St John's, Gosport Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching and learning and raise pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics by ensuring that:
  • teachers check pupils’ understanding during lessons and make appropriate adaptations to pupils’ tasks
  • pupils are clear about what they need to learn
  • teachers plan activities that are well matched to pupils’ starting points.
• Improve the management of pupils’ behaviour by ensuring that staff:
  • have higher expectations of pupils’ conduct
  • consistently apply the school’s behaviour management policy.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management so that:
  • governors hold leaders more fully to account for the progress made by all groups of pupils
  • leaders make regular checks on the quality of teaching and learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Since the previous inspection, leaders have not focused rigorously enough on improving the quality of teaching in key stages 1 and 2. Consequently, pupils do not all make good enough progress given their different starting points.
• Because of inconsistent teaching over time, the progress of groups across the school has been too slow. Leaders have not been rigorous enough in analysing pupils’ assessment information to ensure that teachers set work for pupils at the appropriate level and with sufficient challenge. As a result, some pupils, especially in key stage 2, are not achieving the standards they are capable of, particularly in English and mathematics.
• The school improvement plan is not sharply focused on raising achievement for all pupils. Leaders do not state clearly enough what difference their intended actions will make.
• Leaders know where teaching is weaker and which groups of learners need to make greater progress to catch up with their peers. Plans are now in place to accelerate pupils’ progress. There are early signs that this is making a difference.
• Leaders responsible for areas of the school’s work are committed to improving the outcomes of pupils. This is leading to improvements, such as more pupils being able to solve challenging mathematical problems, using phonics more effectively to decode words and developing sentence writing for the younger learners.
• The school receives additional support from a local teaching school to help them improve aspects of teaching. As a result, teachers now make greater use of assessment information to plan tasks that match pupils’ needs more closely.
• The local authority provides support to school leaders and teachers through a varied programme of bespoke leadership and teaching support. This is helping leaders to improve the quality of how they track pupil’s achievement, the moderation of pupils’ work and pupils’ behaviour and engagement at lunchtimes.
• Leaders carry out regular monitoring of teaching and planning, and although this is having some impact, it is not embedded sufficiently in order to see any significant improvement.
• Leaders wisely spend the pupil premium funding on resources, additional staff support and therapies to support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds appropriately. The school tracks the progress of these pupils, and compares it to progress of all pupils in the school. The school’s plans do not include enough precision or detail about the difference the use of funding is intended to make.
• Leaders ensure that sports funding is used appropriately to provide a range of opportunities such as rock climbing, basketball, cross-country and tennis coaching. Pupils in the Reception Year improve their cycling skills by using training bicycles. Pupils compete in local football leagues with other schools in the area. Sports funding has improved pupils’ enthusiasm for, and participation in, sports activities.
• The school helps pupils to learn about British values such as their rights and responsibilities. Pupils understand what it means to live in a democratic society. They enjoy taking part in pupil elections.
• Opportunities to develop pupils’ social, moral and cultural development are woven appropriately through the curriculum. Pupils learn about British culture through art and music. They took part in a dance festival that included performers with disabilities. However, pupils’ understanding of cultures and faiths that differ from their own is relatively underdeveloped.
• The school uses a thematic approach to teaching the curriculum. This encapsulates most of the subjects. Although senior leaders evaluate the impact of teaching and learning in reading, writing and mathematics, there is little evaluation of the progress that pupils make in other subjects.
• The breakfast club is well organised and pupils enjoy a range of activities, including playing table top games and board games. Adults know the children well and actively encourage them to enjoy a range of foods and further develop their friendships with each other.

Governance of the school

• Governors are enthusiastic and committed to developing the school. They gain a comprehensive knowledge of the school through regular visits, including taking part in some monitoring activities with school leaders; observing teaching; and looking in pupils’ books. However, leaders’ reports do not give governors sufficient understanding of the performance of groups of pupils. As a result, governors are not able to hold school leaders robustly to account for the progress of different groups. They do not challenge leaders rigorously enough where there is underperformance. Despite this, governors recognise that pupils should be achieving better outcomes than they do by the end of key stages 1 and 2. They believe rightly that the early years is a strength of the school, as the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is above that seen nationally.

• Governors ensure that they comply with all statutory requirements and that checks take place regularly to ensure that pupils are safe at all times. Governors recognise that the behaviour of pupils is better than at the time of the last inspection. However, they acknowledge that this is still an area for improvement.
• Some new governors have joined the school recently and have brought with them some additional skills and experience. Governors are now more confident that they can further improve outcomes for all pupils as they now have a better understanding of what leaders should do to improve pupils’ progress.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have clear policies and procedures in place to keep pupils safe. Staff vetting checks are well organised and secure. Leaders keep clear and well-controlled records of all concerns, including their work with partner agencies. Pupils say that they feel safe and secure in school. Staff and parents agree. Parents are supportive of the school and comment that the teachers are friendly. Leaders ensure that the school is welcoming with a nurturing ethos. The school supports parents who need additional help well.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Some teachers do not assess pupil’s starting points accurately when deciding what pupils need to learn. Therefore, in some classes work is too easy or too hard. Consequently, not all pupils are making the progress that they are capable of.

• Leaders have not been rigorous enough in analysing pupil assessment information to ensure that teachers set work for pupils at the appropriate level. However, more recently, leaders’ analysis has become more focused on the progress of groups of learners and this has led to improved outcomes for pupils.
• Some teachers do not always intervene quickly enough in order to adapt pupils’ work so that they develop their skills and understanding. For example, in a Year 1 English lesson, a group of most-able pupils were not supported sufficiently to use accurate spelling in their writing.
• The curriculum is well developed with many opportunities to give pupils valuable enrichment opportunities. For example, pupils enjoy dressing up as second world war evacuees and reflecting on how being a child in the second world war is different from today. In addition, the library is used very effectively to promote reading. Visiting authors regularly talk to pupils, sharing their books and inspiring pupils to read widely and often.
• Across the school there is too much variation in the quality of pupils’ work in books. Where pupils make rapid progress, teachers follow the school’s marking policy closely and provide precise feedback to help pupils correct their own errors.
• In some classes, adults do not give sufficient time to pupils to review their work, often intervening too quickly to support them. When this happens, pupils do not have time to evaluate where they went wrong in order to improve next time.
• In mathematics, teachers use practical equipment to help pupils understand new concepts. For example, in a Year 3 mathematics lesson, pupils successfully used 3D shapes to help them to decide the properties of the shapes. However, although progress in pupils’ books is evident, there is not always sufficient challenge for the most able pupils to achieve at a higher level. These pupils do not achieve the standards they are capable of.
• In some year groups and some subjects, pupils have the opportunity to extend and develop their skills appropriately. For example, in Year 6, pupils draft and redraft in their English books in order to help them develop their writing skills appropriately.
• Teachers are developing their use of questioning across the school to probe and extend pupils’ understanding. Where this is stronger, for example in a Year 1 guided reading session, pupils respond promptly and complete tasks independently.
• Intervention sessions are used well to support pupils who are falling behind or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The special educational needs coordinator closely monitors the progress of these pupils. Where pupils’ achievement is stronger, they are either making the same or better progress than their peers are. Readers that are more confident use their phonics knowledge well to understand texts. However, some less confident pupils struggle to use their early reading skills to decode unfamiliar words.
• Teaching is particularly strong in the early years as pupils’ needs are identified clearly and staff are very aware of what each child needs to achieve.
• Where teachers’ subject knowledge is strong, such as in the teaching of writing in Year 6, this has a positive impact on pupils’ learning. For example, feedback from teachers identifies errors and pupils learn from their mistakes.
• Pupils say that work is not always challenging enough in the classroom to support their learning. For example, in one mathematics lesson in key stage 2, a small group of pupils said that their work was too easy and the geometry tasks had been harder to solve the previous day.
• Most parents agree that their child receives an appropriate amount of homework.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.

• Although attendance is improving, it is still below the national average. Pupils are able to articulate why it is important to come to school each day.
• Pupils in key stage 1 are not made sufficiently aware of the potential dangers of using the internet. Effective relationships with parents also ensure that pupils feel safe and secure and that their welfare needs are met effectively.
• This is a nurturing and caring school where staff support pupils well, ensuring that they are happy in school. For example, during breaktime a group of pupils sat in a small shelter, sang songs and read books. At playtimes and lunchtimes, pupils are well supervised by the staff, who ensure that a range of activities is provided so pupils cooperate and play well with each other.
• Older pupils show a good level of care towards younger children. For example, they speak with genuine pride when children in Reception receive golden awards for good work. Pupils have well-developed relationships with each other and enjoy opportunities to work collaboratively.
• Pupils are confident in lessons and on the playground. However, not all fully demonstrate an understanding that to be successful at school, it is important to have a positive attitude towards learning.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.

• Pupils’ behaviour, particularly when unsupervised, is not always good. For example, when staff make requests, pupils do not always comply. Consequently, poor behaviour sometimes occurs in the corridors.
• Sometimes pupils do not always respond readily enough to adults during lessons. This slows the pace of learning for others.
• At playtimes and lunchtimes, pupils enjoy a busy mix of activities, behaving well while supervised. Prefects are available during these times to support their peers. One child commented that playtimes are ‘happy times’.
• Pupils are generally polite and courteous to each other because the school develops a caring ethos as part of their school motto.

Outcomes for pupils Require improvement

• Currently, pupils do not make consistently strong progress in all year groups or all subjects.

• The progress of pupils is too variable in reading, writing and mathematics. In mathematics, all classes undertake problem-solving activities. However not all teachers plan work that meets age-related expectations. The most able pupils are not always challenged sufficiently to achieve the best possible outcomes. Sometimes the work set for them is too easy. Where planning is better, for example in Year 6, the challenge for pupils is better suited to their age and ability.
• Pupils are not fully prepared for the next stage in their education as too few meet age-related expectations in writing, reading and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Current Year 6 pupils are on track to make better progress than has previously been the case, based on their work so far this year.
• The school ensures that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with additional support so that they make similar progress to their peers. Progress of these pupils, although improving, is not yet consistently good across the school.
• The percentage of pupils who reached the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was below the national average in 2016. The school is taking effective action to improve the quality of phonics teaching. Where teaching is strongest, pupils demonstrate secure early reading skills.
• The progress made by disadvantaged pupils is too slow. This is due to the inconsistency in the quality of teaching, particularly in key stage 2. In 2016, the progress of these pupils in Year 6 compared with others nationally in mathematics was significantly below the national average.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader has a strong vision and high aspirations for children in Reception Year. Her evaluation and planning to further strengthen the provision is strong. Effective partnerships with the local authority, a local teaching school and local nurseries further support children’s needs.

• Children are fully engaged and supported well by adults, who have a good understanding of the next steps required in children’s learning. The proportion of children that reach a good level of development is above the national average. This enables them to be well prepared for Year 1.
• The outdoor space is used very well and areas are transformed, for example into a post office, mud kitchen and an area to develop gross motor skills using large wooden apparatus. Well-planned activities contribute well to promoting children’s knowledge, skills and understanding.
• Children greatly benefit from accurate and well-organised activities to support their progress. The modelling of writing, including letters and sounds, for children enables them to make strong progress towards meeting the early learning goals.
• The curriculum is developed appropriately to ensure that children make good progress towards the early learning goals. Staff use assessment methods effectively to track children’s progress.
• Learning journals capture children’s play, learning and activities, using a mixture of photographs and comments from staff. Parents contribute to these through ‘wow’ moments that are included in the journals.
• Safeguarding is effective. Staff are vigilant in their supervision of children and in ensuring that the learning environment is clean, well organised and safe. Adult relationships with children are caring and supportive. Children’s behaviour is good and they feel safe and secure.
• The range of activities available is wide-ranging and varied, including exciting ways for children to practise their writing skills. For example, children write orders for the post office role play counter. During these activities, staff check how well pupils are learning as well as supporting them by asking further questions to develop their understanding.
• The rich and engaging environment ensures that children make at least typical progress from their starting points, and some children make better than expected progress. Those children who enter with starting points below what is typical for their age make good progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116393 Hampshire 10019877 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 408 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mother Carrie Thompson Joy Squibb 023 9258 2404 www.st-johns-gosport.hants.sch.uk/ headteacher@st-johns-gosport.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 October 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• This school is being supported by a local teaching school.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The school is larger than the average primary school. Children attend the Reception class full time. The school provides a breakfast club for pupils.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of school documents, including improvement planning, pupils’ current attainment and progress, the use of sports funding and pupil premium, minutes of meetings held by the governing body, and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.

• Inspectors visited 16 lessons or part lessons, some of which were observed with senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders and middle leaders, two local authority representatives and with governors.
• Pupils’ views were gained through meetings with them and by talking to them around the school, as well as through 25 responses to Ofsted’s online survey.
• Parents’ views were considered through conversations with inspectors at the beginning of the school day and through 45 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey.

Inspection team

Darren Aisthorpe, lead inspector Jenny Boyd Cassie Buchanan

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector