Soho Parish CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Soho Parish CofE Primary School 23 Great Windmill Street, London, W1D 7LF

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school is a happy, friendly and welcoming place. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about their children’s experiences here. They correctly point to the energy and enthusiasm of the staff and how well they nurture and care for pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high ambitions and expectations for all pupils. This includes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has done much work this year to improve pupils’ behaviour and the curriculum. Pupils’ behaviour has markedly improved, leading to a calm and purposeful environment. The ongoing work on revamping the curriculum has had a notable positive effect in some subjects. However, in several wider curriculum subjects this work is still in its infancy. This means that pupils are not achieving as well as they should in those subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school gives pupils opportunities to voice their opinions on various aspects of school life. For example, pupils worked with leaders in the designing of the interior for the planned new school library. The pupil arts council choose the theme of the school’s annual art week and related activities. Their choice of `nature’ recently led to all pupils being taken to Kew Gardens for a bespoke art and nature workshop.

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

The school’s new leadership commissioned audits on a range of aspects of the school’s work. It took decisive action to address the recommendations that were made. This included strengthening aspects of health and safety and making improvements to behaviour and the curriculum. Leaders at all levels have created a welcoming and well- appointed school environment. They have addressed issues around pupils’ behaviour and attitudes. The school is continuing its drive to ensure that pupils gain and remember deep knowledge across the full range of curriculum subjects. 9 May 2024

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Teaching of reading is a very high priority. It starts from when children join in Reception. All staff are trained in teaching the new phonics programme. Books that pupils use to practise their reading are matched to the sounds that they know. Staff give pupils who need help to keep up, including pupils with SEND, targeted extra support. Pupils encounter a broad range of genres and authors as they progress through the school’s curriculum. Visitors, such as poets, plus daily story time all add to pupils’ enthusiasm for reading. Pupils become keen, confident and fluent readers.

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The school has put much thought into improving its curriculum. It has reviewed the precise knowledge that pupils should be expected to know and in what order. The school gives teachers guidance and resources to help them to deliver the curriculum effectively. Where the school has a solid understanding of a subject’s disciplinary knowledge and has trained staff accordingly, teaching expertise enables pupils to achieve well. However, these developments are still in progress. In several wider curriculum subjects, staff have not had enough support in broadening their subject-specific expertise. In some cases, teaching is not using assessment as well as it could to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. The work to identify and put in place bespoke support for pupils with SEND has moved on considerably this year. However, some staff are still developing their skills on how to make adaptations to support pupils with SEND to gain the same key knowledge as their peers.

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In some subjects, the school is at the early stages of planning how to build in sufficient opportunities to revise important learning so that pupils retain core knowledge in their long-term memories. As a result of these things, pupils do not achieve their full potential across the subjects.

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Leaders make pupils’ regular attendance a high priority. They have implemented some new and rigorous actions to reduce absence. They also use a range of external agencies to support families who struggle to ensure their children’s regular attendance. This is starting to have a positive impact on reducing absence rates. Pupils are keen to learn and low-level disruption is rare. This enables teachers to educate their classes calmly and without interruption.

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The school makes excellent use of central London facilities and partnerships to broaden pupils’ experiences. It gives pupils many well-considered enrichment and wider development opportunities. These include working with dance and music schools and jazz club musicians. Pupils also take their part in a schools’ Shakespeare performance. They visit theatres and get to see what happens behind the scenes. All classes have many visits linked to their learning of the curriculum. These include to museums, galleries, farms and places of worship. Additionally, pupils have access to a wide range of clubs, for sport, chess, Italian and taekwondo, for example.

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Leaders are considerate of staff workload. Staff said that leaders are approachable. They enjoy staff social events and the dedicated time that the school provides every year to support their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 9 May 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Across several foundation subjects, much curriculum thinking is new and is not firmly embedded and implemented effectively. This means that, in those subjects, pupils are not achieving as well as they could. The school should ensure that, across the subjects, staff gain subject-specific and pedagogical expertise in how to teach the curriculum. This includes supporting staff in understanding how to make adaptations to their teaching to help pupils with SEND to achieve well and using assessment effectively to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. The school should also consider how to ensure that teaching enables pupils to revisit and recall core knowledge so that it is remembered over the long term.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2019.

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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, 9 May 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 9 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Alix Ascough (executive headteacher) Oliver Knight (head of school) Website www.sohoparish.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 19 and 20 March 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 From September 2023, the school went into partnership with another local school, All Souls CofE Primary School.  The executive headteacher, head of school and the special educational needs coordinator took up their posts in September 2023, as did the current chair of the governing body.  The school’s last section 48 inspection was on 21 September 2023.  The school does not use 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 9 May 2024

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered other subjects as part of the inspection.  Inspectors spoke with the executive headteacher, head of school and other senior leaders. They also spoke with the chair of the governing body and other governors, as well as a representative from the local authority and from the London Diocesan Board for Schools  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.

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation and had formal meetings with groups of staff and pupils.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey. Inspectors also considered the responses to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Emma O'Connor Ofsted Inspector 9 May 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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