Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary School

Inspection of Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary School 1 Clarendon Drive, London SW15 1AW

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected 14 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 9 and 10 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Our Lady of Victories, staff and pupils bring the school’s values to life through their daily interactions. They show courtesy and kindness towards each other. Pupils build friendships, feel part of a family, and celebrate their faith. Staff want the best for every child. Pupils recognise that ‘everyone is unique and achieves in different ways and times’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff ensure that pupils feel safe and well cared for. Pupils are confident in having a trusted adult whom they would go to if bullying were to happen. They reported that incidents of bullying are rare and, when they do occur, staff are quick to act.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and relationships respectful. Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual development very well. Staff teach pupils about the importance of ‘loving your neighbour’. Pupils show acts of love and correctly describe this as, ‘helping someone, encouraging and comforting others’. They are open-minded and keen to be ‘champions of the future’ in promoting equality in society.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers appreciate the strong links with the community and parish church. They are active and supportive in donating to charities, such as the Ukraine Appeal. Many parents share the view that, ‘the atmosphere is kind and caring where children from different year groups look out for each other’. Inspectors agreed with this.

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better?

Leaders plan clear and ambitious end goals for all subjects. Teachers, including the sports coach, have strong subject knowledge. They organise well-planned learning experiences in subjects such as science, computing, music and physical education. For example, pupils in Year 6 dissect animal hearts to learn about its parts and their functions. In music, pupils learn to read and follow musical notation to play instruments well. They sing together beautifully.

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better?

Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to read to adults throughout the day. Children start learning the phonics programme soon after starting in Reception. Pupils practise using books matched to the sounds they know. Teachers group pupils so that they can support those needing to catch up in their phonics learning with their peers. Leaders train staff in learning how to teach reading, especially to those who speak English as an additional language. Pupils enjoy listening to stories that adults read. They take part in reading challenges.

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better?

Leaders rightly describe the current initiatives in phonics and mathematics as being ‘in their early stages’. Some teachers use questioning well to deepen what pupils know and remember. This is not consistent in all lessons. Pupils recognise that teachers do not always provide opportunities or time to extend their learning. Some teaching assistants fall short in supporting pupils’ understanding in lessons. 9 and 10 March 2022

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Pupils enjoy being together in the classroom, at collective worship and during playtimes. They interact well with each other. They show keenness in sharing their ideas and initiatives with school leaders. They ask questions freely. Pupils apply themselves and show exemplary levels of self-control. Low-level disruptions are rare.

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Leaders provide pupils with a range of opportunities to develop as young leaders. They want them to make decisions and choices. Pupils enjoy their roles and responsibilities as prefects and as science and prayer leaders. They are proud to represent their school in local and national competitions. They take part in clubs such as those for frisbee, drama and netball.

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Leaders understand the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work well with external partners in developing ways of supporting pupils. Teachers focus on the whole-school approach to inclusive teaching in lessons. Leaders speak positively about the success that pupils with SEND achieve from their starting points. They attribute this to the personalised learning experiences offered.

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Leaders’ aim is for early years to be an ‘activity learning centre where they foster and develop children’s independence’. They recognise the limitations in the timetable and space inside the classroom and outdoors. This makes the realisation of this aspiration challenging. Children in Reception do not have regular opportunities to develop their physical skills. This includes activities such as climbing, balancing or negotiating obstacles. Children show focused and attentive learning attitudes. They take turns and play well together on the carpet.

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Staff work together and enjoy working at the school. Some describe the workload as ‘intense’, and leaders try to simplify ways of working. Governors understand the actions that leaders need to take to deliver the curriculum consistently. They recognise the potential in strengthening staff leadership capacity. Leaders know that more visits to lessons will help in forming an exact view of the quality of learning and the delivery of the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

This is a ‘telling school’. Staff encourage pupils that if they are ever being bullied, they should ask the individual to stop. Pupils know to talk about their worries by telling an adult. Leaders make considerable efforts to promote a culture of keeping pupils safe. They provide safety training opportunities. The safeguarding team discusses the school’s caseload regularly. Staff record and report concerns without delay. They involve external agencies where necessary.

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Safeguarding

Governors understand and fulfil their statutory duties. Safeguarding systems are secure. All the required recruitment checks for staff are carried out. 9 and 10 March 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not embedded the consistent delivery of all subjects in the curriculum. This means that some lessons are not well planned to secure and deepen pupils’ learning. Leaders should ensure that there is a robust system in place to verify how teaching in all subjects helps pupils to know and remember crucial information in lessons.  Children in Reception have limited access to take part in a wide range of purposeful learning opportunities in the classroom and outdoors. As a result, some children do not get to develop their physical, personal and social skills in different contexts. Leaders should make sure that meaningful experiences are well planned, offered and delivered daily, indoors and outside the classroom. They should also ensure that adults’ interactions support and extend children’s learning during high-quality play provision.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 9 and 10 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10199421 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.ourladyofvictories.wandsworth.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 and 16 May 2007, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the national average for primary schools.  The school’s most recent section 48 inspection took place in January 2018.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, a range of staff, four members of the governing body, and a local authority representative.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with subject leaders, 9 and 10 March 2022

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looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of curriculum plans and documents, including the school’s self-evaluation of the work it does, and the school improvement plan.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding arrangements by scrutinising documentation, checking the single central record and talking to leaders, staff and pupils.  Inspectors considered the views of parents and staff through Ofsted’s online surveys, including 85 free-text responses to Ofsted Parent View and 12 staff responses. There were no responses from pupils to the pupils survey.  Inspectors visited the breakfast club run by the school.

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Inspection team

Lascelles Haughton, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

James Robinson Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 March 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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