St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School Abshot Road, Titchfield Common, Fareham, Hampshire PO14 4NH

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Outcome

St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this school. They feel happy and safe and say that their teachers make learning interesting. The ethos of ‘living, loving, learning with thankfulness and hope’ is interwoven through all school activities. Pupils recognise this, and they are extremely knowledgeable about these school values. Everyone has high aspirations for all pupils to achieve well in their learning. Pupils behave sensibly around the school and in class. Because they enjoy their lessons, pupils engage positively, participate with enthusiasm and achieve well across the whole curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils clearly enjoy the activities on offer at playtimes. They can participate in a basketball game, join in skipping games or appreciate spending time in the quiet area. Pupils say there is always something fun to do. A wealth of extra-curricular activities such as craft, choir and language clubs helps to develop pupils’ interests and talents well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A distinctive, inclusive outlook characterises pupils’ attitudes and their actions. Older pupils reflect maturely on the commitment they make to welcoming newcomers to the school. This is shown in the kindness given to pupils who join the school from other nations, or who are in the early stages of learning to speak English. New pupils are swiftly befriended to ensure that they feel part of the school community.

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

The school curriculum is broad and ambitious. In each subject, the skills and knowledge that pupils need to learn are clearly identified. This is carefully sequenced over time, building from children’s starting points in Reception through to Year 6. Staff have strong subject knowledge and feel well supported by subject leaders who share their expertise. This means teachers know precisely what to teach, and when. Subject-specific vocabulary is explicitly taught, and pupils are expected to use this in their work. Over time, pupils build on their learning and achieve well. The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified accurately. Pupils with SEND are 3 and 4 October 2023

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consistently well supported to access the curriculum and, as a result, they are successful in their learning.

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Well-established routines help Reception children to settle happily when they join the school. They are immersed in the language of numbers and counting, and stimulated by resources that inspire curiosity about the world around them. Adults have a sharp focus on developing children’s vocabulary. This is modelled effectively through play activities, stories and rhymes. Phonics is taught from the beginning of Reception, and children enjoy the routine and predictability of the sessions. Staff are well trained to deliver the programme with consistency across all classes. Teachers promptly spot any gaps pupils may have in their knowledge and give them support. Pupils quickly become fluent and confident readers. They develop a genuine love of reading. In classes across the school, diverse collections of books can be found. This helps pupils discover favourite authors and genres. Pupils consistently enjoy reading for pleasure.

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As well as academic achievement, staff at this school care about pupils’ social and emotional development. Some pupils have particularly benefited from learning useful strategies to understand their emotions and behaviour. This has had a valuable impact on their ability to reflect and take responsibility for their own behaviour and choices. Leaders have plans to extend this consistent approach across all classes. While clear records are kept about pupil behaviour and well-being, these are not yet streamlined or organised to fully enable leaders to analyse patterns or trends and target useful professional development to staff.

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Pupils access a rich variety of wider opportunities. Pupils can recall in detail their recent trips to Buster Farm and to Fishbourne Roman Palace. These trips gave pupils a flying start to their learning about early civilisations and the Romans. For example, Year 4 pupils learned about the origin of Latin words, and others spoke in detail about the legacy that the Roman invasion has left for our country.

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Pupils appreciate the democratic processes within school. Their voice is secured firmly at the centre of decision-making through the school develop group. Here, pupils from each year group represent the views of their classmates. They are proud of their influence, such as the recent introduction of battery recycling points around school. Older pupils are also eager to carry out their ‘buddy’ roles, acting as positive role models for the younger children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A variety of systems are currently used to record information about pupils. While these are well understood by leaders, they are not cohesive, meaning trends or important 3 and 4 October 2023

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information about pupils could be missed. Leaders need to embed clear, streamlined processes to further the support they give to their pupils.  The school is currently strengthening its support to help pupils explore and regulate their emotions. The new policy is helping pupils to be more self-aware and further develop their social and emotional skills. The school needs to continue to train and develop the expertise of the staff team so that this approach can be consistently embedded across the school.

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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 April 2013.

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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). 3 and 4 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.st-johns-titchfield.hants.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 January 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a Church of England school and is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth. The school’s religious character was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in November 2016.  The school uses no 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.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior school leaders and members of the governing body. The inspector also met with a representative from the local authority, and had a phone call with a representative from the diocese.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with the subject 3 and 4 October 2023

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leader, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. The inspector also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  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.  The inspector considered responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school. Responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and additional free-text responses were considered by the inspector. The inspector also spoke to parents on the morning of the second day of the inspection. The inspector met with a range of pupils to learn their views about the school.

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Inspection team

Jo Petch, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 3 and 4 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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