London Park School Mayfair and London Park School Sixth

Eaton Square Upper School, Mayfair 106 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NL

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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 Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 When the school first opened in September 2017, it had a difficult start. The new senior leaders, who joined the school soon thereafter, quickly secured improvements. They have ensured that the school now provides its pupils with a good education.  School leaders and the proprietors make sure that the school complies with the independent school standards.  Leaders have credible plans and are taking decisive action to make sure that the school continues to improve as it expands. They have recently appointed a number of new middle leaders in order to add leadership capacity from the start of the next academic year.  The curriculum and an extensive range of clubs make a sound contribution to pupils’ academic success and personal development.  Pupils feel safe and know how to stay safe in different situations.  Teaching is good. Teachers benefit from regular training that develops their effectiveness. They

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

frequently assess pupils’ progress and use the information to plan activities to meet their needs.  All groups of pupils make overall good progress across subjects. Progress is particularly strong in English and mathematics. It is weaker where there has been a turnover of staff, such as in science.  Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language make similar good progress as their peers. This is because members of staff give them well-tailored support.  Behaviour is good. Pupils are curious and keen to succeed. Generally, they conscientiously apply themselves to their work during lessons. Occasionally, however, pupils fail to complete the work set by their teachers. This slows their progress.  Overall attendance is too low. This is mainly due to parents taking their children on extended holidays during term time.

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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 teaching and pupils’ outcomes by teachers ensuring that all pupils routinely complete their work.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by leaders sharpening their processes for checking pupils’ progress across the subjects so that they can hold teachers to account for their pupils’ progress.  Increase rates of attendance by helping parents to understand that their child’s prolonged absence can have a detrimental impact on their child’s outcomes.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The school got off to a difficult start with the departure of the headteacher and some turnover of teaching staff midway through the autumn term. The proprietors quickly appointed a new headteacher and created two new pastoral leadership posts. They further strengthened leadership with the appointment of an additional headteacher who joined the school later in the year. New leaders rapidly set about making changes that markedly improved teaching and learning, pupils’ behaviour and their outcomes. Staffing stabilised and morale is now high. As one member of staff aptly put it: ‘Our headteachers are focused on creating a community for pupils to flourish academically and emotionally. They listen to staff for feedback on the best way to achieve our goals.’  Leaders and teachers benefit from the training and support that they receive as a member of the group of schools owned by the proprietors. The group’s executive

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

headteacher and director of education support and challenge senior leaders. Teachers benefit from working with colleagues in the other schools and from sharing best practice. In addition, they welcome developmental feedback from leaders who observe their lessons, and from opportunities to attend bespoke training that meets their personal professional ambitions. As a result, leadership is effective and teaching and pupils’ outcomes are good.  Leaders regularly check each pupil’s progress and provide support or extra challenge when needed. However, leaders do not have a sharp enough overview of the progress that groups of pupils make across the subjects to enable them to hold teachers to account.  Leadership of inclusion is good. Leaders provide targeted support for pupils who need help to catch up. As a result, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language make good academic and personal progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders plan the curriculum so that pupils can study a wide range of subjects. Effective planning ensures that pupils can make good year-on-year progression and deepen their learning. Leaders arrange extra tuition for those Year 8 pupils wishing to sit the 13-plus common entrance examination for the highest performing independent schools. The most able pupils have extra opportunities to challenge themselves. In English, for instance, the most able pupils entered a national essay writing competition. Four of the gifted artists who entered an art competition had their work displayed in the Royal College of Art.  Leaders enhance the curriculum by offering pupils many clubs, ranging from a variety of sports to chess and debating. Visits such as to Normandy, Paris and the Natural History Museum enrich their learning. Pupils benefit from visitors such as a blind pilot, and from assemblies and tutor time discussions based on the ‘thought of the week’. They gain

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

understanding of different people and moral issues from religious studies and personal, social, health and economic education lessons. Pupils, therefore, learn to respect all people, including those with protected characteristics as defined in the 2010 equality act. They also learn to appreciate fundamental British values such as democracy and the rule of law. All these opportunities make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

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Governance

 The chair of directors and other directors of the proprietorial company make up the board of governors.  The chair and other governors regularly visit the school. One of the governors works across the group’s schools as the director of education. As he bases himself in this school, he has almost daily contact with members of staff and pupils. Governors are, therefore, well informed about all aspects of the school’s work. They both support and challenge leaders to improve the school. They make sure that school leaders and all other staff benefit from collaborating with colleagues across the group’s schools as well as from joint training sessions.  Governors established this new school and were successful in recruiting enough pupils to open with three year groups, Years 7, 8 and 9. They have made a good start in implementing their vision of establishing a high-performing non-selective independent secondary school.

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Governance

 Governors and school leaders make sure that the school meets the independent school standards and other requirements.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. A number of school leaders undertook the training for designated safeguarding leaders. All members of staff complete online refresher safeguarding training plus training on the ‘Prevent’ duty with regard to radicalisation and extremism.  Members of staff are aware of the potential safeguarding and welfare issues that might occur in the school community. They are alert and report any concerns that arise.  Leaders work closely with external agencies and parents and carers to make sure that pupils are safe.  Leaders organised for an external agency to deliver separate workshops for pupils, staff and parents on a range of safeguarding issues such as cyber bullying, safe internet use and identifying fake news.  The school publishes its safeguarding policy on its website. The policy has due regard to current government requirements.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Effective teaching enables pupils to make good progress.  Typically, teachers have expertise in their subject areas. They prepare lessons that progressively build on pupils’ prior knowledge and understanding. Through regular assessments, teachers know how well their pupils are learning and set activities that meet pupils’ needs and abilities. Teachers refuse to accept superficial answers to their questions. They probe pupils’ responses to make them think more deeply. Teachers have established good routines for hard work. Classrooms are a safe environment in which pupils feel confident to ask questions and express their opinions without fear of ridicule. As a result, pupils make strong progress.  In a few instances, such as where there has been a turnover of teaching staff, teaching is less effective as these routines are not as well established.  Teachers and additional adults provide pupils who need to catch up with effective support

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

and tailored resources so that they become successful learners. Teachers give the most able pupils more challenging work to stretch and deepen their learning. The most able Year 9 mathematicians, for example, learn advanced mathematics and practise answering higher-tier GCSE examination questions.  In line with the school’s policy, teachers set homework that consolidates pupils’ learning. In addition, homework sometimes requires pupils to do research and prepare a presentation that they have to make to their peers. These opportunities expand pupils’ knowledge and make a good contribution in developing their confidence and speaking skills.  In line with the school’s policy, teachers give pupils feedback on their work and expect pupils to correct their work or answer a question designed to challenge them.  Occasionally, pupils do not complete the tasks, including homework, that their teachers set them. When this occurs, pupils’ learning does not reach the standards that their

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Leaders and teachers encourage pupils to share their views and ideas. Pupils are ambitious, articulate and self-assured. They value learning about each other’s cultures and enjoy participating in the range of extra-curricular activities on offer.  In addition to physical education lessons, pupils take part in many extra-curricular sports- related activities. They learn about healthy diet and the dangers of substance abuse. All pupils attended a first-aid training workshop. In these ways, leaders make sure that pupils understand how to keep themselves physically healthy. Leaders recently arranged training for staff on how to support pupils’ emotional well-being and are at the early stages of delivering sessions for promoting pupils’ mental health.  Pupils are aware of the different types of bullying, including through social media. They

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Personal development and welfare

say that leaders deal effectively with the rare instances of bullying and that there is no racism in this diverse school community.  Pupils contribute to the community by assisting at the preparatory school’s sports day and by raising funds for charity, for instance.  Leaders enhance pupils’ personal development through opportunities such as learning to play musical instruments, joining the choir, participating in the school’s termly performances and visits to places of interest, such as art galleries. They have arranged for pupils to perform to audiences beyond the school community. Shortly, for instance, the choir will be performing at the Queens College Chapel in Cambridge.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Behaviour improved markedly when the new leaders raised expectations and introduced new policies and routines at the end of the autumn term.  Pupils are polite and welcoming to visitors. They are proud of their school. They move sensibly around the school, including when navigating the narrow staircases.  Pupils are inquisitive and are keen to learn. They work hard in lessons and try their best. They work well by themselves, in pairs and groups. They gladly assist their peers who need help. Occasionally, when teaching is less inspiring, there is some low-level disruption.  Although most pupils attend school regularly, there are some whose overall absence is too high. Often this is because parents take their children away during term time. This lack of attendance inhibits those pupils from reaching their full potential.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils who joined this new school, including those from overseas, arrived with varying standards in all subjects.  Inspection evidence confirms the leaders’ view, that since the start of the year, pupils have made overall good progress. Progress in English and mathematics has been particularly substantial. Progress has been strong in almost all other subjects. It has been weaker, however, where there have been difficulties in retaining staff, such as in science.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language make similar good progress as their peers. This is because leaders provide them with timely, well-targeted support.  The most able pupils make good progress because teachers set them difficult work and offer them challenging enrichment activities.  Progress is not outstanding as pupils do not routinely complete all the work that their teachers set them, and because of some of the staffing instability during the year.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils are well prepared for continuing their education next year, and for their future lives in modern Britain.

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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

Type of school Independent secondary day school

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School details

Headteachers John Wilson Caroline Townshend Annual fees (day pupils) £21,750–£22,500

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School details

Email address office@eatonsquaremayfair.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Eaton Square Upper School is an independent co-educational day school registered to educate 420 pupils aged from 11 to 18. The school opened in September 2017. There are currently 111 pupils aged from 11 to 14.  The school is located in Mayfair, in the London borough of Westminster. It is part of the Eaton Square Schools Group.  There have been substantial changes since Ofsted’s pre-registration inspection in June 2017. The new headteacher took up his post in November 2017 and an additional headteacher joined the school in April 2018. There have been some changes to staffing and the current chair of governors replaced the previous chair in May 2018. She had previously been the chair of the group.  This was the school’s first standard inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school’s aims include, ‘to offer academic excellence within excellent facilities, and to develop a purposeful attitude, self-confidence and a respect for others; developing trust,

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out with one day’s notice.  Inspectors observed learning in 13 classrooms, most of which were visited with senior leaders.  Inspectors scrutinised samples of pupils’ work. They checked the school’s information about pupils’ progress.  Inspectors spoke with the headteachers, other leaders, teachers and other members of staff. They also met with the chair of the proprietorial body and the director of education. Inspectors had formal discussions with a group of pupils and various informal discussions with pupils during social times and lessons.  Inspectors took account of the 13 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for parents and parents’ additional written comments. Inspectors also spoke with parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors considered the 14 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors checked documentation, policies and all aspects of the school’s work for

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Information about this inspection

compliance with the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Moore 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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