Oasis Academy Surrey Square

Inspection of an outstanding school: Surrey Square Primary School Surrey Square, Walworth, London SE17 2JY

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Outcome

Surrey Square Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and welcoming. Alongside staff, parents and carers, they feel proud to be part of such a strong community. Their behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary. All pupils, including the very youngest, follow instructions immediately and are familiar with routines. Disruption in lessons is extremely rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. They expect them to achieve well. Pupils’ attitudes to school and to learning are of a high standard. Teachers consistently help them succeed. Pupils’ well-being and mental health are at the centre of the curriculum. Because of this, pupils access their education with enthusiasm and approach any difficulties with resilience.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate opportunities to write down any concerns in their reflection journals, which adults respond to. Bullying is rare and pupils know that if it occurs, staff will deal with it seriously and with urgency.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to have a voice. Recently, they sent letters to the local council about the high number of rats and cockroaches in their local housing. Another example is the campaign pupils led in convincing parents not to use disposable face masks. They did this by educating them on the impact their use has on the environment.

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

Leaders have a focus on pupils’ education and help them achieve well. They have high aspirations for all of them, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have planned and organised the curriculum carefully. Staff take great care to pinpoint exactly what they want pupils to learn and by when. This includes children in both the Nursery classes and in Reception. The early years curriculum, including that for two-year-olds, is based firmly on helping children develop their personal, social and physical skills as well as learning phonics and numbers. There is also a big focus on vocabulary and oracy which continues as they move up the school. Staff in 4 and 5 May 2022

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early years work closely with the whole-school subject leaders to ensure that the curriculum coverage matches the ambition of the whole school.

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Teachers have secure subject knowledge across the curriculum. Subject leaders have a lot of experience in their subject. They seek appropriate training for themselves and in turn train and support others. Curriculum teams meet to share experience and practice.

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Staff put a great deal of thought into their plans and the order in which they teach each unit of work. They regularly check what pupils know and remember through lesson recaps and retrieval quizzes. They design projects where pupils can apply their knowledge and skills each term.

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Some subjects, such as history, have been recently adapted so that they are more relevant to the pupils at this school. For example, in Year 3 pupils learn about the kingdom of Benin. This is because a large proportion of pupils have roots in Nigeria. They learn about Queen Idia and can compare her with Queen Elizabeth I. Larger themes, such as monarchy, trade, religion and immigration are revisited, and built upon. In Year 6, pupils learn about Windrush.

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Reading is a priority at the school. The school uses its chosen reading programme consistently well. Leaders make sure that all staff receive regular training. Through regular assessment, leaders quickly identify gaps in reading and adjust the groupings accordingly. Staff plan extra one-to-one sessions as well as interventions, if necessary, for pupils who have fallen behind. As a result, pupils catch up quickly. Early reading books match pupils’ decoding level. Pupils enjoy reading and talk about a range of books with enthusiasm.

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In the early years, staff make sure that they use the same methods, vocabulary and pictorials in mathematics as in Year 1. Across the school, pupils are regularly encouraged to explain their methods. This helps them with their reasoning. They have many practical opportunities to practise their learning. Teachers pick up on any mistakes or gaps in understanding. They amend their lessons so that all pupils catch up. Although adults are trained to help pupils with SEND, they also empower them in becoming independent learners.

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The personal development of pupils is exceptional. They are encouraged to be ambassadors of their community and to actively help make a positive change. Many clubs and trips are made available to all. Through the school’s ‘personal excellence’ curriculum, pupils learn to ‘self-manage’ and communicate clearly with others. Pupils understand their place in society and have high aspirations for their futures.

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Staff and governors are proud members of the school. Staff report that leaders take exceptional care of their well-being and that their workload is regularly considered.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 4 and 5 May 2022

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Safeguarding is at the core of what all staff and governors do. The identification processes are clear. Referrals are timely and leaders are not afraid to escalate cases.

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Leaders know their families well. They are extremely clear about the contextual issues and go above and beyond to support their families. This includes, but is not limited to, helping them with immigration issues, housing and domestic violence.

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Pupils have a good awareness of how to keep safe, including when online. They all have at least one adult at school they can talk to.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. 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 as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in September 2016.

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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. 4 and 5 May 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10229074 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Co-Headteachers Nicola Noble Matt Morden Website www.surreysquareprimary.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 and 7 December 2016

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the Big Education Trust.  The school has a provision for two-year-olds.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provider where its pupils are dual- registered.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspector held meetings with senior leaders from the school. They met with four members of the governing body and trust, including the chair of governors and chair of trustees. A meeting was held with one of the co-directors.  The inspector met pupils to understand their views on the school. 4 and 5 May 2022

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 The inspector did deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. As part of the deep dives, the inspector met with leaders to discuss curriculum plans, visited lessons with senior leaders, met with teachers and looked at pupils’ work. They also looked at documents and work in music and art and design.  The inspector considered the well-being and behaviour of pupils during lesson visits and around the school. They observed pupils as they arrived at school in the morning.  The inspector considered the effectiveness of safeguarding through discussions with leaders, teachers and support staff. They looked at records relating to safeguarding, including pre-employment checks.  The inspector spoke to a large proportion of the staff about their workload and well- being. They also looked at the pupil, staff and parent surveys and talked to a number of parents at the school gate.

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 The inspector reviewed a wide range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school improvement plan, school evaluation, curriculum documentation and school policies.

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Inspection team

Aliki Constantopoulou, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 4 and 5 May 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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