St Gabriel's CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Gabriel’s CofE Primary School Churchill Gardens Road, London SW1V 3AG

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 November 2023

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Outcome

St Gabriel’s CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a calm, caring and welcoming school. Pupils of all ages and backgrounds work and play well together. The school celebrates the diversity of all its pupils and staff. Pupils are happy at school as they feel like they belong to a ‘big family’, where everyone helps each other. Pupils also feel safe as they are empowered to speak up if they have any concerns or worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school aspires for all pupils to achieve ‘excellence with compassion’. In most cases, this aspiration is realised. Pupils achieve highly, particularly in subjects such as writing and mathematics. The school is working hard to ensure that pupils reach the same high standards in other areas of the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour meets the school’s high expectations. Their attitudes to learning are exemplary. Pupils are kind and respectful towards adults, and towards each other. They conduct themselves sensibly, including in the playground and when they move between lessons and other school activities. In class, they follow adults’ instructions promptly. Pupils are courteous towards their peers, confident to learn something new, and always keen to talk about their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school trusts its pupils with positions of responsibility. House captains lead a variety of activities. Pupils are always happy to serve as office helpers, equipment monitors, or as play leaders. Pupils take these responsibilities seriously, and they carry them out proudly.

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

The school’s curriculum is well designed and carefully arranged. Recently, the school has been working on reviewing and strengthening some areas of the curriculum. This work has focused successfully on ensuring that pupils have even more opportunities to learn and understand subject content in depth. Across the school, pupils develop knowledge well, connecting what they already know to what they are learning. In early years, for 15 and 16 November 2023

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example, the curriculum helps children to learn about their local area and its key features. This prepares them for when they study a different area of the United Kingdom in Year 1. By Year 6, pupils have developed a secure knowledge of the location of countries around the world and their significant physical features.

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Starting in early years, teaching focuses on ensuring that pupils understand a wide range of subject-specific vocabulary. In mathematics, for example, pupils accurately use terms like ‘factors’, ‘multiples’ and ‘equivalent fractions’. Their wide range of vocabulary helps them learn more about this subject.

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Staff have a strong knowledge of the subjects that they teach. Pupils benefit from a wide range of well-thought-out learning opportunities which are designed to help them to understand new concepts in depth. Pupils’ additional needs are identified. In most areas, teaching carefully considers what adaptations pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) need to learn the curriculum. When this happens, these pupils learn and remember subject content well. In a few subjects, however, adaptations for pupils with SEND are not as effective as they should be in supporting learning.

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The school prioritises the teaching of early reading. Staff at all levels are well trained in delivering the school’s phonics curriculum. Teaching enables pupils to practise and consolidate their phonics knowledge. Pupils regularly read books which match the sounds they already know.

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Assessment information is used very well. In early reading, pupils are assessed regularly and those who are falling behind in phonics are identified at the earliest opportunity. These pupils receive additional sessions, and they catch up quickly. Pupils show a genuine love of reading, and of books. They hear adults read to them daily.

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Pupils are motivated to participate in lessons. They collaborate well with one another. Disruptions to learning are rare. Leaders analyse information on pupils’ attendance. They take well-targeted and timely actions to support those pupils who are not attending school as regularly as they should be.

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The school makes full use of the resources within the local area to enhance the curriculum. Pupils visit galleries, museums and other places of interest, which in most cases are within walking distance from the school. Pupils learn about how to look after themselves and keep safe. For example, they are taught about risks that may arise when going online and how they can protect themselves, such as not sharing passwords or personal information.

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Staff are proud to be a part of this school. They appreciate that processes have been streamlined to make their workload more manageable. They value the kind and open culture which they say threads through everything that happens in the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 15 and 16 November 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, adaptations to support the learning of pupils with SEND are not as effective as they could be. When this happens, the quality of these pupils’ learning is affected. The school should ensure that teachers receive the guidance and professional development they need to plan and put in place consistently effective adaptations for pupils with SEND.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. 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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2014.

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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.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 15 and 16 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 July 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The last section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character was in September 2017.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team.  The inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. 15 and 16 November 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, geography and mathematics. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Other subjects were considered as part of this inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. The inspector also considered the views of parents and carers through their responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Edison David, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 November 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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