Dundonald Primary School

Inspection Report Dundonald Primary School

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102628 Unique Reference Number Merton LEA LEA 276747 Inspection number 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 Inspection dates Lynn Bappa AI Reporting inspector

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

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Dundonald Road School address Primary Type of school Wimbledon Community School category London SW19 3QH 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 020 8715 1188 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8715 1190 Fax number 233 Number on roll David Cowling Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Jane White Headteacher 13 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276747 6 December 2005 - 3 to 11 7 December 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Dundonald is a smaller than average primary school with 233 pupils on roll. At the time of the last inspection it was a First School but now takes pupils from three to 11. Learners generally come from the socially advantaged neighbourhood close to the school. The nursery takes children from outside the immediate area served by the school. There is a higher proportion of children who speak English as an additional language or who come from disadvantaged backgrounds than in the main school. There is a breakfast club run by the school and an after-school club run by an outside agency.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Dundonald Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005

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Grade: 1

Dundonald Primary is an outstanding school. The inspection team and the school agree that it provides a highly effective education for all its pupils. It provides very good value for money and has continued to improve from its strong position at the time of the last inspection. Strengths and weaknesses are speedily identified because the school has excellent systems for monitoring its work. Achievement is outstanding and pupils' standards are consistently high. The school's curriculum is very rich and helps motivate the pupils to work hard and enjoy learning. Teaching is consistently good, although teachers need to involve pupils more in target setting so that they are even clearer about how to improve their work. Provision in the Foundation Stage is excellent and children are very well prepared to begin more formal learning in Year 1.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Build on the school's good assessment systems to involve pupils more in target setting.

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Grade: 1

Most children enter the school in the Nursery or Reception with standards that are broadly in line with expectations for their age. Due to very effective organisation and high quality teaching they make very good progress. They have made an excellent start to their education. By the end of Reception almost all have achieved the learning goals expected of them. Children are well prepared for more formal learning as they move into Year 1. One parent commented that her son 'has come on in leaps and bounds academically since starting in the Nursery and always comes out of school with a smile on his face'.National test results show that the pupils' performance and standards have been significantly above average for several years. Standards by the end of Year 2 are high in reading and writing and well above average in mathematics. Standards by the end of Year 6 are high in English, mathematics and science, with a

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Grade: 1

significant proportion of pupils producing work at the higher levels. This is also the case in other subjects. For instance, standards in history and information and communication technology (ICT) are much higher than expected for pupils' ages. Pupils enjoy their activities and are developing excellent basic skills that prepare them well for their next stage of education.Achievement is outstanding. There are no groups in the school who achieve consistently less well than others. Boys and girls show no significant differences in performance. Pupils with learning difficulties achieve very well because of the good support they receive from teachers and assistants. The higher attaining pupils make the high levels of progress expected of them. 2 Inspection Report: Dundonald Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development is outstanding. Pupils are very enthusiastic about their learning and classrooms are happy places. They appreciate their teachers' efforts to make lessons interesting and enjoyable. This means that pupils want to achieve as well as they possibly can. Attendance is good and reflects pupils' positive attitudes to school. The school encourages pupils to take responsibility for their actions and their behaviour is outstanding as a result. Pupils get on very well together. Playtimes are sociable occasions when pupils chat and play together amicably. Pupils feel the school is a secure place and know that they can talk to staff if they have any concerns. They know how to keep safe and be healthy. The school council represents the pupils very well and feels strongly that its voice is heard. Pupils are confident in putting forward ideas to improve the school for all its members. They are rightly proud of their

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Grade: 1

achievements. They take part in successful fundraising events for charity and have many opportunities to participate in school life.Spiritual development is strong because assemblies provide pupils with very good opportunities to think and reflect and they are inspired and motivated in their lessons. Pupils are very well prepared for later life and, by the time they are in Year 6, they are very ready to begin the next stage of their education. Pupils are keen to learn about different cultures and there are some impressive displays of religious celebrations around the school.

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Grade: 2

The school correctly judges teaching and learning as good overall. Some outstanding teaching was seen in the Foundation Stage and in Years 5 and 6. In the Nursery, for example, teachers let children wrap different sized Christmas presents to develop their skills in understanding the concepts of too big and too small. They also practised their speaking and listening skills whilst making telephone calls to Father Christmas. Teachers' good knowledge of the whole curriculum enables them to link subjects together well so that pupils are keen to learn and find out for themselves. This approach gives good support to pupils' literacy and numeracy skills while extending their understanding in other areas. For example, pupils in Year 4 enjoyed an Egyptian Day during the inspection and practised their skills in cooking, craft work, history and drama. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are carefully identified. They

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Grade: 2

are well supported in lessons and in small group work when they are withdrawn. Throughout the school, teachers make clear what will be learned and how pupils will succeed. Realistic and challenging targets, together with well-planned activities, ensure that work is matched to the pupils' individual needs. In an outstanding Year 6 lesson, pupils learned how to identify number patterns and to solve investigative problems. The lesson's activities were finely tuned to pupils' learning needs and pupils confidently tackled the challenging tasks with evident enjoyment and success.Teachers do not consistently involve pupils in helping them to identify what they need to do to improve 3 Inspection Report: Dundonald Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 their learning. The marking of work and teachers' feedback do not always show the pupils how they can improve. The school shares this view and is fully aware of what

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. There is a very wide range of well-planned activities to engage pupils' interest and support their progress. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties is very effective.There are real strengths in the way that teachers plan curriculum links between subjects. In the Nursery, for example, children studied and drew a wormery and then made large paper worms using and counting different sequences of colours.French, music and drama are taught by specialists. There are partnerships with local secondary schools to enable older pupils to experience a wide range of sports and to develop their mathematical investigative skills with secondary pupils. There are frequent special curriculum events such as arts and mathematics weeks. The curriculum is greatly enlivened by educational visits, such as the Royal Opera House, Gunnersbury Park, Brighton and the Isle of Wight.The range of lunchtime

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Grade: 1

and after-school activities is outstanding and these are often over-subscribed. These activities offer pupils opportunities to broaden their experience of the arts, sport, cultural and leisure pursuits.

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Grade: 1

The quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding. The school provides a calm, orderly learning environment where pupils feel valued. The school works actively to ensure that pupils enjoy school, learn to be healthy and safe and are well prepared as future citizens. The school is rightly proud of its very caring ethos where every pupil is known and treated as an individual. The school is a welcoming place for children who say they feel safe and secure.Health and safety and child protection arrangements are effective. The school works very well with other agencies so that children benefit from specialist help when needed. The school is very good at ensuring that parents are well informed about how their children are getting on. However, the guidance and targets that result from this could be sharper and more rigorous. Pupils' academic and personal development is carefully monitored so that pupils' needs are effectively met.

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Grade: 1

Their progress is carefully tracked to check that their academic targets are being achieved.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding because the leadership team successfully focus on maintaining and improving high standards and promoting the personal development and well-being of pupils. The headteacher sets very high expectations and is a very effective leader with a clear sense of purpose and direction. She is very 4 Inspection Report: Dundonald Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 well supported by other staff, governors and parents. She knows the school very well and this is evident in the high quality of the school's own self evaluation. This is comprehensive and rigorous, clearly identifying strengths and areas for improvement. Issues relating to the last inspection have been addressed successfully. Monitoring systems are very effective and excellent use is made of the analysis of performance data as a tool to maintain high standards and improve achievement. Governors have

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Grade: 1

a very good grasp of the school's strengths and weaknesses and provide a very effective balance of support and challenge to the school. The school makes very good use of its links with a cluster of local schools to share good practice.The school is very well placed to continue its successes and to develop them further and has a very good capacity to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Dundonald Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Dundonald Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 1 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well do learners achieve? NA 1 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 1 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 1 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Not long ago we came to your school to see how you were getting on and whether there was anything we could suggest that would make the school better. You made us very welcome and we enjoyed meeting you. Thank you and well done! We were with you for two days. That was long enough for us to realise that Dundonald School is an outstanding school. One of the reasons is that you make very good progress in learning. You get a very good start to your education in the nursery and reception classes. You get lots of opportunities to try new things and work hard. You also get on very well with each other and with the adults in the school. We particularly enjoyed visiting you in the classrooms and seeing the good work you were doing. Many of you told us how much you enjoy being at school and how proud you are of what you can do. There were lots of other things that we liked. Here are a few:* you take responsibility for your own behaviour and your behaviour is excellent* all

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the different people working at the school do their best to look after you* you are able to be as independent as possible and take responsibility for your own actions* we particularly liked looking at all the displays of your work around the school, for example, in the nursery we saw the pictures that you made of worms and in Year 4 we really enjoyed the Van Gogh artwork in the corridor. We have now asked your teachers to continue working as hard as they have been doing to make sure your school stays excellent. We know that you will also carry on doing your best. We have also asked them to help you to understand how your work is marked and exactly what you need to do to make it even better.

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