Beatrix Potter Primary School

Beatrix Potter Primary School Inspection report

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100997 Unique Reference Number Wandsworth Local Authority 307555 Inspection number 13 May 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 251 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr A Britt Chair Mr S Neale Headteacher 22 November 2004 Date of previous school inspection Magdalen Road School address Earlsfield London SW18 3ER 020 8874 1482 Telephone number 020 8871 9416 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 13 May 2008 Inspection date 307555 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, mathematics and science; ■ the quality of pupils' personal development and the school's provision for their care, guidance and support. She 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

Beatrix Potter is an average sized school. The proportions of pupils who require extra support with their lessons are similar to those found in most other schools. The percentage of pupils of minority ethnic background is higher than is usual. The proportion for pupils who take free school meals is low. The school holds the Sportsmark.

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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: Beatrix Potter Primary School, 13 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Beatrix Potter provides a good education for its pupils. As a result, they make good progress and attain above average results in tests by the time they leave Year 6. Their achievements in personal development are outstanding. The headteacher and staff are well thought of by parents, the vast majority of whom are extremely pleased with the school. When commenting, parents typically wrote, 'a fantastic school' or 'nothing but good things to say'. Children's skills and knowledge when they enter the school vary from year to year as numbers are small, but their abilities are always at least in line with national expectations. In some year groups they are above average. Consequently, pupils' results vary a little in Year 6 tests in English, mathematics and science. However, they are always above average. Pupils make good progress because they have good teaching underpinned by a very exciting and interesting

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Grade: 2

curriculum. There is an excellent range of activities planned to enhance learning, such as visits to Arran and to an outdoor centre in Wales. A themed approach adds to pupils understanding and enjoyment and good use is made of information communications technology (ICT). Pupils develop their language skills by writing blogs and making podcasts, for example. Parents and pupils appreciate the community feel of the school. Pupils make remarks such as 'it's lovely because I know everyone and they know me'. As result, staff know individual pupils very well. They are very good at managing behaviour and developing speaking and collaboration skills. Teachers make good use of assessment information to ensure that challenging targets are set. On occasion, however, teachers' day-to-day assessments are not robust enough and, as a result, more able pupils sometimes begin their work at levels that are too easy for them.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are extremely well cared for and say that they feel very safe. All required safeguarding procedures are in place. Pupils who need extra help with literacy or numeracy are identified quickly and are well supported by additional staff. Extra support from outside agencies is sought rapidly when necessary. Teachers are still developing their procedures for academic guidance. All pupils have long-term targets that they understand. However, teachers' marking does not consistently give clear specific next steps for improvement. The school has excellent international links, for instance it works with a school in Louisiana. It also develops these links to include charity work, such as supporting a tsunami-devastated school in Sri Lanka. Excellent multicultural and cultural work and excellent relationships contribute to outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Pupil's behaviour is

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Grade: 2

excellent and attendance is good. This is because pupils enjoy school so much. As one parent wrote, 'he runs all the way in his eagerness'. Pupils' charity work, interest in the environment and the good work of the school council help to show that the pupils make an excellent contribution to the community. Their good basic skills mean that they are well prepared for the next stages of their education. Pupils continue to make consistently good progress because of leaders' detailed knowledge of each class and individual. Senior leaders monitor progress closely and make swift interventions as necessary. Subject leaders know the strengths and weaknesses of their subjects. Results in writing have been relatively weaker than those in other subjects and the school has taken effective steps to improve pupils' composition skills. Improvement is not always entirely efficient, as leaders do not always analyse the assessment information that they have in enough detail

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Grade: 2

to identify whole school trends. Nevertheless, there has been good improvement since the last inspection, most notably in ICT, in the use of pupil assessment tracking systems and in pupils' 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Beatrix Potter Primary School, 13 May 2008 punctuality. The governing body have improved too, in their ability to support change. They now provide excellent monitoring and challenge and are becoming very influential in driving the school forward. The school consequently has a good capacity to improve still further.

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Grade: 2

Children get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage. Carefully kept assessment records show that they make good progress. Activities are designed to motivate the children and ensure that they settle well into school. For example, on the day of the inspection children were out on a day trip intended to expand their knowledge and understanding of the world by studying farm animals. The Foundation Stage leader has plans to reorganise the Reception and Nursery areas as part of ongoing building development at the school. She also, rightly, aims to review planning. At times current planning does not give enough detail about learning objectives. As a result, children are not clear enough about what they might learn. There is good liaison with parents.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that teachers always plan to meet the needs of more able pupils.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve marking so that it is consistent in making sure that pupils understand the next steps in their learning. ■ Analyse assessment information rigorously, to identify whole school strengths and weaknesses. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Beatrix Potter Primary School, 13 May 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: Beatrix Potter Primary School, 13 May 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? 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 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?

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 of 9 Inspection Report: Beatrix Potter Primary School, 13 May 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Beatrix Potter Primary School, 13 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

21 May 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Beatrix Potter Primary School,London,SW18 3ER Thank you very much for making me so welcome when I visited your school. I enjoyed watching you learn and talking to groups of you to find out what you thought about your school. You and your parents told me that you think yours is a good school and I agree with you. You make good progress and do well in your tests because the teaching is good. You do exceptionally well in your personal development. Everyone in the school gets on together and you are very well looked after. You, in your turn, learn a lot about how to look after others. You also learn a great deal about other countries, as well as playing your part in helping others abroad. I was very pleased to see that you are so polite and behave so well and so considerately. It was also good to hear how much you enjoy school, especially the many visits and activities that are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

organised for you, to help you with your learning. Although your school is a good school, a few areas could still be improved. I have asked your teachers to do the following things:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ make sure that work is always set at the right level of difficulty for all of you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ improve marking so that it always tells you what you need to do next to improve

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ analyse test results to tell them if there are whole school patterns in strengths and weaknesses.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Sue Rogers Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Beatrix Potter Primary School, 13 May 2008

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