Sunnyhill Primary School

Sunnyhill Primary School Inspection report

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100585 Unique Reference Number Lambeth Local Authority 276338 Inspection number 8 °9 February 2006 Inspection dates Robin Hammerton HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr David Walker Chair Ms Annie Clews Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Sunnyhill Road School address London SW16 2UW

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02087694785 Telephone number 02086646709 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 8 °9 February 2006 Inspection dates 276338 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a large primary school, including a nursery, whose pupils represent a rich variety of cultural backgrounds. It serves a socio-economically mixed area with some significant deprivation. The number of children leaving or starting at the school, other than at the normal time, is unusually high, and includes many who are refugees. A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language and many of these children have little or no English when they begin school. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is about average. The school works closely with a local group of schools, through the Norwood Achievement Partnership.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 7 Inspection Report: Sunnyhill Primary School, 8 °9 February 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

* Raise standards in mathematics across the school, by improving the quality of teaching in this subject.* Use assessment data more robustly to provide suitably challenging work for all pupils.* Enable staff with management roles to monitor teaching, learning and standards more rigorously, so that key strengths and weaknesses can be identified with precision.* Ensure that the school improvement plan identifies clearly the intended improvements in pupils' achievement and standards.

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Grade:

Overall, the quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. It is good in English but less effective in mathematics. Teaching is satisfactory in the Foundation Stage with pupils being given a good start in the nursery. In reception, the current poor accommodation limits some opportunities, especially for outdoor learning.In most English lessons, teachers are enthusiastic and have high expectations of the children. Pupils' needs, including those relating to speakers of English as an additional language and LDD, are generally well met. Work is interesting and challenging. As a result, pupils behave well and are actively involved, sharing their ideas. This was evident, for example, in a Year 4 literacy lesson where the teacher used challenging questioning to deepen pupils' understanding of the key features for writing a diary.However, in mathematics, most teachers are less confident. There is less excitement and challenge for

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Grade:

the pupils. Mental mathematics strategies are not clearly enough taught. Lessons are not always well enough planned to meet the full range of pupils' needs, so many pupils make slower progress. Pupils often have to sit and listen passively for too long. As a result, momentum is lost and pupils lose focus.In general, teachers assess their pupils' progress satisfactorily. This information is well used to check how pupils are doing but it is not always used effectively to plan lessons and to provide pupils with sufficiently challenging tasks. Pupils' personal targets are useful but are not reviewed often enough. Setting by ability is used in English and mathematics to help provide better for the pupils' different aptitudes. This has a positive impact but, too often, the work is still not well enough planned to meet all pupils' needs, especially those with middle ability.

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The curriculum is based on national schemes without much adaptation to suit the particular needs of the Sunnyhill pupils and the locality. An exception to this is that pupils study a wide range of cultures and black history is given a high profile. Some opportunities are missed to 4 of 7 Inspection Report: Sunnyhill Primary School, 8 °9 February 2006 use information communication technology (ICT) and mathematics across the curriculum. Visits out, to museums and concerts for example, contribute to pupils' learning, though there are no residential activities. In geography, opportunities for fieldwork are limited.There are some good enrichment and extra-curricular activities. For example, links with other local schools and a specialist secondary school support well the work in drama for all pupils. The programme for personal, social and health education is still being developed though some aspects of this, such

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Grade:

as anger management, contribute well to pupils' personal development. A range of activities and specialist teaching in sport and music develops pupils' interests and skills well.The provision for pupils who speak English as an additional language is very good and ensures their good progress in English by Year 6. Pupils with LDD benefit from the good support provided for their individual needs.

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Pupils are well looked after and encouraged to try hard. Members of staff are friendly to the pupils and know them well. This helps pupils to be confident and happy. Sunnyhill is a school with lots of smiles! Children are confident that they have trusted adults to turn to if they need it. Most parents also feel that their children are well cared for.Child protection procedures are good and widely understood. As a result, pupils feel safe and secure. All members of staff have taken part in recent training. The school liaises closely with a range of service providers to ensure good care and support for pupils with learning difficulties. Health and safety routines and risk assessment procedures are good.Assessment procedures, which help staff to guide pupils academically, have been reviewed recently and an improved system is now being implemented. However, there has not been sufficient time for its impact to be evident.

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5 of 7 Inspection Report: Sunnyhill Primary School, 8 °9 February 2006 .

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in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 7 Inspection Report: Sunnyhill Primary School, 8 °9 February 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for making Mrs. Chakraborti, Mr. Sudworth and me so welcome when we came to visit your school recently. I was the man with the buses on my tie, you might remember. We enjoyed meeting you very much and we thought you behaved really well. You smile a lot in school, which is lovely. Well done!Thank you very much for making Mrs. Chakraborti, Mr. Sudworth and me so welcome when we came to visit your school recently. I was the man with the buses on my tie, you might remember. We enjoyed meeting you very much and we thought you behaved really well. You smile a lot in school, which is lovely. Well done! You told us you like being in school and we could see you are all well looked after. You all get on well together. Your school is rather a special place because children come from so many different backgrounds and speak many different languages. You are all learning a lot about different cultures and traditions which is fun now and will help you a lot in the future.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

In your school, English is taught well and so you all make good progress. If your first language isn't English, you are helped very well to learn it. The progress most of you make in numeracy, however, is not quite so good. So we are asking the staff to try to work out why that is and have a real blitz on helping you all get even better at maths. We discussed some ideas about this with them while we were in school. Senior staff will need to check carefully how well everything is going. You might find that they come into your lessons more often to see what is happening. You can help by working hard and trying your best to reach your targets. You could also tell your teachers politely what kind of teaching helps you to learn best.This letter comes with my very best wishes for the future. 7 of 7 Inspection Report: Sunnyhill Primary School, 8 °9 February 2006

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