St John's Catholic Primary School

Inspection of St John’s Catholic Primary School School Lane, Great Haywood, Stafford, Staffordshire ST18 0SL

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 September 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 27 and 28 September 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

St John’s Catholic Primary is a warm and welcoming place. The school motto, ‘we are better together’, is realised. There is a strong sense of community and mutual respect. One view from a pupil, shared by many others, was ‘The school is brilliant!’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a calm and orderly place in which to learn. Pupils are not worried about bullying. Leaders respond to any reported incidents of bullying and act when needed. Pupils say they feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high aspirations for what pupils can achieve. Staff expect pupils to work hard and try their best. Pupils live up to these expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and courteous and have positive attitudes to learning. This starts in Nursery. From an early age, pupils learn about different careers. Visitors, including dentists and police officers, come into school to talk to pupils about their jobs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide pupils with a wide range of experiences beyond the classroom. This helps to give pupils a sense of responsibility. Pupils can be a member of the school council or a play leader. They can raise money for charity or donate food to a local food bank. The school is therefore a valued part of the local community.

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better?

Directors and leaders of the Painsley Catholic Academy multi-academy company (MAC) have a clear vision for the school. They want pupils to achieve the best they can. Every pupil matters. Leaders and staff across the school share this vision. Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of what the school does well and what could be even better.

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better?

Governors are committed to ensuring that every pupil achieves their potential. They visit the school regularly to check how pupils are doing. They provide leaders with an appropriate balance of support and challenge. For example, they make sure that if a pupil attends alternative provision the school checks daily that they are attending. These kind of actions help parents to feel confident that their children are safe at school.

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better?

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study a wide range of subjects alongside their peers. Leaders make sure that subjects are well planned and sequenced. Plans build on what pupils learn year on year. Consequently, pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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better?

Most of the staff at St John’s are at an early stage in their careers. Leaders make sure that the staff have high-quality training and coaching from specialist subject leaders and teachers from across the MAC. This means that teachers’ subject knowledge is developing well across subjects. As a result, work in pupils’ books 27 and 28 September 2022

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shows that they are making good progress. For example, in art the work in pupils’ sketch books shows that over time they can use an increasing number of techniques successfully in their work.

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Leaders have prioritised reading. An effective reading programme is in place. This starts in Nursery. Staff have regular training in how to deliver the programme. Pupils have a daily shared read. Staff reward pupils who read regularly with certificates and badges. Pupils are proud to receive these. Leaders regularly check how well pupils are learning to read. Most develop into confident, fluent readers. If pupils fall behind, leaders provide pupils with extra help.

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Despite it being early in the school year, children in Nursery have got off to a good start. Parents say their children have settled in well and enjoy coming to school. Pupils in Nursery and Reception work well together. They share toys and are learning to take turns. The development of children’s vocabulary and communication is a key focus in early years. Leaders check if pupils need extra support and when needed seek specialist advice from external agencies, including the educational psychologist. As a result of this careful support, pupils with SEND in all years make good progress.

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Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. This starts in Reception. Staff make sure pupils use their ‘magnet eyes’ to show they are listening to the teacher. Lessons run smoothly.

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Pupils enjoy their learning and experiences outside of the classroom. This includes residential trips, and visits to a science museum and to a pottery museum in Stoke. They work with members of the local community to present their work in the village memorial hall.

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Leaders carefully consider staff workload and well-being. They regularly check how staff are. Leaders listen to their concerns and act. For example, staff told them that twilight training sessions after school were not at the best time of day for them to learn well. So, leaders plan whole-staff training to take place during teacher training days. As a result of leaders’ responsive approach, all staff say they enjoy working at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff take pupils’ welfare seriously. When they report concerns, they are confident that leaders will take the appropriate action. Staff have regular safeguarding training and updates from leaders. The school completes all the appropriate checks on all adults who work at, or visit, the school.

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Safeguarding

In computing lessons, pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online. For example, they learn about inappropriate videos. Leaders know about the risks pupils may face 27 and 28 September 2022

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in the local area. In assemblies they teach pupils how to keep themselves safe in different situations. This prepares them well for when they move to high school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Most staff at the school are at an early stage in their careers. This means that their subject knowledge and confidence in the delivery of subjects across the curriculum are more fully developed in some subjects than others, which may have an impact on pupils’ progress. Leaders need to continue to focus on developing and embedding teachers’ subject, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge to further enhance the teaching of all subjects across the curriculum, so that all pupils reach their full potential in all subjects.

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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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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. 27 and 28 September 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241266 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority Board of directors

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School details

Website www.st-johns-greathaywood.staffs.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 31 January – 1 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Painsley Catholic Academy MAC. The MAC consists of 15 schools.  A section 48 inspection to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of St John’s Catholic Primary School as a Catholic school took place in December 2019.  The school has a breakfast club and an after-school club operating on the site. This provision is managed by the school.  The school has a nursery that admits three-year-olds.  Since the last inspection, in July 2021, the headteacher left the school. An acting headteacher was appointed in September 2021. She has since become the substantive headteacher, in September 2022.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 27 and 28 September 2022

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 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 this into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, the staff, and pupils.  The lead inspector met with the chair of directors and the chair and vice-chair of the local governing body. She also spoke on the telephone to a representative of the diocese and a representative of the alternative provider used by the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector talked to pupils and staff at unstructured times during the day.

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 The lead inspector talked to parents at the school gate.  The inspectors evaluated a range of school documents and looked at information on the school’s website.  The lead inspector checked the single central record and met with the school’s safeguarding leader.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey, and considered the responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Lesley Yates, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Debbie Newman Ofsted Inspector 27 and 28 September 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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