St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Develop the quality of teaching to ensure that pupils reach the standards they are capable of by the time they leave the school, particularly in writing, by:
  • building effectively on pupils’ prior outcomes at the end of the early years foundation stage
  • matching work closely to pupils’ different needs and abilities, especially for the most able and disadvantaged pupils.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • monitoring is focused on the progress of different groups of pupils and provides teachers with precise targets to improve pupils’ achievement, including that of disadvantaged pupils and the most able
  • governors are more rigorous in holding school leaders to account and improve pupils’ outcomes. 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 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

• Senior leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching require improvement. Evaluations of teaching and learning are not sufficiently focused on the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress. As a result, teachers are not provided with clear information on how to improve outcomes for some pupils.
• Senior leaders’ approach to monitoring pupils’ progress has not had sufficient focus on improving outcomes for all groups of pupils. Systems to track and check progress, especially in key stage 1, are not precise. Consequently, when some pupils’ progress falters it is not resolved quickly enough.
• Systems to manage the performance of staff are not sharply focused on improving pupils’ achievement. As a result, there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching across the school. Leaders and governors are not providing enough challenge to bring about rapid improvements.
• Leaders have introduced a phonics strategy which is having a positive impact on pupils’ reading ability and phonics skills. However, pupils’ writing is not yet improving well enough or being applied across the curriculum with sufficient depth and meaning, especially for the most able pupils.
• The special educational needs coordinator ensures that appropriate plans and actions are in place for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Support to develop pupils’ social and emotional development is effective. However, leaders do not check closely enough to make sure that interventions are leading to sustained improvements in key subjects.
• Leadership of mathematics is effective. For example, training to improve reasoning skills is enabling pupils to have a better understanding and they are developing their mathematical thinking and reasoning. As a result, outcomes in mathematics are improving across the school.
• The curriculum is organised and arranged to ensure an appropriate breadth of subjects, including English, mathematics and science. Pupils enjoy the variety of activities, including sporting clubs and activities after the school day, such as drama club. As a result, pupils can learn and apply skills in different contexts.
• School leaders place a high value on promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In particular, pupils act as ‘monitors’, sharing the responsibility of promoting good behaviour in the school. As a result, pupils actively take account of their behaviour and understand the impact of this on the community and those around them.
• School leaders are effective in responding to pupils who have particularly challenging needs and behaviour. For example, the recent arrangements are ensuring that pupils are receiving the pastoral and academic support needed to attend school and be successful.
• External support from the local authority has not been effective in identifying issues raised through published national data. It has not used available information to challenge leaders and governors to improve over time.

Governance of the school

• Governors have not been fully effective in holding the school to account. They have not challenged the school to ensure that pupils reach the standards they are capable of. This is because the governing body does not have a precise understanding of the progress of different groups of pupils.
• Governors have not provided sufficient challenge to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make good academic progress. Funding is used to provide pastoral support, promote inclusion and build pupils’ personal and emotional skills. However, the governors lack a clear strategy for checking and improving academic outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, including, for example, the most able. Consequently, outcomes for these pupils are too variable.
• The school’s use of the sports premium is effective. The employment of a specialist coach offers valuable expertise and opportunities for high-quality physical education.
• Representatives of the governing body visit the school and are active in formulating and agreeing the next steps for the school. For example, governors have been successful in establishing the provision for two-year-olds in the ‘caterpillars’ (attached early years unit) and in determining the alternative arrangements to support pupils who have additional needs.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. School leaders and governors ensure that pupils are kept safe through effective systems for recruiting, appointing and training staff. Records of relevant child protection training for all staff are complete and updated on a regular basis. As a result, staff are aware of child protection matters and take effective action to keep children safe.
• School leaders are proactive in ensuring that training is updated and that all training needs are met. For example, following the latest local authority safeguarding audit, the designated safeguarding officer undertook additional training to raise awareness of child exploitation.
• There is a prevailing culture of awareness for safeguarding across the school. Information for staff, parents and pupils is clearly displayed around the school and through the website. Teaching assistants have a useful prompt about how to respond to a child protection disclosure. Staff are observant and make rapid referrals to senior leaders where necessary.
• School leaders respond quickly and efficiently to information raised by others, including parents and staff. Leaders liaise with the full range of external agencies to keep children safe, including the police and social services. In addition, the parent family support adviser provides additional services to support children and their families when this is needed.
• Pupils feel safe and know what steps they should take in certain situations to stay safe, including when online. They understand what bullying is and are of the opinion that school staff take effective action to prevent this.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teachers do not use assessment information consistently well to raise outcomes for pupils. As a result, pupils do not always build securely on their previous skills and knowledge to make good progress over time. For example, some expectations in writing are similar for both the lower- and higher-ability pupils in Year 2.
• Teachers do not check pupils’ knowledge sufficiently to move them on at the right time. As a result, pupils are not challenged to do their best and do not meet the standards they are capable of. This is particularly apparent for the most able pupils in writing, who do not have enough opportunities to deepen or extend their writing skills.
• Additional adults make valuable contributions in phonics lessons. However, at other times they are not used or deployed as effectively. As a result, some pupils provided with additional support and interventions do not make sustained progress.
• The teaching of mathematics is improving. Pupils are expected to explain their thinking and reasoning, which is supporting their wider understanding of mathematical concepts and is now helping pupils to learn more rapidly.
• The teaching of phonics has improved. The introduction of a programme to support pupils with their phonics skills and knowledge is having a good effect. As a result, pupils are able to spell more accurately and are able to use phonics reliably in developing their early reading skills.
• Teachers’ established routines and structures support pupils’ emotional and social needs well, especially for those with complex needs. As a result, pupils know what is expected of them and manage their behaviour well to be prepared for learning. They make valuable contributions in lessons.
• Homework is set regularly and pupils show an enthusiasm and appetite for learning. One pupil, whose view was typical, said, ‘It’s fun!’ Parents are also commonly of the view that the number and range of activities support their children.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Staff are effective in promoting a caring ethos and culture. As a result, pupils feel valued and supported. Pupils are happy and mix together harmoniously at various times of the school day.
• Pupils are taught to show respect and tolerance towards one another. They reflect school values to show honesty and kindness. One pupil, whose view is typical, told an inspector, ‘Everyone is friendly.’
• Shared community times are valued by the children. For example, pupils speak positively about ‘rights assemblies’ and are enthusiastic about ‘golden’ and ‘singing’ assemblies. Consequently, pupils feel part of a wider community or family. This provides them with security, safety and happiness.
• Pupils are effective in holding each other to account through peer roles and responsibilities. For example, at playtimes, ‘corridor monitors’ reinforce rules and expectations of behaviour. As a result, pupils are taking responsibility for their own behaviour and related physical and emotional well-being.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Staff reinforce and model high expectations of pupils through their own conduct around the school and in lessons. As a result, pupils are keen to ‘have a go’ and show the confidence to take risks in their learning.
• Occasionally, pupils’ attention wavers when the teaching does not maintain or hold their interest, including in small-group intervention sessions.
• Leaders are taking effective steps to improve attendance. A range of rewards and the positive work of the pastoral family support adviser are central to this improvement. Since September 2016, the number of pupils with high absence has fallen by about a third.
• Leaders have effectively introduced an arrangement for a small group of younger pupils who have specific social, emotional and learning needs. It is aimed at full reintegration so that the pupils can attend school, participate and thrive. This is effective because the children are having their needs met. Communications from parents whose children have been part of this arrangement acknowledge the improvements seen at both home and school.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Too many pupils do not reach the standards of which they are capable by the time they leave the school. In particular, some pupils do not catch up quickly, most noticeably in their writing skills. Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils’ sentence structure and organisation are not strongly developed. There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to write at length to deepen their writing skills.
• Too few of the most able pupils are meeting the highest standards, particularly in writing, especially the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• Currently, there are groups of pupils that are not progressing securely. In particular, these include disadvantaged pupils who are typically falling behind other pupils in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make consistently good progress in writing but make stronger progress in reading and spelling. The introduction of the phonics strategy is supporting pupils with essential knowledge of letters and sounds to make progress in reading and spelling. However, translating this to writing for some is challenging, especially when work is not precisely matched to their needs.
• The proportions of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check improved in 2016. Standards in phonics are improving due to the improved teaching of phonics across the school.
• Pupils make better progress across the school in their reading. They develop increasing fluency and expression. The most able readers show secure word-building skills and effective comprehension, showing a sound understanding of the text.
• Work in pupils’ books confirms that pupils are developing their mathematical skills and understanding. In 2016, too few pupils reached expected standards in mathematics. Pupils are now more confidently applying reasoning skills to solve a range of mathematical problems.

Early years provision Good

• The quality of teaching in the early years is good. Leaders ensure purposeful use of assessment and transition information that supports children to make good progress across the curriculum. Consequently, a higher proportion of children reach expected standards at the end of Reception and are well prepared for Year 1.
• Leaders have developed a supportive and nurturing ethos. They show real determination to build the children’s independence as soon as possible. As a result, children start to take responsibility and make strong contributions to their own learning and development.
• Adults interact effectively with the children and have high expectations. For example, Nursery children were using building blocks and talking about the different shapes they could see, including cuboids and rectangles. Consequently, children make good progress across the early years.
• Teaching in the early years is focused well to support children with different abilities, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The range and use of the facilities to support the children’s learning are effective. Adults work well together to plan opportunities for the children so that they can be creative, active and learn through exploration.
• Typically, by the time the children leave the Reception Year, most achieve well. In 2016, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development was above the national average. However, there has been a decline in the proportion of disadvantaged children meeting this benchmark.
• Leaders have started to address weaknesses in the proportion of disadvantaged children reaching expected standards. Staff are now more effective in targeting disadvantaged children so that they too are catching up. However, a number of disadvantaged children have less well-developed communication and writing skills.
• Safeguarding in the early years foundation stage is effective.

School details

Unique reference number 123759 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 10025091 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 Infant School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 2 to 7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 210 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Trwoga Headteacher Wendy Turner Telephone number 01458 832085 Website www.stjohnsinfantsglastonbury.co.uk Email address stjohnsglastonbury@educ.somerset.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 June 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school has provision for a governor-run nursery which includes sessions for two-year-olds.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the additional grant for disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average. The proportion of those who have an education, health and care plan is below the national average.
• As an infant school, St John’s is not required to publish information about the government’s floor standards, as these are not applicable.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors visited classes usually accompanied by either the headteacher or the deputy headteacher.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders, including the headteacher and deputy headteacher as well as subject leaders for mathematics and English. Other meetings were held with the special educational needs coordinator and representatives of the school’s governing body.
• The lead inspector also had a telephone interview with a representative of the local authority.
• The inspectors scrutinised a number of documents, including records of governors’ visits, assessment information, the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, anonymised performance management records and evidence relating to safer recruitment and child protection.
• Most visits to classrooms were conducted through accompanied learning walks. Inspectors also conducted observations in a Reception Year physical education lesson.
• The inspectors observed daily phonics teaching across both days of the inspection.
• The lead inspector undertook a learning walk to review other subjects taught across the curriculum. These included parts of a science and an art lesson.
• The inspectors undertook an extensive scrutiny of pupils’ books to evaluate the quality of work and check the accuracy of assessment information held by the school in writing and mathematics.
• The inspectors spoke to children through various activities during the inspection. In addition, an inspector met a group of Year 2 pupils.
• Inspectors heard Year 1 and Year 2 pupils read during the inspection.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at playtime and lunch, and their general conduct across the school day.
• The 29 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, were taken into account. The inspectors also considered comments provided alternatively, such as through informal meetings and via submitted emails or letters. There were no responses from pupils or staff. The inspection took account of the 24 free texts received.

Inspection team

Stewart Gale, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Matthew Shirley Ofsted Inspector Lizzy Meadows Ofsted Inspector