Alderbrook Primary School

Inspection of Alderbrook Primary School Oldridge Road, Balham, London SW12 8PP

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Inspection dates: 31 January and 1 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 31 January and 1 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish in this friendly primary school, which has a strong community feel. The school aims for pupils to strive towards becoming curious, tenacious and collaborative. Pupils understand and share these goals. They learn how to achieve them through a carefully designed curriculum, which includes a focus on how to stick at learning even when it is difficult. Across subjects, pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They said that bullying is rare and quickly resolved if it happens. If they have any concerns, they feel confident to talk to an adult. Pupils enjoy a wide range of activities. Everyone has swimming lessons in Reception and Year 1 to develop water confidence. The music curriculum includes learning to play the recorder and the ukelele. Even at this young age, pupils learn about future careers and academic study, including a visit to Cambridge University.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school puts a strong emphasis on learning about and valuing diversity in the local community. Pupils speak about feeling a sense of belonging, with one summing this up by commenting, ‘We all have a close connection’.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious, broad and engaging curriculum. This enables pupils to build up their knowledge and understanding of important ideas over their time in the school. For example, in Reception, children deepen their understanding of counting by rolling dice and making the correct number of jumps along a line on the floor. This helps them to see the difference between bigger and smaller numbers. Older pupils build on this secure understanding of number as they learn about addition. They can recall their number bonds fluently and know that whichever way round they add numbers, the result does not change. These secure foundations mean that pupils successfully grapple with more complex mathematical ideas, such as learning about scale and making comparisons in Year 5. Pupils are eager to say how much they enjoy mathematics.

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better?

Similarly, the school’s work to help pupils learn to read is effective. Teachers ensure that pupils learn and practise their sounds. The curriculum is ambitious, and nearly all pupils progress through it briskly. Where pupils need any extra help, this is provided quickly and effectively. As a result, any gaps in their knowledge are quickly addressed, and their fluency improves.

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better?

In each subject, pupils return to the important knowledge regularly so that they remember it. Pupils revisit important concepts, like ‘civilisation’, to deepen their understanding. However, there are occasions when some pupils are asked to tackle work that is too difficult for them. This means that the curriculum is not implemented as well in a small number of subjects. As a result, there are instances when pupils do not progress as well through the curriculum as intended. This is 31 January and 1 February 2024

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because they have gaps in their knowledge or because their misconceptions are not quickly corrected.

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In early years, children benefit from warm, caring interactions with adults, and through teaching, which helps them learn to share, take turns and follow routines. This positive culture continues through the school. Pupils live up to the school’s high standards of behaviour. They learn how to reflect and make amends if ever their behaviour falls short of the school’s expectations. As a result, pupils are nearly always focused and sensible in class. They move around the school in an orderly way. Staff help any pupil who needs individual support to concentrate on their work or manage their emotions. Leaders stress the importance of good attendance. They work effectively with any families who need support. This leads to high levels of attendance.

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The school quickly identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils generally receive the help they need so that they are included in learning. However, there are occasions when adaptations to teaching are not fully effective for some pupils with SEND. When pupils move on to working on an activity before their understanding is secure, gaps in their knowledge are not identified and addressed.

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The school’s approach to personal development teaches pupils about safe and healthy relationships. Pupils are also taught how to become more effective in their learning by, for instance, planning the steps they will take to tackle a difficult task and resisting distractions. They take part in many educational visits, including several residential trips. Pupils in leadership roles are proud of their responsibilities in the school.

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Leaders and governors work very effectively together. For example, they improved the school’s approach to promoting good behaviour by working thoughtfully with external agencies and consulting with staff, pupils and parents. They checked carefully at each stage whether they were achieving the impact they intended. By clearly setting out strong, shared values and clear procedures to back them up, they have secured improvements in behaviour.

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Parents and carers are highly appreciative of the school’s work. As one parent said: ‘It is a lovely and nurturing environment. My children literally run into the school gates in the morning.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 On occasion, the activities chosen to achieve curricular objectives are too difficult for pupils, including pupils with SEND. This happens when checks on pupils’ knowledge are not used effectively. As a result, pupils’ misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge are not identified and addressed. The school should continue to refine its approaches to teaching the curriculum so that teachers can ensure that pupils make progress through the curriculum as intended.

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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' 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). 31 January and 1 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Co-chairs of governing body Serge Sergiou and Nigel Brook

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School details

Website www.alderbrookprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 July 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed to the post in January 2024, after being acting headteacher since September 2023.  The school does not make use of any 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

 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. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils 31 January and 1 February 2024

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about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Other subjects were also considered as part of the inspection.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other senior leaders, including the special educational needs coordinator. The lead inspector met with members of the support staff team and governing body. He held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documentation, including records related to attendance, behaviour and pupil movement.  Inspectors considered the views of parents, staff and pupils, including through

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the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Julian Grenier, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Karim Ismail His Majesty’s Inspector 31 January and 1 February 2024

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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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