Fairlawn Primary School

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 School leaders and governors are ambitious for staff and pupils. They constantly strive to improve what they already do exceptionally well. They have maintained high standards of teaching and of pupils’ achievement since the previous inspection.  Leaders have established a culture in which both pupils and staff are learners. All members of the school community reflect on what they do well and where they can improve further. Leaders share their expertise with other schools and contribute to the training of new teachers.  A wide range of stimulating activities make a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The quality of sport, art and music is very high.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary at all times. They love school and this is reflected in their attendance, which is high.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy working and playing with those from other backgrounds. They say they feel

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

very safe in school because adults care about them and look after them very well.  The quality of teaching is outstanding. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and set high expectations for pupils’ work and behaviour.  Teachers use stimulating resources to motivate pupils. They develop pupils’ language skills very well.  Teachers constantly check pupils’ work in class. They provide extra support to those who struggle and challenge more able pupils by providing them with harder work.  Pupils’ achievement is exceptionally high. They make excellent progress across the school. Pupils reach standards that are significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  School leaders carefully track the progress of all pupils to pinpoint and address the needs of those at risk of falling behind. Consequently, all pupils including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make outstanding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

progress.  Children get off to an excellent start in the early years. They reach levels of development that are well above those expected for their age. They make exceptional progress in reading.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils working in 26 lessons or parts of lessons, eight of which were observed jointly with senior leaders. They looked at work in pupils’ books and they listened to pupils in Years 2 and 6 reading. They observed pupils as they moved around the school and at lunchtime.  Meetings were held with school leaders, groups of pupils and governors. A discussion was held with a representative from the local authority.  Among the documents scrutinised were plans showing how the school is to develop, minutes from governing body meetings and the school’s own systems that record and track pupils’ attainment and progress. Inspectors also looked at documents showing how the school keeps staff and pupils safe at school.  The views of parents were taken into account by analysing the 188 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke informally to parents at the beginning of the school day. Staff views

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Information about this inspection

were considered by analysing 30 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Joy Considine, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is below average. This is additional funding provided by the government to support disadvantaged pupils.  About half of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups and about a fifth of the pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.  There is provision for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage in the Nursery and Reception classes. The Nursery is situated in a separate building about half a mile away from the main school. Children attend the Nursery on a part-time basis and the Reception classes full time.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set out the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school is part of a soft federation in partnership with Haseltine Primary School and is led by an executive headteacher who joined the school in April 2014. Fairlawn leads a Teaching School Alliance and is a National Support School. The executive headteacher is a National Leader of Education and provides support to other local schools.  The school provides a breakfast club and a wide range of extra activities for pupils after school.  There have been significant changes to the teaching and leadership team since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all pupils across the school present their work to the highest possible standard.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 School leaders have high aspirations. They have established a highly skilled team of teachers who are reflective and strive to be even better. Leaders have a thorough understanding of the strengths of the school and have ambitious plans to improve further.  The executive headteacher’s strengths are recognised beyond the school in her role as a National Leader of Education. The school values its involvement in the Teaching School Alliance and the support they provide to develop talented teachers and leaders.  The school provides a warm and welcoming environment, valuing all pupils. The additional funding provides excellent support for disadvantaged pupils. It funds activities, including breakfast club and classroom support, to ensure disadvantaged pupils progress as well as other pupils. Consequently, all pupils have equal opportunities to succeed. Discrimination on any grounds is not tolerated.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Subject leaders are highly effective. They frequently visit classrooms to observe teaching, speak to pupils and look at work in their books. This gives them a clear view of strengths and weaknesses of teaching and where further support is needed. Consequently, the overall quality of teaching is outstanding.  Staff value the support given by leaders and are keen to progress. Each teacher has time out of class to observe others, to attend courses or to read and to research new ideas. This has helped them to improve the way in which they provide feedback to pupils about their work and so accelerate their progress. They know that their progression on the salary scale is closely linked to their performance in the classroom.  The curriculum provides rich experiences that inspire pupils. Currently, pupils across the school are studying ‘London’ through different themes. This successfully promotes their spiritual, moral, social and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

cultural development by learning about ‘The Great Fire of London’ and ‘London in the Blitz’. It also provides time for reflection about what it means to be British.  Pupils’ progress is rigorously checked to make sure that all pupils achieve as well as they should. The school has recently developed a new system for assessing pupils’ achievement. This places emphasis on pupils’ developing skills and understanding rather than attaining National Curriculum levels.  The additional sports funding has enabled sports coaches to work alongside teachers increasing their skills and working directly with pupils. The impact of this work is monitored carefully to ensure that pupils’ have an increased enjoyment and participation in a range of sports.  The local authority rightly has full confidence in the leadership of the school and provides ‘light touch’ support for this outstanding school.  Arrangements for safeguarding meet all statutory requirements and ensure that pupils are safe.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors are highly effective. They share leaders’ ambitions and provide a strong level of professional challenge to hold leaders to account. They visit school regularly and have excellent working relationships with leaders. Governors are highly visible within the school community. Governors have an exceptional understanding of performance information so they know how well the school is doing in comparison with schools nationally. They have an excellent understanding of the quality of teaching in the school and ensure that procedures to manage the performance of staff are used very effectively. The governing body meets all statutory responsibilities, including those for safeguarding and makes sure finances are managed particularly well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils love school and this is reflected in their high rates of attendance. They really enjoy learning and this is shown in the way in which they behave in school. One pupil said, ‘This school brings out the best in you.’ Pupils are friendly, helpful and courteous towards adults and each other.  Pupils get on very well together regardless of background. They show respect and understanding towards others and enjoy celebrating faiths and cultures that differ from their own. This reflects the excellent provision the school makes towards their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils behave exceptionally well in class and around the school. They are kind to each other and will go out of their way to help when someone is stuck on their work, feeling unwell or just needs a friend.  Despite the large numbers of pupils eating at lunchtimes, the dining hall is calm and orderly. It provides a

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Behaviour

‘family’ atmosphere in which pupils eat and chat sensibly. Adults encourage good manners and ensure that pupils leave the hall sensibly to play in the playground.  The breakfast club provides pupils with a healthy, nutritious and settled start to the school day.  Parents, staff and governors agree that pupils behave very well and are safe and happy at school. School records show very few reported incidents relating to poor behaviour and there have been no recent exclusions.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils feel very safe in school because adults care for them. They know how to stay safe outside school from dangers associated with road and water. They are aware of the dangers associated with tobacco and the misuse of drugs.  Pupils say they are not aware of any bullying in school. They know about different forms of bullying including that related to the internet through their lessons and through anti-bullying week. They are confident that adults and peer mediators will help to sort out any minor disagreements that very occasionally arise.  All adults who visit the school are carefully checked. Arrangements to help and support pupils whose circumstances may make them more vulnerable are understood and implemented by all staff.  The school site is very safe, secure and well maintained.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Classrooms are lively places where all pupils achieve exceptionally well. Warm relationships between staff and pupils inspire pupils to work hard and do their best. Pupils behave exceptionally well, helping lessons to run smoothly.  Teachers have very good subject knowledge enabling them to ask questions to deepen pupils’ understanding. Pupils share ideas by responding enthusiastically to teachers’ questions. High quality speaking and listening is found in all classrooms, helping pupils, especially those who speak English as an additional language, to progress well.  Teachers use an exciting range of resources to capture pupils’ imagination and inspire them to write. In a Year 2 lesson, pupils watched a video clip in preparation for writing about ‘The Great Fire of London’. The vivid images helped them to develop their vocabulary and use of imaginative language to write interesting stories about this event.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The teaching of reading is very effective. From an early stage pupils learn to sound out words and recognise ‘tricky’ words. This helps them to develop early reading skills exceptionally well. Pupils often have to read in other subjects and so they are constantly developing and reinforcing their skills.  Throughout lessons, teachers check on how well pupils are doing. In mathematics lessons, teachers constantly stretch pupils by asking them to explain their learning and this accelerates their progress.  Teachers mark pupils’ work conscientiously. They provide helpful guidance that pupils follow by correcting and improving their work. Consequently, they rarely repeat errors and they progress exceptionally well, particularly in writing and mathematics. In class, pupils reflect on their learning and can explain clearly what they are learning and how they know whether or not they have been successful.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching assistants provide very effective support by helping individual pupils or small groups in class. They break activities into smaller steps so pupils understand what they are expected to do. This particularly helps disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs to progress as well as their classmates.  Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that teaching over time is outstanding. Work in books shows a very high level of challenge with exceptional progress made over time. Just occasionally, work in their books is not presented as well as it could be and this leads to the occasional error.

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is outstanding

 Pupils make excellent progress to reach standards that are significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Scrutiny of pupils’ work and their achievement shows they are making rapid progress in their learning. Pupils achieve exceptionally well in other subjects. The quality of work in art, music and sports is very high. This is because specialist teachers support staff to develop their skills as well as teaching pupils across the school.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make outstanding progress. They are extremely well supported in class by skilled teaching assistants. The school works very effectively to remove barriers to learning so all pupils achieve their potential.  There has been a substantial rise in the number of pupils reaching the highest levels in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2 demonstrating how well the most able pupils are challenged.

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is outstanding

 In the 2013 national assessments, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 was behind that of their classmates by about a term in reading and two terms in writing and mathematics. However, they achieved very similar results to those of all other pupils nationally in all three subjects. The most recent 2014 assessment information shows that the gap between their performance and that of other pupils in the school narrowed considerably. For example, in reading disadvantaged pupils did better than their peers. Across the school, the progress of disadvantaged pupils is similar to, or better than other pupils.  Work in pupils’ books shows that they write extensively, in both literacy lessons and other subjects. They have a very wide vocabulary and use different styles of language effectively to express their views, ideas and opinions. Throughout the school, pupils have a clear sense of purpose when writing.

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is outstanding

 Pupils reach very high standards in mathematics. In part this is because they are taught well but also because there are many occasions when they use their mathematical skills in other subjects. They have an exceptionally secure grasp of number and they confidently apply the correct calculation strategy to solve written problems.  It is a delight to listen to pupils across the school read because they love books. They have reached exceptionally high standards because they are taught very effectively. In Year 2 some pupils have progressed so well that they read books such as ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ by Roald Dahl fluently, confidently and with great enjoyment. Pupils in Year 6 have developed very good reading habits. One pupil reflected the views of others when she said, ‘I love reading because it takes you to a different world.’

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is outstanding

 Children get off to a really good start in the early years. They start school with skills that vary, but are broadly as expected for their age. They make outstanding progress in all areas of their development and are very well prepared for Year 1. In 2014, the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development was well above the national level.  Children are warmly welcomed into a stimulating environment where they feel safe and secure. They have already settled into the routines of both Nursery and Reception classes because staff have established clear expectations so that children know what they are expected to do.  Teaching in both the Nursery and Reception classes is outstanding. Staff use assessment information to plan carefully activities and experiences to help all pupils develop their skills to a high level. The strong focus on language development makes a significant contribution to their outstanding attainment in

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is outstanding

reading.  Staff observe children carefully and they talk to them about what they are doing. From this assessment information teachers plan an exciting range of experiences that develop children’s skills quickly.  Children from all backgrounds get on especially well with one another. They enjoy playing and working, both inside the classroom and outdoors. They share, take turns and listen carefully to what others have to say. Children are confident with adults and enjoy sharing their work with them.  The early years is well led and managed. The leader has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the needs of young children. This has helped to ensure that staff are able to provide a safe and happy environment for all children.

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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 100710 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 449395

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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 Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 556 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Robyn Fairman

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Head of School

Jeanette Brumby Hania Ryans Date of previous school inspection 12 October 2007 Telephone number 020 8699 7948 Fax number 020 8699 7722 Email address info@fairlawn.lewisham.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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Head of School

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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Head of School

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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Head of School

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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Head of School

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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Head of School

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

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