Setting

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

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Josephine Copeland Headteacher All Saints CofE Primary School Upper Beulah Hill Upper Norwood London SE19 3LG

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Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 16 May 2017, 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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Primary School

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

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Primary School

At its section 5 inspection before the one that took place in July 2016, the school was also judged to require improvement.

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Primary School

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

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Primary School

The school should take further action to:

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Primary School

 Identify and use the most effective interventions to support pupils who are not making progress as quickly as they are capable of doing  Ensure that external support for you and the school continues and is used in areas where it is most needed, for example to sustain improvements in the quality of teaching

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Evidence

During the inspection, I held meetings with you and the deputy headteacher, the chair of governors and another governor, and with a group of middle leaders. I also met with a group of pupils and looked at pupils’ work in their books. I visited all classrooms, accompanied by you and the deputy headteacher, having conversations with staff and pupils as I toured the school. I held telephone conversations with a representative of the local authority and a representative of the diocese. I met with the school business manager to review the single central record. I evaluated a wide range of school documentation.

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Context

Since the last inspection, there have been a number of staff changes. You appointed a new deputy headteacher to work full time from September 2016. During this school year, new teachers have started in one class in each of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6.

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Main findings

Leaders and governors have responded promptly to address the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection.

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Main findings

You launched the Expectations Charter which details clearly the high standards you expect to see in all aspects of teaching across the school; for example, the quality of assessment, the learning environment, behaviour for learning and pupils’ work in their books. Teachers have responded positively so that evidence of the impact of your raised expectations is seen in every classroom. The Charter provides a very clear focus for leaders’ monitoring of the quality of teaching to identify when and where improvements are needed.

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Main findings

You and the deputy headteacher evaluate accurately the strengths and areas for development of teaching across the school. You have approached with determination and clear strategic thinking the challenges presented by changes to staffing and variations in the quality of teaching across the school. You deploy staff as effectively as possible. You are mindful of the continued impact of staff changes and the challenges of recruitment. You plan well for efficient transition of responsibilities so that new staff have helpful handover meetings and that good practice that has developed is not interrupted. You have nurtured a sense of stability in spite of these changes. Lessons I visited were characterised by attentive and diligent pupils who are keen to talk about their work and share their achievements.

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Main findings

Since the last inspection, you have provided middle leaders with valuable development of their leadership skills. They feel well supported by you and the deputy headteacher as they become more accountable for the performance of their colleagues in the phases and subjects for which they are responsible. They value new opportunities to deliver training to staff and to meet more regularly with their teams. Clear communications between the senior and middle leaders ensures a consistent focus on areas for improvement. There are clear examples of ways in which middle leaders have supported teachers to improve the quality of teaching in targeted areas identified by their monitoring. Middle leaders have an accurate view on the areas of strength in their subjects and phases and those they want to develop further, and how they are going to achieve this.

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Main findings

You have introduced a comprehensive programme of training and support for teachers that focuses rightly on key areas for improvement for all staff, as well as bespoke training and development opportunities for individuals. Teachers and teaching assistants are keen to develop their skills and knowledge. They welcome opportunities to boost areas in which they feel less confident, by attending workshops on, for example, the more complex areas of the mathematics curriculum and grammar, punctuation and spelling.

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Main findings

Teachers are more confident in the use of assessment information as a result of the training they have received. The new tracking system you introduced this academic year is now used routinely by all teachers to inform their planning and discussions at pupil progress meetings. You have ensured that the priority to raise the achievement of groups is recognised by all staff and is reflected in their performance management targets. You have put in place, and are extending, effective strategies to ensure that pupils who are falling behind are identified swiftly and receive the help they need to catch up.

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Main findings

Another outcome of training is in the higher quality of teachers’ questioning and more consistency in their use of assessment. Pupils across all year groups are familiar with the routines for improving their work. They are especially proud of work which has got better because of the help their teachers have given them. Pupils enjoy the ‘Captain Conjecture’ challenges and the ‘Do Now’ sessions in the mornings which help in areas they find difficult. Leaders know there are ways in which the application of the schools’ policy can be more effective, for example in the use of developmental questions to help pupils deepen their thinking.

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Main findings

Inspectors rightly recognised the governing body as a strength at the last inspection. Governors continue to be knowledgeable and admirably committed to the school, its staff and pupils. They developed their own action plan after the last inspection to ensure they were best placed to address the areas for improvement effectively.

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Main findings

Governors have broadened their skills through additional training. They have actively contributed to the development of middle leaders, for example through meeting with them regularly and ensuring they have the insight, skills and knowledge to ask leaders the right questions to drive further improvements. A governor meets regularly with the school business manager to ensure that safeguarding records are up to date.

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Main findings

It is clear that leaders have taken effective action so that improvements are evident in the areas stipulated in the last inspection report. Your development of middle leaders has meant they have a substantial impact on ensuring better-quality teaching in the subjects and phases for which they are responsible. Leaders recognise rightly that much work still needs to be done. This means, essentially, to continue to draw on relevant external support appropriately, and build on the progress already made to lead to sustained improvements in outcomes for pupils.

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External support

You are supported well by the diocese and the local authority. Your work with improvement partners from both organisations includes leadership development, audits of your provision for different groups of pupils, moderation and training.

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External support

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

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