Henry Fawcett Primary School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Henry Fawcett Primary School Bowling Green Street, London SE11 5BZ

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of outstanding as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. Inspectors are recommending the next inspection to be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are excited when arriving at school. They greet the staff at the school gates enthusiastically. There are high expectations of pupils’ behaviour at all times. Staff manage behaviour consistently and fairly. They build positive and trusting relationships with pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils would recommend their school for a number of reasons. These include exciting lessons, supportive staff and the inclusive and diverse community. Teachers support pupils to have a good understanding of how to keep healthy and safe and to spot signs of an unhealthy relationship. They encourage pupils to learn about road safety and how to manage their finances.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their rooftop playground, as well as their garden area. They benefit from a broad range of school visits which help strengthen the curriculum. Leaders plan regular visits, including to local theatres, museums and parks. Pupils can vote their peers into many roles such as anti-bullying ambassadors, racial justice champions, active travel ambassadors and the school council.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are extremely supportive of the school. They appreciate all the work staff put into making the curriculum engaging for their children. Parents are also grateful for the personalised support they receive from school leaders.

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

Leaders ensure that the curriculum is exciting, diverse and relevant to pupils. Typically, they have sequenced the curriculum from early years through to Year 6 carefully. In some subjects, leaders identify the core knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember. This is not the case across all subjects. In history, for example, leaders do not 19 and 20 April 2023

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make clear what pupils should learn and when. This means that pupils do not get taught subject-specific knowledge consistently well.

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Teachers support pupils to explain their understanding and to learn from mistakes. In mathematics, teachers help pupils to build on prior learning. However, Year 6 pupils’ end- of-year outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics in 2022 were low. As a result, leaders have prioritised these subjects for improvement. For instance, teachers check for gaps in pupils’ understanding more regularly. Leaders have also made staff training a priority. Teachers have secure subject knowledge across the curriculum. As a result, pupils are starting to build secure knowledge in most subjects.

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Leaders ensure that they identify and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) carefully. This includes working closely with external professionals. Teachers adapt lessons for pupils with SEND appropriately, including through the effective use of resources.

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In early years, staff support children with a positive environment and purposeful learning opportunities. They help children to follow routines well. As a result, children show high levels of concentration and resilience when working on their own and others. Adults support children to become inquisitive learners. This continues as they move up the school. Adults support pupils to work independently. For example, Year 5 pupils did their own research about the Ancient Egyptians. Typically, pupils contribute to their lessons with enthusiasm. Staff support pupils to behave well by following the school’s behaviour approach consistently. This helps pupils to remain focused in lessons and not disrupt learning.

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Leaders have made sure that reading is a priority. They have invested in a programme to deliver phonics and have made sure that all staff have received training. Leaders have a comprehensive overview of phonics teaching and the progress that each pupil makes. Regular checks of pupils’ early reading ensure that no pupils fall behind. Adults provide additional support to pupils who are not as confident with their reading. Staff promote a love of reading. For instance, adults read with enthusiasm during daily story times. They use a wide range of high-quality texts to support pupils’ reading.

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Leaders promote pupils’ wider development carefully. They provide pupils with an abundance of visits throughout the year. Leaders support pupils so that a majority of them attend the wide range of clubs on offer. They help to develop pupils’ interests and talents positively. Staff encourage pupils to take on responsibilities throughout the school.

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Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working here. They feel extremely well supported by all leaders. They said that leaders helped their workload to be manageable.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are relentless in their approach to safeguarding all pupils. They have put rigorous systems in place so that all staff are confident in reporting concerns however small. 19 and 20 April 2023

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Leaders have an excellent understanding of their local context and the challenges their families face. They work closely with external agencies to ensure every family receives the support they need. They work closely with families to provide them with timely support.

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Pupils are taught how to keep safe in a variety of contexts. They all have a member of staff to speak to if they are concerned about anything.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not made sure that they have identified the key knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember in every subject. As a result, pupils’ subject-specific knowledge and understanding are not developed deeply. Leaders must ensure that important content is identified precisely across all subjects.  Outcomes for pupils in Year 6 last year were low. Too many pupils moved on to secondary school at a below-age-related baseline in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders must ensure that the changes they have made to the curriculum are fully implemented so that outcomes for all pupils improve quickly.

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Background

When we have judged outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in May 2017.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 19 and 20 April 2023

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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. 19 and 20 April 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 and 11 May 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average school. Numbers of pupils on roll have dropped in recent years and there are now one form of entry in most year groups.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school formed a partnership with the Wyvern Federation.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector held meetings with senior leaders and members of the governing body, including the chair, and held a discussion with the school improvement adviser from the local authority.  The inspector met pupils to understand their views about the school.  The inspector did deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons with senior leaders, met with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also considered the curriculum in other subjects. 19 and 20 April 2023

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 The inspector considered the behaviour of pupils during lesson visits and around the school. This included observing pupils as they arrived at school in the morning.  The inspector considered the effectiveness of safeguarding through discussions with leaders, teachers and support staff. The inspector looked at records relating to safeguarding, including pre-employment checks.  The inspector spoke to staff about their workload and well-being. The views of staff, pupils and parents were considered, including through responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.  The inspector considered a wide range of documentation provided by the school. This included curriculum documentation and school policies.

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Inspection team

Aliki Constantopoulou, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 April 2023

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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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