The John Moore Primary School

Inspection of a good school: The John Moore Primary School Columbine Road, Walton Cardiff, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 7SP

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Outcome

The John Moore Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thoroughly enjoy attending The John Moore Primary School. The school is a positive and vibrant environment. The aspiration of wanting the very best for all pupils is at its heart.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm and orderly. Pupils are polite and well mannered. Lessons are purposeful. Pupils enjoy learning and are keen to do well. They relish the opportunity to talk about the school and their learning. Pupils are rightly proud of their school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that the curriculum extends beyond the academic. The school’s aim is that pupils should ‘sparkle’ in a range of activities. Pupils enjoy attending a range of extra- curricular clubs. These include ultimate frisbee, art, cookery and photography. The school also promotes opportunities for pupils within the local community to further their talents and interests, for example through joining local sports teams and a local choir. Activities such as visiting authors and participating in local community festivals provide opportunities to enrich pupils’ learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of leadership opportunities such as serving on the school council and the eco council. This helps pupils to have a say in decision making and to develop a sense of responsibility.

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

The school has undergone a number of recent changes. There is currently an interim leadership team in place. Nonetheless, the school has ensured that this does not affect the quality of provision and that it continues to develop.

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

The school has high ambition and expectations for all pupils, as reflected in the school values ‘soar’ and ‘strive’. The school has designed a clear and coherent wider curriculum. It starts in the early years to support children with developing secure foundations for later learning. A strong emphasis on vocabulary threads throughout the curriculum. Teachers 4 and 5 June 2024

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model this well. Activity choices are appropriate and support pupils effectively to learn new content. Pupils’ learning is well supported through a range of resources, such as learning ‘toolkits’ in mathematics.

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Many subject leaders are new to their roles and developing oversight of the curriculum. The school is refining its systems for assessment in the wider curriculum. Teaching checks what pupils know and remember. However, assessment information is not then used with enough precision to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. As a result, some pupils’ knowledge and understanding is less secure, they struggle to recall what they have been taught, and they are not able to build on what they already know.

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The school prioritises reading. This is evident around the school. Pupils are immersed in books. There are many opportunities for pupils to read. Pupils across the school, including those in the Nursery, enjoy listening to a wide range of stories. Older pupils recognise how reading supports them to develop their vocabulary, which in turn helps them with their independent writing.

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There is a well-structured programme in place for phonics. Children learn to read from the start of Reception. Staff are well trained to support pupils to learn to read well. As a result, pupils learn and use the right strategies to read tricky words. Staff quickly identify any pupils who fall behind in phonics and help them to catch up. Most pupils read books that match the sounds that they know and have learned. This helps them to read confidently and fluently.

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There is an effective reading and writing curriculum in place. This builds from the Nursery where children learn to retell stories. There is a strong focus on handwriting and very high expectations for presentation in pupils’ books. Children start to develop their joined handwriting style in Reception Year and this develops over time as they progress through the school.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified. Most support plans set appropriate targets. The curriculum is adapted so that pupils with SEND can learn alongside their peers in class. This is most effective in core subjects.

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Pupils learn to be responsible and active citizens. They learn about equality and difference. Pupils understand about right and wrong. Pupils know how to treat others fairly and with kindness. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of protected characteristics. They recognise the importance of respecting and valuing other people’s opinions that may differ from their own. Pupils learn about the fundamental British values. They recognise how voting for the school eco councillors is a democratic process. This helps prepare for life in modern Britan.

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Staff welcome the support that leaders provide. They appreciate the recent changes that have been made to support their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 4 and 5 June 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, pupils do not yet have sufficient opportunities to recall and embed earlier learning. Assessment is not always used to address gaps in pupils’ understanding. As a result, some pupils do not develop a secure understanding and have gaps in their knowledge. The school should ensure that assessment addresses gaps, and that the revised curriculum enables pupils to recall their learning so that they know more and remember more in the long term across the wider curriculum.  Many subject leaders are new to their posts. They are developing oversight of the curriculum but this is not yet sufficient to check on its impact. As a result, in some subjects, the curriculum is not implemented as leaders intend. Pupils do not learn as well as leaders expect. The school needs to ensure that there are effective systems in place to evaluate the impact of the curriculum so that it leads to further improvements

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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 January 2015.

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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 4 and 5 June 2024

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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). 4 and 5 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 September 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been an interim leadership team in post since the previous headteacher left in December 2023. This includes an interim headteacher and three interim assistant headteachers.  A new headteacher has been appointed and will take up their post in September 2024.  Since the last inspection, the adjacent nursery has joined the school and is now led and managed by the school governing board. This includes provision for two-year-olds.  The school roll is increasing. The planned admission number has changed to 45. This has led to mixed-age classes being introduced in some year groups.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provision.  There is a breakfast club and an after-school club led by the school for pupils who attend the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 4 and 5 June 2024

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 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 held meetings with the headteacher and other senior leaders, curriculum leaders and a group of staff.  The inspector held a meeting with governors, including the chair of governors. The inspector also met with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also discussed the curriculum in art, computing and physical education.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single

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central record; took account of the view 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 the responses to the Ofsted Parent View online survey. The inspector also spoke with parents at the start of the school day. The inspector considered the responses to the Ofsted online staff and pupil surveys.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the inspector spoke to pupils to discuss their views of the school.

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Inspection team

Nicky McMahon, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 4 and 5 June 2024

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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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