St Barnabas' CofE Primary School

St Barnabas' CofE Primary School St Barnabas Street, London, SW1W 8PF

p.1

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 Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is good school.  Pupils’ achievement is good. They make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and are well prepared for secondary school.  The school successfully ensures that pupils starting with lower attainment catch up with others. These pupils make particularly good progress. Opportunities for pupils to improve their writing are highly effective in raising achievement.  Pupils’ good achievement is due to both effective teaching and their outstanding attitudes to learning. Pupils are unfailingly polite and courteous.  Teaching is good and teachers have high expectations of all pupils. They prepare lessons well to meet the needs of all abilities and ensure pupils make good progress.  Achievement, teaching and behaviour have all improved since the school was previously inspected. The school has taken effective action to improve attendance.  The school’s leaders and governing body have used the school’s financial resources well to

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

maximise the impact of teaching and accelerate pupils’ progress.  The school is particularly effective in enabling pupils to understand other people’s points of view and to acquire excellent social skills.  The school’s leaders have brought about significant improvements over the past two years and have good capacity to bring about further improvements.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Although teaching overall is good, the more able pupils are not always stretched to encourage them to move on more quickly in their learning, for example in their practical application of mathematics.  While many pupils achieve at least the national target level in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6, more could reach the highest levels.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 15 lessons taught by seven teachers. Five lessons were jointly observed with members of the school’s leadership team.  Inspectors held discussions with a group of pupils, senior staff, and representatives from the governing body, the local authority and the London Diocesan Board for Schools.  They listened to pupils from both key stages read, and analysed samples of pupils’ books from across the school.  Inspectors looked at the school’s self-evaluation summary, data showing pupils’ attainment and progress, attendance data, the school development plan and minutes from governing body meetings.  They also took account of 22 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

p.2

Inspection team

Barnard Payne, Lead inspector Additional inspector Joyce Lydford Additional inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school. Provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage is based in one Reception class.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through additional pupil premium funding is well above the national average.  Over 90% of pupils are from minority ethnic groups covering a range of different backgrounds with no predominant ethnic groups.  A large majority of pupils speak English as an additional language, and 50% of those joining the school are at the early stages of acquiring English.  The proportions of pupils who are disabled or who have been identified with special educational needs supported through school action and school action plus, or with a statement of special educational needs, are is higher than average. The largest special educational needs group has speech, language and communication difficulties.  More pupils than average join or leave the school part-way through their primary education.

p.3

Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision for its pupils.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teaching is at least good and an increasing proportion that is outstanding by:  consistently planning to ensure a high level of challenge for pupils of all abilities, particularly the most able  providing further opportunities for pupils to carry out their own investigations in order to develop more complex ways of thinking  broadening the mathematics curriculum to provide more opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills in everyday contexts.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of pupils achieving at the highest levels by setting appropriately challenging targets.

p.3

The achievement of pupils is good

 Many children join the Reception class speaking little or no English with varying degrees of pre- school experience; some have not been in an educational setting before, while others come directly from local nurseries. Pupils joining the school later also have a range of different educational experiences and often have little spoken English.  The school enables these pupils to catch up quickly, and their progress particularly accelerates as they move through Key Stage 2. By the time they leave school most pupils have reached at least the national target level in English and mathematics, and the proportion exceeding it is similar to that in other schools. Taking account of their starting points, this shows good progress and achievement. Lesson observations and evidence from pupils’ books show that more pupils have the potential to reach the highest levels.  During Reception and Key Stage 1, pupils acquire a good level of understanding of sounds and

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

letters (phonics). Some children reach age-related expectations by the end of Reception but others still have to do some catching up.  Standards of writing in Year 1 show that pupils are learning to write effectively for different purposes, for example when they write about their thoughts on friendship. One pupil wrote, ‘Friendship means sharing toys with your friends and family.’ By the end of Year 2 they are applying their knowledge of phonics well to become independent readers and writers. Pupils’ attainment has improved, following a dip in 2011, and is now in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2.  At the end of Key Stage 2, pupils eligible for pupil premium funding do at least as well as other pupils nationally in achieving the target level in English, and the school is closing the small gap in attainment in mathematics. There is a gap when comparing the attainment of pupils eligible

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

for pupil premium funding with others in the school; in 2012 the average points score gap within the school was 4.7 points in English and 6.0 points in mathematics. However, this is due to pupils’ prior attainment being lower, rather than lack of sufficient progress. Those known to be eligible for the pupil premium make the same good progress as other groups.  Pupils for whom English is an additional language make notably good progress due to the school’s relentless focus on developing literacy skills.  Pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs also make consistently good progress. The school provides very effective support for this group and for other pupils starting with low prior attainment, who often make outstanding progress to catch up with other pupils.  Pupils enjoy reading and teachers ensure that they all have suitably challenging books to read. Pupils at an earlier stage of reading apply their understanding of phonics and other skills well,

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

gain in confidence and make good progress. The more able readers in Key Stage 2 enjoy reading classics, such as Jane Eyre and Treasure Island.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Many children join the school with underdeveloped learning skills. Their motivation and engagement in lessons improves rapidly as they move through the school due to effective teaching that sets them increasing levels of challenge. Teachers are particularly successful in ensuring that pupils do not fall behind, even when their prior attainment is low. Coupled with some examples of outstanding teaching, this leads to a high level of consistency in the achievement of different groups of pupils.  Because teachers’ expectations are high, pupils strive to succeed. This is evident in their books; pupils always present their work well, persevere and produce the highest quality work they can. Teachers’ assessment and marking keep pupils fully informed about how well they are doing and teachers’ comments encourage pupils to reach the next level in their work.  Writing is particularly well taught, but the teaching of reading, mathematics and other subjects is

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

also thoroughly planned with clear learning objectives.  Occasionally teaching is not sufficiently challenging to encourage pupils to do more; in particular the more able sometimes spend too long doing work that demands too little of them when they could move on more quickly. On occasion they are not given as much in the way of open-ended investigative work that would require them to initiate new ideas, and are provided with too few opportunities to apply their mathematical knowledge in new or everyday contexts.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils go out of their way to be polite and engage in conversation. They are highly tolerant of one another and there are excellent examples of pupils quietly supporting others who have difficulties.  Younger pupils, and some who join the school later in their school life, initially have a little more difficulty in meeting the schools’ expectations regarding behaviour. This improves rapidly, however, and shows how effective the school is in promoting excellent attitudes and encouraging pupils’ willingness to take responsibility. As pupils mature, their behaviour becomes consistently impressive.  Pupils feel very safe in school. Those joining the school part-way through their primary education settle in very quickly and feel welcome and supported by other pupils. Pupils understand that there are different forms of bullying but any instances are very rare in the school, a view strongly supported by parents and carers, who also have a consistently positive

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

view of behaviour overall.  Pupils’ very strong ambition to learn and do well is a significant factor in the improvements in attainment and progress over the past two years. They listen carefully, and understand what is expected of them. All have personal literacy and numeracy targets they strive to meet and exceed.  No pupils have been excluded from school since the previous inspection. Staff consistently manage behaviour well and the school’s policy strongly emphasises a positive approach, expecting the very best from pupils.  The school has significantly reduced the number of persistent absentees and has set clear expectations regarding attendance. Consequently, rates of attendance improve as pupils move through the school. Overall, attendance is similar to that in other schools, but older pupils show a high level of commitment to attending school regularly.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, governors and senior leaders are ambitious for the school and its pupils, having an accurate view of how well they are doing and where the school needs to improve. They focus on achieving high standards and meeting the needs of the full range of pupils.  Following the previous inspection, the school’s leaders and governors acted decisively to improve performance, using pupil premium funding to help restructure the staffing. The school has sharply reduced the number of teaching assistants and increased the number of teachers. This has created staff teams with the flexibility to target support for vulnerable pupils as needed. It is too early to judge the full impact of the staffing structure, but there are already improved outcomes for pupils, including vulnerable groups and those with low prior attainment, demonstrating that the school has capacity to continue to improve.  The school’s self-evaluation is rigorous and accurate. It is used to demand a high level of

p.5

The leadership and management are good

accountability of teachers, all of whom have measurable targets for pupils’ progress that are integral to the school development plan.  The school is very clear about the kind of support it needs, and has made effective use of support from the local authority and the London Diocesan Board for Schools.  The school uses its staff appraisal system effectively to develop classroom practice. It accurately judges teaching as good and is clear about aspects that need improvement. Since the previous inspection, teaching is much more often good or better, lesson planning has improved and the teaching of mathematics has improved.  The school’s leaders track the progress of all groups of pupils and carry out a thorough analysis of rates of progress. This leads to the school setting itself increasingly challenging targets, based on the expectation that a very large majority of pupils will achieve at least the national target

p.5

The leadership and management are good

level.  The school’s curriculum is planned effectively to meet the needs of pupils. There are particularly good opportunities for pupils to develop their writing, although the mathematics curriculum is more limited as there are fewer opportunities to apply knowledge in new, everyday contexts. Effective provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development leads to pupils developing a strong set of personal values and social skills.  The school successfully ensures equality of opportunity; pupils of all abilities and backgrounds make good progress and those joining the school with lower prior attainment catch up well. The school is highly effective in fostering good relationships and tackling discrimination. Its high expectations lead to excellent behaviour and attitudes.  The school is rigorous in meeting all safeguarding requirements.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is well informed about the quality of teaching and assesses this against

p.6

The leadership and management are good

pupils’ achievement and securing value for money. Governors have ensured that the school has effective performance management in place and aligns pay with performance. Governors are well informed about the impact of the pupil premium and measure this against improved outcomes for pupils for whom this funding is allocated. They know how well pupils achieve compared with other pupils nationally. The governing body holds the school to account and shares the senior leadership’s high expectations of all who work at the school. Governors receive appropriate training to enable them to increase their capacity to support and challenge the school.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 101126 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 404750

p.8

School details

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

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 152 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alexander Phillips Headteacher Ann Townshend Date of previous school inspection 8–9 February 2011 Telephone number 020 7641 4232 Fax number 020 7641 4229 Email address office@stbarnabasprimary.org.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

School details

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’.

p.9

School details

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

p.9