St Saviour's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St Saviour’s Church of England Primary School Herne Hill Road, London SE24 0AY

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Outcome

St Saviour’s Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This community-focused school is much appreciated by local families. Children get off to a strong start in the early years. They quickly settle and are taught the daily routines so that they can engage positively in their learning. Behaviour in lessons and around the school has improved and, overall, pupils behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about learning and study a broad range of subjects. This year, the school has introduced a new, ambitious curriculum in many subjects. This is helping to fill the gaps in some pupils’ learning. Pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) study the same ambitious curriculum. However, sometimes, these pupils do not get the support they need to achieve as well as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a wide and varied programme to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils aspire to live up to the school’s values and are praised for doing so. There are regular opportunities for pupils to enjoy trips in the local area and to the cultural and historical sites across London. Pupils look forward to their music lessons and learn how to become competent and confident singers. Everyone looks forward to the Year 6 musical where pupils share their talents with the wider community.

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

The school has been through a period of change and instability since the last inspection. In the past year, the new leadership team has worked at pace to implement changes to the curriculum and the behaviour system. The leadership team has carefully considered which areas to prioritise and has a clear and ambitious vision for the school. Pupils continue to attend well. Staff and parents and carers typically speak positively about these changes and the stability provided by the new leadership team. The school is supported by an experienced governing body that holds leaders to account effectively.

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

The school has a well-set-out and sequenced curriculum in place for many subjects. The new curriculum identifies the key knowledge and vocabulary that pupils must learn. For 16 and 17 July 2024

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example, in history, Year 5 pupils develop a secure understanding of ‘segregation’ and ‘inequality’ when learning about the work of Martin Luther King. However, the curriculums in some subjects are not securely embedded. This means that pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding in some subjects and year groups. High staff turnover has had a disproportionate effect on some year groups. This means these pupils have not made as much progress as they should. The new leadership team recognises this and has a long-term plan in place to continue to improve the curriculum and fill gaps in pupils’ learning.

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Children are well supported when they join Reception. They learn the important routines and how to focus on activities for short periods each day, building their concentration over time. Children get a strong foundation in early mathematics. For example, they learn how to use and apply mathematical vocabulary using simple sentence stems. This helps prepare children for Year 1. Staff are skilled in identifying children with additional needs early and appropriate support is put in place. However, this information is not used consistently well across the school to ensure that pupils get the help they need. This is because staff do not have a secure enough knowledge of how to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of individual pupils.

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There is an appropriate phonics programme in place and staff are well trained and supported to deliver it with consistency. Pupils’ progress is carefully checked and those pupils who struggle with their reading are helped to catch up. Pupils look forward to their phonics sessions and staff carefully check that children are practising sounding and blending at home. Leaders have considered the core texts they want pupils to read. These texts are rich in vocabulary and have been carefully chosen to reflect and celebrate the diversity in the school community.

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The school provides strong pastoral support to pupils to help them understand how to manage their well-being and mental health. Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities that help develop their learning. For example, pupils visit local sites as part of learning about maps in geography. A high proportion of pupils learn a musical instrument and develop confidence through performing to their peers. As part of their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, pupils learn how to take responsibility for their own safety. For example, they learn why there are certain alarms in the home, and how to use and store medicines safely.

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The school has established a new behaviour system that sets clear expectations for behaviour in lessons and around the school. The school has seen the positive impact of this change and the frequency of pupils being suspended from school has reduced significantly. Pupils know what is expected and, on the whole, behave well. In some lessons, however, pupils are not as focused as they should be. This is because staff do not consistently set high expectations for pupils’ behaviour in lessons.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 16 and 17 July 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While there is clear curriculum thinking underpinning the changes to the curriculum, this work is in the early stages of development in some subjects. This means that there are gaps in pupils’ learning and a lack of clarity in some subjects about how new learning builds on prior learning. The school should ensure that the same careful curriculum thinking is applied to all subjects so that pupils develop a depth of knowledge over time, building on what they already know.  The adaptations made for pupils with SEND do not consistently enable them to access the curriculum successfully. This means that some pupils with SEND do not get the support they need and are not making as much progress as they should. The school should ensure that staff have the knowledge and training needed to adapt tasks and activities appropriately and that leaders have clear oversight of the impact of this work.  Sometimes, staff do not set and reinforce high enough expectations for pupils’

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

behaviour for learning. This means that some pupils are not as focused as they should be and, on occasion, distract others. As a result, some pupils miss key information that they need in order to make progress in their learning. Leaders should ensure that staff apply the behaviour policy consistently so that pupils know what is expected and aspire to achieve this in all lessons.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2015.

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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. 16 and 17 July 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 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). 16 and 17 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Andrew Rojas (head of partnership) Amy Couch (head of school) Website www.stsaviourslambeth.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 February 2019 under section 8 of the Education Act 2015

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Information about this school

 The school operates breakfast and after-school clubs on site.  The school does not use any alternative providers.  The head of school has been in post since September 2023.  The school joined a partnership of three local Church of England schools in September 2023.

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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 that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the head of partnership, head of school, other leaders and a range of staff. They also met with the chair of governors, members of the governing body, a representative from the diocese and the local authority. 16 and 17 July 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector 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. The inspector also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  The inspector checked the school’s policies and records, including those related to behaviour and pupils’ wider development.  The inspector considered the responses of pupils, parents and staff to Ofsted’s surveys.  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 spoke with parents and observed pupils’ behaviour across the school,

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including as they arrived and left school.

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Inspection team

Polly Haste, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 16 and 17 July 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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