John Betts Primary School

John Betts Primary School Inspection report

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100346 Unique Reference Number Hammersmith and Fulham Local Authority 285774 Inspection number 29 June 2007 Inspection date Lynn Bappa 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 Voluntary aided School category 5 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 205 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs A Clarke Chair Ms G Del Bravo Headteacher 18 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection Paddenswick Road School address London W6 0UA

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020 8748 2465 Telephone number 020 8746 3571 Fax number

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5 °11 Age group 29 June 2007 Inspection date 285774 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

John Betts is a small, over-subscribed school serving a diverse, but generally advantaged, inner-city community. Although voluntary-aided, it is non-denominational. The percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals is lower than average. About a third of the pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds - this is above the national average. The percentage with learning difficulties and disabilities is lower than average. Mobility is higher than average and is mostly caused as a result of pupils moving into the private sector or moving out of London before the end of Year 6. The school was awarded Beacon status in 2002.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007

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Grade: 1

John Betts is an outstanding school, where pupils make great strides, both academically and in their personal and social development. Many pupils spoke highly of the school during the inspection. They are particularly enthusiastic about the recently-introduced school council and think there should be more opportunities for them to exercise responsibility of this nature. Their positive views are shared by many of their parents. As one parent commented, 'I know when my child has finished his years in John Betts he is going to come out a very confident and intelligent little boy. Thank you'. Pupils feel safe, welcomed and cared for. Most attend school regularly, thoroughly enjoy lessons and other activities, and make excellent progress in their personal development and well-being. The school provides a stimulating learning environment in which pupils are able to blossom. Teachers make the best use of the

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Grade: 1

accommodation, with a well-maintained playground and bright and cheerful classrooms. Pupils get off to a very good start in the Foundation Stage. They make excellent progress and are secure in all the areas of learning by the time they enter Year 1. Progress in the rest of the school is also outstanding. Standards are significantly above average by the end of Year 2. By the end of Year 6, standards are high in English, mathematics and science. Teaching and learning are outstanding. Pupils experience a very good range of interesting activities to help them to learn, including excellent use of resources such as historical artefacts and interactive white boards. The rich curriculum makes excellent provision for subjects such as French and Italian, as well as for basic skills. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. She works in close partnership with a dedicated and talented leadership team to ensure that pupils develop a deep love of learning

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Grade: 1

and school. A real strength of the school is the high quality of teamwork and commitment which ensures that everyone plays an integral part in moving the school forward. The school's highly successful track record, and improvements that have been made since the last inspection, demonstrate an outstanding capacity for future development.

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What the school should do to improve further

Although there are no substantial weaknesses, the inspector agrees with the pupils that in order to build on its success it should concentrate on: • Increasing pupils' opportunities to exercise formal responsibility within the school community.

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Grade: 1

Children start Reception with skills that are above those typically found in most four year-olds. They make excellent progress in Reception and by the time they enter Year 1 most have exceeded the goals expected of them. They continue to make outstanding progress throughout the rest of their time in the school. By Year 2, standards are significantly above average. Pupils do particularly well in writing, where standards are high. By the end of Year 6, standards are high. All pupils gain at least the expected levels in English and science and almost all in mathematics. A high proportion exceeds the standards expected for their age in all three subjects. Pupils also achieve extremely well in other areas of the curriculum, such as humanities, modern foreign languages and sport. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, as well as those with English as an additional language, make excellent progress and the school makes sure that

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Grade: 1

4 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007 these pupils are fully included in every aspect of school life. Higher-attaining pupils make rapid strides in their learning. The school is well on its way to meeting its challenging targets for this year and prepares its pupils very well for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils are very proud of their school. Their attitudes, manners and behaviour are exemplary. They participate enthusiastically in assemblies and other community occasions. Pupils welcome opportunities to learn about the wider world. They contribute in many ways to the wider community through activities such as charity fund-raising on 'Bring Your Bear to School Day'. They know the difference between right and wrong and have an excellent appreciation of music and art. The school has recently introduced a school council. Pupils believe that this will give them a stronger and more formal voice in influencing the school's work. Pupils say that they would now like the school to train peer mentors so that 'every little problem doesn't have to go to a teacher - we could sort many of them out for ourselves.' They say that rare instances of bullying are

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Grade: 1

dealt with well by adults. Pupils participate enthusiastically in the very good range of sporting activities provided by the school and show a good understanding of why it is important to take part in them. They can explain which foods are good for you and enjoy the tasty and nutritious school meals at lunchtime. They are particularly proud of the fact that the food is cooked in the school's new kitchen. As one pupil commented, 'The food is really good and they always have to make more salad!' Pupils' high standards and excellent personal and social skills put them in a very strong position to do well in their next stage of education and beyond.

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Grade: 1

Pupils learn exceptionally well because the quality of teaching is consistently high. Relationships are very good and teachers' expectations of work and behaviour are high. As a result, pupils work hard and take pride in their achievements. As one child in Reception commented when talking about her first attempt at independent writing, 'And I've put finger spaces!' Handwriting is taught well throughout the school. Pupils expressed great pride in being given 'pen licences' in Year 3 as soon as their writing was neat enough and explained that this meant writing with 'proper fountain pens'. Marking is regular and consistent and gives very good guidance to pupils on how to improve their work. Although both indoor and outdoor accommodation in the Reception class is limited, staff make good use of all available space, enabling the children to learn clear routines and extend their knowledge and understanding of the world around

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Grade: 1

them through a good range of interesting activities. Teaching assistants support pupils well. As a result, pupils with special educational needs, and those for whom English is an additional language, play a full part in lessons and other activities. Consequently, their progress is much greater than might be expected.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding and provides pupils with a very good all-round education. There are excellent opportunities to learn foreign languages. French is taught from Reception onwards 5 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007 and pupils in Years 3 to 6 have weekly Italian lessons. Other languages, such as Japanese and German, are introduced in after-school language clubs. There are excellent opportunities to learn creative activities such as music and singing. Personal, social and health education is central to the ethos of the school, and pupils have very good opportunities to learn how to become responsible and tolerant citizens. The school makes very good use of curricular links with several local secondary schools. The outdoor provision in the Foundation Stage has improved and is good. It now includes a small garden area and a pond. This provision is enhanced by weekly visits to the local park to use the climbing frames and other equipment. The school

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Grade: 1

provides a very wide range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities, including excellent musical and sporting opportunities.

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Grade: 1

The school provides outstanding care, guidance and support, enabling pupils to make exceptional progress in their personal development. It is clear that every child matters at John Betts. The very positive relationships with parents and the very good levels of support from outside agencies contribute significantly to pupils' excellent academic and personal progress. Vulnerable pupils are very well supported. The induction of children into the Foundation Stage is thoughtfully planned. As a result, children settle quickly into their new environment. There are good procedures for child protection. Academic guidance is very good. Very good use is made of assessment to identify learners who need extra help or who are at risk of underachieving. Pupils know how well they are doing and have clear targets to aim for.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding because there is a clear focus on maintaining and improving already high academic standards as well as promoting the personal development and well-being of pupils. The headteacher provides calm and clear-sighted leadership which unites the staff, leading to improvements in many areas. She knows the school's strengths and weaknesses very well and this is evident in the high quality of the school's self-evaluation. Excellent systems are in place to provide rigorous and regular monitoring of all that goes on. The vast majority of parents support the school. They feel that they are involved well with what the school does, that they are listened to, and that their views are taken into account. Issues relating to the last inspection have been tackled successfully. Governors are supportive and have a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. The school

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Grade: 1

is keen to improve even further. The success of the recent drive to raise writing standards provides a clear indication of the school's excellent capacity to improve. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of John Betts Primary School,London,W6 0UA I was really delighted to visit your school recently. What a warm welcome I received! Thank you all for taking part in the inspection of your school. Special thanks to the pupils who talked to me about their work and those who took me to lunch. You all told me how special your school is and I agree. It is outstanding. You make excellent progress because you work very hard. The teaching in your school is excellent and you told me that lessons are fun. All the staff look after you very well and make sure you are happy and safe. You have an excellent headteacher who is helped by the rest of the staff and governors to make sure that your school always wants to get better. I was very impressed by how well you all get on together and how sensible and friendly you are. The behaviour I saw was excellent. There is very little that needs to change in your school, but I have agreed with some members

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

of the school council that older pupils could be given even more opportunities to help younger pupils when they have problems. Your headteacher also thinks this is a very good idea. Thank you for sharing it with me. I hope you all keep on enjoying school and wish you well in the future. Yours sincerely Dr Lynn BappaLead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: John Betts Primary School, 29 June 2007

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