Colville Primary School

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

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Mr Jagdeep Birdi Headteacher Colville Primary School Lonsdale Road Portobello Road London W11 2DF

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Short inspection of Colville Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 30 January 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2013.

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This school continues to be good

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in certain areas. This may indicate that the school is improving towards being outstanding. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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This school continues to be good

You, together with the leadership team and governors, have addressed the priorities for improvement identified at the previous inspection. For example, you have worked to ensure that teachers set the most able pupils more challenging writing activities. This group now reaches higher standards. Similarly, subject leaders are now effective in improving the quality of teaching in their subjects.

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This school continues to be good

There is a strong moral purpose at Colville. The ambitious vision for the school begins with you, and extends right across the school community. Working with parents, leaders, staff and governors, you have secured a sharp and sustained rise in academic standards since the previous inspection. Parents’ views gathered on inspection show that they agree with this assessment.

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This school continues to be good

Teaching is strong. Pupils are happy, settled and engaged, and their learning is rapid. The rich and well-structured curriculum is improving pupils’ motivation; pupils increasingly concentrate, show curiosity and use their imagination. There are numerous engaging extra-curricular opportunities. You have rightly identified the need to give pupils further opportunities to deepen their learning. Pupils’ attainment is high at the end of Year 6. In the phonics reading check at key stage 1, more pupils reach the expected standard compared with the national average.

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This school continues to be good

Pupils who join the school part way through their primary education benefit from the high-quality nurturing and support that staff provide. The frequent new arrivals in school settle very quickly because pupils at the school are welcoming and friendly.

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This school continues to be good

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Staff support pupils’ well- being meticulously. Leaders work with outside agencies and liaise with them quickly in order to secure strong support for pupils and their families. Leaders manage concerns sensitively and effectively. Staff have secure knowledge and understanding of current safeguarding guidance and procedures. Pre-employment checks on adults working at the school meet statutory requirements. Staff training is up to date and their safeguarding practice is effective. Governors carry out appropriate checks on safeguarding during the school year.

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This school continues to be good

There is a culture of vigilance where pupils’ welfare is actively promoted. Pupils are listened to, and they feel safe.

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Inspection findings

 The first focus for this inspection was to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to improve teaching and learning. We agreed upon this because standards have risen sharply since the last inspection. You suggested that this is the result of improvements to teaching and learning.  I visited classes together with you, the deputy head and senior leaders. We found strong teaching of literacy, including reading, mark-making and phonics. This has enabled the great majority of pupils to catch up quickly from typically low starting points. All pupils, regardless of starting points, make substantial and sustained progress in writing and reading.  Teaching is ambitious. Teachers use questioning skilfully and ensure that pupils are challenged continuously. Teachers are determined that every pupil should achieve well. Pupils concentrate, try hard and work well together.  Leaders of subjects understand that their role is to support colleagues to secure

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Inspection findings

consistency and high-quality teaching in their subjects. As a result of this effective support, teaching across all subjects is consistently strong.  A particular strength is teachers’ use of assessment information to identify where pupils may be at risk of not achieving their potential. Leaders have developed the way that teachers check pupils’ progress since the last inspection. As a result, pupils receive extra support where required. This support is highly effective so that pupils catch up quickly.  Finally, the inspection focused on the quality and breadth of the curriculum and how it adds value to pupils’ learning and their wider experiences. We agreed that I would look at the improvements to the curriculum made since the last inspection.  Governors are aware of the need for the school to offer all pupils an outlet where they can excel. Through governors’ support and involvement, the curriculum,

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Inspection findings

particularly in creative aspects such as dance, music and art, has greatly expanded.  Pupils’ workbooks and displays around the school and in classrooms reflect a wide-ranging and stimulating curriculum. Topics include the Stone Age, medieval invaders and kings, the study of great artists, for example Claude Monet, and learning French. Pupils are also offered the chance to learn a musical instrument, and take-up rates for this are high. Leaders ensure that these activities are pursued at depth. This gives pupils the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding. For example, in studies of earthquakes pupils consider the effects on people and communities and use real examples, like the recent earthquakes in Iran.  Leaders also ensure that a rich and varied range of extra-curricular clubs is on offer, including, for example, Spanish cooking and wallball, as well as numerous school journeys. The pupils told me that going on educational visits with their

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Inspection findings

friends were ‘one of the best things about Colville’.  There is a deep-rooted and successful emphasis on continual improvement in teaching, learning and in the curriculum. These features are now strong. You recognise that this presents further opportunities for teachers to develop more ways of deepening pupils’ learning.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the quality of teaching and learning continues to improve rapidly so that pupils have the broadest possible range of opportunities to deepen their learning.

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Next steps for the school

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

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Information about the inspection

The inspector carried out the following activities during the inspection:  held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other leaders  held meetings with safeguarding leaders  observed learning indoors and outdoors  had a discussion with four governors  had a discussion with a group of pupils  observed a range of lessons, including mathematics, literacy, science, art, information and communication technology, music and physical education  evaluated the quality of the curriculum and rates of progress by looking at pupils’ workbooks, displays and plans  heard pupils reading  evaluated recent information about children’s progress  considered the views of staff through looking at responses to Ofsted’s online survey  considered the views of parents through responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.

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