Clayton St John CofE Primary School

Inspection of Clayton St John CofE Primary School Bradford Road, Clayton, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD14 6DD

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 1 and 2 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for the pupils at this school. They have started to make positive improvements to reading and mathematics. They recognise that there is still much to do to ensure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive a high-quality education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and well-mannered at Clayton St John. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in the school. Behaviour in lessons and around school is usually good. Most pupils want to learn, and focus well, but some pupils find this difficult. These pupils are given extra help. However, this is not always having the positive impact that leaders want. This is because the approaches used are inconsistent. Consequently, the behaviours are often repeated. Bullying does happen in the school. It is usually dealt with quickly; however, this is not always the case.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to work together at this school through planned partner work and a focus on sharing. They have opportunities to take part in a growing range of after- school clubs, such as karate or a games club. They value the residential trips that take place in key stage 2 and enjoy the opportunity to meet new friends at the trust prom. Leaders give pupils opportunities to learn how to be responsible citizens through taking on roles such as librarians or eco-councillors. Parents value these opportunities but would like a wider range.

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better?

The last few years have been challenging for the school. Since joining the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust (BDAT), there have been several changes to leadership. This has resulted in a period of instability. However, the improvements made, over time, to the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics are now having a positive impact.

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better?

There is a determination across the school that pupils will ‘learn to read’ so that they can then ‘read to learn’. Pupils start on this journey in the early years. All staff have been trained to deliver the school’s chosen programme. They understand the importance of pupils being given books that enable them to practise the sounds they have been taught. Pupils benefit from this systematic and consistent teaching approach. They show confidence to blend sounds with growing fluency as they learn to read.

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better?

This focus on reading continues throughout the school. Leaders give all pupils the opportunity to read high-quality texts. They have daily lessons where they read, talk and explore the meaning of texts. This helps pupils to improve their reading skills. However, pupils who find reading challenging cannot always access the texts. Consequently, they do not always understand the intended learning. In the wider curriculum, pupils are not always clear about whether they are learning subject knowledge or whether they are having another reading lesson. 1 and 2 March 2022

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Leaders have started to address the previous curriculum deficiencies in mathematics. They have introduced new resources which support teachers to plan lessons which build learning progressively. Staff have benefited from training in mathematics and now support pupils well. There is still further work to ensure that this learning begins from the early years.

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The curriculum is being improved in all subjects. Some subjects, such as art, have coherent planning in place. Teachers are clear in their approaches to plan lessons which build learning over time. Artwork in books and around school reflects this and pupils speak positively about their learning. Other subjects are not at this point. All subjects have planning in place; however, in some subjects it is not sufficiently well thought through. The knowledge that has been identified is not planned progressively across the school. Teachers are not always clear about what they want pupils to know, do and remember in lessons. Consequently, they do not plan learning which builds on prior knowledge and cannot assess what pupils know and remember about learning.

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The provision for the youngest children in the school is not well planned. Teachers ensure that children have opportunities to do fun activities. However, these are not coherently planned to build learning from Nursery into Reception and beyond. Consequently, children are not always ready to move on to Year 1. Leaders have improved the teaching of reading in the early years and are now using this structure to improve wider learning opportunities.

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This is an inclusive school. The pupils with SEND, however, have not always been identified quickly enough or supported well enough over time. This is partially due to situations beyond the leaders’ control. There are now plans in place to ensure that the needs of these pupils are identified accurately, and effective support plans are utilised to help them to make greater progress.

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The trust, diocese and local governing board have an accurate understanding of the areas that need focusing on to improve this school. They have a determination that these improvements will be made with urgency. Communication with parents and staff is not always effective. They do not always understand the reasons behind leaders’ actions in areas such as behaviour management. Leaders know that more must be done to improve this.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff care about the pupils in the school. They know the families well and work with outside agencies, such as the food bank, the church and the police community support officer, to support them. There are systems in place to identify, report and record any concerns. Staff are trained to do this and have a good understanding of the risks that pupils face in the local area. Leaders must do more to ensure that staff report concerns swiftly and rigorously. This will then enable them to address issues 1 and 2 March 2022

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and support pupils more effectively. Leaders’ clear vision of safeguarding being everyone’s responsibility must be at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The quality of education that pupils receive in some subjects is not good enough. Clear, coherent planning is not in place for all subjects. This means that teachers do not plan lessons that build learning over time. Leaders should utilise expertise within the trust to support subject leaders, including those in the early years, to develop sufficient detail within the subject plans to support the planning of sequenced lessons.  Teachers do not use assessment information well enough to adapt lessons to meet the needs of all pupils, including those in the early years and pupils with SEND. As a result, not all pupils achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers know how to assess what pupils know and remember, so that they can adapt their teaching to focus on what pupils need to learn next.  Pupils with SEND do not always receive the correct support to enable them to access learning successfully. A small number of pupils display challenging

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

behaviour. This is not always dealt with consistently. Leaders need to ensure that the targets on individual learning, behaviour or pastoral support plans are well matched to pupils’ needs and that staff are following them consistently.  Planning for learning for the youngest children is not good enough. Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is well planned and progressive from Nursery onwards. Leaders need to ensure that high-quality learning is planned, both indoors and outdoors, to motivate, challenge and engage children with learning. This will ensure that they are fully prepared for key stage 1.  The behaviour management systems in the school are not well understood. There are inconsistencies in the way they are followed. Staff do not always record concerns swiftly or robustly enough and leaders do not monitor these systems with rigour. This means that effective support is not always put in place quickly

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

enough for pupils. Leaders need to create an environment where all pupils can flourish and all staff have equally high expectations of behaviour.  Recent changes to leadership have meant that new leaders are unsure around lines of accountability with school improvement. Trust and senior leaders need to clarify roles and responsibilities for a smoother path forward and to ensure that they work together to improve the quality of education and future school improvement. 1 and 2 March 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 1 and 2 March 2022

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Clayton St John Church of England Primary School is a larger-than-average school. It converted to become an academy school in October 2017, when it became a member of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust. When its predecessor school was last inspected by Ofsted, in January 2017, it was judged to be inadequate.  The school has undergone significant changes in leadership since opening in October 2017. There have been a number of executive headteachers in role and the school has had difficulties with providing stable leadership of SEND. The current headteacher took up post in January 2022. The deputy headteacher is currently seconded from another school within the trust. The temporary special educational needs coordinator is being supported by an experienced leader of SEND from within the trust.  The school is a Church of England academy within the Diocese of Leeds. The last section 48 inspection took place in October 2019. The religious character of the

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Information about this school

school was judged to be requiring improvement.  There is a breakfast and after-school provision on the school site.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision. 1 and 2 March 2022

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  As part of the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders. Meetings were also held with the chief executive officer and primary director of the trust as well as with other trust representatives. Further meetings were held with trustees, the chair of the local governing body and a representative of the Diocese of Leeds.  Inspectors considered the following subjects in depth: reading, mathematics, geography and art. Inspectors also sampled plans in computing.  Inspectors visited classes in the selected subjects and reviewed samples of pupils’ work. They spoke to a large number of groups of pupils as well as teachers and leaders for the subjects. Inspectors listened to groups of pupils read.

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Information about this inspection

 Pupils’ behaviour was observed in lessons and at more unstructured times, such as playtime or in the dining room. Inspectors also visited the breakfast club. They discussed behaviour with leaders, staff, pupils and parents. Records of behaviour, attendance and exclusions were scrutinised.  The arrangements for safeguarding were checked. This included checking the single central record in the school. Discussions were held with leaders about safeguarding systems and processes.  Inspectors took account of the views of pupils through formal and informal discussions. Parents’ views were considered through the responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and comments made in the free-text responses. Inspectors also met with parents on the second day of the inspection.  Responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire were considered as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Andrea Batley, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Liam Colclough Her Majesty’s Inspector 1 and 2 March 2022

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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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