Heathbrook Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Heathbrook Primary School St Rule Street, London SW8 3EH

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Outcome

Heathbrook Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This friendly and welcoming school is at the heart of the local community. Pupils strive to live by the school’s vision: ‘To be the best they can be and develop a love of learning’. Pupils are happy, kept safe and are valued. Parents and carers appreciate the support provided for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils for the most part achieve highly. At breaktimes and in the playgrounds, pupils play well together. Playtimes are well organised and supervised by enthusiastic staff. If pupils want to choose a quieter activity, they can read or chat in the garden spaces provided.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils generally behave well. They are polite and attentive. However, sometimes learning is disrupted. If these cases occur, the school’s behaviour policy is not consistently implemented.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils relish the opportunity to extend learning beyond the classroom and experience a wealth of outdoor learning opportunities, when they visit local parks. Younger children love to visit the mud club area on nearby Clapham Common. Pupils’ experiences are further enhanced by the many interesting sports, clubs and visits they can take part in.

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

The school has embedded an ambitious and broad curriculum that has been designed to build on previous learning. The curriculum identifies the knowledge and skills that pupils need to be successful from Nursery to Year 6. Children get off to a great start in the early years. They settle quickly in a language-rich and stimulating environment. Early years 24 and 25 June 2025

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provision is exceptional. Staff are skilled in promoting effective early language and mathematics learning.

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They regularly check pupils’ understanding and adapt teaching when necessary. They assess how well pupils remember important knowledge over time. The school uses this information to address any weaknesses in pupils’ learning. This helps pupils to make strong progress in most subjects.

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Reading is a key priority for the school. Phonics is taught as soon as pupils join the school. Staff model phonetical sounds accurately. Pupils who fall behind in their early reading receive extra daily interventions and catch up quickly. Pupils achieve highly in phonics. Most older pupils are fluent readers by the time they move on to their next stages of education.

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The school has responded positively to the increase in the number of pupils with SEND. These pupils join at different stages of their primary education. The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND swiftly. Learning is adapted to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the support needed. Staff work closely together to ensure that all pupils with SEND achieve well and make strong progress through the curriculum.

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Pupils behave well around school and on the playground. Playleaders organise and support a range of activities at social times. The majority of pupils are engaged in their learning because teachers make it interesting. Pupils who sometimes struggle to manage their emotions and behaviour get sensitive support from staff. Occasionally, in their learning, pupils can become distracted and off task. This is not addressed consistently by staff and can affect the learning of others.

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Despite the extensive pastoral work of the school, attendance remains low and persistent absence remains high. The school works closely with attendance officers to address this. The school has procedures in place to support pupils and understand why they do not attend school regularly. However, some of the systems to address low attendance do not identify or remove these barriers for pupils swiftly enough.

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The school’s carefully designed enrichment offer prepares pupils to become responsible and active citizens. The well-being and social, emotional and mental health of pupils receives the highest priority in the school. The ideas of pupils are listened to in school council, for example, in helping develop the school gardens and growing areas. Pupils learn about fundamental British Values, such as tolerance and the rule of law. They are well prepared for their future lives in modern Britain, including how to keep themselves safe online. Pupils talk with great enthusiasm about the extensive range of creative, musical and physical activities on offer for all ages and abilities.

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School leaders, including governors, are highly ambitious for the school. They know the school and its community well. Governors and the local authority provide constructive challenge and support to the school. Staff are proud to work at the school. They value the training opportunities provided and welcome the support they receive with their workload. 24 and 25 June 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s new behaviour policy is not implemented consistently. As a result, the behaviour of pupils does not reflect the high expectations that leaders have set, and learning is sometimes interrupted. This leads to some pupils remaining off task and not completing their work. The school should ensure that staff know and are familiar with the school’s new behaviour policy and follow the guidance and expectations routinely.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, the school’s strategies to support the pupils who struggle to attend do not address those pupils’ specific barriers to regular attendance. As a result, some pupils are not well supported to attend regularly and often miss out on important learning. The school should ensure that its approaches support pupils in overcoming their individual challenges about attending school.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in May 2016. 24 and 25 June 2025

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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). 24 and 25 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast club and after-school club on the school premises.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 the school and has taken that into account in the evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, senior and curriculum leaders and groups of staff and pupils.  The inspector held discussions with members of the governing body, including the chair. The inspector also spoke with a representative from the local authority. 24 and 25 June 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses and the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  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 reviewed school documents, including those relating to governance, behaviour and attendance. The inspector scrutinised leaders’ plans for improvement and their assessment of the school’s effectiveness.  The inspector spoke informally to pupils at breaktimes, in the dining hall and on the playground.

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Inspection team

Sean Flood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 June 2025

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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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