Alfred Salter Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Alfred Salter Primary School Quebec Way, Rotherhithe, London SE16 7LP

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Outcome

Alfred Salter Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are delighted to be a part of this school. They look forward to their learning each day. They particularly enjoy sharing the school’s large playground with their peers. Pupils say they feel safe at school. They trust that adults in school will help them if they have any concerns. The school knows its pupils and their families well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff want the school to be a ‘place to grow’ for pupils. They ensure that pupils receive a well-rounded experience of school. This includes a wide range of extra- curricular activities. Pupils achieve well, particularly in mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well, in and out of lessons. They are respectful towards each other and adults. They are confident, courteous, and kind. Pupils respect the cultures and beliefs of others. They say that pupils and adults alike are treated equally.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school helps pupils understand communities in Britain beyond London. For example, Year 2 pupils visit a town in Surrey, to contrast with their own city environment. In Year 4, they spend a few days in the Isle of Wight. By the time pupils reach Year 6, they immerse themselves in rural life as they work with farmers in Devon for five days.

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

The school has put in place a full and well-structured curriculum. It ensures continuous progression across year groups. It considers the knowledge and skills needed so that pupils understand new concepts. In geography, for example, children in the early years draw maps to ‘help Supertato find and save vegetables from the Evil Pea’. This helps pupils to navigate maps when they study the United Kingdom and its four countries in Year 1.

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

Subject matter is introduced clearly. Pupils benefit from a range of visual resources, such as photographs and diagrams, which help them understand new ideas effectively, for example about democracy. Pupils learn the curriculum well. They talk confidently about 26 and 27 June 2024

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their significant knowledge across a wide range of subjects. Pupils’ understanding of subject-specific vocabulary is secure. They use this vocabulary accurately when talking about their learning. In history, for example, they can expound on the differences between ‘empire, dynasty’, and ‘kingdom.’

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Teaching anticipates and removes potential difficulties. In mathematics, for example, pupils are first taught the definitions of ‘profit and loss’. This helps them go on to solve complex problems involving buying and selling successfully. Similarly, in history, only the girls in the class were allowed to vote in a survey about extending playtimes. This clarified the idea of ‘inequality’, which helped pupils understand the motives of the suffragettes.

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The school provides staff with information about those pupils with additional needs. Teachers use this to make effective adaptations, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for those who speak English as an additional language. However, the gaps in a few pupils’ learning, including some disadvantaged pupils, are not always addressed quickly enough because of their lower rates of attendance.

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All teachers are trained in the school’s chosen phonics programme. As a result of this training, phonics is taught consistently well across the school. Pupils practise their phonics by reading books which contain the sounds they already know. This helps to ensure that the great majority of pupils read with increasing fluency and accuracy. In a few instances, however, some pupils struggle to put letter sounds together when reading longer words.

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The school uses information about pupils’ achievements well. In phonics, for instance, pupils who are falling behind are identified at the earliest opportunity. These pupils receive effective support, and they quickly catch up.

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Pupils have a positive attitude to learning, showing enthusiasm and engagement in their lessons. They actively participate, collaborate well with peers, and are eager to tackle new challenges. Disruptions to learning are rare.

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The school provides pupils with opportunities to assume positions of responsibility. Pupils experience democracy first-hand as they elect their school and eco-council representatives. Members of the play council take pride in helping create positive play times for their peers.

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Staff appreciate that the school takes their workload into account when introducing new initiatives. They welcome the open-door policy, which allows them to discuss any workload concerns they may have.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils’ attendance is not high enough. This means that these pupils do not benefit from all that the school has to offer and they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should continue to support all pupils to attend regularly and keep up with their work, especially those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.  Occasionally, some pupils struggle to put letter sounds together when reading longer words. This hampers their fluency when reading. Leaders need to ensure that teachers provide more opportunities for pupils to practise blending sounds, when reading words with many syllables.

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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 5 to6 February 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, 26 and 27 June 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). 26 and 27 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Joe Lewis, co-chair Sue Whittaker, co-chair Headteacher Eleanor Prestage

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any 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 leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team.  The inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the co-chairs 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 26 and 27 June 2024

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leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Other subjects were considered as part of this inspection.  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 26 and 27 June 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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