Forster Park Primary School

Inspection of Forster Park Primary School Boundfield Road, Lewisham SE6 1PQ

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 December 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 10 and 11 December 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at this caring school. They learn to follow the school’s rules: ‘be respectful, be responsible, be kind.’ Pupils can name a trusted adult they would talk to if they had any concerns. Pupils trust staff to help them with any issues they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are generally focused on their learning in lessons, and they behave respectfully to staff and each other. Pupils move around the school in a calm and organised way. If something does go wrong, staff support pupils to examine what happened and how they can improve their reactions in the future.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for what pupils should achieve. The curriculum is broad and ambitious. Leaders have made sure that the curriculum is representative of the whole school community and that diversity is celebrated and valued. Most pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school enriches pupils’ learning in a multitude of different ways. Pupils enjoy visits to museums and galleries, and they participate in local sports events. The school hosts a cultural day, when pupils celebrate the culture of their families with food and visits from parents and carers.

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

Learning to read is a priority as soon as pupils join the school. The phonics programme has been carefully selected to match the needs of pupils, and their progress through it is precisely tracked. All staff are trained to deliver the phonics programme well. They help pupils learn to use phonics to blend sounds and read words. The books pupils read are at an appropriate level. Staff quickly provide effective support when pupils are struggling.

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

The school has designed a curriculum that builds securely on pupils’ learning over time. It ensures key concepts are taught in a logical, sequential way. For example, in Reception, children plant seeds and grow plants. In Year 1, they progress to looking at different types of plants and experimenting to find which conditions are best to ensure healthy growth.

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

Pupils use specialist vocabulary and express themselves clearly when discussing their learning. For example, in history lessons, pupils talk knowledgeably about hill forts and Iron Age settlements. In music, pupils discuss how tempo and beat affect the sound and impact of a particular piece of music.

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

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are generally supported to achieve well. The school identifies their needs quickly and they are helped to access their learning in a range of ways. The school’s specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND provides a high-quality education for these pupils. The school ensures that pupils access the specially resourced provision flexibly, spending some time in mainstream classes. Staff in the specially resourced provision work closely with class teachers, allowing them to adapt the learning appropriately according to the needs of pupils. 10 and 11 December 2024

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Teachers routinely identify and address any misconceptions or gaps in knowledge that pupils have. Typically, teachers choose activities effectively to ensure pupils can access the learning and develop their understanding and knowledge. Sometimes, however, the selected activities and resources are less effective in supporting pupils’ understanding of subject content. This reduces pupils’ ability to secure the intended knowledge and tackle more complex tasks.

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Leaders have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct throughout their time at school. Generally, the environment is calm. Staff and pupils understand and value the school’s approach to supporting behaviour and building positive relationships. There is a consistent and rigorous approach to improving attendance, which is proving successful.

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The personal development of pupils is a strength of the school. The school ensures that pupils who will benefit the most are included in the breadth of experiences that it provides. The school welcomes visitors, such as the mental health schools’ team, which provides workshops, and parents, who give talks on careers that pupils may be interested in pursuing in the future. Pupils strive to contribute to both the school and the local community. For example, they become play leaders who help younger children, represent the pupils’ voice as young governors, or sing with the choir at local community events. Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Governors understand their responsibilities, including those related to safeguarding. They have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They appropriately challenge leaders to continue to refine the quality of education that the school provides. Staff feel well supported. Their workload and well-being are considered by leaders. Parents are positive about the school, for instance they praise the staff and the wraparound care that the school provides.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, the activities that teachers select are not well suited to helping pupils to understand the intended subject content. This hinders how well pupils understand and remember important knowledge. The school should support teachers to develop their expertise in selecting appropriate activities and resources that match the aims of the curriculum. 10 and 11 December 2024

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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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 10 and 11 December 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one registered alternative provision for a small number of pupils.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. There are currently 14 pupils attending this provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 10 and 11 December 2024

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 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.  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.  The inspectors spoke with the executive headteacher, the head of school, senior leaders, and subject leaders. They also held meetings with members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, and music. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about

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their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors also spoke with groups of staff and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work in other subjects.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys completed by parents, pupils, and staff.  Inspectors scrutinised some of the school’s policies and records, including those related to behaviour and pupils’ wider development.

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Inspection team

Eleanor Ross, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ogugua Okolo-Angus Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 December 2024

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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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