St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School

Inspection Report St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School

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100724 Unique Reference Number Lewisham Local Authority 285862 Inspection number 21 °22 February 2007 Inspection dates Jane Chesterfield 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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Lee Church Street School address Primary Type of school London Voluntary aided School category SE13 5SG 3 °11 Age range of pupils 020 8852 3151 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8297 1153 Fax number 225 Number on roll (school) Mrs Jannet Mathers Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs M McGuinnity Headteacher 8 May 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 285862 21 °22 February 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

St Margaret's Lee is a one form entry primary school with an intake which is very mixed socially, economically and academically. Almost a fifth of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is just above the national average. About half the pupils are White British, with the majority of the remainder being from dual heritage, Black African or Black Caribbean backgrounds. The proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language is above the national average. The number with learning difficulties or disabilities is below. The school admits pupils who live locally as well as those who are members of the local church. There has been a high turnover of staff in the last two years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 2007

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Grade: 2

St Margaret's Lee is a good school with some outstanding features. Good leadership and management have ensured that the school has been successful in improving achievement and standards, restoring them to the levels of the previous inspection after a recent dip in performance. Achievement is good and standards are above average at the end of the Foundation Stage, Year 2 and Year 6. This improvement has been brought about by the hard work of the school in rigorously monitoring and supporting the quality of teaching in English and mathematics, particularly through recent staff changes, and in developing pupils' independence and confidence in their learning. The school is not content to rest on its laurels, and is exploring ways to improve pupils' writing in Years 1 and 2 further so that even more pupils reach the higher levels. Good teaching and good academic guidance mean that pupils learn well throughout the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are excellent, because the school gives them every opportunity to become independent and confident learners and to play a full part in school life. Pupils from Year 5 show great initiative and responsibility in running and teaching a science club for Year 2. Throughout the school, pupils wholeheartedly enjoy their education and are successfully developing the literacy, numeracy and social skills which will help them in later life. The school has fostered good relationships with parents. They are very appreciative of the way in which the school embraces the principles of Every Child Matters. One commented perceptively, 'The achievements of every pupil are cherished', while another felt that the school had enabled her daughter 'to blossom into a bright and confident child.' This is thanks to the outstanding pastoral care which provides a supportive environment where pupils

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Grade: 2

feel safe and able to rely not only on adults but also on other children. The school is very outward looking and ready to work with others to take up exciting new initiatives which will help it develop and improve its provision. The school currently has a good curriculum which meets the needs of all its pupils. However, there is the potential to make learning even more stimulating and challenging for pupils by increasing creativity in lessons and extending links across the curriculum. There is already some existing excellent practice in this area. The school has made good improvement since the last inspection and, because of its willingness to welcome change and its ability to work hard, its capacity to improve further is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that strategies for improving writing in Years 1 and 2 have a more consistent impact on the standards of pupils' work. • Develop creativity and links across the curriculum throughout the school, building on the current best practice. 2 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 2007

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Grade: 2

The current picture of achievement and standards is one of improvement throughout the school. When children enter the Nursery their attainment is broadly average but with a great deal of variation. They make good progress in the Foundation Stage and their standards are above average when they move into Year 1. Pupils continue to achieve well in Years 1 and 2, and reach standards in reading, writing and mathematics which are above the national average. The school has identified the need to improve pupils' writing by extending their vocabulary and grammar skills so that more reach higher levels. New strategies for bridging this gap have been introduced this year and are starting to have an impact. At the end of Year 6 there has been a similar improvement in achievement and standards in English, mathematics and science. Pupils make good progress in Years 3 to 6 and standards are consistently above the national average. Last year's results

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Grade: 2

were well above average, which represented good achievement for that cohort of pupils. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, and those learning English as an additional language achieve well, thanks to the good quality support they receive. There are no significant differences between the performance of boys and girls.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. They thoroughly enjoy coming to school to learn and their good attendance reflects this. Pupils are highly motivated and are keen to do well. Their good behaviour is focused on tolerance, care and empathy with others, whatever their cultural background. This results in very high quality relationships around the school and outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As one parent commented, '...the moral and social values (the school) instils in the children gives them an excellent framework to base their lives upon.' Children make good progress in personal, social and emotional development in the Foundation Stage and quickly learn to work with others, concentrate and persevere. As they move through the school, pupils become more socially aware. They overwhelmingly enjoy the opportunities provided to achieve a healthy lifestyle in both

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Grade: 1

physical education lessons and the extra-curricular sporting activities. They have a clear understanding of healthy eating. The school has worked very hard at developing pupils' awareness of their own emotions and how to handle difficult situations. This results in raised self-esteem and confidence. There are very positive links with the church and the community. The school has connections with a school in India and pupils raise funds for local and worldwide charities. 3 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Consistently good teaching and learning lead to above average standards and good achievement throughout the school. Typically, teachers have good relationships with their pupils and high expectations for behaviour at all times. They plan well to challenge pupils of all abilities, and they make particularly good use of questioning to develop pupils' thinking skills. There is good teamwork between teachers and support staff, and resources are carefully selected to help pupils learn independently. Marking throughout the school focuses well on how pupils might improve their work, though not all teachers link this to pupils' targets. Teachers encourage pupils to take responsibility for their learning at all times, and as a result pupils concentrate well, take pride in their work, and support one another wherever they can. In the very best lessons, creative and exciting activities make learning such fun for the pupils that they are totally absorbed in what they have to

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Grade: 2

do. During an English lesson in Year 2, pupils used puppets they had made in design and technology as the starting point for stories to develop into a puppet show. They were all full of ideas and enthusiasm to write because they were so attached to their characters.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It provides well for the pupils' academic and personal needs, allowing them to enjoy their learning experiences. The Foundation Stage curriculum fully meets the needs of the children. In Years 1 to 6, the curriculum tackles basic skills thoroughly and ensures that pupils of all abilities make good progress. The pupils' learning is enriched by a programme of visits and visitors to the school and through special focus weeks that have included the arts, healthy living and library week. Teaching by pupils is also a feature, with older pupils leading clubs for younger ones. The school is planning to enrich the pupils' creative experiences and is developing cross-curricular links in all subjects to give breadth to learning. The learning mentor plays an important part in the good provision for personal, social and health education and citizenship.

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Grade: 2

The provision for care, guidance and support is good overall. Pastoral care is outstanding and the school has excellent arrangements in place for the safety of its pupils. Procedures for child protection and risk assessment are robustly followed and are understood by all. This means that pupils feel totally safe and secure in the school. As one school council member said, 'We know there will always be someone who will listen to our worries.' Academic guidance is good. Thorough monitoring and tracking 4 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 2007 of progress provide the teachers with a good understanding of each pupil's needs. Pupils have a clear knowledge of what their targets in are English and how they can improve, though this is not consistently the case in mathematics. Older pupils are beginning to develop the skills of assessing their own and others' work through the

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Grade: 2

Learning to Learn project. The school works with a whole range of outside agencies to enable it to provide good support for its pupils.

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Grade: 2

There are some outstanding elements of leadership and management, which are good overall. The excellent leadership of the headteacher, ably partnered by the deputy and assistant headteachers, has provided stability, continuity and direction for the school during a period of change and a dip in performance. New staff have been supported and new subject leaders enabled to develop their roles and to take responsibility for standards in their areas. There is a strong sense of team spirit and unity amongst the staff. The shared drive for improvement, together with a systematic approach to monitoring, evaluation and support for learning, has led to the recent success in raising achievement and standards across the school, and to the outstanding personal development of pupils. However, there remains work to be done in developing a more creative curriculum for pupils and in ensuring that all pupils achieve as well as they

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Grade: 2

can in writing. School development planning and self-evaluation processes are good. They are comprehensive and forward looking, and show a clear and realistic understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses, reflected in the inspection judgements. The governors fulfil their role well, supporting the school effectively in its development and demonstrating a good insight into the way the school works. 5 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 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: St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 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? 2 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 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 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?

2 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 Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 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 Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for being so helpful and friendly when we inspected your school. We really enjoyed meeting you and talking to you. We agree with you and your parents that St Margaret's is a good school and we know that you enjoy going there very much indeed. You are doing well in your learning, because your teachers have got to know you well and know how to give you work which is right for you and gives you lots of challenge. This means that you learn new things very quickly. Your lessons are interesting, and you are lucky to have such a good range of opportunities available, like all the music and sports activities. We were impressed with your behaviour in class and in the playground, and we thought that those of you who help the school and other people, like the school council, the mediators and the people running clubs, are doing an outstanding job. The staff take excellent care of you, and those of you who need extra help are well supported, so that everyone has the chance to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

do their best. Your headteacher and her staff run the school well and know how to make it even better in future. We have agreed that the school is going to help those of you in Years 1 and 2 to do as well as you can in your writing. This will mean you learning more words and ideas to help you express your thoughts in English. We have also agreed that the school will make more links between the different subjects that you learn, so that lessons are even more exciting and enjoyable. Well done to you all and best wishes for the future. Jane Chesterfield Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School, 21 °22 February 2007

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