St John's Angell Town Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the consistency and quality of teaching by raising expectations of what pupils can achieve by ensuring that teachers:
  • use their assessment of pupils’ skills and progress so that they set challenging activities for all pupils, particularly the most able
  • provide more opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills so that they deepen their understanding of new ideas and develop their reasoning.
• Bring greater rigour to leadership and management at all levels by:
  • making sure that actions for improvement are based on accurate self-evaluation
  • checking carefully that improvements to teaching and new teaching programmes are leading to increasing pupils’ progress.
• Ensure that the knowledge, skills and understanding of subjects are taught in sufficient depth for pupils to make good or better progress, particularly in science.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have realised that they had not trained teachers sufficiently well to meet the demands of the new national curriculum. They also recognised that teacher assessments of the pupils were not accurate enough.
• Training for teachers and new teaching programmes in English and mathematics are not yet fully effective. This is because leaders at all levels are not implementing changes with urgency or monitoring their impact rigorously. School self-evaluation is overgenerous and not based sharply enough on the impact of actions on pupils’ progress. Hence teaching is improving, but not rapidly enough.
• Many pupils experience a narrow curriculum. Topic themes and curriculum plans do not specify clearly enough the skills pupils should be learning. This means that pupils are not prepared sufficiently well for entry into secondary school in subjects such as science.
• The headteacher has maintained staff and pupil morale during the unsettling building period. Leaders have identified some of the key reasons for the decline in pupil outcomes in 2016. Closer partnerships have been established this year with the local authority, and other schools have brought a sharper focus to action to improve teaching. By setting short-term goals, improvements are starting to emerge, although pupils’ progress is not consistently good.
• Leaders know the circumstances of families well, particularly those facing major challenges in their lives. Leaders’ clear aim in supporting families is that their children should be given every opportunity to be successful learners. Offering places in the breakfast club and providing behaviour therapy are examples of how effectively pupil premium funding is used to meet this goal.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs and additional experiences. Some of these are provided through the effective use of the sports premium. Training for teachers means that they are now more skilled at teaching sports, such as badminton and tennis. The school’s artist in residence not only helps to develop pupils’ skills but also their understanding of the role of art in different cultures.
• Special educational needs funding is used well to support pupils who have significant learning needs. It has been used to raise staff understanding of autistic spectrum disorder and bring in the expertise of outside agencies to provide additional guidance.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has become more effective this year and is becoming more rigorous in fulfilling its responsibilities.
• Governors have become more searching in their questioning of leaders and more rigorous in checking the school’s performance. They have become robust in holding leaders to account for actions being taken to tackle the unexpected decline in performance in 2016. Governors are aware that teaching needs to improve if all pupils, including the disadvantaged, are to make better progress.
• Governors are reasonably aware of how additional government funding such as the pupil premium is spent and where it is benefiting disadvantaged pupils. They now recognise that the progress of disadvantaged pupils still requires improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The headteacher has developed a very caring ethos in the school and one in which safeguarding the welfare of the pupils is deemed as paramount. Training for staff and regular further briefings keep safeguarding issues uppermost in their minds. Open discussions at these briefings have led to changes in procedures.
• Staff and governors are quite aware that the school is a haven for many pupils. They understand the risks facing vulnerable families and their children. Members of staff are very vigilant in implementing policies. They work with pupils and their families to raise awareness of the dangers of slipping into gangs and of radicalisation.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching does not always expect enough of the pupils. While pupils enjoy activities, several feel that the work is too easy for them. Not all teachers utilise the pupils’ very positive attitudes to learning to make them think and to extend their learning.
• Pupils often experience the same teaching and activities whatever their level of understanding and ability. This is because assessments of their learning are not used sharply enough to identify what they know, the skills they have mastered and what they should learn next.
• Teaching in mathematics does not challenge pupils sufficiently. They do not have enough opportunities to apply skills they learn so that they can deepen their understanding of new ideas or their skills of reasoning.
• Pupils generally know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve and make more rapid progress. They take care to correct mistakes in their work following appropriate guidance from their teachers.
• Teaching of phonics has improved now that one programme is used across the early years and key stage 1. Teachers and support staff implement the programme systematically and continually check pupils’ understanding. Pupils’ reading benefits from being listened to by trained volunteers and senior staff.
• Teachers are generally effective at engaging pupils and making them enthusiastic about their learning. Strong positive relationships between adults and pupils and between pupils themselves mean that classrooms are calm and purposeful.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are very confident and positive about school. They are keen to learn and happily share discussions and activities. Pupils get on exceptionally well with each other and are not aware of any bullying. This is confirmed by school records.
• Pupils talk in depth about how the school’s six pillars of character influence their daily lives. They show great respect, care and compassion for others. Pupils say how assemblies contribute well to their development of a moral purpose. This is because, as a Year 6 pupil said, ‘assemblies lead to reflection and thinking about others including in countries abroad.’
• Pupils feel a strong connection to the school and are committed to developing it as a community. They take great pride in fulfilling responsibilities such as prefects, representatives on the school council and peer mediators. Pupils are very keen to help and care for others, as shown by taking part in a protest march in Brixton in support of Syrian refugees.
• Pupils learn to make the right choices to stay safe and healthy. They are taught to spot and deal with risks, for example through training in e-safety. They are continually encouraged to look out for each other.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils move very sensibly around their new school and play happily together outside. They are polite and considerate towards others. This reflects well on their parents and the success of the school in promoting these values.
• Pupils generally recognise and respond quickly to expectations for their work and behaviour. They understand that rules are needed if the school is to function smoothly. They mostly try hard, although their concentration can waver when teaching becomes mundane and not challenging. This is why behaviour is not outstanding.
• Pupils like coming to school as shown by the regular attendance of most pupils, which is above average. Rigorous systems are in place to support the improved attendance of some vulnerable pupils, such as those with medical needs. This includes working closely with outside agencies and checking carefully if there are concerns about their whereabouts.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Progress for pupils fell considerably in 2016. They were not fully prepared for the rigours of new testing arrangements. This led to the majority of Year 6 pupils not reaching expectations for their age in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Progress as seen in books, from school data and in lessons has improved but is still not consistently good across the school in reading, writing and mathematics. This includes for pupils speaking English as an additional language. In many cases, the most able pupils are not reaching the higher standards of which they are capable.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged is also not consistently rapid enough. Differences in attainment with other pupils nationally are not diminishing. This is largely because teaching overall requires improvement.
• Progress in subjects other than English and mathematics also varies considerably. Progress in science, in particular, requires improvement as pupils have insufficient teaching and limited opportunity for experiment and investigation.
• Pupils’ progress in phonics is increasing and attainment is rising. Pupils use their skills automatically to tackle unfamiliar words. They are starting to study texts in greater depth and use these to generate ideas for their writing. They are making improved but still not good progress in wider reading skills such as comprehension, inference and deduction.
• The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is too variable. For some with more significant needs, progress is tangible and includes small steps towards their personal targets. Support programmes for others are consistently leading to good progress.

Early years provision Good

• Teachers and support staff work closely as a team to improve their teaching by sharing ideas and experiences. Consequently, teaching is good. This enables children to make good progress, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment by the end of Reception is rising, giving children an increasingly firm platform for key stage 1.
• Adults work closely together to establish the new phonics teaching programme. Routines are fully understood and followed by staff and children, who make good progress in their early reading skills.
• The setting is rich in opportunities to develop the children’s language. Books they read together, such as ‘Handa’s surprise’, are brought to life through activities provided. Strong relationships are cultivated between children and adults. Children feel safe and secure as they know that they can approach a member of staff for help.
• Teachers carefully plan activities in the outside areas with purposeful and meaningful links to learning inside. Children can learn skills outside that are not possible inside, such as climbing and balancing. The ‘builder’s yard’ is a great source of both enjoyment and learning, with ramps and frames to use for construction, which make a strong contribution to children’s physical development.
• Children behave well. They are happy and enthusiastic learners who enjoy working together by taking turns and sharing resources. They stay engrossed in activities for long periods.
• Adults use their careful assessment of progress in reading, writing and mathematics to plan what each child should learn next. Assessment in other areas is less rigorous. This hampers identifying the natural next steps in each child’s learning and slows progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100615 Lambeth 10003320 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. 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 237 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Reverend Canon Rosemary Mallett Martin Clark 0207 274 4847 www.st-johns.lambeth.sch.uk admin@st-johns.lambeth.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 31 January 2012

Information about this school

• The school is average in size.
• Almost all pupils are from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds, the largest group being Black African.
• Two thirds of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is well above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The majority of pupils are supported by additional government funding.
• The proportion of pupils who join or leave the school part-way through their primary education is higher than in the majority of primary schools.
• Children in the early years provision attend the Nursery part time and the Reception classes full time.
• The school provides childcare before school.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 23 lessons. Senior leaders, including the headteacher, accompanied inspectors to 14 of these. They looked at work in pupils’ books and listened to Year 2 pupils reading.
• Meetings were held with groups of pupils, school staff, three governors, including the chair, and a representative from the local authority.
• As only four parents responded to Parent View, inspectors took account of replies to a survey of parents carried out by the school during the last academic year. Inspectors also talked with a small number of parents as they brought their children to school at the start of the day.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.

Inspection team

Martin Beale, lead inspector Sarah Bailey Robin Hammerton Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector