Hillbrook School

Hillbrook Primary School Hillbrook Road, Tooting, London, SW17 8SG

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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 improved since the last inspection, and now provides an excellent quality of education.  Achievement is outstanding. Pupils start school with skills which are very low in comparison to age-related expectations. They make outstanding progress across the school.  Teaching is outstanding. Teachers have very high expectations of pupils and ensure lessons are planned to a very high quality.  The school is a very welcoming and caring environment. Relationships between pupils and adults are powerful, due in part to excellent role modelling, and pupils knowing they are all respected in this highly inclusive environment.  The school is successfully and expertly run by the headteacher and deputy headteachers. All of the staff, and governors, support their high expectations, and want the very best for all of the children in their care.  Pupils are excited and highly engaged by their

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learning environment. Their behaviour and attitudes to learning are exceptional. Their strong desire to learn in lessons and their excellent application play a significant part in their success.  The curriculum is extremely memorable, offering a rich and exhilarating variety of experiences.  Parents and carers are very positive about the education their children receive and the progress they make. They also believe that their children are very safe and happy at school.  The governing body is incredibly skilled at holding the school to account. Governors have an excellent understanding of the school, its strengths and areas for further development.  Children in the resource base make an excellent start to school because they also receive outstanding teaching.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 29 lessons, 14 of which were joint observations with members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and attended assemblies.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, senior leaders, subject leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 29 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, comments from parent surveys carried out by the school, and the 40 questionnaires completed by staff. Members of the inspection team also spoke to parents and carers.  The inspection team observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including school improvement plans, data on pupils’ current progress, pupils’ written work, governing body minutes, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Emma Merva, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Michael Jude Additional Inspector Ann Short Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families, is well above the national average. There are currently no pupils from service families in the school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported at school action is above the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus and with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average.  The large majority of pupils are of Black African, Pakistani and White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.  The school has an Early Years Foundation Stage resource base, Little Hillbrook, which caters for

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Information about this school

children with autistic spectrum disorders.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school makes limited use of the local authority pupil referral unit.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Refine the quality of teaching even more by:  ensuring that pupils benefit even more from the guidance they receive by responding to teachers’ marking more consistently.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Standards of attainment by the end of Year 6 are broadly average. This represents outstanding progress, given that the children often enter the school with very low levels of skills and knowledge in comparison to those expected for their age, including, often, very limited English. As a result of the excellent teaching they receive when they enter the school, they make rapid progress and swiftly catch up.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good and often outstanding progress because of the very successful use of small groups to ensure the children get enough support. In the Nursery, children make very rapid gains in their learning. For example, in one class a small group of children showed they had the confidence to move to the front of the class to choose a secret sound for their classmates to guess. The children were excited and thoroughly engaged, wanting to answer the questions and making mature contributions. As a result, they

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

all made excellent progress.  Typically, all groups of pupils, including those of Black African, Pakistani and White British heritage and those learning English as an additional language, make outstanding progress throughout the school.  Pupils relish the reading opportunities provided by the school. They read often and from a wide range of sources. For example, in a Year 6 literacy lesson pupils made outstanding progress as a result of a superb range of texts chosen about ‘the Aztec Warriors’. Results in the Year 1 phonics check in the unvalidated 2013 results suggest that they were above the national average. Pupils have a very effective understanding of phonics (the sounds letters make) and the strategies to help them to read and sound out words they have not come across before. Pupils’ progress in reading both in Year 2 and Year 6 is outstanding.  Pupils who benefit from additional funding (the pupil premium) make exceptional progress, and

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

when compared to their peers in school, their attainment is often better in reading, writing and mathematics. The support they receive includes small-group support, extra resources and specialist teachers.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make at least good, and often excellent, progress. This is due to their being given work which is well devised to meet their needs, and through being afforded the support of additional adults. Children in the resource base also make outstanding progress. For example, in a registration session, children settled quickly into their routine by singing songs with actions to help to support their coordination skills.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is outstanding across the curriculum, including in reading, writing, phonics and mathematics. This is demonstrated in lessons, in pupils’ work, and in their books which also show them making outstanding progress. Teachers have high expectations of all pupils, and provide excellent role models to show pupils how to do their best.  Pupils are highly engaged in their learning, which enables them to rapidly develop skills and knowledge imparted by the teacher. They benefit from challenging questioning. For example in a Year 3 literacy lesson the teacher skilfully played a clip about a lost kitten to allow pupils to develop listening skills, and then expertly checked their understanding and the extent of their progress.  Consequently, pupils’ progress across the range of subjects is outstanding. For example, in a Year 3 science lesson on forces, pupils made rapid progress recording good scientific

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

vocabulary, and showed an excellent focus on predicting what might happen during the experiment.  Pupils’ achievement and performance are efficiently tracked across the curriculum. Teachers are held to account through pupil progress meetings held with the senior leadership team to ensure all pupils are making outstanding progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs benefit from outstanding teaching. They are well directed, and highly effective planning enables individual pupils to succeed alongside their peers. For example in a Year 2 numeracy lesson, pupils with a statement of special educational needs made exceptionally rapid progress in counting and dividing, while being proficiently guided very effectively by additional adult support.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in the resource base is expertly planned by the teachers, together with the base manager. Excellent use of the additional adults ensures

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

that children have access to many different activities which are engaging and allow them to make outstanding progress. For example, in a physical development lesson where children were balancing on the plastic bricks and on the peanut ball while counting to 10, they developed excellent sharing skills while playing in the outdoor area.  The learning environment is presented with vivid and colourful displays about London as a city, their local area, and on learning walls where their class work is exhibited to help provide next- steps learning.  Marking and feedback are of a very high standard. They are consistently applied across each year group and in every lesson. For example in a Year 4 art lesson, all pupils made rapid progress while drawing an elephant based on the work of an artist they had been studying because they had been given clear oral and written feedback in previous work; during the lesson pupils were able to build and develop their skills even further. However, what is still not

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

as consistent across each class is the pupils’ response to their next steps to support their progress further.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Behaviour is typically outstanding. Pupils say that behaviour in their lessons is excellent, commenting that ‘Behaviour at lunchtimes is excellent and it is a happy and social occasion.’ Parents, carers and staff also have a very positive view of behaviour.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary. They are highly motivated, and want to learn. As a result there is an exceptionally strong learning environment in the school. Pupils take care of their work and present it neatly in an organised way. Their positive attitudes contribute to the outstanding progress they make. They are very proud of what they achieve.  They attend school regularly, and attendance levels are continuing to improve because pupils enjoy coming to school. Pupils are polite and welcoming, greet visitors and hold open doors. They move around the school quietly and sensibly showing respect both for each other and for adults.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils understand about different kinds of bullying, for example name calling and homophobic bullying. They respect the fact that there is very little bullying, and say that any that does occur is swiftly dealt with by adults. Exclusions are very low. School records confirm that bullying or harassment are rare.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils say they feel extremely safe. They are taught to keep themselves safe through assemblies and excellent pastoral programmes, such as in their personal, social and health education.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher is inspirational in her leadership of the school. She is highly supported by two very effective deputy headteachers and the governing body. Middle leaders are highly successful as a result of this clear leadership by the headteacher. They understand their responsibilities very well, and are accountable through very consistent monitoring and checking processes. Staff are highly motivated and say they feel very proud to belong to the school.  The systematic checking of teaching and learning, including the quality of teachers’ marking, is highly effective. Staff have access to regular high-quality professional development, as one teacher commented, ‘I have had very good professional development under the leadership of this headteacher.’  Teachers and leaders are held to account for the progress their pupils make. They receive pay rises linked only to the quality of the progress of their classes and the phases they lead.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The curriculum provides very memorable experiences and is exceptionally broad and balanced. It offers outstanding opportunities for children to develop wider skills. For example, Chinese Mandarin and cricket are taught in the extra-curricular programme. Social, moral, spiritual and cultural education is well planned and pupils develop tolerance and acceptance of differences. For example, in an assembly where pupils were learning and discussing the topic of education in Africa, they developed an effective understanding of children’s daily routine and practices in another country.  All pupils have ready access to a wide variety of excellent teaching, support, resources, clubs and activities. Consequently, equality of opportunity within the school is outstanding and well promoted across the curriculum.  The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage and within the resource base is excellent. This is demonstrated through the training and support the staff receive to help, support and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

adapt the provision.  Pupils benefit from additional adult support in physical education, made available through the sports funding initiative. As a result, pupils’ health and well-being are improved and they are able to participate in a wide range of sports, including lacrosse and tennis.  All arrangements for safeguarding meet the statutory requirements.  The school receives light-touch support from the local authority, and works very well with other schools in the area to provide additional support and coaching.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is highly effective, ensuring that it is composed of a wide range of people with different skills and experiences and holding the school firmly to account. Governors are aware of the quality of teaching in the school, and are involved in ensuring that teachers’ pay increases in relation to good or outstanding pupil progress. They are informed very well about

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The leadership and management are outstanding

current pupil attainment and progress through very rigorous reporting by the headteacher to the governing body meetings. As a result they understand how the current progress of pupils compares nationally. Governors have produced a strategic plan for the use of the additional pupil premium funding. This is having a clear impact on pupils’ achievement. They meet their statutory responsibilities and ensure that they attend relevant training, such as safeguarding, and how to be an effective Chair of the Governing Body. They are well informed about the finances of the school.

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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.

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School details

Unique reference number 101057 Local authority Wandsworth Inspection number 440936 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 502 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Iheke Ndukwe Headteacher Laurie-Ann Lamb Date of previous school inspection 10–11 May 2011 Telephone number 020 8672 3957 Fax number 020 8767 1081 Email address admin@hillbrook.wandsworth.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

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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