Woodmansterne School

Inspection Report Woodmansterne Primary School

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100590 Unique Reference Number Lambeth Local Authority 285828 Inspection number 16 °17 January 2007 Inspection dates Pritiben Patel 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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Stockport Road School address Primary Type of school London Community School category SW16 5XE 3 °11 Age range of pupils 02087641825 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02086799090 Fax number 435 Number on roll (school) Mr Alan Davidson Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Anita Wright Headteacher 19 March 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 285828 16 °17 January 2007 3°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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Woodmansterne is a large primary school. About half the school population are from white British or European backgrounds and other pupils are from an Asian or Black background. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and who are at an early stage of learning English is significantly above average. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is twice the national average. The proportion of pupils who leave or join the school part way through their education is above average and rising. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, including statements is below the national average. The school has been awarded Artsmark Gold and Healthy Schools Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Woodmansterne is a good school with outstanding features. As one parent stated, 'The school goes from strength to strength'. The headteacher provides strong leadership and pupils of all backgrounds and abilities feel truly valued. Another parent commented 'I admire the way the school, head and teachers integrate pupils with such a wide culture and ethnicity. My compliments to staff'. The school have faced many challenges such as the high turnover of staff in recent years and the increasing number of pupils who start school part way through their education. Good teaching and learning ensure that pupils achieve well. Provision in the Foundation Stage is good and children make good progress throughout school from a low base. By the time pupils leave school in Year 6 they reach broadly average standards. However, their progress is not as rapid in mathematics. Managers at all levels place a strong emphasis on promoting pupils' personal

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Grade: 2

development and as a result it is outstanding. Pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school and participate fully in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. They are very considerate and helpful and their behaviour both in and out of the classroom is outstanding. Pupils are actively involved in the great majority of lessons and, consequently, they are eager to learn and this contributes to the good progress made by all groups of the school community. Pupils have an outstanding understanding of how to stay safe and healthy and they make a positive contribution to the school and wider community. The curriculum and care, guidance and support are outstanding. Cross- curricular links are well established in lessons and pupils comment 'we learn in a fun way'. The school has developed outstanding links with other agencies such as the Houses of Parliament which brings pupils learning to life. The school is successful in meeting the diverse

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Grade: 2

needs of all its pupils especially with regard to their pastoral development and academic guidance. The recently formed senior management team have been very successful in providing an exciting and interesting curriculum and in promoting pupils' personal development. The school is currently addressing the variations in teaching and learning. Successful strategies to address the underachievement of Black Caribbean pupils have also been put in place. However, provision for the more able in English and pupils' basic number skills are less well developed. Overall, with strong leadership and pupils' good achievement, capacity to improve is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in English, particularly for the more able pupils. • Raise standards in mathematics by improving pupils' basic number skills. 2 Inspection Report: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and standards are broadly average. Pupils' attainment when they join the school is well below the national average. By the time they enter Year 1 they reach standards that are below average but have made good progress from below average starting points. Pupils continue to achieve well during their time in school. Standards are broadly average by the end of Year 2 and average in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6. The 2006 national test results were higher than the previous year, but the number of pupils who reached the higher level in English was below average, whilst they were above average in science. Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in mathematics due to their less well developed basic skills. The school is working hard successfully to raise the underachievement of Black Caribbean pupils. Pupils at an early stage of learning English are supported well so that they

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Grade: 2

make good progress, although many do not reach the national average in English and mathematics. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress because work is well planned to enable them to achieve well.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. Members of the school council report that 'although this is a big school we all know one another'. The school council has made itself very effective by organising into groups. For example, the road safety group has organised a competition to remind pupils about keeping safe and the healthy eating group remind those who have packed lunch of the need to eat fruit and not chocolate. Through events, such as themed weeks, pupils celebrate the cultural diversity that exists within the school so that all understand the religious beliefs and customs of others. Pupils are very keen to learn about the outside community such as having discussions with the Deputy Mayor of London. They are very well prepared for future life as they develop skills of negotiation and working together as well as gaining

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Grade: 1

appropriate skills in English, mathematics and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The school is doing all it can to improve satisfactory attendance.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Teaching is regularly monitored by both senior and middle managers but variations in the quality still remain. The school is aware of this and is supporting staff through in-service training. This reflects the school's high expectations for both teachers and pupils. Teachers' planning of lessons is good because they use their assessments to match work to the needs of different ability 3 Inspection Report: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 January 2007 pupils. Teachers explain the purpose of lessons well and this helps pupils to know what they are learning. The use of interactive whiteboards has a positive visual impact and this engages pupils in their learning. However, occasionally the pupils sit on the carpet for too long and are not actively engaged in their learning. Teaching assistants are well trained and work effectively to support pupils with learning difficulties and

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Grade: 2

disabilities and pupils whose first language is not English. In most lessons, pupils work collaboratively in pairs and groups. This helps with their social development and they gain from the opportunities to share and discuss their ideas.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. The whole-school cross-curricular topic approach takes full account of teaching the relevant skills in all subjects and is very well implemented. Some subjects are taught discretely in their own right including mathematics, PE, ICT and music and this is highly effective. The schools' focus on improving standards in English and in mathematics is an appropriate priority. Provision and use of ICT across subjects, such as history and science, enriches learning. The school has received an Artsmark Gold Award. Pupils who are at an early stage of learning English are given work which is well matched to their needs and they benefit from good support. Pupils take advantage of the many opportunities to participate and enjoy an outstanding range of extra-curricular activities such as visits to the Albert Hall, museums and theatres. The curriculum is adapted to ensure that it is relevant to pupils' cultural

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Grade: 1

backgrounds. For example, a senior clerk of the High Court from a Black heritage background came to speak to pupils. This had a very positive impact on learning. There is a strong emphasis in promoting pupils' language and writing skills in the Foundation Stage curriculum.

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support are outstanding. Both pastoral and academic guidance are strong. Pupils say that there is always someone to talk to if they have any concerns or problems. Systems to support pupils who are new to English or new, to the school and those who struggle with learning are good and very well managed. All pupils are fully included in the life of the school. The 'welcome club' helps pupils new to the school including those who may not have had a previous formal education to feel at ease and understand school routines. There are good whole-school systems to track pupils' progress in literacy and mathematics. Pupils are formally assessed during 'assessment week', once a term and teachers analyse this data and set challenging targets for pupils which are then shared with parents during 'parent conferencing'. Pupils know their targets and are able to explain what they need to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 1

Child protection procedures are thorough and the school works very well with parents and carers as well as with outside agencies to support vulnerable pupils. 4 Inspection Report: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides strong leadership and fosters a good level of teamwork amongst all staff. Self-evaluation is good. Subject managers share responsibility for monitoring the work in the areas they lead. They do so diligently and this contributes to pupils' good progress. Successful strategies to raise the achievement of Black Caribbean pupils have been put in place. Although teaching and learning are good overall, leadership and management have identified inconsistencies in quality and are working to address this area. Governors play an active role and contribute well to the development of the school. Resources are deployed well. The headteacher's systematic approach to all aspects of management has provided a good foundation for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 January 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 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 3 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: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 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: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

On behalf of the inspectors I would like to thank you very much for being so helpful when we came to visit your school. We really enjoyed meeting you, talking to you and looking at all your work. We think that you go to a good school, and this is why: • You behave very well and get on well with each other. • You make good progress because you are taught well. • There are lots of extra things for you to do that help to make your learning more interesting. • All of the adults in your school make sure that you are safe and are really well looked after. • Your headteacher and deputy headteacher, the staff and the governors are doing a good job. Even in a good school like yours there is always something that could be improved. So, we think that what needs to be done next is for your teachers to help you become better in English by giving some of you harder work. We would also like your teachers to help you to improve your basic skills in mathematics so

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that you learn quicker and improve your level. I'm sure that you will continue to work hard in all your lessons! With best wishes for your future success, Pritiben Patel Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Woodmansterne Primary School, 16 °17 January 2007

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