Allen Edwards Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Allen Edwards Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 10 July 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2014. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders at all levels, including governors, have successfully brought about improvements in the quality of teaching. You have used a range of professional development opportunities to build a cohesive team whose members help each other provide p...lentiful opportunities for pupils.

Senior and middle leaders support teachers to produce ambitious plans for their teaching. Leaders provide in-class support to make sure that staff understand how to improve teaching and learning. Teachers use assessment information about pupils well, and deliver effective feedback to pupils.

Staff, who provide additional support, help pupils keep up with the demands of learning, and work closely with class teachers. Inspection evidence confirms that learning in early years and Years 1 and 2 has continued to improve since the previous inspection. Published assessment information indicates that rates of progress in reading have been uneven between different groups of pupils.

Progress in writing in 2017 was strong. Progress in mathematics has been sustained at high levels for all groups of pupils over the past three years. You have identified the need to ensure that learning in the wider curriculum, particularly in science and geography, should be as deep as the best quality seen in English and mathematics lessons.

The school is an inclusive and welcoming environment where pupils are well supported to strengthen their learning and well-being. Leaders, including middle and subject leaders, have increased the focus on quality assurance. As a result, they understand their school well, and have worked collectively to establish improvements.

Relationships between staff are underpinned by a calm confidence and respect for each other, and an appreciation of their responsibility to ensure that all pupils achieve their best. Pupils are hard-working and courteous. They say that staff are helpful and caring.

If pupils have any concerns they know who to ask for help. As well as interesting ideas and activities in lessons, pupils say that they enjoy learning more widely through the after-school clubs that many of them attend. Safeguarding is effective.

The leadership team has ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are detailed and of high quality. Regular and up-to-date training helps staff identify the potential risks to pupils, including risks around the school's locality, and to be able to act promptly. Staff understand the school's procedures for reporting concerns.

Efficient communication systems throughout the school help to identify issues early and provide timely responses. Leaders use external expertise effectively to ensure that pupils' needs are met, and that staff understand how to manage the risks that pupils may face. The recently upgraded personal, social, health and economic education curriculum helps pupils learn about managing their own safety.

For example, pupils have a good understanding of risks related to using the internet. Governors have a clear understanding of the school's duty to safeguard pupils. They check how well staff use the school's procedures, and the quality of record-keeping.

A strong focus on British values helps pupils to understand the importance of respect and responsibility for the well-being of the different people who live in our communities. Pupils, parents, carers and staff who shared their views by responding to surveys, or through discussions with me, concur that school is a safe place. Staff deal promptly with the rare incidents of bullying.

The shared commitment to the well-being of pupils has helped to embed a strong culture of safety in the school. Inspection findings ? Our first agreed focus for this inspection was to find out how well leaders' actions have sustained the high rates of progress made by pupils in mathematics by the end of Year 6. ? Senior and middle leaders have worked closely with teachers to develop strong subject knowledge in mathematics.

As a result, teachers' plans are focused on what pupils learn, and include challenge for most-able pupils. Teachers use these plans well to show pupils how to approach and resolve problems and questions. ? Pupils have a strong grasp of key ideas in mathematics, including challenging areas such as algebraic equations, because their teachers use clear and detailed explanations.

• The second focus for this inspection was to explore how well pupils make progress in reading. Published assessment information for 2017, and leaders' own records, confirm that some pupils, such as pupils who speak English as an additional language, made exceptionally strong progress in reading by the end of Year 6. However, this was not the case for other groups of pupils, particularly boys, pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities and those pupils with higher starting points by the end of Year 2.

• Your assessment information shows that rates of progress in reading have increased and there is less variability between different groups of pupils. Typically, pupils are able to read more challenging and diverse texts in school and, increasingly, they said, at home. ? Pupils speak enthusiastically about how much more they read and enjoy reading, compared to previous years.

All pupils benefit from opportunities to read for different purposes. Pupils discuss and write about texts in detail. They explore the impact of vocabulary, and analyse character, plots and links to events in the real world.

Pupils highlighted the benefits of regular use of the local library and weekly reading with parents. These help pupils understand the importance of reading outside school. They say that they feel motivated to learn to read well.

• The third focus for this inspection was how well the most able pupils make progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This was not as strong as the best progress made by pupils in the school, as shown by published assessment information in 2017. ? Staff across the school identify pupils' learning needs promptly and provide challenge to extend and deepen learning.

This increased attention starts from early years and continues throughout the school. Inspection evidence and the school's own achievement information indicate that the most able pupils in key stages 1 and 2 are making better progress in reading, writing and mathematics than in previous years. ? Most-able pupils benefit from reading more challenging texts and responding to their teachers' expectations of detailed discussions about what is being learned.

Pupils develop their writing skills across the curriculum by using more subject-specific vocabulary. They increasingly write at length using argument, description and explanation. ? You identified that there is more to do to further improve the quality of work in some subjects in the wider curriculum.

This is particularly the case for science and geography, and this is not restricted to most-able pupils ? The fourth and final focus of the inspection was to find out whether the progress made by pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities matches that made by all pupils, nationally. Published assessment information in 2017 appeared to indicate that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities made slower progress than their peers. ? Typically, across the school, the progress made by pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, now, is close to that made by all pupils nationally.

There is still a little variability, but this is very low for most year groups. ? Early accurate identification of needs and teacher adjustments to planning helps to ensure that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities can access the learning and understand key ideas well. Leaders use specialist skills within the school and externally, such as music and art therapy, to help pupils gain the confidence, independence of action and motivation to learn to their best abilities.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? pupils have more opportunities to deepen learning in the wider curriculum, particularly in science and geography. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Lambeth. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Mehar Brar Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection, I met with you, the senior leadership team, the chair of governors and a group of staff. I spoke with a representative of the local authority and I met with a group of pupils. I considered 22 responses to Parent View, Ofsted's online survey, and 18 responses from staff to Ofsted's online surveys.

I visited classrooms, jointly with you and the assistant headteacher, to observe learning and scrutinise pupils' work. I checked a range of documentation related to safeguarding. I evaluated further documentation, including the school's self-evaluation and improvement plans, minutes of the meetings of the governing body and the school's own assessment information.