Setting

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

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Mr J Robinson Headteacher Camelot Primary School Bird-in-Bush Road London SE15 1QP

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School

Following my visit to your school on 23 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 February 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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Evidence

During the inspection, I held a meeting with you and your senior leadership team to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. I also spoke with middle leaders, the chair of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. I conducted a tour of the school and looked at examples of pupils’ work in English and mathematics with leaders. I considered written records of leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching, plans for improvement and governors’ meetings. I checked the single central record of checks on the suitability of those who work with pupils.

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Context

You were appointed as headteacher shortly after the last inspection and took up your post in September 2016, alongside a new deputy headteacher. Since the inspection, the partnership with Pilgrims Way Primary School has ended. Sixteen members of the teaching staff have left the school since February 2016. A new assistant headteacher also took up her post in September 2016.

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Main findings

Your plans for improvement are clear and sharply focused on weaknesses identified at the last inspection. You and your new senior leadership team have communicated your ambitions and expectations promptly and effectively to the whole school community. Teachers are very clear about how you expect them to use the intensive training they have received since your arrival. As a result, the quality of teaching is improving rapidly in the current school year. Pupils’ work shows that their progress is consistently improving. More opportunities are evident for the most able pupils to apply their skills and explain their thinking. For example, in mathematics, pupils are expected to write about the patterns and relationships they notice in number investigations.

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Main findings

You have recognised that professional development must concentrate on improving teachers’ subject knowledge above all else. Your deputy headteacher has ensured that training for the teaching of mathematics has been extensive and effective. She follows up on how well teachers use this training to improve the quality of lessons. I looked at her own records of checks on teaching and sampled pupils’ work from the current school year. These both demonstrate improvements in the way teachers match lessons to the ability of pupils. Teachers are providing clearer and more challenging guidance to help pupils deepen their understanding. For example, in Year 4, pupils develop a better understanding of the relationship between numbers. The most able pupils pick up on how they can use these relationships to perform calculations more efficiently. Pupils are given more challenging objectives to improve their writing. Teachers are expecting pupils to write for longer and across a

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Main findings

wider range of genres. They have also noticed that attitudes to learning have improved because pupils understand what teachers expect of them. Pupils have noticed these improvements and say that they enjoy lessons more in the current school year. However, it is still difficult to identify how pupils’ writing skills are progressing across a range of work in some books.

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Main findings

Your strategy for the development of middle leaders is already having a positive impact on outcomes for pupils. Additional training is being provided to sharpen their skills in influencing others and monitoring the work of other teachers. You recognise that middle leaders must enhance their skills in using regular checks on the progress of pupils to evaluate the impact of their work. Your deputy headteacher is wisely developing the capacity of other leaders to sustain improvements in the teaching of mathematics. This will enable her to devote more time to support you in strategic leadership.

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Main findings

On your appointment, you wasted no time in ensuring that the sports premium funding is spent more effectively. A new outdoor games area has been constructed. Pupils are more committed to participating in physical education lessons because the quality of teaching has improved. A wide range of after-school clubs are on offer, many including opportunities for physical development. Some of these are enabling you to spot talent, such as in the dance club. Your assistant headteacher for the lower school has ensured that provision in the early years is also improving as a result of the sharp focus on areas for improvement. Activities to extend the development of early mathematical skills for the most able children are more prominent in the indoor and outdoor settings. A part of the outdoor area is being reclaimed to help children learn about the natural environment.

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Main findings

Governors understand the impact of your work and understand their role in your plans for improvement. The chair of the governing body is rightly determined to ensure that senior leaders have the necessary skills and resources to secure rapid improvements. She has a clear and ambitious vision of when and how the school will become good.

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External support

You have used support from the local teaching school alliance and a number of independent consultants well to provide training and advice to support your priorities. The local teaching school alliance continues to offer you valuable support in developing teachers’ subject knowledge and confidence. You have insisted that assessments of pupils’ attainment have been checked with the help of leaders from other local schools.

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External support

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

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