Servite RC Primary School

Servite RC Primary School Inspection report

p.1

100500 Unique Reference Number Kensington and Chelsea Local Authority 285819 Inspection number 6 °7 June 2007 Inspection dates Charalambos Loizou Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 233 School

p.1

The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Maggie Hennessy Chair Mrs Kathleen Williams Headteacher 18 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection 252 Fulham Road School address London SW10 9NA

p.1

020 7352 2588 Telephone number 020 7351 4024 Fax number

p.1

3 °11 Age group 6 °7 June 2007 Inspection dates 285819 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

This is an average size school with a Nursery for three-year-old children who attend full-time. The school is located in an advantaged area and serves a diverse community, although the majority of pupils come from outside the area. The proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language is high compared with most schools. A significant number of pupils come from asylum or refugee families. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is above average. The school works with a range of agencies and has a social worker based at the school to support families. The school accommodates before and after-school clubs for pupils and child care provision for families.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007

p.3

Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. Pupils demonstrate an enthusiasm for learning, excellent behaviour and maturity beyond their years. Standards are very high by the end of Year 6 and pupils achieve extremely well. Understandably, parents are very satisfied, 'Servite is an exceptional school with very strong leadership and totally devoted teachers and support staff', is one of many tributes. Leadership, management and teaching are outstanding. The strong leadership of the headteacher and governors has guided excellent improvements to the school since its last inspection. The headteacher in particular has been instrumental in the development of the staff and the school as a whole. Highly effective monitoring of the teaching and of pupils' performance has provided the school with accurate evaluations of its effectiveness. Standards by the end of Year 2 are above average and improving because of excellent teaching. There is scope for

p.4

Grade: 1

further development to ensure that more able pupils reach higher standards in writing in Years 1 and 2. Throughout the school well qualified teaching assistants provide highly effective support for pupils in the early stages of learning English, and for those with learning difficulties or disabilities. An outstanding curriculum successfully incorporates the creative and performing arts and links subjects together extremely well to make learning engaging and enjoyable. Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress because of good teaching overall and it is excellent in the Nursery. The staff provide stimulating indoor and outdoor activities for the children. However, inconsistencies in the way phonics are taught in the Nursery and Reception classes slow the progress of some children in literacy. Despite this, the children make good progress in all areas of learning. The pupils' personal development is excellent. Pupils thrive on the many opportunities to show

p.4

Grade: 1

initiative and to care for others. 'We are a very welcoming and safe school', says one pupil when reflecting on her role as a playground buddy. The active school council attends staff and governor meetings to suggest ideas and represent the views of other pupils. It develops entrepreneurial skills very well when negotiating the budget and marketing plans for the healthy tuck shop, which is run and managed by pupils. The local 'junior citizens' programme' helps to develop positive attitudes towards healthy and safe living. Pupils acquire a broad range of skills and talents through the excellent range of enrichment activities such as foreign language sessions in Mandarin, French and Spanish, and an extensive range of dance, drama and music activities. The school's national gold active sports mark reflects how well the pupils develop a clear understanding of living a healthy and active lifestyle. There is excellent community cohesion

p.4

Grade: 1

and racial harmony. A wide range of visits and visitors from the local and wider community is used extremely well to improve the pupils' understanding of the local and wider community. The recent visit of a black professional footballer was part of many activities to promote positive attitudes towards racial diversity. Staff and governors are innovative and energetic in developing the school and demonstrate excellent capacity to keep on improving. The headteacher and governors are highly effective and are a real asset. They work in excellent partnership with parents and others to communicate the school's vision very clearly. For example, a promotional video recording of the school's work was accomplished in collaboration with parents.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Accelerate the progress of higher ability pupils in Years 1 and 2 to raise standards in writing. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007 • Ensure that the teaching of phonics in the Foundation Stage has a greater impact on developing the children's early reading and writing skills.

p.4

Grade: 1

Standards are high by the end of Year 6 and achievement is outstanding. Pupils make excellent progress in relation to their average starting points. Nursery children make excellent progress because of consistently strong teaching and support. Children make good progress overall in the Foundation Stage and reach above average standards by the time they start Year 1 in all areas of learning. However, some children make slower progress in early reading and writing because the methods used to teach phonics and letter sounds are not consistent. In the rest of the school, pupils make excellent progress in English, mathematics and science. By the end of Year 2 standards are above average, although fewer pupils reach higher levels in writing compared with reading and mathematics. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities make exceptional progress towards their individual targets. Those learning English as an additional

p.5

Grade: 1

language make rapid progress because they are monitored and supported closely.

p.5

Grade: 1

Pupils are proud of the school's motto 'learning to love and loving to learn'. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils' outstanding enjoyment of learning is reflected in good attendance. They behave exceptionally well and form strong friendships. Pupils reflect conscientiously on spiritual and moral themes in assemblies and lessons. Relationships are excellent and pupils have a very good understanding of cultural diversity. Members of the school council are particularly proud of their management of the healthy tuck shop and attend leadership team and governors' meetings. They show initiative when organising school surveys to seek the views of other pupils and feel that they make a difference. Other pupils are given many responsibilities within classes, in the playground and beyond the school. These contribute effectively to the development of their understanding of community values

p.5

Grade: 1

and reflect the school's strong ethos. Pupils say 'they feel safe in school and know who to ask for help'. The high standards pupils achieve and their very good social skills ensure they have an excellent start on which to build their future lives.

p.5

Grade: 1

The quality of teaching is excellent. Teachers plan lessons meticulously and regularly assess pupils' progress to build on their previous learning. They mark pupils' work diligently, provide individual learning targets, excellent resources and clear objectives in all lessons. In an excellent English lesson, teachers set challenging objectives for Year 2 pupils using computers extremely well to provide key words and captions. These helped the pupils to construct accurate descriptive sentences about sea creatures and habitats. Highly effective teaching like this is addressing a relative weakness in the writing produced by higher ability pupils. Teachers plan work very well to incorporate skills from different subjects and make lessons enjoyable. In a mathematics lesson for example, Year 5 pupils applied their excellent knowledge of fractions and percentages to work out 'Lord Skinflint's profits' from Tudor window taxes. Good teaching in the Foundation

p.5

Grade: 1

5 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007 Stage provides stimulating experiences for the children. However, the teaching of letter sounds is not always used to best effect to improve children's early literacy skills. Throughout the school, highly skilled teaching assistants work very effectively with groups and individuals identified with particular learning needs.

p.5

Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding and provides pupils with excellent learning opportunities. It is extremely well devised so the pupils progressively acquire skills in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT) that prepare them very well for the future. The school has improved its creative curriculum extremely well since its last inspection. Pupils' art work is of a high standard and they are knowledgeable about the work of famous artists. Drama is used very effectively in lessons to support learning. Considerable thought has been given to ensuring that pupils enjoy learning with many opportunities provided for them to participate in a comprehensive range of extra-curricular activities and visits. Excellent links are made between subjects and pupils are able to relate their learning to practical situations. The strong curriculum promotes pupils' personal development extremely well. The school is

p.6

Grade: 1

highly committed to the diversity of cultures of its pupils and those in the wider world.

p.6

Grade: 1

The care, support and guidance given to pupils are outstanding. The excellent relationships between adults and pupils and the inclusive nature of the school promote pupils' personal development very well. This is endorsed by parents, as one rightly commented, 'The management and teaching staff are strong, caring, innovative and very hard-working'. The school has effective measures in place to ensure pupils are safeguarded. Health and safety procedures are robust and all members of staff have recent training in first-aid. Systems for assessing pupils' learning and identifying the next steps are well established. Additional adult support is deployed extremely well and supports pupils' learning effectively. Pupils are very clear about their level of performance and their targets for improvements. The outstanding links with parents and outside agencies contribute much to the excellent progress made by the pupils.

p.6

Grade: 1

Leadership, management and governance are outstanding. The headteacher has fostered a strong work ethic and there is excellent team work amongst a committed staff team who share a common vision. The school knows itself extremely well and this is reflected in the school's accurate self-evaluation. Improvement planning is based on rigorous and systematic monitoring. Priorities for development are informed by thorough analyses of pupils' and teachers' performance, and take excellent account of pupils' and parents' views. The headteacher's incisive evaluations and development of teaching since the last inspection have ensured that high standards have been maintained and demonstrate excellent capacity to continue improving. Governors provide highly effective support. Excellent systems are in place to ensure they monitor and hold the school to account. Governors and parents contribute greatly to the life

p.6

Grade: 1

of the school. The highly effective mentoring scheme for parent governors and strong links 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007 with the local parish, ensure that the school's plans for improvement are clear to everyone in the community. The headteacher and staff are innovative and are always considering new ways of working. Rigorous re-structuring of staff responsibilities and the establishment of a creative curriculum has been very effective in extending what the school provides and maintaining high standards. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007 .

p.6

Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007

p.8

Inspection judgements

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

p.9

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? 2 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

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

and interests of learners?

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

p.9

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007

p.9

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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

19 June 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Servite RC Primary School,London,SW10 9NA The inspectors were very pleased to visit your school. You made us feel really welcome. Yours is an outstanding school. You all work very hard with your teachers and parents to make your school an excellent place to learn and play. Your art work is beautifully displayed around the school and shows what fantastic artists you are, well done. There are so many good things about your school that it is hard for me to pick out the very best. However, these are the ones inspectors were pleased with most: • you are very well behaved and try very hard • we agree with you when you say your teachers are brilliant because they are helping you to reach high standards • you enjoy school and we can see why; there are lots of things to do, even before and after school • we really like the way you help other pupils by managing the healthy tuck shop, helping in

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the playground and organising surveys to see how you can improve the school for everyone • your parents are very pleased with you and your teachers and the school works very closely with them • the staff take excellent care of you and make sure you are all safe and happy • the headteacher, staff, governors and school council manage the school extremely well and work hard to keep looking for ways to make the school even better We have asked your teachers to: • help some of you do better in writing • help the children in the Foundation Stage to learn their letter sounds better We were particularly impressed with the way you and your parents have chances to suggest ways to improve your school. Well done, and we wish you all the very best. Yours sincerely Charalambos LoizouLead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Servite RC Primary School, 6 °7 June 2007

p.11