St Vincent De Paul Catholic Primary School

St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School Morpeth Terrace, Westminster, London SW1P 1EP

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The newly appointed headteacher swiftly identified strengths and priorities and has brought about rapid improvements.  Teaching is good in most classes because teachers have high expectations and challenge all pupils. As a result, most pupils are making good progress.  Attainment was above that expected at the end of Key Stage 1; this is an improvement since the previous inspection. Similarly, attainment was well above average at the end of Key Stage 2, with a rising trend.  The revised curriculum is broad and balanced and prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.  Governors challenge school leaders and have high aspirations for all pupils. This is an improvement since the last inspection.  Early Years Foundation Stage continues to be good. The early years leader has correctly addressed inaccuracies in assessments, which has led to an improved early years provision, and children are making good progress.

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This is a good school

 Pupils‟ spiritual, moral, and social, cultural development is outstanding. Their behaviour is exemplary. Pupils are polite and respectful of everyone from different cultures and religions.  Pupils display strong attitudes to learning within lessons. They are proud of their school‟s achievements.  Safeguarding procedures are effective and there is a strong culture of vigilance which ensures that pupils feel safe and well supported at school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not yet outstanding because some teachers do not have high expectations for groups of pupils and do not challenge pupils sufficiently so progress is not maximised for all pupils.  Boys and lower-attaining pupils in Key Stage 2 are not encouraged to be sufficiently enthused or motivated to develop their reading well enough.  Learning activities are not always matched to meet the learning needs of lower attainers and disadvantaged pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning to outstanding so all groups of pupils make outstanding progress by ensuring that: – teachers have high expectations that lower-attaining pupils and disadvantaged pupils can and will achieve as well as they can – activities encourage lower-attaining and disadvantaged pupils to think hard about their work – learning activities in the classroom are matched closely to what pupils know and can do, particularly for those who find learning hard and for disadvantaged pupils – boys and lower-attaining pupils in Key Stage 2 are encouraged to develop their reading skills and are motivated to read for pleasure – teachers share their expertise of teaching within the school so more teaching is outstanding and all groups of pupils make outstanding progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The newly appointed headteacher has acted swiftly in identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the school and has correctly identified priorities in the school improvement plan. He is ably supported by his deputy headteacher and senior leaders, who are relentless in their drive to raise achievement for all pupils. Senior leaders have strong capacity to secure further improvements for their pupils. The new headteacher has not had sufficient time to improve the quality of teaching and learning to be outstanding.  Leaders implement a rigorous monitoring programme of teaching and learning to improve teaching, but do not always provide opportunities for teachers to share their outstanding practice so that all groups of pupils can benefit from teaching and learning that is outstanding in order to maximise gains in pupils‟ learning and progress.  Senior leaders have successfully created a calm, purposeful and respectful learning environment in which

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

staff and pupils feel respected, valued and well supported. Staff commented,” Everyone is committed to raising standards…I feel very supported and valued.” As one pupil put it: “Staff are kind and helpful…our teachers help us when we are stuck in our work.” Consequently, pupils make good progress and enjoy their learning.  Leaders work closely together to track pupils‟ progress in English and mathematics. The newly introduced tracking system enables leaders to ensure that different groups of pupils, including the disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs or disability, are making good progress. Pupils who need who need additional support with their learning are identified, so they too make good progress. In this way, leaders ensure that they are promoting equality of opportunity for all pupils.  All teachers participated in cross-schools moderation to secure the accuracy of assessments of pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

across the school. As a result, teachers are assessing the pupils correctly and giving pupils accurate feedback on how to improve the quality of their work. To quote, one pupil said, “They also tell us how we are doing daily…they give us next steps in our learning.”  The actions taken to address the recommendations since the last inspection have pushed up standards at the end of Key Stage 1. There was a significant improvement in pupils‟ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics in July, 2015. The current Year 2 pupils are making good progress. This is the result of improved teaching and leadership of this key stage. Highly effective phonics teaching (letters and the sounds that they make) is helping boys with their reading and writing.  The mathematics mastery curriculum, which is well embedded, has led to strong attainment in mathematics at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 for all pupils, including the disadvantaged pupils. Leaders

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

have provided further training to teachers in problem solving in mathematics. This has led to pupils applying their reasoning and problem solving skills in other areas of the curriculum. For example, when cooking, pupils use their skills and knowledge of ratios to work out the quantity of ingredients required. The mathematics mastery curriculum is now being introduced in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Robust systems are in place to monitor teachers‟ performance in order to improve teaching and raise achievement for all pupils. Leaders constantly strive for improvement through high expectations they set for themselves.  The curriculum is broad and balanced. Pupils are given many opportunities to extend their learning through a wide range of clubs such as film, football, dance and tuition in Spanish and French. The clubs are well attended and pupils talk enthusiastically about them. Pupils are taught both Catholic and British

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

values to prepare them for life in modern Britain. They are taught the meaning of respect, tolerance, democracy and the rule of law and know how to implement them in their daily lives. For example, more recently, Year 6 pupils learnt about individual liberty. The well-established school council also enables pupils to exercise the rules of democracy by electing their classmates to represent them on the council.  Leaders‟ efforts in promoting pupils‟ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding, and this is fostered through the curriculum and other activities. For example, pupils are encouraged to participate in charity work, developing a sense of empathy for other children – they raised funds for the Chloe Appeal, for a three-year-old child who is being treated with childhood cancer.  The sports premium funding is spent effectively. The school has employed a sports coach to enhance the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

physical education curriculum and prepare pupils for competitions and tournaments. Pupils are very proud of their achievements. One pupil said, “Our school is the best primary school in the whole of Westminster in sports.” This was referring to the most recent football competition. Similarly, the pupil premium funding is used to raise achievement of disadvantaged pupils. Leaders check the progress of these pupils.  The local authority has provided effective support to the newly appointed headteacher to establish accuracy in assessments and develop the curriculum. The local authority has evaluated this to be a good school.  The governance of the school – The restructuring of the governing body has enabled governors to focus on the key priorities and ask more probing questions to challenge leaders in fulfilling their statutory duties. This is an improvement since the last inspection. – Governors keep themselves abreast of latest government legislation so that their work is in line with

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

the latest changes. – Governors ensure that the sports premium is used effectively. There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to participate in sports clubs and competitions. They are very proud of their pupils‟ achievements in the most recent football competition within the local authority. – Governors regularly attend training to develop their skills in order to fulfil their duties. This was very evident when they discussed the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and the use of pupil premium funding.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There is a strong culture of vigilance, with safeguarding signs displayed in prominent places around the school. Staff are well trained and are aware of the school‟s internal procedures and know what to do if they have concerns. This includes issues relating to radicalisation. This school has established good links with external agencies and has secured good

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

partnerships with parents to create a climate where all pupils feel safe. Parents responding to Ofsted‟s survey mostly agree that pupils feel safe and are well looked after at the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good because leaders and teachers are committed to, and have been successful at, raising standards for all pupils.  Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve for most different groups of pupils, and constantly demand more from their pupils. Teachers consistently implement the school‟s strategies for marking and providing feedback to pupils. As a result, pupils know how to improve their work and teachers move their pupils‟ learning forward. Pupils‟ books show that they are making good progress over time.  The teaching of phonics is highly effective, with pupils given opportunities to apply their phonics to reading words and sentences.  Reading is taught effectively. Boys and lower-attaining pupils in Key Stage 2 need further opportunities to develop their reading skills.  Teachers skilfully question pupils to get them to articulate their thinking with the task on hand. For

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

example, the teacher‟s probing questions enabled one pupil to articulate his thinking when writing a closing paragraph. As a result, more-able pupils are challenged by the teacher‟s skilful questioning and are provided with additional challenges and are fully stretched.  Most teachers are aware of the learning needs of the different groups of pupils in their classes and design lesson activities to make sure that most different groups of pupils are challenged and make good progress. However, not all teachers have this awareness, and consequently learning activities do not always match the needs of lower-attaining and disadvantaged pupils for them to make excellent gains in their learning. They are not encouraged to think hard about their work and teachers do not always maintain high expectations for these groups of pupils.  There is a calm, purposeful learning environment across the school and pupils display positive attitudes to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

learning, with high levels of engagement during lessons, which enable pupils to make good progress within lessons. For example, pupils are given opportunities to work in collaboration to discuss what makes a balanced argument.  The homework set by teachers helps pupils to extend their learning and pupils are given opportunities to research new topics to be taught. For example, pupils were set homework to research British values as part of the school topic where each year group studied a specific value. Most parents‟ responses to the online survey, Parent View, indicates that they are happy with the homework set for their children.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school‟s work to promote pupil‟s personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils are very proud of their peers‟ and the school‟s achievements. They were very keen and proud to tell inspectors of their school‟s achievements: “We win load of competitions.” Similarly, pupils during lessons applaud each other‟s successes.  Pupils say they feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe. They are very knowledgeable about e- safety and all forms of bullying, including racist, cyber and homophobic bullying, and are confident in the school‟s ability to resolve any issues.  Most parents say that their child feels safe at the school and is well looked after. The school provides parents with useful information to support them with their child‟s online safety. Staff and parents responses to Ofsted survey mostly agree that pupils feel safe.  Pupils are very aware of the different types of bullying and say it never happens. If it does, teachers deal

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Personal development and welfare

with it swiftly.  Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to respect individuals from different cultures. One pupil said, “We do not tolerate racism and bullying.”

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils are highly sociable and display high standards of behaviour typical of their school. They responded with great confidence and respect during conversations with inspectors and were very proud to take an inspector on a learning walk to talk about the work displayed around the school.  Pupils are respectful to everyone at school, including the inspectors, and care for their school environment. This is a manifestation of the school‟s mission statement, “show respect for everyone and for our environment.”  In response to the staff questionnaire one teacher commented, “In a recent survey carried out by The National Centre for Diversity, Key Stage 2 children were found to be respectful of people with different faiths, beliefs and cultures and that they are prepared for life in modern Britain.”  Pupils‟ conduct around the school is impeccable; pupils are courteous, polite and well mannered. They

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Behaviour

hold the doors open for visitors and adults alike.  Pupils are focused on their learning and low-level disruption is extremely rare during teaching and learning time. As a result, pupils gain maximum learning time and make good gains during lessons.  The responses from parents during the inspection indicates that most parents say their child is happy, safe and enjoys coming/ to school. The online responses from parents and parents spoken to during the inspection mostly agree that children are well behaved. Staff responding to Ofsted‟s survey agree that the behaviour of pupils is consistently well managed.  Pupils‟ attitudes to learning are exemplary. There are high levels of engagement in learning during lessons. For example, in one class pupils worked in close collaboration with each other to discuss a balanced argument.  The headteachers‟ drive for improvement in attendance has led to an increase in attendance, which is

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Behaviour

above the national average. This means that learning time is optimised.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The school‟s own assessment information and the work in pupils‟ books indicates that they are making good progress over time. This is because of teachers‟ high expectations and the accuracy of teachers‟ assessments, which are used to plan learning activities that closely match the learning needs of most of the different groups of pupils, except for disadvantaged and lower-attaining pupils.  In 2015, the proportion of pupils making expected progress in reading and mathematics was below average and above average for writing.  The proportion of pupils making more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics was above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils making expected progress was below that of other pupils nationally in reading and mathematics but above average in writing compared with other pupils nationally.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils making more than expected progress was above other pupils

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Outcomes for pupils are good

nationally in reading and writing but below other pupils nationally in mathematics.  In 2015, the proportion of pupils in Year 6 reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was above average. There is a rising trend in the attainment of pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 in all subjects. The results from the 2015 tests show that disadvantaged pupils did well at the end of Key Stage 2 in reading and mathematics, but particularly well in writing compared to other pupils nationally.  The outcomes for pupils in Key Stage 1 have improved significantly since the last inspection, especially in writing. The school‟s own assessment information indicates that current Year 2 pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  In 2015 the proportion of pupils at the end of Year 2 reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics was above average.  The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standards in phonics at the end of Year 1 was above

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Outcomes for pupils are good

average and has risen for the last three years. Pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 use their knowledge of sounds well to read unfamiliar words.  The school‟s assessment information shows that pupils who have special educational needs or disability are making good progress because teachers provide bespoke support by taking into consideration their individual needs and maintaining high expectations.  Pupils are well prepared for the next stage in education because of the rising trends in standards.

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Early years provision is good

 Effective leadership, together with a good understanding of what constitutes good early years provision, has secured good attainment at the end of Reception and continues to be strong since the previous inspection.  Children enter school with knowledge, skills and understanding that are typical of their age. In 2015, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of Reception was well above the national average. There is a rising trend in the number of children achieving a good level of development, which gives them a secure foundation for learning in Year 1.  Children currently in the early years foundation stage are making good progress from their starting points. This is the result of good teaching which is informed by accurate assessments of what children can do and their next steps of learning.  The early years leader has correctly addressed inaccuracies in assessments at the end of Reception in

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Early years provision is good

2015, which has resulted in an improved provision. More opportunities are provided for boys to engage in writing and for children to lead their own learning through self-initiated activities.  Children are motivated, interested, behave well and listen to adults and each other. Children concentrate for long periods on tasks they choose themselves. For example, one boy in the nursery was at the construction table and was eager to tell the inspector what he had made: ”I am making a rotator.”  The school encourages partnership working between families and staff. For example, the phonics workshops were well attended and parents equipped to support their child with reading.  Phonics is taught effectively to support children with their early reading and writing development.  There is a strong emphasis on the promotion of language across the early years curriculum to support children who are learning English as an additional language.

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Early years provision is good

 The outdoor provision is well accessed by children to enhance their physical development and learning.  Staff are vigilant and keep the children safe. Safeguarding procedures are effective and there are no breaches of the statutory welfare requirements.

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School details

Unique reference number 101144 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 10011619

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 242 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Moruzzi Headteacher/Principal/Teacher in charge Nathaniel Scott Cree Telephone number 020 7641 5990 Website www.svpschool-primary.org.uk/ Email address office@svpschool.co.uk Date of previous inspection 2–3 April 2014

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in September 2015.  This is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is average. Pupil premium funding is extra funding the school receives to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability who receive support is below average.  The proportion of pupils from ethnic minority groups is well above average. The largest ethnic groups are White other and White British.  The vast majority of pupils speak Spanish or Italian, and English as an additional language.  The school met the government‟s current floor standards in 2015, which set the minimum expectations for pupils‟ attainment and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 13 lessons, of which 12 were joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Work in pupils‟ books from the current academic year was also looked at with senior leaders.  Inspectors listened to pupils read from Key Stages 1 and 2.  A group of pupils went on a learning walk with one inspector and discussed their work on display.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, senior leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body and five other governors. In addition, a meeting was held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 39 responses to Ofsted‟s online Parent View questionnaire and 36 responses with free texts. They also met with parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors looked at a number of documents, including the school‟s own information on pupils‟ current progress, evaluation of its own performance, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and

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Information about this inspection

documents relating to safeguarding.  Inspectors also took account of the 20 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Rajeshree Mehta, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Hazel Burnie Ofsted Inspector guidance „Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted‟, which is available from Ofsted‟s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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