St Saviour's Church of England Primary School

St Saviour's Church of England Primary School Herne Hill Road, London, SE24 0AY

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  The school’s leaders have not done enough to move the school on since its previous inspection and consequently it has declined. The systems used by leaders to evaluate the school’s work have not been improved. As a result, leaders and managers have an inaccurate view of their school.  Achievement requires improvement because gaps in achievement between different groups of pupils are too wide. Boys do less well than girls. Pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals make similar progress but do not attain as highly as other pupils.  Teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve are not high enough. Teachers do not check pupils’ progress well enough, or consistently use assessment information to ensure that lessons are planned with the right level of difficulty for all ability groups.  Checks on how well policies and new developments are put into practice in

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

classrooms lack rigour. They have not resulted in consistently better teaching or improved achievement.  School development planning does not clearly show how actions will improve pupils’ achievement. Plans do not clearly identify how this improvement will be checked.  The governing body does not know enough about the quality of teaching and governors lack the skills to hold the school to account for the quality of education it provides. This means that leaders lack the capacity to improve the school.

p.1

The school has the following strengths:

 The school provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for all pupils, who are happy and well cared for. Pupils enjoy school, are polite to adults and very kind to each other.  Attendance is above average.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 lessons or part-lessons. Inspectors listened to pupils read, visited an assembly and observed playtime activities.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, senior and middle managers, the Chair of the Governing Body, and a representative from the local authority.  There were 70 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Additional comments were received from parents and carers.  The inspection team also considered 16 staff questionnaires.  The inspection team looked at a number of documents, including information about safeguarding, information on the progress and the attainment of pupils, the school’s self- evaluation and records of monitoring in relation to teaching, pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors looked at books in lessons in order to evaluate the progress made by pupils over time.

p.2

Inspection team

Kekshan Salaria, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Keith Homewood Additional Inspector

p.2

Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

p.3

Information about this school

 St Saviour’s is an average-sized primary school, with an Early Years Foundation Stage comprising a Reception class.  The pupils come from a range of cultural heritages. Just over a third of the pupils are White British. Black Caribbean pupils comprise the next largest group.  An above average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language. Some are at an early stage of learning English.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above the national average and the proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly below the national average. This includes pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and speech, language and communication needs.  More pupils than average join or leave the school at other than normal times.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional government funding

p.3

Information about this school

for pupils known to be eligible to free school meals, looked after children or children of service families, is slightly below the national average. There are currently no children of service families in the school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which sets the national minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels by:  establishing effective systems for rigorously checking how well the school is doing, which include the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning and progress  ensuring that the outcomes of these checks are analysed, and strengths and areas for improvement identified and acted upon through incisive improvement planning  using pupil achievement information more effectively to track and analyse the progress of the different groups of pupils, particularly boys  assessing the impact of the various types of support given to pupils  providing teachers with clear steps for developing their skills and checking that they are followed up to make sure they work  strengthening the contribution of subject leaders to improving teaching and learning.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the skills of the governing body, especially in understanding information about pupils’ attainment and progress and the quality of teaching, so that it can hold school leaders more effectively to account for the impact of their work. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by making sure that:  all teachers have higher expectations of what all pupils can achieve  activities are carefully matched to pupils’ individual needs so that they are always challenging and involve pupils actively in learning  all staff ask pupils challenging and probing questions  all staff use teaching assistants fully to support pupils’ learning.

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement is not good because gaps in achievement between different groups of pupils are too wide.  Children begin school with skills and knowledge that are expected for their age group. In the Reception class, they settle quickly into the secure and caring environment because of the welcoming staff and warm relationships that are quickly established. There is an appropriate range of activities and resources available indoors.  The outside area lacks stimulation and the range of resources is not sufficiently wide enough to extend children’s learning experiences across all areas of learning. Opportunities are missed to develop the children’s imaginative and spoken language. By the time they enter Year 1, children have made expected progress and their skills and knowledge have improved to be broadly in line with typical expectations.  In 2012 and 2013 the results from the national reading check for Year 1 pupils indicated that an

p.5

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

above average number of pupils met the required standard. However, in both years, the proportions of boys meeting the expected standards in this check were considerably below that of girls.  Standards by the end of Year 6 are broadly above average. However, improvement across the school is not strong. Standards by the end of Year 2 have remained average.  The majority of pupils, including those who join part-way through the year and those who speak English as an additional language, make expected progress during their time at the school in reading, writing and mathematics. However, boys do less well than girls in reading and writing.  In 2012, pupils in Year 6 who were eligible for additional support through the pupil premium funding had made similar progress to their peers. However, they attained considerably lower levels in their mathematics and English tests than other pupils in the school. They were at least

p.5

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

one and half terms behind in mathematics and two terms behind in writing. The gap was bigger in 2013 than it was in 2012.  Those pupils who speak English as an additional language receive some support but there is no evidence that they make any better progress than their peers.  Progress varies in different classes and subjects. For example, higher-attaining pupils do not always make good progress because there is not enough challenge in lessons. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs receive support in class from teaching assistants. However, the impact of this support is varied. There are examples of good practice, but this is too inconsistent for the support to be judged good overall. Additionally, learning is not always matched closely enough to pupils’ needs and abilities.  Pupils’ written work is promoted and celebrated well around the school. Pupils are confident in using phonic skills (the sounds that letters make) to read unfamiliar words. They enjoy reading

p.5

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

and records show that it is encouraged both at home and at school.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it has not been consistently good over time to make sure that all groups of pupils make good progress. During this inspection teaching was seen that was inadequate. However, some teaching was also better than this, including some which was good. Nevertheless, the current strengths that there are in teaching are not being effectively used to support teachers to improve their work.  The support provided by teaching assistants is variable. In the best examples, they play a valuable and active part in supporting learning by working with individual pupils or groups, improving communication and assessing the pupils’ work to help the teachers with their planning. However, some do not support learning and they are not sufficiently involved in helping to assess the work that pupils are doing.  Teachers assess how pupils are doing. However, this information is not used well enough to

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

make sure that the activities planned for pupils are sufficiently challenging and meet their needs and abilities. In too many lessons, all pupils are given the same task or have to work through an activity they find easy before moving on to a more challenging task.  Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are often too low. Although pupils usually enjoy what they are asked to do, their work is often undemanding and some are not making enough progress in their learning. Pupils do not have to work hard enough to gain praise or rewards.  Teachers’ questioning is often weak and they do not use pupils’ answers to questions to probe their thinking further nor to assess pupils’ understanding.  The most effective lessons are planned carefully and teachers set tasks which engage all of the pupils in their learning. Teachers make clear what pupils are going to learn and link this to previous learning, discussing ‘steps for success’ with pupils. For example, in a Year 6 English

p.6

The quality of teaching requires improvement

lesson, pupils were keen to discuss, challenge and debate as they wrote an introduction for a DVD based on the The Taming of the Shrew. They worked individually and collaboratively, and as a result of this continuity, pupils had positive attitudes to learning as they could clearly see the progress they were making.

p.6

The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 Pupils’ behaviour and safety require improvement because behaviour in lessons varies. Where tasks are most interesting pupils work with positive attitudes and attention to the task. When lessons are undemanding or dull they lose concentration and in some lessons there are instances of low-level misbehaviour.  There are few incidents of bullying and those that do occur are dealt with effectively. Pupils understand the different types of bullying, including cyber bullying. Pupils say they feel safe in school and know how to keep safe on the internet.  Pupils from a wide variety of backgrounds and heritages get on well with one another. This contributes effectively to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. A good range of trips, including visits and enrichment activities, helps to build the pupils’ confidence and self- esteem.  Pupils were observed moving calmly, sensibly and quietly around the school site, showing

p.6

The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

respect and consideration towards each other and adults. They engage well with visitors and are confident in making their views known. Lunchtimes support pupils’ personal and social skills well with pupils sitting and chatting happily to each other and adults near them.  Records show that incidents of racism or other prejudice-based bullying rarely happen in the school and, when they have happened, they have been tackled well by staff.  Procedures for following up absence are thorough and attendance is above average.

p.6

The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders have an inaccurate view of the school’s effectiveness. They do not check the quality of teaching with sufficient frequency or rigour. Judgements made on the quality of teaching are not focused sharply on its impact on pupils’ learning over time. As a result, teaching has been judged as good when some groups of pupils have made slow progress in their learning.  The school has valuable information on pupils’ achievement but does not use this well to tackle underachievement as soon as it arises. As a result there is inequality relating to the progress that pupils of different abilities make as they move up through the school. School leaders’ ability to sustain improvements since the previous inspection and to promote equality and tackle discrimination is therefore compromised. School leaders are having too little impact on the quality of provision and outcomes for pupils and are not, therefore, demonstrating the capacity

p.6

The leadership and management are inadequate

to improve.  Improvements to teaching have not been driven through rigorous monitoring of staff performance. Teachers are not held accountable for the progress of the pupils they teach. Leaders and governors have not ensured that teacher target setting, performance management, and pay progression are closely related to pupils’ achievement. Additionally, the school has not capitalised on the possibilities of using individual middle leaders to improve teaching and learning.  The school’s development plan lacks a clear focus on the main priorities and there is insufficient emphasis on checking and analysing the impact of actions taken.  The curriculum makes a positive contribution to pupils’ personal development. Visits out of school and visitors to the school enrich pupils’ experiences. Pupils benefit from the specialist sports coaching and the opportunity to play a variety of musical instruments.  The school places a strong emphasis on encouraging pupils' good spiritual, moral and personal

p.7

The leadership and management are inadequate

development. All staff provide a stable and supportive environment in which pupils develop a thoughtful and considerate approach to adults and to each other.  Parent View responses showed that there is a significant minority of parents and carers who have negative views of the school’s work. Examples of this are that 37% of responses said that they disagree or strongly disagree that ‘the school is well led and managed’ and 28% disagree or strongly disagree that ‘the school responds well to any concerns I raise’. However, nearly 86% of responses agreed that their child is safe in the school.  The school should not appoint newly qualified teachers (NQTs).  Senior leaders and all school staff ensure that pupils are kept safe both physically and emotionally. Staff are checked to ensure they are suitable to work with children and effective measures exist for allowing visitors onto the premises. Pupils whose circumstances could make

p.7

The leadership and management are inadequate

them vulnerable are provided with specialist help.  The local authority and senior leaders hold an inaccurate view of the school. This, together with the lack of high-quality external support, has led to improvements in teaching and achievement being too slow.  The governance of the school:  Governance is inadequate. Since his recent appointment, the Chair of the Governing Body has had to investigate a number of parental complaints and take decisive action. He has been hindered in this by the lack of information provided by senior leaders. Additionally, governors lack a detailed awareness of the school’s performance and have not always been provided with sufficient information, including about pupils’ rates of learning and progress. The governing body has not held the school leaders to account for its performance in recent years and has not undertaken its statutory duty to monitor the performance of staff, including the

p.7

The leadership and management are inadequate

headteacher, effectively. They do not have sufficient overview of how the additional funding for the pupil premium is allocated, nor do they monitor its impact. 

p.7

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.8

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.8

School details

Unique reference number 100620 Local authority Lambeth Inspection number 412452

p.9

School details

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

p.9

School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 207 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jonathan Raper Headteacher O’Neill Hemmings Date of previous school inspection 23–24 November 2011 Telephone number 020 72747986 Fax number 020 72747986 Email address oneill-hemmings@st-saviours.lambeth.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 .

p.9

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.10

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.10

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.10

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.10

School details

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

p.10