Horniman Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Horniman Primary School Horniman Drive, London SE23 3BP

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Outcome

Horniman Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Horniman Primary School. They feel safe because they know that staff care about them. They are confident to speak up if they have any concerns. A parent or carer summarised the thoughts of many by saying: ‘My children skip into school every day, delighted to attend.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils. They achieve well, particularly in reading and mathematics. The school is working hard to ensure that pupils achieve just as highly across all areas of the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well, in and out of lessons. They are polite, courteous and articulate. Pupils treat each other well, with kindness and respect. They respond to adult instructions promptly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with a rich variety of opportunities. There is a wide range of after-school clubs on offer. These activities are popular with pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Take-up of these activities is high.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils engage with their local community. For example, they invite faith leaders into school for celebrations of various festivals. They also raise funds to support the local food bank. Pupils are encouraged to champion a cause important to them. Recently, pupils prepared and led an assembly on rainforest conservation.

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

The school’s coherent curriculum starts with the early years. It is carefully designed to ensure that pupils build sufficient knowledge over time. In mathematics, for example, children in the early years develop a secure understanding of numbers. This prepares them for when they begin to add and subtract numbers in Year 1. By the time pupils get to Year 6, they perform more complex calculations involving fractions, decimals and percentages. 6 and 7 December 2023

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In most subjects, the curriculum precisely identifies the knowledge and skills required to help pupils make sense of new learning. However, in a few subjects, leaders have not identified as clearly the concepts pupils need to learn, practise and remember. This reduces how effectively pupils can deepen their understanding in a subject.

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The curriculum is delivered well. New learning is introduced clearly. Pupils receive plenty of examples to help them learn new concepts and deepen their understanding. Sometimes, however, the resources that pupils receive are not as effective as they should be in supporting them to understand new concepts. Pupils with SEND benefit from effective adaptations to teaching, and they achieve well.

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The school is ambitious for all pupils to learn how to read. The phonics curriculum is carefully structured, and it is delivered effectively. Pupils learn the sounds that letters make and apply these when reading. They read books that match the sounds they already know. The school regularly checks what pupils know and can remember. Pupils who are falling behind in their phonics knowledge are identified at the earliest opportunity. These pupils receive timely and effective support. They catch up quickly. Pupils show a genuine love of reading and of books. They enjoy listening to adults read to them daily.

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Pupils engage well in lessons. They participate in discussions. They are confident when talking about what they are learning. Disruptions to learning are rare. Pupils attend school regularly. The school ensures that it knows the cause of absences for pupils whose attendance is a concern. These pupils and their families receive ample support to improve their attendance.

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Pupils are proud to take up positions of responsibility. Members of the pupil parliament help in running some aspects of the school. For example, they lead charity events, participate in ‘take over’ days, and help leaders choose books that represent the diverse school community.

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The curriculum is enriched by many opportunities. In geography, for instance, to support their learning about rivers, pupils enjoy observing the local creek as a tributary. Pupils relish the opportunities they have to perform in theatres. They talk fondly about their visits to museums, galleries and other places of interest.

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Staff are proud to be a part of this school. They work as a team. They appreciate that leaders are supportive and approachable. Leaders do all they can to ensure that workload remains manageable.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 6 and 7 December 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the important knowledge and skills that pupils need to be taught and to learn have not been precisely identified. Where these ideas have not been clarified, the curriculum does not consistently support pupils to develop a rich and deep body of knowledge. Curriculum thinking in these subjects needs to be refined so that what pupils should learn and remember is clear and explicit. n Sometimes, the learning resources that pupils receive are not as effective as they should be. When this happens, pupils are not as well supported to develop a secure understanding of the concepts they are studying. The school should help teachers to provide resources that are consistently effective in supporting pupils’ learning.

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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 February 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, 6 and 7 December 2023

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 6 and 7 December 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Hilary Satchwell

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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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 leadership team.  The inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, history and mathematics. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Other subjects were also discussed as part of this inspection. 6 and 7 December 2023

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 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 through their responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Edison David, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 December 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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