St Saviour's Church of England Junior School

Inspection of a good school: St Saviour’s Church of England Junior School Elm Grove, Westgate on Sea, Kent CT8 8LD

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 October 2023

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Outcome

St Saviour’s Church of England Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive in this welcoming school. They feel happy and safe. Pupils behave very well. They know that staff will be fair and consistent when solving any problems they may have. Staff model respectful and considerate behaviour. Pupils reflect this in their cooperative and friendly play.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils excitedly share facts and opinions with their teachers. They take part in class debates confidently and use the range of vocabulary they learn skilfully. In many subjects, pupils remember their prior learning and use this knowledge to complete increasingly complex activities as they move through the year groups.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school places great importance on the teaching of values such as acceptance and tolerance. Pupils demonstrate these qualities through their kind support of each other. For example, pupils learned how to say ‘hello’ in Ukrainian to welcome new students to the school. Pupils enthusiastically volunteer for a range of leadership roles. These include being play leaders or supporting younger pupils as reading mentors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop their talents through the school’s clubs and activities. They learn a range of musical instruments, such as keyboard or guitar. Pupils enjoy playing instruments in assemblies and in performances in local churches. They take great pleasure in performing in public and representing the school.

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

The school has recently designed an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils well. Teachers often start lessons by checking what pupils know and remember, identifying any gaps in pupils’ knowledge and quickly intervening when pupils do not understand something. Teachers ensure that pupils achieve well in most subjects. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), deepen their understanding across subjects and particularly well in mathematics. In history, pupils build a rich knowledge of cause and consequence, for example in the origins of the world wars. 17 and 18 October 2023

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However, they do not always learn enough about the chronology of events, and this limits their overall understanding.

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Teachers understand the needs of pupils well and use this knowledge to plan support that means all pupils, including those with SEND, produce high-quality work. The school prioritises reading. Pupils quickly develop their ability to read, which allows them to access the school’s rich curriculum. The school ensures that all pupils’ phonics knowledge is assessed when they join Year 3. Teachers then design individual programmes for pupils who require additional support. This helps pupils in becoming increasingly confident readers over time. The school selects books carefully. Pupils develop a love of reading because their teachers listen to their opinions about the books that they would like to read.

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Pupils are friendly and courteous. They behave well in lessons and at social times. Pupils follow instructions promptly and enthusiastically. They are attentive when teachers speak and show great concentration when completing their work. Pupils are keen to meet teachers’ high behaviour expectations and love to earn rewards, such as trampolining sessions, for their positive behaviour.

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Pupils attend frequently. The school identifies pupils who might require extra support to attend more regularly. Parents also receive targeted help from a range of staff, which helps to remove any barriers to high attendance.

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Pupils enjoy a wide range of activities beyond the curriculum. They engage enthusiastically in a variety of clubs, such as tag rugby and gaming. These clubs are open to all and encourage pupils to follow their interests. Pupils learn concepts such as democracy effectively and know how it applies to their active school council. They also develop a rich understanding of different cultures through the broad range of music, art and stories that they study in assemblies and lessons. The school offers a range of trips. These are carefully interwoven within the curriculum so that pupils can link their experiences with what they have learned. For example, Year 6 pupils visited Royal Air Force Manston to learn about the use of aircraft during the Second World War.

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Staff are positive about working in the school. They are supported well by leaders at all levels. The school provides high-quality training that helps teachers to design learning effectively. Staff engage with parents very well. For example, staff greet pupils and parents every morning to share information and concerns and to build relationships. Staff respond to concerns raised appropriately and work well with parents on any issues that arise.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 17 and 18 October 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils do not always remember as much as they could in history, and they do not always develop their disciplinary knowledge well enough. Leaders need to ensure that disciplinary content is revisited and refined to support all pupils in developing a thorough understanding of history.

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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 March 2014.

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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 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). 17 and 18 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Stephen Lancaster

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast club for pupils.  The school currently does not use any 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 that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the assistant headteacher and the learning lead. The inspector met with other leaders and staff. The inspector also held telephone conversations with representatives of the local authority and diocese.  The inspector carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, 17 and 18 October 2023

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visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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 safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Gavin Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 October 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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