St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School

St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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100349 Unique Reference Number Hammersmith and Fulham Local Authority 307368 Inspection number 17 °18 March 2008 Inspection dates Madeleine Gerard 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 Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 231 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Nicholas Edgar Chair Mrs Pauline Morozgalska Headteacher 3 February 2003 Date of previous school inspection Filmer Road School address London SW6 6AS 020 7731 5454 Telephone number 020 7731 5599 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 17 °18 March 2008 Inspection dates 307368 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is an average-size primary school with a Nursery. About half the pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The other half are from White British backgrounds. A very small minority of pupils are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. There are relatively few pupils with statements of special educational needs, but the number with learning difficulties or disabilities is slightly above average. The school has Healthy School status, the Silver Eco School Award, the Silver Arts Mark, the Active Mark for PE and the Football Association (FA) Charter Mark. In 2007 the school was also named FA Charter Standard School of the Year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008

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Grade: 2

St John's Walham Green is a good primary school. The headteacher and deputy make a strong team who initiate and drive improvement with a clear vision for the school which is shared by staff and governors. Pupils enjoy coming to school and their personal development is good. Links with the local church, as well as opportunities to take on responsibility in school, help pupils develop good social skills and grow in confidence. They have an excellent understanding of how to lead healthy lives and their success in interschool sporting competitions reflects pupils' commitment to keeping fit and healthy. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Attendance has improved as a result of the school's strategies to promote good punctuality and regular attendance, but is still below average. Relationships between pupils and adults are good. Children join the Foundation Stage with a wide range of skills which varies year-on-year but

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Grade: 2

many start at below the expected level. As a result of good leadership and a new and successful emphasis on teaching phonics, more children than in previous years are currently on track to exceed the goals expected of them when they enter Year 1. The school has acted successfully to address underachievement in Key Stage 1. Pupils' progress is being monitored more closely and regularly and there is additional support for those falling behind. Standards by the end of Year 6 are broadly average and are rising to meet suitably challenging targets. While standards in mathematics have been above average over recent years, standards in English have fluctuated. They were above average in 2006 and broadly average in 2007. The school has identified writing as a weaker aspect of pupils' literacy throughout the school and taken steps to improve provision. New approaches to the way writing is taught in all classes as well as links between literacy and

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Grade: 2

other subjects are bringing about improvements. For example, pupils in a Year 4 history lesson were practising time phrases through writing instructions for making Tudor pies. Nevertheless, opportunities for pupils to practise their literacy skills across a range of subjects are sometimes missed. This is partly because subject leaders are not yet systematically involved in checking provision. The curriculum is good. Highlights include opportunities for all pupils to learn modern languages as well as the provision for physical education, art and music. Pupils speak enthusiastically about residential visits. In Years 3 to 6 mathematics is taught in mixed-age classes which contributes further to pupils' good progress and above average standards by the end of Year 6. Teaching and learning are good because tasks are well selected to match pupils' learning needs. Teachers make clear to pupils what they will be learning in the lessons and pupils enjoy the

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Grade: 2

varied and interesting tasks they are given. Marking does not make consistently clear what pupils should do next to improve their work. Information gathered from new systems to check how well pupils are making progress is used well to plan the next steps in pupils' learning and older pupils know their individual targets. However, opportunities for pupils to assess for themselves how well they are making progress are inconsistent.

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Grade: 2

Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage. Personal development is prioritised and as a result children soon settle into routines and build positive relationships in the Foundation 4 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008 Stage. One parent of a child in the Nursery said, 'Staff have helped make my child's first year in school a happy and fun one'. Adult-led tasks are well balanced with free choice activities although opportunities are sometimes missed to develop children's learning during independent play. Learning in the outdoor area is restricted when the weather is wet as there is limited protection. Regular communication with parents and carers keeps them informed about their children's development and includes guidance on how to support their learning at home.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ increase the role of subject managers in monitoring provision, particularly opportunities for all pupils to develop and apply their literacy skills across the curriculum ■ ensure marking consistently makes clear to pupils what they need to do in order to move up to the next level in their work and involve all pupils in regularly assessing how well they are making progress.

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Grade: 2

Standards are broadly average. Pupils make good progress from their starting points. Standards by the end of Year 2 have been broadly average for the last two years, an improvement following a dip in 2004 when standards were below average. The current standards represent good progress. In previous years pupils in Years 3 to 6 have made good progress to reach average standards by the end of Year 6. School data and pupils' current work shows that more pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 are on track to reach above the expected levels for their age, particularly in reading and mathematics. Pupils who struggle with literacy and numeracy as well as pupils who sometimes find it difficult to behave as well as they should in class are very well supported and make good progress to reach above average standards compared with their peers. Pupils who are learning English as an additional language are well supported and as a result they make good progress and do as

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Grade: 2

well pupils at an early stage of learning English nationally. Pupils from minority ethnic groups do well and reach above average standards.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are enthusiastic to contribute to the smooth running of the school. For example, they keep the pond area tidy and litter free, help in the fruit tuck shop, serve salads in the dining area and organise games and activities at lunchtime. School councillors recently took part in the selection of the deputy headteacher. Pupils play and work well together and they are confident that adults sort out any problems when they occur. Pupils learn about many other cultures through festivals, music, dance, art and regular visits to places of worship. The Christian ethos permeates all the school's work and helps pupils to think about spirituality. Their moral, social and cultural development are good. They take a lead in raising funds for charities. Pupils are proud of improvements the school has made to the playground as a result of their suggestions. Good progress in basic skills including computing and teamwork prepare pupils

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Grade: 2

well for their future economic well-being. A few pupils have too many absences which means they do not learn as well as they should. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008

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Grade: 2

Pupils respond positively to teachers' high expectations of work and behaviour so that teaching and learning are good. Pupils enjoy their lessons and generally concentrate well on the interesting tasks that teachers give them to do. One pupil commented, 'We have fun lessons such as Kung Fu punctuation, teachers are welcoming and help us to learn new things'. Pupils enjoy opportunities to talk about their learning in pairs which helps them to develop good social skills. More able pupils are regularly set challenging tasks to develop their thinking skills. Additional adults are deployed well and give supportive and encouraging extra help to pupils who need it. There is some inconsistency between classes and subjects in the use teachers make of marking to ensure all pupils know how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The new information and communication technology (ICT) facilities are enabling pupils to develop their computing skills in a variety of different subjects and raise standards. Pupils enjoy the interesting work they are given in topic lessons, but there are some missed opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their literacy skills across a range of subjects. There are a wide variety of popular extra-curricular activities including singing, recorders and French. Sports and team games including tag rugby, skittle ball and football develop personal skills such as teamwork and co-operation well.

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Grade: 2

Pastoral care and academic guidance are good. The school works well with outside agencies to care for vulnerable pupils and those with complex learning needs so that they make good progress. There are good systems to assess and track pupils' progress and the data gathered is used effectively to plan specific support for pupils who are not doing as well as they should. Pupils generally know their individual targets. However, opportunities for pupils to be involved in assessing for themselves how well they are doing are less well developed.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. Good self assessment has identified priorities for development and lead to the introduction of new initiatives to bring about improvements in writing although some of these have been put in place very recently Monitoring is taking place although subject leaders are not involved in systematically checking the quality of provision in order to bring about further improvements and raise standards. Strengths in securing funding have enabled the school to successfully enhance the playground as well as the computing facilities. Most recently, finance has been secured to build an on-site kitchen in order to improve the provision for healthy meals further. Governors are committed, strongly supportive and developing their role as critical friend to the school. The issues from the last inspection have been well tackled showing the school has a good capacity to make the necessary improvements.

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Grade: 2

6 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008

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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? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

02 April 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School,London,SW6 6AS Thank you for helping us and making us feel welcome when we inspected your school recently. We enjoyed our visit and would like to tell you what we found. St John's Walham Green is a good primary school and these are its strengths:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you like coming to school and you make good progress

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you have an excellent knowledge of how to stay fit and healthy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ teachers work hard to plan tasks which challenge you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ those of you who find learning more difficult are well supported

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ staff are working together to make the school better and are very successful in securing funding to make improvements to the playground and the building. We have asked the school to make a few improvements to make the school better:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ we have asked that the school gives you more opportunities to practise your writing

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ we have also asked the school to help you to check for yourselves how well you are making progress and for your work to be marked carefully so that you know how to do even better. Thank you again for being so helpful and friendly when we came to see you. Best wishes for the future, Madeleine Gerard Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary School, 17 °18 March 2008

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