St Saviour's Church of England Junior School

St Saviour's Church of England Junior School Elm Grove, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, CT8 8LD

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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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The school has improved well since the previous inspection. Standards have risen steadily and particularly quickly in mathematics.  Pupils make good progress so that their attainment in all aspects of their learning is above average.  Teaching is good and some is outstanding. Teachers plan lessons which pupils find interesting. This helps them to concentrate and learn well.  Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning and take considerable pride in the presentation of their work.  Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtime so that the school is a happy place for them to learn and socialise together. They understand and respect the school’s core values, such as enjoyment, resilience and compassion.  The wide range of additional activities out of lessons supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well.  The executive headteacher and head of school

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

work relentlessly to introduce new approaches that help pupils to make even better progress year-on-year.  The governing body holds the school to account well for pupils’ achievements.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Although improving quickly, pupils’ achievement in writing generally is not as good as in reading, mathematics and their technical skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling.  Pupils are not consistently given clear information about what they have to do to reach the next National Curriculum level.  Teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils’ writing in different subjects and give pupils too few activities to practise and apply their writing skills.  Pupils are not given enough encouragement to develop their curiosity and learning skills by researching and doing more for themselves.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 20 lessons and small-group sessions, including one observed jointly with the head of school.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and scrutinised samples of pupils’ work.  Discussions were held with senior leaders, staff and pupils, as well as with representatives of the governing body and from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of 31 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, along with the outcomes of conversations with parents and carers during the inspection and the 21 questionnaire responses from staff.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation including information on the progress of groups of pupils, nationally published assessment data, the school’s self-evaluation, development plans, safeguarding information and records relating to teachers’ performance management.

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Inspection team

Helen Hutchings, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Roger Fenwick Additional Inspector Barbara Saltmarsh Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized junior school.  Most pupils are from a White British background.  The proportion of pupils eligible for support through additional funding is average. This is additional government funding for pupils who are eligible for free school meals, those looked after by the local authority and those from service families.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is high. The proportion supported at school action is above average.  A few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The school meets the government’s floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school runs a breakfast club and summer holiday events.  The executive headteacher has had responsibility for the leadership of Cliftonville Primary School

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Information about this school

for the last two years in addition to leading St Saviour’s Church of England Junior School. A head of school manages the junior school on a day-to-day basis, and a few staff share middle leadership responsibilities across the two schools.  The school works in collaboration within a consortium with six other primary schools locally, mainly to support staff development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the amount of outstanding teaching to raise pupils’ achievement further, particularly in writing, by:  making sure that teachers maintain high expectations and give pupils frequent opportunities to practise their writing to the same high standards, as they do in other subjects and other aspects of English  giving pupils more information about exactly what they have to do to reach the next level  developing pupils’ interest and curiosity to find out and do more for themselves.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress from the time they join the school in Year 3. As a result of consistently good teaching, pupils make good progress in each year group. Standards have risen steadily since the previous inspection. The proportion of pupils making the expected progress in English and mathematics is above that found nationally.  Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 is above average in reading and writing. In the 2013 tests, attainment in the tests in mathematics and English grammar, punctuation and spelling was well above average.  Mathematics is particularly strong with pupils making outstanding progress through the school. Pupils apply their basic number and calculation skills well to solve problems relevant to everyday life, such as percentage reductions for articles on sale, and in other subjects including science and geography.  Recently introduced initiatives to check pupils’ comprehension skills is helping to raise pupils’

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The achievement of pupils is good

reading skills quickly. Pupils build systematically on their Key Stage 1 understanding of letters and their sounds to improve their reading and spelling. Reading is encouraged strongly, for example through the well-stocked library and special events. Most recently, on World Book Day, pupils added ‘Dewey codes’ to their book character fancy dress to show and strengthen their understanding of library organisation.  Pupils’ grammar and punctuation is good, and teachers give pupils clear guidance about the differences between formal language and informal speech. Nevertheless, pupils’ attainment in writing, while above average, falls short of their attainment in other subjects by a greater margin than found nationally. Teachers do not maintain sufficiently high expectations of pupils’ writing in different subjects, for example, only expecting short responses from pupils in answer to questions rather than expecting knowledge and understanding to be explained in more detailed

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The achievement of pupils is good

writing.  All groups of pupils progress at similar rates, irrespective of their starting points. The progress of all pupils is checked regularly and changes are made or additional help is given if a pupil is not making the expected progress. This shows the school’s commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity.  The achievement of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good because the work planned for them, either in small classes or individually, is at the right level.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve as well as, and often better than, their classmates.  The attainment of pupils who are eligible for support through additional funding is above that of similar pupils in other schools. There is some fluctuation in the attainment of the group from year-to-year because of the differing circumstances and abilities in each group. In Year 6 in 2013, the attainment of this group was about two thirds of a year behind that of others in the

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The achievement of pupils is good

Year 6 in reading and mathematics, which is close to the gap found nationally. In writing, at a third of a year, the gap was less than found nationally. The school’s tracking information shows that the gap between these different groups is now much narrower than previously.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers accurately assess pupils’ attainment when they arrive in Year 3. They build on this knowledge to make sure pupils make a positive start without any loss of momentum as pupils change schools. This enables pupils to achieve well.  Teachers work effectively in year teams to share expertise and ideas. They plan learning which is interesting for pupils so that they are resilient learners. Pupils are keen to do well and develop good study skills, for example in the pride they take in presenting and completing their work.  Teachers mark pupils’ work carefully and ensure that pupils have understood the advice given in teachers’ written comments. Pupils routinely indicate that they have read the advice and frequently carry out an additional task which checks their understanding well.  While pupils understand the points referred to directly in marking, they are not always clear about the broader range of improvements needed to reach the next National Curriculum level.

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The quality of teaching is good

This is because these are not consistently brought to pupils’ attention. However in a Year 6 lesson on descriptive writing on buildings, the teacher explained to more-able pupils how to do this well. Consequently they understood how writing at a higher level needed to go beyond the use of a series of adjectives by choosing and placing them carefully so that the reader would be engaged and want to read further.  Teachers plan well for the part that teaching assistants play in lessons. Teachers and teaching assistants question pupils in a similar way, requiring pupils to use standard English and to strengthen their understanding by explaining their thinking. Teachers explain new learning and ideas clearly and check pupils’ understanding well when presenting work to the whole class.  Adults have high expectations of pupils’ achievements. For example, in a Year 5 lesson when pupils were responding to mental arithmetic questions, they had to use their number and

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The quality of teaching is good

calculation skills to respond quickly to a wide range of problems involving time, area, distance and percentage. This helped them to build their numeracy competence, preparing them well for secondary education.  Most of the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is matched well to pupils’ earlier learning. Consequently, pupils of all abilities, including more-able pupils, do well. At times in class groups, teachers do not build well enough on this foundation, particularly to apply and extend their writing skills. Too often the same or very similar work in writing is set for all pupils in other subjects.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The school’s core values of respect, excellence, enjoyment, courtesy, community and resilience are upheld across the school community. They are understood by pupils so that they are respectful of each other and adults.  Pupils have a good awareness of how to behave in different situations, showing the school’s success in building a harmonious community and an intrinsic motivation in pupils to be responsible and caring. They are encouraged to show tolerance and respect difference.  Pupils spoken with in all year groups say that they enjoy school and that their teachers are friendly but firm. They know that teachers expect a good standard of work and that teachers help by making learning fun and interesting.  Pupils agree that behaviour in lessons is good and, although sometimes pupils have to be reminded to work hard, lessons are hardly ever disrupted by bad behaviour. Just occasionally,

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

pupils relax their efforts if there is something they do not understand or they find the work too easy because teachers have not given enough emphasis to developing pupils’ curiosity and skills to find things out for themselves. Consequently, pupils’ attitudes are not yet outstanding.  Pupils are responding well to their rewards for reading. The school takes every possible opportunity to promote a love of reading, for example at breakfast club when pupils use computer tablets.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and parents and carers spoken with and those responding to the inspection questionnaire agree. Pupils say that ‘there are no bullies here’ and, through their learning in citizenship weeks, know exactly what to do if they were to become the victim of bullying or knew of anyone who was being treated badly.  The school’s incident logs confirm that the use of racist or homophobic language is very rare.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

Pupils have a keen understanding of potential dangers when using the internet and how these can be avoided.  Attendance is consistently above average. Efforts over the last two years to reduce the number of pupils who are persistently absent have been very effective.

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The leadership and management are good

 The executive headteacher, senior leaders and governing body work closely together sharing an ambition and understanding of how to make the school even better. The school’s self-evaluation is realistic and drives action for improvement. For example, the carefully researched introduction of the new initiative to boost pupils’ love of reading has been successful in bringing reading standards into line with mathematics.  Senior leaders have successfully developed the leadership skills of middle leaders, an area identified for improvement in the previous inspection. This has enabled the school to continue to improve during the secondment of the headteacher and other staff to take on responsibilities beyond the school. All staff with leadership responsibilities have undertaken their new roles well.  Staff work well together and morale is high because they feel valued and their ideas are considered carefully. Staff work well with colleagues from other schools in the consortium, for

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The leadership and management are good

example, checking their understanding of the quality of pupils’ work. These activities enable teachers to be outward looking and to learn from best practice elsewhere.  Leaders have an accurate view about teaching strengths and where further improvements can be made. The impact of the feedback given to teachers about their teaching shows the school’s ongoing capacity for improvement.  The curriculum makes learning enjoyable and enables pupils to develop their basic skills well. The numerous opportunities for pupils to work together, broaden their understanding with visitors to the school and go on trips and residential visits promote their learning and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well.  The local authority has provided effective light-touch support for this recognised good school, for example by supporting the school’s own evaluation of its performance in regular visits to the

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The leadership and management are good

school. The additional funding provided for consortium activities has been used effectively for sharing expertise and joint training events.  The additional funding made available to the school is used effectively. The school has a strong record of high levels of participation in sport because a trained sports coach has run a wide variety of activities in the school for many years. The additional funding for sport has been used well to increase participation further by widening the number of competitive events with other schools locally and to train staff in a new scheme for teaching physical education.  The school is rigorous in identifying and dealing with potential barriers to learning for all pupils, including those who are eligible for support through additional funding. For example, this money is used to support learning activities during the summer, which help families to use local facilities

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The leadership and management are good

to broaden pupils’ learning and experiences. The impact of the funding is seen in the improved attendance rates and a rapidly closing attainment gap between this group of pupils and their peers.  The governance of the school:  The governing body, led by a new Chair of the Governing Body, is working effectively with school staff to build further on the school’s record of improvement. Governors are knowledgeable about the quality of the school’s work, for example how pupils’ attainment compares with that of pupils locally and nationally. Governors regularly scrutinise information about the school’s performance and challenge school leaders about how further improvement can be secured. This means that the decisions about funding, for example to ensure that pupils are taught in small groups by experienced and effective teachers, are well informed. They allocate and track finances carefully to evaluate the outcomes of spending, for example

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The leadership and management are good

that additional funding for pupils and spending on sport are having the intended impact. Governors have a clear understanding of the quality of teaching and the link between teachers’ performance and pay. The governing body makes sure that safeguarding and child protection procedures meet requirements and are audited regularly.

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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 118695 Local authority Kent Inspection number 431422

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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 Junior School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 7—11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 382 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Graham Neve Headteacher Jane Troth Date of previous school inspection 11—12 March 2009 Telephone number 01843 831707 Fax number 01843 835188 Email address office@st-saviours.kent.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

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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