St John and St James CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching, by:
  • ensuring that teachers use assessment information judiciously to plan learning that meets the needs of pupils from all different starting points
  • ensuring that the quality of teachers’ questioning consolidates and deepens pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding
  • tightening procedures and routines so that no learning time is lost
  • ensuring that pupils have the resources they need to complete tasks
  • fostering positive attitudes to learning so that all pupils remain engaged in their work.
• Improve outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics by ensuring that:
  • all teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve
  • there is sufficient challenge in lessons, particularly for the most able
  • pupils become confident and resilient learners so they persevere at tasks without seeking adult help.
• Continue to decrease the rate of persistent absence.
• Improve pupils’ ability to regulate their own behaviour so that they behave equally well with and without adult supervision.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since the previous inspection, the school has been through a crisis in staffing, particularly at leadership level. For a range of reasons, governors found it hard to recruit and retain essential staff. This had a detrimental effect on the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes. This has now been rectified and new leaders have acted quickly to address the downturn.
• Leaders are absolutely clear about what they have to do to ensure that pupils make sufficient progress across the school. Their plans have strategic milestones so that they can ensure they remain on track to meet their ambitious targets. Regular meetings at which leaders discuss the effect of their actions support this improvement process. Due to these meetings, leaders know that teaching is improving and that, consequently, more pupils across the school are reaching the expected standard for their age than last year in reading, writing and mathematics.
• After establishing their own roles, the senior team wasted no time in appointing and training middle leaders to ensure that there was the capacity to make improvements across all subjects.
• These middle leaders are effective. They have detailed and timebound action plans to develop the subjects they lead. They know that pupils cover a wide range of content and learn the specific skills and concepts required by each subject. By looking at the quality of work in their subjects, they are clear what needs to be done to improve standards further. They have introduced systems for assessing pupils’ understanding in their subjects. They are now supporting teachers to use this new system to pinpoint gaps for individual pupils so that these may be addressed to ensure that all pupils learn equally well.
• Leaders have put in place a range of training and professional development opportunities to improve the quality of teaching and learning. These are well targeted and include bespoke sessions for individual teachers as well as whole-school training, for example to introduce the new phonics and reading schemes.
• Teachers in the very early stages of their career feel extremely well supported. They have nothing but praise for the training they have received. They welcome the regular opportunities to meet with their mentors and say their induction programme has been very well organised.
• Leaders monitor the quality of teaching carefully. They give teachers timely advice on how to improve their practice. Staff are very positive about this support because they want to do their best for pupils.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and helps pupils expand on their own experiences. For example, in Year 6 pupils have been giving accounts of their families’ migration stories and linking this to a wider view of immigration. Topics are enhanced by trips and visits that stimulate pupils’ interest. Examples include the Year 3 visit to the Hindu temple in Neasden linked to the religious education topic and the Year 4 trip to the Roman villa in Lullingstone to support pupils’ historical understanding.
• Pupils learn about fundamental British values. They explain how learning about different religions helps them to respect others’ views. This is typical of how effectively leaders foster pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• The leader with responsibility for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities has wasted no time in ensuring that their needs are correctly identified. She is therefore clear as to what appropriate support and intervention they need. Staff are currently receiving ongoing training to ensure that these interventions are of the best quality possible.
• Leaders have ensured that the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium funding is used well. Participation rates in after-school activities have increased and play leaders ensure that pupils are active at lunchtime. This has had a positive impact on pupils’ physical well-being.
• The pupil premium funding is used well. This resulted in a substantial increase in the proportion of disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected and higher standards at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics in 2017.
• Leaders’ actions have already led to noticeable improvements, such as higher attendance rates, better outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in key stage 2, increasing proportions of pupils working at the expected standard for their age and more accurate identification of special educational needs. However, most of these actions have not been in place for long because so many of the leaders are new to post. This means that there are still inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective.
• Governors are clear what needs to be done to improve the school as a matter of urgency. They prioritise their actions well.
• Governors have a deep understanding of the challenges the school and its community face and work hard to overcome these. They put together an attractive recruitment offer to ensure that they could appoint and retain high-quality leaders.
• The governing body works closely with advisers from the local authority and the London Diocesan Board to secure the best for the school.
• Governors hold school leaders to account. For example, they check leaders’ progress towards meeting the goals on their development plans.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• When leadership capacity was diminished, the headteacher and governors continued to ensure that pupils’ safety was prioritised because they are deeply committed to this crucial aspect of their work.
• Staff training is comprehensive and regularly updated. Checks on the suitability of staff to work with children are thorough. The arrangements for administering medicines and accommodating pupils who have medical needs are exemplary.
• Staff, including those at the very early stages of their careers, are confident in knowing how to report concerns. Anything that is reported is followed up assiduously by the designated safeguarding leads. If a case needs to be referred on to external bodies, such as social services, the lead who reported it follows this up regularly to ensure that the most vulnerable pupils and their families get the help they need.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is still not consistently strong enough to ensure that all pupils make good progress from their starting points. Teachers do not use assessment information carefully enough to ensure that tasks meet pupils’ needs as well as they could. Activities do not routinely present much challenge, especially for the most able.
• Some teachers do not use questioning effectively enough to deepen pupils’ understanding. Questions often only require simple responses rather than more complex ones.
• In some lessons, time is not used effectively. Routines are not well established in all classes and resources are not always available. This slows the activity and pupils get distracted and begin to chat or fidget.
• Not all teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve and how pupils should behave are high enough. For example, pupils who regularly use correct punctuation in their English books are not challenged if they fail to do this when writing in other subjects. Spelling mistakes are often not identified or corrected; pupils therefore continue to make the same errors. Low-level disruption, when it occurs, is not regularly tackled.
• Teachers do not encourage positive attitudes to learning well enough. Pupils are not always resilient. Some of them give up too easily if adults are not on hand to help them. They are not confident about getting on with tasks by themselves and therefore some switch off. Inspectors saw some pupils queuing to show the teacher their work, or sitting with their hands up, waiting for help. This limits the progress those pupils make.
• Pupils in Year 1 are beginning to use their phonic knowledge in their writing. During the inspection, they were attempting ambitious words such as ‘strawberries’ and ‘umbrellas’. Adults encourage this. Consequently, much of their writing is easy to read.
• Pupils have a love of reading and are keen to read. Younger pupils know which book is at the right level for them and are proud when they move up a stage in the reading scheme. Older pupils can talk about the different types of books they like and answer straightforward questions about the books they read. They have developed a range of successful strategies for dealing with unfamiliar words. However, their ability to answer more complex questions requiring inference is not as well developed as it could be.
• Teaching in subjects other than English and mathematics ensures that pupils develop the relevant skills and knowledge. For example, in science pupils develop good scientific skills such as understanding the importance of conducting a fair test. In PE, teachers have developed their confidence and skills by working with trained sports coaches.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils feel safe at school because, as pupils said to inspectors, ‘teachers look out for us’ and ‘guard us’. Pupils are taught how to stay safe. Initiatives such as Junior Citizen teach them how to be safe not just in school but in the local community. External speakers such as the police and ambulance crews give talks in school about how to stay safe. In key stage 2, pupils have the opportunity to learn how to ride their bikes safely on the road.
• Pupils have a clear understanding about how to stay safe online. They are adamant that you must never give out any personal details and would always tell an adult if they came across something that concerned them.
• Pupils, including the younger ones, know that the school rules are there to keep you safe. They also say that their friends comfort them if they are upset.
• Leaders and governors have prioritised pupils’ emotional and mental well-being. There is a dedicated pastoral team, which includes a trained counsellor. This team provides a range of support to ensure that any pupils who have concerns have someone to talk to.
• Pupils’ physical well-being is fostered well. There is a huge amount of provision to get pupils being active and pupils are regularly taught the importance of eating healthily.
• Pupils understand that bullying can come in a range of guises, including cyber bullying, name-calling and intentionally excluding someone from your play. They say bullying is rare. If it did occur, they might try to deal with it themselves, otherwise they would tell an adult who would ensure it stopped.
• The school provides a breakfast and after-school facility. This meets pupils’ and families’ needs well. For example, the breakfast club ensures that pupils have a calm start to the day and a nutritious meal to give them the energy they need to learn well.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Low-level, off-task behaviour is still a feature in some lessons, particularly where teaching does not meet pupils’ needs. This behaviour is not always challenged by teachers. Consequently, pupils are not being helped to develop the positive attitudes to learning that are intrinsic to making strong progress.
• Pupils do not consistently take pride in their work. Books show standards of presentation that vary. Poor presentation is sometimes not challenged by teachers.
• Some pupils are not good at regulating their own behaviour. When there is not enough adult supervision, their behaviour can become a bit boisterous, for example running in the dinner hall or the corridors. Some pupils are over-reliant on adult support in the classroom, too, so are not self-confident learners.
• Attendance has improved due to stringent checks and effective strategies that leaders put in place. There has been a good reduction in persistent absenteeism too, although the figure still remains too high in relation to the national average.
• When pupils are working in pairs or small groups, they show each other respect and work well together.
• Pupils reflect on their behaviour when it is challenged by an adult. When pupils are well managed, their behaviour is very orderly.
• Pupils take pride in their uniform, including their PE kit. They show good manners, for example by opening doors and saying ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome’.
• Pupils who have particular behavioural needs are supported well. The quality of help they are given is good and, in a number of cases, has resulted in recorded incidents decreasing to zero.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Weaknesses in teaching, learning and assessment have resulted in pupils making variable progress across the school, particularly in reading and mathematics. This led to progress rates below the national average by the end of key stage 2 in those subjects in 2017.
• Too few pupils made the progress needed from their starting points to reach expected and higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 in 2017.
• Leaders’ information on pupils’ progress in each year group shows that this was variable for the last academic year.
• The progress pupils make in acquiring phonics skills is also patchy. This applies particularly to pupils in Year 2 and Year 3 who did not reach the expected standard in the phonics screening check. They are not yet all confident in using phonics to help them read.
• The work in pupils’ books shows that they do not make consistently strong progress. This is because some teachers do not have high enough expectations and do not tackle errors emphatically; as a result, pupils continue to make the same mistakes, which limits their progress.
• The most able pupils do well in reading and mathematics. Their progress across key stage 2 was in line with national figures in 2017. However, too few made the progress needed to reach the higher standards in writing by the end of Year 6.
• Leaders have seen improvements in the teaching of phonics in Year 1. The information they have gathered about pupils’ phonic skills shows that far more pupils are on track to meet the expected standard in the screening check later this year than was the case in 2017. This is borne out by inspection findings showing Year 1 pupils using phonics increasingly confidently in their written work.
• There were notable improvements in outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in 2017 at the end of key stage 2. A much higher proportion reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics than in 2016.
• Although still low, reading outcomes improved in 2017. More pupils reached the expected and higher standards from their starting points than in 2016.
• Outcomes are good in art. Pupils develop increasingly complex skills as they move on through the school. Displays clearly show, for example, refined drawing skills in upper key stage 2 compared to those of younger pupils. Pupils also develop good physical prowess and sporting skills because of the high-quality opportunities they get to partake in a range of activities in PE lessons, in the playground and in after-school clubs. Topic work ensures that pupils acquire knowledge and skills in subjects such as history and geography. Pupils develop a good understanding of science because they participate in experiments and hands-on learning. For example, Year 2 built models from different materials, which helped them understand their properties.
• Leaders scrutinised information about pupils’ academic performance in reading, writing and mathematics for the autumn term this academic year really carefully. This information shows that the proportions of pupils working at age-related expectations, and therefore likely to reach the expected standard by the end of the key stage, have increased on last year, in some cases quite considerably. It also showed increases in the proportions of pupils working at the higher standard.

Early years provision Good

• Children get off to a good start because the good teaching in early years meets their needs well. Adults are skilled at knowing when to intervene to move children’s learning along. Teachers routinely challenge the most able by, for example, extending children’s mathematical skills during counting activities by asking what would happen if they added one more.
• The learning environment is used well to provide a range of activities both inside and outside that ensure children make good progress across all areas of learning from their starting points, which are often low.
• The effective leadership of early years ensures that adults plan to meet children’s needs and interests. This results in children engaging very well with their learning. They can sustain concentration, which means they get a lot out of the activities planned for them.
• Children play together collaboratively and use resources well to feed their imaginations. For example, three children found a map and went off on an extensive treasure hunt around the classroom, finally ending up digging for the treasure in the sand outside. This required a lot of negotiating, which developed both their social and language skills.
• Children behave well across the early years. They pay attention, follow instructions and are confident with routines and expectations. They have very positive attitudes to their learning and show high levels of concentration for extended periods. This means learning time is used productively.
• Leaders are aware of the school’s context, with many families speaking English as an additional language, for example. The use of signing and song, and similar strategies, make activities accessible to all. Leaders have created a highly inclusive atmosphere where children and their families feel welcome.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102032 Enfield 10047624 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 429 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Gloria Powell Heather Knightley 020 8807 2578 www.stjohnandjames.enfield.sch.uk office@stjohnandjames.enfield.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 25–26 September 2014

Information about this school

• The school is a larger than average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is over double the national average.
• Almost all the pupils are from minority ethnic groups. This is a much higher proportion than average.
• Nearly two thirds of pupils speak English as an additional language, three times as high as average. A number of these pupils are at the early stages of learning English.
• More than one in three pupils are disadvantaged, which is much higher than average.
• Since the previous inspection, the school has undergone a significant period of staff turbulence, including the departure of vital leaders. The deputy headteacher joined the school in September, the assistant headteacher in charge of key stage 2 joined in January and a number of other leaders are new to post this year. There have also been five new teachers this academic year.
• Far more pupils join the school other than at the beginning of Reception than is the case nationally.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• There is a breakfast club and an after-school club for pupils at the school.
• There are two Reception classes in the early years. There is also a Nursery with two part-time classes for three- and four-year-olds.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team observed pupils’ learning in all classes, often accompanied by school leaders. Inspectors also looked at the work pupils had completed in their English, mathematics and topic books.
• Inspectors listened to a selection of pupils read and spoke to pupils both formally and informally throughout the inspection. They also attended an assembly.
• The inspection team met with a range of staff, including those at the early stage of their careers, middle and senior leaders. The 24 responses to the online staff survey were also taken in to account.
• Inspectors spoke to parents informally when they came to pick up or drop off their children. They also took account of the 15 responses to the online survey Parent View and the 10 comments left via the free-text facility.
• The inspection team looked at a range of documents including those relating to safeguarding, attendance and behaviour, the school’s evaluation of its own performance, development plans, and information about pupils’ attainment and progress.
• Inspectors met with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body, a representative of the London Diocesan Board and a representative from the local authority.

Inspection team

Jeanie Jovanova, lead inspector Rekha Bhakoo Helen Rai

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector