Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Elizabeth Maxted Executive Headteacher Kings Avenue School Kings Avenue London SW4 8BQ

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School

Following my visit to your school on 3 November 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in April 2016. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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School

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection in order to become a good school.

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School

The school should take further action to:

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School

 improve the quality of teaching to match the best in the school

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School

 accelerate the progress that pupils make in their reading, especially boys.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with you, two representatives of the governing body, other senior leaders, including the chief executive officer of the federation to which the school belongs, and pupils. I also met with a representative of the local authority. The school improvement action plan was evaluated. I was accompanied by the head of school on a series of short, focused visits to lessons. Examples of pupils’ work were scrutinised with the assistant vice-principals. Documents that were looked at included the single central record, plans for improvement, minutes of governing body meetings, reports of visits from the local authority and review of the pupil premium.

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Context

Since the previous inspection, significant changes in staffing have taken place. At the start of September 2016 a new head of school took up her role. A vice-principal returning from maternity leave replaced another vice-principal who had left. Most year groups have at least one new teacher. The reviews of governance and the pupil premium have taken place.

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Main findings

Despite the significant changes in staffing, the school has made a secure start to the academic year. The newly appointed head of school has established new routines for the pupils and staff. As a result, there is a calm and purposeful atmosphere. During the joint observations in lessons, most pupils were seen to be engrossed in their work and keen to learn. Classrooms are well organised, providing pupils with the appropriate resources and displays to support their learning. Pupils’ work suggests that they are making progress, but it is too early to tell whether this is enough to ensure that groups of pupils do not get left behind.

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Main findings

You and your senior leaders agree that there is a range of quality in teaching across the school. Most teachers are providing pupils with work that matches their needs and abilities accurately. Consequently, they are working at a level expected for their ages and the time of the school year. However, the school has identified a few teachers whose practice falls short of what is expected by the senior leadership team. For example, some of the pupils are not receiving the appropriate feedback they need to help them improve and, in some lessons, pupils’ poor presentation is not challenged. These teachers are already receiving additional support. As a result, the teachers know what is expected of them to improve their practice within an agreed period of time.

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Main findings

Plans for improvement are in place. They match the areas identified for improvement in the report from the previous inspection. The actions identified in the external reviews of governance and the use of the pupil premium are being taken seriously by governors and the federation to which the school belongs. Although it is too soon to see the impact of the plans regarding these reviews, actions taken prior to the reviews demonstrate an effective and secure knowledge of what the school needs to do to improve further. The provisional 2016 results for key stages 1 and 2 suggest that pupils are making the progress expected of them from their starting points in writing and mathematics. This includes those pupils who are disadvantaged and the most able disadvantaged.

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Main findings

The school is fully aware that there is slower progress and lower than average attainment in reading, particularly that of the boys. Since the start of the autumn term 2016, there has been a renewed vigour to provide additional time, new books and training for staff in order to increase the rates of progress pupils make in their reading. Early indications from the school’s analysis of pupils’ reading records and pupils who were heard read during lessons indicate that there are early signs of improvement.

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Main findings

The additional work in the early years has led to a significant improvement in the proportion of children achieving expected good levels of development. For the first time in several years, the provisional indications are that the school’s results are at least in line with those seen nationally.

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Main findings

The very small number of parents I spoke to at the start of the inspection provided a mixed view of the school. Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, has a similar picture. Of the very small number of responses, a noticeable proportion of parents have concerns regarding how the school deals with bullying and how well pupils are looked after. Evidence during the inspection indicates that pupils are looked after well and safeguarding arrangements meet current government expectations.

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External support

The local authority school improvement adviser has worked closely with the school, carrying out a series of monitoring visits to ensure that the school continues to make progress in addressing weaknesses. In addition, the federation has sufficient capacity to provide appropriate advice, support and resources as and when necessary. This additional support has led to more capacity in tackling underperformance in teaching. Senior leaders are receiving support and challenge in equal measure. This includes the chief executive of the federation who regularly attends governing body meetings and holds senior leaders to account.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Lambeth. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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