Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs C Cleugh Headteacher St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School 1 Pierrepont Road London W3 9JR

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bullying practice in schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 26 September 2011 as part of our survey of schools’ work to create a positive school culture and prevent and tackle bullying.

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bullying practice in schools

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

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bullying practice in schools

This letter briefly summarises our discussion at the end of the visit.

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Strengths of this aspect of the school’s work

 Pupils clearly understand what actions or words constitute bullying. They appreciate the use of ‘circle time’ to discuss class issues and to resolve relationship conflicts. They behave well towards each other in the playground and around the school. They know who they can turn to if they have a problem and that school staff work hard to resolve their issues quickly. Pupils spoken to were overwhelming in their feeling of safety in the school and the positive contributions that the prefects, ‘buddies’, and the head boy and girl make towards creating this safe environment. Pupils spoke highly of the ‘friendship stop’, which is an area they can go to in the playground when in they are in need of a friend. Pupils know they can also use the classroom’s ‘worry box’ if they feel in need of help or support.  The school’s ethos of staff and pupils treating each other respectfully is prominent in the minds of the school community. The school leaders have

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Strengths of this aspect of the school’s work

worked well to create a culture where pupils are rewarded for their good behaviour. Punitive measures have not been implemented, which has resulted in pupils taking responsibility for their behaviour. It has also fostered a strong climate of discussion by pupils and staff of how behaviour can be improved. These actions have assisted an improvement in some pupils’ outcomes. For example, attendance has continued to rise since the previous inspection and there has been a reduction in after- school retentions.  Increased pupil involvement by the senior leaders has led to them devising their own class rules, of which they are very proud. These rules are displayed in every classroom and are reviewed and discussed regularly during lessons.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 extending the refresher training for staff to ensure that they have a broader awareness of the range of behaviours that constitute bullying  sharpening the reporting and analysis of bullying incidents to enable leaders to have an appreciation of the trends over time  critically analysing and evaluating the impact of curriculum development in personal, social and health education (PSHE) across the school so that leaders have a firm view of what has been effective and the impact on pupils’ outcomes.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that this visit has been useful in the further development of this aspect of the school’s work.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

As explained previously, a copy of this letter will be published on the Ofsted website. It may be used to inform decisions about any future inspection. A copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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