Arden House

The Lloyd Williamson School 12 Telford Road, London W10 5SH

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Inspection dates 31 October–2 November 2017

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Lloyd Williamson is a well organised and effective school. Pupils’ personal development is outstanding and they make good progress in a wide range of subjects, including English and mathematics.  Many pupils achieve standards above those typical for their age, especially in reading and mathematics.  The proprietor, who is also the co-principal, brings energy and commitment to her role. She aspires to secure the best possible future for pupils, whatever their abilities or aptitudes.  Teachers have very good subject knowledge and know their pupils well. Lessons are well planned; the tasks and activities provided maintain pupils’ interest and attention.  Teachers are not fully consistent in following the school’s assessment policy on the guidance that pupils should be given to improve their work.  The curriculum has both breadth and depth in equal measure. Subject specialists enrich pupils’ learning experiences so they are better

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

prepared for the next stage of their education.  The school’s work to promote British values, and to enhance pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is very effective.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils attend regularly and enjoy the calm and purposeful nature of the school. Pupils say that they feel very safe, cared for and listened to.  Safeguarding procedures are stringent, comprehensive and adhered to by all staff.  Teachers are not consistently effective in questioning pupils to challenge their thinking, particularly the most able.  The school’s improvement plan lacks clarity on how teaching and pupils’ outcomes will be improved further, and how progress towards this will be checked.  The school has maintained a good quality of education since the previous inspection and has improved in several respects. Leaders and managers have the capacity to ensure that the school continues to improve.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – teachers further develop their questioning skills to help all pupils deepen their understanding and challenge their thinking, especially the most able – in accordance with the school’s assessment policy, the guidance that teachers provide is more precise so that pupils have a clear understanding of how to improve their work.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that the school’s plans to improve teaching and pupils’ outcomes have clear success criteria against which leaders can check the effectiveness of their actions.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The school meets all of the independent school standards. The co-principals, ably supported by other leaders, have worked hard to develop an effective and successful school which is highly respected by its pupils, staff and parents. The promotion of equal opportunities is very strong.  Leaders have established a positive ethos that inspires pupils to succeed. It is based on high aspirations for all. As a result, the school has been successful in meeting its aim to ‘foster individuality, initiative and a love for learning’.  Leaders have developed effective processes for monitoring the quality of teaching and learning. The co-principals tackle underperformance quickly and have put in place good systems of support and challenge to drive improvements. As a result, leaders have an accurate understanding of the quality of education at the school.  School leaders have a clearly established framework to assess pupils’ attainment and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

monitor their progress. As a result, they can identify pupils who require additional support or whose needs might be changing over time. Leaders are aware that assessment can be sharpened further by ensuring that the guidance for improvement that teachers give to pupils is more purposeful and specific, in line with school policy.  The school’s imaginative curriculum is successful in fostering pupils’ self-confidence and belief that they can succeed. It successfully develops pupils’ speaking, listening, reading, writing and mathematical skills through good teaching and the provision of memorable learning experiences. Many subjects are offered and are taught by specialists, including music, modern foreign languages and Latin.  The school’s curriculum is enhanced by the wide variety of extra-curricular provision. An extensive programme of activities is planned termly. It includes regular visits to museums,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

theatres, art galleries and places of worship. This, coupled with a wide range of exciting after-school provision, promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very effectively.  The school’s action plan articulates well the key areas for development. This includes, for example, further developing the curriculum and associated staffing in key stages 3 and 4. However, there is insufficient focus in the plan on specific strategies to improve teaching and pupils’ outcomes, supported by clear milestones for evaluating the progress made. Consequently, this limits the effectiveness of the school’s self-evaluation.  Pupils have a well-developed, age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values and British institutions. Elections for the school council and participation in debates with other schools enable pupils to experience these values at first hand. The school is therefore very effective in preparing pupils for life in modern Britain.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 As part of this inspection, the Department for Education asked inspectors to consider whether the school is likely to meet relevant independent school standards if it makes a material change to the school’s registration. The school has applied to be registered to increase its age range to 16 and overall capacity to 250. The upper school is fit for purpose and provides a suitable environment for learning. Welfare, health and safety requirements are met and the building already has the capacity to accommodate many more pupils. Additionally, leaders have engaged well with parents and thought through the curriculum and staffing arrangements for potential key stage 4 pupils. A portfolio of evidence has been put together with clear timescales for implementation. It is the judgement of inspectors that the school is likely to meet the relevant standards; hence the material change to the school’s registration is recommended.

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Governance

 The proprietor, who is also the co-principal of the school, provides effective governance for the school. She has a good oversight of the school’s procedures and practices as well as a clear strategic vision. The proprietor carries out her statutory duties efficiently to ensure that all of the independent school standards are met.  The proprietor holds leaders to account for improving the quality of education. This is done by setting annual appraisal targets and evaluating their performance against these. However, areas for improvement in teaching and pupils’ outcomes are not sufficiently clear; this limits the effectiveness of the evaluation process.  Parents are very supportive of the school and recognise the energy and strong commitment of the proprietor to the school’s future. Since the previous inspection, the proprietor has invested in a fit-for-purpose upper school where key stage 2 and 3 pupils

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Governance

receive a good standard of education and achieve well.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders have ensured that the safeguarding policy is up to date and known to all staff. The school complies with all of the elements of the independent school standards, including publishing a safeguarding and child protection policy.  All staff have received up-to-date training on the latest guidance. The policy is regularly reviewed and staff are regularly ‘quizzed’ to ensure their understanding and compliance. Good partnership working with the local authority’s safeguarding board and other agencies ensures that the needs of the school’s most vulnerable pupils are well met.  All the required arrangements for staff vetting and checking are in place and rigorously pursued. Checks on the suitability of staff are thorough and cross-checked against a comprehensive list. Staff know the procedures to follow in the event of any concerns being raised.  Staff know pupils extremely well and appreciate that safeguarding is everyone’s

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Safeguarding

responsibility. All staff spoken to during the inspection were emphatic that pupils are safe in school. Pupils confirm that they feel very safe. All parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, as well as those spoken to during the inspection, agree.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and lessons and schemes of learning are well planned. Staff are skilled in sequencing learning based on their assessment of pupils’ understanding.  Specialist teachers are used well to enrich pupils’ experience of a wide range of subjects including, for example, modern foreign languages, Latin, music, computing and physical education.  Teachers use their specialist knowledge well. Year 1 pupils, for example, were taught to observe carefully as their teacher showed them how to plant bulbs for spring in the local community garden. Year 7 pupils benefited from the teacher’s clear explanation of how to analyse and evaluate the motivation of key characters in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in the context of Juliet’s untimely death.  Teachers care deeply about pupils’ personal development and well-being. A calm learning environment ensures that pupils feel secure and are able to apply themselves to their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

learning. Relationships between teachers and pupils are genuinely warm and based on mutual respect.  An accurate check on pupils’ attainment on entry to school enables teachers to track pupils’ progress during their time at Lloyd Williamson. This works well, and the information is used by staff to pitch work at the right level for pupils as they settle into the school. A combination of day-to-day assessment and more formal tests allows teachers to continue to measure pupils’ progress in different subjects and to plan their next steps in learning.  Teaching is effective in meeting the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff are skilful at breaking down instructions and explanations, enabling these pupils to be fully involved in learning and to make steady progress.  Teachers check pupils’ work regularly and are skilful at identifying what they have done well. Sharing ‘next steps’ with pupils when reviewing their work is a key element of the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

school’s assessment policy. However, the policy is not applied consistently by teachers in the guidance for improvement that they provide. Where guidance lacks precision, pupils do not have a clear understanding of how to improve their work.  The quality and effectiveness of teachers’ questioning is also inconsistent. Sometimes, questioning probes pupils’ understanding, resulting in the deeper learning seen, for example in a geography lesson. On other occasions, questioning does not cause pupils, particularly the most able, to think more deeply, explain and justify their answers.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  The school provides excellent opportunities for pupils to reflect on values such as right and wrong, and to express their own views. Many have well-honed skills in debating current issues and represent the school very successfully in borough competitions.  Pupils’ physical well-being is promoted very well by a wide range of sporting activities and nutritious meals at lunchtime, for example. Pupils’ emotional well-being is supported very effectively by the family ethos of the school. Pupils are kind to each other and willing to express their gratitude for the kindnesses shown to them by their classmates.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils grow into self-confident and self-assured learners. They develop the habits and understanding of how to be a successful learner well. Consequently, they make good progress across a wide range of subjects.  Pupils’ knowledge of how to stay safe in a variety of contexts is very well developed. Sessions on, for example, road safety or how to stay safe online make a strong impact on pupils’ understanding. Pupils are safe and feel very safe.  Pupils say that there is very little or no bullying at the school. They are confident that should bullying occur, teachers would deal with it well. The parents who responded to the Parent View survey had no concerns about bullying.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are enthusiastic and complimentary about the school. Older pupils show consideration for younger ones and pupils from different backgrounds get on very well together.  At transition times in the upper school, pupils are swift in moving from one class to another. Punctuality is therefore very good and pupils show a keen desire to start learning.  Most pupils demonstrate a sense of self-discipline and manage their own behaviour well. However, sometimes younger pupils’ behaviour in the corridors and stairwells falls short of the high expectations that the school has set.  The school’s records show that incidents of poor behaviour and exclusions are extremely rare. The school is in the process of revising its behaviour policy; the changes introduced give greater emphasis to thinking about consequences of actions and critically assessing the options available for resolving disputes.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ attendance has improved and is now above average. The school has implemented a new reward system for high rates of attendance. As a result of this, and the fact that pupils enjoy and value their schooling, persistent absence rates are low.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils make good progress across all year groups and in most subjects, including English and mathematics. As they move through the school, pupils develop secure knowledge, understanding and skills. This prepares them well for the transition to the upper school. Many pupils at the school go on to pass the entrance examinations for local selective schools.  This pattern of typically good progress is clearly evident in the work pupils produce during their time at Lloyd Williamson. It is confirmed by the school’s own tracking system, which uses internationally benchmarked tests to assess pupils’ attainment and progress on a regular basis.  In most year groups, many pupils reach standards that are above those typical for their age, especially in reading and mathematics. Pupils have good opportunities to apply their literacy skills and mathematical understanding across a wide range of subjects. Clear progression can also be seen in pupils’ verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills as they

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Outcomes for pupils Good

move up the school.  Specialist teaching allows pupils to make good progress in subjects other than English and mathematics. In French and Spanish, for example, which all pupils study from Year 1 onwards, pupils make rapid progress. The standards of work in most pupils’ books in subjects such as geography and history indicate strong progress over time.  Pupils read well. Most pupils are fluent readers and many have reading ages well in advance of their chronological ages. Those who are less strong readers receive additional support which allows them to catch up and to make good progress in their reading skills.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress at a similar rate to other pupils with the same starting points. Some of these pupils have complex needs; the one-to-one support provided is effective in breaking down the learning into smaller, digestible chunks. As a result, these pupils are fully included in lessons.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 The most able pupils also make good progress overall. However, sometimes the levels of challenge they face in lessons are not high enough. Consequently, on these occasions, their learning lacks the depth which they are clearly capable of achieving.  Strong nurture and support enable pupils to gain new knowledge, skills and understanding as well as confidence in approaching the next stages of their education.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 110 (of which 58 are in Years 1 to 8)

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School details

Co-Principals Lucy Meyer and Aaron Williams

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School details

Email address Lucywilliamson2210@yahoo.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 March 2011

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Information about this school

 The Lloyd Williamson School is a small independent day preparatory school located in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.  It opened in April 2000 and is registered to provide education for up to 190 boys and girls from the age of one to 14 years. The original building on the Telford Road site houses the Nursery and key stage 1. The upper school is a short walk away in St Charles Square and houses the key stage 2 and 3 sections of the school.  The school is non-selective and there are currently 110 pupils on roll, of which 58 are in Years 1 to 8, the focus of the current inspection.  The early years foundation stage was not a part of this inspection because the setting had its own separate inspection in April 2016. The inspection report can be found on the Ofsted website.  There is a below average number of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Pupils have diverse cultural heritages. There are a few pupils for whom English is an

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Information about this school

additional language.  The school offers an extended day from 7.30am to 6.00pm during term time and wraparound care during school holidays.  The school aims to ‘foster individuality, initiative and a love for learning’.  The school is led by two co-principals, one of whom is also the proprietor of the school.  The school has requested a material change to increase the age range from 14 to 16 years and increase pupil numbers to 250. This application to the Department for Education was assessed as part of the current inspection.  The school’s website meets the requirements on the publication of specified information in relation to the independent school standards. Where the information is not on the website, parents are directed to the school office to obtain it.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 16 lessons, two of which were seen jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors observed the behaviour of pupils at break, lunchtime and as pupils moved around the school.  Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work in a range of subjects to evaluate the progress they make over time.  Inspectors held a number of meetings with the co-principals, other leaders, and the proprietor.  Inspectors spoke with a wide range of pupils from different year groups in meetings, in lessons and around the school.  The inspection team looked at a wide range of the school’s documentation, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, the school development plan, data on pupils’ attainment and progress, attendance and behaviour records, safeguarding procedures, evaluations of the quality of teaching and minutes of staff meetings.  Inspectors took account of 38 responses to Ofsted’s online Parent View questionnaire,

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Information about this inspection

and 17 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Nasim Butt, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rick Barnes 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

Parent View 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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