South Rise Primary School

Inspection of a good school: South Rise Primary School Brewery Road, Plumstead, London SE18 7PX

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Outcome

South Rise Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like coming here very much. This is clear from the moment you enter the school. Pupils are friendly and polite. They behave sensibly and work well together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are passionate about improving pupils’ life chances. They plan pupils’ learning so that all pupils can achieve well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) take part fully in school life. They learn as well as their classmates do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told me that, ‘South Rise is an amazing place to learn’. During lessons, pupils listen to their teachers and try their best. In most subjects, teaching helps pupils to understand and remember what they are taught. Staff make the most of the school’s location to support pupils’ learning. For instance, pupils visit the National Maritime Museum and explore the history of the local area.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff look after pupils very well. They make sure that pupils feel safe. Adults listen to pupils and encourage them to be curious and resilient. Pupils told me that bullying happens at times, but that staff make sure it stops. Staff deal with any behaviour issues promptly and fairly. Pupils value each other’s views and talents. Leaders place respect for all at the heart of this school.

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

Leaders are ambitious for what pupils should learn. In most subjects, leaders have given careful thought to the knowledge pupils need to succeed in their future learning. Leaders know what is working well and what needs to improve. They continually review and refine subject planning to ensure that all pupils achieve well.

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

Leaders were disappointed with Year 6 pupils’ results in the 2019 national tests. Together with staff, the leadership team looked closely at the reasons for this. Leaders acted effectively in response to what they found. They have secured the necessary improvements to how well pupils learn. In a range of subjects, leaders check that 14–15 January 2020

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teaching enables pupils to remember the content that they study. Pupils benefit from opportunities to apply their knowledge in different contexts. This deepens pupils’ understanding of important ideas.

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Teachers choose activities that interest pupils and inspire them to work hard. Well- planned outings and external visitors enhance pupils’ learning further. These strengths are evident in most subjects apart from geography. In this subject, pupils like learning about places and people from around the world. However, pupils in Years 3 to 6 have gaps in their knowledge. They struggle to recall what they were taught in previous year groups. Teaching has not ensured that pupils have the background knowledge needed to study new concepts.

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Leaders and staff are determined that all pupils will become confident readers. In the Nursery and Reception classes, children get off to a good start. They begin learning phonics straight away. Staff teach letters and the sounds they represent precisely. As a result, children build their phonics knowledge securely. Parents and carers like the opportunities they have to read with their children in school. Staff are also keen to share their love of books. In all year groups, pupils relish listening to their teachers read stories aloud. Through this, pupils learn new words and phrases. Pupils also enjoy choosing their own books to read at home. They told me that they find these books interesting. However, some lower-attaining Year 1 pupils struggle to read these books well. Their books sometimes contain sounds that they have not learned. These books are not suitable for pupils to practise their reading.

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Pupils’ enthusiasm for mathematics is clear. They enjoy applying their knowledge of number and calculation methods. Pupils tackle mathematical problems eagerly. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They plan activities so that pupils link new concepts with what they already know.

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Leaders, governors and staff share high expectations for pupils with SEND. Leaders work closely with families and external professionals. Together, they find effective ways to meet each pupil’s needs. Pupils who speak English as an additional language are also well supported. Strong partnerships with families contribute to this work.

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Pupils’ wider development is very important at this school. Pupils learn about life in modern Britain. They are encouraged to think about the needs of others. For example, all pupils took part in fund-raising activities for a national charity. They learned how to raise awareness of the charity’s work.

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Classrooms are calm and orderly. Pupils follow teachers’ instructions without a fuss. Disruptions to pupils’ learning are rare.

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Staff well-being is a priority for leaders. They support staff to manage their workload. They encourage teachers to develop subject plans with colleagues from other schools. Teachers told me that this has helped to strengthen their subject expertise. 14–15 January 2020

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that safeguarding is given the highest priority. Adults know about potential risks in the local area and follow procedures for raising concerns. Safeguarding training for staff is ongoing and comprehensive. Leaders ensure that staff who join the school receive training straight away. Effective systems are in place to check that new staff and volunteers are suitable to work with pupils.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff support pupils and families effectively because they know them well. Leaders take prompt and suitable action when staff raise concerns. When necessary, they obtain additional support from outside agencies to protect pupils’ welfare.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, lower-attaining pupils in key stage 1 find their reading books too difficult. This is because they do not have reading books that match their phonics knowledge. This hinders the development of pupils’ reading skills. Leaders should ensure that reading books closely match pupils’ stage of reading. This will enable pupils to use and apply the phonics knowledge they have been taught.  In geography, teaching does not enable pupils to build sufficiently on their prior learning. Some pupils find it hard to connect what they are learning with concepts they have studied in the past. Leaders should ensure that teaching enables pupils to grasp concepts securely, and develop the knowledge needed for their future learning. Leaders should also provide teachers with effective guidance on how to use subject planning effectively.

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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 the predecessor school, South Rise Primary School, to be good in March 2013. 14–15 January 2020

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How can I feedback 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 feedback my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feedback my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 14–15 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10124658 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected as an academy

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher took up post in September 2017, having previously been the deputy headteacher at the school.  South Rise Primary School converted to become an academy on 1 July 2017. When its predecessor school, South Rise Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school is part of The Compass Partnership of Schools. This is a multi-academy trust comprising seven schools in the London Borough of Greenwich.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher, executive headteacher, chair of the governing body, chair of the board of trustees and leaders from the multi-academy trust. We also met with other senior leaders and subject leaders.  We did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. In each subject, we visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and held discussions with subject leaders, teachers and pupils. 14–15 January 2020

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, we reviewed school policies, procedures and records. We met with senior leaders to review examples of actions they take to keep pupils safe. We also checked staff’s understanding of how to keep pupils safe.  We observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, and at breaktimes and lunchtime. We looked at documentation related to behaviour and bullying, including records of incidents and how they were managed.  We met with groups of pupils and spoke to pupils informally when visiting lessons. We also took into account the 44 responses to Ofsted’s survey for pupils.  We considered the 59 responses, including written comments, submitted to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents and carers.  We took into account the 28 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and considered teachers’ views in our meeting with them.

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Inspection team

Ogugua Okolo-Angus, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Barney Geen Ofsted Inspector 14–15 January 2020

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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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