Lady Margaret Primary School

Lady Margaret Primary School

Address: Lady Margaret Road, Southall, Middlesex, UB1 2NH Unique reference number (URN): 101903

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Exceptional

Pupils’ progress through the curriculum and across the year groups is truly impressive. This is reflected in the consistently high quality of the work that pupils produce and their adept grasp of reading, writing and number. It also shines through in the very confident way that pupils speak about their knowledge and understanding of a wealth of topics. Over time, pupils have consistently achieved standards in national tests that are significantly above the national averages. Notably, disadvantaged pupils achieve higher standards, not only compared with similar pupils nationally, but also in relation to all pupils in the country. This means, that across the full span of subjects, pupils are exceedingly well prepared for their next steps in education. When the time comes for them to move up to secondary school, they are more than ready.

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Curriculum and teaching Exceptional

Leaders have created a highly ambitious and exceptionally well ‑ designed curriculum. This is built on deep subject expertise and meticulous thought about how pupils learn. Leaders understand the strengths of teaching across the school with precision. Their checking, reviewing and improvement processes are rigorous and continuous. This has resulted in a curriculum that is rich, interconnected and ordered with great care. It ensures that pupils gain the powerful knowledge they need for their next steps. Teachers draw on very secure knowledge of the whole curriculum. This is further reinforced by an impressive array of specialist staff, including an 'artist in residence'. Professional learning is extensive, sharply focused and delivered at pace. This means that teachers, including those early in their careers, quickly gain the expertise needed to teach to a very high standard.

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Curriculum and teaching Exceptional

Across subjects, teachers revisit key ideas regularly and build pupils’ oracy, vocabulary and reading skills with purpose. Leaders and staff know how their pupils learn inside out. They ensure that their teaching reduces barriers to learning, such as those faced by disadvantaged pupils or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as far as possible. As a result, all pupils access the full curriculum confidently. They leave the school with a deep and lasting understanding across subjects.

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Inclusion Exceptional

Leaders are highly skilled in making sure pupils feel included and fully supported. They have created a deeply inclusive culture in which staff know every pupil as an individual and identify their needs quickly and precisely. This includes disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known, or previously known, to children’s social care. Leaders check pupils' knowledge and skills thoroughly and use this information to shape timely interventions. These include, when appropriate, daily sensory circuits, targeted phonics and literacy support. The well-established specialist classroom successfully provides high ‑ quality support for pupils who need intensive help. Leaders substantially reduce pupils' barriers to learning through thoughtful adaptations. Allied to this, excellent pastoral care begins the moment children start school.

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Strong standard

Leaders work closely with parents and carers, communicating clearly about their children's needs and the progress they are making. Leaders monitor the impact of support rigorously, drawing on professional advice to make well ‑ judged use of additional funding, such as the pupil premium. Staff receive extensive training, including on the step ‑ by ‑ step process teachers use to identify pupils' needs. This helps to ensure that staff meet pupils' needs confidently. As a result, pupils thrive. They access learning successfully and make excellent progress from their starting points, reflecting leaders’ unwavering commitment to inclusion.

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Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional

Pupils benefit from a rich and thoughtfully planned personal development programme that nurtures their confidence, character and understanding of the wider world. Lessons, assemblies and pupil ‑ led discussions deepen pupils' awareness of current affairs and injustice across the world. They are determined to ensure that this does not take place in their school. Pupils engage enthusiastically with charity events to support those who face unfair situations. The school offers an impressive range of creative and cultural opportunities. For example, Year 5 pupils take part in a film ‑ making project, which gives them hands ‑ on experience of the industry and opportunities to work collaboratively. Year 4 pupils' participation in a Shakespeare project deepened their understanding of classic English literature and their performance developed their self-confidence. Across the school, pupils enjoy varied enrichment experiences, including working in the `edible' playground

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Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional

garden, where they grow and sell produce to gain an understanding of sustainability. Leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities can access every opportunity through thoughtful adaptations and sensitive encouragement.

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Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional

The school’s approach to relationships, health and sex education is sensitive, well planned and shaped through open consultation with parents and carers. Pupils learn to stay safe online and offline. Leaders help pupils to understand fairness and equality. They learn that everyone deserves respect. Democracy is brought to life through elections for the Junior Leadership Team, where pupils campaign and vote for representatives. Older pupils benefit from workshops on healthy relationships, community safety and managing peer influence. Pupils value the wide range of enrichment opportunities, including museum visits, music events and trips linked to core texts in English. Pupils show kindness, empathy and respect and they contribute positively through charity work, community projects and daily acts of kindness.

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Early years Strong standard

Children make a solid start in the early years because staff know them well and create a warm, structured and engaging environment. Children grow in confidence and independence, quickly learning routines, such as hanging up their coats, adding their photograph to the attendance board and choosing from well ‑ planned activities. Staff ‑ child interactions are consistently positive. Adults model rich language, support children's finger strength and coordination and link learning closely to stories, songs and rhymes. For

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Expected standard

example, in Reception, 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' helps children practise new vocabulary, such as 'trip ‑ trop' and 'bridge'. Nothing is left to chance, so staff ensure that all children access activities related to all areas of learning in the rich and ambitious curriculum every day.

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Expected standard

Leaders place a strong emphasis on communication and language through story maps, rhyme sessions and small ‑ group vocabulary work. Reading is prioritised. Foundational phonics begins in Nursery. In Reception, staff teach phonics with consistency and precision. Children learn to recognise sounds, blend words and apply their phonics in writing, with swift support when needed. The ambitious curriculum offers enriching experiences, like interactions with pets and visits to the forest school. Highly effective partnerships with parents and carers, including regular workshops, further strengthen children’s progress. Children leave Reception very well prepared for Year 1.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders and governors have created a culture that puts pupils firmly at the centre of every decision. They know the school exceptionally well and check its work with rigour and purpose. This scrutiny is frequent and thorough, enabling leaders to understand strengths clearly and prioritise the right actions for improvement. Leaders use this insight to make well ‑ judged decisions that are in the best interests of all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those known, or previously known, to children’s social care. Other than attendance, which remains a focused area for improvement, leaders’ work has resulted in much exemplary practice across the school.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Governors bring a wide range of expertise and use it well. They meet their statutory duties. They regularly gather first ‑ hand evidence about the impact of leaders’ work. Governors provide the right balance of support and challenge, ensuring the school has the resources and expertise it needs to sustain high standards.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

A major strength is the school’s commitment to high ‑ quality, research ‑ informed professional learning. Staff benefit from a coherent and ambitious programme that builds expertise at every stage of a teacher’s career. This includes early career teachers, who quickly gain the confidence and skill to teach to a very high standard. Leaders also contribute to the wider education sector through their work as a lead school for reading for pleasure and by delivering specialist training across the local authority and beyond. Staff describe leaders as considerate, valuing the way workload and professional development are thoughtfully balanced. This contributes much to the school’s stability and sustained excellence.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders make attendance a daily priority. They promote the importance of coming to school and work closely with parents and carers to remove any barriers. For some pupils, this sustained level of support has led to considerable improvement. Nevertheless, overall rates of attendance declined in 2025. The number of persistent absentees rose to an unusually high level. Leaders responded with determination and care. They looked closely at the reasons behind each pupil’s absence and acted quickly to address any difficulties. Attendance is now moving back towards the national average and persistent absence is falling once more. Attendance for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is generally similar to, or better than, their peers nationally.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils’ behaviour is a real strength because all staff implement the school's strategies consistently. A calm and purposeful ambience permeates the building. In lessons, pupils are very keen to learn. They listen closely to one another and respect different viewpoints. Children follow well-established routines confidently from Nursery upwards. Any rare episodes of poor behaviour or bullying are dealt with quickly and thoughtfully. Warm, trusting relationships between pupils and staff help everyone feel safe, included and ready to learn. Pupils with SEND benefit from small, well ‑ judged adjustments that help them take part fully in all aspects of school life.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

From the moment pupils join in the early years, and as they move up through the school, they thrive academically, personally and socially. Proud pupil monitors help staff to welcome everyone warmly each morning. This reflects an exceptionally caring and highly inclusive school community in which every pupil is valued and nurtured.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy their learning, in no small part because they benefit from a very well ‑ crafted curriculum. Expert teachers bring learning to life. They adapt their teaching so that all pupils can access the full curriculum. As a result, all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have additional needs, achieve extremely well across subjects. The school enriches learning extensively. For example, Year 3 pupils learn African drumming from a specialist musician. Children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 benefit from frequent storyteller visits. Pupils leave Year 6 exceptionally well prepared for secondary school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Most pupils attend regularly. They get on very well with one another and with staff, as they build highly positive relationships. Pupils feel safe and behave with maturity. Staff deal with any rare incidents of bullying or misbehaviour promptly and effectively. The school’s award ‑ winning outdoor play programme gives pupils rich opportunities to develop social skills. They learn new activities and build friendships across year groups. This helps every pupil feel a great sense of belonging.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from an extensive personal development programme that prepares them extremely well for life in modern Britain. They actively contribute to the school and wider community. For example, pupil leaders created the behaviour charter displayed in every classroom. Pupils also gain a deep understanding of equality and children's rights. They raise charitable funds, including for children who lack access to education. These actions reflect the kindness pupils consistently show to others in school and beyond.

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Team inspectors:

David Radomsky, His Majesty's Inspector Sean Flood, Ofsted Inspector Dave Collins, Ofsted Inspector Rutinderjit Mahil-Pooni, Ofsted Inspector

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Next steps

Leaders should continue their work to secure consistently high attendance and low persistent absence for all pupils.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Mr Simon Prebble.

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About this inspection

The school is part of a federation called Ealing Bridges Federation.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the executive headteacher, the headteacher and other senior staff, the chair of governors and other governors, groups of staff and pupils and a representative of the local authority during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school is registered to admit pupils in the 4- to 11-year-old age range. The school currently admits children aged 3-years-old in its Nursery class.

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About this inspection

The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school is led by an executive headteacher, Helen Rai and a head of school, Liane Simpson.

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About this inspection

Executive headteacher : Mrs Helen Rai The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2022/23 (final) 79% 73% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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national average

2022/23 (final) 68% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2022/23 (final) 68% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.5% 5.5% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 6.6% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 13.1% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 19.3% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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