Tower Bridge Primary School

Tower Bridge Primary School Inspection report

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100813 Unique Reference Number Southwark Local Authority 276393 Inspection number 5 °6 October 2005 Inspection dates Gehane Gordelier 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 Bruce Cheltenham Chair Mrs Margaret Windsor Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Fair Street School address Tower Bridge Road London SE1 2AE

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020 7407 2959 Telephone number 020 7234 9039 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 5 °6 October 2005 Inspection dates 276393 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 one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

The school is an average sized inner city school and is situated in an area of high social deprivation. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is more than double the national average. The pupils come from richly diverse cultural backgrounds representing over 30 ethnic groups, which between them speak 23 different languages.The headteacher has been at the school since September 2003 and has made some important and positive changes. There have been some newly appointed staff and there is also a significant number of staff who have been at the school for more than 10 years. There are eight classes arranged in single age groups. However in Years 5 and 6 the pupils are set for mathematics and work in mixed age ability groups.The school is involved in a broad range of local and national initiatives for example Excellence in Cities and business partnerships. These are having a positive impact on improving

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Description of the school

the quality of provision and care for pupils.

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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: Tower Bridge Primary School, 5 °6 October 2005

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What the school should do to improve further

* Improve standards and the rate of progress made by pupils at Key Stage 2 by improving the quality of teaching and learning.* Improve the quality of leadership and management for EAL and SEN.* Strengthen and develop the roles of co-ordinators so that they contribute more effectively to raising standards.* Develop the role of the governing body so they are more involved in monitoring the effectiveness of the school.* Develop rigorous systems of self-evaluation, and ensure that these are sharply focused on standards and achievement.* Reduce the high levels of unauthorised absence and improve punctuality.

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Grade:

The quality of the school's overall provision is inadequate. Despite the good provision in the Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1 this is not sustained in Key Stage 2 and is therefore unsatisfactory.Teaching and learning.The overall quality of teaching and learning is inadequate. Teaching in the Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1 is good. These teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and make good use of a wide range of audio, visual and practical resources. This helps to make learning fun and exciting as well as relevant to pupils' needs and interests. These teachers take full account of the different ways in which pupils' learn and build effectively on pupils' prior aptitudes knowledge and skills.Where teaching is unsatisfactory in Key Stage 2, the pace of lessons is too slow with pupils spending too much time sat passively on the carpet or during lengthy introductions. This leads to insufficient time for pupils to

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Grade:

undertake main learning activities and causes some pupils to lose interest. There is insufficient explicit teaching of key vocabulary and many pupils are not confident about using the correct terminology when answering questions. Opportunities for pupils to discuss and share their work are not well planned and as a result some pupils are left without a partner or the pupils' own choice of a partner is counter productive. There are missed opportunities of linking the work pupils cover in one subject to areas of their work and this reduces the meaningfulness and purposefulness of some lessons. Teachers do not assess sufficiently well the level of pupils' understanding and progress during the course of lessons this leads either to a lack of relevant activities for pupils with learning difficulties and insufficient challenge for higher attaining pupils. Across the school, insufficient attention is given to the work planned for EAL and SEN

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Grade:

pupils.The use of assessment data about pupils' achievement and progress in reading, writing and mathematics is still in its early stages. Some teachers especially at Key Stage 1 are starting to make effective use of this information to inform their planning and set targets. However, at key Stage 2 teachers and co-ordinators do not interrogate the data well enough and a significant number of pupils continue to underachieve.The quality of support provided by 4 of 7 Inspection Report: Tower Bridge Primary School, 5 °6 October 2005 teaching assistants for pupils with SEN is variable. They do not always know how to help pupils to progress. There is insufficient communication between those responsible for managing and delivering support and this is compounded by the lack of clarity within IEPs and teachers' planning. As a result these pupils make limited progress.

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Grade:

The school provides a broad curriculum; this is good at key Stage 1 but does not meet the needs of all pupils at Key Stage 2. The school makes effective use of local artists and music specialists to enrich the curriculum promote pupils' self-confidence and make learning enjoyable. However, this additional provision does not compensate for the core provision of curriculum which does not meet the full range of learners' needs. The school documentation identifies links between subjects, but these links are not evident during lessons or in teachers' planning.There are curriculum policies as well as programmes for every subject. However, at Key Stage 2 there are inconsistencies in how these are implemented, especially in some of the foundation subjects. As a result, lessons often cover old ground unnecessarily and in some subjects, for example in geography there are gaps in pupils learning.In the previous inspection

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Grade:

religious education was identified as a weakness. Until the recent appointment of a RE co-ordinator the progress made in this area was inadequate. The new co-ordinator has achieved a lot in a short space of time and the quality of this provision is now satisfactory. Nevertheless standards in RE are still low.Although the school has invested in new technology, here is still insufficient use of ICT across the curriculum. Many teachers still lack the skills and confidence to use it effectively.

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Grade:

The quality of care, guidance and support is satisfactory. The school has undertaken checks to ensure that all the staff are suitable to work with children.The pupils enjoy coming to school and they are taught about how to be healthy and stay safe. Pupils appreciate the opportunities of working with artists from different countries and this has contributed to their understanding about different cultures and traditions. The pupils' performances to their parents and the local community have helped to raise their self-esteem and confidence.The procedures for integrating new pupils into the school community are satisfactory. An outreach worker provides effective support to those families with vulnerable children and adults. However the support for some of the SEN and EAL pupils in school is not sufficiently well managed or effectively delivered.

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Grade:

5 of 7 Inspection Report: Tower Bridge Primary School, 5 °6 October 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: Tower Bridge Primary School, 5 °6 October 2005

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Pupils My colleague and I would like to thank you for the welcome you gave us when we visited on the 5th and 6th of October 2005. As you know we were inspecting your school and as part of the inspection we spoke to some of you to ask for your opinions. We were very interested in what you had to say and agree with many of your views. This letter will tell you a little of what we found out as a result of the inspection.You and your parents told us about how much you enjoy school and some of the things you really like, for example music and drama activities as well as all the friends you have made. We think that the school looks after you well, the staff care a lot about you and do their best to and keep you safe and happy. You know about the importance of being healthy in the things you eat and in the need to exercise. Most of you behave well during lessons and around the school. However, at playtimes, especially at lunch time a few of the older pupils sometimes

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

spoil things for others by being unkind and the adults must make sure they sort things out properly when this happens.The younger pupils in the school are doing particularly well and their teachers help them to settle into school and to learn new skills. The older pupils in the school do not make enough progress in some important areas. We agree with you that in some lessons there is not enough challenge and that you sometimes learn about things you already know.We are also concerned that some pupils often arrive late in the mornings and some pupils are not at school when they should be. The Governing Body of the school as well as some of the teachers with extra responsibilities need to become better at helping the school to improve. This as well as some of the other areas of weakness, has meant that your school needs special measures to help it to improve. We know that this will not be easy and will need a team effort. The school will get extra help from the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

local authority. From time to time Her Majesty's Inspectors will visit your school to see how things are going and what progress is being made.I wish you well for the future and look forward to reading about how the whole staff and the pupils at your school have worked together, to make Tower Bridge Primary a successful and wonderful place to learn. Your sincerely G Gordelier HMI Lead Inspector 7 of 7 Inspection Report: Tower Bridge Primary School, 5 °6 October 2005

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