St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants School

Inspection of St John’s Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants School High Street, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 9DR

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 19 and 20 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a caring and welcoming school, where pupils are happy and safe. Pupils receive effective pastoral support. Staff build positive relationships with them. They trust adults to help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn the importance of the school rules of being ‘kind, safe and ready’. Most pupils follow these and respond well to routines and expectations. Pupils enjoy their playtimes and they play well together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. This starts in the Nursery Year, where adults help children to follow classroom routines. This prepares them well for the Reception Year. The school checks that pupils are building their knowledge as they learn the curriculum. This means most pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of the contribution they make to their community. ‘Legacy leaders’ take an active role by developing gardens, which receive recognition from a national horticultural society. They visit a dementia ward to read to patients. They shop at the local supermarket to donate items to the foodbank, and attend Remembrance Day services. This work helps pupils to reflect on the lives of others. It builds their character and gives them social responsibility.

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

The school has improved the teaching of early reading. It identified that pupils were not learning phonics with enough precision. It has introduced a clear structure to help pupils make good progress. Staff check for misconceptions and emphasise the importance of accuracy. Pupils receive effective support to become confident and fluent readers. The impact of these changes is now clear in what pupils know and can do. Published outcomes do not yet reflect how well prepared current pupils are for the next stage in their education.

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

There is a sharp focus on developing language and vocabulary, and staff model the language they want children to use from when they start in the Nursery and Reception Year. They support all pupils to use precise vocabulary and in full sentences. This helps pupils to communicate their ideas.

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

The school has designed and implemented an ambitious curriculum. This starts in the early years foundation stage. Pupils build knowledge and skills in small steps as they move through the school. Adults check that pupils are building their knowledge, and they provide extra help to those pupils who need this. This means most pupils secure their knowledge and can recall their learning.

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

Most staff have high expectations of pupil’s learning behaviour. They remind pupils of expectations, and most pupils respond well to this. However, sometimes staff do not insist on these expectations and this means some pupils lose their focus and they do not engage well with their learning. As a result, they do not learn as well as they could. Pupils 19 and 20 November 2024

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who need help to regulate their behaviour get support, which is helping them to begin to develop the resilience they need to learn.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the support they need to be successful. The school has a clear process for identifying their needs. This guidance enables the school to give pupils effective support in class.

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The school has implemented a sequenced curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE). This supports pupils to develop their knowledge of keeping themselves safe and valuing differences. The curriculum starts in the Nursery and Reception Years, where children learn to manage their feelings and build relationships with each other. Pupils can talk about ways to stay healthy and how to stay safe, including when they are online. They describe personal information as being like a toothbrush, and something that they would not share with anyone else.

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The school has robust procedures to check and improve pupil absence and punctuality. This work is having a positive impact on attendance and for many pupils their attendance is improving.

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Staff feel well supported to carry out their work. They value the training they receive, which helps them to develop their subject knowledge. Governors have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and next steps. They visit the school regularly to check the education the school provides has a positive impact on pupils.

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The school works in close partnership with parents and carers. It provides information sessions and workshops that support parents to understand the curriculum and how pupils can continue to build their knowledge at home.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, expectations of behaviour are not consistent. As a result, a small number of pupils do not follow routines as well as they should, and they do not learn as well as they could. The school must ensure that expectations are applied consistently.

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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. 19 and 20 November 2024

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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). 19 and 20 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.stjohnsinfantsglastonbury.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 July 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is an Anglican school in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. The most recent section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in March 2020. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within five school years.  The school has provision for two- and three-year-old children.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector(s) carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 19 and 20 November 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject leaders, and the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator.  Members of the school governing body and a representative of the local authority met with inspectors.  Inspectors 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.  Inspectors also spoke to pupils and looked at samples of work in PSHE.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors 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.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Inspectors spoke to some parents at the beginning and end of the school day. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments, and Ofsted’s survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Caroline Musty, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Evans Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 November 2024

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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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