St Jude's CofE Infant School

Inspection of St Jude’s CofE Infant School Barleymow Road, Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 0NP

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 11 and 12 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and welcoming place, where pupils are happy and feel safe. The school prides itself on knowing each pupil well. Pupils know they have trusted adults they can speak to if they have any worries. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, some aspects of the curriculum are not implemented effectively enough, meaning that many pupils are not prepared for the next stage of their education as well as they should be. There are some examples of more recent improvements, but outcomes at the end of key stage 1 in 2023 were too low, especially in writing and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a thoughtful curriculum that is enriched with meaningful experiences, such as visiting the local area where the Magna Carta was signed. These kinds of activities broaden pupils’ experiences and enhance their learning within the curriculum. Pupils enjoy becoming part of their supportive local community. They learn how to do this through strong links with the local church and through taking part in projects which teach life skills while helping others. This helps them to feel responsible and confident.

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better?

The curriculum is ambitious. It is structured well across a broad range of subjects. This begins in the early years, where the curriculum reflects children’s starting points and fosters their interests. There is a sharp focus on developing children’s language development and communication. This also helps staff to identify potential SEND needs early. Children are well prepared for their future learning in Year 1.

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better?

Throughout the school, teachers provide well-chosen resources and materials to help pupils, including those with SEND, to access learning. Phonics is generally taught well. The books provided for early readers are carefully matched to pupils’ stages of learning. Weaker readers have regular catch-up sessions to practise key sounds and words. This helps them to develop confidence with reading.

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better?

Despite this vital work to the curriculum, there is still more to be done to make sure pupils achieve consistently well across the school. In many subjects, including writing, teachers do not design ambitious enough tasks that are closely matched to the curriculum aims. The work given to pupils does not help them to learn as well as they should.

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better?

Teachers’ use of assessment is not always effective. In subjects such as mathematics and reading, teachers gather a clear picture of pupils’ knowledge. However, in other subjects, teachers do not check precisely whether pupils understand or remember the essential learning. As a result, pupils’ mistakes are not always noticed or addressed. This means that their learning is slowed. 11 and 12 June 2024

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Pupils have positive attitudes towards each other and towards their learning. Leaders take time to teach pupils how to behave respectfully and politely. Children in early years learn clear routines as soon as they join the school. They take turns and share equipment well. Staff encourage pupils to try hard and keep going when they find things challenging. This helps them to build their self-confidence and independence. Attendance is steadily improving, thanks to the school’s efforts to identify the barriers for those pupils not regularly attending and putting in place effective actions.

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The school provides pupils with a strong moral compass. Pupils understand the difference between right and wrong. They are knowledgeable about online safety and physical health. The school provides pupils with meaningful experiences to help prepare them to be safe in later life. These include popular weekly swimming lessons, which help pupils to stay safe in their local area. The school ensures that pupils gain an understanding of life beyond the school community. Religious and cultural events are celebrated. Through carefully selected books and events, such as the international week, pupils gain great insight into diversity and inclusion in the wider world.

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Governors meet their statutory responsibilities and support the school effectively. They understand the school’s strengths and know what needs to improve further. Staff feel that leaders at all levels are taking active steps to improve their workload so they can focus their efforts in the classroom. Although pupils’ achievement is not yet good enough, the school has identified the right priorities and are taking the right actions to tackle them. Leaders at all levels, including governors, are passionate and committed to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Often, pupils’ work is not sufficiently focused on the most important content that they need to learn. This means that pupils do not consistently build their understanding over time. The school should ensure that staff design ambitious tasks to support pupils to learn the essential knowledge and skills, including in writing.  Assessment is underdeveloped. Staff are inconsistent in checking pupils’ understanding and this slows pupils’ learning. The school should support staff to accurately check pupils’ progress through the curriculum. Staff should use this information to inform future teaching to help pupils achieve consistently highly. 11 and 12 June 2024

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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’ 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). 11 and 12 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Co-chairs of governing body Xavier Brice and Juan Pemberton

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up post in September 2023.  The school is a Church of England aided primary school under the Diocese of Guildford. The school has not yet received a section 48 statutory inspection of Anglican and Methodist schools.  The school is part of the St Jude’s CofE Schools Federation, which opened in September 2021.  The school offers nursery provision within the early years class.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 11 and 12 June 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff and pupils. The lead inspector also met with the representatives of the governing body.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, physical education and history. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, teachers and pupils. Inspectors also visited lessons, looked at samples of pupils’ work and looked at writing across the curriculum.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire, including the free-text comments. They also gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single

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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.  Inspectors reviewed and scrutinised a range of the school’s documentation, including leaders’ plans for improving the school, minutes of governor meetings, records of attendance and behaviour incidents.

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Inspection team

Clare Morgan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

James Broadbridge His Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 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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