Bousfield Primary School

Bousfield Primary School Inspection report

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100480 Unique Reference Number Kensington and Chelsea Local Authority 307401 Inspection number 4 June 2008 Inspection date Lorna Brackstone HMI 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 424 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Elizabeth Campbell Chair Miss Connie Cooling Headteacher 7 February 2005 Date of previous school inspection South Bolton Gardens School address London SW5 0DJ 020 7373 6544 Telephone number 020 7373 8894 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 4 June 2008 Inspection date 307401 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 one of Her Majesty's Inspectors who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following:

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Introduction

■ How is the school narrowing the gender gap in Years 3 to 6 and ensuring that all groups of pupils attain as well as their peers. ■ In what ways is the school working with parents to improve attendance rates.

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Introduction

■ The school's evidence that many aspects of the school are outstanding.

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Introduction

Evidence was gained from visiting classrooms, looking at children's work and scrutinising documentation and information on pupil progress. The inspector also analysed the parent questionnaires and met with senior leaders, children, staff and governors. 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 form, were not justified and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a large over subscribed school where pupil mobility is high. Over half of the pupils use English as an additional language with 39 languages spoken. About one third of the pupils come from ethnic minority backgrounds and a small number of these are refugees or asylum seekers. The proportion of pupils who are entitled to free school meals and those with learning difficulties is above the national average. These include an above average number of pupils with statements for special educational needs. Most pupils with learning difficulties experience speech, language and communication problems. The school has won a number of prestigious awards. Each year group has two parallel classes except for the Nursery, which has one full-time class.

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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: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school, which provides an exceptional quality of education. Its success is firmly rooted in the excellent leadership and management of the headteacher, out of which stems a senior team who are of the highest quality. Together with the extremely knowledgeable governors, they ensure that all aspects of the school flourish and grow at a very fast pace. The school is outward looking and works very successfully in partnership with other schools, providers, local companies and parents. Parents' views of the school are overwhelmingly positive. Comments like the following are typical and capture the school well: 'Bousfield is an absolutely phenomenal school' and my children have 'thrived both emotionally and academically'. It provides a 'unique and wonderful environment' where 'leadership is strong, innovative and visionary'. 'The teaching staff work extremely hard and this is reflected in the progress' of the

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Grade: 1

children. Life at Bousfield is 'golden'. Most children start the Nursery and Reception classes (the Foundation Stage) with skills that are below the expected level for their age group, particularly in speaking and listening. Stimulating activities and timely adult interventions to reinforce their learning, ensures that these young children make very good progress in the Foundation Stage. The growth in their learning and the development of key skills during Years 1 and 2 is cultivated well through consistently good teaching and an interesting curriculum. By the time they are ready to start Year 3, they have attained average levels of attainment in the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Skills in the arts and humanities are above expected levels. All pupils in Years 3 to 6 continue to blossom in this engaging and stimulating environment and attain standards that are exceptionally high in English, mathematics and science. They use their basic skills

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Grade: 1

extremely well across the curriculum and achieve very high standards in history, geography, art, design technology and music. Results in 2007 indicated that boys achieved better than the girls did. However, this relates to this particular cohort and does not reflect a whole school issue. Pupils who use English as an additional language and those who find aspects of learning difficult make exceptionally good progress because the support they receive from teaching assistants is extremely effective both in class and through specialist withdrawal groups. The use of puppets and stories make learning visual and easily understood. The explicit teaching of key vocabulary ensures that the pupils understand what they need to know to progress in lessons. The inspiring curriculum links extremely well to their own community, and frequent trips out and about in London and the wider area provide excellent stimuli for learning. A request to

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Grade: 1

design and make a new pizza delivery box for a local restaurant resulted in very high standards attained in a design and making project. A whole school project on the River Thames brought history, geography, science, as well as English and mathematics, to life. Following a trip on a riverboat, Year 4 pupils organised their own ferry service, which they then attempted to sell to their peers, thus giving them an excellent insight into maintaining an economically viable company. Pupils respond extremely well to the school's strong emphasis on good behaviour, personal responsibility and staying safe and healthy. Consequently, the school is an exceptionally harmonious community where children enjoy top quality relationships and gain confidence. As one parent explained, 'there is always a pleasant buzz around the building'. They are not afraid to take risks as demonstrated by Year 6 pupils who spoke excitedly about how they 'had a go'

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Grade: 1

4 of 10 Inspection Report: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 2008 on a trapeze during a recent adventurous activity week. Pupils willingly collaborate with others, take turns, listen to each other's ideas, and learn from them. In particular, working within a 'tribe' where pupils work together to solve specific problems, has successfully developed mutual respect, teamwork, and attentive and appreciative listening. Staff are exceptionally good role models. Pupils gleefully watched whilst, in an assembly, they performed a 'rap' about friendship which had been worked on together during a recent professional development day. The pupils show consideration for others beyond the school, as evident from their involvement with performances at the local town hall and the Royal Albert Hall, their recycling initiatives and their charity events. School council representatives consult closely with their peers and

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Grade: 1

this enables pupils to have a forum to air their views and concerns. The pupils really enjoy school because they are exceptionally well looked after in an environment that is safe and caring, and as one parent pointed out, 'incredibly creative and supportive'. Their improved attendance illustrates how much they like the exciting and practical curriculum and the parents' developing understanding that family holidays in term time result in the loss of valuable learning time. Staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn best. They have very high expectations and very effective challenge results from questioning and demanding tasks. Lessons are lively and varied, often involving drama, exploration and group work. Several classes explored the theme of 'friendship' through a role-play situation. This not only enabled pupils to develop their imaginative skills but it also helped them to understand fully the implications

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Grade: 1

of excluding others from their play. The school has recently devised a way to track pupils' academic progress as they move through the school. This has already started to highlight pupils who need additional support and ensures that boys and girls achieve equally as well as each other. However, staff are clear that it needs to be further refined and consistently embedded through the whole school for maximum impact. Teachers thoroughly analyse pupils' work and use very skilfully the information they gain to plan future learning and provide the highest quality guidance and support for each pupil. Consequently, pupils are very clear about the next step in their learning. The school has an accurate understanding of its strengths and areas for development. Given its extremely successful record of accomplishment and the enthusiasm and skill of the staff and governors, there is exceptional capacity to maintain its high performance and improve still

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Grade: 1

Parents are appreciative of the warm welcome and close contact they receive before their children start school. This ensures that the children settle quickly into the daily routines, gain confidence and rapidly start learning. One parent, reflecting the view of many, explained that the children receive a 'wonderful and positive education at the beginning of their school years'. Exceptionally strong teaching and high levels of teamwork amongst staff underpin the excellent provision. In particular, there is a very good balance between activities led by adults and those children choose for themselves. Direct teaching and small group activities enable the effective teaching of key skills, and ensure a good level of interaction between adults and children. A beach created in a small tray provided a very good learning opportunity for children to practise their counting skills when they found shells in the sand. Consequently, children thrive in a calm,

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Grade: 1

supportive, yet challenging environment and achieve very well. The consistent approach to the 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 2008 teaching of letter sounds provides good support to those children who use English as an additional language.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Refine and embed the newly established pupil tracking systems through the school so that pupils who are not making the academic progress they should can be identified quickly. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 2008 .

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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. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 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? 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 2 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 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 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

17 June 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Bousfield Primary School,London,SW5 0DJ Thank you for making me so welcome at your school. I enjoyed spending time with you and finding out about Bousfield. I would like to say a special thank you to those pupils who talked to me about your school. I agree with nearly all your parents that Bousfield provides you with an excellent education. Your work is of an exceptionally high standard and your achievement throughout the school is outstanding. I was very impressed with the way that you use your literacy and numeracy skills across all subjects. The work you produced on the River Thames was of very high quality. This is because you use your very good ICT, art and design skills to make your work exciting and interesting. Your teachers are excellent and make sure that you are always engaged in your learning. It is very clear that you take a full part in the life of the school and really enjoy coming to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school. The teachers plan extremely interesting activities and, because many of them are based around the local London area, this is meaningful for you. I enjoyed hearing about the trips you go on and was very interested to hear about how you are involved in the school council and sporting events. You feel safe because the school looks after you very well and you told me there is always someone you can talk to about a problem. Your headteacher and the other adults involved in leading and managing your school do an excellent job. They make sure that you receive the best possible education. I have asked your teachers to make sure that the new system they use for tracking your academic progress is consistent and is adapted to ensure that you all make the best possible progress. Once again, thank you for your help. Keep doing your best and working with the adults in school to make sure Bousfield gets even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Lorna Brackstone Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI) 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Bousfield Primary School, 4 June 2008

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