Invicta Primary School

Inspection of Invicta Primary School Invicta Road, Greenwich, London SE3 7HE

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 17 and 18 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly, welcoming and ambitious school. Relationships between leaders, staff and pupils are positive and professional.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for the achievement of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are well supported to learn the school’s curriculum and to take part in all that the school has to offer.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kind and courteous. They typically demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning by listening carefully and trying hard at the tasks they are given. At breaktime, they play and socialise well together. Developing pupils’ personal and social skills begins in the early years, where children learn to take turns, share and listen to each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils take part in wider experiences that the school carefully selects. For example, pupils in Year 3 are taken on an outing to the coast, and in Year 5, pupils experience an overnight stay on the HMS Belfast. Pupils consistently benefit from the wide range of clubs on offer, developing their interests in areas such as origami, boxing and language learning. Through extensive pupil-leadership opportunities that pupils can take on, the school encourages pupils’ wider skills, such as teamwork, commitment and willingness to help others. Pupils enjoy taking up roles, including as school journalists, ‘music maestros’, eco-warriors and friendship buddies.

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better?

The curriculum is broad, thoughtfully developed and logically sequenced from the early years. Some curriculum subject thinking has benefited from leaders’ recent redevelopment. In each subject, the school has decided what pupils should know and be able to do in each subject to be well prepared for the next stage in their education. For example, pupils in Year 6 draw on their knowledge of fractions, decimals and percentages learned in Year 4 to solve problems that require them to choose the best methods to convert fractions to percentages. The school ensures that pupils frequently apply what they know. For example, in physical education, pupils learn about the benefits of exercise for physical and mental health. Pupils regularly take part in sports, including cross country, football and dance. All pupils have swimming lessons, beginning in Year 2. Pupils develop detailed knowledge across the breadth of the curriculum.

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better?

Teachers present information clearly and draw on their secure subject knowledge. They take care to break subject content into manageable chunks. They adapt resources and approaches to ensure that pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils regularly revisit prior learning and build on it. Teachers draw pupils’ attention to important concepts and how what they know already connects with new learning. 17 and 18 April 2024

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Generally, the school checks what pupils know and understand. In subjects that have been redeveloped more recently, teachers and leaders have a less confident evaluation of the curriculum and how securely pupils learn it. In some instances, teaching does not focus systematically on checking pupils’ understanding. As a result, pupils’ misconceptions are sometimes not identified and addressed. In other instances, the work pupils are given does not build precisely on their prior knowledge. As a result, pupils’ knowledge sometimes does not develop as securely.

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Leaders, including members of the governing body, carefully evaluated the quality and impact of the teaching of reading. This led to a recent ‘relaunch’ of the reading curriculum, including enhanced training for all staff and close checking by leaders of how well pupils learn to read. Beginning in the early years, all children enjoy reading and listening to rich and interesting stories daily. Those in the early stages of learning to read are taught the phonics knowledge they need and read books that help them to practise the sounds they are learning. Leaders have identified that some pupils had gaps in their phonics knowledge following interruptions to their learning during the pandemic. For those pupils and others who need extra help with reading, leaders identify the particular phonics knowledge that pupils need to know and provide support to help them to learn it. Pupils catch up quickly.

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Starting in the early years, pupils are taught the school’s ‘golden rules’. These help them to develop the important social and learning behaviours pupils need to be successful at school. Typically, pupils are respectful of their teachers and other pupils and work well together in the classroom and wider school. The school’s work to support the regular attendance of all pupils is effective, and attendance rates are high.

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The school helps pupils to develop detailed knowledge of the differences that exist between people in society. Pupils are well informed about the protected characteristics, the importance of treating others with respect and making sure that everyone feels valued, included and welcome. Through visiting a range of places of worship, pupils learn about different faiths. They hold debates, which enable them to hear different perspectives. The school provides a range of opportunities for pupils to learn how to maintain their physical and mental health. For example, pupils take part in a morning ‘workout’ with their class and talk regularly about their feelings.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects where the curriculum has been recently redeveloped, the school does not have as clear a picture of how well pupils learn the curriculum as in other subjects. In some instances, teaching does not focus systematically on 17 and 18 April 2024

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checking pupils’ understanding. As a result, pupils’ misconceptions are sometimes not identified and addressed. In other instances, sometimes the curriculum does not build well on what pupils already know. As a result, pupils’ knowledge does not develop as securely as it might. The school must ensure that checks on pupils’ knowledge and understanding identify any misconceptions and that new curriculum content builds cumulatively on what pupils know and can do already.

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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). 17 and 18 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 January 2019

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. It now accommodates two forms of entry in each year group at both the Blackheath site and the Deptford site. Each site is led by its own headteacher, and both sites are overseen by an executive headteacher.  This school makes use of one alternative 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.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the 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, science and music. 17 and 18 April 2024

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 For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum information in some 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 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteachers and other leaders. Inspectors also met with leaders with responsibility for early years, SEND, behaviour and attendance and pupils’ personal development.  Inspectors met with representatives from the local governing body.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents, staff and

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Inspection team

Rebecca Iles-Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Neil Harvey Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 April 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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