St John's CofE Junior Mixed and Infant School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 22 – 23 February 2012 Inspection number 376546 St. John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 101319 Local authority Barnet Inspection number 376546 Inspection dates 22–23 February 2012 Lead inspector Lynn Alexander

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 235 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Helen Newman Headteacher Graham Gunn Date of previous school inspection 27–28 November 2006 School address Crescent Road Friern Barnet London N11 3LB Telephone number 020 8361 1154 Fax number 020 8361 5039 Email address ggunn@stjohnsn11.barnet.sch.uk Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 2 of 12

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 3 of 12

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Thirteen lessons were seen and inspectors made short observations of pupils engaged in group work, heard pupils read and observed assemblies. Nine teachers were observed over a period of eight hours. In addition, meetings were held with pupils, members of the governing body including the Rector, the headteacher, the senior leadership team and staff. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, and looked at its self- evaluation documents and plans for improvement, the data collected on pupils’ progress, safeguarding information and the minutes of governing body meetings. They considered the responses in 107 questionnaires that had been returned by parents and carers, 112 questionnaires from pupils and 24 received from staff.

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Information about the school

St. John’s is an average-sized primary school. The number of pupils who leave or join the school at other than the usual times is lower than that found nationally. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average, as is the proportion of those who speak English as an additional language. A very small proportion of pupils are known to be entitled to free school meals. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is slightly above the national average. The number of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The school meets the current government floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics. There are eight classes in the school. Of these, the Early Years Foundation Stage provides part-time places for 52 children in the Nursery class and there are 30 children in a Reception class. At the time of the inspection, two teachers

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Information about the school

were new to the school. Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 4 of 12

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Information about the school

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is an outstanding school. Pupils flourish in all aspects of their academic achievement. The school’s thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development ensures that they mature into responsible, caring members of the school and the wider community. The vast majority of parents and carers and pupils who gave their views were extremely positive about the school. One parent commented typically, ‘This school is inspiring, and offers a unique environment where my child absolutely thrives.’  Achievement is outstanding. When they join the Early Years Foundation Stage, pupils make rapid progress and this is sustained as they move through the school. Consequently, by the time they leave Year 6, almost all groups of pupils achieve standards that are significantly above those of their peers nationally.  Pupils’ exemplary behaviour in and out of lessons, their very positive attitudes

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Key findings

to learning and consideration for each other contribute to their outstanding achievement. Pupils say they feel very safe and secure; parents and carers agree and inspectors endorse these views.  Much outstanding teaching throughout the school demonstrates well-judged approaches that match pupils’ needs effectively, based on rigorous accurate whole-school assessment systems. Pupils are keen to be actively involved in responding to teachers’ marking and feedback. Pupils learn exceptionally well across the imaginative and stimulating curriculum and consequently achieve above average standards, including in reading.  The drive, example and commitment of leaders and managers have ensured that high levels of achievement for all pupils have been sustained over time. Their relentless focus on the leadership of teaching and the management of performance has ensured that all staff, including teachers new to the school,

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Key findings

are committed to the pursuit of excellence. They demonstrate determination to provide opportunities for pupils to experience a rich and meaningful curriculum. Parents and carers are particularly positive about the curriculum and the opportunities for them to support their children’s learning. Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 5 of 12

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Key findings

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching so that all teachers by:  ensuring that pupils have greater involvement in and responsibility for their own learning by helping them to focus even more on what they need to do to improve their work.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are expected for their age. They make rapid progress in their personal development and in communication, reading, writing and mathematics. By the end of their Reception Year, children’s skills are above those expected for their age.

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Achievement of pupils

Almost all pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, achieve standards that demonstrate sustained high achievement based on their starting points as they move through Key Stages 1 and 2. At the time of the previous inspection, attainment was above the national average at the end of Key Stage 2 in English and mathematics and they have continued to improve over time. As a result of very effective teaching, standards in reading are significantly above the national average at the end of Key Stage 1 and also by the time that pupils leave the school in Year 6. There is a regular and comprehensive whole-school approach to assessment of each pupil’s achievement that enables senior leaders to track and monitor progress. The school is developing this approach to include more regular on- going teacher assessment in lessons.

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Achievement of pupils

Observations in lessons confirm the positive impact of the school’s strong commitment to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and the imaginative, well-planned curriculum. Pupils work hard, cooperate well with their classmates and school staff and take pride in the presentation of their work. Their work-books show that they are making sustained excellent progress in lessons and that they are keen to reflect on and improve their work. In all classes, high quality bespoke support meets individual learning needs very effectively. Consequently, any potential barriers to learning are minimised. Challenge is also provided, for example through mathematical computer-based programmes for more-able pupils. Most parents and carers consider that their children make good progress and inspectors agree. As a parent typically commented, ‘My child has excellent support in lessons and attends booster lessons that she finds beneficial.’ Consequently, pupils learn

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Achievement of pupils

exceptionally well and can use their skills across the curriculum and in the life and work of the school. For example, they plan and cook meals for elderly members of the local community; used excellent application of prior learning in a mathematics lesson on rotational symmetry; and reflect and write about life in the Second World War. Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 6 of 12

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Achievement of pupils

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

As a result of teaching over time that is outstanding overall but with a proportion that is good, pupils throughout the school make rapid and sustained progress. All staff, including teachers and teaching assistants, have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Time is rarely wasted. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and they have designed a stimulating, cohesive curriculum that engages and motivates pupils. They plan lessons to ensure they meet the needs and interests of all pupils and use effective teaching strategies to challenge them to improve. For example, teachers in the Early Years Foundation Stage identified that boys’ writing, although of no cause for concern, is not as well developed as that of girls. They designed a range of activities such as a castle and a construction area that provide a focus, and boys are directed to these areas with adult intervention. As a result, boys

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Quality of teaching

have shown greater interest and their writing is improving.

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Quality of teaching

The best teaching reflects the school’s very strong promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and its highly effective approach to the teaching of reading, writing, communication and mathematics. Inspectors noted the enthusiasm and resilience of pupils towards their learning, and their cooperation with their peers. This is evident throughout the school. In observation of the youngest children in the Nursery, children supported and encouraged each other in role play, making their own books and models and in using a programmable toy to extend their knowledge of numbers for labels and counting. A small group of pupils in Key Stage 1 demonstrated their use of the interactive whiteboard together with their phonic (linking letters with the sounds they make) knowledge and challenged each other, to the delight of their teacher. In Key Stage 2, following the whole school’s participation

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Quality of teaching

in a church service on Ash Wednesday, pupils were able to discuss the meaning of temptation in relation to their own lives and write a play script. The oldest pupils demonstrated empathy for the plight of evacuees in their discussion and writing. Educational visits and homework are often linked to pupils’ curriculum work and this makes it more meaningful.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers and teaching assistants in all classes regularly check pupils’ understanding through effective use of questioning. As the relationships between adults and children are excellent, pupils are willing and able to seek guidance. The vast majority of parents and carers think that their children are well taught and inspectors agree. Teaching assistants’ effective deployment and professionalism contribute significantly to pupils’ learning. All teachers mark pupils’ work carefully and provide constructive feedback. In the best teaching, pupils have the opportunity to correct, improve and comment on their work. In discussion with inspectors, it was evident that they enjoyed this responsibility and felt it helped them to do even better. Although this practice is not yet fully embedded across the school, senior leaders are assisting its development through their focus on sharing good practice between teachers.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils make an exceptional contribution to the atmosphere of mutual respect and Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 7 of 12

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

consideration for others that make this school a highly cohesive, calm and orderly learning community. This reflects the school’s excellent promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and pupils’ application of it. Pupils are friendly, polite and welcoming to visitors and show great consideration and respect for others. They provide good role models for the very few pupils who find it more difficult to behave appropriately through their excellent attitudes to learning and in their conduct in lessons and around the school. Attendance is above average and pupils’ punctuality is good. Pupils are extremely well managed and supported because of the school’s consistent and explicit approach to behaviour management. A few parents and carers expressed concerns about bullying and these were shared with the school. In discussion with inspectors, pupils confirmed that they help to set

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

rules and that ‘teachers sort it out’ if there is any problem.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils speak with knowledge and excellent understanding of how to assess risks and keep themselves safe in a variety of situations. They show particular maturity regarding how to protect themselves when using the internet and confirm that they feel very safe and know whom to turn to if they have any concerns. They have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying. Analysis of the comprehensive records kept by the school, scrutiny of risk assessments and observations during the inspection confirm that the behaviour and safety of pupils are a strength of the school. This is reflected in the highly positive attitudes observed in all activities, including a singing assembly where pupils demonstrated excellent behaviour and reflection.

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Leadership and management

All leaders and managers, including the governing body, and staff lead by example and share high aspirations for sustained and even greater improvement in achievement for all pupils. They know their strengths well and plan very effective actions to address relative weaknesses. They share a sense of purpose and drive and ensure that an outstanding curriculum provides a wide range of rich, memorable experiences and opportunities for high quality learning for all pupils. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is an excellent balance between adult-led activities and those that children choose for themselves. The active promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is at the heart of the school. It encompasses all pupils and ensures there is equality of opportunity and no discrimination, and this was verified during the inspection.

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Leadership and management

Senior leaders share their expertise and commission appropriate external support in order to continue to improve the quality of teaching. Since the previous inspection, their rigorous monitoring and effective professional development strategies have continued to raise the achievement of all pupils in all subjects and ensured that teachers are held to account. Consequently, senior leaders have demonstrated relentless strong capacity to improve. Recently, this has enabled them to manage staffing changes without detriment to pupils.

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Leadership and management

The professional expertise and commitment of the governing body, together with Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 8 of 12

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Leadership and management

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

very strong parish links, provide a high level of informed support and challenge. There are many effective partnerships, including meaningful links with local, national and international schools, and a wide range of sporting, music and creative opportunities for pupils that particularly promote pupils’ cultural development. The links with China have included staff visits and correspondence between pupils. The school ensures that pupils are actively involved in the local community, and that the community is a welcome part of the school; for example, retired citizens volunteer to help in reading activities. The vast majority of parents and carers agree that the school works in effective partnership with them and encourages them in supporting their children’s learning. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements and give no cause for concern, and child protection procedures are exemplary.

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Leadership and management

Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 9 of 12

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 10 of 12

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning. Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 11 of 12

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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London N11 3LB

Thank you very much for the friendly welcome you gave us when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking with you and seeing you at work and play. We particularly enjoyed talking to you about what it is like to be a pupil in your school, hearing you read and coming to see your lessons. Your parents and carers are very pleased with the school. This letter is to tell you that we found that St. John’s is an outstanding school. Some of the things that make it outstanding are that:

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London N11 3LB

 you behave extremely well and you are very helpful, thoughtful and polite  you work hard and you make outstanding progress all the way through school and reach high standards  you enjoy your lessons and your curriculum topics are interesting and exciting  you have excellent school leaders, managers and teachers who make sure you are safe  you are interested in other people and their lives, such as the children in the schools in England and China that you are getting to know, and you help people who live near your school.

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London N11 3LB

To help your school to be even better, we have asked your headteacher and senior leaders to:

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 make sure that that your teachers help you to understand what you need to do to improve your work and give you time to do it.

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London N11 3LB

You can help your school leaders by continuing your very good work and enjoying everything you do at St. John’s school.

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We send you our best wishes for the future.

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Lynn Alexander Lead inspector Inspection report: St John’s Church of England Junior Mixed and Infant School, 22–23 February 2012 12 of 12

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London N11 3LB

procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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