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

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve pupils’ outcomes, especially the most able and those with SEND by:
  • matching tasks and additional support more precisely to pupils’ needs
  • creating further opportunities for pupils to apply and develop their literacy skills and subject-specific knowledge across the curriculum.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher has worked with great rigour and determination to make improvements at the school. She has high expectations for what staff and pupils at the school can achieve. Together with her talented leadership team, she has created a culture of ambition for all at the school. Improvement plans are carefully thought through and delivered successfully over time.
• Curriculum leaders are a cohesive team. They have played a key role to ensure that a consistent and cumulative curriculum is now in place. They lead training for staff in their areas of responsibility and demonstrate strong capacity to drive further improvements.
• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is continually improving. Senior leaders support new colleagues into the ‘St Jude’s way’ of teaching and planning. Teachers report that leaders always make time to give them the support they require and inspire them to improve practice.
• Leaders accurately evaluate the school’s effectiveness. For example, they know that ensuring that the most able pupils have opportunities to develop their literacy skills across subjects is an area for further improvement.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Exciting opportunities such as trips, visits and workshops are built into the curriculum. Learning through music and science are strengths.
• Physical education (PE) and sport are well led and taught by a highly skilled team. Staff review the curriculum to make sure it is both challenging and engaging. PE funding is used effectively and monitored carefully.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding effectively. Staff throughout the school work hard to assess and provide for the individual welfare and academic needs of pupils who are eligible for additional funding. Consequently, the achievement of disadvantaged pupils has risen over time.
• Leaders have not yet fully evaluated how well the curriculum meets the needs of pupils with SEND to help them learn well and make good progress from their individual starting points.
• The local authority has provided effective support for the school which has helped improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. As a result, the local authority now uses St Jude’s as an example of good practice for other schools.

Governance of the school

• Governors have reorganised the governing body structure to ensure that all governors are well informed of the school’s strengths and areas of development. They receive appropriate training so that they can evaluate accurately improvements in teaching, learning and assessment.
• Governors are highly skilled and ambitious in their vision for the school. They hold leaders to account for their actions to ensure that pupils at the school achieve well. They are committed to raising pupils’ achievement.
• Governors monitor the impact of additional funding, such as the pupil premium grant and SEND funding, effectively.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school has a strong culture of safeguarding. Appropriate checks are carried out on all staff, volunteers and visitors.
• School leaders work effectively with external agencies to ensure that pupils receive the best possible support. They are persistent in their approach and do not rest until they secure the most appropriate support to improve pupils’ physical and emotional well-being.
• Staff receive regular training to recognise potential safeguarding issues and concerns. They are alert and vigilant to the needs of pupils and know what actions to take to keep pupils safe.
• Adults teach pupils how to keep safe in school. Pupils know what actions to take to make sure they are safe when using online devices.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching is good and improving. Teachers challenge pupils to make links between their previous learning and their current work. Consequently, pupils develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. Pupils discuss their work enthusiastically and confidently.
• Pupils say that they enjoy lessons because teachers make sure that they understand what is being taught. One pupil’s comment captured the views of many, ‘Our teachers know what we need to learn, and they make sure we understand it.’
• Pupils show positive attitudes to learning from their mistakes. They appreciate feedback from staff and peers and use it to edit and improve their work. For example, pupils told inspectors that, ‘We check our ideas with our friends because they can help us to make our work even better.’
• Teachers use a range of strategies to assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding accurately. They know how well pupils progress and what they need to improve further. Pupils act on feedback given to help them improve their work and make progress.
• Pupils read regularly and show a high level of interest in reading. The well-stocked library provides books which have been carefully chosen to challenge pupils’ thinking about the world and to raise their literacy skills. Pupils who require further help to develop their reading skills receive additional support to practise their phonics knowledge.
• The teaching of mathematics is a strength of the school. Adults intervene promptly to correct any misconceptions and ensure that pupils develop clear knowledge of the mathematical concepts that they are being taught.
• Disadvantaged pupils typically learn well. This is because staff have identified these pupils’ needs. Staff use this information to ensure that the curriculum is challenging and meets disadvantaged pupils’ needs well.
• Levels of expectations of what the most able pupils can achieve are varied across the school. At times the most able pupils are not challenged to achieve at the higher standard, particularly in writing.
• Pupils with SEND do not always make the progress they are capable of. This is because sometimes work given to pupils with SEND is not matched carefully enough to meet their specific needs.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• There are excellent relationships between staff and pupils. The school’s values of trust, friendship, respect, forgiveness, thankfulness and love are a strong part of the school’s ethos. Pupils told inspectors that, ‘We know sometimes our friends may be struggling and need our help. We help them by making sure we play with them, are kind to them and make them feel happy.’
• Pupils show respect towards all members of the school community. Pupils celebrate each other’s differences. They told inspectors, ‘We respect everyone, no matter what they believe in or where they come from.’
• Pupils know what actions to take to ensure their safety when online. They know to immediately report any concerns they may have to trusted adults. Pupils appreciate the various assemblies led by professionals, including visits from the local community police to talk about e-safety.
• Pupils say they are pleased with how their physical health and mental health are looked after at school. Pupils shared several examples of how staff help and support them to discuss and overcome their anxieties. Additionally, older pupils train as peer mediators. These pupils act as role models for younger pupils and help them overcome their worries during playtimes.
• Pupils at the school are knowledgeable about current national issues. They told inspectors they had discussed Brexit in assembly and used their research of news coverage to debate their own ideas.
• A large majority of parents told inspectors that their children are happy and safe at school. They shared their appreciation of the support their children receive.
• Pupils have good opportunities to take on leadership responsibilities. For example, they can become members of the school council, help organise the ‘eco-council’ or join the prayer committee. They proudly take up roles as monitors to help in school. One pupil reported, ‘We help our teachers run our school.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are well behaved. They are courteous towards others, respectful of others and show consideration for each other. Pupils play with friends from other year groups at breaktimes and lunchtimes.
• Pupils keep their classrooms and school tidy. They pick up litter and take the initiative to keep their school clean without being prompted to do so.
• Pupils are focused, engaged and enthusiastic when they are learning. Occasionally, their concentration wanders, particularly when they find work either too easy or too hard.
• Attendance is above average. Leaders worked tirelessly to improve the attendance of those who have been persistently absent in the past. As a result, persistent absence has reduced and is now at the national average.
• Incidents of bullying are rare. Where concerns are raised these are dealt with immediately.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Owing to strong leadership and improved teaching, outcomes have improved since the last inspection. In both 2017 and 2018 pupils’ attainment by the end of key stage 2 was above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Over time, pupils’ progress in key stage 2 has been broadly average in reading and mathematics. Pupils’ progress in writing has improved substantially so that it, too, is now broadly average.
• Pupils’ attainment in reading and mathematics is well above the national average at the higher standard and in line with the national average at the higher standard in writing.
• Most pupils are currently making good progress across the curriculum. Leaders carefully track pupils’ progress to ensure that they achieve at the expected standard for their age. However, pupils with SEND do not make as much progress as their peers at the school.
• Current performance information shows that disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is improving and is in line with or above age-related expectations. Leaders closely track the achievement of pupils and act swiftly to provide the support pupils need to help them make good or better progress.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to reading and a love for stories and books. They benefit from additional support when they need it. They make strong progress from their relative starting points and show good levels of comprehension skills.

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School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125173 Surrey 10058134 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 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 278 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Martyn Shapter Vicki Chiverton 01784 432180 www.stjudes.surrey.sch.uk head@stjudes.surrey.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 12–13 October 2016

Information about this school

• St Jude’s is an average-sized junior school.
• Most 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.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above national average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by an education health care plan (EHC plan) is above the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed lessons throughout the school, some jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of pupils’ work from across the school, sometimes with teachers and leaders from the school.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, two deputy headteachers and curriculum leaders.
• A meeting was held with members of the governing body.
• An inspector spoke on the telephone to a representative of the local authority and the Diocese of Guildford.
• Several documents were scrutinised, including the school’s own information about pupils’ learning and progress; planning and monitoring documents; minutes of governing body meetings; the school improvement plan; records relating to behaviour and attendance; and safeguarding information.
• Inspectors took account of 123 responses to the pupils’ questionnaire and 25 responses to the staff questionnaire. They considered 96 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, including 95 comments. They also met informally with parents.
• Inspectors spoke with staff and took account of their views.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and met with groups of pupils.

Inspection team

Shazia Akram, lead inspector Matthew Haynes Lynn Martin

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector