Vauxhall Primary School

Vauxhall Primary School Vauxhall Street, London, SE11 5LG

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  The school has continued to make rapid improvements since its last inspection.  All pupils, whatever their different needs and abilities, make excellent progress and have well-developed reading, writing and mathematics skills by the end of Year 6.  Teaching is highly effective. All staff know their pupils well. Lessons are skilfully matched to what pupils need to learn next. Very occasionally pupils are not moved on to their independent work or given further guidance as quickly as possible.  Excellent work with numerous other organsiations, such as local theatres, builds pupils’ confidence. Pupils develop many new skills in exciting ways which they thoroughly enjoy.  Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils are very respectful and supportive of each other. They are well cared for and feel extremely safe in school.  The school is exceptionally well led by the executive headteacher and his leadership

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

team. Staff, pupils and parents are proud to be part of the school.  Pupils and staff rise to the high expectations leaders have of them. In turn, they are given the support and help they need to do the very best they can.  Governors contribute to improvement by knowing the school well and asking questions.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 teachers and visited 18 lessons, including the teaching of early reading skills in small groups. Almost three quarters of the observations were conducted jointly with the executive headteacher or head of school.  Meetings were held with pupils, senior leaders, subject leaders, governors, the extended services manager for the local cluster of schools and representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the the views of parents they talked with, 14 responses to the on- line questionnaire (Parent View) and of 23 questionnaires completed by staff.  They observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including information about safeguarding, the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, its self-evaluation and records of monitoring in relation to teaching, pupils’ behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Jackie Krafft, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Alastair McMeckan Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Vauxhall is smaller than the average-size primary school. Most pupils are from a range of minority ethnic groups, the largest of which is Black African. Almost three quarters of pupils speak English as an additional language.  Over half of the pupils are know to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is higher than average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is below average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is higher than average.  The school is in a soft federation with Wyvil Primary School. Both schools are led by the executive headteacher. Plans are being implemented to move to a hard federation with both schools being governed by a single governing body.  The governing body is responsible for a children’s centre on the school site. This was last inspected in January 2012. It was not included in this inspection.

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Information about this school

 The school exceeds the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Sustain highly effective teaching and learning by ensuring that in all lessons: – pupils are moved on to independent tasks quickly – their learning is constantly assessed so that interventions to develop their understanding further are always timely.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 When children join the school in the nursery their skills and knowledge are lower than expected for their age. Pupils make outstanding progress, particularly in mathematics, to reach standards that are above average by the time they leave the school.  All groups of pupils achieve equally well year on year because expectations are high, their needs are understood and their progress monitored carefully each term. Timely, high-quality support and specific intervention programmes help any pupils who are not achieving as well as they should to catch up.  New arrivals and pupils who are the early stages of learning English are fully integrated into school so settle quickly and make rapid progress, achieving at least as well as other pupils.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have high levels of skilled support, which makes a significant contribution to their excellent achievement.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The school is highly successful in closing any gaps in the attainment and progress of pupils. Those who are eligible for the pupil premium, for example, achieve at least as well as all other pupils in the school and better than similar pupils nationally.  Expectations are equally high for the most able pupils, who also make outstanding learning gains. Links with a local secondary school are being used very effectively to extend the mathematical challenge offered to these pupils.  For the past two years every Year 6 pupil, including those who are disabled, those who have special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, has attained at least the level expected for their age in English and mathematics. Many have exceeded this.  Although the attainment of pupils by the end of Key Stage 1 is not as strong as at the end of Key Stage 2, it is improving rapidly. Leaders identified weaknesses in the development of

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

pupils’ early reading skills as a contributing factor. Additional reading resources have been provided and a more systematic approach to teaching phonics has been implemented. This is making a difference. More pupils than nationally succeeded in the Year 1 phonics screening test and the proportion of pupils at the end of Year 2 who are not reaching the levels expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics is reducing rapidly.  By the time pupils leave the school they are confident, articulate and have good reading, writing and mathematics skills. They are extremely well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 High-quality teaching has had a significant impact on the impressive rise in pupils’ achievement over the last three years.  Teachers create well-ordered and stimulating classrooms in which purposeful learning takes place. They have a calm and consistent approach to managing behaviour, which all pupils respond to well, including those who have emotional or behavioural difficulties. Pupils are in no doubt what is expected of them.  Very effective use is made of links between subjects such as history and information and communication technology so that pupils can use their knowledge and develop their literacy and mathematics skills further.  Links with other schools and organisations, such as the Royal Opera House and the Southbank theatre, give pupils real-life, meaningful experiences, which fire their imagination. These are built on well in lessons and make a significant contribution to pupils’ understanding of other

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

cultures, appreciation of art, music and sport.  Pupils are routinely able to work together in groups to develop and share their ideas. They are equally confident working independently because they are familiar with the well-established routines of their class. This was particularly evident in the Early Years Foundation Stage classes where children, some who had only been in school a very short while, confidently made choices about their activities and shared good quality resources with each other.  Teaching is particularly effective when adults ask pertinent questions to develop pupils’ understanding. They get pupils started on well-tailored activities quickly and assess the quality of learning that is taking place thoroughly, correcting misconception and moving pupils to their next learning steps as soon as they are ready. In a few lessons seen these aspects where not executed as well as in others so the pace of learning was not as brisk.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The use of additional staff in lessons to support individual pupils with specific needs or groups of pupils is very effective, so all pupils are purposefully engaged in activities and learning well.  Work in pupils’ books is marked well with clear next steps identified so pupils know precisely how to improve.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning, which is demonstrated in their high levels of concentration, enjoyment of school and excellent behaviour. Pupils, parents and staff are unanimous in their responses that this is a typically strong feature of the school. Behaviour outside of lessons is equally exemplary. Exclusions are rare.  Parents and pupils are adamant that there is no bullying of any kind and are completely confident that if any incident did occur it would be dealt with swiftly. Pupils take responsibility for their own behaviour and that of others, helping to resolve any disagreements through peer mediation. They have been trained in how to do this and are proud of the part they play in making the school a safe and happy place for everyone.  Pupils’ safety and well-being are given a high priority. Displays, themed weeks, special events and meetings for parents complement the teaching of personal, social and health education so

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They are fully aware of potential dangers and how to avoid them, for example when using the internet.  The school takes a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to any unnecessary absence from school. Positive steps to work with parents and ensure pupils attend regularly have resulted in attendance rising from below average to above average in the past few years. The good practice implemented is shared with other local schools in the area.  Pupils, parents and staff say that the school is like a family. It is a harmonious community which fully reflects and celebrates the local social, cultural and racial diversity.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The skilful and highly effective executive headteacher has used the expertise in the federation and built a strong senior leadership team to sustain improvement. They have extremely high expectations. These are communicated clearly to all staff and pupils, who share their aspirations.  Securing equality of opportunity for all pupils and tackling discrimination of any kind permeate all aspects of the school’s work. The desire for success for every pupil is the driver for improvement.  Detailed, measurable plans for development are firmly grounded in an accurate understanding of each pupil’s needs and the progress that everyone needs to make to achieve highly.  The monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning are systematic and robust. Information is used extremely well to hold staff to account for the quality of their teaching and the difference it is making to pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Information is used to tailor professional development and training. Teachers’ skills are continuously improved, their potential recognised and the best practice shared. Staff are prepared well to take on additional responsibility and this is building the school’s excellent capacity to sustain the improvements made.  Resources, including the pupil premium, are managed highly effectively. Extensive links with the cluster of local schools and the wider community are making a significant difference to enhancing the quality teaching and enriching pupils’ learning experiences.  Leaders place a strong emphasis on working in close partnership with parents. They provide them with a wide range of information and guidance to help them support their child’s learning.  The local authority provides light touch support for this outstanding school. There was some lack of communication, now resolved, with governors and the school’s leaders about

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The leadership and management are outstanding

procedures for the transition to a hard federation.  The governance of the school is effective: – governors recognise that significant improvements have been made but are not complacent – they are well informed and ask the school leaders challenging questions about the school’s performance.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 100588 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 376418

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 214 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Octavia Findlay Headteacher Christopher Toye, Executive headteacher Date of previous school inspection 30 June – 1 July 2010 Telephone number 020 7735 4535 Fax number 020 7735 0370 Email address rmartin22.208@lgflmail.org guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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,

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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