St John's and St Clement's Church of England Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr Joseph Bell Headteacher St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School Adys Road Peckham London SE15 4DY

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 7 March 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in December 2013.

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as headteacher in September 2016, you have developed the role of senior leaders in driving forward school improvement. You are also increasing the role of middle leaders to ensure that they take responsibility for their own areas of the curriculum.

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

You were quick to take effective action to improve standards of teaching and learning. Curriculum innovations are having an impact on outcomes for pupils, particularly in the progress they now make in writing.

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

You have successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. You have taken clear action to strengthen the quality of teaching by having high expectations of all staff. Senior and middle leaders work in teams to share ideas and to enable teachers to learn from each other. Leaders use assessment systems well to discuss the achievements of individual pupils. This allows teachers to work together to plan teaching which ensures that all pupils now make good progress. The school recognises that there is more to do to support disadvantaged pupils in their learning.

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

Pupils are happy and said that they feel well cared for in this school. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Parents and carers who spoke to me during my visit described the school as a ‘great community’. They said that leaders are ‘responsive and approachable with a renewed vigour in teaching’. Parents were particularly fulsome in their praise for the inclusive nature of the school, including the support provided for pupils who have complex needs. Governors have a good understanding of the school’s performance and are well informed about areas for development. They ensure that their regular visits to school validate the work of school leaders. Governors provide a balance of challenge and support to you and are determined to see continuous school improvement.

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

The school motto sums up the vision that you and your leaders have for this school: ‘Working together in the love of God, love of life and love of learning.’

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. You ensure that staff training is up to date. The safeguarding team meets weekly to discuss the provision for vulnerable pupils. Records seen show that, where necessary, the school takes swift action to keep pupils safe. Senior leaders are vigilant and engage well with external agencies. All checks are in place to ensure that your single central record is compliant with all statutory requirements.

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Short inspection of St John’s and St Clement’s Church of England Primary School

Parents spoke highly of how well the school meets their children’s needs. They said that their children feel safe and enjoy coming to school. Pupils said that they know who to report any concerns to and that bullying rarely occurs. Older pupils know how to keep themselves safe online. Some pupils expressed concerns about playtimes when the playground gets very crowded and ‘busy’, as they described it. You rightly identify the need to review lunchtime provision, especially the times when younger and older pupils mix together. Pupils and leaders know their community well and understand specific local priorities such as road safety and awareness of knife crime.

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Inspection findings

 For the first line of enquiry, I explored the progress made by disadvantaged pupils across the school. The 2017 assessments showed that disadvantaged pupils made slower progress than their peers in both key stages 1 and 2. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who achieved the standard expected for their age was significantly below the national average.  You have identified that, to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, the teaching of writing, in particular, needed strengthening. You have ensured that teachers are clear about the standard of writing that is expected in each year group. This has raised teachers’ expectations about the quality of writing that pupils need to produce. As a result, the quality of writing of disadvantaged pupils is improving.  In the Reception Year, work in journals shows that children, including disadvantaged children, write simple letters and words using a cursive script. Work on display in

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Inspection findings

classrooms shows that children write sentences using finger spaces. Younger pupils are confident using their phonics skills to record their ideas. Teachers choose texts and resources carefully to help pupils choose a wide range of vocabulary for their writing. Similarly, teachers select books carefully in every class to help disadvantaged pupils improve their reading and comprehension skills. As a result, the teaching of writing is now matched more precisely to what pupils need to learn next.  The new literacy scheme is helping pupils develop their skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar. The changes you have made in the curriculum allow pupils to write across a wide range of subjects and a wide range of genres. However, spelling is not as well developed as other areas of writing. This was evident even among the most able and most able disadvantaged pupils.  You also rightly recognise that a greater emphasis on the development of disadvantaged

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Inspection findings

pupils’ comprehension skills in key stage 2 is needed. Staff promote reading strongly throughout the school. Pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 are enthusiastic and accomplished readers. Teachers choose texts which challenge pupils of all abilities, and pupils in Year 6 are clear about the sort of books they enjoy reading. Teachers have increased their use of assessment management systems, which enables more targeted interventions where needed. Current information shows that there are signs of improvement in disadvantaged pupils’ progress in both reading and writing at the end of key stage 2. However, although improvement is taking place, there is still more to do to improve disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes further across the school.  The second area of focus for the inspection was to evaluate the school’s provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. The school has a specialist

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Inspection findings

hearing resource base, and a high level of pupils have an education, health and care plan (EHCP).  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make at least good progress. They develop increasing independence and confidence. The school prepares them well for the next stage in their learning. Pupils who have complex needs, including those in the hearing resource base, are supported very well. They make significant progress and play a full part in the life of the school.  Leadership of provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is effective. Leaders are fully committed to inclusion in this school. They ensure that additional speech and language support is provided, as is high-quality support for hearing-impaired pupils. Individual one- to-one teaching takes places as appropriate. Leaders also ensure that pupils who have complex needs are included and supported in classrooms alongside other pupils. These

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Inspection findings

pupils learn with their peers, having access to the same quality teaching and challenges available for all. They play a full part in all curriculum activities, including visits to museums and local places of interest.  The next area we looked at was the steps leaders are taking to raise outcomes in science in key stage 2. In 2017, progress in science was just below the national average, and attainment was weaker than in other core subjects at the end of key stage 2. You rightly recognise the need for greater emphasis on developing science across the curriculum. You have taken steps to improve pupils’ progress in science.  All classes in key stage 2 cover science in their topic books. Where possible, teachers integrate science into other areas of learning, such as art and design. Pupils in Year 6 spoke of how much they enjoy the subject and proudly shared their science work with us. In Year 5, teachers link forces and motion to making toys. As a result, pupils applied their

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Inspection findings

skills and knowledge to make working toys. They presented these toys to the Reception Year children and spoke about what they had learned.  Evidence of good-quality science work is particularly strong in Year 6. For example, the display of work about the voyages of Charles Darwin is of a very high standard. All pupils contributed some of their work to this display. The display shows evidence of investigation, imaginative writing and high-quality artwork. In other classes, teachers ensure some investigation work and practical activities, such as in relation to electricity and circuits. However, in some classes, coverage of science is weaker.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 leaders work to improve the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils across the school  more opportunities are provided for all pupils to develop their skills in science.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Southwark, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Southwark. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I held discussions with you and other senior and middle leaders. I spoke with representatives from the local authority and the Diocese of Southwark and held a meeting with three governors, including the chair. I spoke with pupils in class, in structured settings and informally. I also spoke to parents. I observed pupils’ behaviour in class, in the playgrounds and as they moved around the school. I scrutinised pupils’ work in a wide range of subjects. I heard readers across the school and spoke with pupils about the books they are reading. I also made visits to all classes alongside senior leaders. I examined the school’s progress tracking information and assessment records. I scrutinised a wide range of documentation concerning safeguarding, welfare and attendance. I also looked at behaviour and bullying incident logs. I considered the responses of 166 parents to Parent View and the

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Information about the inspection

responses of pupils and staff to Ofsted’s online surveys and the school’s own internal surveys.

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