St John's Church of England Primary School

St John’s Church of England Primary School James Street, Failsworth, Manchester, Greater Manchester M35 9PY

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors have failed to carry out their statutory duties. Safeguarding is not effective, and safeguarding arrangements do not meet statutory requirements.  Pupils’ preparation for life in modern Britain and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is restricted by limited opportunities to explore differences between people.  Leaders do not record alleged bullying incidents, nor do they follow up concerns swiftly enough.  The school’s self-evaluation and improvement planning do not focus sufficiently on the impact of leaders’ actions to meet whole-school priorities.  Governors have not met their statutory duty to publish information on the school’s website.  The most able pupils are not challenged sufficiently to encourage them to think deeply.  Leaders do not monitor the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Consequently, they are not aware that the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

attendance of these groups of pupils over the last two years has been well below national averages.  Leaders do not analyse effectively the impact of the pupil premium. Consequently, they do not know whether differences between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others nationally are diminishing quickly enough.  Early years provision is inadequate because safeguarding is inadequate.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Children get off to a strong start in the early years and make good progress from their starting points.  Teachers are knowledgeable and committed. They support pupils effectively and track the progress that they make. Pupils make good progress in Years 1 to 6.  Relationships between staff and pupils are very positive. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.  Pupils are proud of their school. They participate in a wide range of activities which have a positive effect on their personal development.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school has serious weaknesses because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 As a matter of urgency, improve safeguarding arrangements so that they are effective by ensuring that: – governors understand their statutory duty to keep pupils safe in school and have the skills and knowledge to hold the school’s leaders to account – the designated senior leader is sufficiently knowledgeable and trained so as to fulfil the role effectively – all non-teaching staff receive current and appropriate statutory safeguarding training so that they know precisely what to do and who to speak to about concerns that arise in relation to pupils’ safety – all adults working with pupils adopt an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ – there is a very clear, documented process put in place to ensure that bullying incidents are taken seriously, recorded and followed up.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels by ensuring that: – governors fulfil their statutory duties and ensure that the equality policy is up to

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

date and the school’s website meets statutory requirements – leaders strengthen pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and promote British values through a greater focus on diversity within modern society – improvement plans have clear targets and success criteria that can be measured at certain points in the year so that governors and leaders can monitor progress more accurately – strategies funded by the pupil premium are carefully evaluated to check for impact – information about attendance is analysed by pupil groups to identify areas that need to be improved – all disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities attend school regularly.  Ensure that all teachers have high expectations of what the most able pupils can achieve and give them more challenging activities so that they make rapid progress. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken, in

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of governance should be undertaken, in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Despite the success of leaders in bringing two schools together and ensuring positive outcomes for pupils, leadership and management are inadequate because of systematic failings in how they keep pupils safe. Staff do not have a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues nor the capacity to apply the training that they have received if a safeguarding issue were to arise.  At the start of the inspection, the safeguarding policy was out of date and prohibition from teaching checks were omitted from the single central record. The safeguarding policy, which was updated by the end of the inspection, still did not include all required statutory information. Leaders have not ensured a culture of safeguarding and have not maintained an awareness that ‘it could happen here’.  Leaders do not take alleged bullying incidents seriously. They do not keep any records of bullying incidents or allegations. The headteacher is of the opinion that bullying does

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

not exist in the school. A significant number of parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and a number of pupils who spoke to inspectors, view this differently. They feel bullying does happen and that it is not dealt with well. Some parents are unhappy about how leaders respond to their concerns.  School improvement documentation identifies areas of improvement and comprehensive actions to tackle weaknesses. However, while the priorities are appropriate, the plans lack clear milestones. Therefore, it is difficult for leaders and governors to measure the effectiveness of their intended actions.  The school’s leaders, including governors, work with teaching staff to decide how to spend the pupil premium but there is no analysis of the impact of this spending. The school’s own assessment information indicates that disadvantaged pupils are making good progress. However, leaders do not check to see if the way they are using the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

additional funding is adding any value to pupils’ learning.  The sports premium is used effectively to provide opportunities for pupils to take part in different sporting activities. However, the school does not publish required information on the impact of this funding.  Leaders do not analyse the attendance trends of specific groups of pupils. Consequently, leaders are not able to monitor and evaluate the impact of their work in this area. They are not aware that in recent years the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities was well below national averages.  Leaders complete regular checks on the quality of teaching and learning. They provide feedback to staff, outlining where there are strengths and what could be improved.  Teachers value the professional development that they receive. For example, they have found the recent training on writing and checking of the accuracy of teachers’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

assessments to be useful in improving standards in this area.  The leadership of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good and leaders work well with a range of external agencies. Funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is spent appropriately and has a positive impact on pupils’ progress.  The curriculum is enriched through extra-curricular opportunities in music and sport. Pupils say that they like their visits to farms and museums.  Leaders have not developed a thorough enough overview of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There are too few opportunities to promote tolerance and respect towards people with protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010. In other respects, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported by a collective act of worship each day that provides opportunities to reflect

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

on values and celebrate gifts and talents. Pupils enthusiastically support a range of charities including a local food bank, Diabetes UK and Water Aid.  The school’s focus on British values is linked with its distinctive Christian ethos. Pupils’ understanding of democracy is developed through daily assemblies and the personal social, health and economic education programme. However, leaders do not fulfil all their duties related to the Equality Act 2010, particularly those related to sexual orientation and gender identity. This hinders pupils’ preparedness for their future lives in modern Britain.  The local authority has provided light-touch support for the school since the previous inspection. The school improvement partner visits school leaders regularly to check on pupils’ progress and has also completed checks to ensure that teachers’ assessments of pupils’ skills are accurate. The local authority and school improvement partner were

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

unaware of the significant weaknesses in leadership and management.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have failed in their statutory duties to ensure that safeguarding policies, practices and procedures are effective and meet requirements.  Governors have not reviewed and updated the equalities policy and have not ensured that the school’s website contains key information.  Governors have not been effective in holding school leaders to account. They have not evaluated effectively enough the impact of leaders’ actions.  Governors want the best for pupils and ask leaders some challenging questions about how well the school is performing. While governors know that pupils are making progress and how the pupil premium funding is spent, they are not aware of the impact of strategies to raise the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Although pupils say that they feel safe, the leaders and governors of the school have not been attentive to the statutory safeguarding requirements.  The child protection and safeguarding policies do not reflect the change in statutory guidance in 2016. Out-of-date safeguarding policies contribute to a number of staff having a lack of clarity on the procedures to be followed if a safeguarding concern were to arise in school. Staff refer any concerns to the designated lead who has not undertaken the necessary safeguarding training in the past six years.  Non-teaching staff have not had recent safeguarding training as required. Consequently, they are vague about what to do should any concerns arise. Safeguarding training is not routinely part of the induction procedures for new staff.  The recruitment of staff is appropriate and leaders have recently attended safer

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Safeguarding

recruitment training. Staff have received training on how to protect pupils from the risk of radicalisation and extremism. Leaders know the importance of working with external agencies and parents when serious safeguarding concerns arise.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is securing good progress for pupils who are currently at school.  Teachers are knowledgeable, enthusiastic and plan interesting lessons which capture pupils’ interest and build their confidence. Relationships between pupils and teachers are strong. Pupils’ work is well presented and shows care and pride.  The teaching of phonics has improved significantly with the introduction of a new approach that engages pupils’ interest. Pupils build on their knowledge and skills systematically from the early years to Year 3. Teachers have received high-quality training in the teaching of phonics.  The teaching of mathematics is effective. Pupils benefit from regular opportunities to tackle open-ended tasks which prompt them to think hard and apply their mathematical knowledge, thereby deepening their understanding.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported by

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

teaching assistants who know pupils’ needs well. Teaching assistants successfully support these pupils to access the curriculum. There is a strong sense of teamwork between teachers and teaching assistants.  Teaching writing skills is a whole-school focus. Teachers provide a stimulating range of opportunities for writing at length. As a result, pupils’ recent writing shows how they have made improvements to their work in a short space of time.  Teachers’ marking and feedback to pupils consistently follows the school’s policy.  Pupils have opportunities to read independently and for pleasure. Their comprehension skills are well developed. However, pupils in key stage 2 are sometimes provided with reading books that are not pitched well enough to their stage of development. This means that some pupils are given books that are often too easy for them.  The most able pupils are not always taught as effectively as they should be, given their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

higher starting points. While teachers’ questioning is effective in shared discussions, the activities set for the most able pupils do not offer enough challenge to help these pupils deepen their knowledge and understanding.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate because safeguarding is ineffective.  School leaders, including governors, have not ensured that effective safeguarding policies and procedures are in place. In spite of this, pupils say that they feel safe, valued and cared for. Pupils learn how to keep safe on the internet and social media, and in the wider community. Staff know individual pupils well.  Leaders do not keep adequate records of alleged bullying incidents. Pupils told inspectors that there is little education about bullying. Their knowledge is based on what they have been taught at home.  Pupils’ personal development is hampered because they are not able to learn about differences between people who form part of Britain’s diverse society. They are ill- equipped to understand different faiths, cultures or matters relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils’ gifts and considerable talents are celebrated. This is evident from the high- quality display work around the classrooms and corridors. Inspectors saw stunning pieces of art work.  Pupils’ leadership skills are developed very well. Pupils on the school council make sure that they represent their peers by seeking their views regularly. They are rightly proud of the improvements that they have brought about, for example the purchase of gym equipment, football nets and recycling bins.  Transition from key stage 1 to key stage 2 is smooth, despite the Nursery and infant department being a five-minute walk from the junior classrooms. Pupils get to know the junior part of the school before starting key stage 2 because they have lessons in computing, and experience a range of sports and drama productions there. This means that they can settle down to work quickly and feel confident when they start Year 3.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils say that they enjoy coming to school. They wear their uniform with pride. One pupil described the school as ‘a fun place… we learn lots’.  Pupils show courtesy and respect to staff and visitors as they move around the school. They manage themselves well during social time and enjoy the wealth of opportunities to play at break and lunchtime in the well-supervised play areas.  Pupils have consistently positive attitudes to learning and are attentive and keen to contribute their ideas in lessons.  Parents, pupils and staff recognise that good behaviour is a strength of the school. The school’s behaviour records show that there have been no fixed-term or permanent exclusions for poor behaviour in recent years.  Over recent years, the overall attendance rates have been in line with national averages. Leaders now recognise that they need to track the attendance of specific

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Behaviour

groups of pupils with greater rigour. Although the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has improved, some of these pupils are still not coming to school regularly.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils make good progress in most subjects including reading, writing and mathematics. Progress in key stage 1 is strong. The progress of pupils over time in key stage 2 is a little more variable, due to underachievement in writing in 2016. The work in pupils’ books and the school’s assessment information confirm that pupils are now making much better progress in writing than they have done in the past.  Phonics is taught effectively in Year 1. As a result, pupils make a good start in reading. In 2016, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the national phonics screening check was slightly above the national figure.  Pupils currently achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics at key stage 1. Pupils make good use of their phonics skills as they develop into confident readers. Effective teaching of mathematics enables pupils to meet the higher demands of the new mathematics curriculum. The proportion of pupils reaching greater depth in reading,

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Outcomes for pupils Good

writing and mathematics at key stage 1 in 2016 was lower than that seen nationally but is improving rapidly.  Pupils currently in key stage 2 make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Teaching has continued to improve, and pupils’ progress has become more consistently strong. The work in pupils’ books is at the standards expected for their age for the vast majority of pupils in subjects across the curriculum. Pupils’ progress in mathematics in 2016 was strong and is a strength of the school.  Disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively and make at least as good progress as other pupils with the same starting points. In 2016, disadvantaged pupils made similar or better progress compared to other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics at key stage 1 and mathematics at key stage 2. Effective teaching is now securing better progress in reading and writing for these pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress over time. The support that they receive in the early years and at key stage 1 is particularly effective. However, at times in key stage 2 teachers restrict these pupils’ progress by setting undemanding tasks.  The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, do not reach the higher standards at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Additionally, some of the most able disadvantaged pupils told inspectors that they found the reading resources too easy. They felt that these resources did not stretch them enough.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Safeguarding arrangements for the whole school, including the early years, are ineffective. This means that the early years provision is inadequate.  The early years is led and managed well. The indoor and outdoor learning environments across the Nursery and Reception areas are of high quality. Children settle quickly into smooth routines in a warm nurturing environment. Children behave well, listen attentively, take turns and share resources. Children make good progress in relation to their starting points.  Teachers use assessment data to carefully plan and organise interesting activities that encourage children to play and learn eagerly. The early years profile books show that children make good progress in all areas of learning, especially in writing. Occasionally, the whole-class teacher-led sessions do not provide enough challenge for the most able children who already have well-developed skills and knowledge.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Positive relationships are fostered between the school and parents. Parents who spoke with inspectors were pleased with the provision that their children receive.  Most children enter the early years setting with skills that are below those typical for their age. By the time that they leave Reception, children are making good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, they are well prepared for Year 1. The proportion of children exceeding a good level of development is increasing. Leaders’ plans are focused on improving this proportion even further in the current year.  Children make good progress in developing their phonic skills in the early years.  Early years pupil premium funding is used effectively to help disadvantaged children overcome any barriers to learning. Additional staff are employed by the school to provide extra learning support where children’s progress is slow. As a result,

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Early years provision Inadequate

disadvantaged children are making good progress from their starting points.  Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are taught very well and all achieve the expected standards by the end of Reception.

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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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address head@stjohns.oldham.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school was formed in September 2014, with the amalgamation of St. John’s Church of England Nursery and Infant School, with St. John’s Church of England Junior School.  The school is based across two sites: early years and key stage 1 are located at Ashton Road East. Key stage 2 pupils are located across the road, on James Street.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication of specified information on its website about the pupil premium, sports premium, safeguarding policy, equalities policy and curriculum information for some subjects. The special educational needs information report is not present on the website.  The school is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below the national average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above the

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Information about this school

national average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average, including those who have an education, health and care plan.  The school met the government’s current floor standards in 2016, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in each class and attended a whole-school assembly.  A wide range of pupils’ workbooks were looked at by inspectors throughout the inspection to evaluate their learning over time.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, middle leaders, and governors (including the chair of the governing body). Inspectors also held telephone conversations with the school’s local authority adviser and school improvement adviser.  Inspectors spoke to pupils informally in class and around the school at break and lunchtimes to seek their views about the school. Inspectors met with groups of pupils more formally to discuss many aspects of school life.  Inspectors heard some pupils read in Year 3 and Year 6.  The inspection team scrutinised a wide range of documentation including: the school website, safeguarding information, records relating to pupils’ behaviour and

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Information about this inspection

attendance, minutes of governing body meetings, information on the progress made by pupils, training arrangements for teachers and other staff, checks on the quality of teaching, external reviews by consultants, the school’s self-evaluation and the school improvement plan.  Inspectors considered the 62 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire, including 63 free-text comments. They also spoke to some parents before school and held one telephone conversation with a parent.  Inspectors took account of the five questionnaires completed by members of staff.  No responses were received to the questionnaire for pupils.

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Inspection team

Ahmed Marikar, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Downing Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-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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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/children-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of pupils 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 Pupil and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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