Prendergast Ladywell School

School report Prendergast Ladywell Fields College Manwood Road, London, SE4 1SA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Require improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Require improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Too many students do not make good enough progress in mathematics and science.  Teaching is not consistently good and there is still a small amount that is inadequate.  Teachers’ expectations of what students can achieve are not high enough.  Too little teaching is engaging and challenging and this affects students’ attitudes to learning and their progress.  There is too much low-level disruption in lessons because teaching is of variable quality and the new behaviour policy is inconsistently applied.  Measures taken by the new senior leadership team to improve teaching have not had sufficient impact on all students’ achievement.  New polices for improvement are not applied consistently by all staff.  Some subject leaders do not take full responsibility for the work in their departments. They are not sufficiently monitoring or challenging the quality of teaching or the levels of students’ achievement in

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The school has the following strengths

 The executive headteacher and headteacher have madesome improvements to teaching in the past 12 months.  Students’ achievement in English has improved considerably.  Students behave well around the school. They are polite and respectful towards adults and each other.  Governors are well informed and increasingly are holding senior leaders to account.  Students’ attendance has improved rapidly and is now above average. Students say they enjoy coming to school and that they feel safe and well cared for.  Pupils in the newly opened Reception classes have made a good start.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 39 part lessons taught by 37 teachers. Eight of these were undertaken jointly with members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors observed other aspects of the school day, including an assembly, registration time, students’ behaviour at break and lunchtime, and students’ arrival and departure from the school.  Inspectors reviewed the quality of the work in students’ books to judge the effectiveness of marking, the progress of students over time, and the accuracy of the school’s assessment data.  Discussions were held with the executive headteacher, headteacher, senior and middle leaders, and four groups of students. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body were interviewed, and a meeting was held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the views of 12 parents and carers who responded to the Parent View online questionnaire, a letter from a parent, and 27 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documents, including: the school’s data on students’ progress; self- evaluation and improvement plans; information on the work of staff; training arrangements for teachers and other staff; checks on the quality of teaching; attendance and behaviour records; minutes of governing body meetings; documents relating to students’ safety; and documents relating to the management of teachers’ performance.

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Inspection team

Ann Behan, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Prendergast Ladywell Fields College became an all-through school on 1 September 2014. Previous to that it was an 11–16 comprehensive school. The school has admitted 59 pupils into two Reception classes.  It is smaller than the average-sized, all-through school.  The school is part of the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools which is led by an executive headteacher who delegates day-to-day management of the school to a headteacher. Both are accountable to the governing body and were appointed in September 2013.  The proportion of students who are supported by the pupil premium is well above average. This is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or those who are looked after by a local authority.  An above-average proportion of students come from minority ethnic groups, with Black British Caribbean and Black African being the largest groups.  The proportion of students who speak English as an addition language is well above average.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs on the school roll is about 14%. This is higher than found in most schools.  There are 22 students who are working towards work-related qualifications offered by alternative providers. They study at: Abbey Manor College, Bromley; CFFC YAF, Lewisham; StreetVibes, London; SESOCO, Lewisham; LYWRP, London; Education Excellence and Wellbeing, Croydon; Harris Aspire Academy, Beckenham; and Ilderton Motor Project, London.  The school meets the government’s current floor targets, which set the minimum expectations for students’ achievement and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, particularly in mathematics and science, so that it is all consistently good or better, by:  eradicating all inadequate teaching  raising all teachers’ expectations of what students can achieve  ensuring that teachers plan work that is sufficiently demanding and engaging to motivate students of all abilities to do well  developing and implementing strategies to eliminate low-level disruption in lessons  ensuring that all teachers apply the agreed behaviour policy consistently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve students’ overall achievement by speeding up the rates of progress made by students in mathematics and science.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:  subject leaders take full responsibility for the quality of teaching and students’ achievement in their departments  all staff consistently apply the recently introduced policies and strategies for improving the work of the school.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because students do not do well enough in a number of subjects, particularly mathematics and science, and the amount of low-level disruption in lessons is too high.  Some subject leaders do not provide good leadership and fail to monitor the work in their areas rigorously enough. They are not sufficienly focused on improving the quality of teaching and raising students’ attainment.  There has not been enough time for the policies and strategies introduced by the executive headteacher and headteacher to have had a sufficient impact on students’ attainment, which remains well below the national average.  Staff are not consistently applying the new systems which have been introduced to monitor the school. Similarly, new policies for marking, literacy across the curriculum and behaviour management, which show some signs of bringing about improvements, are not being fully implemented.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The headteachers and the senior leadership team know the strengths and weaknesses of the school and over the last year have put in place policies and systems to bring about improvements. For example, the performance management of teachers now links the school’s pay policy closely to the progress of students. There is an extensive programme of professional training for staff which is already leading to some improvements in teaching and to the achievement of some students. Staff morale is high.  The school has recently revised the subjects that it offers at Key Stage 4 so that courses better meet students’ needs and interests. The practice of entering students early for GCSE examinations, which was detrimental to students’ achievement, particularly in mathematics, has now stopped. Students benefit from a wide range of after-school activities, sporting events and educational trips.  The promotion of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school celebrates

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The leadership and management require improvement

a wide range of cultures and religions, promoting British values of tolerance and respect. Students contribute to the running of the school through the school council and as prefects in Year 11, although they would like more opportunities to make suggestions about how the school could improve.  The school works well with its partners, particularly through contacts with other schools in the Leathersellers’ Federation, sharing good practice and organising joint staff training. In addition, the local authority has provided a wide range of support.  The school makes sure that all students have the same opportunities to take part in all aspects of school life. There is no evidence of discrimination.  All statutory child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures are in place.  The governance of the school:  Governors are well informed and determined to improve standards within the school. They have an

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The leadership and management require improvement

accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They are able to compare the performance of the school with that locally and nationally. They visit the school regularly to observe its work and to talk to staff and pupils. They have received extensive training and are increasingly holding school leaders to account.  Governors are well aware of their role in challenging weaker teaching. They set challenging targets for the performance of the executive headteacher and the headteacher and ensure that teachers’ performance and pay are closely linked to students’ achievement. There are examples of where the underperformance of staff has been challenged successfully.  Governors manage the finances of the school rigorously. They carefully monitor how additional government funding is spent and have a good overview of the impact this has on the achievement of disadvantaged students.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The behaviour of students requires improvement because, when teaching does not fully engage and challenge them, there is too much low-level disruption in lessons. This distracts students and slows their progress. New systems for managing students’ behaviour are not applied consistently by all staff.  Exclusions rose at the beginning of 2013 because the school had raised its expectations of the students’ behaviour and there was a period of adjustment. However, the number of exclusions is now falling.  Behaviour around the school is generally good. Students are proud of their school and say that behaviour has improved greatly, that teachers care for them and that they feel safe. They told inspectors that relationships between different cultures are good. There is a calm and respectful atmosphere around the school.  The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is good. Students value the information about safety

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

that they receive in assemblies, through registration periods and through the programme of personal, social and health education. They talked knowledgably about the dangers of gang and knife crime, about healthy lifestyles and about how to stay safe.  Students know about different kinds of bullying and the potential dangers of the internet and mobile phones. They told inspectors that incidents of bullying are rare. They were confident that if bullying is reported, staff will deal with it effectively and promptly. They value the support that they receive through the pastoral team and were positive about an area in school called the ‘Place2be’ which provides support for those who feel vulnerable.  Attendance has improved considerably since the previous inspection and is now above the national average. The school has worked hard to raise parents’ awareness of the importance of good attendance and has provided additional support for students likely to become persistent absentees.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The school keeps a careful check on the attendance and behaviour of students who attend courses off- site. It liaises well with providers of work-related courses to ensure that students benefit fully from the alternative provision.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not good enough to ensure that all students make good or better progress in all subjects. A small amount of teaching is inadequate.  Too many many teachers do not have high enough expectations of what students can do and do not plan and set work to stretch and challenge students of different abilities. As a result, students become disengaged. For example, in a Year 8 science lesson, where students were conducting an experiment to find out the effects of displacements, students were unclear about what they were doing and the purpose of the experiment. The more able students completed the experiment quickly without challenge; others found the work too difficult and lost interest.  Students’ enthusiasm and interest in learning vary depending on the subject and the teacher. Students are very enthusiastic to learn when lessons are well planned and teachers use their good subject knowledge

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

to engage them. In a few subjects, such as science, students find it hard to stay focused on their work and resort to low-level disruption.  Marking remains a weakness in some subjects, particularly in science and mathematics, although there have been improvements since the previous inspection. There is a new marking policy and most students’ work is now marked regularly with feedback on how to improve.  Since the previous inspection, teaching assistants have been playing a greater role in supporting individual and groups of students. Their work is better coordinated to provide additional support for disabled students and those with special educational needs, those students who speak English as an additional language, and those disadvantaged students eligible for additional government funding. As a result, the progress of all these groups is improving and the gaps in achievement between them and other students

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

are beginning to narrow.  The previous inspection found that students were not being given enough opportunities to extend their vocabulary or their writing skills in different subjects. As the result of a new literacy policy, many teachers now encourage students to write extensively, in history for example, and technical terminology is practised in many lessons. However, this policy is is not consistently applied across the school.  In some lessons teachers successfully build on what students already know and understand and use this to plan demanding and interesting work to which students respond enthusiastically. In a Year 11 drama lesson, students were performing sections from the speech, ‘All the world’s a stage…’ from As You Like It. The students responded to the teacher’s high expectations and deep questioning to share ideas, contribute to group performances, and to make suggestions as to how their classmates could improve

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

their skills constructively and with maturity.

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requires improvement

 In 2013, too many students did not make the progress that they should in English, mathematics and science. The proportion of students achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics was well below the national average.  The most able students do not make the progress of which they are capable. In 2013/14, they had been entered early for some GCSE examinations and this meant that they did not reach the higher grades, particularly in mathematics. The policy of early entry has now stopped.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs and students who speak English as an additional language, like other groups in school, do not always do as well as they should.  Unverified 2014 GCSE results show an overall improvement; the proportion of students making good progress in English increased considerably. There were also improvements in science, but students’ progress in mathematics has remained weak. Evidence from the school’s assessment data, inspectors’

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requires improvement

lesson observations and the scrutiny of students’ work in books all supports this overall improving picture. Students’ progress is now at least in line with national expectations in English for the current Year 11. Students’ rates of progress at Key Stage 3 are now much better than in previous years.  In 2014, students eligible for the pupil premium improved their performance, although they achieved less well in English and mathematics than similar students. In English they were half a grade behind similar students nationally and two thirds of a grade behind others in the school. In mathematics they were one and three quarters of a grade behind students nationally and three quarters of a grade behind others in the school.  Students supported by the Year 7 catch-up funding in 2013/14 made better progress than their classmates in literacy. Targeted one-to-one teaching and additional literacy lessons improved provision and students’

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requires improvement

progress. The progress of these students in numeracy has not been as rapid.  Arrangements for students who attend work-related courses elsewhere are effective. Students who find traditional subjects too challenging attend a variety of different programmes more appropriate to their needs. They make progress at least as good as their peers and most are successful in their chosen courses.

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is good

 Children joining the newly opened Reception classes in the last two weeks have settled well into the life of the school. A range of activities provided for the children and their parents, including home visits, open evenings and taster days, has aided the smooth transition of children into their new school.  The teaching areas are bright and welcoming. Children have access to a wide range of activities and resources to support the development of their knowledge and skills in all of the required areas of learning. The outdoor provision offers good opportunities for children to develop skills and to promote their physical development.  The lead Reception teacher has worked closely with teachers and teaching assistants to plan a range of learning activities and a framework for tracking children’s progress. Observations of children’s progress are already being recorded and being used to ensure the right levels of support and intervention.

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is good

 Observations during the inspection showed that children have settled down well and that staff are working collaboratively to help children to enjoy their learning. Relationships between staff and children are respectful and children from different cultural backgrounds mix and play together well. Some phonics (the sounds that letters make) teaching was observed which captured children’s interest and gave them an initial taste of future learning. Staff are vigilant about children’s safety and there is a calm and happy atmosphere around the Reception area.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 100747 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 442112

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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 All-through School category Community Age range of pupils 4–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 893 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Christopher Barrow Headteacher Niall Hand Date of previous school inspection 11–12 October 2012 Telephone number 020 8690 114 Fax number 020 8314 8590 Email address admin@ladywellfieldscollege.lewisham.sck.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 and 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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