Nightingale Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Nightingale Primary School Bloomfield Road, Woolwich, London SE18 7JJ

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 January 2022

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Outcome

Nightingale Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning and coming to school. The headteacher encourages a culture of learning being its own reward. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and design interesting work for them. There are positive relationships between adults and pupils, which has a positive impact on the environment for learning. One pupil said, and others agreed, that the best thing about the school was that teachers were ‘thoughtful and helpful’. Pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is good. They understand the routines and expectations and behave well in lessons and around the school. Respect is a key school value and pupils demonstrate that it means a lot to them. Bullying is rare, but adults always take action. Pupils trust adults to sort out any issues they have about unkindness shown by their classmates. Pupils feel safe in school. They learn how to keep themselves safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy using their experience of remote learning now they are back in school. Pupils use information and communication technology devices in many subjects and keep some of their work electronically as well as in exercise books. Pupils say that this way of working helps them learn more. Teachers use online information in classes to see quickly where help is needed.

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

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is ambitious and well planned. It provides pupils with a wide range of subjects and experiences, starting in early years. For example, in Reception, children are introduced to the idea of historical change over time. They compare the toys they play with to older toys that adults played with, when they were young children.

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

Subject leaders break work down into smaller parts. They then design and sequence activities so that pupils can build effectively on what they know already. In computing, for 11 and 12 January 2022

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example, pupils learn basic animation in Year 2 and then revisit this in later years. They learn to smooth, edit, add sound effects and narrate a story.

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Teachers make sure that pupils know all the specialist vocabulary they need in order to understand the subject. In mathematics, teachers use words such as ‘quotient’, ‘product’ and ‘commutative’. Pupils use this language in the class ‘number talks’ to discuss their mathematical methods and problem solve with confidence.

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Teachers build opportunities into lessons to check that pupils understand the work. Pupils use online devices in the classroom, and this helps teachers know quickly whether pupils need help with their work.

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Sometimes pupils do not learn as much as they should. This is often when two or more subjects come together, such as using art skills to demonstrate historical concepts. When teachers have not thought carefully about precisely what knowledge they want pupils to learn or be able to demonstrate, these activities lack purpose.

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Reading is a high priority throughout the school. Pupils are highly motivated to read and keen to talk about their choice of reading books. In early years and Years 1 and 2, pupils read books that match the sounds they know. Staff are well trained, and adults model the sounds consistently and accurately. However, sometimes adults move on too quickly to writing and pupils do not have enough time to practise saying the sounds and blending them to make words. As a result, sometimes pupils cannot recall sounds easily and their reading lacks fluency.

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Pupils generally behave well in class and around the school. Pupils say that lessons are occasionally disrupted, but that it is dealt with consistently by staff. During the COVID-19 restrictions, some pupils forgot how to learn and play in harmony with others. Leaders have worked hard to re-establish expectations, and pupils are responding well.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported throughout the school, including in early years. Support staff are trained and use their knowledge to help pupils effectively. They take the initiative and challenge pupils through questioning and by adapting activities.

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The school’s provision for pupils’ wider development is strong. Pupils can attend clubs in sports, the arts and other subjects. Visits support the school curriculum and there are opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills, including through raising funds for charity.

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The headteacher has developed a strong culture of shared leadership. Staff at all levels are committed to making a contribution to the school’s success. They use educational research to find the best ways to help pupils learn, and work in teams to develop both the curriculum and resources.

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Staff are well supported by leaders. Leaders care for their well-being and manage staff workload effectively, including for assessment. Leaders have ensured that the use of online platforms and devices for assessment in class does not create extra work. 11 and 12 January 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are trained and understand their responsibilities. They are vigilant in recording and reporting any concerns. Leaders understand the risks that pupils face and know their families well so that they can get the right help to pupils who need it.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work effectively with the trust to ensure that all the pre-employment checks on staff are carried out and recorded.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in school and trust the adults in school to help them if they are worried about anything. They are taught how to keep themselves safe online in computing, remote assemblies and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. The pupil parliament is producing an e-book to summarise online safety for other pupils.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils sometimes struggle to recognise and say phonemes and to blend the sounds to make words. This is because sometimes adults rush on to writing too quickly. Leaders should ensure that pupils get enough opportunities to practise sounds and develop fluency.  Sometimes, learning activities are not sharply focused on the knowledge that pupils will learn or the skills they will practise. This means that activities lack purpose and pupils make less progress than they should. Leaders should ensure that all activities are sharply focused on the subject knowledge, content and skills that pupils will learn.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Nightingale Primary School, to be good in November 2011. 11 and 12 January 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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.

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How can I feed back 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. 11 and 12 January 2022

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The headteacher, who was previously the deputy headteacher, took up his post in September 2019.  The school is a member of the Maritime Academy Trust.  The chair of the local academy council took up his post in November 2021.  Nightingale Primary School converted to become an academy in November 2017. When its predecessor school, Nightingale Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and have taken that into account in her evaluation.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector met with the headteacher and senior leaders. 11 and 12 January 2022

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 The lead inspector held meetings with a governor and the chief executive officer and chair of trustees of the Maritime Trust.  Deep dives were carried out in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and computing. The lead inspector visited classes, including those in early years, and intervention groups. The lead inspector looked at subject plans and pupils’ work, met with pupils and held discussions with teachers and subject leaders.  The lead inspector also looked at a wide range of plans in other subjects and scrutinised pupils’ work in history and science. She visited the Year 5 Second World War immersion day.  The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead and the safeguarding team, and reviewed the single central record and safeguarding records. The inspector talked with staff about the impact of their safeguarding training and to pupils about how safe they feel in school. The lead inspector discussed safeguarding with a

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governor and trust representatives.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the pupil parliament, observed pupils around the school at breaktime and visited a Year 4 financial management session.

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Inspection team

Janet Hallett, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 January 2022

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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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