Kender Primary School

Kender Primary School Kender Street, London SE14 5JA Inspection dates 25–27 April 2016

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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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 Good

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This is a good school

 Since the last inspection, improvements have been very good. Consequently, the school is very well placed to improve further.  Improvements to date are linked to the outstanding leadership of the headteacher and other senior leaders, a clear vison of high expectations, strong teamwork and a passionate community spirit among staff and parents.  Staff listen to, and talk with, parents. They are responsive to ideas, and work together to make the school even better.  Pupils’ behaviour and their personal development are outstanding. Pupils’ thirst for learning, pride in and love for their school is evident in their conduct.  Pupils feel safe in the school and their parents agree; they trust the teachers. Strong relationships and a deep sense of responsibility towards each other are guaranteed.  Children in the Nursery and Reception experience an excellent start to their education. The rich learning environment and sharp focus on

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This is a good school

developing their literacy and number skills help them to make rapid progress.  The quality of teaching is good despite the recent high turnover of staff and recruitment difficulties.  Pupils are making better progress now than at the time of the previous inspection. This is because they believe in, and apply, the school’s mantra on resilience, helping others and demonstrating good manners and respect.  The school community radiates happiness, and calmnesss. Racial harmony is extremely good. Parents are positive about this inclusive nature, all of which contribute to pupils’ spiritual, cultural, moral and social growth and development.  Governors know the school and wider community very well and successfully work with the leaders to remove known, and emerging, barriers.  Pupils achieve well, particularly at the end of key stage 2, where in 2015, results were in the top 20% of all schools nationally.  The curriculum is rich and seeks to strengthen

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This is a good school

pupils’ learning. The well designed forest school and specialist teaching of subjects such as art provide depth and breadth and build on pupils’ learning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The most-able pupils and those who have special educational needs are not always given hard enough work.  Most of the teaching is not of a high enough quality for all pupils to make outstanding progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching is of the highest quality so that outcomes improve and are sustained for all groups of pupils, by: – ensuring that there is more challenge for the most-able pupils to make outstanding progress – planning work well, ensuring that it is suitably challenging and linked to the needs of pupils who have special educational needs or disability.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The established headteacher is an outstanding leader whose dedication to the school inspires staff, pupils and parents to buy into, and accept, the school’s values and high ambitions. He is very well supported by the deputy headteacher, other senior leaders, the governing body and all staff.  The school mantra is at the heart of all that the school does, and pupils readily recite the values of ‘kindness and responsibility, resilience and respect and good manners’. They cherish these values, define them effortlessly and live them when learning or playing together.  The school helps staff to grow professionally and this is recognised locally. Consequently, although many leave for promotion, the school’s capacity to improve further has not been dented, primarily because training and development is continuous, and talents are spotted and nurtured. Succession planning and opportunities for staff to develop leadership and management skills are very well planned.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The new senior team works extremely well together. As exemplary practitioners, they work as a unified team, leading and developing good practice and ensuring that staff are provided with the right support.  Detailed school improvement planning, evaluation and revision contribute to driving change. The school does not stand still; it is open-minded and reflective. Actions are therefore carefully considered to meet the needs of the pupils.  Monitoring is highly effective. This includes providing intensive but time-bound support for staff whose work requires refining. Very good support is evident in the much improved teaching which is now good and improving strongly.  The rigour and effectiveness of monitoring the quality of teaching, and pupils’ progress ensure that staff are held to account for pupils’ achievement. Regular meetings identify potential underachievement and provide clear planning and guidance to staff on strategies they might use to make improvements.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 Middle leaders make a very good contribution to school development; they have opportunities to develop their skills, put forward ideas and use their subject improvement plans to drive improvement.  A new assessment system is currently being developed and monitored to ensure that staff have access to information that is accurate. This helps staff to adjust the curriculum and teaching to meet pupils’ needs effectively.  The school is like a busy storehouse where activities are purposeful and created to excite and inspire pupils. The curriculum provides a wide breadth of experience for pupils that is tailored to increase their confidence and independence as learners. It provides them with academic and social skills which open their mind to learning in, for example, the forest school in the early years. Trips and enrichment activities introduce them to other worlds outside their immediate experiences, for example, sailing. Specialist teaching in art extends

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

pupils’ dexterity and observational skills as ‘artists’. Similarly, the sport premium funding is used very well to increase pupils’ participation in a range of sports, including cricket and basketball.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptionally good, and interwoven with the work covered on British values. The school’s ethos and environment enables pupils to know about and value themselves, while respecting other faiths, religions, cultural beliefs and practices. The school promotes British values very well and it is evident that pupils care very much about each other, as demonstrated in the Kender spirit of inclusiveness. This gives pupils good insights into the relevance of basic human values, and prepares them very well for life in a diverse society.  Effective specialist work and support for pupils who have special educational needs contribute to most of them making good progress. The school has clear procedures for identifying their needs, monitors progress

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

regularly and ensures that the pupils have a voice.  Careful and strategic use of the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils has led to them making advanced gains in their learning by the end of their primary schooling. Resouces are carefully targeted and include, for example, a therapist to support pupils’ development. Extra support, combined with solidly good- quality teaching, has resulted in the attainment gap being extremely narrow, particularly in mathematics and reading. There is an effective drive to develop writing further, which has been a weaker area.  Partnership work with parents is excellent. Parents very much appreciate the school’s work and view the ethos as one of nurture, innovation and involvement of parents/carers in their child’s learning. They value the curriculum practices such as weekend readathon for Year 3 and 4 pupils, the ‘daddy’s Sunday in Hyde Park’, workshops on literacy and numeracy and the numerous clubs and enrichment activities. They also

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

appreciate the support from all staff, including those in the office. As one parent stated, ‘I love the school and wish that my child could stay there always’. These comments sum up some of the unique attributes of Kender.  The governance of the school The governing body is effective and brings a wealth of expertise to the school. Governors know the school and community very well and make an extremely good contribution to the school’s development. Governors have ensured that changes in the local population or pupils’ social circumstances are not seen as excuses or barriers to high expectations. Governors monitor the progress pupils make and are very well informed about all aspects of the school’s work. They know the strengths and relative weaknesses and because all take a leading role in monitoring the school improvement plan, they gain a detailed understanding of the school’s effectiveness. Governors

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

are also very aware of how teachers receive pay awards linked to the quality of their work and how senior leaders tackle underperformance. Governors make sure that all spending is kept under review, including the pupil premium funding. Similarly, they also ensure that they fulfil all areas of their duties.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Parents say that the school is safe and the governors acquit themselves well in this regard. Governors ensure that staff are carefully checked and training in relation to the ‘Prevent’ duty, children missing education and child sexual exploitation is fully addressed. In addition, there is very good regard to making sure that children and families are given invaluable support. Despite the diminishing services locally, they seek to ensure that social issues linked to housing and health matters do not affect the pupils’ learning. The school is unrelenting in its fight to ensure that pupils in its

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The school has improved the quality of teaching since the previous inspection. This has been achieved through targeted training and development linked to the needs of individuals, school priorities and local and national priorities such as the new national curriculum.  Pupils learn well because teachers keep to the school’s values of high standards. Teachers use their good subject knowledge and high level of enthusiasm to inspire pupils’ love for learning. Consequently, activities are carefully planned and mostly linked to the needs and interests of pupils. However, the most-able pupils are not consistently challenged to enable them to make better progress in line with their capability. In addition, pupils who have special educational needs or a statement told inspectors that sometimes work could be more challenging.  Systems for assessing pupils’ progress are currently being refined to ensure accuracy of assessment and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

recording of pupils’ achievements each term. Evidence, including scrutiny of work, shows that records are used well and moderated to identify and support learning.  Planning takes into consideration the starting points of pupils and involves them feeding into coverage of topics through mind mapping (recording) what they know. By the end of the theme or topic covered, pupils’ evaluation of the skills acquired contribute to them knowing how well they have learned. This approach inspires pupils to learn well through the’ WOW’ factor at the start of each project, as teachers seek to cover a range of skills in subjects and across subjects. This is particularly noticeable in the cross-curricular opportunities provided to support active engagement when pupils investigate topics and themes.  Pupils enjoy their learning and say that staff are very supportive and explain clearly to them what they need to do and how they need to achieve the next steps in their learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Pupils generally remain very much engaged and on task in lessons because teachers deepen their understanding through effective questioning and sustain their interest through using a variety of activities. Where misconceptions are made, teachers and support staff intervene and give clear explanations so that pupils know how to be successful.  The teaching of mathematics and reading are particular strengths of the school’s work. Pupils have different opportunities to increase their mastery of mathematics, a favourite subject, through different programmes of work such as ‘mathletics’. Work in books indicates that pupils do not move on until they can confidently demonstrate that they have developed the concept and can explain the methods used. Written explanation is helping them to frame their responses well. Nevertheless, skills in writing are not as strong as they are in mathematics and reading and this is an area for development in the school improvement plan. Teachers now

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

use talk as a starting point for pupils to discuss their ideas before working through the different stages. Pupils are acquiring redrafting and editing skills as they work through the writing process to produce more polished work.  In comparison, reading is a particular strength, as demonstrated in the readathon and the wide range of genres studied. The teaching of reading is enabling pupils to increase their vocabulary and have an awareness of a writer’s craft as they are exposed to visiting writers and authors. The teaching of phonics (the sound that letters make) is appropriately developed from the early years onwards to support pupils’ reading.  The teaching of art as a discrete subject produces high-quality art work on display which is highly valued. Where possible, learning is linked to wider fields so that pupils gain insight into a range of topics. For example, in Year 4 pupils work on natural disasters including visiting and experiencing the ITN studios to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

find out how a journalist would compile a report. Similarly, a diversity of London project is planned to take place during this current term.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils get on very well with each other and this leads to the school operating an open culture of acceptance across all year groups. Relationships are a strength as the school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral social and cultural development extremely well.  The playground is a hive of activities and no one is left out. Pupils support one another when someone is hurt and the high level of integration cuts across age group and ethnicity. Pupils are extremely proud of their OPAL (outdoor play and learning), which they contributed to developing. They see the OPAL as an integral part of their school, a development that was justly given a platinum award for inventiveness.  The vast majority of pupils remain engaged in learning. The culture is underpinned by the mantra ‘We are resilient’, and they do not give up trying. Pupils are polite around the school, opening doors for adults, and

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Personal development and welfare

they look after their school.  Pupils absorb and act on information about looking after their health. Playtime is therefore active, and there is a high level of participation in sports, including competitions.  The school council, an elected body, take pride in their work as mentors, ambassadors and role models for the school by setting a standard that others emulate. They have a very good understanding of their roles by, for example, actively taking control of ensuring that the immediate space at the front of the school remains a no parking zone. Similarly, they promote achievement and recently acted as teachers and leaders for part of the day. They savoured their roles and said that it increased their confidence and sense of responsibility. It was not surprising that a few of them indicated their desire to become teachers.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. In lessons and around the school, pupils confidently move with ease. They practice the mantra of ‘good manners’ with poise.  The level of respect that they have for each other contributes to them trusting the adults who work with them and each other. They feel safe in the school and know that if there is any form of bullying, it is dealt with quickly by adults. Pupils are assured that they can talk to a member of staff about worries. Records show that the very few incidents of bullying are dealt with effectively.  Pupils understand the importance of the topics covered in personal, social, and health education and know the different forms of bullying and how to keep safe, including when using the internet.  Pupils are clear about rules and adhere to them during lessons, and while moving around the building. Slight off-task behaviour does not last long, usually when lessons are unstructured, because pupils are responsive

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Behaviour

to instructions and work very hard.  The school has not had any permanent exclusions since the previous inspection. The very few temporary exclusions have fallen over the last few years. Where necessary, managed moves take place into the school; Kender pupils rarely take part in such moves.  Attendance, above average last year, is currently in line with the national average. The school has a thorough understanding of the social and medical issues linked to low attendance among a very small minority of pupils. Effective work, including that of the school’s own welfare officer, and the new electronic system for monitoring attendance and punctuality, has led to increased time to work more closely with pupils and families. This has led to a reduction in the number of pupils who are persistently absent. Checks and home visits are thorough. Although penalty notices have not been issued, the school works sensitively

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Behaviour

with families to improve the situation of the circumstances of parents, which are often outside their control.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils make good progress by the end of key stage 2, with a minority making outstanding progress in all subjects but more specifically in reading and mathematics.  In 2015, while attainment was above but not significantly different from the national average at the end of key stage 2, progress was good from pupils’ average starting points. These were the school’s best outcomes in six years.  Standards fell in key stage 1, primarily as the quality of teaching that pupils were accustomed to receiving was not consistently good. This blip has been corrected and in both key stages, assessment information indicates that the school expects to sustain the previous standards and progress expected in both key stages.  In the early years, children achieve outcomes in line with or exceeding the standard expected nationally by the end of Reception. This above-average starting point prepares pupils very well for the phonics screening

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Outcomes for pupils are good

checks at the end of Year 1 where they have consistently achieved above average results over the last three years. Outcomes for the current year are expected to exceed previous standards achieved.  The gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed significantly over the last three years when compared with the national average and other pupils in the school. Outcomes in 2015 showed that there was very little difference in performance in mathematics and reading. The gap was widest in writing. Currently, there is not a consistent pattern of underachievement and the narrowing of the gap moves apace. Pupils’ progress is monitored and any underachievement is picked up and dealt with quickly. Interventions and a range of services are accessed through pupil premium funding to address specific concerns with learning.  The most-able pupils made slower progress than similar groups nationally and than other pupils in the

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Outcomes for pupils are good

school. The school has developed a range of strategies for raising standards further for this group. However, the school recognises that closer monitoring is required to ensure that they can make the best progress of which they are capable. Pupils indicated that while they feel challenged generally, work could sometimes be more challenging.  The very few pupils with a statement or special educational needs or an education, health and care plan make slower progress than other pupils in the school. Nevertheless, in key stage 2, those receiving support make good progress in line with other pupils in the school.  Across the school, progress in writing was slower for most groups of pupils, in particular White British pupils, and any other groups as well as the most able and those not eligible for additional funding. Pupils with English as an additional language made progress similar to other pupils in the school who speak English as

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Outcomes for pupils are good

their first language.  The progress of the very few pupils who attend alternative provision is monitored closely. Specialist support is used well to develop good attendance and behaviour for learning, so that progress in reading, writing and mathematics is at least in line with expectations.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 Children in the early years demonstrate an excellent understanding of the well-established routines. They enter the provision with below-average starting points but with a majority entering with limited language skills. By the end of Reception, they make the transition to Year 1 having achieved above-average skills in most areas of learning. Children eligible for additional funding reach above the standard expected nationally in all areas of their learning. In 2015, their achievement was higher than other children in the school, particularly in reading, writing and numbers.  Baseline assessment on entry to identify children’s starting points is thorough. Measures in place ensure that the school is able to track and secure outcomes that demonstrate excellence.  Provision is outstanding and contributes to children making exceptionally rapid progress because staff are very well equipped through training and professional development to help children achieve very well. Staff

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Early years provision is outstanding

are very supportive and the well-staffed early years provision ensures that children have access to the curriculum and are supported socially and emotionally.  The rich and stimulating environment encourages children to be inquisitive and maintain a high level of attention. For example, in Reception, children drew still life pictures of different types of fish and compared the actual crab to drawings in a book. Children observed closely the shape, size, and colours while making comparisons, before dissecting them and talking about what they had observed the following day. This is imaginative and awe inspiring work for children.  Children who enter nursery for the first time and without any knowledge of socialising, soon learn to meet and make friends. Very well trained staff, specialist staff such as the art therapist, and the stimulating learning environment make sure the children feel at ease. Children who speak English as a second language

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Early years provision is outstanding

are given the guidance and support needed to begin taking part in learning activities.  The teaching of reading is good; recapping and retelling stories, including making predictions, is very good. Staff expertly use role play to engage children and develop their communication skills as they are expected to explain their ideas. During the inspection, captivating teaching contributed to the children making outstanding progress while listening and engaging in role play based on the three little pigs and the big bad wolf.  Records of children’s achievement are meticulous, as is planning. Procedures for assessing children’s progress are exemplary.  Provision in the early years is exceptional and, as a centre of excellence, it is very well organised. The forest school experience enlivens the daily provision for the children, demonstrating the breadth of the curriculum that is typically on offer at Kender. It provides children with opportunities to feed chickens, experience the

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Early years provision is outstanding

natural world and make the most out of this retreat in this urban area. This stimulating and calming environment means that the children are provided with opportunities in all areas of the curriculum.  The assistant headteacher with responsibility for the early years is an excellent leader. She is well supported by a strong, dedicated and impressive team. The leadership of the provision is highly focused on the different challenges of the provision across the early years. This ensures that children are offered high- quality activities each day. Lively teaching of reading is good throughout the early years, with children beginning to recall key points of stories.  Children enjoy their learning, respond well to questioning, take opportunities to read, begin to make letters and write, and do simple number work. They are happy in a safe environment that includes staff who meet their learning needs and take care of them.

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School details

Unique reference number 100691 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 10008689

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 432 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sandra Adefiranye Headteacher Keith Barr Telephone number 020 7639 4654 Website www.kender.lewisham.sch.uk Email address info@kender.lewisham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 February 2011

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Information about this school

 Kender Primary School is much smaller than the average sized primary school with a similar proportion of boys and girls.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, the additional government funding, is above average. This funding is used to provide additional support for pupils eligible for free school meals or looked after by the local authority.  The school is very diverse ethnically with a high proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups. The main groups are: ‘Any other White background’, ‘Any other ethnic group’, pupils of Caribbean heritage and White British.  The proportion of pupils whose first language is not English is high.  The proportion of pupils receiving special educational needs support is below the national average, while the proportion with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is well below average.  The school makes full-time provision for 24 children in the early years, and offers 38 places for those

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Information about this school

attending part time.  The school has expanded provision in the Nursery to include provision from 8am to 6pm and is considering more flexible options to support working parents. The school is now a two form entry with an additional class.  The very few pupils who attend Woodlands, a local authority pupil referral unit, are monitored regularly.  The school exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was converted from a section 8 short inspection to a full section 5 inspection over two days.  Inspectors observed a range of learning activities, including short visits to a number of lessons and longer observations of 18 lessons. Of these, 12 were made jointly with senior leaders. The inspectors also scrutinised pupils’ work, attended two assemblies and visited a few registrations.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, other senior and middle leaders, and the chair of the governing body.  Discussions were held with three groups of pupils and several groups of pupils across the year groups that read to inspectors.  One of the inspectors met with a few parents and held a telephone conversation with the local authority’s education consultant who works with the school.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation. This included the school’s self-evaluation of its effectiveness and development plan; information on how teachers are

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Information about this inspection

appraised; records of senior and middle leaders’ evaluation of teaching and learning and assessment of pupils’ learning. Systems used to care for and protect the welfare of pupils at the school and minutes of the governing body meetings were also scrutinised.  The inspectors also took account of the responses to the Ofsted online Parent View questionnaire, including the free text responses.

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Inspection team

Carmen Rodney, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Lisa Farrow Ofsted Inspector Calvin Henry Ofsted Inspector Martina Martin Ofsted Inspector James Robinson 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 (Carcass), 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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