Dodworth St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Simon Kaufman Headteacher Dodworth St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy Barnsley Road Dodworth Barnsley South Yorkshire S75 3JS

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John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 8 January 2025, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy

During the inspection, I discussed with you, the school’s executive principal, other senior leaders, staff, the chair of the board of trustees of St Mary’s Academy Trust (SMAT), the chair of the local governing board, the chief executive officer (CEO) of HCAT Barnsley and the school’s adviser from the Church of England Diocese of Leeds, the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also reviewed your school improvement plan and associated documents, visited lessons, met with other staff and spoke to pupils. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

school need further improvement. The school should take further action to:

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

 ensure that developments to the school, including its transition to the rebrokered trust, build upon the recently established strength of practice.

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Main findings

Since the most recent graded inspection, there have been several changes at the school. At the end of the last academic year, the head of school and assistant headteacher left the school. In September 2024, you began working at the school as the headteacher, along with your assistant headteacher. The school is due to join a different trust in September 2025. In the intervening period, the school is being supported by a local trust, HCAT. A senior leader from HCAT has been the executive principal of the school since the beginning of this academic year.

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Main findings

The significant changes that have taken place at the school, and within SMAT, have hindered the school’s improvement. Recent developments, particularly from the beginning of the current academic year, have provided a sharp focus on the most important improvements needed. The school, with the support of HCAT, has implemented a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Much of this is new since September and so requires time to embed.

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Main findings

The school prioritised the development of English and mathematics during the autumn term. This has built upon the curriculum that had already been implemented. For example, work with the English Hub and phonics scheme provider has continued. Consequently, the teaching of phonics is now established in school. Pupils enjoy reading and have seen how their reading has improved. This supports pupils to access the curriculum with increased confidence. You recognise, however, that further improvements are required. While progress has been made to improve the English and mathematics curriculums, there remains work to do to ensure that pupils benefit from a broad, high- quality curriculum. Rightly, this ambition is a focus for improvement this term. Now that a trust has been identified for the school to move into, you, along with leaders from SMAT and HCAT intend to work in partnership to ensure that the progress that has been made

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Main findings

You, along with other leaders, have a realistic understanding of the school. Collectively you have developed a range of strategies to regularly review the effectiveness of the actions that are being taken to improve the school. Consequently, leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, have an increasingly accurate view of the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning. This has enabled leaders to make improvements to the English and mathematics curriculums so that pupils benefit from learning opportunities. School improvement plans clearly indicate that this work is to continue across all curriculum subjects. The school’s analysis extends to reviewing behaviour. This has enabled patterns of poor behaviour to be identified and addressed. These actions have contributed to a reduction in behaviour incidents at the school.

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Main findings

The school, in partnership with HCAT, has provided a range of purposeful training opportunities to support staff. This has enabled staff to develop their own practice and gain expertise in their areas of responsibility. Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, recognise the importance of managing the transition to the rebrokered trust carefully in order for the school’s improvement to continue.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the acting CEO of SMAT, the director of education for the Diocese of Leeds, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Barnsley Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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