Paxton Primary School

Inspection of Paxton Primary School Woodland Road, London SE19 1PA

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Outstanding 7–8 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Paxton and are kept safe in school. They understand what bullying is and know how to report any incidences that might arise. Staff resolve any problems swiftly and this makes pupils feel safe and well cared for. While many pupils behave well, there are classes in which learning is disrupted by poor behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some pupils benefit from attending after-school activities in arts and crafts, athletics, football, ballet, drama, and yoga. Pupils talk enthusiastically about visits to the local library, places of worship and to the Tower of London. They also enjoy representing their school when performing, for example at the Lambeth Music Festival.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Opportunities are provided for pupils to take on additional responsibilities as members of the school council or playtime leaders. Members of the eco-committee are particularly proud of their recent work of adding planters to the playground.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum that pupils follow is not consistently well planned. In some subjects, they learn and remember more over time and produce work of good quality. However, there are subjects where this is not the case. Some aspects of the national curriculum are not routinely taught.

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better?

The quality of the curriculum is variable. In some subjects, leaders have identified the important knowledge pupils should learn. This is broken down into clear steps and organised so that pupils revisit, embed and apply their learning. For example, in mathematics, children in the early years practise counting. This supports them to add and subtract confidently. Older pupils use this knowledge to solve complex problems accurately. Similarly, in religious education, younger pupils learn about different faiths. Older pupils draw on this knowledge when making comparisons between religious traditions and practices.

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better?

However, in some subjects, important aspects have not been well considered. For example, in science and history, pupils are not taught about types of evidence or how they are used. Similarly, in art, pupils do not use sketchbooks to practise different techniques. This means that assessment in these subjects is not clearly focused on what pupils need to learn. As a result, pupils have gaps in their understanding and struggle to understand more complex ideas.

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better?

Pupils in key stage 2 do not routinely learn a modern foreign language. This means that pupils do not study a broad curriculum and are not fully prepared for their secondary education. 7–8 June 2022

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Pupils enjoy reading and being read to. This begins in the early years where staff develop children’s language effectively. Many children speak with confidence and enjoy joining in with familiar stories, rhymes and songs. While staff have been trained to teach phonics, the implementation of this training is inconsistent. Many staff use precise language to identify and correct pupils’ errors, and then give sufficient time to practise and apply new sounds. In these instances, pupils read with increasing confidence and fluency. However, this is not routine in all classes. Weaker readers are identified and supported to help them catch up. However, not all staff use books that have been carefully matched to the sounds that pupils have learned. Therefore, some pupils do not get sufficient opportunity to practise and embed the sounds they need to read well.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are accurately identified, and leaders seek appropriate advice from external agencies. However, teachers do not always make use of this guidance when considering the curriculum for pupils with SEND. While many pupils are well supported to access the same curriculum as their peers, others complete activities that do not help them learn and remember more.

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Many pupils behave well. However, there are classes in which behaviour is often disruptive. Leaders recognise this and have put in place strategies to better manage behaviour. However, this has not yet had the desired impact, and learning in these classes continues to be disrupted. Leaders have effective systems for ensuring that pupils attend school regularly and on time.

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Pupils are helped to stay physically and emotionally healthy. They can explain what it means to be environmentally responsible and understand the importance of democracy. The curriculum promotes equality of opportunity and diversity. However, there are instances of older pupils using discriminatory language towards each other.

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The recently appointed interim executive headteachers have put systems and structures in place to address the school’s weaknesses. They have commissioned additional support for this work. School and subject leaders are benefiting from support to develop in their roles. However, the newly formed local governors’ advisory board does not have sufficient knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The board does not have the understanding to check that school leaders’ self-evaluation and future priorities are accurate.

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Staff, including those at the start of their careers, are proud to work at the school. They value the opportunities they have to develop professionally. There are, however, mixed views about how well leaders manage teachers’ workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff understand how to report any concerns they have. Leaders treat these referrals seriously and swiftly seek advice from the local authority and other external 7–8 June 2022

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agencies. This ensures that pupils and families get any help they may need. During the inspection, some staff spoken with were less clear on aspects of their most recent safeguarding training. Leaders are revisiting these aspects.

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The curriculum has been designed to help pupils understand how to stay safe. Pupils talk confidently about managing the risks associated with using social media. Pupils have a mature and developed understanding of the importance of maintaining good mental health.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils in key stage 2 do not all learn a modern foreign language. This means they do not learn what is expected nationally. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum reflects the breadth and ambition of learning set out in the national curriculum.  In some subjects, leaders have not identified the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Teachers do not routinely focus on these concepts or check that they have been understood. This leads to gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Leaders should ensure that they identify what should be learned and remembered in all subjects. This should be well sequenced so that pupils, including those with SEND, can revisit, embed and apply their learning over time. This will support teachers to focus more sharply on checking what pupils have learned.  The teaching of phonics is variable. This means that pupils read with different levels of fluency and confidence. Leaders should ensure that all staff have

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

sufficient subject knowledge to teach phonics precisely and identify and correct pupils’ errors. Leaders should also check that staff use books that are well matched to the sounds pupils have learned with greater consistency.  Behaviour in some classes is disruptive. This means that pupils’ learning in these classes is interrupted. Leaders should ensure that all staff are supported and expected to follow the agreed behaviour policy consistently. This includes addressing some older pupils’ use of discriminatory language.  The newly formed local advisory board does not have a sufficiently detailed knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This means the board cannot check the accuracy of leaders’ self-evaluation or future priorities for improvement. Leaders should ensure that the local advisory board continues to receive training and support to develop its role so that it can carry out its duties

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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. 7–8 June 2022

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

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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. 7–8 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10232844 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Mr Charles Asher and Ms Alexandra Cambouris (Co-chairs) Headteacher Jeff Muhammad

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12–13 March 2013

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Information about this school

 Paxton Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The school is part of the Gipsy Hill Federation, a group of six primary schools that work closely together. Each school has its own headteacher. The six schools are led overall by two interim executive headteachers and have a single governing body. From January 2022, each school has its own local advisory board that reports to the overall federation governing body.  Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the school’s leadership team. The current headteacher was appointed in 2017 and the two deputy headteachers in 2016 and 2021.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 7–8 June 2022

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspection team completed deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science, history and PE. To do this, they met with subject leaders, had discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered leaders’ plans and pupils’ work in other subjects.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school and priorities for improvement.  Inspectors met with the interim executive headteachers, headteacher, senior leaders, a selection of subject leaders, teachers, and the family services officer.  Inspectors held discussions with the chair and one other member of the federation governing body, as well as a representative of the local authority.

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 The inspection team reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising records and through discussions with staff and pupils.  The views of pupils, parents and staff, as gathered through discussions and Ofsted’s surveys, were considered.

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Inspection team

Nick Turvey, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sukwinder Samra Ofsted Inspector 7–8 June 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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