Fulham Primary School

Inspection of Fulham Primary School Halford Road, London SW6 1JU

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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 Good

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The head of school is John Lynch. This school is part of the United Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jon Coles, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Reena Keeble. There is also an executive headteacher, Seamus Gibbons, who is responsible for this school and two others. 17 to 18 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive here. The new leadership team and all staff have consistently high expectations and are committed to ensuring success for all. This is being realised. The curriculum is broad and ambitious. It is well designed so that learning in all subjects is broken down into small steps. This helps pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to deepen their knowledge and understanding. Pupils are highly enthusiastic about their learning. They produce work of high quality and are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in classrooms and around the school is exemplary. This is because pupils are taught about integrity and the importance of positive behaviour. As a result, pupils feel safe and are kept safe. They are committed to their learning and disruption in lessons is rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They have contributed fully to the recent changes and show a real commitment to school life. Pupils readily take on a wide range of responsibilities, including as head boy and girl, playground buddies and on the behaviour panel. Elections for these roles provide pupils with an understanding of democracy and prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

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better?

Leaders have created a strong culture of reading across the school. For example, carefully chosen reading materials encourage pupils’ love of reading. Staff are well-trained and deliver the school’s chosen phonics programme with precision. Children start learning letter sounds as soon as they start school, practising reading using books that are carefully matched to the sounds they know. Appropriate support is provided for those at risk of falling behind. This ensures that all pupils, including those with SEND, learn to read with increasing accuracy, fluency and confidence.

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better?

From the Nursery onwards, there is a relentless focus on developing pupils’ oracy. The curriculum identifies the vocabulary children should encounter and secure as they move through early years. They are taught how to respond when answering questions and talking with each other. As a result, children learn to communicate confidently and effectively.

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better?

Leaders have given careful thought to the knowledge pupils should secure in each subject and how that learning is sequenced. This is helping pupils to know and remember more over time across the breadth of the curriculum. For example, in early years children learn about castles and who has lived in them in the past. This prepares them for learning about concepts, such as monarchy and invasion, later on. Similarly, in mathematics, children in Reception learn to recognise, count and make different amounts. This lays the foundations for more complex addition and subtraction.

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better?

Staff have very secure subject knowledge because of the high-quality training and support they receive. Assessment is used effectively in order to check pupils’ learning and 17 to 18 April 2024

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to address any errors or misconceptions that may arise. Time is provided each day to revisit, practise and embed the knowledge from across the curriculum. This helps to ensure that pupils are thoroughly prepared to tackle more complex learning.

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The recent changes made to the curriculum and how it is implemented are not yet fully reflected in the school’s published outcomes. However, the consistent implementation of the curriculum means pupils develop a deep understanding across all subjects. This is evident in their confidence when talking about their learning and through the high-quality work they produce.

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Behaviour in lessons and around the school is calm and harmonious. Pupils know the rules and are committed to following them. There are effective systems in place to manage attendance. Most pupils attend regularly and on time. Leaders are focused on increasing this further and reducing rates of persistence absence.

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This is a truly inclusive school. Leaders work closely with specialists, including speech and language therapists and the educational psychologist, to secure advice and guidance. Information is clearly communicated with staff. This enables pupils, wherever possible, to access the same ambitious curriculum.

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Provision for pupils’ personal development is exceptional. The curriculum is carefully designed to help prepare pupils for their future lives. For example, they learn about respectful relationships, how to stay safe and healthy, and age-appropriate information about consent. Pupils benefit from a wide range of activities that enrich and enhance the curriculum. These include an engineering project with Cirque du Soleil and Rolls Royce, and work with Chelsea Football Club focusing on the importance of staying safe and healthy.

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Despite senior leaders being relatively new, they have a precise and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths. They have been meticulous in their approach to school improvement. They know the impact of their work and use this to identify appropriate priorities moving forward. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support they receive to manage their workload and well-being. This includes opportunities provided by the trust to develop professionally.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 17 to 18 April 2024

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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 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). 17 to 18 April 2024

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School details

Headteacher Seamus Gibbons (executive headteacher) John Lynch (head of school) Website www.fulhamprimaryschool.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Fulham Primary School became part of the United Learning Trust in November 2022.  There have been several changes to the school’s leadership since the previous inspection. The executive principal, the head of school and the assistant headteacher were all appointed in September 2023.  The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club.  The school uses one registered alternative education provider.

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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. 17 to 18 April 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the executive principal, head of school, other leaders and members of staff. The lead inspector also spoke with the regional director of the United Learning trust and met with a governor representing the local governing board.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  The inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors looked at a range of documents, including leaders’ priorities for improvement.  The views of pupils, parents and staff were gathered through discussions and their responses to Ofsted’s surveys were considered.

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Inspection team

Samantha Ingram, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Joel Sager Ofsted Inspector 17 to 18 April 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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