Henry Cavendish Primary School

Henry Cavendish Primary School Inspection report

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100567 Unique Reference Number Lambeth Local Authority 323298 Inspection number 31 March 2009 Inspection date Madeleine Gerard Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 433 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Chris Laine Chair Ms Alexandra Hardy Headteacher 2 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Hydethorpe Road School address London SW12 0JA 020 8673 3376 Telephone number 020 8675 7856 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 31 March 2009 Inspection date 323298 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. 2 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the achievement of the pupils and the standards that they reach, the quality and consistency of teaching and learning, and whether all pupils know their targets and what they need to do to move up to the next level in their work. Evidence was gathered from a range of documents, pupils' progress data, school records, discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, staff and pupils, observations around the school and replies to the parents' questionnaire. Some aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified.

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Description of the school

This is a much larger-than-average primary school. Pupils come from a variety of different backgrounds with White British and Black Caribbean being the largest groups. The proportion of pupils who are learning English as an additional language is above the national average and over half of them are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is slightly above average. The majority of these pupils need help to settle in class, have speech and language difficulties or need specific support with their learning in class. The headteacher joined the school in February 2009. The school has achieved a number of nationally recognised awards.

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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: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009

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Grade: 2

Henry Cavendish is a good school. Pupils enjoy school very much and have positive attitudes to learning. Many parents confirm this. One parent commented, reflecting the views of others, 'My children are very happy and are coming on in leaps and bounds.' Pupils' behaviour is outstanding in lessons and around the school. They think carefully about those less fortunate than themselves and support many charities and projects. The very new school council is enthusiastic to make suggestions to develop the school. Older pupils help the younger ones at lunchtime and serve the salads. Peer mediators take their roles very seriously. Pupils know they can count on their assistance should any problems occur and are confident that adults will take additional action if necessary. Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and caring. Pupils make good gains in their moral, social, spiritual and cultural development. Pupils have

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Grade: 2

caring attitudes towards their local environment, as the school's Bronze Eco Award demonstrates. Although several parents commented that their children like coming to school so much they are keen to attend even when they are unwell, attendance is only satisfactory. The school has a number of appropriate strategies in place to monitor and promote regular attendance but there are too many absences. Holidays during term time in particular have a negative impact on some pupils' learning. Progress overall is good. However, achievement is uneven through the school. Children join the school with a range of skills and capabilities that are generally below those expected for their age. Their personal and social skills are stronger than their literacy and mathematical development. Children make satisfactory progress in Nursery and Reception and are close to the expected levels by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. In Years 1 and 2 pupils

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Grade: 2

make good progress and generally reach broadly average standards in assessments at the end of Year 2. In Years 3 to 6 rates of progress accelerate considerably and are outstanding. Over recent years standards in national tests have been above average. Provisional results in tests at the end of Year 6 in 2008 show standards in these assessments were above average and were exceptionally high in English. All groups of pupils, including those who need additional support with their speaking and listening, those who need help in order to settle to their work, as well as pupils with specific learning needs make similar progress through the school. Strengths in teamwork and pupils' good progress in basic skills, including computing, prepare them well for the next stage in their education. Progress is inconsistent between classes because the quality of teaching is variable across the school. In some classes, particularly in Years 3 to 6, teaching is lively and moves along at a very

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Grade: 2

good pace. In these classes work is particularly well matched to the needs of all the pupils. This means that more-able pupils are consistently set suitably challenging tasks and pupils who need extra help are well supported by additional adults and are set work that is just the right level of difficulty. In other lessons tasks are not always well matched to what pupils are expected to learn. In these classes, despite the wide range of pupils' abilities, they are often expected to do very similar work. Themed days enhance pupils' learning well. For example, during the recent activity day pupils made puppets, designed bridges and invented packaging to prevent fresh eggs from breaking. Cross-curricular links are developing well to support pupils' basic skills across a range of subjects. For example, pupils receiving targeted support in literacy were practising their spelling while exploring the work of air raid wardens in the Second World War. Singing is a highlight. Very

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Grade: 2

good opportunities for pupils to learn to swim both in the school and local swimming pools, as 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009 well as sporting equipment available at break time, promote pupils' outstanding attitudes to keeping themselves fit and healthy. Many pupils walk and cycle to school. Links with a local secondary school and specialist art teachers are used well to enhance pupils' creative opportunities. The very high-quality artwork on display and pupils' carefully presented work in their books reflects the school's success in achieving the gold Artsmark. Regular visitors to the school, including those from the local emergency services, help pupils to develop a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe. Pupils enjoy visits to local places of interest and speak enthusiastically about the residential visit to an activity centre in Years 5 and 6. The

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Grade: 2

school is rightly taking steps to increase the number of extra-curricular clubs because this is very limited. Procedures to safeguard pupils' well-being, health and safety are appropriately rigorous. The school has strong links with a wide range of outside agencies to promote pupils' personal development and support those pupils who need additional guidance. Well-managed arrangements, including small group work with highly skilled support teachers, ensure that the most vulnerable pupils, those with complex needs and all pupils who require extra help with their learning receive the support they need to make good progress. Academic guidance is good. There are good systems to enable the school to check the progress pupils are making, which are used well to identify any pupils who need additional support. Most pupils can explain their targets. Nevertheless, target-setting and marking are uneven between classes because

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Grade: 2

pupils are not always clear about what they should do in order to progress to the next level in their work. The new headteacher has successfully united staff with a shared vision for developing the school. Parents praise the school and the work of the staff. Many made a point of expressing their appreciation for some of the very recent changes the new headteacher has made. Developments include the launch of the school council, the introduction of a netball club and the creation of a food technology classroom. A new system to check how well pupils are making progress has also been established as well as opportunities for parents to discuss their children's progress. Through accurate self-evaluation, senior leaders have swiftly identified clear priorities for improvement. For example, these rightly include planned development of the indoor and outdoor areas in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The governing body are very committed

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Grade: 2

and supportive. They are keen to take an active part in helping the school to develop further. Consequently, the school's capacity to improve further is good. The school promotes community cohesion well. Pupils have a good understanding of themselves as part of the school and local community. Through a local history project pupils have enjoyed opportunities to meet former pupils of the school. Links with a school in Africa, and a newly established link with a rural school in this country, are developing pupils' understanding of those who live in communities other than their own, nationally and globally.

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Grade: 3

Children's welfare is good. As a result, they feel secure and are confident learners who enjoy their early experiences of school life. Good induction procedures and established routines help children to settle quickly when they start. Close partnerships with parents and external agencies ensure children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are identified quickly and receive appropriate support. Children's personal, social and emotional development is good. They behave well and establish warm and positive relationships with adults and other children. In some classes there is a good balance between teacher-directed activities and those that children 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009 can choose for themselves. Focused activities in these classes improve children's knowledge and understanding in all areas of learning. For example, children in Reception were exploring

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Grade: 3

the life cycle of frogs and enjoyed looking at real frogspawn. However, this is not consistently the case. In relation to their generally low starting points, children make satisfactory progress, including those who are learning English as an additional language. Some records of pupils' progress are kept, but assessment systems are not rigorous enough to ensure that children's progress is tracked thoroughly to improve progress further. The new headteacher is rightly prioritising improvements in the Early Years Foundation Stage in order to enhance the quality of the provision for the youngest children in the school. Appropriate plans are already in place to enable the Nursery and Reception classes to work closely together and to enhance the indoor and outside spaces.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Enhance the quality of leadership, learning and development, and the inside and outdoor spaces in the Early Years Foundation Stage so that all children achieve as well as they should. ■ Improve the consistency of teaching and learning so that they reflect the school's best practice in order that pupils make consistent progress across the school. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009 .

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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: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009

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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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 3 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009

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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 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 1 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

23 April 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Henry Cavendish Primary School,London,SW12 0JA Thank you very much for your very friendly welcome and for helping us when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed our day very much and were particularly pleased to hear how excited you are about your new school council. Henry Cavendish is a good school. These are the best things about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All the staff and governors are working together with your new headteacher to make the school even better. ■ You behave extremely well and we know you enjoy being at school very much because you and your parents told us this. ■ You have a very good understanding of how to keep yourselves fit and healthy.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are keen to learn and get on well with each other.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The oldest pupils make really good progress and reach above-average standards by the time they leave the school. ■ You support the school and local community well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are developing a good understanding of those who live in communities that are different to your own. ■ You enjoy the exciting activities teachers plan for you.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

To become even better, we have asked the school to make sure that all the teaching is as good as it is in the very best lessons. You can help by continuing to work hard and by coming to school everyday. We have also asked the school to ensure that the youngest children get off to the best possible start in Nursery and Reception. Finally, we would like to thank you once again for your help and wish you well for the future. Yours faithfully Madeleine Gerard Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Cavendish Primary School, 31 March 2009

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