Athelney Primary School

Athelney Primary School Inspection report

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100672 Unique Reference Number Lewisham Local Authority 276365 Inspection number 21 °22 September 2005 Inspection dates Florence Olajide 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 Ms Julia Newton Chair Ms Linda Horsfield Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Athelney Street School address London SE6 3LD

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02086972945 Telephone number 02086956099 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 21 °22 September 2005 Inspection dates 276365 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 two of Her Majesty's Inspectors and one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

Athelney Primary school is a larger than average primary school situated in Catford, in the London Borough of Lewisham. The school draws a majority of its pupils from the immediate area which is one of high socio-economic disadvantage. More than half of the pupils are entitled to free school meals. About a fifth of the pupils have a first language believed not to be English (21 %). Nearly half of the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds (45%). A quarter of the pupils have special educational needs. The number of pupils within this group who have a Statement of Special Educational Need is double the national average at 3.4%. Attainment on entry to the school is well below the national average.

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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: Athelney Primary School, 21 °22 September 2005

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What the school should do to improve further

* Improve leadership and management so that the school's weaknesses are tackled decisively by focusing sharply on raising attainment and systematically evaluating the impact of the actions taken.* Improve the ways that the governing body evaluates the school's work and holds it to account.* Raise standards in English, particularly in writing, mathematics and science by improving the quality of teaching and learning throughout the school.* Make better use of assessment information to match teaching more closely to pupils' needs, so that they all make the progress expected of them.

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Grade:

Inspectors judge teaching to be inadequate because, over time, its impact on learning is unsatisfactory. Inspectors saw good teaching but the majority of teaching ranged between satisfactory and unsatisfactory. The features of the good teaching included strong subject knowledge and the effective use of questioning to challenge pupils and extend their understanding. In one lesson, the teacher used an interactive white board confidently and effectively to keep pupils interested in the lesson.Where teaching was unsatisfactory, teachers had low expectations and were unclear about what they wanted pupils to learn. They did not provide pupils with suitable activities or use lesson time well. Pupils became bored and unsettled because they did not understand what was required of them, and as a result, failed to make adequate progress. Although, the school has a policy for more able pupils, it is yet to have an

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Grade:

impact on pupils' attainment because many of them are insufficiently challenged.Whole-school assessment procedures are unsatisfactory and the leadership team do not make effective use of assessment data as a tool for raising standards. The school sets targets for pupils each year but in many cases these are not challenging enough. There is no co-ordinated approach across the school to support pupils who fail to achieve their targets. The school runs a number of catch-up programmes but their impact on pupils' learning is not evaluated. Although teachers have an accurate view of the pupils' attainment year on year, this information is not used effectively to ensure that teaching is matched to pupils' needs so that they make the progress expected of them. Pupils from different age groups told inspectors that they found their work too easy. Pupils' work is not always marked regularly and the feedback does not give them

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Grade:

enough information to improve their work. 4 of 7 Inspection Report: Athelney Primary School, 21 °22 September 2005

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Grade:

Inspectors judge the curriculum overall to be satisfactory. Some aspects of the curriculum are good. There is a strong emphasis on creativity which has resulted in helpful links between subjects; for example, in literacy and history. There is an extensive programme of extra curricular activities which improve pupils' skills in sport and the arts. These include gymnastics, drama and dance classes. Classrooms are well organised and attractive and the curriculum is well resourced. Pupils for whom English is an additional language are generally well supported and teaching assistants provide them with very effective support in reading. The main weakness in the curriculum provision is that it fails to meet the basic literacy and numeracy needs of many pupils. Learning tasks are not always appropriately matched to the needs of individual pupils. This in turn slows pupils' progress.

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Grade:

The school makes satisfactory provision for pupils' care, guidance and support. It has a positive partnership with its parents and many expressed their satisfaction with the school. Most of the pupils feel supported and safe at school. They participate in decision making and are happy that their views are taken into account for instance regarding new playground equipment which they enjoy with relish. This contrasts starkly with their view that lessons can be 'boring' especially when they have to 'sit listening for a long time'.Arrangements for safeguarding pupils' welfare including child protection procedures are suitable. Pupils feel there are adults in the school they can approach if they have a problem. Inspectors noted that pupils in the nursery and reception classes appeared happy and secure. The school encourages pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles through its sports programmes and drug awareness workshop. There are satisfactory

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Grade:

procedures in place for the induction of new pupils and arrangement for transition to secondary school are effective. The staff work hard to care for and guide pupils. However, the support for their academic progress is not very effective.

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Grade:

5 of 7 Inspection Report: Athelney Primary School, 21 °22 September 2005 .

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Grade:

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 7 Inspection Report: Athelney Primary School, 21 °22 September 2005

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school. It was delightful to talk to so many of you and we enjoyed our visit very much. I am writing this letter to tell you what we found out about your school. These are the things that we liked about your school:* You told us that you enjoy coming to school and particularly like the wide range of clubs and other activities on offer.* Most of you feel safe at school and know that if you have a problem, there is always an adult to talk to.* You told us behaviour has improved and though some bullying still happens, you are happy with the way adults dealt with it.* You are very happy with your new playground equipment and like the fact that you were able to take part in the decisions on what to buy. However, some of you told us you find your work too easy and we agree with you. We feel that many of you are not doing as well as you could be. So we have told your teachers to make sure

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that your work is just right for you so that you can learn more quickly and do better. We also feel that your teachers will need some help so we are putting in place some 'special measures' to help them achieve this. This means that you and your teachers will get extra support and Her Majesty's Inspectors will visit your school regularly to see how well you are doing.We hope that you will try to do your best to go to school regularly and get there on time. That way, you and your teachers can both work hard to make sure you do very well in the future. Once again, thank you for answering our questions and good luck in the future. Yours sincerely, Florence Olajide, Lead Inspector 7 of 7 Inspection Report: Athelney Primary School, 21 °22 September 2005

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