The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overie in Southwark achieves Centre of Excellence status again.
School Context
The Cathedral School is a voluntary aided primary school with a Nursery class, situated in the London Borough of Southwark. There are 223 pupils on roll who come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds with 42 languages spoken in the school. 63% of the pupils are Anglican with 70% attending a Christian church. Although the numbers of children with English as an additional language is above average, eligibility for free school meals and SEND is below the national average with one pupil having an Educational, Health and Care Plan and 25 pupils receiving SEN support. There have been no exclusions this year.
Status
In 2008, Ofsted judged the school to be Outstanding. A more recent SIAM (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist schools) inspection in March 2018 also judged the school to be Outstanding. The school achieved the Inclusion Quality Mark Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status in April 2014. This review constitutes an annual review of progress over the last twelve months.
Offering Outstanding Opportunities
The school continues to offer outstanding opportunities to the pupils and families in this school, through a very warm and supportive learning environment. The Headteacher and her staff are very committed to the needs of all the pupils with one boy saying of the SENCO, “ you give me what I need to help me with my learning”.
Supportive Parents
Parents are very complimentary about the school, reporting that,
“school is good at listening to parents’ views.”
They feel well informed, particularly highlighting the weekly class blogs that are accessible through the school website which show evidence of learning. A parent of a child with SEND mentioned that the school is very understanding and helpful. Parents are actively involved in target-setting and the same parent reported that the learning plan helped her son immensely. Each week there are “Stay and play” sessions where parents value the chance to be in school with their pre-school or nursery child, giving the child the opportunity to build friendships and the parent can meet other parents.
Musical Performance
On the day of the IQM visit, the Nonsuch orchestra performed in assembly and the school orchestra had the opportunity to contribute
All pupils were highly motivated and focused during the session which had been organised by the music teacher. Parents were invited, the atmosphere was joyful with lots of positive interactions.
A Conducive Learning Environment
The learning environment is conducive to learning with imaginative and stimulating displays around the school. Classrooms are well resourced as well as ample outdoor areas which are sectioned off for children to have opportunities to do specific activities in the specific areas.
Exemplary Behaviour
Children’s behaviour around the school is exemplary. All pupils were on task in every lesson during the learning walk and very keen to express their views when asked about the school. All pupils reported that they like school and that the teachers and teaching assistants are very helpful to them.
Centre of Excellence Status
Having discussed the progress made since the IQM assessment and the school’s plans for the future, I am of the opinion that the school should continue to hold Centre of Excellence status and be reviewed again in one year’s time.
IQM Inclusion Cluster
The next review will look closely at how the school has interacted with its Inclusion Cluster and promoted continuing outreach. Evidence of Cluster working will underpin the capacity for the school to maintain its COE status.
Find out more about the IQM Inclusive School Award
If your school is interested in obtaining the IQM Inclusive School Award or you wish to talk to a member of the IQM team please telephone:
028 7127 7857 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm)
or email: [email protected] for further details.
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