Andrea Parker wasn’t surprised when one of the three South London primary schools she leads was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. Ms Parker, who leads a federation of three primary schools in Lambeth, said the rating was simply a reflection of where Jessop Primary School was at.
But sitting to the left of her in an upstairs office at the school on Lowden Road on Tuesday (March 26), Kenneth Baffoe, head of Jessop Primary, admits to a degree of anxiety before Ofsted arrived. It had been over a decade since the school was last visited by the education watchdog and it was his first inspection as head of the school.
The bar was set high. Last time Ofsted came in 2012 the school was rated ‘outstanding’ in all areas except one, and in recent years London has seen a string of previously outstanding schools plummet in their ratings after such a long gap between inspections.
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Any worry Mr Baffoe had swiftly evaporated when the results of the inspection were published last Wednesday (March 20). Jessop Primary School maintained its top rating and the Ofsted report was glowing.
The school was praised for setting ‘consistently high expectations’ and quickly identifying and nurturing pupils’ talents. The curriculum was described as ‘meticulously designed’. Additional experiences offered by the school encouraged pupils to be ‘ambitious about their futures’, the report added.
Following the report’s publication, local MP Helen Hayes called Jessop ‘a fantastic community school’. Ben Kind, a Lambeth councillor responsible for education, said staff had ‘much to be proud of’.
“It’s about developing a curriculum that opens up opportunities for children that they would otherwise not encounter,” Mr Baffoe told me.
“Each child has the opportunity to develop a key skill. This includes swimming, cycling and horse riding excursions. Every child has the opportunity to learn the violin or cello and children have exposure to a plethora of instruments they continue to learn through school.”
“Our curriculum is all about ensuring children have additional opportunities. It’s about giving them an eye into the wider world,” Ms Parker added.
“Children don’t come here to meet their potential; children come here and discover their potential. Creative arts and quality drama gives children the appetite to learn more.”
A third (32.7 per cent) of students at the school are on free school meals, higher than the national average of 23.8 per cent. All the while, houses on the same street as the school regularly sell in excess of £1 million. The result is a school community which comes from a wide range of social backgrounds.
To encourage mixing between parents, the school runs a number of initiatives, including joint sports days and a ‘dad’s club’, where fathers and their children come together and do activities.
“The guys who come might not hang out together normally but the school designs a programme of parental engagement. If it’s possible in our school community, it’s possible on a larger scale,” Mr Baffoe explained.
Such is the community among parents at the school, numerous parents wrote letters sharing their views of the school which they handed to inspectors. The contents of the letters formed part of Ofsted’s evidence for its report.
Pupil numbers are dropping
Yet the school faces a threat to its future that even all the parental support and top Ofsted reports in the world can’t prevent – there aren’t enough kids. Lambeth Council is reducing the school’s reception intake from 45 pupils to 30 from September, due to the falling number of children in the borough.
“The local authority recently asked for it to be a one form entry school. It’s going from a two form to a one form entry school. As a maintained school free at the point of delivery for our community, it’s a shame,” Ms Parker said.
“It’s to do with the [falling] birth rate and the removal of families who rely on social housing from London, and the developments going up are not being affordable or family friendly,” Mr Baffoe added.
Brexit and the cost of living have exacerbated the problem, according to Ms Parker. Families can get more for their money outside of London and enjoy a better quality of life.
“What we want really is to have a great school, which we have, and for as many children to access it as possible,” she said.
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