Salusbury Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Salusbury Primary School Salusbury Road, Kilburn, London NW6 6RG

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Outcome

Salusbury Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and welcoming. They were keen to tell us about all they like about their school. We saw them socialising and working together happily. They told us they feel safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respect their teachers’ efforts to make lessons interesting and rewarding. Pupils behave sensibly, both in class and around school. They respond well to their teachers’ high expectations and work hard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a wide range of exciting activities within and beyond lessons. Many subjects provide a rich and vibrant experience. Pupils take part in many sports, art, music and language clubs, and regularly visit the local library to support their reading. They spoke about many activities that capture their imagination including Spanish day, links with partner schools in the Gambia, and Black History month. Pupils are highly enthusiastic learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Through the curriculum, pupils develop an understanding of the importance of tolerance and fairness. As a result, they do not put up with any bullying between each other. If any bullying occurs, adults make sure that it stops. This shows how well leaders put the school’s values into practice. Pupils are kind and supportive towards each other. Parents and carers are typically happy with the school and would recommend the school to other parents.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school continues to provide a good quality of education. Leaders, following the example set by the headteacher, are ambitious for all pupils. They have considered carefully what pupils should learn in each subject, term by term, and plan activities in a sensible order to achieve a well-thought-out and imaginative curriculum.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The teaching of early reading has a high priority from when children join the school in the 11–12 September 2019

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early years. Teachers and teaching assistants have benefited from extensive and specific professional development, so they teach phonics systematically. Leaders quickly intervene to ensure that all pupils are taught well and read well-sequenced, challenging texts. Pupils achieve highly in the phonics check at the end of Year 1. Older pupils are taught to analyse text and discuss their findings in detail. This helps pupils to read, enjoy and understand a wide range of subject-specific books.

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Leaders ensure that the subject content that pupils learn is well planned and methodical. In mathematics, history and most subjects, lessons follow in a logical order. This helps teachers to be sure that pupils learn and remember what they need before they tackle more challenging work. For example, in history pupils use knowledge of the Victorian era to sequence key dates and events. Teachers also adapt plans to enable all pupils to gain knowledge and understanding. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well in these subjects, as do all pupils.

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In a few subjects including science, recent subject planning is at an early stage of implementation. Leaders have not fully ensured that teachers present new science content in the best order to help pupils to learn and remember more. Teachers do not have secure enough science knowledge to challenge all pupils effectively. Some pupils who have gaps in their scientific knowledge, particularly those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, do not catch up. These pupils do not receive strong support to access the science curriculum. Parents do not receive timely information about their child’s achievement in science and other subjects including the impact of interventions to support their children. Leaders have identified these issues and have a training programme in place to improve planning in selected subjects and the support for pupils with SEND.

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Pupils enjoy a wide variety of extra-curricular activities including art, modern languages and drama. Pupils enjoy celebrating festivals from a range of cultures and faiths. Pupils told us that they love coming to school.

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Pupils’ behaviour around the school and in lessons is calm and sensible. They show high levels of respect towards their peers and adults alike. In lessons they are motivated, and full of energy and enthusiasm.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work with parents and other agencies to promote a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Records of pre-employment background checks of staff are clear and well organised. There are well-understood systems in place for staff to report any concerns. Leaders, governors and the staff successfully implement the school’s procedures to safeguard pupils including children in the early years.

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Safeguarding

In the online surveys, parents and staff agree that pupils are safe here. Pupils are happy at school. Parents’ views of the school’s work are also positive. Pupils learn how to use the internet safely and the potential dangers of social media. Staff maintain high levels of 11–12 September 2019

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supervision to protect pupils’ safety and well-being.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Strengths in the planning, construction and implementation of many subjects are not matched in all subjects. For example, the implementation of the science curriculum does not ensure that pupils build knowledge sequentially. As a result, pupils’ knowledge in science is insecure. Leaders need to ensure that the content of all subject plans is well chosen, links effectively to other subjects, is carefully sequenced and is delivered as intended.  Although completing regular training programmes, a few members of staff lack confidence and expertise in some curriculum subjects. This means that there is variation in the presentation of subject matter in a small number of subjects. Leaders need to ensure that subject leaders and teachers continue to receive the right support and training to plan and deliver a well-designed curriculum across all subject areas.  In a very few subjects, the support and intervention for pupils with SEND and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

disadvantaged pupils are not as timely and effective as they should be. Leaders need to ensure that the good practice seen in most subjects is reflected across the full curriculum. They should ensure that information about pupils’ achievement in all subjects is communicated clearly and regularly to parents.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Salusbury Primary School to be good on 9–10 March 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 11–12 September 2019

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 11–12 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110425 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9–10 March 2016

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.

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Information about this inspection

 We visited lessons accompanied by the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders. We also observed pupils’ behaviour and attitudes in classrooms, and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  A meeting was held with different groups of pupils and their teachers following their lessons.  We scrutinised the school’s safeguarding procedures with leaders.  We held discussions about the curriculum with leaders and met with the chair of the governing body and three governors. A telephone discussion was held with the school improvement partner and local authority officer.  We examined pupils’ books in different subjects with subject leaders and evaluated a range of school documentation including curriculum plans.  We took account of 137 responses received from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as text responses and letters. 11–12 September 2019

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 Reading, mathematics, science and history were a focus as part of this inspection.

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Inspection team

Phil Garnham, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Roberts Ofsted Inspector 11–12 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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