Lovelace Primary School

Inspection Report Lovelace Primary School

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102583 Unique Reference Number Kingston Upon Thames Local Authority 286432 Inspection number 5 °6 October 2006 Inspection dates Margaret Coussins 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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Mansfield Road School address Primary Type of school Hook Community School category Chessington KT9 2RN 3 °11 Age range of pupils 020 8397 3265 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8397 0284 Fax number 426 Number on roll (school) Mr Steve Narramore Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Tim Rome Headteacher 25 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 286432 5 °6 October 2006 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

Lovelace is a larger than average primary school located in an area of Kingston with a high density of social housing and high levels of social disadvantage. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and those with learning difficulties or disabilities is below average. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average and fifteen pupils are at the early stages of learning English. Thirteen pupils are from Traveller families.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Lovelace Primary is a good school where children are very happy and are cared for well. Each individual child is at the heart of the school's work and fully included in its daily life. As a result, the pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school and, like the children, are proud to be part of the school community. As one parent commented, '...home life is now happy and a lot less stressful because the school ethos has given him the confidence to achieve well.' The strong inclusive ethos and the drive to help children be independent and responsible promotes good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development ensuring pupils become confident and happy learners. The school is a safe, attractive and welcoming place where behaviour is outstanding and children understand the need to be healthy and safe. Children get a good start to their education. They begin school with average skills and

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Grade: 2

make good progress in the Foundation Stage because of good teaching and a well-managed curriculum. Throughout the school, pupils are enthusiastic and interested in all they do as good teaching and an interesting curriculum make learning fun and their enjoyment at school is infectious. A wide range of activities, for example, the `Eco club', enriches the curriculum. Pupils make good progress and reach above average standards by the time they leave school, which prepares them well for the next stage of their education. Pupils' achievement is therefore good. The good level of support given to pupils who are new to learning English and those with learning difficulties and disabilities ensures they make good progress. Effective intervention and support is given to pupils and their families to ensure that all pupils have the same opportunities, whatever their backgrounds or particular learning needs. Teachers'

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Grade: 2

knowledge of pupils' level of attainment is accurate in Years 1 and 2 but there are some inconsistencies in Years 3 to 6 where staffare inexperienced. Older pupils, particularly, are not always clear about how well they are doing or what they need to do to improve. Leadership and management are good. Central to the school's success is the headteacher's very clear view of strengths and weaknesses because of rigorous procedures to find out what the school is doing well and where improvement is needed. He ensures that effective action is taken to deal with any weaknesses. For example, effective steps were taken to raise standards in English resulting in substantial improvement in performance. A clear structure for leadership has been established and resulted in good teamwork and training opportunities for all staff leading to consistently good teaching across the school. Above average standards seen during

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Grade: 2

the inspection show that successful strategies are in place to tackle previously identified areas of weakness in writing and mathematics. The headteacher gives clear direction for the school's work and the issues from the last inspection have been tackled well. The capacity to improve further is therefore good. 2 Inspection Report: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that teachers make accurate judgements of pupils' levels of attainment in Years 3 to 6. • Make better use of assessment information to sharpen pupils' knowledge of how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

Standards are above average by the time pupils leave the school and achievement is good. Children enter the Foundation Stage with average attainment and make good progress. The most recent Year 6 English and mathematics national test results were below average, despite pupils' good achievement, after being above average in previous years. This was in part due to some unsatisfactory teaching which has since been eradicated by good leadership and management strategies, but mainly because of the higher than usual level of pupils in the year group who had learning difficulties or disabilities. Subsequently, weaknesses in pupils' writing and in number work were identified quickly and are being addressed successfully. Currently, Year 6 pupils are achieving well and are set to meet their challenging targets in English and mathematics. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, pupils from Traveller families and those

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Grade: 2

learning English as an additional language make good progress because they are given work that matches their needs and have good additional support from teaching assistants. These groups achieve well, often making huge gains from their starting points. This is because of the outstanding attention given to each individual pupil.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Positive attitudes and an enthusiasm for learning are present throughout the school. Pupils really enjoy all aspects of school life as shown by their good attendance. As one child said, 'teachers are nice, they praise you and it's fun to be here.' Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils demonstrate the school's values by respecting others, developing personal responsibility and independence and celebrating the various cultures in school and the wider world. Pupils enthusiastically take on responsibilities within the school community and their involvement in the Eco Club and in creating and maintaining their Jubilee Garden are excellent examples of their care and concern for their school environment. The school council represents the children very well and strongly feel that its voice is heard. Pupils' views on fair play help to maintain the

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Grade: 1

outstanding behaviour. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe and healthy as demonstrated by the safe practices and healthy attitudes they adopt. Pupils' good levels of basic skills and their increasing self-confidence prepare them well for later life. 3 Inspection Report: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Teaching is consistently good across the school. Pupils make good progress in their lessons which are well planned and interesting. Teachers use a good range of teaching approaches, including asking questions which encourage pupils to think for themselves. They have high expectations of their pupils who respond positively and with enjoyment to the challenges they are set. Relationships between adults and pupils are very good and teaching assistants provide effective support, particularly for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Their work is well matched to their needs and their achievement is as good as that of the other pupils. Pupils' excellent behaviour helps them learn well. Assessments are undertaken frequently and teachers use the information to plan work which meets the needs of different groups.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. In the Foundation Stage, it is well planned and there is a balance between opportunities for children to choose their own activities and activities guided by the staff. Throughout the school there is a strong emphasis on literacy, numeracy and personal development. The school's current review of the curriculum is to develop further links between subjects. Information and communication technology is used well by teachers and pupils to support many areas of the curriculum. The curriculum is enriched with themed weeks, opportunities to learn French and Spanish, trips, residential visits and visitors to the school. A wide variety of well-attended clubs meets a range of interests and needs, although currently these are largely in place for older pupils. A particular strength is in the good links between the school and other countries through which pupils have opportunities to learn about other cultures and

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Grade: 2

correspond with children in a pen-pal scheme. They take part enthusiastically in local music and dance festivals and maintain links with the local Sports College.

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Grade: 2

The school provides very good levels of care and support for its pupils. Child protection and health and safety systems are robust. Staff know the pupils well and relationships are good including links with outside agencies and parents. The supervision of the pupils at lunch and play times is outstanding because the wide range of activities provided regularly engage the pupils in healthy exercise and team building skills which makes an important contribution to pupils' outstanding personal development. Good guidance, such as writing targets, help pupils focus on what they need to do while they are writing. However, other aspects of academic guidance are less effective because levels of attainment are not always securely understood by the pupils or 4 Inspection Report: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006 teachers. This means that some pupils do not always have a clear idea of how well they are doing or what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher's belief that everyone in the school community matters is a strong motivation for his enthusiastic, hardworking staff. The headteacher and deputy make a strong team who initiate and drive improvement. The ethos of inclusion is subscribed to by all to ensure that all pupils have the same opportunities, whatever their backgrounds or particular learning needs. The school has an accurate view of its strengths and priorities based on comprehensive systems of monitoring, evaluation and review involving staff, governors, parents and pupils. The school viewed itself modestly in judging pupils' personal development and well-being because they are always striving to do better and know they can. Staff, resources and the school building itself are managed and organised extremely well and all strategic decision-making has a very positive impact on pupils' academic and

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Grade: 2

personal development. As a result of good leadership and management, pupils who start school with average attainment achieve well in their work and make outstanding gains in their personal development. Governors are supportive and challenging as they hold the school to account well for its performance. 5 Inspection Report: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006 .

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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: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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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?

2 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 2 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: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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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: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I am writing to let you know how much we enjoyed our visit to your school. Thank you all for making us so welcome and for talking to us about your work and telling us what you like about your school. We were lucky enough to be in school for your Harvest Festival and were very impressed with your singing. We found out that Lovelace is a good school. • We know you are very happy at school and really enjoy being there because you and your parents told us this. • Your behaviour is excellent and this helps you learn well. • Teachers make sure you learn exciting and interesting things in lessons and all the other activities and clubs that go on in the school. • You do well in your work even though some of you find learning quite difficult. • Your school is a friendly, safe place to be, everyone in the school takes good care of you which helps you feel confident and you know how important it is to be healthy.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Your headteacher and all the staff do a good job and make sure that everyone has a chance to succeed We know that everyone in the school works hard to make things even better. We have asked them to make sure assessments of your work are accurate and to help you understand more clearly what you can do to improve your work. You can help by listening carefully to your teachers and when you know what to do, making sure you do the best you can. Yours sincerely, Margaret Coussins Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Lovelace Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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