Foxfield Primary School

Inspection of Foxfield Primary School Sandbach Place, London SE18 7EX

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding 18 and 19 July 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Foxfield gives pupils an experience that goes well beyond the ordinary. It sets the highest academic and personal standards, with a clear focus on helping pupils to become thoughtful, independent young people.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are highly respectful of others, and their behaviour is impeccable. They know that behaving well is more than just obeying the rules but also about adhering to important values, such as tolerance and open-mindedness. This is amply illustrated by pupils, who comment that they ‘don’t look at the person’ but ‘at their hearts’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils report that bullying is rare. They are confident that their teachers will deal with any problems effectively, and they do. Pupils comment that they feel safe in school. Leaders ensure that they are kept safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

One of the school’s many strengths is the understated way that pupils’ academic and personal excellence is promoted. Leaders and teachers understand that everything they do is about giving all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the best education possible. The curriculum is highly ambitious. It encompasses a broad range of experiences and a depth of learning that prepare pupils extremely well for their secondary education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Another strength is that everyone works together to achieve excellence for pupils. This is what makes the school so successful.

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better?

Leaders have designed a highly ambitious curriculum. Working closely with teachers, they have thought deeply about what they want pupils to learn at each stage, whether that is by the end of the week, the term or the year. Leaders’ curriculum thinking sets out this learning clearly for everyone to understand. As a result, expectations are both explicit and exacting. Knowledge and skills are broken down into manageable steps so that pupils understand the basics before moving on to more complex work. The curriculum builds in opportunities for pupils to recap on previous learning so that they remember things in the long term. This has a strong impact on pupils’ achievements, including in reading, writing and mathematics, which are consistently high.

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better?

Pupils’ learning in all the subjects they study, including personal, social and health education, is equally strong. For example, pupils can talk knowledgeably about how government works and the importance of equality, not just here in Britain, but globally. The curriculum is underpinned by a set of themes that enable teachers to make meaningful connections between ideas in different subjects. For example, pupils study Ancient Egypt in history and modern Egypt in geography. They gain a deep understanding of the importance of place and natural resources, including how these are connected through time. 18 and 19 July 2023

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Pupils’ personal development is promoted very successfully through a wide range of initiatives. These include before- and after-school clubs and many opportunities to contribute to the life of the school. For example, the junior leadership team has helped to improve the playground. Pupils readily take on roles such as playground buddies and digital leaders, helping others to get the most out of school.

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Leaders ensure that reading, including early reading, is a central pillar of the school’s work. The teaching of phonics starts at the earliest opportunity in Reception so that, by the end of early years, children are reading with increasing accuracy and fluency. Leaders are careful to make sure that pupils read books that match the sounds that they are learning in phonics. The strong subject knowledge of teachers and teaching assistants, supported by ongoing training, ensures that all pupils receive the same high-quality experience. Targeted support is used most effectively to close any gaps in learning. Pupils become confident readers of a wide range of books by Year 6.

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The early years curriculum ensures that children develop the knowledge and skills they need to move into Year 1 and beyond. The curriculum links closely to the programme in Years 1 and 2 so that pupils continue to build their knowledge and skills in the same carefully structured approach as they move through the school. What makes the early years provision so strong is the way the curriculum comes alive in the classroom. Staff create a hugely positive environment that simply oozes learning. From fostering language, number and physical skills, to developing independence, the early years provision sets up children to succeed in the future.

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Pupils with SEND are provided with the same carefully designed curriculum, with its delivery adapted astutely to their needs. Leaders and staff have a strong understanding of the individual needs of pupils, including those with autism spectrum disorder. They ensure that pupils with SEND are given accurately targeted support so that they can achieve highly and make progress through the curriculum as well as their peers.

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Governors and trustees contribute much to the school’s drive for excellence. With leaders, they ensure that staff workload and well-being are fully considered. A thorough programme of professional development, including school and trust-based training, helps to keep staff up to date.

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Governors and trustees hold leaders to account effectively. They know the school inside out, making time to visit the school regularly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that safeguarding is always a priority. The safeguarding team has an encyclopaedic knowledge of those pupils who are vulnerable. The team uses this knowledge, and its close relationships with outside agencies, to ensure that, where pupils need support, it is provided quickly. 18 and 19 July 2023

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Staff are well trained to recognise the risks to pupils. They know how to refer their concerns to leaders and the importance of doing so without delay. Leaders use a wide range of information to help them identify those pupils who may need support.

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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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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. 18 and 19 July 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10240533 Type of school Primary

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School details

Headteacher Megan Minnett and Tatum Sharp (co- headteachers) Website www.foxfield.org.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 and 15 September 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Foxfield Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The school is part of The Inspire Partnership Academy Trust. It converted to become an academy in 2017. When its predecessor school, Foxfield Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, computing and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the 18 and 19 July 2023

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curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at the curriculum for other subjects.  Meetings were held with the co-headteachers, senior leaders, staff and pupils. Inspectors met with the chief executive officer of The Inspire Partnership Academy Trust and spoke with school governors and trustees. They also spoke with parents and carers at the school gate.  Inspectors considered 56 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils to discuss their views about many different aspects of their school. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and staff survey.

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Inspection team

Brian Oppenheim, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rebekah Iiyambo Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 July 2023

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