Sellincourt Primary School

School report Sellincourt Primary School

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Sellincourt Road, Tooting, London, SW17 9SA

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school requires improvement because pupils do not make consistently good progress. This is because the quality of teaching is inconsistent.  Pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is not as good as it should be.  The most-able pupils throughout the school do not achieve the levels of which they are capable.  Disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well when compared to their fellow pupils and to other pupils nationally.  Teaching does not provide enough challenge for pupils, particularly the most able, to enable them to make rapid progress.  Questioning does not always encourage pupils to get to the heart of topics.  Teaching assistants are not deployed well enough to help pupils to learn effectively.  Teachers’ suggestions to pupils on how they can improve their work are not always effective enough in ensuring improvements in learning.

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The school has the following strengths

 Leadership is strong. The headteacher has instigated much-needed changes. Ways of checking pupils’ progress have improved.  Leaders know their school well. They have a clear blueprint for improvement. They are ambitious for the school to be the best it can. As a result, the school has improved recently and is well placed to continue to do so.  Leaders manage the quality of teaching well. They visit lessons often and their judgements are accurate. Underperformance is being tackled.  Governors work closely with leaders and support them. The vigilance of leaders and governors is having a positive impact on teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Leaders and governors make sure that pupils grow up with strong British values. All members of the school understand and apply these values.  Pupils behave well. This reflects the school’s strong commitment to promoting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils from the wide range of heritages represented in the school get on well together and respect one another’s ways of life.  The school keeps pupils safe and ensures that they know how to keep themselves safe.  Children get off to a good start in the Nursery and Reception classes. They learn a wide range of skills. The move into into Year 1 is well managed.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress and achieve well. This is because they receive effective support.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make a good start to learning English in the early years. They quickly catch up and achieve well throughout the school.  Pupils who attend the Willow Centre achieve well. They are included in all aspects of school life. The specialist support they receive enables them to learn well and make good progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 22 lessons across a range of subjects to observe pupils’ learning. Around half were observed jointly with the headteacher and one of the deputy 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 subjects. A meeting was held with the local authority’s school link advisor. A meeting was held with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, and four other governors.  Inspectors took account of the views of staff in 46 questionnaires.  Inspectors took account of 29 responses to the online survey, Parent View. They spoke to a number of parents during the inspection.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents. These included the school’s

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Information about this inspection

own views of how well it is doing, its plans for the future and 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

 Sellincourt Primary is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The headteacher took up her post in September 2014, following two terms of interim leadership.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for additional funding through the pupil premium is higher than average. The funding is used to support pupils who are eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  Most pupils come from minority ethnic heritages and this proportion is much higher than average. A wide range of heritages is represented.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is higher than average.  The school incorporates the Willow Centre, a centre for 16 hearing-impaired pupils from the ages of three to eleven.  The school runs a breakfast club and provides after-school care.

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Information about this school

 Around half of children attend the Nursery full time. The rest attend part time, either in the morning or the afternoon sessions. Children in Reception attend all day.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In order to improve pupils’ achievement throughout the school in reading, writing and mathematics, raise the overall quality of teaching so that it is consistently good by:  increasing the level of challenge, particularly for the most able  making sure that adults’ questioning helps pupils to think more deeply and learn more about topics  deploying teaching assistants to best advantage to enable them to help more pupils  making sure that disadvantaged pupils receive closer attention in the classroom so that they achieve in line with their fellow pupils  ensuring that feedback from teachers provides more effective guidance on how pupils can improve. Inspection judgements

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has made a strong personal contribution to improving the school following a period of substantial change in senior leadership. With a firm hand on the tiller, she has made much-needed changes to the way the school is run. For example, pupils’ progress is now checked using more accurate and helpful systems. These help staff to keep an eye on how well pupils are learning and to put in place effective extra support for those who need it, particularly disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.  Leaders have created a culture where good behaviour can thrive. Pupils respect one another. Pupils share in drawing up the school’s code of values and make every effort to apply these values in school each day. As a result, all are treated equally and have equal opportunities. There are good relations between adults and pupils and among pupils themselves. Discrimination is not tolerated.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is vigorously engaged in creating a culture where good teaching can thrive. Her management of the quality of teaching is strong. Ably supported by senior staff and subject leaders, she visits lessons frequently to evaluate the quality of teaching. Her judgements are accurate. Leaders provide valuable advice to staff on how they can improve. The quality of teaching requires improvement, however, because the leadership team has not had sufficient time to iron out inconsistencies.  Leaders understand the school well. Their self-evaluation is robust. They know its strengths and areas for development. Leaders are ambitious to make the school outstanding, and have a realistic and achievable timetable. Strategic planning is strong. The improvements already made to the school environment, staffing, and systems for checking pupils’ progress, show that the school is well placed to improve further.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders and middle leaders provide effective support to senior leaders. For example, the early years coordinator has considerably improved children’s achievement in the Nursery and Reception classes.  The local authority provides copious support to leaders. Advisors visit the school often to see its work for themselves. Their effective support has helped the school to weather a period of changes in leadership.  Leaders quickly identified as a cause for concern gaps in the achievement of disadvantaged pupils when compared to other pupils at the school and nationally. Leaders provide governors and staff with accurate and detailed information on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils compared to other pupils at the school in each year group. This enables staff to raise the achievement of disadvantaged pupils in their class. It also encourages governors to hold the school to account and keep everyone on their toes.

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The leadership and management are good

Leaders and governors have made a strong start in tackling a legacy of underachievement by disadvantaged pupils. As a result of their vigilance, gaps in achievement between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils at the school are beginning to close, not just in Year 6 but also throughout the school.  The school uses the additional funding for physical education and primary sports well. It is used effectively to ensure pupils have a good grounding in physical education and introduce new participants to sports, such as girls’ cricket. It is also used to provide additional support for pupils who are talented in sport. The school is mindful of the need to ensure that the benefits will not be lost if the funding ceases. Staff are trained to continue to provide a wide range of sports.  The school engages well with parents. The great majority of parents who spoke to inspectors or who responded to the online survey, Parent View, were happy with the school. They told inspectors that their

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The leadership and management are good

children were safe and happy. A few parents expressed concerns to inspectors. Every concern was fully explored with leaders. Inspectors heard compelling evidence that leaders knew of the concerns and had taken every reasonable step to address them with those involved.  Pupils learn a broad range of subjects. These are well balanced between academic subjects and those that promote pupils’ artistic, musical and sporting skills. Pupils are taken on worthwhile trips to places that raise their aspirations.  The school strongly promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Assemblies celebrate pupils’ achievements and promote the school’s values of respect and consideration towards others. Displays around the school show its strong commitment to understanding the diverse ways of life of the many heritages represented within the school.  Pupils are prepared very well for growing up with British values. The school’s values are continually

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The leadership and management are good

reinforced. For example, Year 5 pupils prepared mini-plays based on these values. One play featured the value of responsibility for others. It depicted children so intent on playing computer games that they neglected their responsibility to look after a pet rabbit. The discussions around the mini-plays showed that pupils had acquired a strong understanding of such values as kindness, trust and equality.  Leaders and governors effectively carry out their statutory obligations to keep pupils safe. Adults who work with children are carefully checked. The site is very secure. Safeguarding information is included on the school’s website, for example on e-safety, so parents and staff can share in protecting pupils from danger.  Leaders rigorously check on the progress, attendance and behaviour of pupils who attend the Willow Centre. This ensures parity of treatment for all at the school.  The governance of the school:

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The leadership and management are good

 A good many governors turned out to meet the inspectors. This reflects the strong commitment of governors to the school. They visit often to see its work for themselves and play a full part in its life.  Governors are very well informed about pupils’ achievement. They draw on the headteachers’ reports to understand how pupils throughout the school are achieving. They also draw on published figures to help them understand how Sellincourt pupils do against pupils nationally. Their knowledge helps them to ask searching questions, for example on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. As a result of their vigilance, the achievement of disadvantaged pupils is beginning to improve.  Governors undertake learning walks to check for themselves how well pupils are learning and how engaged they are. They are aware of inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and rightly have faith in the ability of leaders to raise its overall quality. Governors understand the link between pupils’

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The leadership and management are good

achievement and teachers’ progression along the pay scales. They effectively manage the performance of leaders and staff. They are not afraid to tackle any staff underperformance that should occur.  Governors meet their statutory obligation to keep pupils safe. As a result of their vigilance, pupils are safe at the school. Governors visit the site to check safeguarding procedures and are well trained in such measures as safer recruitment.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and welcoming to visitors. They are friendly and ready to speak to inspectors.  Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is good. Though the playground is relatively small for the large numbers using it, pupils are considerate when running around.  Behaviour is not outstanding because, when the pace of learning drops, pupils sometimes become restless and lose concentration.  Pupils from all heritages and backgrounds get on well together. There are hardly any incidents of name- calling. Pupils told inspectors that they are encouraged to reflect on ways of managing their own behaviour. They find this helpful. As a result, there are few incidents of challenging behaviour and very few pupils are excluded.  Lunch arrangements are civilised. Children in the early years provision and in Year 1 eat separately in their own dining hall. They learn useful social skills, such as lining up politely, eating sociably together and

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Behaviour

clearing up after themselves. Older pupils who eat in the Daley Hall also show these qualities.  Those who attend breakfast club, or who stay for the after-school care provision, receive healthy food and are given a wealth of interesting and worthwhile activities.  Those who attend the Willow Centre play a full part in the life of the school. The school’s commitment to inclusiveness is seen in the way their needs are fully addressed, so that they are happy and busy at school.  The school robustly checks pupils’ attendance and punctuality. There is a late gate, which puts some healthy pressure on pupils to arrive on time. A governor regularly supports managing the late gate, gently encouraging latecomers to be on time in the future. As a result of such measures, attendance is rising and persistent absences have sharply fallen.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Adults who work with children are rigorously checked. Adults are well trained in safeguarding and their training is checked to make sure it does not fall out of date. Policies are regularly reviewed. The school works in effective partnership with the local authority to check that any safeguarding issues are carefully followed up.  Provision for pupils at risk of falling behind is strong. The effective partnership with external agencies ensures that these pupils’ needs are met and that they are able to make good progress in their learning.  The school makes sure that pupils, including those in the Willow Centre, know how to keep themselves safe. They understand the dangers that might arise from using computers or from talking to strangers.  Pupils report that there are few instances of bullying or unkindness from other pupils. If they have any

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Safety

worries or concerns, they know which adults to turn to. They are aware of the school’s counselling services and are confident in seeking help if they need it.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it is not consistently strong across all years and all classes. As a result, pupils do not make consistently good progress in their learning.  The most-able pupils do not always make the rapid progress they need to do as well as they could. This is because the level of challenge is sometimes not high enough to encourage them to do their best.  The quality of teachers’ questioning varies in effectiveness. Pupils are sometimes encouraged to think about their answers and are stimulated to explore topics in greater depth. At other times, the questioning does not result in strong enough learning. Overall, questioning does not lead to pupils making consistently good progress.  Teachers’ feedback requires improvement because it is not used consistently to help pupils make good progress. Feedback varies in quality from class to class. At best, it offers helpful guidance to pupils on how

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

they can improve. All too often, however, feedback merely praises pupils’ efforts without providing effective enough advice to help them improve.  The school promotes pupils’ reading skills adequately overall. Children in the early years make a promising start in learning their sounds and letters (phonics) effectively. This gives them a good start in learning to read and Year 1 pupils do well in their phonics screening check. Further up the school, pupils make broadly average progress in acquiring reading skills. The school has identified the need to develop in pupils a love of reading. Leaders have made a good start by improving the quality of reading lessons, so that they stimulate pupils to read and understand good books.  The school develops pupils’ writing skills adequately. Lessons offer effective opportunities for pupils to practise grammar, spelling and punctuation. This helps pupils to present written work that is largely

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

accurate. Pupils have adequate opportunities to write about topics drawn from their learning about history and geography. Overall, pupils make the progress expected of them but not the rapid progress needed to raise their attainment.  The school promotes pupils’ mathematical skills well in some classes and year groups but less well in others. This reflects the inconsistent quality of the teaching.  Teaching assistants and other support adults are not always deployed to best advantage. They make a particularly strong impact in the early years provision and when supporting disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. In mainstream classes, however, teachers do not always plan their assistants’ deployment well enough, so that they are unable to make a full impact on pupils’ learning.  Pupils who attend the Willow Centre make good progress in their learning because the highly-trained staff

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

use a variety of techniques. These are appropriate to the individual needs of each pupil, including signing to reinforce clarity when adults are speaking. Staffing levels are high and pupils join mainstream classes for much of their schooling. This, coupled with the careful use of microphones, enables them to benefit from the full range of subjects available to all pupils.

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requires improvement

 Pupils’ attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 and of Key Stage 2 is broadly average. However, achievement requires improvement because pupils’ progress throughout the school is inconsistent. While pupils in some classes make strong progress, those in others make less progress than is necessary to achieve well.  The most-able pupils do not make sufficiently rapid progress in their learning to enable them to attain well in all subjects. Year 6 pupils generally make strong progress in mathematics and the proportions gaining the highest grades are typically above average. In reading and writing, however, their attainment is typically a little below average. In the recent teacher assessments at the end of Year 2, the most-able pupils attained well in reading but were below average in writing and mathematics.  Disadvantaged pupils generally make progress that is similar to that of other pupils nationally in reading,

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requires improvement

writing and mathematics. However, they do not always make the strong progress they need to raise their attainment to match that of other pupils nationally.  In 2013, the attainment of disadvantaged Year 6 pupils was close to that of other pupils nationally. It was also close to that of other pupils in the school. However, in 2014 the attainment of disadvantaged pupils fell below that of other pupils nationally and that of other pupils at the school. In 2014, disadvantaged pupils were over a year behind other pupils nationally in reading and mathematics, and two-and-a-half terms behind in writing. Compared with other pupils at the school they were two-and-a-half terms behind in reading and writing, but five terms behind in mathematics. School figures suggest that these gaps are likely to begin to narrow in 2015, particularly in relation to other pupils at the school.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language receive dedicated support from trained and

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requires improvement

experienced staff. This particularly helps children who enter the Nursery and Reception classes with limited English. They quickly catch up and are soon chatting away. As a result, pupils higher up in the school who speak English as an additional language do well in their learning. They make similar progress to other pupils. Their attainment is broadly average, as is that of other pupils.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve well. They make good progress in their learning and attain more highly than their counterparts in schools attain across the country. This is because they receive effective support that meets their needs, both individually and in small groups.  Pupils who attend the Willow Centre make similar good progress to disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs in the mainstream school. This is because specialist staff support each group

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requires improvement

very well. The pupils very well integrated into the school. They join lessons wherever possible, and the school makes sure that they do not miss any extra activities. They also receive effective support for English and mathematics in their classroom, when staff judge that would best serve their individual needs. The Centre works in effective partnership with the local authority and with external agencies to ensure that pupils achieve well.

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are good

 The effectiveness of the early years provision is graded higher than the school as a whole. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make good progress because the quality of teaching is good. It is not outstanding because some of the resources do not promote the highest quality learning.  The early years provision is well led and managed. The headteacher rightly understands the crucial importance of the early years in providing a foundation for children’s habits of learning as they progress throughout the school. As a result, she has made some significant staffing decisions that have raised children’s achievement. For example, specialist support for the majority of children who speak English as an additional language is rightly focused on the early years. This enables children to gain good language skills from the very start of their school career.  The early years coordinator makes sure that children’s progress and attainment are carefully checked and

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are good

recorded. As a result, leaders give children of varying needs and abilities the right support they need to make good progress. Willow Centre staff work in close partnership with leaders to ensure that children who integrate into the Nursery and Reception classes achieve well. From starting points that vary considerably but are generally below those typical for their age, children make good progress. The latest published figures show that the proportion of children with a good level of development was below average in 2014. School figures for 2015 show a big improvement in the proportion gaining a good level of development. Children in the Reception class are currently set to leave with attainment that is in line with that of children in the country as a whole.  Activities, both indoors and outdoors, are successfully planned to stimulate learning in a variety of skills. Adults promote children’s reading skills by teaching them their sounds and letters in stimulating child-

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are good

friendly ways. Adults promote writing skills by inspiring the children’s imagination, for example through pirate topics. Number skills are taught through such techniques as hiding coins in the sandpit and getting children to match them to pictures of coins with the same values.  Children behave well in the Nursery and Reception classes. They are ready to share the toys and take turns on the wheeled vehicles. Inspectors enjoyed seeing the children busily engaged in their sports day, cooperating with adults and one another to carry, very carefully, potatoes on wooden spoons. All enjoyed the occasion and there were no tears or unfriendly behaviour.  The early years provision keeps children safe. For example, inspectors arrived in record-breaking heat and observed how carefully the adults ensured children wore sun hats, used sun cream and drank water.  The school prepares children carefully for their move into the main school. They visit the Year 1 classes

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are good

they will be joining, so that they are familiar with their teachers before starting. They also begin to join pupils in Year 1 and 2 for assembly. When they start Year 1, they do much of their learning outdoors, as they did in the early years. As a result of such measures, children move confidently to the next stage of schooling.

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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 101019 Local authority Wandsworth Inspection number 448206

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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 453 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Brendan Boxall Headteacher Robin Marlin Date of previous school inspection 13 July 2010 Telephone number 020 8672 6796 Fax number 020 8672 6057 Email address info@sellincourt.wandsworth.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory 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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