Setting

Mrs Elizabeth Maxted Headteacher St Saviour's Church of England Primary School Herne Hill Road London SE24 0AY

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Primary School

Following my visit with Jane Betsworth, associate headteacher, to your school on 1 and 2 July 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions which have been taken since the school’s previous monitoring inspection.

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Primary School

The inspection was the third monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in September 2013. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached.

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Primary School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Primary School

The school is making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures.

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Primary School

The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers before the next monitoring inspection.

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Primary School

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be published on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children’s Services for Lambeth and the Diocese of Southwark.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

Tribal 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 311 5359 Direct F 0117 315 0430 Email : christina.bannerman@tribalgroup.com

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place in September 2013

 Improve the quality and effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels by:

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place in September 2013

 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.

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place in September 2013

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.

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place in September 2013

Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by making sure that:   all teachers have higher expectations of what 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.

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Evidence

The inspector observed the school’s work and scrutinised documents which included records of the monitoring of the quality of teaching, information about how well pupils are doing, the school’s action plan, attendance information, and local authority and governing body minutes. During the visit, the inspector met with the executive headteacher, the headteacher and other members of staff, two groups of pupils, three members of the governing body, and representatives from the local authority and Southwark Diocesan Board of Education.

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Context

Since the last monitoring inspection, the Year 5 class teacher has left the school for a period of maternity leave. A long-term supply teacher is taking the class for the rest of this academic year and will cover her absence in the next school year. A replacement has been appointed for a governor whose term of office has ended. The appointment of two additional governors has further strengthened the governing body.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

In Reception, the proportion of children who have made a good level of development (the level expected by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage) has increased significantly from the previous year. As they move into Year 1, more pupils than previously are well prepared for their next learning. The proportion who have achieved the expected threshold in the Year 1 reading check has also increased to above the national average from the previous year.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

The attainment of Year 2 pupils in reading and writing has increased this year but attainment in mathematics has stayed the same. The proportion of pupils who are working at the higher Level 3 in reading, writing and mathematics has increased. Teachers’ checks on Year 6 pupils show that almost two thirds are working at the higher Level 5 in reading and mathematics, and over a half in writing. These outcomes are considerably stronger than in the previous year. Information provided by the school indicates that almost all Year 6 pupils have made reasonable progress in reading, writing and mathematics from their starting points, and that many have made good progress.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Leaders focus rigorously on using information about how well pupils are doing to ensure that all groups are making better progress. For example, pupils for whom the school receives additional government money (pupil premium funding) are tracked in every year group to check that their progress is improving and that the attainment gap between them and their peers is closing. Individual programmes of support are deployed to meet the needs of these pupils and evaluated to ensure that they have the intended impact.

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Achievement of pupils at the school

Leaders hold teachers to account for the progress that pupils make. They draw upon information about how well pupils are doing, teachers’ appraisal targets and information about the quality of teaching to ensure that pupils do as well as they can. This information is discussed at regular progress meetings, to ensure that pupils do not start to fall behind.

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The quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is improving; however, a number of teachers are leaving at the end of the term. Learning for most pupils is now good. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children get off to a good start because of the carefully planned activities that engage and motivate them to learn. Leaders’ work to improve teaching is ensuring that the increasingly good practice is sustainable and can be shared with new staff joining in September.

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The quality of teaching

Older pupils have targets in mathematics and English but they are not yet improving pupils’ progress. This is because teachers do not use or make reference to them. The quality of marking is improving but it is not yet consistent throughout the school. It is best in Years 5 and 6 where pupils get detailed feedback about their work with areas in which they can improve. Pupils’ response to the marking is not yet fully developed. Marking in books other than writing and mathematics is not improving quickly enough. In these books, too much work goes unmarked, and teachers’ expectations of presentation and high literacy standards are not reinforced to help pupils improve their neatness and presentation.

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The quality of teaching

In classes where pupils learn well, activities are designed to meet their specific learning needs and abilities. The teachers challenge the most able to achieve highly. They support those who find learning more difficult so that they gain the essential skills and knowledge that they can draw upon in other subjects. In these sessions, the teaching assistants make a good contribution to the learning because they are well briefed by the teacher and know what they have to do.

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The quality of teaching

In classes where pupils do not learn as well, the work lacks challenge and is either too easy or too hard. As a result, teaching assistants waste valuable time managing the behaviour of pupils who have completed work or do not know what to do. Here, teachers’ planning does not identify exactly what pupils will learn, or utilise the information that they have about what children can already do.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school has improved significantly. They are polite and kind, and respect adults and each other. Pupils told the inspector that there is no bullying at the school. There are occasional disagreements but these are quickly resolved. Pupils like the new initiatives that have been introduced to promote good behaviour and they think these strategies are working. Older pupils, however, said that some of the strategies do not recognise how mature they are, and that they would like to have different sanctions in their classrooms. This would help to prepare them for the transition into their next school. Pupils feel safe and they enjoy coming to school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour in classrooms is much better. When the teaching is lively and engaging, pupils focus on the tasks and get on with their learning. They cooperate well with each other and enjoy the challenge of achieving new skills and knowledge as well as they can. When the work is misjudged and is too easy or too hard, then a few pupils find it much harder to stay focused. These pupils are easily distracted, and they lose focus and divert others from their learning. In these classes, the teachers’ expectations of how pupils should behave are not high enough.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The executive headteacher and headteacher have focused relentlessly on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Senior leaders have kept a very sharp eye on all areas for improvement. They have acted quickly and decisively when they identified improvements that are needed. Given that a number of new staff will be joining the school in the autumn term, leaders need to accelerate the pace and rigour of improvement further.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

Leaders evaluate the quality of learning through a planned cycle of observations in classes, looking at pupils’ books and scrutinising teachers’ plans. They have made improving learning in English and mathematics their top priority. Pupils’ books in other subjects, such as science, topic and handwriting have not received the same level of scrutiny. Consequently, work in these books is not of the same quality.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The headteacher’s efforts to improve attendance continue to be successful. Attendance for the current year is higher than in the previous year and the number of pupils whose attendance is very low has fallen considerably.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The partnership with The Loughborough Federation of Schools provides effective support to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Teachers have visited other schools in the federation to share their evaluations of pupils’ writing. They have met with teachers working in the same year group in other schools to share their planning and observe good practice. This has been beneficial in raising some teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

The quality and effectiveness of governance has improved beyond all recognition. Governors now know the school well. They have focused on their core business of improving the quality of teaching and learning. They are less accepting of information that is provided for them by senior leaders and are quick to ask for more detail and clarification about achievement information. They visit the school to test out for themselves the accuracy of the information they receive. They look beyond the simple headline figures of pupils’ attainment and progress to ensure that all groups of pupils receive a highly effective, good-quality education.

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External support

The partnership between the school, local authority and Diocese, evident at the last monitoring inspection, has continued into the summer term. School leaders and governors value the support, but more importantly, the level of challenge that they receive from advisers from both the local authority and the Diocesan Board of Education. Recently, all partners worked together to undertake a rigorous review of the school and its work. The report gives an honest and forthright account of the school. It identifies those areas that are good, but does not hold back from pointing out what still needs to improve. Leaders value this no-nonsense approach. Further holding to account happens at local authority accountability meetings, where progress towards the action plan is scrutinised. This level of support and challenge is proportionate and appropriate to the school’s current needs.

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