St George's Church of England Primary School

St George’s Church of England Primary School Coleman Road, Camberwell, London SE5 7TF

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Senior leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths is over-generous. They do not always accurately identify what needs to be done so that they can make the necessary changes.  Leaders do not examine the impact of the pupil premium funding in enough detail.  Leaders have not given staff sufficient guidance on how to improve or held them to account for weak pupil progress.  As a result, too few pupils make the expected progress in mathematics, writing and science. This is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils.  Class teachers do not use information about pupils’ progress well enough to enable them to set precisely targeted actions for improvement.  The activities teachers set in some subjects are not sufficiently engaging because their subject knowledge is not always secure.  Pupils are not routinely challenged to build on what they already know and can do.  The most able pupils do not reach the standards

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This is a school that requires improvement

of which they are capable, because work is too easy for them.  The governing body has not scrutinised the checks done by school leaders on the suitability of staff carefully enough.

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The school has the following strengths

 The school is showing signs of improvement. Leaders have eradicated inadequate teaching and some pupils are making better progress than seen in the previous inspection, particularly in reading.  Strong appointments to some key leadership positions have resulted in better teaching of English and mathematics during the last nine months.  The provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability is good.  Behaviour is a strength. Pupils are polite, outgoing and well-mannered. They are proud of their school, want to achieve well and work very hard.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is particularly strong.  As a result of good provision, children in Reception settle quickly and make good progress from their starting points.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Leaders and managers, including governors, must: make sure the correct checks about the suitability of staff are made and recorded ensure that they regularly check all aspects of the school’s work so that they can accurately identify the school’s strengths and weaknesses address identified areas for development in a timely and effective way check pupils’ progress and attainment in mathematics, writing and science to ensure that any underachievement is quickly tackled analyse the impact of the pupil premium funding more carefully so that they can see what is making the most difference to the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.  Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is consistently good or better, by: raising teachers’ expectations for all pupils and groups so that work is challenging and builds on what pupils already know and can do, especially for the most able developing teachers’ subject knowledge in all areas of the curriculum

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

encouraging the best teachers to share their skills and expertise with others.  Accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics and writing, by: checking that pupils’ basic calculation and reasoning skills are practised in all classes and making sure that they apply these skills to solve mathematical problems providing opportunities for pupils to develop and practise their skills by writing at length through Years 1 to 6, and insisting on consistently high standards in handwriting and spelling.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because the headteacher and deputy have not provided staff with well-focused guidance. Over time, senior leaders have not checked whether teachers’ assessment of pupils’ work is accurate enough or challenged teachers about the wide variation in pupils’ progress in different subjects across different classes. They have not acted quickly enough to be sure that pupils’ progress improves over time. Consequently, pupils starting Year 6 need to make up too much ground, particularly in mathematics and writing.  Senior leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness is too generous. They pay too little attention to the progress pupils make. When assessing the quality of teaching or pupils’ work, leaders tend to look for positive aspects without sufficient emphasis on areas for development. Consequently, the school does not focus sharply enough on how to improve standards.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Inadequate teaching identified since the previous inspection has been eradicated. However, the school’s plans to improve pupils’ subject knowledge and skills rely too much on input from the local authority or other local schools.  The local authority and diocese have provided extensive support, including that brokered from The Cathedral School, to help drive improvement.  The appointment of two assistant headteachers has refreshed the management team and, together with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), they now check the quality of teaching in a more informed way. As a result, the quality of teaching is improving quickly. However, their work is not directed or pulled together efficiently by most senior leaders. Therefore, the quality of pupils’ work in English, mathematics and science is not consistently good across classes.  A comprehensive range of information about pupils’ attainment and progress is available to leaders.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

Assistant headteachers have worked hard to produce an effective approach to assessment that teachers can use with their classes. However, this has not been in place long enough to show an improvement in pupils’ outcomes because leaders have only been able to track implementation in recent months.  Teachers are set appropriate targets, linked to pupils’ performance, to help them improve their work. Leaders use information from a range of sources to inform teachers about the quality of teaching and learning in their classrooms. Staff state that they are well supported through a range of training opportunities.  Teachers meet regularly with local schools to review pupils’ progress and compare the quality of work produced in pupils’ books. This ensures that pupils’ work is assessed consistently.  However, inspectors’ rigorous checking of pupils’ books revealed insufficient challenge, particularly for the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

most able pupils. Senior leaders know little about how well pupils are achieving in subjects apart from English and mathematics. For example, older pupils’ science work is not good enough, because they do too little practical or investigative work and the presentation of their work is poor.  The curriculum is broad, covering a good range of subjects, including French. Evidence can be seen in the many impressive classroom and corridor displays of pupils’ work in science, humanities, art and design as well as mathematics and writing. Older pupils take part in the Cambridge festival of science. However, work in pupils’ books shows they do not have enough opportunities to control the use of materials with creativity in art or to develop the skills of working scientifically.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils are thoughtful, show respect to each other and work together cooperatively. Pupils learn about the main world religions through visiting

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

speakers and visits to diverse places of worship. The school strongly promotes the importance of equal opportunities and ensures that discrimination is not tolerated.  Pupil premium funding is used to provide additional teaching assistants, a homework club and resources for identified individuals and groups. This has helped disadvantaged pupils’ progress in some year groups, but not all. Leaders’ analysis as to the impact of these initiatives is not detailed enough. For example, the gap between disadvantaged and other pupils in Year 2 in reading and writing increased in 2015, but explanation as to how this would be addressed is not provided in the annual review documentation.  Leadership of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability is effective. The SENCo uses information about children’s performance to ensure that these pupils build on what they already know and can do. As a result, they make good progress from their starting points.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders have used the primary school sports grant to develop physical education by using specialist coaches to support staff in both their planning and their expertise. After-school clubs provide pupils with a variety of different experiences and there are now more opportunities for pupils to take part in sporting activities and competitions. Year 5 and 6 boys celebrated significant success in a recent indoor athletics competition by winning all the events they had entered.  The governance of the school Following the review of governance, the governing body now has two committees for curriculum and resources that report to the full governing body. This allows members of the governing body to focus on identified areas for improvement and report findings to the full governing body. Minutes from these meetings show that they are beginning to challenge school leaders. As a result, governance is now more

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

effective than in the past. However, monitoring of school leaders’ checking of the single central record has, on occasion, not been rigorous enough. Through regular visits, governors gain first-hand information on the quality of teaching and the school’s performance. They have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, particularly in teaching and learning. Governors know about the performance of different groups in the school, including those eligible for the pupil premium. However, because leaders’ analysis of the impact of how these funds are spent lack detail, governors are unable to identify which actions are having the greatest impact and whether all eligible pupils benefit from its use. Governors monitor systems of appraisal and performance management for teaching staff and have completed the performance pay review of the headteacher. They are fully aware of the steps taken by

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

the school to tackle inadequate teaching and have supported the headteacher to ensure effective action.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have made sure that staff receive suitable training and are clear about their responsibilities in keeping pupils safe. The school ensures that checks are made on staff prior to appointment, but references are not always recorded carefully enough. Leaders make appropriate referrals to the local authority when they have concerns about a child and procedures for child protection are well managed.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 There has been too much variability in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment over time which has led to gaps in pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills. Although inadequate teaching has been tackled, and there is now more good practice, inconsistencies remain in the teaching of mathematics, writing, science and art.  In mathematics lessons, teachers tell pupils what to do and how to complete their work. However, the pitch of lessons sometimes limits the amount of progress pupils can make. This is because pupils are not provided with enough opportunities to solve problems and think things through for themselves. For example, when older pupils were asked to find the ‘odd one out’ in a sequence of numbers, they found this difficult because prior learning in key stage 2 had not developed their reasoning skills enough for them to identify and explain patterns.  Not enough pupils make more than expected progress in writing because the teaching of spelling requires

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

improvement. Younger pupils in key stage 2 are not encouraged to use their phonics knowledge (the sounds that letters represent) to write sentences and develop their spelling.  Teachers mark pupils’ books regularly but the quality of feedback across classes is inconsistent. As a result, the extent to which these processes help pupils to make good progress and understand the next steps in their learning varies between year groups and subjects.  Teachers’ subject knowledge in some subjects is not strong. For example, in a lesson about identifying continents and countries, pupils were confused about the definition of oceans and seas and a misconception about the Mediterranean being an ocean was not corrected.  The strongest teaching in key stage 2 promotes pupils’ joy of learning. Pupils engage well with activities and apply their knowledge enthusiastically to tackle challenging problems. For example, in one class, pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

worked in pairs to complete the addition of three-digit numbers. They knew exactly what to do because the explanation was clear. Work was at the right level for different abilities in the class.  The teaching of reading has improved because teaching of phonics for the youngest pupils is effective. This explains the improving performance in the Year 1 phonics screening check. In addition, this lays firm foundations for pupils’ increasing confidence in reading. Pupils are keen to discuss the books and authors they enjoy, and read out loud enthusiastically.  The targeted support pupils receive, in lessons and in intervention groups, helps them build confidence in their ability to learn. For example, small groups of pupils attend sessions in the ‘Poseidon house’ where a member of staff helps them with emotional development as well as strengthening their essential personal and social skills. This support helps pupils to tackle their work much more confidently when they are back in

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

their own classrooms and to make good progress.  Adults who support pupils who have special educational needs or disability have clear roles and appropriate skills which are well matched to pupils’ needs. This includes the use of effective symbol and signing programmes to support speech, especially for those with autism.  Some parents, who spoke to inspectors, commented that homework was plentiful. Staff have developed more effective homework tasks, which engage pupils’ interest. As a result, the quality of homework has improved.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  The welfare of pupils is the highest priority for leaders. Pupils consider that they are well cared for, that they feel safe and are clear about which staff to go to if they have a concern. Pupils are courteous and considerate to each other and to adults. They enjoy school and speak enthusiastically about their teachers and the positive relationships they experience.  The school has strong spiritual values and celebrates a range of cultures through work with the local community and the parish. Pupils show a clear understanding of the school’s emphasis on ‘values and respect’. They understand right from wrong and learn from a curriculum which celebrates differences and the contribution of other cultures. Pupils described how they have raised money for charities through fundraising activities. Pupils are well prepared for life in British society.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils proudly wear their ‘playground buddy’ badges and speak enthusiastically about what their role entails. They enjoy and learn from being given responsibilities, including being members of the school council. Pupils understand well how to keep themselves safe when using the internet and on the roads.  In discussions with inspectors, some younger pupils mentioned that bullying took place and raised concerns about being at the school gate alone when after-school clubs had finished. Further scrutiny by inspectors found that younger pupils interpreted falling in and falling out of friendship as bullying. Older pupils said that behaviour was good and had improved for their year groups over time. Pupils are well supervised during break, lunchtime and directly after school. Registers for after-school clubs were checked and adults stated that pupils were not allowed out until picked up by a parent or carer.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils enjoy residential trips. The Isle of Wight trip involves the development of outdoor skills and opportunities for experimental work on environmental science. The trip to France enables pupils to practise speaking French in cafés and shops.  Procedures that are in place to support pupils with identified needs are a strength. Highly committed staff engage with a range of other agencies to ensure pupils and their families receive the support they need.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Throughout the school, relationships between staff and pupils, and among pupils themselves, are good.  The classrooms and the grounds are well cared for. They reflect the sense of pride pupils have in their school. The school is a calm and orderly place where teachers can teach and pupils can learn.  Play and lunchtimes are happy occasions where pupils of all ages play well together and look out for one another.  Attendance remains above the national average and there have been no exclusions in the past two years. Where stronger teaching is evident, pupils behave well in lessons. They are interested in their work, are keen to do well and enjoy applying themselves to learning. Behaviour is not yet outstanding because on some occasions, when pupils are given tasks which do not interest them or are not challenging enough, their attention wanders or they lose concentration.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 The percentage of pupils achieving the expected level or above in writing and mathematics at key stage 2 was below the national average in 2015. Attainment in mathematics was significantly below the national average with particularly the most able pupils not reaching the standards they were capable of.  Progress throughout key stages 1 and 2 has been variable over time. Too few pupils exceed the expected rates of progress because work is not always challenging enough, particularly for the most able. The quality of the tasks set varies too much between classes. This leads to the most able pupils making slower progress. When teachers do set harder work for the most able pupils, they relish the challenge and display excellent attitudes to learning.  Inspectors’ scrutiny of pupils’ work in English, mathematics and other subjects shows that expectations of the progress pupils can make are not typically high enough.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Progress in writing is not sufficiently rapid because there is too little emphasis on the development of skills, particularly in the quality of handwriting, presentation and spelling. Equally, pupils do not write at length often enough to develop and sustain these skills.  Pupils do not make expected progress in mathematics because of weaknesses in the application of basic calculation skills. They rarely develop their reasoning or apply numeracy skills in subjects other than mathematics. Pupils have some way to go before they will have made consistently good progress in mathematics from their starting points on entry to the school.  Disadvantaged pupils have generally made slower rates of progress compared to other pupils in the school. Current school evidence for this group shows that gaps have closed for reading and writing across three or more year groups. But, in different subjects across years 3, 4 and 5, gaps remain.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Attainment in phonics is improving and standards are above those seen nationally. Younger pupils acquire early reading skills which enable them to develop fluency in their reading. In 2015, pupils left Year 6 having made progress which was broadly in line with the national average.  Those who have special educational needs or disability receive effective targeted support from teachers and teaching assistants, both in lessons and in individual and small-group sessions. They make at least expected progress relative to their starting points.

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Early years provision is good

 Children start school in Reception after attending a wide variety of pre-school settings and quickly settle into expected routines. Good teaching ensures that children receive a good start to their education. As a result, children achieve well from their starting points.  Outcomes at the end of Reception are good and the children are well prepared for work in Year 1. In 2015, more children reached a good level of development than was the case nationally. Outcomes for boys and girls are equally strong in the school. This compares favourably with national information where girls do better than boys.  The Reception room is welcoming with a wide range of children’s literacy and art work on display. Children develop personal, social and emotional skills particularly well. Children are happy, work well together and enjoy playing alongside each other. They become confident learners.  Teaching is good. In stimulating indoor and outdoor areas, children experience an engaging range of

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Early years provision is good

learning activities and an interesting variety of resources. These capture their imagination well and help them to develop and build on what they learn.  Children enjoy reading in a well-organised and well-used reading house. Adults who support the children always encourage them to speak and listen. For example, during outdoor play inspectors saw children being asked why plants need water and light, and about the changes they observed as they mixed mud and water.  Children participate enthusiastically when using construction materials, drawing and beginning to write letters and words. They develop fine motor skills well during the construction of small toys, such as that seen when they were making dinosaurs.  Leadership of the Reception Year is strong, with effective use made of assessment information to determine the next steps for children’s learning. This was confirmed by inspectors’ scrutiny of pupils’ profiles which

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Early years provision is good

showed that assessment is used effectively to plan activities that extend children’s learning. However, children have less opportunity to develop and use their knowledge of numbers.  Parents made positive comments about their children’s progress and the good start they make in the early years. Some parents of children whose first language is not English indicated that they would appreciate more guidance about how they can support their children’s learning at home.

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School details

Unique reference number 100827 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 10009170

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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 Foundation Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 165 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rev. Nicholas Elder Headteacher Teresa Nouri Telephone number 020 7703 4772 Website st-georgesprimary.co.uk Email address office@st-georges.southwark.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5 February 2014

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Since the last inspection, there have been a number of appointments, including two assistant headteachers and three class teachers.  The school does not have a nursery attached and receives pupils from a wide variety of pre-school settings. Pupils are taught in classes from Years 1 to 6. Pupils in Reception are taught as one year group and attend full time.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is three times the national average with the largest groups being of Black African or Caribbean heritage.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is three times the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by pupil premium funding is above average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free

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Information about this school

school meals and children looked after.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of lessons across all classes. Five lesson observations were carried out jointly with members of the senior leadership team who also took part in short walks through lessons. A number of taught sessions for small groups of pupils were also observed.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and held discussions with pupils of all ages, in lessons, in meetings and informally around the school. Pupils’ work in books was scrutinised in class and separately by inspectors with senior leaders.  Inspectors considered seven responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View), as well as responses to the inspection questionnaire completed by 27 pupils and 14 members of staff. Inspectors also met some parents at the beginning of the school day.  A meeting was held with the chair of the governing body and three other governors. Meetings were held

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Information about this inspection

with school leaders responsible for the curriculum, teaching and learning, pastoral care, English, mathematics, science, the early years provision and provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability.  Meetings were held with representatives of the local authority and the diocese who support the school’s work.  Inspectors took notes of displays around the school and the work in outdoor areas.  Inspectors examined a range of documents including the school’s reviews of its own performance, checks on the quality of teaching, development plans, safeguarding documentation, information about pupils’ progress and records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour.

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Inspection team

Desmond Dunne, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Gulcan Asdoyuran 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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