Rotherhithe Primary School

Age group 0−11 Inspection date(s) 2–3 May 2012 Inspection number 376466 Rotherhithe Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 100810 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 376466 Inspection dates 2–3 May 2012 Lead inspector Robert Lovett HMI

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 0−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 451 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ray Pigott Acting Headteacher Galiema Amien Date of previous school inspection 17 February 2011 School address Rotherhithe New Road Rotherhithe London SE16 2PL Telephone number 020 7237 1586 Fax number 020 7237 3653 Email address headteacher@rotherhithe.southwark.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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.

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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.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed teaching in all 18 classes at least once. Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, senior and middle leaders, representatives of the local authority and the executive committee of the school council. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at the school’s self-evaluation form, improvement planning, documents relating to the curriculum and pupils’ progress and those relating to the safeguarding of pupils. Inspectors analysed 251 questionnaires completed by parents and carers together with questionnaires returned by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This is a larger than average-sized primary school serving a culturally diverse community with significant levels of economic disadvantage. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is almost three times the national average. A high proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic groups and half of all pupils speak a home language other than English. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average. The school provides childcare for 18 children between the ages of 0 and four years during the school term. The school shares the site with a Sure Start Children’s Centre. This is not managed by the governing body and was not inspected on this occasion.

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Information about the school

When the school was last inspected it was given a notice to improve. Significant improvement was required in relation to pupils’ achievement. An Ofsted monitoring inspection in September 2011 judged the school to be making good progress in tackling the issues identified. In 2011 the school met the government’s floor standard, which sets a minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

Following a period of uncertainty staffing is more settled. The acting headteacher was formerly the deputy headteacher. A deputy headteacher and an assistant headteacher, who leads the Early Years Foundation Stage, have recently been appointed. The school’s most recent and significant external awards include Healthy School status and the International School award. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory. Overall effectiveness is not good because recent improvements in provision have not yet resulted in good achievement. In particular there is scope to raise attainment further in English. In accordance with section 13 (5) of the education act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement. This is because pupils’ achievement has improved and is now satisfactory. Up to 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 Attainment rose in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in 2011. Better teaching is beginning to increase pupils’ progress and raise attainment. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, including those in the registered provision, achieve satisfactory outcomes.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory overall and much is good. While some very effective practice was seen, teaching does not always sufficiently develop pupils’ independence or encourage them to take greater responsibility for their learning. Nor do teachers consistently encourage the development of pupils’ speaking and listening skills through modelling new words or insisting on full answers. Marking and target setting are significant strengths. The leadership of teaching is good; as a result, the quality of teaching is improving.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour has improved and is now consistently good, both in classrooms and around the school. Pupils are eager and attentive learners, they are keen to do well and proud to be part of an improving school. Parents and carers are very enthusiastic about recent improvements. This is well illustrated by the large number of positive questionnaires returned. The total response is more than six times that of when the school was last inspected.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are good. The acting headteacher’s vision for improvement is widely shared across the school community and has resulted in Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

rapid improvement since the school was last inspected. Self-evaluation is accurate and improvement planning has a good focus on raising attainment.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment, particularly in English by:  raising teachers’ expectations with regard to the quality of pupils’ oral responses  ensuring that adults routinely seek to extend pupils’ vocabularies by modelling and explaining new words and phrases.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and learning by:  increasing the pace of learning by making more explicit the expectations of what pupils are to achieve in the time allowed  expecting pupils to assume greater responsibility for organising their own learning and resources  ensuring more-able pupils are always challenged by their work  monitoring pupils’ progress earlier in lessons.

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Achievement of pupils

Most children enter the Nursery with levels of skills and knowledge which are lower than those expected, particularly in relation to their communication and social skills. While children are now making more rapid progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, most enter Year 1 with below average levels of attainment. In the Nursery and Reception classes, progress is accelerating, with a good focus on teaching children about letters and the sounds they make. In the 2011 national tests for pupils in Year 2, while attainment rose, it remained significantly below average in reading, writing and mathematics. At the end of Year 6, while attainment in English remained significantly below average in 2011, the gap with pupils nationally closed. Attainment in reading was below average, while in mathematics it was close to average. Not enough Year 6 pupils reached the higher Level 5 in English or mathematics. Disabled

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Achievement of pupils

pupils and those with special educational needs attained less well than their peers and less well than nationally. Inspection evidence indicates that, as a result of early interventions, more focused use of resources and better classroom support, achievement for this group is improving. Those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals achieve well. Pupils who speak a home language other than English also achieve well.

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Achievement of pupils

In lessons observed, many pupils made good progress. This matches well with the school’s assessments of pupils’ current achievement. Good learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage is characterised by a broad range of activities, both indoors and outdoors, which challenge and enthuse children. Learning in the registered childcare Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

provision is satisfactory. Pupils in all classes settle quickly and are able to work with sustained concentration. The enjoyment of learning is enhanced by effective links between subjects. In a mathematics lesson where teaching was good, pupils worked diligently on a problem-solving task related to a visit to the London Eye. When levels of challenge for pupils are less well matched to their individual needs, the pace of learning is slower and more-able pupils are not always challenged right from the start.

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Achievement of pupils

Almost all parents and carers say that their children are making good progress. While inspectors do not judge that pupils’ progress is consistently good, progress is accelerating and attainment is rising.

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Quality of teaching

All teaching is at least satisfactory and an increasing proportion is good or better. The proportion of teaching that is consistently good and outstanding is not high enough to result in pupils making sustained good progress over time. Recent improvements in the quality of teaching are resulting in a corresponding rise in attainment. Parents and carers commented positively on improvements in teaching and on how much more their children enjoy learning. Teachers work effectively with focus groups but do not always check on the progress of other pupils early enough. Teachers sometimes miss opportunities to reinforce and extend pupils’ vocabularies and to encourage the use of full sentence answers in oral work.

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Quality of teaching

There are significant strengths in the marking of pupils’ work and target setting. Pupils say that they value opportunities to discuss their work with teachers and with each other. Marking often represents a valuable ongoing dialogue between teachers and pupils which tracks progress and helps to refine targets. Peer assessment is well established. Pupils provide useful feedback to each other on how well they are doing. In an English lesson where teaching was good pupils added to their targets with small-step, personalised success criteria of their own. In another, pupils effectively assessed their work in order to improve their writing about Pandora’s box. Nevertheless, pupils are not always given enough opportunities to assume greater responsibility for their learning and engage in more personal research related to the topic being studied. When pupils are writing or performing written calculations, the

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Quality of teaching

pace of learning sometimes slows because teachers are not clear enough about how much they expect pupils to do or how much time they have.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers are reflective practitioners and are committed to improving their practice. They recognise where teaching has been most successful and are keen to talk about how they can improve further. Pupils have a good understanding of the lives, cultures and beliefs of other people. The school’s commitment to pupils’ cultural development is evidenced by the broad range of work on display and the high priority given to the arts and music. Early reading skills are taught well, and the importance of reading is effectively reinforced. Pupils are eager readers who enjoy discussing their favourite authors and books. They are able to apply their skills in phonics (letters and the sounds they make) well to tackle unfamiliar words. Disabled Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

pupils and those with special educational needs are well supported by teachers and teaching assistants and many now make good progress in lessons.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is good, both in classrooms and around the school. It is clear that this view is shared by parents and carers. Parents and carers spoken to were adamant that behaviour is improving and that their children are eager learners. Behaviour observed in lessons and around the school was always at least good. Pupils say that this is typical. Pupils set themselves exacting standards which reflect their high expectations. All staff who returned the inspection questionnaire said that behaviour is good. Outstanding behaviour in lessons was observed when the pace of learning was brisk and expectations were high. Even when the pace of learning slows, pupils remain eager and committed learners. Attendance is broadly average.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils know about the different forms of bullying, including physical bullying and cyber bullying. They say that any form of bullying is rare and that if it happens it is quickly sorted out by adults. They also praised the role of peer mentors, who help resolve minor incidents between pupils. Pupils say they feel safe in school, a view confirmed by the vast majority of parents and carers. Pupils say they know about how to stay safe online and near busy roads.

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Leadership and management

The quality of leadership and management has improved since the last inspection and is now good. Parents and carers are very supportive of the school. One parent commented, ‘The school is improving all of the time, my children really enjoy coming to school and learning about new things.’ The acting headteacher and senior leadership team have a clear, widely shared vision for raising achievement. They have acted as a catalyst for school improvement through their unerring focus on pupils’ learning and improving the quality of teaching through performance management. Effective professional development has provided good training and support for senior leaders, teachers and teaching assistants. There is good leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage which has resulted in the good teaching of early reading skills and improved outcomes for children. The leadership of provision for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is also good. Middle leaders

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Leadership and management

are committed to raising standards in their areas of responsibility and enthusiastically share the school’s vision for improvement. The school’s improvement planning is strong and self-evaluation is accurate. The governing body now holds the school to account more effectively and does not flinch from asking difficult questions about attainment and progress.

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Leadership and management

The creative, topic-based curriculum has a positive impact on pupils’ enjoyment of learning and their ability to apply basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics and information and communication technology across the curriculum. The cross- curricular approach enables teachers to plan integrated learning around a single theme. Pupils enjoy learning about ancient Greece in history, Greek myths and Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

legends in English and angles in mathematics. The curriculum supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils say they value learning through drama and role play, and that this approach helps improve their speaking and listening skills. The curriculum is enriched by a range of after-school clubs and activities such as keyboard (music), animation and dance. Pupils also benefit from the opportunity to compete against other schools and to perform at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall.

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Leadership and management

Safeguarding arrangements are thorough. The register of adults able to work with pupils is well maintained. All staff training is up to date. The school promotes equality of opportunity well through its inclusive and welcoming ethos. Gaps in attainment between groups are closing. This is a happy and cohesive community where pupils do their best to live up to the school’s vision of being ‘courageous, caring, ambitious, resilient and empathetic’.

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Leadership and management

Because the quality of teaching is improving, leadership and management are good, and pupils’ achievement is rising, the school is in a strong position to continue to improve. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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childcare provision

Provision and outcomes for children in the registered childcare provision are satisfactory. The provision complies with the requirements for registration, including those for children’s welfare. Many children join with skills and abilities which are below those expected for their age across all areas of learning. They make satisfactory progress as a result of the satisfactory teaching. There is a sharp focus on children’s personal development which results in good progress in this area of their development. There is good attention to children’s welfare and safety.

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childcare provision

Children are happy and well cared for. They play and eat well together, with older children settling into a good set of routines. Older children independently wash their hands before eating and help tidy away toys and small equipment, while all children are encouraged to eat independently. The learning environment is bright, attractive and welcoming. While good teaching was observed, adults do not routinely seek to extend children’s vocabularies or model words and phrases for children to repeat. Children have access to a satisfactory range of learning activities, both indoors and outdoors. They use digital cameras and are able to look at the images they capture. They enjoyed studying the class rabbit and were fascinated by ‘the way its nose twitches’. Planning has improved and now better reflects the individual learning needs of children. While the manager of the childcare provision collects a range of

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childcare provision

evidence about children’s progress this information is not rigorously analysed in order to plan learning which will accelerate progress and improve outcomes for children.

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childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Rotherhithe Primary School, London SE16 2PL

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave to me and the inspection team when we visited your school recently. Particular thanks to those of you who gave up part of your lunchtime to tell us about the school and to those who read to us. We wanted to see how well you are all doing and how the school has improved since it was last inspected. We are pleased to say that the school is improving well and is now satisfactory.

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Inspection of Rotherhithe Primary School, London SE16 2PL

You are now making better progress and the quality of your work is improving. It improved last year and when we looked at your books we could see that it is continuing to improve. You take pride in the appearance of your work and many of you have worked hard to improve your handwriting. You behave well in lessons and around the school. You told us that you are very proud of your school and are eager to learn. Your parents, carers and teachers are also proud of the school and keen for it to continue to improve. The quality of teaching is improving and most of the lessons we saw were good. The way in which teachers mark your work and help you improve is very good. While it was encouraging to see you contributing to the assessment of your work there are lots of other ways you could contribute more to your own learning and show greater independence, especially as you get older. The school is well led by the governing body and senior leaders.

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Inspection of Rotherhithe Primary School, London SE16 2PL

While the school is improving it is not yet good, so we have made some suggestions for further improvement. We are asking the school to:  help you to achieve more by encouraging you to learn and use new words and making sure you have chances to speak and listen more across the curriculum  improve teaching by asking teachers to share good ideas, check how well you are doing during lessons and giving you more opportunities to find things out for yourselves.

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Inspection of Rotherhithe Primary School, London SE16 2PL

I hope you continue to enjoy school and the wide range of opportunities it gives you. I also hope that the school football team continues its recent good run of form.

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Inspection of Rotherhithe Primary School, London SE16 2PL

Robert Lovett Her Majesty's Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . 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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