St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants School

St John’s CE (VC) Infants School High Street, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 9DR

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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

p.1

This is a good school

 Teaching over time is good in the school.  The Reception year ensures that all pupils benefit from a strong start to their education because of exciting activities provided by teachers and other adults.  Pupils continue to make good rates of progress in Years 1 and 2.  Teachers and other adults are skilled in providing the support individual and groups of pupils need in order to make good progress.  The afternoon Nurture Group provides well for pupils with particular social and emotional needs.  Pupils are positive about their learning and enjoy the different ways in which learning is organised for them. They mostly behave well and feel safe in school.  The headteacher and governing body have consistent, clear ambition to see the school improve further. They have maintained the school’s strengths in the quality of teaching since the previous inspection.  Parents and carers are positive about how the school supports their children and helps them

p.1

This is a good school

to succeed.  Resources, including computers, are used imaginatively as part of learning. The school’s close links with the community also mean that pupils benefit from a wide range of learning experiences in the locality.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching is not yet outstanding and leading to rapid progress.  Pupils are not involved as fully as they could be in checking their own work and understanding how to improve it.  Not all pupils are able to work independently and sustain concentration without adult supervision.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons or parts of lessons. Two of these were joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, senior leaders, members of the management team and members of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke to an officer of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work. They examined safeguarding arrangements and other documents, including school development plans and self-evaluation records, behaviour and health and safety records, school policies, and a range of pupils’ work.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to them about their reading habits and the ways in which school helps them to become confident readers.  Inspectors took account of the 16 responses to the on-line Parent View survey and the 24 responses submitted during the inspection by members of staff. A letter received from a parent was also considered.

p.2

Inspection team

Marion Hobbs, Lead inspector Additional inspector Stephanie Matthews Additional inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 St John’s Infants is an average-sized school situated in the centre of Glastonbury.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium, which is additional government funding for looked after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children of service families, is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by ensuring that teachers plan effectively for all groups of pupils to make rapid progress over time.  Involve pupils more in checking their own, and one another’s, work so they are more confident about how to improve what they do.  Help pupils to become more independent in their work and sustain concentration to promote life- long learning.

p.3

The achievement of pupils is good

 The majority of pupils join Reception with skills that are below those typical of other children the same age. They are helped to make rapid progress across all areas of learning thanks to the high quality support they receive from the adults who work with them and the wide range of resources available to them.  The same good rates of progress are sustained through Years 1 and 2 for all groups of pupils. The school has robust tracking systems to demonstrate that this is the case over time.  Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 is broadly average year on year with mathematics, consistently stronger than reading and writing. This indicates good achievement from their starting points.  In 2012, only half of the pupils in Year 1 met the expected standard in the phonics screening check. The school has addressed this directly by systematically overhauling the teaching of sounds and letters (phonics) to all year groups in order to support better outcomes for all pupils.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

As a result, reading skills are taught well throughout the school and pupils develop confidence as independent readers quickly. The most disadvantaged pupils often make exceptional progress in reading.  Pupils’ progress in lessons is good. This is also the case over time, as demonstrated by the school’s data and pupils’ work.  Progress for those pupils who are disabled or who have a statement of special educational needs is good. School leaders and managers, including governors, deploy pupil premium funding effectively to provide a range of interventions led by teaching assistants and the learning mentors to ensure that those pupils in receipt of this grant make the same good rates of progress as their peers.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good over time but has yet to become outstanding so that standards are raised further at the end of Key Stage 1.  The joint planning across classes is strong within the school, but teachers can refine this more effectively so that it always focuses on learning and the ‘big picture’, rather than being a sequence of activities.  Pupils in all year groups enjoy their lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. A good example of this was seen in Reception, where children were completely absorbed using hand- held tablets, each seated in the secure space of a washing basket.  All teachers have good subject knowledge and this helps pupils to make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics as well as to enjoy the broader curriculum.  Teaching assistants are used effectively to provide a wide range of appropriate interventions that ensure that disadvantaged or vulnerable pupils are able to make good progress in line with

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

their peers.  Written feedback on pupils’ work is regular and pupils understand the pink and green colour coding of comments. Although success criteria are used regularly across the school, assessment could be developed further by involving pupils more often in looking at each other’s work and commenting on strengths observed and areas to improve.  The school is well resourced in a variety of ways to support all pupils’ learning. Information and communication technology is used imaginatively and effectively in all classrooms, and the school has a well-stocked library that pupils are proud of and use with maturity to help them in independent enquiry.

p.4

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are generally very positive about learning in lessons, but some need adult supervision to sustain concentration. These pupils have yet to become confident self-managers of their own behaviour, and it is this that prevents behaviour and safety from being outstanding.  Parents and carers and staff are mostly very positive about all aspects of behaviour and safety. A letter from a parent commented that her son, since joining the school in March, now ‘bounces into school every morning, excited to be part of the class and the school’.  The school’s positive ethos and the constant modelling of good behaviour by all adults provide strong support to all pupils. Those who have particular needs are very well supported by the learning mentors, funded by the pupil premium. A regular afternoon Nurture Group offers further high-quality support for social, behavioural and emotional needs, and this means that

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

those pupils who attend are able to handle their formal morning learning much more successfully.  Pupils understand different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying. The school, however, has nil returns on incidents of any kind over time, so these are not issues that affect pupils’ learning. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.  All aspects of safety are very well managed by the school. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe and appreciate the close links the school has with, for example, the local fire service and police, to give them direct learning experiences in the community about different kinds of situations that could impede their safety.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and governing body are consistent in the way that they communicate high expectation and ambition.  Recruitment is carried out rigorously to ensure that high-calibre teachers with the particular skills needed by the school are appointed. The Early Years Foundation Stage leader and deputy headteacher are good examples of this process.  Teaching is good over time. It is monitored accurately and thoroughly by the headteacher and senior leaders. The performance management system is closely aligned to pupils’ outcomes and their progress, the school development plan and teachers’ professional development needs.  The school knows itself well and self-evaluation is accurate and reviewed regularly by the headteacher and governors. The local authority is confident that the school provides well for its pupils. In view of this, it offers appropriate light touch support and ensures smooth transition to

p.5

The leadership and management are good

the local junior school.  All pupils benefit from a curriculum that is broad and balanced and meets their needs. The school uses its community links effectively to provide learning beyond the confines of the school. Physical education in the Glastonbury Abbey grounds and story telling in the public library are examples of this.  The school works well with parents and carers. The learning mentors and family support worker provide additional support to those who might find working with the school difficult.  The arrangements for all aspects of safeguarding meet statutory requirements.  School finances are managed efficiently by the governing body so that staff and resources are well deployed to the benefit of all pupils.  All pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well catered for by the school, both through curriculum experiences as well as wider activities in the community. These include

p.5

The leadership and management are good

participation in dance festivals and the celebration of other faiths and cultures.  The governance of the school:  Governors are systematic and thorough in the support and challenge they provide to the school. They are skilled in their own roles and take full advantage of training run by the local authority to be fully up to date in their duties. Governors manage the school budget efficiently and effectively. They understand the links between Teachers’ Standards and progression on the pay spine, and use this as part of their regular monitoring of the progress of different groups of pupils when looking at the school’s performance management system with the headteacher. Governors involve themselves as fully as possible in the daily running of the school and this, combined with their detailed understanding of the community, means that all pupils are well supported to achieve their best.

p.5

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 123759 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 412650

p.8

School details

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

p.8

School details

Type of school Infant School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3−7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 218 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Katherine Clarke Headteacher Mrs Wendy Turner Date of previous school inspection 11−12 March 2010 Telephone number 10458 832085 Fax number 01458 834584 Email address office@st-johns-inf.somerset.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

School details

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’.

p.9

School details

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

p.9