St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School

St John The Baptist Church of England Primary School Abshot Road, Titchfield Common, Fareham, Hampshire, PO14 4NX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a good school

 By the time they leave the school, pupils have made good progress and achieved well. This has consistently improved for the last two years.  The quality of teaching is good, with some examples of outstanding teaching. This includes for those who are disabled or who have special educational needs, and those who receive the pupil premium funds. These pupils make good progress like their friends because adults support and teach them well.  Pupils benefit from stimulating and exciting activities which help them learn and apply their skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers plan lessons to link subjects so that pupils are engrossed in their work.  Pupils are highly motivated and their attitudes towards their learning are often exemplary. This is a major factor in their successful learning. Their behaviour is good and this contributes significantly to a calm and safe environment where most pupils flourish.

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This is a good school

 The school is improving rapidly under the efficient leadership of the headteacher. She is determined for the school to do even better. The school has been successful in appointing a team of very capable teachers, which has contributed to significant improvements in learning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The school does not currently have a high enough proportion of outstanding teaching to ensure that pupils fully develop their skills in independent learning. As a result, pupils are not all in the habit of writing and recording enough in their workbooks without needing adult support.  Pupils are not always fully challenged in lessons, because activities are not always planned well enough to meet the individual needs of each pupil.  Teachers’ marking does not consistently help pupils to know how to improve their work.  Individual team leaders do not have sufficiently defined roles. They do not routinely use the school’s data robustly enough to check the standards achieved in lessons. Pupil-progress tracking information is not always clear and concise enough to provide an accurate overall picture.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in 27 lessons and parts of lessons led by 10 members of staff. They were accompanied by the headteacher on five of these lessons.  Meetings were held with staff, the Chair of Governors, representatives of the local authority and with pupils from Years 4, 5 and 6. Inspectors also took account of the 26 responses to the staff questionnaire.  The inspectors heard pupils read in Years 2 and 6.  The work in pupils’ books was analysed with the leadership team.  Inspectors gathered the views of parents through informal meetings before school, and from the scrutiny of the 75 responses to Parent View (the Ofsted online questionnaire).  A wide range of documentation was considered, including the school’s analysis of pupils’ attainment and progress, the school’s development plan, school leaders’ monitoring records, pupils’ work and the records of checks made on the eligibility of staff to work with children.

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Inspection team

Claire Thompson, Lead inspector Additional inspector Gordon Jackson Additional inspector Margaret Faull Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The school is currently organised into 10 classes. There are two classes in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Year 1. Other year groups vary in size: Year 2 comprises of one class, and there are mixed-age classes across Key Stage 2.  The vast majority of pupils are from White British families. Very few pupils are learning English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is average. The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action is also average.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding is close to the national average. The pupil premium is extra money given to the schools by the government to support pupils who are eligible for free school meals, children from service families or children

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Information about this school

who are looked after.  Pupils are educated on site and the school does not have any additional provision. There is a private pre-school on the site which many of the children attend before they begin school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school has recruited a high number of new teaching staff since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding so that all pupils make more rapid progress and reach above-average levels of attainment by:  ensuring that teachers make better use of information on how well pupils are doing to plan lessons which challenge pupils by being more closely matched to each of their needs, especially for higher-ability pupils  helping pupils to make swifter progress by providing them with activities that encourage them to work more independently and complete more work in their books  ensuring a brisk pace of learning in all lessons  making sure that marking and guidance given to pupils consistently give clear steps and targets which help them to make more rapid progress in their learning.  Further improve the impact of leadership by:  ensuring that team leaders have well-defined roles and responsibilities  developing more confident, well-informed and precise use of information about each pupil’s

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

progress  holding colleagues to account for the standards reached in lessons  helping governors to more quickly assess how well the school is doing compared to other schools nationally by providing them with more accurate information.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement is not outstanding because although progress in all age groups has improved in the last two years, pupils do not yet make progress that is consistently higher than that found nationally.  Overall, however, achievement is now good and continuing to improve. In all subjects pupils make at least the progress required, and many are making better progress. This is particularly evident in reading and mathematics. Pupils do not progress quite so quickly in writing because they are not regularly given enough opportunities to develop skills in writing independently of adult help.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics have improved to the extent that in 2012 they were the highest on record in the school, being consistently in line with national averages. Present data shows that this rapid rate of progress is continuing to accelerate because many pupils are reaching higher levels than ever before.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The majority of children enter the school with skills and understanding below the levels expected for their age. Over their year in the Reception classes, children make good progress and their results show that they now leave the Early Years Foundation Stage with standards of attainment that are close to average.  Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 are also achieving well, because when they leave Key Stage 1 their attainment has risen to being above average, laying a secure foundation for their continued good progress through Key Stage 2. The school’s own assessments indicate current rates of progress that are continuing to improve.  The school demonstrates its commitment to equality of opportunity through all groups of pupils achieving equally well, including those in mixed-age classes. This includes disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and pupils of different ethnic heritages.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding also make good progress, and the gap in attainment between them and other pupils has narrowed in every year group in English and mathematics. Their average point scores in all subjects are equal to their classmates. Their rates of progress are at least the same, and sometimes better.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching has contributed significantly to improvements in pupils’ achievement by the time they leave the school. Some teaching is consistently outstanding, particularly for pupils at the end of Key Stage 2.  Teachers usually plan lessons that are stimulating and motivating. This helps pupils to learn well, and has led to the recent improvements in their rates of progress. The school provides a very positive climate for learning in most lessons, and pupils generally respond very enthusiastically to the engaging tasks that they usually receive. This was evident in an outstanding lesson about fair testing where pupils were fully involved in taking charge of their learning about spinners, because they could select different resources to make sure they could check and probe their own ideas extremely well.  Teachers use a variety of different methods to encourage their pupils to enjoy their learning. For

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The quality of teaching is good

example, in a mathematics lesson, older pupils were fully engaged on a difficult new subject of calculating ratios because of the way they could use resources to compare the relationship between yellow and pink ‘fondant cakes’. Through this practical activity pupils were able to grasp the new learning because they could see, touch and discuss what they were thinking.  Teaching makes good provision for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, through small-group work and individual support programmes. These are also used to good effect to help improve the behaviour of those with emotional and social issues, accelerating their development and helping them to achieve as well as their classmates.  Teachers and teaching assistants enjoy very good relationships with their pupils. The staff are adept at supporting individuals and groups of pupils, including those who have special educational needs. Teachers use questions well, consolidating pupils’ learning and helping to

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The quality of teaching is good

probe their understanding.  Teachers do not always use the information about how pupils are progressing to plan their next lessons as precisely as they could. As a result, some pupils are not sufficiently challenged for them to respond quickly and reach the higher levels swiftly enough to reach their full potential.  In writing and mathematics, some teachers give pupils clear indications about how they can improve their work and move on to the next level of learning. In some classes, these small steps are not matched accurately enough to the activities set for each group in order to meet the needs of the different groups of pupils, especially for those who are capable of doing harder work and progressing much more quickly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is consistently good. Pupils enjoy their activities, work diligently and want to achieve. They concentrate during lessons, work cooperatively and support each other well. This aspect of their behaviour was exemplary in the best lessons seen during the inspection. Pupils’ ability to work together well in pairs or in small groups makes a strong contribution to all aspects of their learning.  Behaviour is not yet outstanding because there are occasions when pupils are off task that they chat and then do not apply themselves as well as they could, thus limiting their progress.  Pupils say they feel very safe in school and that incidents of bullying are rare. They are very aware of different types of bullying and know that the use of unfair or racist language is not tolerated. Pupils say that adults listen to them, and they are confident that any bullying that might occur is dealt with effectively. The school has a harmonious atmosphere because the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

overwhelming majority of pupils are polite and courteous, and enjoy the company of the adults. Pupils behave sensibly around the school and on the playgrounds.  During discussions, pupils listen carefully and show respect for each other and for adults. The school has a firmly established policy of not tolerating discrimination of any kind.  Pupils say that they love coming to school and do not like to miss ‘even one day’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has had a long history of being considered a less popular school in the local community. The headteacher has worked with a steely determination to change this perception, and the growing school numbers are a strong indication of how more parents are making this their school of choice for the first time. This is a good school that rightly deserves to be well considered by everyone.  The headteacher has successfully eliminated inadequate teaching: recent changes to staffing have raised standards in teaching, and the school’s leadership is concentrating on ensuring that teaching is at least good, if not outstanding. Decisions about teachers rising up the salary scale are well informed and firmly based on the effectiveness of their teaching.  The headteacher checks regularly on the quality of teaching to guide improvements where necessary. Staff are appreciative of the support they get and say that their professional

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The leadership and management are good

development is good.  The curriculum has been carefully designed to link the subjects the pupils study to their reading, writing and mathematics, and pupils enjoy the ways in which they gain new knowledge in this enjoyable way. This style of learning is also making a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development because they are taught how to work well together and how to apply their skills to work out everyday problems.  The school has well-organised procedures for ensuring that pupils are kept safe at all times, and up-to-date health and safety and child-protection training is provided for all staff and governors.  A number of systems are in place for recording and analysing the progress of individual pupils. These are regularly used by the headteacher to check the progress of individual pupils, including those who join the school mid-year. This is sometimes confusing, however, because the

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The leadership and management are good

information is regularly changing, and team leaders and teachers do not use it routinely to prepare lesson planning that guides them to provide for the individual learning needs of all pupils.  The school has an increasingly accurate view of its strengths, and knows what it needs to do to improve, but the extensive nature of the information generated on pupils’ progress hampers a clear picture and impedes the easy identification of the most significant issues to be addressed. The low test results in previous years have been tackled through well-focused actions, improving the quality of teaching and indicating a secure capacity to improve further.  The new team-leader structure is proving effective in developing teachers’ skills across the school; however, the team does not yet use the information about pupils’ progress often enough when checking teachers’ work. This leads to variations between teaching groups. As a result,

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The leadership and management are good

assessments of how well the school is achieving are not as robust as they could be to provide opportunities for swifter improvement. Roles and responsibilities are not sufficiently well defined to enable each leader to provide consistency in holding their colleagues to account for the standards pupils reach in reading, writing and mathematics.  The local authority provides light-touch support to the school because they rightly consider the school to be well led and managed.  The governance of the school: - The governing body provides clear direction to the work of the school. Governors are concerned through their questioning to ensure that all pupils are supported equally well. They are undergoing a comprehensive training programme to enhance their broad range of appropriate skills. Governors have checked on the way that leaders meet their performance management objectives and link performance to leadership pay increments. Governors also

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The leadership and management are good

check the progress of individuals who are subject to pupil- - premium funding to ensure that they make at least similar progress to all other pupils. Governors regularly visit the school, share good practice, and check on the impact of their decisions. They value the staff and hold the headteacher to account for raising pupils’ achievement, although, like the staff, they find it difficult to assess how well the school compares to others because information on pupils’ progress is too complicated and varied to assimilate easily. Governors take a keen interest in the achievement of all pupils, ensuring that day-to-day management of the school runs smoothly and that the school is financially solvent.

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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 pupils’ 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 pupils’ 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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 116297 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 405639

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 255 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Russell Headteacher Elaine Merriman Date of previous school inspection 30–31 March 2011 Telephone number 01489 573276 Fax number 01489 885710 Email address admin@st-johns-titchfield-hants.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, please

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School details

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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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