St Mary's Lewisham Church of England Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 19–20 June 2012 Inspection number 385840 St Mary's Lewisham Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 100730 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 385840 Inspection dates 19–20 June 2012 Lead inspector Robert Lovett HMI

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

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 264 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kate Ward Headteacher Ronke Soyombo Date of previous school inspection 18 March 2011 School address 329 Lewisham High Street Lewisham London SE13 6NX Telephone number 020 8690 2613 Fax number 020 8690 6008 Email address headteacher@st-marys.lewisham.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. All nine teachers were observed at least once. Inspectors attended two acts of collective worship and observed the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) by teaching assistants and teachers. Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority, representatives of the school council and the prefect body, and teaching assistants. Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ books, observed the school’s work and looked at the school’s self-evaluation, documents relating to pupils’ progress and attainment, improvement planning and documents relating to the safeguarding of pupils. Inspectors considered the responses to 98 questionnaires completed by parents and carers together with questionnaires returned by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This is an average-sized primary school serving a culturally diverse community. Almost 90% of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, the largest being pupils of Black Caribbean and Black African heritage. Whilst a high proportion of pupils speak a home language other than English, few are at the early stages of learning English. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.

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Information about the school

When the school was last inspected it was given a notice to improve. Significant improvement was required in relation to pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching. An Ofsted monitoring inspection in November 2011 judged the school to be making satisfactory progress in addressing the areas for improvement. In 2011 the school met the government’s floor standard, which sets a minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory. This is because pupils’ achievement has improved and is now satisfactory and the quality of teaching is no longer inadequate. Overall effectiveness is not good because recent improvements in provision have not yet resulted in good achievement. In accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement. Up to 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 In 2011 attainment rose in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. By the end of Year 6 pupils had made similar progress to pupils nationally. Better teaching is now accelerating pupils’ progress and raising attainment. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are now making excellent progress in acquiring important skills and knowledge.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching is now satisfactory and much is good. Inspectors observed good teaching in both Key Stages 1 and 2 and outstanding teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where teaching is satisfactory it is because there is not a consistently good pace throughout the lesson and work is not always sufficiently challenging. In the best teaching, work is accurately matched to pupils’ different levels of ability and teachers use questioning exceptionally well to ensure all pupils are fully engaged and to assess their understanding. The leadership of teaching is a significant strength. The quality of teaching is rapidly improving. Pupils say that they would welcome opportunities to broaden their work with the school’s partners abroad so that they can increase their understanding of, and empathy with, children who live different lives.

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Key findings

 Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Most parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire agree that behaviour is good. Pupils say they enjoy school, they have positive attitudes to learning and attendance is Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are good. The headteacher is passionate about improving pupils’ life chances through better teaching and learning. The quality of teaching is improving because the management of performance for both teachers and teaching assistants is very effective. The school has improved significantly since it was last inspected and is very well placed to continue to improve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement and ensure that all teaching is at least good by:  ensuring a consistently good pace of learning throughout lessons  making sure that work is always accurately matched to pupils’ differing abilities so that it challenges all pupils all of the time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen links with partner schools internationally in order to increase pupils’ understanding of, and empathy with, children who live different lives.

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Achievement of pupils

Most children enter the Nursery with levels of skills and knowledge which are much lower than expected, particularly in their communication, language and personal skills. They make excellent progress so that those children about to enter Year 1 are doing better than expected for their age. In the most recent national tests for pupils in Year 2, attainment rose. It is now close to average in reading, writing and mathematics. At the end of Year 6, whilst attainment in English and mathematics rose, and the gap with pupils nationally closed, it remained below average. Attainment in reading and mathematics was below average, while in writing it was close to average. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are making good progress because their progress is carefully tracked and their learning needs are effectively met by teachers and teaching assistants. Those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals did much less well than their peers and less well

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Achievement of pupils

than similar pupils nationally last year. As a result of effective interventions and improving teaching, all groups of pupils are making more rapid progress. Pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals are now achieving as well as other pupils. Current attainment overall and in reading is broadly average by the end of Year 6.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and in the majority of lessons seen behaviour was at least good. In the Early Years Foundation Stage improved resources, better learning and enrichment in the outside area, and a range of opportunities to develop independence are promoting excellent progress. Where progress is most rapid, such as in an outstanding session in the Reception class, Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

tasks were relevant to real-life situations such as shopping, and the interactive whiteboard was used well to enliven learning. In a Year 6 English lesson where teaching was good, the teacher ensured a sharp focus on basic skills, such as spelling, and ensured pupils used appropriate subject-specific vocabulary. Individuals and groups of pupils were well supported. Parents and carers are very positive about the progress their children are making and recognise that attainment is rising and progress is accelerating. Past underachievement is being successfully addressed.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching, which was inadequate at the time of the last inspection, is now satisfactory and improving rapidly. Parents and carers are right to comment on the better quality of provision for their children. There is good teaching to be seen across the school and some excellent teaching was observed in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Good planning and skilled support from teachers and other adults are promoting better achievement and enhancing the learning of all groups of pupils. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are particularly well supported and are making good progress as a result. Relationships between pupils are mostly good. They work well together and enjoy discussing their work. In a Year 5 mathematics lesson where teaching was good, pupils maturely discussed the nature of triangular numbers and their relationship to square numbers. They shared resources and listened to the teacher and to each other with care. The good role

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Quality of teaching

models provided by adults contribute to pupils’ moral and social development and to the harmonious atmosphere of the school. The teaching of letters and sounds is very effective in promoting both a love of reading and pupils’ reading skills. Pupils are eager readers, enjoy reading aloud and talk animatedly about their favourite authors and books. They use a range of skills to help them sound out unfamiliar words. Having sounded them out, they make good use of dictionaries to establish their meaning.

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Quality of teaching

Where teaching is good or better progress is swift. In a Year 6 English lesson, where pupils were writing about mythical birds, the teacher took care to ensure all pupils were clear about what they were expected to do and allowed time for discussion to help pupils clarify their ideas. As a result, pupils were able to make good progress from the outset. When the pace of learning drops it is because teaching has not been carefully planned to meet the needs of all pupils. Sometimes there are too many disparate activities which start from too low a base. At other times there is not enough work planned and the lesson runs out of steam. In an English lesson where teaching was satisfactory, pupils spent too long on the carpet listening to their teacher so that the pace of learning slowed and the planned activities at the end of the lesson were too rushed.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are polite, friendly and welcoming. They make visitors very welcome and generally get along well together. Pupils behave well in lessons. When teaching is satisfactory and less engaging for pupils then their attention can wander. When Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

teaching has a good focus and has good pace then pupils behave well and are eager to respond. Pupils say that bullying is rare and that if it does occur adults deal with it quickly. While they say that a few pupils sometimes find it difficult to behave well all of the time, they say that the school deals with such incidents very effectively. Pupils confirm that behaviour has improved since the school was last inspected and say that the good behaviour seen at the time of the inspection is typical. Pupils know that bullying can take many forms, such as name calling, racially motivated bullying and cyber bullying, and are equally damning of all. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe on-line and near busy roads, and know how to behave in the event of a fire. Parents and carers echo the positive views of their children. All say that their children feel safe at school and most say that behaviour is good.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils say that they enjoy school. They are positive about learning and about improvements in teaching. Attendance is high and currently no pupils are persistently absent. The school is very proactive in contacting parents and carers whose children are absent and in promoting high attendance through strategies such as first-day calling and giving special recognition to pupils with high attendance.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management have improved and are now good. The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governing body have a sharp focus on raising achievement through improving the quality of teaching and learning. The partnership with parents and carers is particularly strong. The school has forged valuable links with outside agencies to provide careers guidance and advice, and support for parents and carers. As one respondent commented, the school has made ‘rapid progress’, whilst another wrote, ‘The school ensures I am involved in my child’s learning and encourages me to support him.’

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Leadership and management

The headteacher’s vision for school improvement is widely shared across the school. School leaders at all levels provide good leadership and the deputy headteacher complements the skills of the headteacher very effectively. Inclusion, key subjects and year-group teams are well led. The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is strong. Well-planned professional development has provided good training and support for teachers and teaching assistants. The latter particularly value enhanced opportunities to help plan pupils’ work and their greater involvement in supporting learning. Professional development and performance management have had a positive impact on outcomes for pupils. The school’s self-evaluation is robust and is used well to inform improvement planning. The governing body is very effective in holding the school to account, monitoring its work and articulating its desire to see continuing improvement. It has formed an effective partnership with

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Leadership and management

the local authority, which has supported school improvement well.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is a strength and usefully integrates creative aspects of pupils’ work such as music, art and design and technology, whilst ensuring that separate planning for key subjects such as English, mathematics and science maintains a sharp focus on developing basic skills. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

Safeguarding arrangements are robust and all staff training is up to date. The governing body is diligent in ensuring it meets its statutory responsibilities. The register of adults able to work with children is maintained well. The school promotes equality of opportunity well. It monitors the academic progress and well-being of pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable with great care and ensures their individual needs are met. The school has a friendly and inclusive ethos. All groups of pupils now achieve equally well. Pupils value the close links with the parish church and the Christian character of the school. Acts of collective worship support pupils’ times for reflection, their moral development and sense of community very well. Pupils learn about the different lives of pupils in other countries through the curriculum and through the school’s partnership with a school in Sierra Leone. Pupils

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Leadership and management

say they would welcome further strengthening of this partnership. The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well.

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Leadership and management

Because leadership and management are strong, teaching is improving and achievement is rising, the school is well placed to continue to improve.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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London SE13 6NX

You may remember that my colleagues and I visited your school recently. We wanted to see how much the school has improved since it was last inspected and how well you are all doing. A number of you asked what we thought of the school and I can now answer that question. We are pleased to say that the school has improved in lots of ways and is now satisfactory. In fact it has improved in every respect we have to report on. We can see that you are making better progress and your work is improving. Standards rose last year and are continuing to improve.

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London SE13 6NX

When the school was last inspected your behaviour was satisfactory. It is now good. While some of you told us that not everyone behaves well all of the time, you also said that bullying is rare but that when it happens it is dealt with effectively. The inspection team saw no poor behaviour and much that was good. This matches well with what your parents say. While the school is improving rapidly it is not yet good, so we are making some suggestions for further improvement. We want the school to:

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London SE13 6NX

 help you do better by making sure that teachers plan lessons with the right level of work for each of you and get the timing right so that you are challenged to learn well from the beginning to the end of the lesson  work more closely with the school’s overseas partners so that you can learn more about how other children live and learn and they can find out about you.

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London SE13 6NX

Thank you for making me and the inspection team so welcome when we visited your school recently. Particular thanks to those of you who gave up part of your lunchtime to tell us about the school and to those who read to us. I hope you continue to enjoy school.

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London SE13 6NX

Robert Lovett Her Majesty's Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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