Wakefield St Johns Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Wakefield St Johns Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School Belgravia Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 3JP

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 September 2023

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Outcome

Wakefield St Johns Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are thriving at this successful school. Christian teachings are at the heart of the curriculum. Gospel teachings underpin the school rules. Many parents and carers were pupils here themselves. This contributes to the strong ‘family feel’ of the school community. The trusting relationships between staff and pupils help everyone to feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a much higher than average proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language in this school. Numbers are increasing as the school warmly welcomes pupils from asylum-seeking families. The school takes every opportunity to celebrate pupils’ different cultures and faith traditions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a good reputation within the wider community for welcoming pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans (EHC plans) is much higher than average. The school has equally high expectations for all pupils to achieve well. Most pupils are achieving as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has equally high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. The school rules are ‘display a positive attitude, be respectful and be safe’. Pupils know these rules and they stick to them. Pupils play well together and behave well, including at breaktimes and lunchtime.

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

Staff visited children’s pre-school settings in the summer term before they joined the school. Nursery teachers passed on information about children with SEND during these Infant School 12 and 13 September 2023

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visits. The school adapted the early years curriculum to meet these children’s additional needs straight away. This helped children with SEND get off to a good start in September.

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All children in Reception Year began learning to read straight away as soon as they started school at the beginning of term. Children settled quickly into the routine for phonics lessons. They are developing good listening and attention skills.

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The school introduced a new curriculum for early reading two years ago. The curriculum is fully embedded now. Teachers check that pupils’ reading books are well matched to the sounds that they know. Although most pupils read as well as they should for their age, the majority of struggling readers are pupils who are learning to speak English as an additional language. Understanding the most successful strategies to help these pupils learn has not been prioritised in the school’s training programme. The school is not adapting the curriculum well enough for pupils who are learning to speak English as an additional language. Too few of these pupils are catching up quickly enough with their peers.

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The ambitious curriculum for mathematics is implemented well. Its effectiveness is reflected in the good outcomes that pupils achieve in statutory mathematics assessments. The school provides more practical work to help pupils with SEND understand mathematical concepts. This is helping pupils with SEND to make good progress in mathematics. The school has reduced workload by changing the policy on providing feedback to pupils about their learning. The school now checks pupils’ understanding during lessons. As a result, pupils’ misconceptions are corrected straight away.

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The school has developed the curriculum in all subjects using a consistent model. There is a strong emphasis on recapping pupils’ prior learning at the start of every lesson. The school uses specialist resources recommended by the local authority, or by special schools, to adapt the curriculum for pupils with SEND. These resources are used consistently well in all subjects and in all year groups so that pupils with SEND are very familiar with them. This maximises the impact of these resources on improving pupils’ communication and interaction skills over time. This is improving the rate of progress that pupils with SEND are making in all curriculum subjects.

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Although careful thought has been given to presenting information suitably for pupils with SEND, the school misses opportunities in all curriculum subjects to present labels around classrooms and prompts on displays in the first languages spoken by many pupils. For pupils at the earliest stages of learning to speak English as an additional language, this overloads their working memory.

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Pupils are extremely interested in their lessons, and they behave consistently well. Poor behaviour very rarely disrupts learning. Pupils with EHC plans have a personalised curriculum each. These include sensory breaks if necessary. This helps to ensure that pupils with EHC plans remain calm to access their learning.

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The curriculum for pupils’ personal development is a strength. The school offers a wide range of after-school clubs. Older pupils have age-appropriate discussions about moral and ethical issues. For example, after the Spanish team won the Women’s World Cup, Infant School 12 and 13 September 2023

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older pupils discussed the post-match ceremony. Pupils debated power imbalance, gender and the importance of consent. Pupils are learning about healthy relationships.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not adapted well enough to meet the needs of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Many of these pupils are not achieving as well as their peers. The school should provide training to ensure that all staff have the knowledge and skills they need to adapt the curriculum well to meet the needs of all pupils who speak English as an additional language.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and Infant School 12 and 13 September 2023

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protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). Infant School 12 and 13 September 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.wakefieldstjohnscofeschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher has changed since the previous inspection. The new headteacher was appointed in September 2018.  Wakefield St Johns is a voluntary-aided school with a Christian character. The Diocese of Leeds completed a section 48 inspection in October 2017. Section 48 re-inspection dates have been delayed following COVID restrictions.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school's education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken this into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met the headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator. The reading, mathematics and history subject leaders met the inspector separately. Infant School 12 and 13 September 2023

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 A meeting was held with three governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector met representatives from the local authority and the Diocese of Leeds.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading and phonics, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector met with senior staff who lead the wider curriculum.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety were evaluated at breakfast club, in lessons and at lunchtime. This inspector also discussed this with pupils in single-sex groups.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector reviewed Ofsted Parent View and survey responses from staff and pupils. The inspector spoke to several parents before the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Infant School 12 and 13 September 2023

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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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