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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Mr S O’Regan Headteacher Edith Neville Primary School 174 Ossulston Street London NW1 1DN

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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 23 November 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

 The strong school culture of respect and appreciation of diversity is supported by very explicit expectations of all members of the school community.  Pupils have a very good understanding of how the school’s golden rules relate to their own behaviour. They are able to interpret the essence of the rules so that they help to create a harmonious atmosphere within the school. This was evident through discussions and by behaviour observed.  Staff are alert to even the smallest indication of anyone treating another person in a disrespectful way, including any behaviour that isolates pupils from a group, and these situations are addressed quickly.  All staff are well trained in how to support pupils to develop an understanding of each other’s points of view and this approach is used effectively to resolve any conflicts between pupils.  Explicit attention is given to the language used by adults and children as

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Strengths of this aspect of the school’s work

well as their actions.  Collective responsibility is encouraged with class awards, alongside individual awards; this helps pupils to develop an awareness of their responsibility to one another.  Celebrating diversity is carefully threaded through the curriculum and pupils have many opportunities to learn about respecting others and how to treat people in respectful and inclusive ways.  The school acknowledges that creating a harmonious community within school is not enough to help prepare pupils for life outside this school. The curriculum is therefore designed to give pupils opportunities to learn different appropriate strategies to deal with situations where people may bully or be unpleasant to them.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 including specific learning about some pupils’ perceptions of being ‘a snitch’ in circle time and the rest of the taught curriculum  ensuring that records are as detailed about hurtful language that relates to appearance and disability as they are for racism and homophobia. Although pupils and staff are keenly aware this should be addressed there is less evidence for the school to evaluate the success of these actions.

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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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