Soho Parish CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further strengthen leadership and management, by ensuring that those who lead subjects other than English and mathematics have the skills and time to lead and manage their subjects so that they can play a full part in helping senior leaders secure effective teaching and outcomes across the curriculum.
• Strengthen pupils’ achievement, by ensuring that:
  • pupils’ handwriting is improved so that they write in a fluent, joined, legible style
  • more opportunities are planned for pupils to develop their writing skills by writing at length in subjects across the curriculum
  • tasks are more carefully matched to pupils’ needs and abilities, especially for the most able pupils
  • subjects other than English and mathematics are taught in sufficient depth.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and leaders provide good leadership as they have an informed understanding of the quality of teaching and the school’s effectiveness. Together with other senior leaders, the headteacher is quick to praise successes and equally quick to point out where further improvements can be made. They lead training and make sure that staff see and learn from effective practice in this and other schools.
• Leaders and governors have an ambitious vision for the school. There have been several staff changes. By means of some astute appointments, the headteacher and governors have strengthened the leadership and teaching team since the last inspection. There is good capacity for this renewed team to ensure continued improvement. The headteacher has developed a collaborative and positive team spirit, which permeates the school.
• Leaders check pupils’ progress and attainment regularly and use this information to discuss the best ways to increase the progress of groups of pupils. This data is also used to judge how effective the additional support allocated to pupils who need extra help is being in improving their rates of progress.
• Leaders have developed the curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics effectively. They have made changes that have added both breadth and depth. For example, they have ensured that the reading curriculum across the school introduces pupils to texts that are progressively more challenging. This approach is in its early stages, and leaders recognise that insufficient focus has been given to writing, especially the presentation of written work across the curriculum. Pupils’ handwriting is not neat enough.
• There are inconsistencies in the effectiveness of the curriculum in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders have accurately identified the wider curriculum and development of these subject leaders as priorities for future development.
• Pupils are given a broad range of opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. They are very happy about the increase in after-school sports clubs and proud of their sporting achievements in the local community.
• Support for pupils with SEND is led and managed well. Levels of support and intervention are effective, and as a result, these pupils make good progress.
• Pupil premium funding has been used effectively to diminish the differences between eligible pupils and their classmates. The use of a specialist teaching assistant to provide individualised support to address emotional issues has made a substantial difference to these pupils’ readiness to learn and subsequently to their achievement.
• The primary physical education (PE) and sport funding is being used to buy in specialist teaching and to bring in sports coaches with expertise in PE. These additional staff work with teachers to develop their coaching skills and provide additional extra-curricular sports which are increasing participation rates and improving pupils’ health and well-being.

Governance of the school

• The governors are very supportive of the school. They understand its strengths and how it can improve and regularly visit to see how well it is doing. In meetings, governors ask the headteacher and senior leaders challenging questions to make sure that improvement continues to raise standards.
• Governors are aware of the quality of teaching in the school and where further work is required to improve teaching. They review the way that school leaders monitor teaching and learning and play a full part in deciding on future priorities for improvement.
• Governors check that the budget is deployed well and that it is used effectively to achieve value for money. They also ensure that the pupil premium and primary PE and sport funding is used efficiently and effectively.
• Governors make sure all statutory safeguarding requirements are met. The link governor for safeguarding regularly checks that the single central record for staff, supply staff, contractors and volunteers is compliant.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff are clear about their responsibility to identify and refer any concerns regarding pupils’ welfare and safety. Safeguarding practice to ensure that pupils are safe is evident within the school’s culture. Recent changes in statutory guidance are fully embedded into staff’s safeguarding knowledge. Leaders have published these updates, and they have ensured that these are reflected in sufficient detail in the school’s own policies.
• Leaders carry out appropriate checks when appointing staff. Records of concern about individual pupils are maintained and leaders follow up any concerns with external agencies to ensure that action is taken when needed.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe online. They know which adults they can trust when out in public. The vast majority of parents and carers who completed the online survey, Parent View, reported that their children feel safe in school and are well looked after.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Evidence gathered during the inspection, including observing in lessons and an extensive scrutiny of pupils’ work, confirms that teaching and learning have improved. As a result, pupils are beginning to make faster progress and achieve more over time than was the case in the past. Consequently, the inspection team is in full agreement with leaders’ evaluation that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good.
• Pupils learn well when questions make them think. In a Year 6 lesson on using challenging vocabulary, pupils were able to describe how different words enhanced their sentences well because the teacher challenged them to consider how the sense of their sentences changed as a result of using alternative words.
• Teachers have high expectations of their pupils, and pupils appreciate the opportunities they get to challenge themselves. However, the most able pupils lack challenge in some lessons, which limits their progress.
• Leaders place high importance on enhancing the skills of teachers and teaching assistants. The use of information gleaned from monitoring reflects the fact that training for staff to ensure they have secure subject knowledge and use effective teaching strategies is a priority for leaders. As a result, pupils can explain with understanding what they are doing.
• Phonics and reading are taught well. Lessons about letters and sounds are pacy and accurate, allowing pupils to develop confidence quickly in their ability to sound out and blend the sounds into words. Teachers take every opportunity to promote reading, and pupils are keen to read to the class.
• New approaches to teaching mathematics develop pupils’ learning well. They provide pupils with the chance to embed key knowledge and apply what they know, and this stimulates pupils’ curiosity.
• Pupils with SEND learn well because the adults who support them have expertise in how to help them overcome their problems with understanding.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language are taught well. Those whose English is limited develop their reading, writing, speaking and listening with great confidence. This is because staff working with them are very positive and encouraging.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• The school’s core values of respect, friendship, compassion, reverence and trust are reflected in pupils’ collaborative working and in the caring approaches that they adopt with each other, with visitors and with all staff. Pupils meant it when they told inspectors, ‘Everyone cares for each other.’
• Pupils can reflect on and consider the impact of their actions. In class, pupils learn from their own mistakes and those of others. Consequently, pupils are readily willing to share their thinking in class without being worried about getting an answer wrong.
• Leaders do not shy away from tackling complex social matters and diversity in an age-appropriate way. Related activities are well managed through assemblies and personal, social and health education sessions. For example, Year 6 pupils are encouraged to consider their aspirations for the future as part of their ‘going for goals’ topic in personal, social and health education.
• Leaders meet pupils’ pastoral needs as well as they meet their academic needs. This is evident in the school’s significant investment in ensuring the emotional well-being of their vulnerable pupils to enable them to access their learning in the daily work they do.
• Pupils report that instances of bullying are extremely rare and those that do occur are resolved. This was confirmed by the school’s records of bullying and use of racist or derogatory language. Pupils are confident that there are systems in place that deal quickly with any concerns that they have.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils behave very well in lessons, at breaktimes and when moving around the school. They understand and follow the school’s rules, which are clearly understood by the pupils. Parents, governors and pupils all say that behaviour at the school has improved a lot in recent years. During this inspection, the school was a calm and orderly place and other evidence indicates that this is typical.
• Respect and tolerance are at the heart of this school. Leaders set a strong example, as every child and staff member is valued. One parent said: ‘The staff at Soho Parish School are highly committed to nurturing the individual child and as a result, each child here is unique and treated as such.’
• Pupils’ attendance is now above national averages. There were no significant differences between the attendance of different groups. The school works well with the families of pupils whose absence rates have been flagged as a concern, so that support can be provided to ensure that these pupils attend school more regularly.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils’ achievement is strong, and they leave the school well prepared to move on to secondary school. Although published results dipped in some areas in 2017 and 2018 compared with previous years’ results, better teaching is leading to stronger achievement for pupils currently in the school.
• At the end of Year 6 in 2018, pupils’ attainment was above average in reading, writing and mathematics. This represented considerable improvement on the previous year. Pupils’ progress in reading and mathematics was much stronger than in writing.
• Differences in the attainment and progress of boys and girls in key stage 2 in writing in the national tests in 2018 were specific to this year group. Boys currently in Year 6 are performing as well as girls. Progress for this group is also strong from the pupils’ starting points.
• In key stage 1, pupils’ attainment in national assessments in 2018 is slightly below average in terms of the proportion reaching the expected standard in reading and mathematics and well below in writing. The school has addressed this effectively in ensuring that writing is a priority across the school.
• Effective teaching means that outcomes in phonics are consistently strong. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been above national averages for the last two years.
• In 2018, the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils were lower than those of other pupils nationally. Effective use is now being made of additional funding to teach and support the pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium. Individual programmes and the emotional literacy support contribute to these pupils’ good progress. Their progress is tracked well and there are good procedures to ensure that they do not slip behind.
• There is highly effective support in place for pupils with SEND. They make good progress because they can access the content of the curriculum and because the additional support they receive is carefully tailored to their individual needs. The progress of pupils with SEND is carefully tracked. This shows that the programmes they access to boost their learning and development have a strong impact on the progress they make.
• Although the progress of most pupils is good in writing, too few of the most able pupils reach the same standards that they reach in reading and mathematics. This is because teachers do not give pupils the chance to practise their skills in writing across a range of subjects.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader has an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses in provision. Planned actions are monitored carefully to ensure that they have the desired impact on children’s achievement. She leads an effective team by monitoring practice and providing training and support to continually improve teaching and its impact.
• The proportion of children who achieved a good level of development in the last two years has been below the national averages. Many children start school with literacy skills below those typically expected for their age. In response to this, phonics teaching is effective in enabling these children to develop their understanding of letters and sounds quickly. Whatever children are doing, adults prompt them to talk, listen and put pencil to paper.
• Relationships between children and adults are positive. Children are polite to adults and work well together. Staff have created a caring environment where children feel secure and able to learn well. Parents’ contributions about their children’s learning at home are valued, and help staff meet children’s individual needs well.
• Staff continually assess the progress that children make. They use their knowledge of individuals to plan learning that challenges the children to achieve success. Leaders make effective use of the extra funding for those who are disadvantaged. The good support given to children with SEND helps them in whole-class sessions and in individual or group activities.
• Children in the setting are well cared for and safe. They play harmoniously and behave well. Staff promote children’s resilience effectively through helping them learn from their mistakes and to think about what they might do differently next time. As such, children are well prepared for the increased challenge and expectations of Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 101131 Westminster 10058993 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 Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 172 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Lyn Meadows Louise Ritchie 020 7432 7320 www.sohoparish.co.uk office@sohoparish.co.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 February 2016

Information about this school

• Since the inspection of the school in February 2016, the school has had several changes in leadership and staffing, including the appointment of the current headteacher.
• Soho Parish Church of England Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are from a White British background, with pupils from any other White background forming the next sizeable ethnic group.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is above the national average.

• A section 48 inspection of the school’s religious faith took place on 27 April 2016.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classrooms alongside school leaders, and additionally observed intervention groups.
• Meetings were held with school leaders, teachers and groups of pupils. Inspectors met with the headteacher, the chair of the governing body, two other governors and the school improvement advisers from the local authority and the diocese.
• The inspectors worked in partnership with the school’s senior leaders when analysing information about the school. The inspectors looked at pupils’ outcomes, the school’s evaluation of its own performance, minutes from governing body meetings, the school development plan, and monitoring and evaluation records. Behaviour and attendance records and information relating to safeguarding were also checked.
• The inspectors walked around the school with pupils to find out more about their work from displays and extra-curricular activities. Inspectors interviewed groups of children from across the school to determine their views on behaviour and safety.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in the playground at playtime and in the lunch hall. They listened to pupils read and looked at work in pupils’ books, alongside senior leaders.
• Inspectors took into account the views of parents by analysing the 38 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, the school’s own evaluation of parent responses to a questionnaire, as well as speaking informally to parents during the inspection.

Inspection team

Danvir Visvanathan, lead inspector Clementina Aina Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector