Southwark Park Primary School

Inspection Report

Unique Reference Number 100812 LEA Southwark LEA Inspection number 276392 Inspection dates 8 November 2005 to 9 November 2005 Reporting inspector Steven Hill AI

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Inspection Report

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Inspection Report

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll 313 Appropriate authority The governing body Date of previous inspection 20 September 1999

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School address

SE16 2JH Telephone number 02072371180 Fax number 02072521138

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors

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Description of the school

This is a large primary school with a Nursery in Southwark. Most pupils come from the local area. Their social circumstances vary but overall, are less favourable than average. A high proportion is entitled to free school meals. About two-thirds of pupils are of white British origin. Most of the others are of black African heritage, with a few from a range of other ethnic backgrounds. About 16 per cent of pupils have a home language other than English, but only one or two are at early stages of learning English. Children's attainment on entry to school has fallen in the last few years and is now significantly below average. Key for inspection grades Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness of the school

The school believes it provides a satisfactory education, and inspectors agree. Major changes in staffing a few years ago led to a temporary fall in standards, but the school is improving rapidly, and is now giving good value for money. Standards are average. Pupils' overall achievement is satisfactory, and is good in the Foundation Stage. Provision in the Nursery and Reception classes is good and gets children off to a flying start.Standards in Year 6, after falling to below average in 2004, rose dramatically in 2005. This was because effective extra help was given to pupils who were identified as falling behind. A similar decline in progress in some younger classes is now being tackled effectively. Teaching and learning across the school are satisfactory, with good teaching in some classes. The curriculum is good.Pupils are given clear guidance and cared for very well, so their personal development is good. They behave well, have positive

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Overall effectiveness of the school

relationships with other pupils and with adults, and really enjoy school. However, there is no school council at present, and this limits pupils' opportunities to take part in decision making. Parents are very appreciative of what the school provides for their children.Leadership and management are good, and are improving under the strong leadership of the acting headteacher and a consultant headteacher. Teaching and achievement are improving because the senior management team are keeping a careful check on both, and all staff work effectively to address any shortcomings. This approach led to the improvements in national tests last year, and means the school is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Use the effective procedures for tracking progress and monitoring lessons to improve teaching and achievement across the school, particularly in Years 1 and 2.* Give pupils more say in how the school runs by implementing the plans for a school council.

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Achievement and standards

Overall achievement is satisfactory and standards are average. Pupils from different ethnic groups, including those with a mother tongue other than English, make similar progress. Pupils with special educational needs are provided for well and make good progress in the light of their starting points.Children make good progress in Nursery and Reception and most will meet the standards expected nationally by Year 1. They do particularly well in their personal, social and emotional development. However, many still lag behind in communication, language and literacy, because of their low starting points in this area.In Years 1 and 2 pupils make steady progress. Standards by Year 2 have been slightly below average for several years. Despite satisfactory teaching, their initially weak standards in reading and writing slow their progress.Pupils achieve satisfactorily in the older classes and standards are now average. Results

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Achievement and standards

of tests in Year 6 improved remarkably last year, after being very weak in 2004, when older pupils underachieved. This improvement was based on careful analysis of pupils' progress, which revealed who was in danger of underachieving. The extra help given to these pupils helped them catch up during Year 6, and they exceeded the challenging targets that had been set for them. The school is now extending this approach to help pupils across the school make better progress.

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Personal development and well-being

The school rates this aspect as satisfactory but inspectors judge it to be good. Pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school and they show this by being enthusiastic about all the school offers. Attendance is average.Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They have a clear understanding of right and wrong. They are well behaved and polite, and form good relationships. Their awareness of different cultures is satisfactory. Pupils accept responsibility for being safe when moving around the school and are heard reminding each other to 'walk on the left' up and down stairs.Pupils know what to eat in order to stay healthy. They spoke positively about there being no crisps, sweets or fizzy drinks available and said that the litter problem had disappeared as a result. They take part enthusiastically in a range of sport. Pupils are very excited about the imminent school council elections, and are looking forward to having

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Personal development and well-being

more say in the school. Pupils are proud of their contribution to the community and have taken 'harvest food parcels' to a local day centre, where they also sing Christmas carols. They learn to manage their own spending money on school journeys, which contributes towards their future economic well-being.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching is good in the Foundation Stage so that young children make good progress by the end of the Reception year. They are settled quickly and happily into school and enjoy learning. A lively curriculum and very positive relationships ensure that they do well.Teaching is satisfactory across the rest of the school with good teaching in some classes. Lessons are orderly so learning takes place effectively. Good discipline is based on very good relationships and well-established routines. Teachers give good explanations, making effective use of interactive whiteboards. They question pupils well to assess and develop their understanding. Good use of skilled teaching assistants helps pupils to make progress. Pupils all know their targets in English and mathematics, and work hard to achieve them.Planning is thorough and takes account of pupils' different abilities. This is occasionally weak in practice; lessons that are only satisfactory are

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Teaching and learning

usually characterised by work that is a bit too hard or too easy for a few pupils, or a pedestrian pace. Teaching for pupils with special educational needs in small groups is of high quality, and they make good progress in these sessions

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Curriculum and other activities

The school judged the curriculum to be satisfactory but inspectors found it was good. Pupils are offered a wide range of interesting and relevant activities. An outstanding feature is the Friday afternoon club. Visiting artists and sports specialists come to school and all pupils in Key Stage 2 participate in a diverse range of activities. The very good links that are made between subjects such as information and communication technology (ICT), history and literacy help pupils to learn more effectively.Pupils' achievement and enjoyment are enriched by school trips and residential visits where they take part in adventurous activities such as raft building, and study the environment. The school has realised that there is a need to adapt the curriculum to draw more on the varied ethnic and linguistic backgrounds of its pupils to widen their understanding.Teachers make effective use of high-quality individual education plans to meet the

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Curriculum and other activities

needs of pupils with special educational needs.

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Care, guidance and support

This is a strength. The school makes every effort to ensure that pupils are safe and well cared for. Effective health and safety procedures are regularly reviewed and all staff are informed of any developments. There are good arrangements for child protection and staff are fully aware of their responsibilities in this area.Pupils enjoy coming to school because they have confidence in their teachers. They learn how to take care of themselves, consider the safety of others and are taught the need to make healthy choices in food and lifestyles.Provision to care for vulnerable pupils is outstanding. There are very good systems in place for identifying children who need support. They get very effective help, particularly from the learning mentor. The support of outside agencies is used effectively to support the school's own very good provision. Parents are kept fully informed and appreciate the way that all their children enjoy an interesting curriculum and

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Leadership and management

Good leadership and management underpin pupils' good personal development and well-being, the high levels of care and the good curriculum. Most crucially, strong leadership in the last year has led to significant improvements in standards for older pupils, and more consistency in teaching. Staff now function as an increasingly effective team. Co-ordinators are secure in their roles and are establishing good systems to analyse strengths and weaknesses. Governors have a clear view of the school's strengths and weaknesses, and provide good support. The school is well placed to improve further because staff are continually analysing provision and outcomes, and using this information to help pupils to achieve better.In the last year there have been major improvements in the school's self-evaluation, which is now good. Accurate monitoring of lessons has enabled senior staff to identify strengths and weaknesses in teaching and learning, and take

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Leadership and management

effective action to improve both. Last year this led to major improvements in standards in Year 6. This year, the process is being successfully extended to track and support the progress of pupils across the school. The contribution of parents and pupils to self-evaluation is limited, and the school is working to improve this aspect.

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? 3 NA How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 NA The quality and standards in foundation stage 2 NA The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 NA The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes NA Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection Yes NA

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Achievement and standards

How well do learners achieve? 3 NA The standards 1 reached by learners 3 NA How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 NA How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress 2 NA 1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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Personal development and well-being

How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? 2 NA The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 NA The behaviour of learners 2 NA The attendance of learners 3 NA How well learners enjoy their education 1 NA The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 NA

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The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 NA The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community 3 NA How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being 3 NA

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The quality of provision

How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? 3 NA How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 NA How well are learners cared for, guided and supported? 2 NA

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Leadership and management

How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? 2 NA How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 2 NA How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review 2 NA How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can 2 NA How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money 2 NA The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities 2 NA The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected Yes NA

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health Yes

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them Yes

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the Yes wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

There is provision to promote learners' basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams Yes Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14-19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy NA

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for all the help you gave us during the inspection of your school. We enjoyed talking to you and watching you in lessons. This is what we found out.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Southwark Park does lots of things well and is getting better. The results in tests for Year 6 went up a lot last year; because of all the extra help these children were given. This year, teachers are trying to make sure that everyone who needs it gets extra help, so that you all do really well. At the moment, you all make the progress that you should do in lessons because you work hard. The children in Reception and Nursery do particularly well. Teachers are good at explaining things to you, especially when they use the interactive whiteboards. However, just occasionally they give you things to do that are too hard for some children, or a bit too easy for others. Children who really struggle with their work get a lot of extra help, especially from the teaching assistants, so that they can keep up.You told us that you enjoy school and we could see why, when we saw all the exciting things you do. The Friday clubs for the oldest pupils look particularly interesting.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The adults look after you very well, so that you are safe and happy in school. We thought that the children we met were well behaved and very polite. You are all growing up well, into sensible and caring people. We know you are looking forward to having a school council so you can have more say in what happens.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The school is very well organised, particularly by the headteacher and deputy. They are very good at checking up on how everything is going, so they can make improvements. For the school to get better, the adults need to make sure they know who needs extra help, and then make sure that they get it. You also need to get the school council going, so you can all have a say in what happens.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk .

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