St Jude's Church of England Junior School (VA) Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching so that it consistently enables pupils to make good progress from their starting points in each subject by:
  • ensuring that plans for teaching are firmly linked to the subject and age-related expectations defined in the national curriculum
  • ensuring that teachers have a sharp understanding of the precise skills and knowledge pupils should be gaining and consistently set tasks that enable pupils to learn these
  • making sure that tasks enable pupils to build on their prior learning so that all pupils, and the most able in particular, are consistently tackling hard enough work
  • ensuring that teachers’ explanations and the activities they set do not lead pupils to develop misconceptions.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • establishing an unrelenting focus on ensuring that all groups of pupils, and disadvantaged pupils in particular, catch up from any previous underachievement and make good progress across the curriculum
  • ensuring a sharp strategy for the use of the pupil premium funding and that governors hold leaders tightly to account for its success
  • making incisive use of assessment and other performance information to gain a robust understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and tackling the latter
  • ensuring that leaders’ checks and evaluations of the quality of teaching are accurate and rigorously linked to the impact teaching has on the progress of each pupil group over time, in each subject
  • developing curriculum planning so it consistently supports effective teaching and strong progress across subjects and meets all national curriculum requirements
  • developing assessment in science and foundation subjects so leaders and governors have a precise understanding of pupils’ progress in acquiring all the skills and knowledge defined in the national curriculum. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have not maintained an incisive understanding of the school’s performance. Weaknesses in teaching and achievement have not been identified and tackled sharply enough.
• Leaders regularly collect evidence about teaching quality by observing lessons and scrutinising pupils’ work. However, not enough attention is paid to the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress. As a result, leaders’ evaluations of teaching are overgenerous.
• School improvement plans are not sharply focused on tackling underachievement. The impact that leaders’ actions should have on pupils’ achievement by key points in time is not well defined.
• Historically, leaders’ use of the pupil premium funding has not been effective. More recently, spending on extra support for these pupils has led to some improved achievement, particularly in writing. However, leaders do not have an acute understanding of the overall impact of their spending in the last year, or a sharp plan for raising the achievement of disadvantaged pupils over the next one.
• The quality of curriculum planning and the extent to which it promotes good progress are variable. Leaders have made sure there are plans for teaching that cover each subject. However, they have not checked that these plans are consistently tightly linked to national curriculum subject and age-related requirements.
• Curriculum plans do not support effective teaching of pupils of varying abilities. Typically, plans for how subjects are taught define three levels of expectation for what pupils will do, depending on their ability. However, the level of learning challenge is often the same for all pupils. The expectations for the most able are just that they will complete more work or do it more independently, rather than that they will learn more deeply. Teachers are not equipped with the information they need to teach well.
• Leaders have established a suitable approach for assessing and evaluating pupils’ progress in English and mathematics. However, assessment in other subject areas is at the early stages of development. As a result, leaders do not have a sharp understanding of the impact of teaching in these subjects on pupils’ learning.
• Leaders use the information they collect about pupils’ progress to establish which pupils need support to catch up and arrange it for them. Leaders rightly recognised that, previously, support sessions were not effective enough. Better approaches introduced in the last two years have proved more successful. Nevertheless, the quality of these sessions is not consistently strong.
• External support for the school has not proved effective. In the autumn of 2015, Babcock Education, working on behalf of the local authority, identified the risk that the school could be deemed as ‘requiring improvement’. However, this did not result in any extra, effective support for school leaders to help them tackle areas of weakness.
• Leaders provide a range of opportunities for pupils to learn about life in modern Britain. They learn about other faiths in religious education and through visits to places of worship. Assemblies and discussions about political issues such as ‘Brexit’ promote pupils’ understanding of democracy. Pupils learn the importance of treating all people with respect regardless of difference, and issues such as racism are explored. However, the impact of this on pupils’ understanding of the specific nature of different types of prejudice and discrimination is not consistently well developed.
• Pupils benefit from a wealth of activities outside of lessons, including sports and a wide range of clubs such as archery, beekeeping and a brass band. The school’s ‘eco council’ works with students at Royal Holloway University of London. Pupils enjoy visits to nearby places of interest, as well as trips to France and the residential week at a specialist outdoor adventure centre.
• Leaders have made good use of the physical education and sport premium to develop teaching and increase pupils’ participation in competitive sports and clubs. Teachers have gained skills in teaching gymnastics by working with experts. The sports activities run by specialist coaches at lunchtimes have encouraged more disadvantaged pupils to get involved in sport.
• Leaders manage pupils’ behaviour well. A suitable range of rewards and sanctions encourages good behaviour. Strong links with families and support for those who find behaving well difficult help reduce the risk of exclusion and support these pupils to improve their behaviour.

Governance of the school

• Governors have not held leaders to account well enough for the quality of teaching and achievement and the use of the pupil premium. Reports from leaders about the impact of their work do not give governors a sharp insight into the school’s performance or whether it is improving. Governors have been too ready to accept leaders’ self-evaluations without seeking external verification of accuracy.
• Over the last year, several new governors have been appointed, bringing new skills and a determination to tighten governance. They recognise some insufficiencies in current arrangements and have begun asking more challenging questions. However, there is, as yet, no plan in place for developing governance or external support in place to aid their quest to improve.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders place high importance on keeping pupils safe. Staff are well trained and keep a close eye on pupils’ well-being. Anything of concern is appropriately referred to the headteacher as the lead for safeguarding or the deputies who assist in this area of work. These leaders make sure that support is in place for pupils who may be vulnerable or at risk of harm. For example, some pupils receive regular support from the school’s emotional literacy support assistant. Others are linked with a member of support staff who they ‘check in’ with every day. Strong links with families, including home visits, help strengthen this support. Concerns of a serious nature are passed to the local authority and/or the police as needed. Leaders work in partnership with these and other agencies to support and protect such pupils, and ensure that the school is a safe, nurturing place for them.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not planned and taught well enough to enable pupils to make consistently strong progress across subjects.
• Plans for teaching do not routinely define the exact skills and knowledge pupils should be acquiring in relation to their age and ability. Teachers’ clarity about the exact purpose of each lesson is variable. The activities set do not consistently promote strong progress in the subject or subjects being taught. Additionally, some teachers do not think carefully enough about the way they explain concepts. This leads to pupils developing misconceptions and the teacher reinforcing them.
• Typically, teaching is not tailored well enough to pupils of varying abilities. At times, the work set is at too low a level for the whole class. In other instances, pupils are required to tackle the same task, regardless of their ability, and no activities are planned to stretch the most able learners. When more demanding tasks are planned, the most able pupils are not always allowed to get to these quickly enough. They are required to complete tasks that are too easy for them first. As a result, time is lost and pupils do not make the progress they should.
• Teachers are rightly keen to develop pupils’ writing skills in other subjects. However, at times there is a mismatch between the writing skill being developed and the subject being taught. For example, in some science and geography lessons, pupils spend time developing their creative writing rather than the non-fiction writing skills related to the expectations for their age and pertinent to the subject.
• In mathematics, the level of challenge is not routinely high. The recent introduction of mixed-ability groups, in a bid by leaders to promote better progress for all, has compounded this. Teachers have not adjusted consistently well to the change and some are setting the same challenge for all. As a result, work is too easy for a considerable proportion of the class. Additionally, pupils have limited opportunities to develop problem-solving and reasoning skills to deepen their understanding of mathematics concepts. Some pupils commented that they would like more challenging mathematics.
• Pupils who need support to catch up attend regular sessions with support staff. The quality of these is also variable. In some cases, these sessions support very strong progress, for example by helping pupils to use phonics to sound out tricky words or develop their confidence in writing. In other instances, the work is too easy. At times, pupils are not given the chance to work things out for themselves and are just given the answers when they do not know something, and the chance to develop their thinking is lost.
• Pupils typically engage well in lessons and relationships with teachers are positive. However, at times, when the work is too easy, a few pupils become a little restless. On other occasions, some pupils do not pay enough attention to class discussions because the teacher has not insisted on it.
• Where teaching is stronger, teachers have thought deeply about exactly what pupils should be learning. The tasks set help pupils build skills and deepen their knowledge. Teachers explain concepts and activities well and help pupils understand their steps to success. Effective questioning encourages pupils to think more deeply. Support staff help lower-attaining pupils break tasks into small manageable pieces and they guide the pupils really well. This teaching supports strong progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good
• Pupils feel safe and well cared for. Bullying is rare. Pupils said bullying does not happen and, although some pupils are occasionally mean to each other, this gets resolved. Pupils are clear there is no prejudice, name-calling or discrimination of any kind.
• Pupils know they can turn to an adult or peer for help. The ‘DELL’ provides a space and support for pupils who need it to make a settled start to the day. The peer mediators look after pupils and help them with friendship problems. These pupils are well respected by others and easy to spot in the playground because of their mediator hats.
• The school provides a nurturing, stimulating environment outside of lessons. At lunchtime, pupils eat healthy meals in the well-ordered dining hall. They purchase healthy snacks from the pupil-run shop run at breaktime. Pupils enjoy a range of activities, including sports, run by specialist coaches, and spending time at ‘pets’ corner’, where they can see chickens, ducks, guinea pigs and rabbits. An inviting obstacle course is put to good use. Pupils select books from the library on the recently installed bus. Groups take turns to use the bus’s upstairs canteen with a view of the field. Some take part in a ‘mathletics’ club run by their peers. Pets’ corner is also an attraction before school. Pupils spoke excitedly about having just seen a chicken lay an egg.
• Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the world beyond school. They are aware of where there may be dangers to avoid. They know to share any concerns with a responsible adult.
• Pupils learn about other faiths and develop their understanding of modern British society through assemblies, class discussions and visits. They know the importance of treating all equally and being tolerant of difference. However, their understanding of the specific nature of prejudice and discrimination is not consistently well developed. Pupils have a reasonable understanding of democracy and know about different political parties. They are less clear about how law is made.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They typically conduct themselves well around the school site and in class. They are polite to visitors and move in an orderly manner between lessons. Low-level disruption to learning is uncommon. Pupils say that when it does happen teachers deal with it well.
• Pupils are keen to come to school and attendance is high. Very few pupils have poor attendance and, when they do, this is typically for very justifiable reasons.
• Pupils and parents value the positive praise and rewards given for good behaviour, and the termly celebration events. Pupils are highly aware of the school’s yellow, orange and red card system and its consequences. This deters poor behaviour.
• At times, a few pupils display challenging behaviour. Leaders work tirelessly to tackle this. Strong links with families establish consistent expectations between school and home. Trained staff provide practical and emotional support for these pupils. This helps improve behaviour and reduces the risk of exclusion. The number of pupils excluded and those excluded more than once reduced last year.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress throughout their time in school and across the different subjects they study is too variable. The most able are not routinely stretched enough to make strong progress. Those who joined from infant school with lower levels of achievement do not routinely experience the teaching and support needed to catch up and make further good progress.
• Historically, pupils’ progress in English and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 has been inconsistent. On average, pupils have made good progress in reading and poor progress in writing and mathematics. Although not directly comparable with information from previous years, provisional information for 2016 indicates that, by the end of key stage 2, pupils’ progress in all three areas was in line with the national average. However, current pupils’ progress in English and mathematics is variable and few make strong progress.
• Over time, outcomes for disadvantaged pupils have been too low, particularly in mathematics and reading. In the last three years, the proportion of these pupils with middle starting points making more than expected progress at the end of key stage 2 has been notably lower than for other pupils nationally. Improved support is helping these pupils catch up more successfully than was previously the case. Nevertheless, disadvantaged pupils currently in the school make variable progress. Typically, they make sound progress in writing and weaker progress in reading and mathematics. They make the same variable progress as their peers in other subjects.
• In recent years, boys’ progress in writing by the end of key stage 2 has been consistently low. Girls’ progress in mathematics has also been low in two out of the last three years. The school’s self-evaluation does not consider these variations or if they are lessening. Evidence seen during the inspection showed no noticeable differences between boys’ and girls’ achievement in writing or mathematics. Both groups make variable progress.
• Due to weaknesses in foundation subject planning, achievement in these subjects is variable. For example, pupils’ achievement in design and technology is limited because they are not given opportunities to design products for a purpose and develop the design and problem-solving skills expected for their age.
• The majority of pupils show a love of reading. Parents typically work well in partnership with the school, supporting their children to read regularly at home. Pupils make good use of the school library to select books of suitable challenge and are keen to talk about authors they know of. Pupils with middle and high starting points read fluently. Where they find words difficult, they use phonics well to help them. However, pupils with lower starting points do not have the same enthusiasm. Some find reading boring. Despite support with their reading at home and at school, they are reluctant readers.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with very low starting points typically make at least reasonable, and quite often good, progress in mathematics and writing. However, few make good progress in reading and extra support for these pupils to catch up in reading has not been consistently effective.
• Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language typically make better progress than their peers in English and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125173 Surrey 10000753 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 Junior School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 336 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Brian Irvine Vicki Chiverton 01784 432 180 www.stjudes.surrey.sch.uk head@stjudes.surrey.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 21–22 June 2012

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the pupil premium or special educational needs on its website. The pupil premium statement is not up to date and the special educational needs report does not include information about the school’s complaints policy or a link to the school’s accessibility plan.
• St Jude’s is a larger than average-sized junior school. The majority of pupils are White British. A larger than average proportion are from minority ethnic backgrounds, of which the largest groups are from other White backgrounds and Indian backgrounds. A similar proportion speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national figure and the proportion with an education, health and care plan is average.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 18 lessons, nine jointly with the headteacher. Inspectors also observed five small group support sessions. In addition, the inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work from a range of subjects including English and mathematics and listened to pupils read.
• The inspectors held discussions with senior leaders, members of the governing body, teachers, pupils, parents and a representative from Babcock Education, which runs the school improvements service for Surrey.
• The inspectors reviewed documents including safeguarding policies, behaviour and attendance records, self-evaluation and planning documents and the school’s records on performance management and teaching and learning.
• Account was taken of 29 staff survey responses and 152 responses by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. In addition, inspectors considered 84 parent responses by free text.

Inspection team

Diana Choulerton, lead inspector Deirdre Crutchley Krista Dawkins Steph Fawdry

Her Majesty's Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector