David Livingstone Primary School

David Livingstone Primary School Inspection report

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101716 Unique Reference Number Croydon Local Authority 323510 Inspection number 1–2 December 2008 Inspection dates Sue Vale 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 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 199 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 Mr Graham Cluer Chair Mrs Sheryl Kent Headteacher 28 September 2007 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Northwood Road School address Thornton Heath CR7 8HX 020 8653 4240 Telephone number 020 8768 0295 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 1–2 December 2008 Inspection dates 323510 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 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

David Livingstone is a smaller-than-average, one-form entry school. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above average. Nearly three quarters of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups, with the majority from Black Caribbean families, a much higher proportion than in most schools. A higher-than-average percentage of pupils join the school throughout the school year. Around 15% are new to learning English, and around a quarter are identified with moderate learning difficulties and/or need extra support for their emotional and behavioural development. The school has been awarded the Silver Artsmark and Healthy Schools status. The current headteacher was appointed in September 2007. The previous inspection in September 2007 judged the school to have significant areas for improvement and the school was given a notice to improve. The last monitoring letter in May 2008 shows that

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Description of the school

good progress has been made in all these areas. There are 29 children currently in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). There is a privately run breakfast and after school club.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008

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Grade: 3

David Livingstone Primary School lives up to its motto, 'be kind and true', and provides a satisfactory and improving education for its pupils. The headteacher, senior leaders and staff are keen to do the best for the children. All safeguarding issues have now been met and consequently in accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement. A number of parents and pupils have commented on the improvements made in the school during the last year. As one mother wrote, 'I have seen positive changes in the school recently and feel that overall it is improving standards, and generally meeting the needs of children.' The inspectors agree with this. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils say that behaviour is improving and it is satisfactory. Pupils are responding well to the rewards and sanctions to

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Grade: 3

encourage better behaviour. Pupils do especially well in gaining an understanding of how to be healthy and they know who to go to if they have a problem. In the last year standards have improved, so that by the end of Year 6 standards are above average in English and science but are below average in mathematics. Too many worksheets in mathematics lessons do not allow pupils to make sufficient use of their mathematical knowledge in practical or investigative activities. From pupils' varied starting points they make satisfactory progress overall during their time in the school, but it is better in some year groups than others. At the moment the quality of teaching and learning varies, but is satisfactory overall. In some lessons and classes teaching and learning are good and on occasions outstanding, but there is not enough of this. On occasions teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve is too low

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Grade: 3

and unvaried activities go on for too long, so that pupils become restless and their attention wanes. The curriculum is satisfactory, but there is a lack of opportunity for pupils to investigate problem-solving in mathematics. Leadership and management are satisfactory and rightly focused on raising standards. Governors are much more aware of their statutory duty in regard to safeguarding and this is now good. Clear leadership has resulted in an important improvement in the way that leaders track and check pupils' progress; this is helping standards and achievement to rise, particularly in English and science. The school has a sound capacity to improve.

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Grade: 3

Children start in the Reception class with skills which are lower than those expected for children of their age, particularly in writing and language development. Teachers are adept at supporting the children in developing their spoken language and in helping them to explain their emotions and feelings. The 'how are you feeling' boxes are an excellent way of supporting children in learning how to express themselves fluently. The Reception class uses both the inside and outside learning space and resources well. Children actively explore things for themselves, which helps them to develop their social and physical skills well. Adults make suitable links between different areas of learning. There is a good range of creative activities on offer which children particularly enjoy. Children develop their basic counting skills in a suitable way, although there is room for further challenge when doing simple counting activities. The teaching of

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Grade: 3

4 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008 letters and sounds (phonics) helps children appropriately with their reading. There are adequate opportunities for children to foster their writing development, and role play is actively encouraged. Good observations are made of what children know, understand and can do, and these are used to plan the next steps in children's' learning, although more formal assessment opportunities, to show individual children's progress, are still in the early stages of development.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that, in all lessons, pupils are given varied activities that keep them interested and engaged in order to raise all teaching to the level of the best. ■ Raise standards in mathematics by giving pupils more opportunities for problem-solving and practical activities in order to develop and apply their mathematics skills and knowledge. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

From their below-average starting points when they join Year 1, pupils go on to reach standards by the end of Year 6 that are broadly average. Pupils' overall achievement, however, is satisfactory because of variabilities in the rates of progress between different year groups and subjects. They do notably better in English, particularly writing, and science than in mathematics, and they progress at a faster rate in Years 4 to 6 than in Years 1 to 3. This means that standards in the Year 2 assessments are low. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make similar progress to their peers, as do those learning English as an additional language. The many pupils who join the school part-way through their primary education also make satisfactory progress. It is pupils with poor attendance who make least progress, because they lose out on opportunities to build on what they have learnt before. The progress that pupils make in their

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Grade: 3

key literacy and numeracy skills prepares pupils satisfactorily for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 3

Pupils get on well with each other in what they describe as a 'friendly school'. They feel safe at school because they are confident that if friends fall out, problems are quickly sorted out. They point to the 'reflection time' that is helping to improve behaviour by making pupils think more about the consequences of their actions. In some lessons pupils behave well, but they are sometimes slow to settle and not everyone gets on with their work without fuss unless they are closely managed. Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to take responsibility, particularly as school councillors, where they have played a part in making this a healthy school. They are proud of having helped to establish the lunchtime salad bar. Pupils do not always, however, take such pride in the presentation of their work. In some classes much of the work is untidy. Attendance is below average, despite the school's strong efforts to discourage avoidable

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Grade: 3

absence. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008

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Grade: 3

Pupils make faster progress in Years 4 to 6 because teachers in these classes have high expectations, both of behaviour and of what their pupils can do. The most effective lessons move forward at a brisk pace, with varied activities that keep the pupils on their toes - literally so in the case of 'karate punctuation' in Year 5, where pupils represent each punctuation mark by punching the air and making appropriate kung fu sounds. There is a strong emphasis in some classes on making pupils think carefully about how to improve their work, particularly in English. Pupils are encouraged, for example, to extend their vocabulary and write more adventurously. Where progress is slower, staff do not always expect enough of their pupils. Explanations and some unvaried activities go on for too long, so that pupils become restless and their attention wanes. In these lessons some pupils can be slow to settle to individual work

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Grade: 3

and so they do not make the progress they should. This is more evident in numeracy lessons. Well-focused support in lessons from teaching assistants helps those pupils who need extra help with their learning to make similar progress to the others in their class.

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Grade: 3

The school has improved the curriculum for reading and writing and this is one of the reasons why pupils are achieving better standards in these areas. Senior leaders recognise that there is room for more investigation work in mathematics as a way of improving achievement. In the last year they have reviewed the curriculum and adapted it to support the raising of attainment in mathematics; for example, Year 3 are invited in before school starts in order to have booster lessons to help improve their understanding of mathematics. However, there is still more to do to improve the numeracy curriculum still further. While concentrating on raising standards, the school has not lost sight of the creative side of the curriculum and pupils particularly enjoy their art and sports activities. There are opportunities to study French, and the school supports visits to places of interest. Sports and health are promoted especially well and help pupils to

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Grade: 3

be fit and understand the importance of commitment and teamwork.

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Grade: 3

Welfare arrangements are good, and safeguarding procedures now fully meet requirements. The school has responded well to this issue from the last inspection. Good systems to promote improved attendance and punctuality have been slowly raising attendance levels, drawing on appropriate support from the local authority. School leaders have put in place more regular and more rigorous tracking of individual pupils' progress and this information is being used well to organise extra help for pupils identified as falling behind. It is the academic guidance to pupils that is not as strong as it could be. Although some marking, particularly of writing, gives pupils helpful advice on how to move their work on, much of the marking merely acknowledges that the work has been done. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008

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Grade: 3

The headteacher provides caring leadership and works well with the recently appointed deputy headteacher in moving the school forward. As one parent commented, 'Since the arrival of the current headteacher, things have improved within David Livingstone School.' Together with the newly formed senior leadership team they are accurately developing their skills in evaluating the work of the school. In the last year leaders have introduced a more robust way of checking pupils' progress. More frequent discussions about pupils' progress and half-termly assessments have helped standards in English and science to rise by the end of Year 6. Leaders recognise that there is still more to do to raise standards in mathematics. Target setting has improved in the last year and targets are now realistic and suitably challenging. Currently, not all leaders monitor learning. Community cohesion is satisfactory, with some good work on valuing the

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Grade: 3

pupils' own and other cultures. There are good links with families and the majority of parents commented that they feel the school is approachable and that their children are happy at school. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 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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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? 3 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? 3 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

3 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 3 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 3 The behaviour of learners 3 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? 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 December 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of David Livingstone Primary School,Thornton Heath,CR7 8HX You may remember that two inspectors came to your school recently. Thank you for being so friendly and telling us about your school. From the moment that we walked into the school, we found the school to be a happy and caring place. You also agree, and so do your parents. Your school is satisfactory overall. This means that most things are suitable for you, some things are particularly good and a few aspects need to be better. You make steady progress overall, but sometimes you do better in some classes than in others. Your school has improved in the last year because your headteacher, staff and governors have been busy trying to make it better for you. These improvements mean that most of you are now reaching the levels that we expect. In particular, you are doing better in English because the school has improved reading and writing activities, and you enjoy these. I loved the poems

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

which the pupils in Year 3 wrote about colours. Here is an extract from one of them: Red is a blazing flaming fire, Red is like a sweet and sticky strawberry Red is like a red rolling cherry in the sun Red is like the hot planet Mars. Your headteacher and all of the other teachers and helpers do a great job in looking after you. Your headteacher, other adults and governors are keen to try to do the best they can for you. We want to help them. We have asked them to do the following things:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ to make sure that you are given varied activities that keep all of you interested and engaged in your learning ■ to help you to reach higher standards in your mathematics by giving you more practical activities to support problem solving. Yours faithfully Sue Vale Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: David Livingstone Primary School, 1–2 December 2008

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