John Shelton Community Primary School

John Shelton Community Primary School Briscoe Road, Holbrooks, Coventry, CV6 4JP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils achieve well. They make good progress from low starting points so that, by the end of Year 6, they reach average standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  Senior leaders and governors are highly ambitious for the school. Their recent actions have ensured that both achievement and teaching are good and improving.  Children make a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where they thrive and rapidly develop new skills and knowledge.  Pupils continue to achieve well in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Their progress in reading, writing and mathematics is good.  The school has worked remarkably well with parents to improve pupils’ attendance; attendance is now above the national average and rising.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. There is a strong sense of community throughout the school, which pupils, parents and staff are proud of and happy to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

share.  The curriculum is rich and diverse, and makes a significant contribution towards the development of pupil’s skills, knowledge and understanding.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. Adults’ expectations of pupils’ attitudes to learning and behaviour are high.  Relationships are very good. There are strong levels of trust and respect between the pupils themselves and towards adults.  Pupils are kept completely safe in this inclusive and harmonious school. They are usually eager to learn, are very proud of their school. Parents value the friendly environment in which their children learn well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The work teachers set for middle ability pupils in mathematics does not always challenge them sufficiently or hold their interest.  Pupils in some classes are not always clear about what they could achieve because the targets set by a few teachers are not always clear enough.  Teachers’ marking does not always guide pupils towards better standards. Pupils do not always take sufficient notice of their teachers’ comments or use them to improve their work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons, three of which were seen jointly with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with school staff, a group of pupils and three members of the governing body.  Inspectors heard pupils read and talked to them formally and informally at break and lunchtime.  Inspectors conducted a formal interview with one parent and took account of the 18 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. They had conversations with parents and carers as they dropped off their children at the start of the school day. Inspectors also considered the 30 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.  Inspectors examined school documentation, including the school’s records of pupils’ current progress, records of governors’ meetings, information about pupils’ behaviour and attendance and the school’s arrangements for safeguarding. Inspectors carefully reviewed the system used to check teachers’

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Information about this inspection

performance. Documentation relating to the care of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs was also reviewed.

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Inspection team

Andrew Stafford, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 John Shelton Primary is smaller than the average-sized primary school. There is one class in the Nursery, and children attend for the morning only. There is one class in Reception and all Reception children attend full-time. There is one class for each year group in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  More pupils than is the case nationally join the school at other than the usual time.  Over half of pupils are from a minority ethnic heritage, the remainder being of White British heritage. More pupils than average speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium (the additional funding allocated by the government which, in this school, is used to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority) is well above average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  In April 2014, a new assistant headteacher was appointed. In September 2014, a new coordinator for mathematics, and three new teachers, including two newly qualified teachers were appointed.  The school is working closely with the ‘Building Futures’ school alliance to improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ achievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and thereby attainment and progress so that more is outstanding by:  providing work that is consistently challenging for middle ability pupils and fully engages their interest, especially in mathematics  making sure that marking helps pupils to understand how to improve their work, and that pupils are encouraged to act on their teachers’ comments  ensuring that the targets teachers set in English and mathematics are clearly phrased in all classes so that pupils are always clear about what they can, and are meant to, achieve.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides inspirational and focused leadership that is helping all staff to improve the quality of their teaching. They are supported by an effective team of teachers and governors who are ambitious for the school and determined to raise standards further. This has resulted in an ethos in which good behaviour is the norm and pupils make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders know the school well and maintain a rigorous focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Recent improvements are ensuring that increasing numbers of pupils are now making better than expected progress and reaching higher standards of achievement, including in the early years.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders manage teachers’ performance well. They have put a highly effective system in place that enables them to identify teachers’ training needs and provide high quality and relevant training. They give the professional development of staff a high priority and ensure it is linked explicitly to pupils’ progress. Newly qualified teachers and those in the early stages of their career are well supported. This is bringing about significant improvements in the quality of teaching and reflects the school’s high expectations.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have made changes to the way key subjects are taught and this has ensured that most teaching succeeds in engaging pupils’ interest and improving their skills and knowledge. However, the work teachers set for middle ability pupils is sometimes insufficiently interesting or challenging. Pupils say how much they enjoy doing topics such as ‘The Blitz’, ‘Water World’ and ‘South America’. Pupils enjoy the good range of after-school clubs and visits that are offered, including the residential ones.

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The leadership and management are good

 Middle leaders are well organised and check standards in their subjects systematically. They offer class teachers well-judged advice and practical support to improve their teaching. However, these and other leaders have not checked to see if the targets pupils are set in their areas of responsibility are clear enough to help them reach higher standards by the end of each year. As a result, the usefulness of the targets set in English and mathematics in different classes is too varied, and this slows the progress of some pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school‘s newly established curriculum is broad and diverse and meets most pupils’ needs well. It prepares all pupils very well for life in modern Britain. Leaders ensure that the great majority of learning is enriched by a wide-ranging and interesting activities and opportunities, and these contribute positively to pupils’ academic and personal development. For example, many children sing in the school choir and, as ‘Young Voices’, enjoyed performing at the Ricoh Arena recently. Others work in the school’s refurbished library, reflecting their commitment to the school as well as their love of books. This enriches their experiences in school and those of other pupils. There are opportunities for pupils to take part in day trips that are designed to broaden their horizons and help them gain firsthand experience of the topics they are studying in lessons. For example, the school organised a trip to the Transport Museum, and Year 6 went

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The leadership and management are good

to see the musical ‘Matilda’ in London. Pupils also recounted how much they had enjoyed their residential visit to Brittany. To further promote their performing arts skills, Year 6 pupils are currently rehearsing ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’ as their end of year production.

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The leadership and management are good

 Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good. Assemblies are highly positive experiences that allow pupils the opportunity to reflect on the school’s values. As part of their personal development, pupils learn about parliamentary elections and the legal system so that they can then consider wider issues, such as democracy and justice. Pupils are genuinely pleased for each other when academic or sporting achievement is celebrated. The school has given very careful thought to the topics and themes it explores as part of its programme to support pupils’ cultural development. These sessions are very well planned and taught. They help pupils to develop a strong understanding of different beliefs and lifestyles from around the world from the moment they enter the school. For example, the school used the topic ‘Coventry’ to cover many aspects of the lives and backgrounds of the different

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The leadership and management are good

groups living in the city. Pupils spoke directly to adults about their memories and reported their thoughts and findings carefully in their ‘special’ exercise books.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school supports disadvantaged pupils very well through its careful use of the pupil premium. It promotes equality of opportunity very well and gives every child the chance to succeed and benefit from all aspects of school life. Variations in the rates of progress between different groups of pupils are being reduced quickly. Pupils state that there is no discrimination and confirm that the school operates in a very friendly, caring and supportive environment.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school makes good use of the primary sports funding to provide extensive opportunities for pupils to engage in sport and to promote their physical development and health and well-being. Sports coaches work regularly with teachers to develop pupils’ skills, health and well-being, and pupils frequently participate in a range of activities, including swimming, tag rugby and rock climbing.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s child protection and safeguarding systems are very thorough and fully meet statutory requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 Both the ‘Building Futures’ school alliance and representatives from the local authority have been very supportive of the school, and have been instrumental in helping it to improve teaching and raise standards.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school: - The governing body is well informed about the work of the school and governors know the school well. The governing body contributes very effectively to the school’s monitoring and evaluation programme. Governors make good use of the available data on pupils’ achievement to compare their performance with other schools. Their robust questioning of senior leaders gives them a clear picture of teaching quality and other aspects of the school’s work. - Governors provide both support and challenge for senior leaders and ensure that leaders and teachers are held to account for pupils’ progress. For example, they ensure that there is a clear link between the way in which teachers move along the pay scales and their impact on pupils’ progress. - Governors carefully check the use of the pupil premium funding and are aware of the highly positive impact it has had upon the learning of eligible pupils. Governors are similarly diligent in ensuring that

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The leadership and management are good

the additional sports funding is used well. - Together with school leaders, governors ensure that all statutory requirements are met, including those for safeguarding.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Staff set high standards to which pupils readily respond. Pupils show respect and friendliness to adults, visitors and their classmates. Pupils have a good understanding of the school’s behaviour policy and show that they respect its aims. Inspectors witnessed individual pupils moving to help others to resolve difficulties they had with their work, without being prompted. This ensures the school is a happy, welcoming and harmonious place, which has a very positive effect on the rate at which pupils learn.

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Behaviour

 The school uses its wide range of rewards to promote its vision of ‘Dream it!’ ‘Believe it!’ ‘Achieve it!’ Teachers regularly celebrate, pupils’ good attendance and behaviour, as well as the quality of their work, particularly in reading, and encourage pupils to take pleasure in the success of others.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good across the school. However, very occasionally a few pupils lose interest when they are given a task that they find too easy.

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Behaviour

 Attendance has improved because the school has worked hard with pupils and their families to help them to understand how important it is to come to school regularly. The friendly way staff welcome parents and children every morning has made a significant contribution towards achieving above average attendance and improving pupils’ punctuality.

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Behaviour

 Pupils with particular behavioural needs are helped to learn to manage their behaviour through a robust system of rewards and sanctions. Exclusion is used very sparingly and only as a last resort.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Procedures for identifying and reporting any safeguarding issues are very thorough. The school liaises well with other agencies in order to provide the best possible support for pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable, as well as for their families.

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Safety

 Staff are trained very well to ensure pupils’ safety. Pupils themselves are also conscious of the need to keep themselves safe. They understand the roles of the emergency services and know, for instance, that the police, ambulance and fire services are there to help.

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Safety

 Pupils are safe in school at all times. They are very clear about what constitutes bullying and the various forms in which it can take place. They assert that this occurs only very rarely in school, and explain that this is because lessons and assemblies teach them to be kind and respectful of different lifestyles, faiths and ethnic groups.

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Safety

 The school provides good opportunities for pupils to develop their social, sporting and other skills in a safe and stimulating environment. Pupils are fully involved in sporting activities, both at the beginning and end of the school day and in after-school activities and clubs.

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Safety

 The views of all pupils are valued and nurtured, so that all feel special. Pupils enjoy the responsibilities they are given and the work of the school council in supervising younger children has improved behaviour and safety. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated and the school makes every effort to ensure all pupils feel equally valued by the whole school community. As a result, pupils from different backgrounds are wholly at ease with one another in their work and play.

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Safety

 All parents and carers who completed Parent View responses stated that the school makes sure that pupils are well behaved and that staff deal quickly and effectively with any rare instances of bullying. All parents and carers who responded also believe their children are happy, safe and well looked after at school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good overall and has been over time. Some teaching is outstanding. Inspectors’ discussions with pupils and their scrutiny of the work in pupils’ books both confirm that teaching is good.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The strategies teachers use to improve pupils’ progress are increasingly effective. For example, the teaching of reading and writing is based on giving pupils a secure basic grasp of phonics (the links between letters and the sounds they represent). The school is especially effective in supporting pupils who are learning English as an additional language. These pupils make particularly good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers encourage pupils to use correct mathematical vocabulary at all times and this has meant that the great majority of pupils make consistently good progress in mathematics lessons. For example, Year 6 pupils were able to quickly calculate volumes because they were given a clear explanation of the strategies required.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants work very well together to ensure that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have the support and challenge that they need to make good progress. This is particularly true for pupils who have recently arrived at the school who speak little or no English. Teachers, from the early years onwards, help these pupils develop their general literacy and reading skills well. Pupils appreciate this support and report that they enjoy learning and that teachers make lessons fun. Parents say that their children are taught very well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Inspectors’ observations of teaching and the work in pupils’ books show that most of the work undertaken by pupils successfully matches their ability and moves their learning forward. Occasionally teachers do not move middle ability pupils on to more challenging activities quickly enough. For example, inspectors saw a small amount of teaching in mathematics when the need to provide harder work to move pupils’ learning forward was not recognised soon enough. At such times, pupils do not find the work interesting and do not concentrate as hard as they could, and their learning slows.  The effectiveness of teaching, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics, is good and improving and this is helping to raise attainment and progress. This has been particularly evident in boys’ writing, but these improvements are also present across a wide range of other subjects. Pupils are encouraged to read

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The quality of teaching is good

at home, and this stimulates their love of reading and their progress across the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff report that they get good opportunities to develop their expertise in areas in which they were once less confident. There are productive links with the ‘Building Futures’ school alliance. Other informal partnerships have been established with local primary schools, which provide good opportunities for joint staff training. This is having a markedly beneficial impact on the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking shows pupils where they have been successful but does not consistently show them what they need to do next to improve their work. Not all pupils act on the guidance they are given and so do not make as much progress as they could.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The targets teachers set are not always clear enough in all classes to show pupils what they could achieve if they really tried.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the end of Year 6 in 2014, pupils reached at least expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics. A higher proportion than is seen nationally achieved better than expected progress in writing and mathematics, and were close to exceeding the national average in reading. This represents good progress from pupils’ low starting points. The standards of current pupils are rising across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s focus on raising standards has led the school to give greater emphasis to the teaching of basic number and calculation skills so that these are regularly reinforced, both within mathematics lessons and in other subjects. For example, teachers frequently set pupils in Year 6 ‘real-life’ problems, such as calculating the volume of a garden pond, and this helps them to gain a more secure understanding of number. Pupils’ work shows that actions taken to further raise standards in mathematics are being successful. A similar focus on raising standards in reading and writing has been equally successful.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s results in the Year 1 phonics screening check were higher than the national average in 2014 and higher than those seen in previous years. Standards in the use of phonics and children’s early reading skills are improving rapidly following the effective training the school has arranged for staff in the teaching of phonics. The school is especially effective in the way in which it teaches the youngest pupils to read. As a result, standards in reading and writing are improving across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disadvantaged pupils receive effective additional support that is helping to close the gaps between their progress and attainment and that of their classmates. In 2014, the Key Stage 2 test results showed that disadvantaged pupils were behind their classmates by nearly half a term in mathematics, and equal to their classmates in reading and writing. In comparison with other pupils nationally, disadvantaged pupils were nearly half a term behind in mathematics, and behind by over one term in reading and writing. Teachers have made good use of the additional funding to purchase resources to help disadvantaged pupils catch up with, and in several cases overtake, their classmates. Across the school, eligible pupils are making at least good progress from their starting points, reflecting the school’s effective use of the pupil premium.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The achievement of the most-able pupils is good. In 2014, an above average proportion of the most-able pupils in Year 6 achieved the higher levels in mathematics and English grammar and spelling. For the most-able pupils in the current Year 6, school data indicates that this group of pupils is on track to exceed the good results achieved last year in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics as a result of the effectively targeted support they receive. These pupils make at least expected progress, and many exceed expected progress in all three subjects. Early identification of their needs, and increasingly effective support and guidance from teachers and teaching assistants, ensures that the work they are given meets their needs and helps them to achieve well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who speak English as an additional language make progress that is equally as good as their classmates because the school focuses strongly on developing the vocabulary of these students and their correct use of grammar. Recent arrivals in the school are integrated quickly into school life, and teachers plan carefully to meet the needs of these pupils and any who are at the early stages of learning English.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils from different ethnic groups achieve equally well because the school is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and is highly successful at tackling discrimination.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Currently, middle ability pupils are not always challenged sufficiently in mathematics, and as a result their progress is sometimes slightly restricted.

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The early years provision is good

 From starting points which are broadly typical for their age, but significantly weaker in language and communication, children make good and sometimes outstanding progress. In 2014 the proportion of children showing a good level of development was close to that of others nationally by the time they left the Reception Year. Teachers’ assessments of current children show that attainment has improved and more children are attaining a good level of development. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their education and are set to enter Year 1 at levels above those from 2014.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching in the early years is good. It is improving children’s speaking and listening skills and developing their physical, personal and social development well. Staff make considerable efforts to develop excellent relationships with children and this means that children rapidly feel secure, gain in confidence and become self-assured learners.

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The early years provision is good

 Staff use questions very successfully to encourage children to think and to respond positively to the tasks they are set. The good quality of dialogue that regularly occurs between staff and children helps the latter learn new vocabulary and use it appropriately.

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The early years provision is good

 From the start, children learn to be independent and make choices about what to learn. They regularly decide what they want to do and choose their resources accordingly. For example, one little girl settled with scissors and paper in her chosen work space to make clothes for the pirates. She concentrated very well for some time on cutting, shaping and sticking before showing her work to an adult. She was delighted to retell the story in her own words. The activities in the ‘Forest School’ stimulate children to be imaginative, especially when building shelters for their play animals and talking about their antics.

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The early years provision is good

 Children are encouraged to play and learn safely and are kept safe at all times because staff are vigilant and plan activities carefully to minimise risk. Staff remind children frequently about the importance of keeping themselves safe in a variety of situations. They ensure that children’s use of simple hygiene practice, such as the washing of hands at certain points of the day, is well-established.

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The early years provision is good

 Teachers are very well supported by highly skilled assistants who help to focus support where it is most needed. This further encourages and supports the learning of the children.

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The early years provision is good

 Assessment is systematic and effective. At the regular planning meetings for all staff, adults consider carefully what children have done well, what they have individually achieved and where learning needs to move to. This ensures that progress is at least good for all children.

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The early years provision is good

 Leadership is good. The temporary early years leader has received excellent support from a local authority consultant and this has ensured the development of her knowledge and skills and is making a significant impact upon the setting. She has a very clear idea of what is needed and she ensures actions to bring about improvement are successful. Her staff are supported very well through the system of target-setting and the opportunities available for further training; consequently, this highly inclusive team are very effective in their work together.

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The early years provision is good

 Partnerships with parents are very successful. They are welcomed into classrooms so that they can help their children feel at ease. The setting makes very good use of staff and pupils of different nationalities throughout the school to support non-English speaking parents and their children. This means children and parents settle quickly into the early years and both become joint partners in the children’s learning.

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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. A school that requires special measures is one where the school 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

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Grade Judgement Description

school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 103698 Local authority Coventry Inspection number 462582

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 232 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kit Dunkley Headteacher Robbie Walker Date of previous school inspection 03 July 2013 Telephone number 02476 686063 Fax number 02476 688291 Email address admin@johnshelton.coventry.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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 and 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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