Jarrow Cross CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Jarrow Cross CofE Primary School Borough Road, Jarrow, Tyne and Wear NE32 5UW

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Outcome

Jarrow Cross CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils live by the school motto: ‘Encourage one another and build each other up.’ This creates an ethos and climate for pupils, and staff, to develop. Pupils respect the Christian values of ‘honesty’, ‘trust’, ‘friendship’ and ‘forgiveness. These values weave through every aspect of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils rise to the high expectations set by staff. They are courteous and polite. Pupils behave well and work hard. Pupils say that bullying is rare. If it happens, they say that staff deal with it at the first signs. Pupils vote to elect school councillors, eco warriors and house captains. They fulfil their roles with pride.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they feel safe in school. The learning climate is a secure place to take risks and make mistakes. The nurture activities at the start of each day are therapeutic. Pupils develop their emotional health and resilience. This work raises pupils’ self-esteem. It also enables pupils to be ready to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The vast majority of parents are very positive about the school. They appreciate the nurturing ethos, family culture and approachable staff. One parent wrote: ‘Children thrive in this school and it shows through good behaviour, great school ethos and results.’

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders continue to provide a good quality of education. Together with governors they have accurate self-evaluation. Their rationale for the curriculum design is purposeful and inclusive. Teachers plan relevant learning experiences to meet the needs of their pupils. Leaders value learning beyond the academic. They provide various after-school clubs, sports events and music tuition. Leaders ensure that pupils learn facts, skills and vocabulary in a precise order. In all curriculum areas, leaders identify expected end points for pupils to achieve. In reading, writing and mathematics leaders also set specific goals for most-able pupils. However, this is not in place for all curriculum subjects.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Senior leaders recognise the leadership qualities in others. They empower all staff. 3–4 December 2019

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Curriculum leaders provide clear direction for teaching staff. This helps staff develop the skills they need. Teachers and teaching assistants have secure subject knowledge in all curriculum areas. Staff morale is high as they feel well supported.

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Leaders place a high priority on teaching reading. Children start learning their letters and sounds as soon as they enter school. Staff are trained well and provide a consistent approach across classes. Pupils in the earliest stages of reading read books that match the sounds they know. Leaders ensure that pupils develop fluency and comprehension when reading. This supports pupils to achieve well in reading at the end of key stage 1.

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Leaders plan the mathematics curriculum carefully. Staff have accessed high-quality training through a regional mathematics hub. Teachers make sure that pupils revisit their learning on a regular basis. For example, pupils used their prior knowledge of multiplication to calculate area. In 2019, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in mathematics at the end of Year 6 was below average. Leaders identified this and took prompt action. Work in current pupils’ books shows that pupils of all abilities receive work which challenges them.

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In Reception, children develop secure early reading, writing and mathematics skills. Positive relationships encourage children to take risks and be curious. Children count, calculate, read and write for a purpose, both inside and outdoors. Children enter school with skills below those expected for their age. They make good progress by the end of Reception. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development is in line with national average.

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Leaders have sequenced the history curriculum into a logical order. Teachers bring history to life with exciting trips and experiences. Pupils enjoy learning about their local heritage. They understand how events like the Jarrow March or the Second World War bombings affected the local area. Pupils can recall important episodes in history. They can order these events correctly on a time line. Teachers revisit previous learning so that pupils can make connections across topics. Pupils compared Nelson Mandela’s fight against apartheid with discrimination in the 1960s. This way of working is not implemented in all foundation subjects. Some subjects are better developed than others.

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Leadership of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective. Pupils with SEND receive appropriate support. Disadvantaged pupils are also supported well. Both groups of pupils make good progress in English and mathematics.

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Governors are passionate about the school. They bring a wide range of skills to their roles. This helps them to support and challenge the leaders of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, staff, and governors know that safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone. The headteacher ensures that everyone receives regular training. This includes updates on radicalisation and child criminal exploitation. Staff are aware of their duties in keeping 3–4 December 2019

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children safe at all times. They report any concerns immediately. Leaders take appropriate follow-up actions. This includes working with a range of external agencies.

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The attendance and safeguarding leader works with families who may need extra support. Parents appreciate her support. Her work has made a difference to pupils’ attendance, well-being and outcomes.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have a clear rationale for their curriculum, which is tailored to meet the needs of the pupils in their school. Leaders’ plans have sequential coverage and progression across each year group. The implementation and impact of these plans is better developed in some subjects than in others. Leaders should embed all curriculum plans so that they are secure and consistent across the school.  The planning of sequential units of work for all subjects includes identifying the end points that pupils are expected to achieve. In reading, writing and mathematics this includes goals for higher standards. However, in subjects beyond English and mathematics these end points are aimed at pupils attaining the expected standard only. There are no clear goals in place for pupils to attain the higher standards in wider curriculum subjects. Leaders should review their foundation subject plans to make sure they fully identify the end points which the most able pupils can be expected to

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 8–9 June 2011.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 3–4 December 2019

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 3–4 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110761 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 January 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is a slightly larger-than-average-sized primary school.  The vast majority of pupils are from White British heritage.  The school offers a breakfast club and a range of clubs and activities after school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who receive support for their special educational needs is above average.  The school is designated as having a religious character and received a section 48 inspection in November 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, curriculum leaders, the special educational needs coordinator and the early years leader.  I met with members of the governing body and the school improvement adviser from the local authority. I spoke to the assistant director of the Church of England Diocese for Hexham and Newcastle on the telephone. 3–4 December 2019

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 I considered reading, mathematics and history as part of this inspection. I also spoke with pupils and staff about other areas of curriculum.  I visited lessons in those subjects. I talked to some pupils and teachers from the lessons we visited. Together with leaders, I looked at pupils’ work in books. I listened to pupils read. I spoke with pupils during breakfast club, breaktime and lunchtime. They gave their views on what it was like to be a pupil at this school.  I reviewed documents, including: the school self-evaluation document, school improvement plan, curriculum plans, governing body meeting minutes and information from the school website.  I took account of 22 responses to the staff survey and 54 responses to the pupil survey. I considered 38 responses to Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, including 28 free-text commentaries. I also gathered the views of parents at the beginning of the school day.

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 I checked documents relating to safeguarding. These included training records, safeguarding policies, and information relating to child protection, behaviour and attendance. I talked to staff and governors about their role in keeping pupils safe.  I met with staff to discuss the training they have accessed, the support they have received from leaders and how workload is managed.

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Inspection team

Alison Aitchison, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 3–4 December 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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, 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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