St George's CofE Primary School Worcester

Inspection of St George’s C of E Primary School St George’s Lane North, Worcester, Worcestershire WR1 1RD

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 18 and 19 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at St George’s C of E enjoy coming to school. They appreciate the help adults give them in lessons. They work hard and aspire to reach the high expectations leaders have of them. Most pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders promote the school’s inclusive and Christian values of respect, perseverance, compassion and friendship. These are carefully woven through all aspects of school life. The school has a strong focus on nurturing the whole child.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know and understand the school’s rules and values. They behave well in and outside of lessons. They look after each other. Pupils make friends easily because they are kind to each other. Bullying is rare. When it does happen, adults deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and appreciate how much the adults at school care about them. They value teachers listening to them. They say they can talk to the teachers about anything that interests them or bothers them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the opportunities teachers have carefully chosen for them. These include sports tournaments, visiting museums and going on welly walks. They appreciate taking on positions of leadership, such as house captains, librarians and science ambassadors. This helps pupils to understand how to be responsible.

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better?

Senior leaders have been relentless in making improvements since the previous inspection. They want the very best for the pupils.

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better?

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum. They have identified what they want pupils to learn. Pupils are inspired through topics, such as ‘Extreme Environments’ and the ‘Stone Ages’.

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better?

In some subjects, such as English and mathematics, leaders have designed the curriculum to allow repetition of knowledge and vocabulary. This helps to develop pupils’ spoken language which, in turn, improves their writing. The mathematics curriculum has aspirational goals for pupils. It builds on the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Staff use mathematical language effectively in order to support pupils’ reasoning and oracy skills. Pupils talk confidently about their learning in mathematics. They demonstrate a wide range of mathematical knowledge and competence from an early age. This is because staff in Reception plan activities that incrementally build on what children have learned previously. However, in a few foundation subjects, leaders have not built-in opportunities to return to previous learning. In these subjects, pupils struggle to talk and write about their learning in depth.

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In English and mathematics, assessment is used well. Teachers routinely check that pupils are remembering their learning. They adapt the curriculum in these subjects to meet the needs of the pupils. However, there are some subjects where teachers do not identify what pupils already know. When this happens, teachers do not match learning carefully enough to what pupils already know and can do.

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The reading curriculum is ambitious. It is coherently sequenced and makes clear the sounds that pupils should know and remember at each stage of their education. Staff deliver the programme effectively. Pupils remember what they have learned. The books that pupils read are matched closely to the sounds that they know. As a result, they soon begin to read fluently. Across school, pupils develop a love of reading. They read widely. They read a range of books, including poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Teachers read to pupils regularly. Pupils say that this helps them to understand and enjoy more challenging texts. They have an extensive knowledge of a range of authors.

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Leaders provide high-quality training for all subject leaders. They support teachers well to develop their subject knowledge and to deliver the curriculum effectively.

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Staff have a clear understanding of the needs of individuals. Careful identification supports leaders in ensuring that vulnerable pupils and those with SEND receive tailored provision. Staff adapt learning to enable all pupils to access a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Leaders provide a rich personal development curriculum. The school’s personal, social and health education curriculum (PSHE) prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about healthy lifestyles and how to understand and manage their feelings and emotions. All pupils can take part in a performance to show parents and carers what they have learned.

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Staff are proud to work at this school and agree that the school is well led and managed. This is because leaders, including governors, provide good support. Staff are very positive about the actions taken to reduce their workload.

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Governors fulfil their roles well. They visit the school regularly and ensure that they are well informed. They use this information to question leaders about the school’s performance.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive regular safeguarding training. They know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil’s welfare. Leaders are tenacious in securing the right support for pupils from external agencies. This gets pupils the help they need. Leaders make sure that pupils benefit from effective pastoral support. Staff know how to identify pupils who may need help with their mental or emotional health. Leaders put this support in place quickly. 18 and 19 October 2022

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Pupils know how to stay safe and behave responsibly in different situations, both online and when out in the community. Policies and procedures are effective, including staff pre-employment checks.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers do not use assessment effectively in some subjects. They do not make the right checks to ensure that pupils are remembering their learning. Leaders should review arrangements for how teachers assess the progress that pupils make against the key knowledge identified in curriculum plans and use this information effectively in order to inform future planning.  In some subjects, leaders have not allowed for opportunities to revisit previous learning to embed key knowledge. As a result of this, pupils sometimes struggle to remember their learning. Leaders should ensure that there are opportunities within the curriculum to revisit learning to ensure that pupils can use and apply their knowledge.

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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. 18 and 19 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241258 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school makes use of two settings of alternative provision. One is registered and one is not.  The school is a Church of England primary school. It is part of the Diocese of Worcester. The last statutory inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 took place in April 2017.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design and physical education. Inspection activities in these subjects included lesson visits, discussions with staff and pupils, meeting with subject leaders, and looking at pupils’ work. 18 and 19 October 2022

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher and members of the governing body. Phone calls were also held with the director for education from the Diocese and the school improvement adviser.  The inspectors met with the leader for early years and observed children within the setting.  The inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to them about their reading.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school, including at lunchtime. The inspectors also met with groups of pupils to discuss their views of the school and personal development opportunities.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documentation provided by the school. This included leaders’ own self-evaluation and school development plan. Minutes of governors’ meetings, together with governor visit reports, were also examined.  To judge the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector scrutinised the records for the safer recruitment of staff and held a meeting with the designated

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safeguarding lead. The inspector met with staff to check their understanding of safeguarding and the impact of any training received.  The inspectors spoke with staff and considered the responses from staff to the online inspection questionnaire.  The inspectors spoke with parents and considered the responses, including written responses, to Ofsted Parent View, the online questionnaire.  The views of pupils were also considered.  One of the inspectors visited the alternative provision which is not registered.

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Inspection team

Lynda Townsend, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Debbie Newman Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 October 2022

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