Fairlawn Primary School

Fairlawn Primary School Inspection report

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100710 Unique Reference Number Lewisham Local Authority 285852 Inspection number 12 October 2007 Inspection date Selwyn Ward 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 Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 465 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Jayne Demuro Chair Mr Robin Bosher Headteacher 14 January 2002 Date of previous school inspection Honor Oak Road School address London SE23 3SB 020 8699 7948 Telephone number 020 8699 7722 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 12 October 2007 Inspection date 285852 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 who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school. The inspector looked particularly at the progress and standards children of all abilities achieve in the Foundation Stage and as they move through the school, as well as the impact of initiatives taken by school leaders to raise standards and the quality of provision. The inspector met with staff, governors and pupils. Parts of some lessons were observed, parents' questionnaires and a sample of pupils' work were examined and school information, including self-evaluation, was scrutinised. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in the report.

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Description of the school

Fairlawn is much larger than average. It has a Nursery unit on a separate site half a mile from the main school. Children come from a cosmopolitan mix of backgrounds and around one in five speak a language other than English. However, only a very small number of pupils are at an early stage of learning English. The number of pupils with learning difficulties is broadly average. Pupils are of average ability when they start in the Nursery and in the Reception Year, but many join partway through their education. The school has an Arts Mark award and has gained Healthy Schools status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Fairlawn Primary School, 12 October 2007

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school where pupils of all abilities are helped to grow in confidence and where they achieve very well and attain high standards. Several parents comment that they 'have nothing but praise for the school' and, indeed, almost all of the views expressed by parents are extremely positive. Many comment specifically on how very well informed they are and how fully the school involves them in their children's learning. One summed up the views of a great many in saying, 'Our child is making excellent progress and loves school, which I think is the best indicator of a very well-run school'. Fairlawn is extremely well run. The headteacher, senior leaders, staff and governors, work in close partnership to constantly check and evaluate the effectiveness of all the school does and to drive forward improvements. Teaching and learning are rigorously monitored and teachers are given support where needed. This has helped to ensure the consistently high standards of

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Grade: 1

teaching throughout the school. Work in lessons is very well matched to pupils' different capabilities, providing good challenge for the most able while giving very well targeted support to those who have learning difficulties or who need extra help because they are learning English as an additional language. Teaching assistants are deployed and used very effectively, so that, for example, they keep careful track of which pupils are contributing when the teacher is teaching the whole class. Tracking of pupils' progress is thorough, so that staff know exactly how well each pupil is doing. That enables the school to provide pupils with extra help if they seem likely to fall behind. Because they all have individual targets and benefit from high quality marking, pupils also know how well they are doing and what they need to do to do better. From their very good start in the Foundation Stage, pupils make very good progress and attain

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Grade: 1

high standards in the national tests in Year 2 and Year 6. Their very good key skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology prepare them exceedingly well for their move to secondary school. Again, this is strongly recognised by parents, who describe how their children have 'reached their full potential thanks to all the high quality teaching'. Parents of children with learning difficulties particularly comment on the excellent support they get. The success of the most able pupils is evident in the very high proportion attaining higher levels in the national tests in English and mathematics. In English in 2007, for example, two thirds of the pupils attained Level 5 in the Year 6 tests. This is twice the national average. Though all do well, the school recognises that more able pupils did not make quite such rapid progress last year in science. School leaders have identified that this is because some pupils,

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Grade: 1

especially girls, would benefit from more opportunities to take part in practical science investigations. Provision for this is already being introduced this year. Success in national tests has not been achieved at the expense of the wider curriculum. Parents describe how their children have 'many different opportunities both during and after school, in arts and sport'. Pupils talk enthusiastically about all the exciting things they do and learn at school. As one explained, 'The teachers make all the lessons as interesting as they can for us'. Imaginative links are made between different subjects so that learning is given a practical application and made more relevant. For example, pupils in Year 5 linked their work in mathematics on calculation and rounding to make scale representations of the planets in the solar system as part of their work in science. Good use is made of school visits to enrich the

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Grade: 1

curriculum, including residential trips in Years 3, 5 and 6, of which pupils have fond memories and eager anticipation. One mum described her Year 3 child's week away in Broadstairs as 'a liberating experience', but it was not entirely clear whether she meant for the child or herself! 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Fairlawn Primary School, 12 October 2007 Pupils describe how much they love school. Their attendance is excellent. Many parents whose children joined Fairlawn from other schools voice particular praise for how the school has helped them. One, typically, described how her son 'settled in quickly, has been extremely happy and remains enthusiastic about coming to school every day, which was not always the case previously'. Behaviour is exemplary and pupils are attentive in lessons and concentrate hard on their work. Pupils feel extremely safe at school and are very confident that any unkindness

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Grade: 1

between children is quickly resolved. Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to take responsibility, for example as school councillors, and to help outside school through charity fundraising and the growing interest they take in environmental issues. They appreciate and celebrate the rich cultural mix that makes up this harmonious school community. Pupils have an unwavering commitment to the need for a healthy lifestyle. They explain that school dinners have improved but are insistent that they have further to go because they are not always as exciting as they sound. Pupils point more approvingly at the healthy food they are growing for themselves in the school allotment. Though the headteacher, senior leaders, staff and governors know that theirs is a very successful school, there is no sense of complacency from school leaders. The school improvement plan sets out their ambitions to build further on Fairlawn's many strengths. It is this drive for further

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Grade: 1

development, on top of such a strong track record of success, that demonstrates the school's outstanding capacity for continued improvement.

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Grade: 1

Children get off to an excellent start in both the Nursery and Reception classes. Many parents describe the Nursery as 'a stimulating and safe environment for children to play and learn'. It is a busy hive of purposeful activity and children's social development is particularly impressive as they learn to play and work together. This is especially valued by parents. One described how their 'previously shy and timid August-born child' had 'transformed into a confident individual who enjoys school'. Not all children in the nursery go on to join Fairlawn in the Reception Year and not all of those in the Reception Year have attended the Nursery. Nonetheless, progress through the Foundation Stage is very good. By the end of the Reception Year, almost all attain and around half exceed the early learning goals expected for their age. Children do well because they are looked after very well and because they benefit from consistently good or better teaching and support.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase opportunities for more able pupils to develop their practical investigation skills in science. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Fairlawn Primary School, 12 October 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Fairlawn Primary School, 12 October 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Fairlawn Primary School, 12 October 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Fairlawn Primary School, 12 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 October 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Fairlawn Primary School,London,SE23 3SB Thank you for making me so welcome today when I came to visit your school. I could see how proud you all are of your school, and you have every right to be. Fairlawn is an outstanding school where you do very well indeed. I was impressed by how confident, sensible and well behaved you all are. You really enjoy school because you love the way teachers make learning fun in all the different subjects you do. You particularly like all the trips you go on. The school takes very good care of you, and I was pleased to hear from some of you and from your parents that there is always an adult you can go to if you have any worries. The children I spoke to certainly knew a lot about healthy eating and exercise. Your school is exceptionally well run. Your headteacher involves all the staff in helping to make the school even better and they work extremely well as a team. They are especially good at

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

checking how well you are all doing, and that helps to ensure that those of you who need it get extra help. As a result, you all make very good progress. Some of you who do very well in English and maths do not make quite such rapid progress in science. I know the school has already made a start on improving this, and I have asked them to make sure that you have more opportunities to have a go at practical investigations in science. You can all play your part too in making your outstanding school even better by continuing to work hard and doing your best. Thank you again for being so helpful and friendly. Best wishes, Selwyn Ward Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Fairlawn Primary School, 12 October 2007

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