Allfarthing Primary School

Allfarthing Primary School Inspection report

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100996 Unique Reference Number Wandsworth Local Authority 307554 Inspection number 27 June 2008 Inspection date Sue Rogers 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 422 School The governing body Appropriate authority Dr N Rae Chair Mrs V Bradbury Headteacher 27 September 2004 Date of previous school inspection St Ann's Crescent School address Wandsworth London SW18 2LR 020 8874 1301 Telephone number 020 8870 2128 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 27 June 2008 Inspection date 307554 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. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following areas:

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Introduction

■ the quality of teaching and learning, and improvements since the last inspection

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Introduction

■ the impact of improvement work done by leaders, especially in English and mathematics

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Introduction

■ the quality of pupils' personal development and the school's provision for their care, guidance and support. The inspector gathered evidence from lesson observations, examination of pupils' work and school documents, parents' responses to questionnaires and discussions with pupils, governors and staff. 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 this report.

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Description of the school

Allfarthing is a larger than average sized school. The number of pupils of minority ethnic background is higher than is usual, but the proportion of pupils who are new to English is in line with national averages. At around a third the number of pupils who require extra support with their lessons is greater than that for most other schools. The school has achieved the Sports Active mark, the Healthy Schools award, the Basic Skills Quality mark and the Investors in People chartermark. It has held beacon status for seven years and is part of a network of eight other Wandsworth schools. 'They are also part of a school centred initial teacher training consortium.

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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: Allfarthing Primary School, 27 June 2008

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Grade: 1

Allfarthing is an outstanding school where pupils make excellent progress in their lessons and in their personal development. The pupils thoroughly enjoy their classes, explaining that their teachers are caring and make learning fun. The parents have total confidence in the leadership and management of the school and are extremely pleased with the school's performance. This is exemplified by comments such as, 'It is a privilege to be a parent at the school' and 'The school is fantastic'. Children enter the Foundation Stage with a very wide-ranging profile of skills and knowledge. A significant number are new to English or have poor language skills. Consequently, children's average abilities on entry are weaker than would normally be expected. They make consistently excellent progress to reach standards that are above average in all their subjects by the time they leave Year 6. Test results have fluctuated a little over recent years, due to the high

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Grade: 1

proportion of pupils who struggle with English. However, pupils' progress has continued to improve because of the continuing focus by school leaders. Teaching is excellent. As a result, standards are rising as pupils move through the school. Teachers use school assessment information very well to ensure that work is properly matched to pupils' abilities and that expectations are high. Pupils who need extra help with their language also make exceptionally good progress, because of well-managed support from additional staff. The teaching is outstanding because teachers have good knowledge and have developed an excellent, lively, curriculum. The many visits made, clubs and visitors to school are fully appreciated by the pupils. For instance, learners were enthusing about drama performances that taught them history, such as 'the Terrible Tudors' and the Year 6 activity based trip to Dorset. Outings like this, canoeing and sailing and the range of sports clubs contribute to

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Grade: 1

excellent standards in health education. Pupils also value the time that teachers spend in explaining work and setting targets for their improvement. There is a good system, using 'post -its', that helps teachers remind the children about their targets. There are also pockets of excellent marking, but this good practice is not entirely consistent across the school. At times, therefore, not all pupils are clear enough about what they need to do to improve. Perhaps most importantly, the school lies at the heart of the local community. Leaders work extremely hard to ensure that each child achieves their best and that every family is involved in school activities. Pupils learn to make an excellent contribution to the community themselves through a wide variety of methods. These involve charity work, citizenship training and mounting an annual art exhibition. They also learn to find a voice through the work of the school council.

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Grade: 1

The council are proud of their achievements that include welcome improvements to school meals. The take up of meals is now oversubscribed. Relationships are very strong, pupils are exceptionally well cared for and attendance is above average. Pupils' behaviour is excellent. Learners say that they feel very safe and there is little bullying. There is plenty to do in the attractive playground. A 'buddy system' aids transition from one key stage to the next and ensures that pupils play harmoniously together. The curriculum is designed to promote the global community in a multiplicity of ways. There is, for example, a strong link with a school in rural Ghana. As a result, pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Pupils' outstanding progress in all subjects and their excellent social skills ensure that they are well prepared for the next stages in their education. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Allfarthing Primary School, 27 June 2008

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Grade: 1

The headteachers' leadership is exceptional. She works very well with her knowledgeable deputy head and has built a very strong management team. These leaders have an excellent understanding of the schools strengths and weaknesses. The governing body are also excellent in their knowledge of the school and in their ability to challenge and support. Consequently, improvement since the last inspection has been very good. Teaching has continued to improve, because of rigorous monitoring and pupils' progress is now excellent. This demonstrates that the school has an outstanding capacity to improve further.

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Grade: 1

Parents are full of praise for the Foundation Stage teaching because children get off to an exceptionally good start. They make excellent progress due to very well planned exciting activities that keep them engaged. For example, just a sample of the activities on offer involved children developing their speaking and their motor skills through using decorated foam to model, playing with fish in bubbly water and dressing up as firemen. Children are making especially good progress in reading because the teachers are using an effective scheme to teach letter sounds. By the time children enter Year 1 they are working at standards that are in line with national expectations in most subjects and are above average in their language and social skills. However, children working independently are not always given enough information about what they might learn. They therefore make slightly slower progress than they do when working

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Grade: 1

with adults. The Foundation Stage manager is outstanding. She is a very good role model, teaching energetically and well and making optimum use of every minute.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that pupils are always absolutely clear about what they need to do to improve in their work. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Allfarthing Primary School, 27 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. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Allfarthing Primary School, 27 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? 2 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Allfarthing Primary School, 27 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Allfarthing Primary School, 27 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

08 July 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Allfarthing Primary School,London,SW18 2LR Thank you very much for helping me when I visited your school. I enjoyed talking to you and seeing you learning. Special thanks to the School Council for finding time in their lunch hour to meet me. I was very pleased to hear how much you enjoy school. I agree with you and your parents. Allfarthing is an outstanding school. You all make excellent progress in your lessons and in your personal development. This is because you all get on together and the staff look after you so well. The headteacher and teachers work very hard and the teaching is excellent. You were keen to tell me how much fun you have in lessons and your school plans an excellent range of clubs and visits for you. You learn a great deal about health and many of your activities, such as canoeing, help you to get fit. You also understand how to keep yourselves safe. Your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school council has done a good job in improving school meals. You all do especially well in learning about other countries and faiths. Most aspects of your school are already very good. However, I have asked your teachers to make sure that they mark your books really well all the time so that you know exactly what you need to do to improve. Yours sincerely, Sue Rogers Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Allfarthing Primary School, 27 June 2008

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