St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School

St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School Filmer Road, London, SW6 6AS,

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  St John’s is an improving school which has successfully tackled the areas for improvement from the previous inspection.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher are effective leaders and have driven through improvements in a short space of time.  Reading is a strength in the school and pupils are encouraged to read widely and regularly.  Governors play an active and effective role in the role in the school and are well informed.  A clear focus on performance management, linked to pupil performance, is now in place and this has led to the improvements noted.  Teaching has improved so that it is good, with some teaching which is outstanding.  The curriculum provides interesting and memorable opportunities for pupils.  Pupils’ behaviour is consistently good and contributes to the positive ethos of the school. Attendance has improved and is now above the national average.  Pupils are well looked after and feel safe. Both

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

parents and pupils spoke about the community feel of the school and one child said, ‘We call school our second family.’

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The proportion of outstanding teaching is not yet high enough. It is not always clear what pupils need to achieve in lessons and what they should do when work has been completed. Additional adults, such as teaching assistants, are not always used effectively throughout the lesson.  The role of leaders with particular responsibilities for phases or subjects is not fully developed in supporting the work to improve the school. Inspection report: St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 4–5 December 2012 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons and parts of lessons, of which five were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  Discussions were held with senior leaders, teachers, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, representatives from the local authority, representative from the London Diocesan Board of Education and groups of pupils. The questionnaires completed by 23 members of staff were also taken into account.  The views of parents were sought at the beginning of the school day and the inspection team took account of 56 responses to the on-line Parent View survey.  The team reviewed a range of documentation including the school’s analysis of pupil progress, the school development plan, pupils’ work, the school’s self-evaluation and monitoring of teaching, governing body minutes and logs relating to behaviour and absence.

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Inspection team

Mirella Lombardo, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Gill Walley Additional Inspector Peter Nathan Additional Inspector Inspection report: St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 4–5 December 2012 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-sized primary school with currently two forms of entry each year from Nursery to Year 4.  Most pupils are White British and nearly half the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, which is higher than usual, and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is similar to the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium initiative which brings extra funding for those pupils who are looked after by the local authority or are entitled to free school meals is higher than the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported by school action is much lower than the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported by school action plus or with a statement of educational needs is just above the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school offers no alternative provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact and involvement of subject and phase leaders with particular responsibilities in improving the school by:  undertaking more effective checks on the progress pupils make in their learning  supporting colleagues with advice and examples for the planning and teaching of lessons.  Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  ensuring pupils of all abilities are always given work that extends their learning further in lessons  making sure that pupils are clear about what they need to do next when they have finished their work  making sure teaching assistants are used effectively in the introductions to lessons to maximise the impact they have on pupils’ learning. Inspection report: St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 4–5 December 2012 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children enter the Nursery with skills typical for their age. As a result of the recent developments in the leadership and the structure of the setting, children learn and make good progress throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage because of a range of interesting activities provided both indoors and outdoors.  Achievement in Key Stage 1 has been good and the most recent assessments indicate that standards in reading and mathematics are above the national average. In Key Stage 2, attainment at the higher levels in English and mathematics is typically better than the national average. By the time pupils leave the school, the majority reach standards of attainment which are at least average and the overall profile is above average.  Pupils make good progress across Key Stage 2. Current Year 6 pupils are on track to meet their challenging targets. Pupils achieve well in reading. Younger pupils have a good understanding of

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The achievement of pupils is good

letters and the sounds they make (phonics). Most pupils exceeded the nationally expected standard in the recent phonics screening check.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress, often attaining standards which are above what pupils in these groups nationally achieve because of accurate assessments of their learning and small group and one-to-one support. Good use is made of external provision, for example a local autistic unit, and special provision is made to support pupils when they transfer to secondary schools. Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are supported well in the school and make good or better progress.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language perform less well than their classmates. However, actions taken to address this issue include a strong focus in lessons on developing pupils’ vocabulary and the use of small group support. For example, in a Year 2 class, pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

were supported in a small group in writing descriptions of illustrations from a book shared in class.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding make better than expected progress because of good well targeted support and the gap between their achievement and other pupils is closing faster than is seen nationally.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Much teaching is good and some is outstanding. For example, one pupil said, ‘Teachers explain things in a fun way and you learn a lot.’ Pupils are encouraged to respond to the ways suggested to make their work better, identified in teachers’ marking of their work, and this helps pupils to reinforce and improve their learning. The profile of pupils’ progress over time indicates that teaching is typically good  Reading is taught effectively in the school. In the Nursery and Reception classes, adults use good questioning skills which help children to develop their literacy skills; for example, in a Reception class, the teacher skilfully asked the children questions about The Gingerbread Man which encouraged them to think about the character’s feelings. Later, children moved on to a range of practical and purposeful activities linked to the story.  Teaching ensures pupils get on with their work well. For example, in a Year 3 class, the teacher

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The quality of teaching is good

and teaching assistant took on roles from an extract of a play on Hercules to stimulate pupils’ learning. This use of drama was highly motivating and resulted in pupils producing written work of a very high quality.  Teachers usually are successful in planning activities to meet the different needs and abilities of pupils; for example, in a Year 2 class, some pupils were given practical resources to help them with problem-solving work in mathematics. In Year 6, pupils working out the area of compound shapes were given problems of varying difficulty which challenged the more able pupils in particular. Inspection report: St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 4–5 December 2012 5 of 9

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a few lessons, the teacher’s expectations of what all pupils are to achieve by the end of the lesson are not always clear and activities which extend their learning are not well planned. This results in some pupils being unsure of what they need to do next when they have finished their work. As a result, opportunities for further learning are lost.  In most lessons, teaching assistants provide good support to pupils and this ensures they make good progress. However, in the introduction to some lessons, they are not used effectively and this means pupils make less progress than they could.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. They are courteous and polite and work well together and this contributes to the strong Christian ethos of the school.  Pupils say behaviour has improved in the school and incidents of bullying are rare. This view is supported by parents and the school’s records which confirm that behaviour is good.  Teachers demonstrate high expectations of behaviour and place a high importance on pupils showing respect for each other. This was evident in the way that pupils are expected to walk around the school and in the work displayed on prayer tables set up in each classroom.  Pupils say they feel safe and demonstrate a good understanding of how to keep safe, for example when using the computer. Parents are supported in ensuring their children stay safe through guidance provided on e-safety on the school’s website.  The strong emphasis placed on good attendance since the previous inspection has resulted in

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

significant improvements, so that attendance is now above the national average. Parents are kept fully updated on attendance figures through newsletters and a noticeboard in the playground.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides strong leadership and, in a short time, has shown she has a clear view of how successful the school can be. Senior leaders have taken actions to improve weaker teaching and have set high expectations for teaching staff through rigorous performance management procedures. Senior leaders are committed to providing suitable training for staff. The school has improved its marking policy so that marking is more effective in guiding pupils in ways to improve their work. A recently introduced system for making checks on pupils’ progress has led to the clear identification of pupils who are underperforming, so ensuring all pupils have equal opportunities, and is providing teachers with information on any gaps in pupils’ understanding.  Parents are very positive about the school. For example, a parent commented that provision for her more able child was successfully managed at the school and said, ‘He is being challenged

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The leadership and management are good

but does not feel pressurised.’ Parents feel well informed about their child’s progress and commented on the improvements in communications with them.  Improvements to the curriculum have been successfully led by the recently appointed deputy headteacher who has placed a strong emphasis on developing literacy across the curriculum and on providing exciting ‘focus’ weeks. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the Olympic Legacy Week, where they learnt the rules to new games such as boccia and interviewed a Paralympian gold medallist. Pupils can choose to learn Mandarin and Latin and to play the ukulele, demonstrating the wide range of enrichment opportunities the school provides. Pupils’ activities in drama, music and art are of a high quality because of the regular musical and drama productions pupils take part in. For example, ‘showcase’ events by each class provide opportunities for pupils to share their learning with their parents. These experiences strongly

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The leadership and management are good

contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Most leaders with particular responsibilities have focused on improving pupils’ targets in English Inspection report: St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 4–5 December 2012 6 of 9

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The leadership and management are good

and mathematics. This action is having a beneficial impact as pupils are able to discuss their targets and reference to them is made in the marking of their books. Their role in making checks on the quality of provision and outcomes and in supporting colleagues with the planning and teaching of lessons is still developing.  The local diocesan board for education provides effective support to the school through the training opportunities for leaders. The school has drawn on the support of the local authority for supporting improvements in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This has resulted in improvements in the quality of how children’s progress is recorded.  The governance of the school:  Governors are determined to ensure pupils receive a good education. They have changed the committee structure and begun to be more involved in making checks on the quality of teaching and learning, with an increased focus on pupil achievement. However, it is too early

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The leadership and management are good

to evaluate the impact of these changes. Governors understand data and how pupils in the school are achieving in relation to other similar schools. They receive detailed updates on pupils’ progress from senior leaders. They have received training on improving attendance, data analysis, safeguarding and safer recruitment and are in the process of arranging a further training linked to individual governors’ specific needs. Governors have a good understanding of how decisions about salaries and promotion are linked to the impact of teachers’ performance on pupils’ achievement. They manage the school’s finances effectively and use the pupil premium funding well to benefit pupils by, for example, employing additional staff to support this group of pupils. All statutory duties are met and arrangements for safeguarding are robust and effective. Inspection report: St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 4–5 December 2012 7 of 9

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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. Inspection report: St John’s Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 4–5 December 2012 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 100349 Local authority Hammersmith and Fulham Inspection number 404725

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 315 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Evie Hambi Headteacher Barbara Wightwick Date of previous school inspection July 2011 Telephone number 020 77315454 Fax number 020 77315599 Email address head@stjohnsce.lbhf.sch.uk 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, please

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School details

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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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