Lovelace Primary School

Mansfield Road, Hook, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2RN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher has made an outstanding personal contribution to improving the school. He has ensured that pupils, parents, carers and staff have a shared understanding of the school’s values. He is ably assisted by his deputy and by the assistant headteachers.  The ‘can do’ mood inspired by the headteacher has a strong impact on pupils’ behaviour. They are friendly and polite. They get on well with one another. The school promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development strongly.  The headteacher has improved leadership and management throughout the school. He has given more adults the chance to take responsibility. All understand their leadership roles and how to work efficiently within the school structure.  Leaders have improved ways of checking how well pupils are learning. They make sure that teachers and support staff understand the progress pupils make and how to help them make faster progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders manage the quality of teaching outstandingly well. All leaders, including middle leaders, are active in checking the quality of the teaching. They offer extremely helpful advice and check that it is followed. As a result, staffing is now more stable than for some time.  Governance is extremely effective. Governors work in highly effective partnership with school leaders. This ensures that pupils are taught well. As a result, achievement has risen.  Pupils have wonderful opportunities to learn outside the classroom. The range of trips, outings and clubs is outstanding. They learn exciting topics.  Parents and carers like the school very much. They know what is going on. The school welcomes them in.  Pupils’ behaviour is considerate. They have good attitudes to learning. The school makes sure that they are completely safe.  Teaching is good and secures good achievement. Teachers question pupils well. They make learning

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

interesting and lively.  Pupils learn well. They make good progress throughout the school. By the time they leave they have gained good literacy and numeracy skills and are ready for their next school.  The school’s focus on helping disadvantaged pupils to achieve as well as other pupils has been very successful.  The early years provision is good. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes benefit from inviting activities, particularly indoors.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Pupils’ topic books are not presented as neatly and carefully as their English and mathematics books. Marking in these books is not always thorough and does not offer enough guidance to pupils on how to improve.  Adults in the Nursery and Reception classes do not always fully develop children’s language and thinking skills. Outdoor activities do not always enable children to learn to read, write and do number work as successfully as indoor activities.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 28 lessons across a range of subjects. Over half were observed jointly with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher or the assistant headteachers.  Inspectors spoke to a number of pupils, listened to them read and looked at samples of their work. An inspector met a group of pupils to hear how they felt about the school.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, including those who hold responsibility for specific year groups. A meeting was held with the local authority Senior School Improvement Partner. A meeting was held with the Chair of the Governing Body and three other governors.  Inspectors took account of the views of staff in 53 questionnaires.  Inspectors took into account the 72 responses to the online survey, Parent View. Inspectors spoke to a number of parents and carers during the inspection, and took account of a parental questionnaire provided by the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents. These included the school’s own views of how well it is doing, its plans for the future and the minutes of meetings of the governing body.  Inspectors considered a range of evidence on pupils’ attainment and progress. Inspectors also examined safeguarding information, and records relating to behaviour and safety.

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Inspection team

Natalia Power, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Lovelace Primary is much larger than the average-sized primary school. It is expanding to three forms of entry.  The headteacher took up his post in January 2014.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium is broadly average.  The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic heritages is broadly average, as is the proportion who speak English as an additional language. Pupils come from a wide range of backgrounds with no one group predominating.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is broadly average.  The school runs a breakfast club and manages after-school care provision. The school also runs a pre- school nursery for under threes. This is inspected separately.  Children attend the Nursery either in the morning or in the afternoon sessions. Children in Reception attend all day.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that the quality of pupils’ topic books matches the quality of their English and mathematics books by:  insisting that pupils present their work neatly and finish each piece  marking topic books as thoroughly and helpfully as English and mathematics books.  Provide children in the Nursery and Reception classes with outstanding learning opportunities by:  making sure that adults use every opportunity to promote children’s language and thinking skills  providing in the outdoor play areas more activities aimed at giving children high-quality language and number skills.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Parents and carers, staff and governors told inspectors how much difference the headteacher has made to the school. A typical comment from a member of staff was, ‘The new headteacher has been fantastic. There is a clear vision which everyone understands.’  Governors told inspectors that they were impressed by the speed at which the headteacher has been improving the school. He works closely with governors to update the school’s policies, put in place new staffing structures and provide training for all who need it. As a result, the school has successfully and rapidly improved the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement and is well placed to continue to improve.  Leaders and governors communicate high expectations. All stakeholders feel they play a part in school improvement. They understand and share the school’s values. Pupils want to learn. They behave well.  As a result of the new leadership structure, middle leaders take more responsibility and contribute more to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

school improvement. Lines of communication are clear. Pupils’ needs are met quickly and efficiently. Year leaders play an important part in setting targets for pupils to reach, and providing the right support to help them reach their targets.  All leaders, including year leaders and subject leaders, are vigilant and highly effective in checking the quality of teaching. This ensures that teaching is consistently good. Staff morale is high. They feel supported, and this encourages staff stability.  Leaders set clear targets for staff and keep regular checks to ensure that rewards reflect effective performance. Leaders provide exemplary in-house training for staff, inspiring all adults to raise their game and focus sharply on the needs of all pupils. As a result of these impressive staff development systems, pupils’ achievement has risen.  Leaders have improved systems for checking how well pupils are learning. Teachers and support staff

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The leadership and management are outstanding

understand clearly how much progress pupils are making. This information enables them to provide suitable support for pupils or groups of pupils at risk of falling behind. As a result, all pupils make good progress.  The thorough checking of progress particularly benefits disadvantaged pupils. Leaders and governors keep a close eye on how well they are doing, and provide effective support. Disadvantaged pupils who receive additional funding through the pupil premium now make progress as well as other pupils, and sometimes better.  The support provided by the local authority has helped the school considerably in its journey of improvement. Working closely with leaders and governors, the local authority carefully checks the work of the school and provides valuable advice.  All pupils and groups of pupils have an equal chance to succeed. In the school’s happy environment, each pupil is encouraged to aim high. The school’s values, understood by all, produce a culture of good

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The leadership and management are outstanding

relations where there is no discrimination.  The school engages extremely well with parents and carers. Parents and carers told inspectors they were well informed through weekly newsletters. Any concerns they might have are dealt with speedily. Leaders are approachable. Parents and carers attending the Reception Year’s writing workshop told inspectors that they found such events invaluable in helping them understand what their children learn, and how best to help them at home.  The subjects pupils learn have a strong focus on developing their literacy and numeracy skills. This prepares them well for the next stage of schooling. Pupils learn exciting science, history and geography topics, and write imaginatively about them. Such breadth of learning contributes strongly to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils benefit from a dazzling programme of visits to places that will open their eyes to new experiences

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The leadership and management are outstanding

and raise their aspirations. The range of in-school clubs is exciting, including sports, music and languages.  The school uses the additional sports funding for primary schools extremely well to introduce pupils to a range of exciting physical activities. The school ensures that the good work will continue, for example by training teachers to deliver effective gymnastics lessons. Pupils from Reception to Year 6 benefit from regular swimming lessons in the school’s pool, and pupils report that swimming is a particular favourite with them.  Pupils are prepared extremely well for growing up in modern democratic Britain. They are involved not only in school council elections, but also in the borough-wide youth council. School values are understood by all. Pupils spoke to inspectors about the focus in assemblies on key words, such as ‘excellence’ or ‘courage’. They could explain how thinking about such values makes a difference to their learning and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

their relations with others.  Leaders and governors maintain high vigilance when it comes to safeguarding. They keep pupils and adults extremely safe.  The governance of the school: – Governance is highly effective. Governors work in close partnership with leaders and are fully involved in the life of the school. They visit regularly to see its work, including the quality of teaching, for themselves. They submit reports on their findings so that other governors benefit from their knowledge. Governors are not afraid to ask searching questions. In such ways they make a valuable contribution to the school’s upward journey. – Governors have a thorough understanding of published figures about pupils’ results. They also know the progress made by the pupils as they move through the school. They are helped to understand the work of the school through clear and helpful reports, presented by leaders and the local authority. Governors

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The leadership and management are outstanding

use this information to probe deeply into how groups of pupils are learning and to make sure that any group in danger of falling behind is quickly supported. – Governors keep a close eye on the link between teachers’ movement along the pay scales and how well pupils are performing. Governors are not afraid to tackle any underperformance, should it occur. In this way they help ensure that the school receives excellent value for money from its staff. – Governors are very well trained and carry out extremely effectively their statutory obligations to keep pupils safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and respectful to visitors and to one another. The focus on good manners starts in the earliest years, ensuring that pupils throughout the school are considerate. Pupils from all faiths, backgrounds and heritages get on well together. Behaviour records confirm that incidents of unkindness are few and far between. There are no exclusions.  Behaviour is not outstanding because, though pupils have positive attitudes to learning, they do not show an exceptional thirst for knowledge. This is reflected in their attendance which, though on a rising trend, is only average.  Playground behaviour is good, even though the current building works have reduced the space to play. Pupils are provided with attractive activities, such as table tennis, and the school encourages them to develop an enthusiasm for skipping with ropes.  Those who attend breakfast club and after-school care are given healthy food and a range of worthwhile

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. The site, though large, is secure. Doors and gates are secure. Fire drills are carried out regularly.  Leaders make sure that all those who work with children are rigorously checked. Accident books are kept up to date. Staff plan in advance for any risks that might arise from such activities as trips away or the use of the swimming pool.  Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe at school. One commented that incidents of bullying are ‘super- rare’. The adults deal with any minor squabbles quickly, and pupils are confident in turning to adults if they have any concerns.  Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe at all times. For example, they are taught to avoid dangers when using computers. Inspectors saw pupils learning to ride bicycles safely and to watch for traffic dangers when cycling.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good and secures good achievement. Teachers and support staff expect a great deal from the pupils, and this has raised pupils’ overall achievement since the previous inspection.  Teachers question pupils well. They direct questions at specific pupils, not just those with their hands up, giving pupils of all levels of ability good opportunities to learn. Adults make sure that any misconceptions are cleared up before moving on.  Teaching is lively and based on wide-ranging topics. In one Year 6 guided reading lesson, for example, pupils were busy studying such diverse topics as the lives of Greek gods, and how medieval castles were constructed. This range of learning experiences develops pupils’ imagination and curiosity well.  Pupils who spoke to inspectors said that they enjoy learning and that behaviour in lessons is well managed. They feel supported and one commented, ‘Teachers are our best friends.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants and support teachers provide strong support to individuals and groups in need of extra help. This enables all groups to make good progress so that no group falls behind.  Reading is improving. Pupils are encouraged to read at home as well as at school. Pupils who read aloud to inspectors showed that they had received a good grounding in learning their sounds and letters (phonics).  Writing is a particular focus in the school, and new systems for encouraging pupils to write at length are contributing to a rise in writing skills throughout the school.  Mathematics is a strength of the school. Pupils and staff work together to identify pupils’ targets and to support pupils in meeting their targets. Teaching is well planned so that pupils are challenged to do as well as they can. This particularly benefits the most able, so that a higher proportion than average achieve highly in mathematics by the time they leave school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking is particularly effective in pupils’ English and mathematics books. In these books, pupils are given valuable guidance on how to improve. Basic errors are corrected, and high standards of presentation are expected. However, pupils’ topic books are not marked as thoroughly or helpfully. Pieces are sometimes allowed to be left unfinished. Basic errors are not always picked up rigorously enough. As a result, pupils do not take as much pride in these books or make enough effort with presentation.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well and make good progress in their learning throughout the school, leaving with attainment that is average. Progress within each year group and across subjects is consistently good.  The strong drive by leaders, governors and staff to raise the achievement of disadvantaged pupils has been very successful. Gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils have narrowed. School figures show that this trend is continuing.  Disadvantaged Year 6 pupils are currently on track to attain as well as other pupils in the school in reading and mathematics, and to narrow the gap in writing to less than a term. Compared with other pupils nationally, disadvantaged pupils at the school are expected to be behind by around one term in each subject. This gap is much narrower than the gap between disadvantaged pupils nationally and other pupils nationally.  In 2014, disadvantaged pupils at the school made more progress than other pupils nationally. Current

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The achievement of pupils is good

Year 6 pupils are expected to make equally strong progress.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs do very well at the school, as do pupils who speak English as an additional language. Their needs are quickly identified. They receive effective support individually or in small groups.  The most able benefit from support targeted at raising their achievement. They receive effective additional teaching from staff trained in meeting the needs of the most able. They benefit from links with nearby secondary skills to introduce them to more advanced challenges in English and mathematics.  By the time pupils leave the school, they have gained good literacy and numeracy skills and are ready to join their next school confidently.

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The early years provision is good

 The early years provision is led well. The early years leader works closely with the headteacher to ensure that the quality of teaching is good and that activities enable children to learn a wide range of skills.  Leaders rigorously check how well the children are learning. They keep accurate records of their progress, which show that children achieve well in all areas of learning.  Leaders have an accurate understanding of what needs to be done. They recognise that the indoor activities stimulate strong learning but that the outdoor play areas are not as good. Children have too few chances outdoors to develop outstanding skills in reading, writing and number work. The limited outdoor spaces in Reception do not give children enough scope for skipping, riding wheeled vehicles and testing their muscles to the full.  Children’s behaviour is good. They are ready to play together peaceably and share the play equipment.

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The early years provision is good

There is a strong focus on good manners and thinking of others. For example, children in the Reception Year were given the task of asking their classmates if they wanted morning milk or not. In every case the children asked remembered to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.  Adults make sure that the activities provided have a strong appeal to the children’s imagination. For example, children in the Nursery class joined enthusiastically in a game of pretending they were in a rainforest. As they looked through their binoculars, it was clear that they could visualise monkeys and lions, so wrapped up were they in the game. In such ways the school promotes children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development strongly.  Children are kept safe. The site is secure and adults who work with the children are properly checked.  Most adults make sure that they ask children open-ended questions to help them think about the topic

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The early years provision is good

and use full sentences in their replies. However, this is not always the case, and opportunities to develop children’s language or thinking skills are sometimes missed.  Children’s progress in acquiring skills is checked carefully. Children who have a range of additional learning or language needs are given timely support. This enables them to make good progress in line with that of others.  Children make good progress in their learning. They enter the Nursery or Reception classes with very varied language, number and social skills. They leave Reception with skills that are broadly typical for children of their age. They are prepared well for the next stage of school and are ready to move confidently into Year 1.

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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 102583 Local authority Kingston upon Thames Inspection number 462147

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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 560 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Heather Jones Headteacher Rob Meakin Date of previous school inspection 25 April 2013 Telephone number 020 8397 3265 Fax number 020 8397 0284 Email address office@lovelace.rbksch.org 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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