Setting

Mr Nick Hague The Headteacher Jubilee Primary School Tulse Hill London SW2 2JE

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 10 May 2010 , for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during my visit. Please extend my thanks to the pupils and to the Chair of the Governing Body, as well as School Improvement Officer who gave time to speak to me.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

As a result of the inspection on 4 and 5 June 2008, the school was asked to:

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

 increase the number of pupils who are working at levels that are above national expectations by ensuring that all pupils are given enough challenge in their work  ensure the quality of teaching and learning in Key Stage 2 is consistently satisfactory or better, especially in mathematics  make sure that pupils have consistently clear, specific information about what they need to do to improve.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

At the time of the last inspection, the school was a part of a ‘soft’ federation with a nearby school. The headteacher of this school was appointed executive headteacher and a consultant headteacher was appointed to lead and manage the school on a day-to-day basis. This is no longer the case. A substantive headteacher took post in September 2009 following a comprehensive staffing restructure. The leadership team, although now established, is relatively new.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made satisfactory progress in making improvements and satisfactory progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Inspection and school evidence points to children’s knowledge and skills on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage as being well below the age-related expectations. Tribal 1-4 Portland Square BRISTOL BS2 8RR T 0300 123 4234 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0300 123 4234 Ofstedhelpline@ofsted.gov.uk Page 2 In 2009, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 results demonstrate that pupils attained standards that are well below national expectations in all subjects. Standards seen in lessons, school data and pupils’ books indicate slight improvements in standards, particularly in Year 6. Across the school, pupils’ progress is variable; pupils in Key Stage 2 are doing particularly well, but progress is slower in Key Stage 1 and the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is due mainly to less than effective teaching.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Provision and outcomes within the Early Years Foundation Stage is showing too few signs of improvement. Children have access to a range of appropriate learning resources both indoors and outdoors. Activities are thoughtfully planned, but opportunities to develop children’s language through talk are missed because children work independently for too long without sufficient support from adults. Moreover, teaching assistants do not always use focused questions in order to develop children's speaking and listening skills. Consequently, the quality of adult intervention is variable and weak.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

The school recognises that in the past weaker teaching has been the cause of pupils’ underachievement. Local authority consultants are now working alongside teachers to provide additional support. The school’s self-evaluation notes that there is still some inadequate teaching and that there is insufficient good or better teaching. In the lessons observed, teachers have clearly taken on board the new initiatives introduced by the school. The more focused teaching is starting to have a positive impact on progress. In the better lessons, teachers set work that is well matched to the needs of pupils; good use is made of interactive whiteboards to interest and engage pupils. They target questioning well and enhance pupils’ speaking and listening skills through the effective use of talk partners. Teachers ensure that classrooms are calm and some have a language-rich environment and high quality work on display; this is particularly the case in Key Stage 2. Pupils’ behaviour in

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

classrooms and around the school is good. This is because teachers have positive relationships with their pupils and have high expectations of behaviour.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

In the less effective lessons, teachers do not always introduce lesson objectives successfully and these objectives are often couched in jargon which is difficult for pupils to understand. Data are not used to plan lessons that effectively tailor teaching in order to meet the wide ability range in each lesson. In particular, teachers spend too much time talking, allowing insufficient time for pupils to develop their speaking skills or explore issues for themselves and consolidate their understanding. Although teachers have higher expectation for their pupils, they are not always skilled in modelling the small steps in learning needed to enable pupils to access more difficult work. In order to address the significant gaps in pupils’ learning and ensure pupils make the progress of which they are capable, teaching needs to be of a higher quality.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Since the last inspection, rigorous procedures have been implemented for assessing pupils and tracking their progress. For example, half-termly meetings are held between teachers and senior leaders to check on individual pupil’s progress, to Page 3 inform decisions regarding intervention groups and to address underachievement in specific areas. The development of these clear systems for monitoring pupils’ progress, together with well-focused support to meet the needs of pupils, is beginning to have a positive impact on pupils’ progress. The quality of marking remains variable; some marking is regular and encouraging, but generally marking does not provide pupils with sufficient guidance on how to improve. Additionally, identified areas for improvement are not followed up in subsequent marking.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

Changes in senior leadership have hampered progress. However, the new leadership team has established a clear direction and set high expectations for the school community. The headteacher has targeted the support provided by the local authority to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the school and what needs to improve. The leadership team have challenged inadequate practice and are providing support to remedy the weaknesses. They are appropriately focusing on improving teaching and learning. This is beginning to have an impact, although they recognise that inconsistencies remain. They are fully aware of the need to change the culture of the school to one where the focus is firmly on learning.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

The school’s sound capacity for further improvement is underpinned by a shared culture of driving forward improvements which have, during the past months, delivered satisfactory progress in the areas identified for improvement at the previous inspection. The challenge for the school now is to ensure the rate of progress seen on this visit is built upon and moved to good.

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Ofsted monitoring of Grade 3 schools

I hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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