St Augustine's RC Primary School

Inspection Report St Augustine's RC Primary School

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100347 Unique Reference Number Hammersmith and Fulham Local Authority 285775 Inspection number 9 January 2007 Inspection date Gulshanbir Kayembe 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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Disbrowe Road School address Primary Type of school London Voluntary aided School category W6 8QE 4 °11 Age range of pupils 02073854333 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02073867751 Fax number 208 Number on roll (school) Mrs Phillipa O'Driscoll Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Mary Kelliher Headteacher 28 January 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 285775 9 January 2007 4 °11 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 an Additional Inspector over one day.

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Description of the school

The proportion of pupils eligible for a free school meal is above average reflecting the relatively high levels of disadvantage in the south of the borough. However, pupils come from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. About two fifths of pupils are of white British heritage. The remaining three fifths have mainly other white, black African or black Caribbean origins. Currently about five per cent of pupils, a small proportion, are beginners in English. Attainment on entry is generally below average. The school has achieved the Healthy School's award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 2007

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school which provides an exceptional quality of education for its pupils. As a result of the excellent teaching and support provided for each individual pupil, standards are well above average and achievement is outstanding. The progress that pupils make in English is particularly remarkable. Standards and quality in the Foundation Stage are also outstanding. Pupils in the Reception class have a vibrant and lively curriculum which nurtures their development very effectively across all areas of learning. The curriculum is tailored very well to promote pupils' personal development and, as a result, their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptionally good. Pupils successfully adopt healthy lifestyles as a result of the high quality provision in this area. The outstanding range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities enables pupils to become actively involved with their school and local communities. The

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Grade: 1

curriculum is very well adapted to meet the different needs of pupils so that those with learning disabilities and difficulties make as significant progress as others. High quality support in lessons and careful adjustments to the curriculum for pupils who are learning English as an additional language mean they also achieve outstandingly well. Even those who start the school as beginners in English reach at least nationally expected standards by the time they leave. Many reach higher standards than these. What makes this school stand out in particular are the lengths that staff will go to in order to meet the needs of every individual no matter how great or small. Pupils receive good support and guidance, including on how to improve their work, though on occasion written comments in pupils' books do not provide precise enough information on what they need to do to improve. The curriculum is exceptionally well planned to

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Grade: 1

make links across subjects. It also reflects very well the variety of cultural backgrounds represented in the school. However, more could be done to capitalise on the linguistic diversity in the school to promote pupils' awareness of other languages; for example, the curriculum does not provide for the teaching of a modern foreign language. The success of the school owes much to the excellent leadership provided by the headteacher. She, with the support of staff, has created a warm and positive ethos which gives pupils the confidence and skills to achieve. Pupils feel safe and their excellent behaviour and attitudes contribute to the positive ethos. Pupils love coming to school. One commented: 'It's like being in paradise'. Members of the senior management team and subject leaders carry out their responsibilities with dedication and a high level of professionalism. Hence, leadership and management across the

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Grade: 1

school are excellent. The school's self-evaluation is very accurate and there is regular and very effective checking of the quality of teaching. Pupils' progress is thoroughly analysed and tracked. However, the systems for recording pupils' progress are still paper based and would benefit from being computerised to make the information more easily accessible. The information from monitoring activities is used very effectively to support further improvement. As a result, the school is exceptionally well placed to improve even more. 2 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that teachers' marking of pupils' work consistently provides pupils with clear information on how to make their work better • Make use of the linguistic diversity in the school to develop pupils' awareness and learning of other languages • Implement a computerised system to track and monitor the progress of pupils as they move through the school

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Grade: 1

Pupils achieve exceptionally well. There has been a good upward trend in standards in both key stages. In 2006, standards were very comfortably in line with the national average by the end of Key Stage 1 and exceptionally high by the end of Key Stage 2, particularly so in English. Current standards are also very high by Year 6. Standards in science have improved considerably because the school has focused on developing pupils' experimental and investigative skills and are now well above average by Year 6. Work in other areas of the curriculum, such as art and history, is also of a high standard. Pupils learning English as an additional language make rapid progress in developing their fluency. Those arriving with little English begin to use it effectively within a year or two. A stimulating curriculum results in pupils making excellent progress in the Foundation Stage and reaching average standards by the end of their Reception

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Grade: 1

year. Excellent support for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities means they too make significant progress.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are excellent. Attendance is above average. Pupils are enthusiastic about school and enjoy lessons immensely. They behave exceptionally well and, in lessons, are very well focused on work, taking considerable interest in the tasks. They involve themselves enthusiastically and energetically in all activities. Pupils have highly developed skills of independent learning which are promoted right from the Foundation Stage. When required to, they work in pairs or groups, cooperating with one another and sharing ideas, information and resources exceedingly well. Pupils have an excellent grasp of what constitutes healthy living and successfully put this knowledge into practice by eating healthily and taking regular exercise. They feel safe and secure and treat others with respect. They make a strong contribution to the school community, for example, through the school council

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Grade: 1

and by helping younger pupils to read. Overall, pupils take on responsibilities very readily and are mature beyond their years in the way they care for one another, the school and the wider community. The excellent progress they make in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology means they are very well prepared for the next step in education and their future role in the wider world. 3 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 2007

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding. The most striking features of teaching include teachers' high expectations, the high level of challenge for pupils and the good match of tasks to their learning needs. Teaching methods are varied and provide stimulating and interesting experiences for pupils. The quality of displays in classrooms is first rate, reflecting the pride teachers take in their own and pupils' work. Support staff make a significant contribution to the teaching and in helping to meet the needs of individual pupils. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is excellent and pupils readily engage with the wide range of very well prepared and structured activities provided for them. Teachers conscientiously assess pupils' work, and marking is frequent and thorough in correcting errors and pointing out the areas that need to be improved. However, written comments do not always provide pupils with a precise enough idea of what

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Grade: 1

Curricular provision is excellent. The care with which the school adapts the curriculum and provides specific programmes means it is exceptionally well tailored to each individual's needs. As a result, pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, able pupils and those at the different stages of learning English as an additional language are very well catered for and achieve outstandingly well. Excellent use is made of community resources. Personal and social education is highly developed and there are numerous opportunities for pupils to learn about cultural diversity and to consider major world issues. These are very effectively enhanced by visits away and visitors to the school. The school takes full advantage of all that London has to offer in order to enrich its curriculum. Whilst there are good opportunities after school and at lunch time to learn Spanish and French, the school has not yet established language teaching

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Grade: 1

in the mainstream curriculum. It is not making the most of the languages represented in the school to raise pupils' awareness about other languages for example by reading dual language story books or displays around the school.

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support are good in all respects and outstanding in many. Pupils are exceptionally well cared for and the Catholic nature of the school promotes a very strong atmosphere of care. Any learning difficulties and disabilities or other needs are identified at a very early stage. The school makes excellent use of external agencies and school based support to ensure that the needs identified are fully met. 4 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 2007 Assessment is very thorough and information from assessments is very well used to help support and guide further progress. There is good oral feedback to pupils so the majority have a reasonably clear idea of what they need to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 1

The leadership of the school has created a strong sense of common purpose amongst staff and governors. Consistently high expectations across the school have led to exceptionally high standards and achievement for pupils. The school has benefited immensely from stable staffing over the last few years. Governors provide a very clear steer to the overall direction of the school and are very actively involved in its work including self-evaluation. They have a good understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development because there is a well-established culture of performance management and monitoring. Tracking of pupils' progress is well used to set challenging performance targets though the school still uses paper based systems. Whilst these provide all the information needed to assess performance, they can be a little inefficient to use. Nonetheless, the school has a very strong grasp of the performance of

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Grade: 1

individuals and groups. The partnership with parents is a strong feature of the school and parents and pupils are regularly consulted about their views. Overall, parents think very highly of the school and its work. 5 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 2007 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 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. 7 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 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? 8 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I enjoyed visiting your school immensely and most of all I enjoyed visiting your classrooms and talking to you. I would like to thank you very much for making me feel welcome. In particular, I was very impressed with how mature and responsible you are. I am pleased to say that the school provides you with an excellent education. I saw a number of things that were outstanding about the school including the following: • You do exceptionally well in your school work, especially in English • You get on exceedingly well with one another and value the support you get from staff • You have a remarkably good understanding of healthy living, make sure that you eat well and take regular exercise • The school takes excellent care of you • Teaching is exceptionally good and you take your learning very seriously • The school provides you with a very wide variety of activities that you enjoy • The headteacher leads the school outstandingly well

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Your parents are very pleased with the school. There are, as is the case in all schools, some things that could be better. These include: • Getting more precise information about how you could improve your work • Learning a new language and finding out more about the different languages spoken at home by pupils • Establishing a computer based system for recording your progress. You can certainly help to improve how well you are doing by asking staff for advice on what they think you need to do to make your work even better and by encouraging those who know different languages to talk about them. I wish you all well in the future. Gulshan Kayembe Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: St Augustine's RC Primary School, 9 January 2007

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