St John's Church of England Primary School

St John's Church of England Primary School Peel Grove, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9LR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  School leaders have not addressed the serious shortcomings in the school’s effectiveness. They have been ineffective in driving forward improvements since the last inspection.  Pupils’ achievement is inadequate because there is too much weak teaching. Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what their pupils are capable of achieving. The management of teachers’ performance has not led to enough improvement in teaching.  Too many pupils do not make enough progress in English and mathematics, and very few pupils make good progress in reading, writing and number.  The support for pupils with additional learning and behavioural needs is ineffective and not checked carefully.  Most pupils behave adequately around the school but too many have negative attitudes to learning and can be disruptive in lessons.  Governors have not challenged school leaders enough or held the school to account for the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils’ poor achievement. They have a limited understanding of the school’s weaknesses. The Pupil Premium is not being used effectively to secure improvement for those pupils it is intended to benefit.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils from different backgrounds get on well together, and enjoy coming to school. Attendance has improved and is above average.  The school has established strong links with support agencies and provides a range of extra-curricular opportunities to extend pupils’ experiences.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons, of which three were joint observations with senior leaders. In addition, the inspection team made a number of other short visits to lessons. A senior leader joined inspectors to look at behaviour around the school.  Inspectors met with two groups of pupils, a member of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and school staff, including senior and middle leaders.  Inspectors took account of the four responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) when carrying out the inspection, and also spoke to some parents during the inspection.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents including: the school’s data on pupils’ current progress; planning and monitoring documents; and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Aune Turkson-Jones, Lead inspector Additional inspector Raymond Prentice Additional inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 This is an average sized primary school, serving pupils from the local community.  An above average proportion of pupils is known to be eligible for the Pupil Premium (additional funding to support pupils in receipt of Free School Meals, children looked after by the local authority and/or children who have parents in the services)  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and who speak English as an additional language are above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at School Action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at School Action Plus, or with a statement of special educational needs, is below average.  There is provision for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage in the Nursery and Reception classes. The school also runs a breakfast club, which is managed by the governing body.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching in English and mathematics by making sure that all teachers:  make better use of assessments to plan lessons that meet the needs and abilities of all pupils  check pupils’ progress closely to ensure that all pupils are given good levels of academic challenge and support  mark pupils’ work effectively so that pupils know what they need to do to improve  have high expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving  provide better support in lessons for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, so that their work is more accurately matched to their needs  provide more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their literacy and numeracy skills when learning in other subjects.  Strengthen the capacity of leaders and managers to improve how well the school does by:  making sure that the quality of teaching is rigorously checked so that it leads to improvements in pupils’ achievement

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 improving the quality of teaching by using a range of strategies including, sharing good practice, coaching and mentoring  introducing improvement plans that have a sharper focus on raising standards in English and mathematics, including setting more challenging academic targets  checking, reviewing and evaluating the school’s work more rigorously.  Increase the impact of the governing body on school improvement by making sure that it:  holds school leaders robustly to account for improving the school’s performance  it becomes more actively involved in deciding the school’s future direction  uses specific funding such as the Pupil Premium wisely so that those pupils who it is intended to benefit achieve well.

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Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils is inadequate  Pupils’ attainment is too low and declining. Most pupils make inadequate progress because of weaknesses in the quality of teaching and, specifically, because literacy and numeracy skills are not taught well enough.  Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with the skills and knowledge expected for their age and most reach the learning and development goals expected by the time they enter Year 1. However, from that point on, standards in English and mathematics decline and by the end of Years 2 and 6 they are below average.  The school has been unsuccessful in its efforts to narrow the gap between how well pupils at the school attain in English and mathematics compared with all pupils nationally.  Reading is not taught effectively and as a result too many pupils make slow progress.  Pupils known to be eligible for the Pupil Premium or who are from minority ethnic groups

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Inspection judgements

and speak English as an additional language, do not make enough progress. This is because learning activities are not suitably pitched to meet pupils’ needs and, in some cases, are not challenging enough. Teachers’ expectations are not high enough and teaching of the basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics is inadequate.  Although pupils are generally keen to learn, teachers do not always check that pupils have fully understood what they are expected to do.  Pupils supported through School Action make inadequate progress. This is because teachers do not always use what they know about pupils’ previous attainment to make sure that lesson plans cater specifically for their different abilities.  Some pupils are beginning to benefit from the additional input of skilled teaching assistants, but these improvements are not evident for all groups of pupils in all classes.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching is inadequate  The impact of teaching on pupils’ achievement over time is inadequate. Too few lessons are good or better and too many are inadequate.  Typically, teaching does not enable enough pupils to learn well because:  planning does not cater for different abilities and different groups in the class  teachers have low expectations of what pupils can achieve and, consequently, set them undemanding tasks  checks on progress during lessons are not thorough enough and some pupils who do not understand the work become listless and lose concentration  marking does not contain enough detail or information to help pupils improve their work.  Teachers do not use assessment information well and this limits their capacity to check and accelerate pupils’ progress.  Too many teachers do not understand how to develop pupils’ literacy skills. Because of this, pupils do not improve their written and spoken language fast enough, both in English and

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Inspection judgements

in other subjects.  In the very small minority of lessons where pupils make good progress, knowledge about what the pupils can do is used well and teachers plan carefully to ensure that pupils’ work is suitably matched to the different abilities in the class. Interesting activities engage and motivate pupils and they have frequent opportunities to apply their skills. In a good mathematics lesson seen during the inspection, pupils were challenged to use their problem-solving skills to work out the costs involved in a building project.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 Behaviour and safety require improvement because too many pupils have poor attitudes to learning. When pupils lose interest and disrupt the learning of others, it is usually because of weaknesses in teaching.  Around the school pupils generally behave adequately but this better behaviour is not seen consistently in lessons.  The majority of staff expressed no concerns about pupils’ poor behaviour, despite the poor attitudes to learning evident in too many lessons. Most teachers manage behaviour adequately and a climate of mutual respect and regard is evident in the school.  The small number of responses from parents were positive about pupils’ behaviour.  Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying and say that incidents are rare and dealt with well by the staff. Pupils say that they feel part of a ‘family’ in the school and are treated as individuals.  Pupils say that they feel safe in the school and are always supported well by adults when

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

they leave the school site for sports and games activities.  Pupils from different backgrounds mix well together because the school tackles any discrimination well and is a caring community.  School leaders have been successful in improving attendance and pupils say that they enjoy being in school. Pupils are punctual, polite and happy to come to school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

The leadership and management are inadequate  School leaders have failed to secure essential improvements and, as a result, pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is inadequate and declining.  Leaders and managers have an unrealistic view of how well the school is doing. In particular:  the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching lacks rigour and accuracy and the quality of teaching has declined over time  school improvement plans do not focus sharply enough on raising attainment in English and mathematics  targets for improvement lack challenge and standards have not risen significantly  the school’s self-evaluation is inaccurate  weaknesses identified at the last inspection have not been remedied.  The school does not demonstrate that it has the potential to sustain improvement.  The targets set by school leaders show that they do not have high enough aspirations for

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

their pupils, particularly with regard to their academic achievements.  Leaders and managers do not have a relentless focus on improving the quality of teaching. Although the performance management of staff is becoming linked more closely with teaching and professional development, systems are in their infancy and have yet to improve attainment and accelerate the rate of pupils’ progress. Moreover, there are no clear links between the poor quality of teaching, pupils’ inadequate achievement and how far along the salary spine teachers are.  Improvement planning is not sharp enough to drive forward change at a rapid pace. Plans do not include ways in which success can be measured or indicate when progress will be reviewed. This restricts the ability of the school’s leaders and the governing body to check upon the success of their actions.  Curriculum plans fail to enable pupils to acquire, develop and practise their skills in a

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

coherent way or help them to make links across subjects that will deepen their understanding. However, the school provides a wide range of extra-curricular activities and makes an appropriate contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Staff work successfully with external agencies and support partners to address pupils’ and their families’ individual needs.  The local authority has provided the right type of advice and support to enable the school to overcome its weaknesses. However, the school has not always followed the local authority’s recommendations closely enough and so the advice and support has not had sufficient impact on improving the school's performance.  All statutory requirements relating to safeguarding are met.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The governance of the school:  is weak. Governors do not sufficiently challenge the school, or show enough insightful knowledge of the school’s weaknesses  governors do not effectively hold the school to account for all areas of its work and have too limited an understanding of why pupils’ achievement and progress are poor  the governing body has not checked carefully enough how well the school uses funding, such as the Pupil Premium, to make sure that those pupils who it is designed to benefit achieve well.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupil’s needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupil’s needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 100953 Local authority Tower Hamlets Inspection number 404744

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School details

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

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School details

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 226 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tony Hardie Headteacher Fiona Singleton Date of previous school inspection 8 June 2011 Telephone number 020 8980 1142 Fax number 020 8980 6112 Email address head@st-johns.towerhamlets.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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

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School details

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,

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School details

please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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