly improving. Most parents, staff and pupils are positive about, and express confidence in, the leadership of the school.
• Senior leaders accept that some teachers continue to apply agreed policies ineffectively, which results in an inconsistent picture of pupils’ outcomes. However, they have an accurate and well-informed picture of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching. The arrangements they use to manage the performance of staff are ensuring that teachers understand what they need to do to improve. Senior and middle leaders provide effective training and support informed by thorough, regular checks on teaching.
• Middle leaders can explain which aspects of the teaching of different subjects require further improvement. For example, the leader for mathematics is clear that the application of the calculation policy needs to improve, and that there is a need to make better provision for the most able pupils. The science leader understands that the teaching of scientific investigation skills needs to be strengthened. Middle leaders have very recently broadened the range of evidence they collect in order to sharpen the accuracy of the impact of their work on pupils’ progress.
• A new leader for special educational needs and/or disabilities has been appointed very recently. She has improved the accuracy of the identification of pupils with specific needs. She has sharpened arrangements to monitor the work of additional adults and is evaluating the impact of extra lessons more effectively. These changes have had an immediate positive effect on outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are also holding teachers more closely to account for the impact of their work on the progress of pupils with low attainment.
• Senior leaders have used the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils effectively to ensure that differences between their outcomes and those of other pupils nationally are diminishing. A greater proportion of disadvantaged pupils are now working at levels of attainment expected for their age than is the case for other pupils in the school. Leaders’ plans for future expenditure focus sharply on their expected impact. However, they do not explain sharply enough how they expect outcomes for particular groups, such as the most able disadvantaged pupils, to improve.
• The primary sport funding is spent wisely to enrich the opportunities for pupils to take part in competitive games. The limited space outdoors has also been developed to include better opportunities for pupils to develop sporting skills during breaktimes.
• The curriculum has been developed effectively to offer pupils a broad and balanced range of topics. Leaders ensure that pupils use their skills in reading, writing and mathematics when learning about other subjects. They also expect teachers to provide guidance which is specific to the subject being taught. This is evident in pupils’ books.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good. Pupils’ experiences are broadened through an interesting and well-considered range of events and visits. For example, a former pupil who has become a published author has recently returned to the school to speak to pupils.
• Pupils’ understanding of modern British values is developed well. They learn how their actions and opinions can influence local issues. For example, pupils have learned how their involvement in the democratic process can enable them to have a direct impact on improving a local park.

Governance of the school

• Governors have improved the impact of their challenge to school leaders. They recognise that attainment has remained too low. They have provided effective support for leaders’ work to complete the school’s restructuring. They understand how leaders intend to use resources to improve pupils’ attainment and know how well additional funding is spent.
• Governors insist on receiving complete and thorough information about the school’s performance. They visit the school regularly and become involved in events and activities. This allows them to check that the information they receive is an accurate reflection of the experience of pupils at the school. Their diverse skills and backgrounds enrich the quality of discussion when considering the school’s plans for improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Members of staff receive very frequent updates on safeguarding issues relevant to the school community. Parents receive regular safeguarding guidance in the school newsletter.
• The designated person for safeguarding ensures that communications with parents and other agencies remain strong and effective. She keeps other staff and governors well briefed about patterns of concerns emerging from her analysis of safeguarding information.
• Leaders and governors understand the nature of risk of pupils coming under negative influences on their behaviour. They have used training well to develop a risk assessment policy which emphasises building pupils’ resilience as well as identifying danger signs.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Some teachers do not use assessment information consistently well when planning lessons. They do not act effectively enough when pupils need further support or are ready for greater challenge, nor do they set high enough expectations. As a result, although rates of pupils’ progress have increased, they remain inconsistent across the school.
• The teaching of phonics has improved. As a result, more pupils are beginning Year 2 better prepared to progress further in their reading. Pupils understand the routines involved in reading lessons. Teachers are successful in inspiring them to enjoy reading a wide range of books. However, some teachers do not ensure that pupils are clear enough about what they are expected to learn. Teachers do not consistently expect enough of the most able pupils when they write about the characters and events in the books they are reading.
• School leaders have set out clear expectations for how teachers should provide pupils with advice and guidance to improve their writing. As a result, some pupils benefit from helpful and clear comments which they use to improve subsequent pieces of work. However, in other classes, teachers’ comments are less effective in pointing out how pupils can develop their writing further. Occasionally, pupils are not expected to see their writing through to completion. These inconsistencies result in variable rates of pupils’ progress.
• In mathematics lessons, teachers ensure that pupils learn and understand a range of calculation methods. This enables pupils of different abilities to make progress. However, teachers do not always identify when the most able pupils are ready to use their skills to conduct investigations or solve problems. In some classes, pupils’ mathematics books show that teachers do not set work which matches pupils’ ability closely enough.
• Teachers and support staff work well together to promote the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They demonstrate good skills in helping pupils understand the objectives of the lesson. Support staff know pupils well. They provide effective help and encouragement but also expect pupils to think for themselves.
• Teachers make good provision for pupils who speak English as an additional language. They place an emphasis on the development of speech and non-verbal communication where appropriate to help pupils understand lessons. However, in some classes, pupils’ talk and discussion is not as effectively supported to develop their English skills.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. The curriculum, in particular, promotes pupils’ personal development well. Teachers identify more able pupils who they can challenge to take on more responsible roles in the school community.
• Pupils’ personal development is promoted well by the very positive relations they enjoy with teachers and other staff. Pupils say that this helps them gain confidence in trying new experiences. As one pupil said, ‘Teachers allow us to express ourselves and make mistakes.’
• Pupils relate how the school teaches them to stay safe in a variety of situations. They enjoyed telling inspectors about letters they had written to their parents about the steps to take to stay safe when using the internet.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are committed to learning in lessons and rarely disrupt the teacher or one another. They keep working hard and show respect for adults even when the quality of teaching dips. Pupils look after their books well. They respond enthusiastically to teachers’ guidance, especially when this is of a high quality.
• Pupils behave safely and caringly in the playground. They say that they feel safe and most say that bullying is very rare. Senior leaders have ensured that instances of poor behaviour are now an exception, rather than being the regular feature of school life they used to be.
• Overall attendance is similar to that for other primary schools nationally. School leaders recognise that the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent is too high. However, their relentless and extensive work to support and challenge the families involved is reducing this absence.

Outcomes for pupils Require improvement

• Attainment remains low. Many pupils have begun the current school year below the standards the school expects in reading, writing and mathematics. Most pupils are making good progress from their starting points and are catching up. However, progress remains inconsistent because rates dip where teaching is less effective. Therefore, outcomes for pupils require improvement.
• Leaders have been effective in improving the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Provisional information for 2016 indicates that this proportion is now close to the national average. However, attainment in reading by the end of Year 2 remains low.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils have improved in the last school year. These pupils make similar progress to others from their various starting points. Differences between their attainment and that of other pupils nationally are diminishing. However, leaders recognise that very few of the more able disadvantaged pupils have sustained good progress to attain levels higher than those expected for their age.
• Provisional information for 2016 shows that the proportion of the most able pupils reaching higher levels of attainment in reading by the end of key stage 2 was lower than the national average. Similar gaps in attainment continue in reading and mathematics at key stage 1. The most able pupils are making better progress in the current school year as a whole.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make similar progress to other pupils.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities also make similar progress to other pupils. In the current school year many are making better progress due to improvements in identifying their needs and the provision of more effective support.

Early years provision Good

• Children make good progress from typically low starting points in the early years. The proportion of children attaining a good level of development fell a little in 2016 because a larger proportion of them had special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have used the pupil premium funding for disadvantaged children effectively to ensure that they make similar progress to others from their starting points. Inspection evidence shows that a greater proportion of children who attended the Nursery are well placed to achieve a good level of development before they begin Year 1.
• The leader for the early years evaluates the setting’s effectiveness accurately. She ensures that the quality of teaching is consistently good and is continuing to improve.
• Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge when teaching children how to read and write. They use equipment and the experiences of children creatively when planning lessons aimed at developing their early mathematical skills. For example, the most able children are skilfully taught how to identify patterns in numbers and shapes. Teachers provide planned opportunities for children to talk to each other. However, they do not always make the most of these.
• The local authority has offered helpful guidance and advice upon which the early years leader has acted promptly. For example, more effective opportunities have now been introduced to enable children to learn the physical skills they need as they learn to write.
• The most able children are intrigued by the exciting curriculum on offer. Teachers and other adults ask them effective questions and provide them with skilful guidance to help them make the most of resources, both indoors and outdoors.
• The leader for the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities has worked closely with the early years leader to improve the accuracy of identification of and support for these children.
• Children and their parents understand the way that the early years is organised. Members of staff set high expectations for learning at school and at home. They support this well by providing a wide range of opportunities for parents to become involved with their child’s learning. Parents spoke positively about the work of the school.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective. Teachers ensure that children learn how to cooperate and maintain high expectations for their behaviour. Children are encouraged to take some responsibility for their own welfare as soon as they are ready.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100821 Southwark 10019268 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 Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 464 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Bola Ogun Anita Asumadu 020 7703 4894 www.olivergoldsmith.southwark.sch.uk office@olivergoldsmith.southwark.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8–9 March 2012

Information about this school

• The current headteacher joined the school the year following the last inspection. Governors and school leaders have continued the process of reducing the number of pupils on roll which began in 2008. This process gathered pace in the last academic year, when the whole school was restructured. Staff numbers have reduced as a result. All year groups now have two classes, except Year 6 which continues to have three smaller classes. The structure of the senior leadership team and several leadership roles changed in September 2016.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This is a larger than average primary school. The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is larger than the national average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is also above average.
• A greater proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language than found nationally. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
• Children attend the Nursery for part of the week. The children in the Reception Year attend full time.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team carried out observations in 17 lessons. Most of these were conducted jointly with school leaders. Inspectors also conducted school tours in pursuit of lines of inspection enquiry.
• Inspectors held meetings with senior and middle leaders and representatives of the governing body. They held discussions with an officer of the local authority. Inspectors met with pupils to hear them read and to discuss their views. Informal discussions with parents took place at the beginning of the second day of the inspection.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of documents provided by the school, including assessment information, records of the work of the governing body, external evaluation reports and documents related to safeguarding.
• Inspectors considered 43 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, along with written responses from parents received during the inspection. The 37 responses to the online staff survey available during the inspection were also considered.

Inspection team

Andrew Wright, lead inspector David Lloyd Rekha Bhakoo Shelley Davies David Bryant

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector